Our Riley Returns
April 25, 2024
Tony recently collected our 1905 Riley 9HP and transported it back to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Now that it is back with us, we
classic riley
Lights And Buckles
March 21, 2024
John has been running the wires of our 1905 Riley 9HP from the front and rear to the batteries. He wired in the switch and
Riley Seat
March 11, 2024
The backrest of the our 1905 Riley 9HP seat is actually fitted on the body of the car and, as a result, could not be
Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia made an internal door card for the opening door on our 1905 Riley 9HP. She first made a template from paper to ensure the
An Ultra Rare Roof Frame
February 21, 2024
The roof frame of our 1 of 1 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with technician Mauro. Mauro painted
Riley Roof Frame
February 16, 2024
The roof frame of our 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop with Mauro. He has been prepping the frame before
Paint Progress
February 8, 2024
We have received the below pictures which show just how much progress Joby Carter is making on our 1905 Riley 9HP.
Time For Paint
January 29, 2024
As the restoration of our 1905 Riley 9HP is moving into its final stages, the time has come for it to be painted. For this
Bench Seat Back
January 24, 2024
Yesterday, Lydia was preparing the seat backrest that Darin, from Ashbocking Joinery has kindly made for us. This involved replacing the springs back to their
A 100-Year-Old Seat
January 23, 2024
Lydia has upholstered the base seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP. She used a 2-inch foam for the base to provide a firm seat so
Starting A 119-Year-Old Car
January 5, 2024
Our 1905 Riley 9HP was originally thought to be just 1 of 3 remaining examples. However, the evidence now suggests that it is, in fact,
Riley 9HP work continues
December 7, 2023
Steve is still working through the few final pieces on the 1905 Riley 9HP restoration. A new final drive chain has been fitted, new fabric
Body And Running Boards
October 19, 2023
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
A Big Step Forward
September 13, 2023
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
A Visit From Riley Expert Geoff Haviland
June 19, 2023
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
A Finished Riley
June 14, 2023
The time has almost come to say goodbye to our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer. After spending some time in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, it
Metal Trim
June 12, 2023
Classic car technician Chris recently spent some time out of the fabrication bay and in the main workshop while he fitted the metal trim rail
Riley 9 Tourer Covers
May 31, 2023
Our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer has continued to be in the skilled hands of classic car technician Brian, as he carries on his work on
A Riley Tonneau
May 24, 2023
Classic car technician Brian has continued his work on our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer. He first marked out where the front flap goes for the
Roof and Covers
May 15, 2023
After classic car technician Brian had used paper patterns to get accurate sizes for the roof of our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer, he removed these,
A Rare Body
May 12, 2023
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
Exhaust Repairs
May 11, 2023
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
A Roof Of Paper
May 9, 2023
Our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer has been the focus of classic car technician Brian as of late. He has been making the paper templates which
Hill Climber Interior
May 5, 2023
Classic car technician Brian has been making and putting together the interior of our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer. After drilling and fitting screws to the
Welcome To The Workshop – A Classic Riley
April 6, 2023
We have recently welcomed our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Looking at this hill climber, it’s obvious that it is
New Wheels
March 28, 2023
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
From Ultra Rare To First Of The First
March 15, 2023
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
Recreating The Past
March 8, 2023
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
Starting Again
February 21, 2023
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
Carburettor Plate
January 23, 2023
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
Our Riley Returns
April 25, 2024
Tony recently collected our 1905 Riley 9HP and transported it back to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Now that it is back with us, we can continue getting it ready for its first drive!
Lights And Buckles
March 21, 2024
John has been running the wires of our 1905 Riley 9HP from the front and rear to the batteries. He wired in the switch and the front and rear lights.
Lydia has spent the last few days titivating the Riley before its grand unveiling at the NEC show at the weekend. Mostly, she has been making the last of the buckles and straps needed to secure the spare wheel, and the hood at front and back.
She also made a rubbing patch should the wheel ever come to touch the front mudguard. Lydia also made the leather cover to go from the bottom of the seat to the floor, and this press studs over the rubber mat that has been placed on the floor.
The door cards were also finished and fitted and this meant that the brass strip could be applied to the top.
