Riley 2.5 Saloon

My dad first saw this car while he was stationed at Sanford (FL) Naval Air Station in the early 1950s. Being born & raised on a farm in northwestern Minnesota, he joined the Navy after high school as a ticket out of town. So you could imagine his reaction as a young man when laying eyes on this car for the first time!

He met the owner and stayed in touch over the decades. In the meantime, my dad moved to Florida (no more -40 winters), married, and began restoring MG T-types, MGAs & MGBs as a hobby. So when the Riley's owner finally agreed to sell the car, after 30 years of asking, my dad had enough experience with the MGs to perform an appropriate nut & bolt restoration. We still have it but after another 30 years, it time for another restoration.

Not too many people in America are familiar with the Riley marque. Originally a bicycle manufacturer around the turn-of-the-century, they branched-out into motorcars and were later known for their racecars in the 1930s Tourist Trophy races. They may have some Indy 500 history during this period as well. Much like Ferrari, their racing pedigree is carried over into their road cars as the Riley 2.5 engine has twin cams and hemi heads. This engine was used by Donald Healey in some of his first cars such as the Silverstone. Not surprising that Riley 2.5s have raced at Lemans in the late 1940s-early 1950s. Two other variants are a beautiful drophead-coupe and a 3-seat roadster that's... not as beautiful.

For additional information, Wikipedia has a pretty good write-up on this model.

KevFla
Orlando, FL
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