Before joining BMC, Riley was an independent Coventry maker of quality bicycles and cars from 1898 to 1939. Prewar cars had a reputation much like BMW todayà.all models are sporty and they are accepted within the VSCC as racers regardless of body style. Much of the marqueÆs allure was due to the high specific output of the twin-cam, hemi-head engines of 1100, 1500, and 2000cc that powered most of the cars after 1929.

By 1974, IÆd owned a Model A Ford for 14 years, a Crosley for 8, and was suffering severe MGTC lust! Coincidence led me to 2 Rileys within a 2-week period because others "thought" they were MGAs. Languishing in a junk yard in West Virginia, the second car was a Riley Sprite (first car with the name) having a Studebaker engine, transmission, and instrument cluster along with a broken axle and a missing boot lid (undoubtedly stolen as a saucer-sled due to its shape!). Like a "White Knight" to the rescue, I dragged my damsel home to find out who she was! English Riley Register club members then provided enormous assistance, many necessary bits, and my car's history!

About 51 Sprites were built from 1935-9, including 6 "Factory" racers successfully campaigned in TT and LeMans events. Mechanically identical to the lightweight racers, mine was bought by Rolls Royce apprentice Maurice Smith who traversed Europe as a freelance writer for Flight magazine and The Autocar. As war approached, the car was sold to an Australian who expired after crashing the car in California. Restored by Robert Cox in 1939-41, the car's rescue saga was subsequently published in the Riley Record magazine. While owned by Cox, the car was driven by author Ralph Stein and a New York mechanic named Zora Arkus-Duntovà.who installed the Studebaker engine after the original blew! IÆve met and talked with Messrs Smith, Duntov, and Cox to verify this tale!

In 1979, a Register friend supplied a rebuilt, magneto ignited, dual-carb 1500cc (12/4) engine and Wilson preselector gearbox for my 1937 Sprite. I vacationed with him in 1983 and crewed at Silverstone as he raced his 110mph Sprite. I then hillclimbed the same car at Shelsey Walsh! With a borrowed Fraser Nash fuel pump, my final "go" beat my handicap, bested some Bugattis and Fraser Nashes, and narrowly defeated my friend's wife in the factory Sprite "prototype"...A moment in paradise!

I also fell in love with my friend's 4-door 12/4 Riley Lynx tourer that is family "friendly" but shares mechanical parts with the Sprite. In 1986 I became a 2-Riley owner with a "Singapore Export" version of the 1937 Lynx bought sight unseen from California. Unlike the still- non-running Sprite, the unrestored Lynx is used regularly and the unique gearbox / right hand drive have made the car a favorite driving experience for many of my friends!

In a perfect world, I'd overcome sloth and procrastination to complete both of these wonderful cars.I only hope time is on my side!
                                                                                                Mike Long