Riley 9 Restoration Progress

The restoration of our one-of-a-kind 1905 Rilep 9HP has been something of a labour of love and dedication. With very little reference material to work from, bringing this piece of automotive history back to life has been challenging, to say the least. However, the project has made even more progress recently, as its wooden body has been trial-fitted to the 118-year-old chassis.

Our 1905 Rilep 9HP is a great example of the craftsmanship and innovation of early automobile engineering. Its uniqueness lies not only in its design but also in its rarity as a prototype for the first car to ever have fully removable wheels. The workshop team has worked extremely hard to find any kind of record of how this one-off car should be put back together to honour its legacy throughout the restoration process.

After the wooden body recently returned to the workshop, following its time with Ashbocking Joinery, classic car technician Steve temporarily put the body back onto the chassis in a trial fit to make sure everything goes together as he would like it to. As well as the body going back on the chassis, the impressive radiator has also taken its place on the front end of this incredible classic car.

The Restoration Of Our Riley 9 Isn’t Done Yet

While our Riley 9HP may look much more car-like than it has since it first arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, it will still need to be stripped down again once Steve is happy that the trial-fitting has been a success. Once stripped, it will then be painted before going back together for the final time. The next big milestone to reach though is getting the car to start. Although we have seen that it can start (we fired up the engine for a very short period of time last year), it has never been run without assistance and in its current configuration.

If all goes to plan, our 1905 Riley 9 restoration will be complete and the finished car will drive out of the workshop in the early part of 2024. Until then though, we are very excited to see it continue to make great progress in its restoration.