The Oily Rag - British Saloon Car Club

The Mechanics, Toronto, ON, 416-233-4787, www.themechanics.ca or www.britishclassiccars.com
(owned by Tony Moon one of our members) Minis at the second website
The New England Classic Car Company Stratford, CT 203-377-6746 www.newenglandclassics.com
Lot of sports cars: Bugeyes, Minis, MGs, Lotus, Morgans, Triumph, etc Over 100 for sale when I looked.
Steve’s British Connection, Sandwich, IL 630-553-9023 http://www.stevesbritishconnection.com/
- 1951 MG TD, 1964 AH 3000, 1965 MGB, 1965 TR4. Stock changes frequently.
If you know of any British cars, parts or literature that need new homes contact:
Square Deal Jeff Fenwick at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx
(adapted from an article for The New England MG T Register..."My
Other Car is 1959 Riley 1.5")
Now here is a neat little car that even the most ardent MG
enthusiast can get their arms around. Not to be confused with the
early 50's 1 1/2 litre Rileys. the 1.5 or One Point Five was first
produced by BMC in 1957 and went through various minor
changes until production ceased in 1965.
Based on the Morris Minor chassis, the first 150 1.5's came off the
line in Abingdon before production was moved to Longbridge.
These first models came with fold down rear seats and are quite
rare.
The Riley 1.5
The car featured a 1500 engine in an MGA state of tune with twin
1 1/2 SU carbs, rack and pinion steering, a walnut dash with
complete instrumentation and a 4 speed gearbox with a sensible
3.73:1 final drive ratio. The front torsion bar suspension is the
same as the Minor with lever shocks on the front and rear. The
Wolseley 1500 is the detuned version of the Riley. Les Leston was an early enthusiaist on the racing scene with his 1.5 winning the
1959 British Saloon Car Championship in his class.
This particular example was found via the wonders of the internet. I was e-mailing a chap in California about MG Magnetts in
1999 when I casually mentioned that my real interest was a 1.5. He in turn said that his neighbor had one in his garage and
it was for sale! I had the owner take some photos of the car and I wound up buying and shipping it from Livermore to here
in Northport. I never actually saw it up close until it arrived safe and sound in my driveway.
Over the last three years I've redone the front and rear suspension, added tube shocks and new springs on the rear, had
University Motors in Michigan attend to the rack, rebuilt the gearbox, installed a 1622 engine (with an alternator) and I'm
currently wrestling with the tire situation. It takes 155 x 14s which are not available over here so I'm experimenting with 165
x 14s. They need and ever so slight mod to the front or else they will rub on full lock.
This has been a wonderful little friend. She's made the trip from here up to Lime Rock, CT a number of times as well as
shows alll over the tri state area. An interesting side story to this article happened last summer. I was driving to a meet on
the South Shore of Long Island with some friends in their Corvettes. They let me take the lead as they thought I might lag
behind. After beating them to the show, they bitterly complained that I was going way to fast for their cars...80 MPH...and
that they had to "baby" their V8s because their cars were getting to old for this sort of thing.
All in all, a marvelous motor.
Tim Gladding
Northport, NY 1959 Riley 1.5, 1953 MGTD MK 2 email xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx