In response to some of the recent banter regarding
Rileys, I thought I'd toss in my .02 worth and clarify
a few things.
The Riley name was first used on bicycles in the
late 1800's. Soon thereafter a small motor designed by
Riley was fitted and they were in the motorbike
business. Soon after this the Riley cycle car was born,
a trike with a single driven wheel at the rear. At this
time the Riley name was known primarily for engine
design & manufacture, with their most notweorthy
customers being the ERA series racing cars and a lad
named Donald Healey who used Riley engines in car
called the Silverstone. Concurrent with this success
Riley began manufacturing their own cars, with such
names as Adelphi, Kestrel, and most notably, Imp.
The RM series cars which has been discussed lately
came out in 1946 with the A-series, and ended in 1955
with the F-series. They all featured roughly the same
flowing lines, and could be had in either Saloon, Roadster,
or Drophead configuration. There were also a few shooting
brakes and panel deliveries, but these were all custom.
The engine powering these cars were either 1 1/2 liter or
2 1/2 litre 4 cylinder dual-cam w/hemi head. One
popular misconception about these engines is that they
are OHC, due to their appearance, when in fact the cams
are down low in the block, driving pushrods up, and the
"cam" covers simply cover the rocker gear. The 2.5 also
featured dual SUs, while the 1.5 has only a single.
Other noteworthy features of the RM series are
rack & pinion steering, torsion bar front suspension
and hydro-mechanical brakes.
If anyone is more curious please post and I'll be
happy to pen more from any of the myriad of Riley books
I have at home.
cheers-
dstone@sc9.intel.com
(1948 Riley RMA Saloon, "48 Riley")
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