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1928' Riley 9Hp Special

£55,000
1928' Riley 9Hp Special photo #1
1928' Riley 9Hp Special photo #2
1928' Riley 9Hp Special photo #3
1928' Riley 9Hp Special photo #4
1928' Riley 9Hp Special photo #5
5 photos
Expired
4 years ago
Age: 92 years
Fuel: Petrol

Sporting Vintage Special perfect for VSCC events
Low and light, this car is wonderful to drive
Converted into its current look in the late 1950s
Well known to the Riley club
Lovely history file with lots of period pictures and invoices

MODEL HISTORY

In the inter-war perior the Riley 9 was one of the most successful light sporting cars produced by the British motor industry and made by the Riley company of Coventry, England with a wide range of body styles between 1926 and 1938.

When the car was launched in July 1926, two body styles were available: a fabric bodied saloon called the Monaco at £285 and a fabric four-seat tourer for £235. The saloon could reach 60 mph with a respectably low consumption of around 40 mpg. Soon after, two further bodies were offered: the San Remo (an artillery wheeled basic saloon) and a two-seater plus dickie open tourer.

THIS MOTOR CAR

The 1928 Riley 9 in question, was first registered on the 7th of December and it started life as a Monaco Saloon, registration VT 2188, a number it retains to this day. These small, luxury, light cars boasted a twin camshaft, overhead valve engine, displacing 1087cc, while breathing through Zenith carburettors which gave a generous 42hp at 3600rpm. Combined with a 4 speed gearbox and a low centre of gravity – they set the standards for all light cars until the outbreak of WWII.

Following the Wilder brothers, the Riley then found its way to a larger than live character, Charlie Mortimer. Charlie was a part time car dealer and during his ownership it was partially restored and the engine rebuilt however his father managed to persuade him to sell it having scared him half to death during a trip to the local WH Smiths in nearby Newbury where Charlie was keen to impress his father with his new acquisition’s performance. At the time Charlie could not hold down a job and had no idea what he was going to do, a position he held for the next 45 years! His father’s despair was so great he even wrote a book about it call ‘Dear Lupin, Letters to a Wayward Son’ that went on to be a Times best seller.

Chris Wilder, a life long racer, rebodied it along with his brother Geoff into a sleek, lightweight racing shell made by Chris Gould of Worthing in the late 1950s. They then proceeded to campaign it in the VSCC and BARC at circuits and Hill climbs of England for the next Decade, a hoard of scrutineering tags show how active they were!

Anyway, back to the car. The Riley had by now passed into the hands of a Mr Michael Cook of Radstock in Somerset who wanted to convert the 9 into a grass-track racer. However, when he got the car home in 1971/2 it required a new set of tyres so it was parked at the back of the garage where it remained until 2013!!

Mr Mills managed to prize the car away from him and set about getting the car up and running after 40 years of sitting idle. He exported the car to Malta and even entered it for the Mdina Grand Prix in 2014. The car was repatriated in 2017 and issued its original registration, at which time the car was acquired by the well know television presenter and petrol head Henry Cole who has enjoyed the car since.

This lovely little vintage Riley 9 Special is now available for sale and immediate inspection at the Classic Motor Hub.

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