Riley 1.5 Saloon

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By the mid-1950s the Morris Minor was getting a bit long in the tooth and the BMC board decided they had better start planning its replacement.

However, much to their delight, the good old Moggie continued to fly out of the showrooms so they changed their plans and decided not to replace it, but to offer a more upmarket version which would be badged as a Wolseley and Riley instead.

Using the excellent Morris Minor floorpan, suspension and steering as a base, they fitted the larger 1,489cc B-Series engine and the 4-speed MG Magnette gearbox, clothing the lot in a compact and well-proportioned 4-door saloon body. Although the Wolseley and Riley versions looked basically the same but with slightly different front end styling, the Riley had a much more luxurious interior with lashings of leather and walnut and additional dash instruments.

It also had a much livelier twin carb engine, boosting output to 62bhp over the Wolseley’s 43bhp, which gave it a top speed of 84mph. Nimble and entertaining to drive, it also proved wickedly tuneable. Some 39,500 were made in total before production ended in 1965, although fewer than 800 are still road registered in Britain today.

First registered in Worcestershire in April 1961, this Pastel Green Riley was acquired by the vendor about 15 years ago as a source of spares for a similar car that he campaigned extensively on Historic Rallies. However, on getting the car home and taking a good look at it, he decided it was far too good to break so it was stuffed in the corner of a barn to be renovated at a later date.

As you can see that date never arrived and he has now decided that the time has come to pass the car on to someone with more enthusiasm for the project. Although it looks pretty sorry for itself, it is by no means a basket case and should be a fairly straightforward project. In running order when acquired, it has not been started for many years but could probably be brought to life with a few hours of determined cajoling.

Being sold here at no reserve, its resurrection will keep someone enjoyably occupied over the coming winter months.