Our 1905 Riley 9HP may be more than 100 years old but, thanks to our team of skilled technicians and our friend, Darin at Ashbocking Joinery, this is one special car that looks as good as it ever has. With the wood sections of the car being worked on and fitted to this one-of-one prototype, […]
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has been with a friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Darin, from Ashbocking Joinery. While our one-off car is with Darin, he has been starting the first phase in the process of mounting the front body and running boards. Before the running boards are fitted to the car, Darin has been shaping […]
Recently, classic car technician Steve and Bridge Classic Cars Director Gordon took a trip to the British Motor Museum to take a closer look at the Riley 9HP they have on display. The purpose of the trip was to gather more information and references as to how our 1905 Riley 9HP goes together and works. […]
Following our recent visit from Geoff Haviland, of the Riley Cars Archive Heritage Trust, he has written us a detailed letter explaining what he believes to be another part of our 1905 Riley 9HP’s story. There is a lot of information within his letter and all of it will likely be useful as we continue […]
We recently welcomed Geoff Haviland into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, so he could take a close look at our 1905 Riley 9HP. Geoff was the individual who reached out to us after seeing our Riley project online. He noticed that our car looked different to how it should, and seemed to be a year […]
The wooden body of our 1905 Riley 9HP has returned and has been put in place on the chassis of this potential prototype vehicle. After finding out that our Riley is likely even rarer than we initially thought, it’s great to be able to preserve so much of the original bodywork as we work to […]
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has continued on its way to being restored and rebuilt. Classic car technician Monty has been working on repairing the exhaust of this prototype car. He was unable to completely finish his work as he is waiting for some extra parts to arrive before he can fully repair and refit the […]
The new wheels and tyres for our 1905 Riley 9HP have arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Now that they are here, they can be prepared and fitted to our very special Riley. Since it now seems that our Riley is a prototype for the first car to have removable wheels, the arrival of […]
We have always known that our 1905 Riley 9HP is a very special vehicle. It was believed to be just 1 of 3 remaining examples since it first arrived in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, however, we have recently learned that it might actually be even rarer and even more special than that! After being […]
Since being started for only the second time in several decades, our 1905 Riley 9HP continues to make progress. With so little information about the vehicle available, our team of classic car technicians are working extremely hard to recreate, rebuild, and bring this rare classic back to life. Recently, some of the wooden bodywork was […]
Our 1905 Riley 9HP recently came back to life for the second time. Back in December, classic car technicians Dave and John got our Riley started for the very first time in decades. Recently, they fired it up one more time and, like before, it was a special moment to see a car that is […]
Join Molly as she takes a behind-the-scenes look at what is going on at Bridge Classic Cars.
When you are working on a car that is more than 100 years old, like our 1905 Riley 9HP, it is extremely challenging to find all of the parts you need in a ready-made state. That’s why classic car technician Dave has been putting his experience and skills to good use by making a carburettor […]
Considering our 1905 Riley 9HP likely hasn’t been started since the 1940s, classic car technician Dave has been working extremely hard to get it back up and running. At more than 100 years old, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the days of our ultra-rare Riley HP running are long gone, but we are incredibly […]
Classic car technician Dave has been continuing his work on our extremely rare 1905 Riley 9HP. After recently trial-fitting the wooden bodywork, Dave has, once again, turned his attention to getting our Riley 9HP up and running. Dave has installed a new (and much improved) ignition coil set up into this very special classic car. […]
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has been going through a big transformation over the last few weeks. A big step towards this ultra-rare car looking more like it should was when the wheels were fitted. This was a great opportunity to see much more clearly how our finished Riley will hopefully look. However, classic car technician […]
You can’t get much rarer than our 1905 Riley 9HP. With only 3 believed to be left in existence (including the one in our workshop), we understand how important it is to bring this truly classic car back to life. Our team of highly skilled classic car technicians have been working hard to rebuild our […]
Classic car technician Dave has been continuing work on our 1905 Riley 9HP. He has recently added the wheel hub nuts and the nut locking ring. As work continues on this truly classic car, it has already come a long way since it first arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. With quite a bit […]
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Car workshop for quite some time now. Restoration work on a car like this is extremely complex and can only be done by expert classic car technicians. Dave has been putting his close to five decades worth of experience to good use by getting more […]
The paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars have prepared and painted the rear axle assembly for our 1905 Riley 9HP restoration project. Since returning from the blasters, the paint team have been getting all of the bare pieces into the spray booth to be finished in gloss black, the same as the rest of the […]
The restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working hard on recreating the coolant system on the 1905 Riley 9HP. Our technician Dave has been busy carefully making up new coolant pipework for the 117-year-old tourer. These are being made from brass and copper, as it would have been originally. For this, Dave removed […]
The chassis and engine from the 1905 Riley 9HP has recently been delivered back to the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ after being blasted by local specialists. After being brought back, the paint team thoroughly cleaned down every part before taking it into our in-house paint booth. The team then set-up the system to finish […]
The rear axle and differential on the 1905 Riley 9HP is on their way back to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after being sent away for blasting. The process that was suggested would preserve some of the 117-year-old Patina and help to show the originality of the car.
Friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Carl, has been down to pick up the restored radiator for our 1905 Riley 9HP from Newquay for the project. The radiator, which was found during a house clearance, was taken to Newquay Radiators to be restored and reworked so it’s as good if not better than new. This is […]
The paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars have painted the restored fuel tank of the 1905 Riley 9HP as part of its restoration. The team cleaned down the recently restored and tested fuel tank before painting it satin black to go back on the car.
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has had its steering wheel removed by the workshop team here at Bridge Classic Cars to be sent off for a new cleaning process specifically made for delicate or antique parts. The steering well was sent to Re-Go Auto Parts in Kent where the team could carry out the process. The […]
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on preparing the 1905 Riley 9HP for the next stage of its restoration journey. Our technician Dave has been capping off any openings in the engine block or gearbox case after removing the entire rear axle and differential from the pre-war antique Riley. Then, Dave […]
The 1905 Riley 9HP has had its rear differential and suspension pulled off the chassis to be moved to the workbench for the Bridge Classic Cars workshop to rebuild/refresh. After testing last week, the team pulled the pieces from the chassis to pull apart and rebuild. The rear differential has had new ball bearings and […]
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have begun the process of test fitting and aligning the original rear axle into the chassis of the 1905 Riley 9HP. Dave, one of our technicians, has been trying to get the shackles around the axle in order to test fit the mounts to the trailing arms. The […]
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the restoration of the 1905 Riley 9HP at our Suffolk HQ. The magneto is the next item to be worked on by our technicians. Although this particular component was not originally fitted to the car, it was installed by a previous owner to help with […]