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Welcome to all Riley RM aficionados!
This site is all about the restoration of a 1950 Riley RMD Drophead
Coupe (to give it its full title).
About The Riley RMD
In case you've stumbled on this site and haven't the
faintest idea what a Riley RMD is, here's a potted history... (courtesy of Wiki...)
The Riley RM Series was the last Automobile series developed independently by Riley. RM
vehicles were produced from 1945, after the Second World War, through to the
1952 merger of the Riley's Nuffield Organisation with Austin to form BMC. They were originally made in Coventry, but in 1949 production moved
to the MG works at Abingdon.
There were three types of RM vehicles produced. The RMA was a large
saloon, and was replaced by the RME. The RMB was an even larger car, and
was replaced by the RMF. The RMC and RMD were limited-production roadsters.
All of the RM vehicles featured the pre-war Riley designed 1.5 L
(1496 cc) 12 hp (RAC Rating) or 16 hp (RAC Rating) 2.5 L "Big Four"
straight-4 engines with twin camshafts mounted high at the sides of the
cylinder block and hemispherical combustion chambers.
More information here.
About This RMD (AXM)
This car was built in Abingdon
in 1950, one of only 500 production cars (and 5 prototypes). The car was
given the chassis number 60D7138 (the number 60 less 10 indicates the year
in which it was built - 1950, 'D' for drophead coupe, and the sequential
number), the body number A50340 and the engine number 5670. As a Left Hand Drive vehicle it was destined for export, and found its way to the USA. Early years history in USA
is vague, but it
looks as though it was registered first in California. Sometime around the
early '60s it was added to the large motor vehicle collection of one Henry
Ricci, who lived near Seattle, and given a Washington State registration of AXM 149.
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About This Project
According to the previous
owner to me, in 1968 the car developed a 'fault', was garaged and the engine
partly taken apart, and then forgotten. Come 1999 and the estate of
the now sadly departed Henry Ricci is being dissolved. Many cars have to go.
The previous owner had struck up a friendship with Henry, and when he heard of
the disposal sale he made sure he purchased AXM 149, to save it from the
street hot rod conversion he feared would be inflicted on it. Originally
intending to restore the car, but never having time to do so, previous owner
found that in 2011 it was time for the car to be moved on.
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From this:
to something like this:
in HOW many days??
92 days so
far...
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Click
here to see the car.
Links
If you're seriously interested
in Riley RMs you should be a member of the
Riley RM Club.
Want to see how a real RM
restoration works? Prepare to be amazed
here.
Not to be outdone here's a
UK
restoration.
Need
specialist RM help? |
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