Riley 9 Monaco

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The Riley company motto, “As old as the industry – as modern as the hour” summed up their product range very nicely.

This was perfectly illustrated in 1926 when the brilliant Riley Nine was announced. Its chassis, suspension and bodywork were the work of Stanley Riley, while his brother, the hugely talented Percy Riley designed the brilliant little 9hp engine.

The 1087cc unit thrived on high revs, which it would happily and reliably maintain for long periods of time thanks to its clever design. Twin camshafts were mounted high in the block, making for short and light pushrods which operated valves set at 45 degrees to the head. This, coupled with a crossflow head design enabled prodigious power to be extracted from this willing unit.

The vast majority were sold with attractive saloon bodywork, although the Nine also cemented its sporting credentials through some giant-killing performances put up by the low-slung Brooklands and Imp sports models that were also supplied from the factory.

The mainstream models were named after exotic French holiday destinations such as Biarritz, San Remo and Monaco. The popular Monaco saloon model was sold from 1926 until 1932 with a fabric covered body, changing to a more conventional aluminium skin from 1933. Light, stylish and comfortable, these small saloons remain ever-popular as they combine a sprightly performance on the road with good handling and a vast supply of affordable spare parts.

Although the V5 states that it is a 1932 model, the chassis number of this Monaco indicates that it is actually late 1933 or early 1934. It was purchased by the vendor as a part-completed restoration project, a job which he has relished completing as can be seen here.

The engine has been rebuilt with new pistons, white-metal and a crank grind. We are advised that the Scintilla magneto has also been given the once-over. A great deal of the ash frame in the coachwork had already been done when the project was acquired, but this was finished off and the car retrimmed inside, with new seat covers, headlining and carpets.

The excellent aluminium coachwork was then given a fresh coat of green paint and modern headlight internals fitted into the lamps for safety and convenience.

Ready to go, it has done very few miles since completion, so there will no doubt be a shakedown period, after which its new owner will have a sprightly and attractive pre-War saloon well able to keep abreast of modern-day traffic.