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.

This February 1961 Riley is a Series 2 model with improved interior storage space, a more robust crank and bearings plus numerous other minor improvements on the preceding model. Finished in sober and understated black, it compensates with a cheerful green and cream interior, complete with radio and Walnut dash. Being essentially a Fifties machine, lashings of chrome adorn the front end.

The indicated mileage of 65,059 is said to be correct and is backed up by 18 old MOT certificates. It also has a rather nice number, TPM 210, which is included in the sale and is transferable. On display in the Stondon Motor Museum since 1997, has been maintained in running order but will doubtless benefit from a thorough check-over before sallying forth once more.

Although it comes from the staid name of Riley, there is a faint whiff of rock and roll about those hooded headlights and that ice cream parlour interior plus, of course, the promise of more performance from that B-Series engine. Ford Zephyr-Zodiacs beware.