Description
THIS CAR
- This fantastic pre-war Riley special was conceived, designed and engineered by Ian Gladstone (former owner of Blue Diamond Riley Services) and Roy Williams.
- Their vision was to create a highly competitive historic rally car that was capable of competing at the highest level at the world’s toughest endurance events – and that’s is exactly what they achieved.
- The car was based on a 1937 Riley “big four” Adelphi saloon, and mounted on it was a 1939 16/ 4 engine (chosen specifically for its high torque output).
- The car was almost entirely constructed using parts from contemporary pre-war models, to ensure its eligibility for VSCC and Hero-ERA events.
- In view of campaigning the Riley in a number of cross-continent events, Ian & Roy were mindful to engineer into the car a host of ‘long distance’ upgrades:
- Twin Fuel Tanks (range approx. 300 miles)
- Intake Filtration System
- Comfortable Seating with Extended Pedal Box
- Twin Ignition Systems
- Twin Fuel Pumps
- Once completed, the Riley was immediately flown out to compete in its first major event – the arduous and gruelling Peking to Paris rally.
- Not only did the car finish, it was awarded a Gold Medal for its achievement. Quite remarkable for a rally car’s debut.
- Upon returning to the UK, the car was then lightened, recommissioned and performance tuned ahead of being sold to its current owner in 2010.
- In the 14 years since, the car has competed in an array historic rallies, often with great success, including:
- First in Class – Le Jog
- First in Class – Alpine Trial
- First Overall – Blue Train Rally (Deauville to Cannes)
- Numerous finishes on the Flying Scotsman
- As you might expect, competing at this level requires a great deal of on-going maintenance and improvement, and so its no surprise that the car’s history file amounts to almost 90 pages of work, invoices and receipts.
- Most recently, the car has benefitted from a full engine rebuild, and just prior to launching the car for sale, Blue Diamond Riley Services carried out a full inspection of the car along with the following recommissioning work:
- Carburettor overhaul and tune
- Brake Rod Pivots
- Rear Axle Shackles, Pins & Bushes
- Front Axle Kingpins
- Front Wheel Bearing
What we have here then, is a fantastic opportunity to acquire a unique, well known, and highly respected pre-war Riley Special that’s not only a total joy around the B-roads of Britain, but is also capable of competing at the highest level in the world’s toughest historic endurance rallies.
