1947 Riley RMA Drophead Coupe | Projects

1947 Riley RMA Drophead Coupe

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The Project

This 1947 Riley RMA Drophead Coupe arrived at our Carrosserie workshop in March 2024 for an engine overhaul to get the car back on the road.

Updates

19th March 2024: The engine has been taken out of the car to be stripped down and any parts are now to be identified for servicing and repair.

28th March 2024: The timing chains, sprockets, tensioner and oil pump are all in good condition. Pistons cleaned up nicely. Score marks on various bearings which will need further investigation. The big end and main bearings are being recast in white metal and the crankshaft is being reground as sits slightly ovalised. The valves, valve springs and valve guides are being replaced along with various studs and threads being replaced/retapped.

12th July 2024: Brakes seized on front near-side. NSF Wheel wont turn. Strip down to find cause. Cylinder seized solid, linings down through rivets, pull off springs shot.

Glaze busting cylinders before cleaning block. Crankshaft oil-ways cleaned out with small brushes.

19th July 2024: Fitting front main bearing. Oil spray pipe cleaned out and re-soldered. Main bearings fitted to crankshaft. Pistons, conrods etc, going together. Camshafts and associated parts.

30th July 2024: Engine has started to be rebuilt. Parts fitted include, pistons, crankshaft, conrods, camshaft, sprocket, gears etc. Engine block, sump pan, timing gear cover and cylinder head block have all been repainted.

28th August 2028: The engine rebuild is progressing and it should be completed soon.

2nd October 2024: The engine has now been fully recommissioned, assembled and fitted back into the car. Just a valet left to do, and it will be ready for the owner to collect.

> More updates to follow.

History

The RMA was the first Riley car to be manufactured after World War 2, introduced in 1945. A stylish and comfortable 55 BHP saloon for the post war period.

When it was announced to the public via the motoring press in August 1945 it was also referred to as the “New Riley Twelve”. Whilst development had been planned prior to the Second World War, the Riley factory and Design Office had been badly damaged during the conflict; therefore a completely redesigned model would emerge, ahead of the competition. It would continue the Riley pedigree of advanced design and performance, aimed at the discerning professional.

It was a sleek 4-door Saloon body, with seating for 5 people. It had a 4 cylinder 1496cc engine of the traditional Riley crossflow, high twin-cam design, driving through a 4-speed gearbox and torque-tube axle, with 16” wheels. The rigid steel-frame chassis supported the low-slung coach-built body which sported a “leather top” roof covering, opening split windscreen, leather seating (occasionally with Bedford Cord inserts) and a large boot by the standards of the day.

The rear suspension was via a pair of semi-elliptic leaf springs with anti-roll bar and lever-arm hydraulic dampers, whilst at the front the IFS employed double wishbones, longitudinal torsion bars and telescopic shock absorbers. This set-up together with an advanced rack and pinion steering unit gave the car exceptional road holding not surpassed until the modern era. Brakes were Girling Hydro-mechanical 10” diameter drums.

Friendly, helpful, extremely knowledgeable, patient enough to explain the processes and reasons for doing things and highlighted even more how approachable the team are. They tried to accommodate our needs and requests to get our beloved old riley back on the road as soon as possible despite the ups and downs that were thrown our way and into the teams path! We could not have wished to deal with a more personable company after encountering some other teams that really made a botch of stuff, seemed uncommitted and were not professional at all. Carrosserie as a team were totally the opposite . . would we recommend them ? ABSOLUTELY !!! We would not go anywhere else now, THANK YOU TO Steve, Neil, Graham and Nicola . . Oh and Karen who spilled the beans about the the birthday surprised to my partner (whose car it is ) . but made the experience all the more special when a bottle of wine was presented as well as a treat to Simon for his birthday AND made it all the more worth dealing with the team ! THANK YOU AGAIN !!!

My car was the subject of some body and paint repairs here in Spring 2024, to address corrosion plus some substandard paintwork. An annual service was also carried out. There was good responsive communications, advice, and attention to detail throughout, to ensure a high quality, durable result, with the final paintwork being indistinguishable from factory finish, and easily better than any franchised dealership repairs. If you are invested in your classic car, want to make it last, with an exemplary finish to be proud of, then you need look no further.

I can't recommend Carrosserie highly enough, the service was exemplary from start to finish and the workmanship is second to none. I highly recommend giving the team a call for any work you need doing to your classic car, no matter what it is, you will not be disappointed!