Riley RMA (1948)

30-JE-00 (owned from 03-03-1994 until 16-03-2005)

A Riley RMA replaced the Citroen ID 19B and this was certainly a car in which I felt at home, in spite of the RHD, which was not much of a problem. A Riley RM is a car with beautiful lines, really stunning. This particular Riley was in need of some TLC, so many parts were renewed. These were available through the UK based Riley RM Club. For a car of the forties, you could consider the Riley to be a rather reliable car. However I got my share of a number of problems. Among them a broken driveshaft, that obviously had been welded once without having been hardened. Not long after I had the cylinder head modified for the use of leadfree petrol, it became clear that the rest of the engine was in need of an overhaul as well. That was a very costly affair and it also took several months. In a rather desperate attempt to increase the cruising speed a bit, I fitted 600R16 radial ply van tyres, but that was not radical enough. So I was pleased when I read that someone in the UK had discovered that it was not too difficult to install a fivespeed gearbox from an Opel Manta 2.0. He even was so enthusiastic to offer a complete mounting kit and modfication service for customers, who only needed to supply a Manta gearbox. I became one of his first customers and was very pleased with a 15 kmh cruising speed increase (at a price...).
Unfortunately the wood of the A-posts was deteriorating to an unacceptable extent (by 2005 the door striker plates were always loose because screws don't fit into air). Restoring the car would be far too expensive, so I regrettably decided to part with this magnificent car. It proved not easy to find a buyer, I had to be very patient once again.