Restoring a Pre-war Riley Special

Project 2

Project 2 is the Riley 12/4 chassis that has been converted to TT Sprite spec.  That means the chassis has been underslung, (passes under the backaxle instead of over), and has the rear chassis members drawn inwards to follow the contour of the TT Sprite style bodywork.  The engine & gearbox mountings have been moved backwards in the chassis so that the radiator will sit above the front axle, and the driving position will be just in front of the back axle.

Now, I have no intention of building a TT Sprite replica. I don`t like the idea of a direct copy that could later be passed off as the genuine article. … I will build a special that looks period, but dosn`t resemble a TT Sprite too closely.

I have examined this chassis closely and I am very happy with the standard of workmanship. The steel used for replacement cross members is good and the welding is first class. …………….. However, the wheelbase of a TT Sprite is 8 foot 2 inches, and I`m pretty sure this is considerably shorter.  I reckon about 7  foot 10`ish.  I will be able to measure accurately when I have front and back axles fitted. … (May be a little too short for my liking).

I have decided to try to advance this project at the same time as building project 1, which has a much more standard set up.  … To this end I have spent today fitting a 12/4 engine and gearbox to the chassis, which has been cleaned, de-rusted and painted black.  ….. When I aquired this chassis it had a dismantled 12/4 competition engine, but many of the components had been allowed to rust, so I am fitting a fairly standard 12/4 engine that I aleady had. … It was rebuilt about 10,000 miles ago, so is in exellent condition.  It is mated to a preselect gearbox that has also only done 10,000 miles since rebuild.  It it has a 2nd type clutch, which most people believe is the best of the three clutch options offered. (When a competition engine is fitted it is planned to dispense with the clutch altogether. Relying on the gearbox brakebands to deliver drive to the back axle).  Something I will explain in greater detail later. ……… The competition engine can be restored & and fitted at a later date.  Perhaps after the car has been run for a season and the “bugs ironed out”.  …. The competition engine has special, lightened and balanced conrods that are much superior to the standard rods, A re-sleeved block and reground crank.  Main bearings have been re-metalled, the special rods accept MGB big end shells, and it has a lightened flywheel.  It also has high compression pistons, (Triumph Boniville pistons that have been rendered unusable by damp storage conditions).  The camshafts have also suffered from rust but may be ok for hardmetal spraying and reprofiling.  It also has a lightened and balanced flywheel.  It will make a powerful competition engine when I get to sort it out!

As you will see from the pictures, the engine in project 1, has no water pump or fan assembly.  Whereas the engine in the Sprite-like chassis has these fittings.  What to do about this is a problem to be dealt with later.  I hope to look at some alternative solutions to avoid fitting the standard Riley parts.  This way I may be able to squeeze the radiator further back on project 1, so that the car looks well balanced in profile. (The further forward the rad, the worse the appearence in profile).

I intend getting the front axle fitted to the Sprite spec chassis soon too. It is rebuilt and ready to fit.  I also intend restoring and fitting the steering column too. … I havn`t decided what to do about back axle and torque tube yet.

Just before finishing this article I must mention the new front shock absorbers now fitted to project 1. … I bought them from Graham Brown, (Croydon).  Expensive, but lovely!!  Have a look at the pics.  Graham specializes in vintage & and classic shockers and carries many types.  A good man and pleasant to deal with.  Very knowledgeable.

 

Good news!

I couldn`t wait any longer. I had to see what was causing the engine to be seized-up. I imagined that the piston rings could be stuck to rusty bores, or valves & valve gear rusted up, or many other horrors. ….. I removed the cylinder head, (undoing head nuts in the correct sequence), with trepidation.  I had sqirted some oil into the plug holes a few days ago to help free up rusted piston rings, without much hope.

I`m delighted to say that the engine was being stopped from turning by a large amount of oil sitting on top of the pistons. Pistons unable to travel up the cylinders because the oil wouldn`t compress, (hydraulic-lock). …. The cylinder bores are perfect. They have been sleeved back to standard and a new set of standard pistons fitted. … The cylinder head has new valves, guides & springs.  It is not a big valve head, but I have a big valve head amongst the spares which may be a performance improvement mod later. …. I havn`t yet had the sump off to look at big end & main bearings but I am convinced that the whole engine is rebuilt from what I have seen so far.

Pictorial view of progress

This is just a few pictures that attempt to capture progress.

The hardwork begins

The 1935 Riley 9 chassis with a 12/4 engine & gearbox is now set up my the garage and ready for work to commence. …..We will refer to this as project 1).  Alongside it is the Riley chassis that has been converted to Sprite spec. With it is a 12/4 engine & gearbox that I already owned, along with miscellaneous other parts I already had.  This is project 2.

I have decided to concentrate on project 1, as it is likely to be easiest to make quick progress given that it is reputed to be rebuilt/restored, but left in poor storage. … Ben has started hard, dirty job of cleaning and preparing the chassis for paint. Ben is a perfectionist so the wire brushing, grinding & rust removing is done to a high standard. … While he is doing that I am removing front & rear axles and checking king pins & bushes, shackle pins & bushes, steering joints,etc.