Riley Seat
March 11, 2024
The backrest of the our 1905 Riley 9HP seat is actually fitted on the body of the car and, as a result, could not be fitted until the vehicle returned from paint. Lydia placed the seat in and began to line up the pleats so that they were straight. She had to stuff the seat with additional coconut fiber to give them extra puffiness and to cover any lumps and bumps in the wooden bodywork. The most difficult part of this was deciding how to get a tidy finish on the front curve of the seat, as she couldn’t staple this to the bodywork.
After Lydia finished stapling the seat to the body, she cut away the excess and then applied piping to the back edge. The raw edges of the fabric will then be covered with a beautiful brass beading that we have bought to replicate the original.
Lydia also made some straps to replicate the original ones, which hold the roof bars at the correct distance apart. The hood has also been made with great care taken to ensure it looks as close to the original as possible.
Various components have been in the paintshop being painted in dtm black.
Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia made an internal door card for the opening door on our 1905 Riley 9HP.
She first made a template from paper to ensure the correct shape, and then she cut this out from card. She then made her own design based on the pinstriping on the paintwork of the vehicle. She will affix this door card to the door when she has finished staining the wood, and the door handle has been altered and fixed on.
An Ultra Rare Roof Frame
February 21, 2024
The roof frame of our 1 of 1 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with technician Mauro.
Mauro painted the brackets in black before also painting the wood.
Riley Roof Frame
February 16, 2024
The roof frame of our 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop with Mauro.
He has been prepping the frame before applying epoxy primer ready for it to be painted black.
Paint Progress
February 8, 2024
We have received the below pictures which show just how much progress Joby Carter is making on our 1905 Riley 9HP.
Time For Paint
January 29, 2024
As the restoration of our 1905 Riley 9HP is moving into its final stages, the time has come for it to be painted.
For this to happen, Tony and Gordon took the car to Joby Carter in Berkshire. This is so this special car can have traditional methods used to bring it fully back to life.
Once it returns to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, our Riley 9HP will look as great as its story.
Bench Seat Back
January 24, 2024
Yesterday, Lydia was preparing the seat backrest that Darin, from Ashbocking Joinery has kindly made for us.
This involved replacing the springs back to their original position and hand sewing them into place. Next came various layers of cotton and horsehair padding, and then working out her fabric allowance with a scrap piece of fabric. This meant that Lydia could then cut the leather.
A 100-Year-Old Seat
January 23, 2024
Lydia has upholstered the base seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP.
She used a 2-inch foam for the base to provide a firm seat so that the driver doesn’t slip out of the seat. She then placed a layer of horse hair on top to give it the correct finished look and feel. This is a tightly woven material which has been needled into hessian sheets.
After this, Lydia cut the face fabric and piping and sewed these together. She used a period-correct paper piping. Then was the border which was made in 2 pieces, and sewed onto the seat face.
Lydia chose to do a border all around so that the seat would have a plump look.
Starting A 119-Year-Old Car
January 5, 2024
Our 1905 Riley 9HP was originally thought to be just 1 of 3 remaining examples. However, the evidence now suggests that it is, in fact, a 1 of 1 prototype of the first car to have fully removable wheels. This is the moment we started the 119-year-old car in the workshop.
Riley 9HP work continues
December 7, 2023
Steve is still working through the few final pieces on the 1905 Riley 9HP restoration. A new final drive chain has been fitted, new fabric body prop, new fabric exhaust has been temporarily fitted to help with routing of coolant pipes.
Body And Running Boards
October 19, 2023
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 them and it already looks like great progress is being made.
A Big Step Forward
September 13, 2023
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.
It’s not quite as easy as simply taking photos and then building our Riley in the same way though, as ours is slightly different to the very small number of others out there. It is strongly believed that we actually have the prototype for the Riley 9HP – the first car ever to have removable wheels. This means that it never looked exactly the same as any of the others produced.
Another challenge the workshop team faces is the age of the car. At more than 100 years old, there aren’t too many people around who saw one of these in their prime or know how they go together. It’s also worth noting that over the last 100 years, it’s highly unlikely that someone hasn’t tinkered with the vehicle in some way, making Steve’s job even harder to work out what is original and what may be a later modification.
That being said, after his trip to the museum, Steve has been hard at work and has made great progress on our Riley project.
