1951 Riley Rmb

Growing up in Detroit in the 1950s, I was born with “CGC” (Car Guy Chromosome). That was a time when the city moved to the beat of an annual automobile design/concept/production cycle. In September, the windows of dealer showrooms would be covered with butcher paper. Overnight, automobile transports with their shrouded payload,would arrive at the dealership and stunning new model year cars would roll into the showroom.

In World War II, my Dad was in the 8th Air Force stationed in England at Ridgewell RAF Base where he became enamored with the spiffy little British sports cars he and his buddies would borrow for dates and off-duty touring. Back in post-war US, he often mentioned the fun of getting one.

Fast-forward to recently achieving emeritus status as an MBA professor with time bandwidth (and small budget) to pursue the
dream. Since my young heart was smitten by post-war British cars, that was my direction. I started by considering the usual suspects: Morgan, MG,
Triumph and Austin Healey, but my heart was ultimately taken by a serendipitous introduction to a Riley.

I joined the UK-based Riley Club and did a lot of homework. The challenge was that web-searches always showed UK Rileys for sale. Then I discovered a North American Riley Club and connected with its leader, John Riley (no relation). I explained my interest in a Riley and within a few days John called to let me know about a conversation with the family of a revered Riley owner and expert, the late Bill Lewis. After several years, Bill’s family had decided to sell thecars. But there was a catch: the buyer would have tobuy both of Bill’s Rileys.

A day later I looked at the cars, bought them on the spot and wound up with a garage full of spares and an extra motor. Another attraction was both Rileys were left-hand drive (much to the collective relief of my wife, kids and grandkids who would someday become passengers). And, according to the registrar of the UK Riley Club, these two are among only 145 total LHDs produced for worldwide export in 1951.

This car never fails to attract attention whenever it's driven and the first question is always "what is it?" It's a head turner with class and dignity unlike most anything encountered in daily driving.