Riley 9
Reviewed by Unique Cars and Parts
Our Rating: 4
Introduction
The Riley Nine was the most popular
of the pre-war Riley’s ever made, and with good
reason. Enjoying a long production run lasting from
1926 to 1938, the Nine would undergo various mechanical
and body style changes along the way, under the direction
of two of William Riley’s five sons, Percy and
Stanley.
The mechanics, particularly the engine, were
handled by the older Percy, while Stanley was responsible
for the chassis,
suspension and body. The Nine was launched in the Northern summer of 1926
as both a traditional four seat tourer (selling at £235)
and very unconventional fabric bodied Monaco saloon for
a 50 pound premium.
The Monaco could reach a very respectable
(for the time) 60mph thanks largely to the lightweight
design of the fabric body, while the small 4 cylinder
engine gave upward of 40 miles to the gallon. Both models featured a 1087cc straight four engine using
hemispherical combustion chambers with the
valves inclined
at 45 degrees in a cross-flow head.
To further simplify
the mechanicals, rather than use overhead camshafts Percy
instead created a system whereby the
valves were operated
by two camshafts mounted high in the crankcase through
short pushrods and rockers. The engine was mounted in
the chassis by a rubber bushed bar that ran through the
block with a further mount at the rear of the gearbox. Drive was to the rear wheels through a torque tube and
spiral bevel live rear axle mounted on semi elliptic
springs.
In 1929 came the Biarritz saloon, a more up-market version
of the Monaco that featured a much improved braking system.
More body styles were to follow, and in 1934 you could
option any model with a Preselector gearbox for an extra £27. By the time 1935 rolled around the car had been on the
market for 9 years, and sales were starting to wane.
Rationalizing the model lineup was inevitable, and for
that year only the Monaco Saloon, Kestrel streamlined
saloon and Lynx four seat tourer were available.
In 1936 came a new chassis, while the
brakes were changed
to the rod operated Girling type. The range was further
rationalized, now only the Kestrel and steel bodied Merlin
saloons offered. The final iteration was the 1938 Victor,
which gained a larger capacity engine (now 1496 cc)
and an all steel body. The Nine had served Riley well,
but in a time of rapid automotive change the use by date
had well and truly passed.
A vast number of Riley Nines were produced and in the absence of records, lost during one of the air raids on Coventry, it is very difficult if not impossible, to identify a model type from the chassis number of the car. We thank Geoffrey Luck for the following Chassis and Model Identification Guides.
Riley Nine Identification Guide |
Chassis / Chassis Prefix |
Year |
Model |
- |
April 1929 |
Start of the “Plus” series |
6011013 |
Sept 1930 |
- |
6015000 |
Sept 1931 |
Start of the “Plus Ultra” series |
6019000 |
Sept 1932 |
- |
From chassis number 6027000 all cars were fitted with a Pre-selector gearbox |
66K |
1936 |
Kestrel |
66M |
1936 |
Merlin |
67Z |
1937 |
Monaco |
67ZX |
1937 |
Monaco with overdrive |
67CX |
1937 |
Touring Saloon with overdrive |
67C |
1937 |
Touring Saloon with pre-selector |
67M |
1937 |
Merlin with pre-selector |
68V |
1938 |
Victor with pre-selector |
68C |
1938 |
Touring Saloon with pre-selector |
The Riley 9 Manual of Instruction and Maintenance by J.A. Robson was published in 1952. This is the list of years of manufacture of the different models, together with a brief description
: |
Model |
Years |
Description |
Ascot |
1933 - 1934 |
Two seater body withy Dickey |
Biarritz |
1929 |
Fabric body, 4 door 4 light saloon |
Brooklands |
1927 - 1931 |
Racing 2 seater, streamlined tail, produced in either racing trim or Road Trim. |
Falcon |
1933 - 1934 |
4 door saloon, wire wheels, sloping back but not so sloping as the Kestrel. |
Gamecock |
1932 |
Open 2 door 2 seater Tourer. Hood folds under the flat rear deck and there is an extensive boot. |
Imp |
1934 - 1935 |
Open 2 seater Sports Car, flared wings and radiator set well back. |
Kestrel |
1932-6 |
Air-lined saloon, 4 door, 4 light, wire wheels, 6 stud fixing or quickly detachable hubs, flush-fitting spare wheel. |
Lincock |
1933 - 1934 |
4 seater, 2 door, three-quarter fixed head Coupe,flush-fitting spare wheel and large boot. A Drophead Coupe with folding hood was also produced. |
Lynx |
1933 - 1935 |
Open 4 door, 4 seater Tourer. |
March Speial |
1932 - 1933 |
Open Tourer, 2/4 seater, 2 door short body with 12 gallon fuel tank with twin fillers. |
Merlin |
1936 - 1937 |
4 door, 4 light, all-metal saloon, similar in looks to the Falcon, quickly detachable hubs. |
Monaco |
1926 - 1937 |
4 seater, 4 door Saloon, starting with an all-fabric body, then to a fabric top and finally to the all-metal body. |
San Remo |
1926 |
4 door 4 light Saloon with artillery wheels. |
Touring Saloon |
1937 |
4 door close-coupled body and a large luggage locker. This car was in most cases fitted with the overdrive gearbox. |
Trinity |
1932 -1933 |
2 seater Coupe |
Ulster Imp |
1934 - 1935 |
Specification as for the Im p, but with a highly tuned engine, special crankshaft and cylinder head, capable of a maximum speed of 92.5 mph. |
Victor |
1937 - 1938 |
4 door, 4 light Saloon |