Description
7/ 7/ 23 KINDLY NOTE : DUE TO POOR WEATHER FOR THE NEXT WEEK AT LEAST, NO VIEWINGS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BECAUSE I WILL NOT TAKE THIS CAR OUT IN POOR WEATHER, TOO MUCH EXTRA CLEANING, YES, EVEN FOR £12750 ! Very attractive Riley, my car twice, bought by me in 1999 then sold around 2004, bought back in 2012 because it was one of the best cars I'd owned. Engine rebuilt around 1960, approx 7000 miles ago and a new roof fitted at that time. Repainted to a very high standard 15+ years ago, interior nearly all original but with new Club supplied steering wheel. Recent new pushrods fitted of improved design, and most wearing/ serviceable items have received attention from me during both periods of ownership. This includes shock absorber replacement all round, new rear springs, brake shoe cylinders , hoses and linings, complete clutch, stainless exhaust system, dynamo, most chrome although it is now all pretty good but not perfect because even the new stuff doesn't last as it should.
Last use was on an evening Club run in April, about 60 miles mostly in the dark so very reliable. Starting handle, proper jack and wheelbrace all included along with a spare bare cylinder head and a brand new exhaust manifold and various other new parts such as a cylinder head gasket and wheel cylinders.
The suspension can creak a bit at the front when first taken out but this does largely disappear after a few miles. The majority of the rubber bushes have been replaced but minimal use and very dry conditions (I know, the West of Scotland but there we are) don't help. The only other known item that doesn't work as well as it should is the fuel gauge which varies in reliability but calculating generally 20 miles to a gallon works.
If you want absolute perfection in one of these, buy a poor one, spend £60000 on it and you may be coming close but I think MOD ticks most of the boxes at more realistic money. They can be retrimmed with modern materials but never be the way they were originally. Some cars feel "right" inside, as if you really were back in time, and others are a bit like a virtual reality recreation of how someone thinks they were. If you have never had a car of this age before, remember - no power steering, no synchromesh on first, no brake assistance. If you can't drive without these, don't even think about this car. However, if you can, you'll enjoy having the power of the 2. 5 litre engine especially when thinking of how severely underpowered many cars of the time were, including of course Riley's own 1 1/ 2 litre car. If it's so good, you ask, why am I selling and the answer is I have three other cars with 2. 5 litre engines, two of which are pre war and seriously rare. I have quite a collection of Rovers and at least one non-Rover has to go because garage spaces have run out. This Riley is in the best condition of cars I would part with so I hope will make an attractive buy for its fortunate new owner.
Update : I have sold a Triumph this week which has freed up a garage space and so can now offer the possibility of a part exchange, cash either way, for a Rover 16 , preferably a sports saloon, as that is the only 1934-47 model I don't have. Preferably it would be in similar condition to the Riley and with its original number.
Dumfries, 40 minutes from Carlisle. If you have a genuine interest in possibly owning this car, try an offer and who knows, we could be on the way to a deal. I'm just adding a final line.
Even if you don't buy this car, please, and I say this as the owner of two RMAs and the previous owner of three RMEs : don't buy a 1 1/ 2 if you can buy a decent 2 1/ 2 for less. There are some cars at crazy prices and in terms of what you're buying for the money, a 2 1/ 2 may drink a bit more and be a bit heavier to park but there is just no comparison in the capabilities of the two models. You pay virtually the same money for all the bodywork, trim and suspension/ steering bits on a 1 1/ 2 but they are quite underpowered for A road and motorway driving. It would be crazy to buy the smaller engined car if a decent cheaper 2 1/ 2 was available, unless you really must have the smaller car because of the length or a similar issue.
Thank you. Very attractive imposing car which sits well and has great presence. The longer bonnet compared to the A and E make it a more attractive looking vehicle as the proportions are right. I'd looked long and hard for really attractive cars and although circumstances required me to sell it in 2004, I bought it back when I could. Having bought it back, we had a 20/ 25 Rolls at the time and I asked my wife which one we should keep and she said "The Riley", that was after spending £000s on the Rolls.
Over the past years, I've now built up an extensive collection of mainly pre war cars and am travelling many fewer miles than I ever thought I would. I can go a week without needing to leave my place and the 30s is increasingly where I'm quite happy being with the cars. I've reached the end of the road with storage, despite building a large shed two years ago and so, looking at the minimal mileage some of them travel, it's time for hard choices.
There will be Rileys of this type that have had more spent in and on one or other aspect of the car but , as a complete package, I think MOD has a really good balance between many many items being well sorted in detail (although there'll always be something to do...!) and yet retaining a very period feeling throughout. The leather has survived well and it's just about impossible to replicate the original materials of the door cards etc. The dashboard is particularly attractive and the supplying dealer's badge, Bedford Garage of Exeter, is a finishing touch. I've owned quite a few different Rileys, all pre 1953, and my own view is that the RMs were the best made of them all. The bodywork on the pre war cars would be good when new and nearly new but the robust construction of an RM far exceeds the Midland Motor Body products, and the least said about the Briggs bodied cars the better.
The paintwork on this car has been carried out to an extremely high standard. Originally the car was in Metallichrome Green, a process now impossible to recreate properly. The colour scheme of black and very dark green really makes this an imposing looking vehicle and matches the green piping inside the car.
Of course, the only RM flaw was the 1. 5 litre engine being really too small for the RM bodywork but happily the 2. 5 not just solves the problem but takes the car to another level. My father had one a year old, just out of the Covenant, and he said he had it up to 92 mph before running out of road, which I can believe. If you appreciate older quality machinery then you'll hopefully enjoy what this car offers.