It has soon become evident that the previous restoration has been done well. Good news! … King pins good as new, shackle pins & bushes new, Steering joints good.  On removing brake drums I discover relined brakeshoes, good as new actuators, adjusters, etc.  … I am cleaning, greasing, (where appropriate), renewing castle nuts and fitting new stainless steel split pins, new clevis pins, etc. … Progress is fast. Mostly disassembling, cleaning, fettling & reassembling.  If only all rebuilds were like this!

Something is puzzling me though. … It appears the chassis has been shortened, but only by four & a half inches.  Why shorten a chassis by this small amout?  Why bother?  … Examining the back axle may have provided the answer.  The axle is unmistakenly Riley manufacture, but it isn`t pre war 12/4, I`m sure of that. … I reckon it is a RMA back axle, (Post war), Put in to provide a better ratio for trials, (the previous owner wanted it to be a trials car).  I think the torque tube was too short in the Riley 9 chassis, so the chassis was shortened to link torque tube & gearbox. … In my oppinion it would have been better to move the engine & gearbox mounting backwards to achieve the same result. (Having the added bonus of bringing the radiator further back, but more of this later).

Anyway, now that the chassis work is going so well I`m resolved to finding out why the engine is stuck solid & won`t turn over. … Watch this space.

Retrieving buried treasure

Getting the

Retrieving the rolling chassis from where it had stood for many years involved the use of a very strong rope and a good old landrover. The rest of the haul was a matter of  lots of sweat & muscle.  I was pleased to have Ben along. His 20 year old muscles were more than a match for my considerably older ones! ….. After a 4am start we were feeling pretty jaded by the time we set off for home just before 12pm.

By about 4.15 in the afternoon we had a large pile of  what most casual observers would have called junk on my drive and I was on the way to returning the hired van. … We had achieved our aim of getting everything in one  go. No need for another trip to Somerset.  … Now we could start sorting and storing parts, and getting ready to start work!

Bringing it home

I had agreed to buy the contents of a very leaky barn in a remote part of Somerset and today was the day I was going to fetch it.  The contents of the barn was roughly, (very roughly!):  A 1935 Riley 9 chassis & running gear with 12/4 engine & gearbox. …. This had been rebuilt as a trials special but very badly stored for many years and consequently very rusty. The engine was locked up solid. Tyres flat & sunk into the earthen floor of the barn. No bodywork, instruments, lights, etc. …. There was also a 12/4 Riley chassis that had been “cut & shut” to TT Sprite spec, (allegedly!).  With this chassis was the component parts of another 12/4 engine with special conrods, racing pistons, lightened flywheel, etc.  However, the parts had suffered very badly in the damp conditions and many/most were too badly damaged to save. (The pistons eaten completely through the aluminium skirts in places).  To add to this there were various radiators, steering columns, engine blocks, cylinder heads, etc, etc. …. I was hoping to get the lot in one journey!

I had a hired transit van, pulling a smallish car trailer that I used to carry my MG Midget competition car to hillclimbs & sprints. …. Ben had volunteered to come with me, (more about Ben later), and I was glad to accept the offer of extra muscle power. We were going to need it! …. The plan was to leave at 4.00am to get to Sommerset for about 8.30 including a stop for breakfast at Sedgemoor services, just beyond Bristol for us.  We needed to be on our way back before 12pm to have any chance of unloading and getting the hired van back by the 4.30pm deadline. …. A long day lay ahead!

This is my first ever post on my first ever blog

This is my first ever post on my first ever blog. I’m more familiar with vintage cars than computers! This blog will be about the restoration of various pre-war Riley cars that are currently lying around in my garage & other sheds/hiding places. …. It started like this: I owned the remains of a 1936 Riley Kestrel which I intended using as the basis for a pre-war special for road use and some light competition (Vintage Sports Car Club sprints & hillclimbs). Because I was short of some parts I placed an advertisement in the Riley Register newsletter for “Riley parts wanted”. … I was contacted by a chap in Sommerset who had a collection of parts in a farmers barn gathering dust & rust!  To cut a long story short, I bought the entire contents of the barn and now have parts to build more than one Riley special! … More of this later.

About the Author

Phil Smith is a vintage car enthusiast with many years experience of owning, restoring and using vintage, PVT and classic cars. A longstanding member of The Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC), The Riley register and The MG Car Club. Makes he has owned include Alvis, Bentley, Lagonda, MG, Talbot and Riley, of course. Now retired, Phil satisfies his 'old motor urges' by competing in the MGCC Luffield Speed series in MG Midgets from the 60's and 70's. This blog will chart his return to vintage/PVT cars.

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• Chassis & running gear (2)
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• Thats how it all began … (1)
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E-mail: philsmith432[at]hotmail[dot]com