Bringing it home

pdsmith — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:24:03 +0000

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!

Restoring a Pre-war Riley Special » Thats how it all began …

Bringing it home