He has been trial-fitting various components including the beautiful radiator!
With more photos and a bit more information to hand, hopefully, Steve will continue to make good progress on our very special 1905 Riley 9HP.
A Visit From Riley Expert Geoff Haviland
June 19, 2023
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 or two older than it should have been. It was from his information that it now appears that our 1905 Riley 9HP could very well be a prototype of the very first car to have removable wheels.
The level of knowledge that Geoff has about Riley cars is extraordinarily high. In fact, he was one of the main people involved in a project to build a replica of the first Riley car ever made. What makes this even more impressive is that there was almost no information at all about the original car when the project began but, with a lot of hard work, the replica project got underway.
It was great to have Geoff come and see us and our Riley 9HP. Classic car technician Steve, who has been working on the vehicle, spoke at length to Geoff to help confirm some details he will need to finish our project in the near future.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars would like to thank Geoff for taking the time to visit us and for sharing so much of your knowledge and experience.
A Finished Riley
June 14, 2023
The time has almost come to say goodbye to our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer. After spending some time in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, it is clear to see the transformation that it has gone through.
When it first arrived, the interior needed quite a bit of work to bring it back to its current state. Fortunately, classic car technician Brian has been able to do a fantastic job and masterfully took the almost empty interior and turned it into one that perfectly fits this rare classic hill climber.
As you can see from the photos below, our Riley 9 Tourer has come a long way and we are very excited to see it return to its owner very soon.
Metal Trim
June 12, 2023
Classic car technician Chris recently spent some time out of the fabrication bay and in the main workshop while he fitted the metal trim rail to our 1929 Rilley 9 Tourer.
As this classic hill climber is coming to the end of its time with us, it’s great to see it making good progress toward being returned to its owner very soon.
In addition to Chris’s work on our Riley Tourer, Brian has also completed quite a bit of work too. After finishing the hood and cover, he fitted everything back together. During the process of attaching the new roof, the metal trim bar was removed which is why Chris fitted his to the vehicle.
Brian went on to make the window in the back of the hood cover before cutting it out of plastic and fitting it. The rear squab was then re-installed before the rear base seat when in too.
Stud fasteners were fitted to the hood envelope cover to bring our Riley one step closer to going home.
Riley 9 Tourer Covers
May 31, 2023
Our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer has continued to be in the skilled hands of classic car technician Brian, as he carries on his work on the roof cover and tonneau.
Brian cut out the flaps for the roof bars on the hood cover before he cut out the new sections for the hood envelope cover. After trial fitting the tonneau cover, Brian marked both the front and back covers to show where the zip would need to be sewn in.
The hood envelope then had the sides cut out ready to be sewn, before Brian went on to mark where the fasteners will go on the tonneau cover. Once the steering wheel cover had been trial fitted and marked for sewing, the hood envelope cover and the hood cover were both trial-fitted too. The hood was then clipped to the frame so the side edges could be trimmed straight.
Brian then turned his attention to the interior of our Riley Hillclimber by fitting the rear squab seat brackets and seat.
Holes were drilled in the body of the car for the stud fasteners, and button fasteners were fitted to the cover using a hand tool and punch. The positions of the fasteners were marked before they were attached and the cover flap was fastened to the car.
Once the zip was sewn in place, the front and rear tonneau covers were zipped together and fastened around the car.
A Riley Tonneau
May 24, 2023
Classic car technician Brian has continued his work on our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer.
He first marked out where the front flap goes for the rear tonneau before he made paper patterns for the steering wheel cover. These were then cut out and a vinyl mock-up of the cover was made. Once the steering wheel cover was trial fitted, Brian cut out the front and rear tonneau covers from mohair.
The previously marked-out flap was cut out from mohair, as was the steering wheel cover. Brian then went on to cut a slot in the front tonneau cover for the steering wheel cover.
Roof and Covers
May 15, 2023
After classic car technician Brian had used paper patterns to get accurate sizes for the roof of our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer, he removed these, folded the frame down, and marked the positions for the stud fasteners.
A trial-fit cover was made from vinyl before Brian fitted the webbing straps to the roof bars using screws and rivets. The straps were held in place by glueing the ends of them around the lower bar. Once the fitting of the straps was completed, t