2011 Portfolio of Classic Car work

This year I had the satisfaction - and responsibility - of being the first person for decades to drive some of the cars which passed through my workshop. Despite my efforts to attract owners of other marques, the year's work has remained focussed firmly on Rileys of different ages and models, and why not!

1953 Riley 2½-Litre RMF

  • Repaired seized, rusted and perished braking system
  • Full engine, transmission and chassis service
  • Corroded electrics brought back to life
  • MoT, test drive, then the owner treated it to a re-spray

The car was last used in 1989 due to some trivial fault - so long ago the owner had forgotten what it was!

1934 Riley 9 Special

This is the car shown as a rolling chassis in 2009.

  • Final assembly after return from the coach-trimmer
  • Adjustments and refinements based on road testing
  • With DVLA help, regained the original number-plate

A running car again after 40+ years, it passed its MoT (first ever?), and gave me some fun road-testing it..

1931 Riley 9 Special

A pre-war Riley fitted with a racy home-made body.

  • Rebuilt clutch to cure horrid noise
  • Overhauled engine to fix many obvious faults
  • End-to end thorough service, many improvements!

The owner had run out of time to work on his car and entrusted it to me for recommissioning - a real pleasure.

1936 Riley 12/4 Lynx

  • Complete rewire
  • Discreet flashing indicators integrated into wiring
  • Hazard flashers linked to redundant fascia switch

The reliability of this much loved 4-door tourer was let down by its haphazard wiring, so I re-equipped it with a complete new loom finished in authentic braided covering.


 

Blowing the Dust Off Unused Cars!

When a car has been laid-up for decades, there's no telling what gremlins might be hidden within its dusty and rusty corners. I like to return to my clients a car which has had its obvious faults put right, and preventative maintenance and servicing carried out. This is then followed by road-testing to try and uncover any remaining snags.

Other projects from my 2011 case book...