We’ve spent this past week taking a look back at the world of motoring as it was 67 years ago – how different things were then! – and in keeping with our 1953 theme, we thought we’d finish the week with a Prime Find from that same year, and a trawl through the classifieds turned up a very smart product of Coventry – our third in recent weeks, which if nothing else demonstrates just how important the city was to the UK motor industry, something we will look at in a future article.
The early years of Riley as a company were quite complicated, starting life as a bicycle manufacturer in 1896, founded by William Riley, Jr., on the back of the bicycle craze sweeping the UK at the time. Riley had five sons, all of them getting involved in the business, but, led by middle son Percy, they began to diversify into the new-fangled motor-car industry, and by 1913 four of the five sons had decided to concentrate their energies on car manufacture, leaving their father to focus on making wheels for the car industry, having already left bicycle production behind.
Besides the car manufacturing business, Riley also started an engine company, and by the post-WW1 years the Riley Engine Company became the engine supplier for Midland Motor Bodies (formerly Riley Motor Manufacturing) which in turn built bodies for Riley (Coventry). All three companies were run by various members of the Riley family.
In the years up to the Second World War, Riley grew as a manufacturer and produced several successful models, mostly of a sporting or touring nature, such as the Riley Kestrel, the Riley 1.5 litre, and the 12 hp Riley Saloon. However, the Riley range became increasingly complicated, and there was a strong challenge in their market sector from Jaguar. In fact, in 1938, after failed merger talks with Triumph, Riley (Coventry) went into receivership, and later that year was acquired – for £143,000! – by Lord Nuffield, who renamed it Riley Motors Limited and rolled it into Morris Motors Limited.
In 1945, following the disruption caused by the war, the first fruits of the new company emerged as the Riley RMA and RMB models, with elegant, flowing bodywork and utilising the Riley 1.5 and 2.5 litre engines respectively – two features the RM range shared with its pre-war predecessor, the Riley Kestrel. However, things still didn’t go smoothly for the company, and by 1952 Riley had become part of the British Motor Corporation, and its fate was to become a maker of badge-engineered versions of Wolseley’s and MG’s. Indeed, by the time “our” car was built, Riley production had moved to the MG factory in Abingdon.
This brings us neatly to our Prime Find, which is a very handsome two-tone black and cream 1953 Riley RME. Basically an updated Riley RMA, the RME came with the same 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine that was perhaps a little underpowered for a car of its size, producing just 54bhp. This resulted in a top speed of just 75mph according to The Motor magazine, and acceleration from a standstill to 60mph took a very leisurely 29.5 seconds – sporty the RME was not.
It is, however, more than adequate for cruising about with the driver’s window wound down and one arm resting on the door frame, in the approved classic motoring manner. Our car, as well as its smart paint finish, also has a typically British interior for the day, with well-worn dark green leather seats, green carpets, mahogany window and dash trims with walnut veneers and it rides on whitewall tyres on black wheels. This Riley also features some lovely old rectangular instrument gauges set between the two large round speedometer and clock dials, all set in a single large instrument panel. I have to say, I love the look!
This particular car was subject to a full body restoration just over 20 years ago, at a cost of £12,000, and in 2018 the original engine was replaced with an identical rebuilt one for £6,000, so the auctioneer’s estimate of £8,500 to £9,000 seems to represent good value. Part of the engine replacement included the introduction of a couple of modern modifications such as electronic ignition and a thermostatic electric fan, though should the purchaser be a purist, these are reversible. Following the engine replacement, the car has been on a trouble-free 1500-mile trip around France. The car comes with an extensive history file, as well as the original tool kit and a workshop manual.
Precisely 3,446 RME’s were produced between 1952 and 1955 – I haven’t been able to find out how many remain, but the RM range has a thriving owner’s club with over 800 members that offers a comprehensive supply of spare parts among other club benefits (and there are a number of other Riley clubs and resources) so running the car should be a practical affair. As usual inspection is recommended before purchase, and in this case it may be wise to get the car checked over by one of the clubs – in all likelihood it will be known to the RM club.
It goes under the virtual hammer on April 24th with South Western Vehicle Auctions in Poole, Dorset – we’ve borrowed some photographs from the auctioneer’s website, which you can check out here: 1953 Riley RME
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk