Jet10k

Well at last ive all but finished finished the restoration:-D:-D:-D - see posts in Sept 2015- just need to get her dirty now!

OK - some pics to date but not necessarily in the right order!! . These show the vehicle as found which looks in much better condition than it was as pics tend to do!! By example rear wings shown before with lots of tinworm and after repair. The fronts were the same. Rear three quarter body panels also needed repairs all around the wheel arches as pic shows. After blasting chassis found to be in excellent condition as was the ash framework. All the running gear though was another story with everything worn and needing full refurbishment/replacement. Pic shows chassis after refurb of all pins/bushes/ springs/ axle with new seals,bearings, brakes etc etc. The rear footwell was remade as was beyond saving. Engine and gearbox fully stripped and rebuilt - crank found to be cracked and block frost damaged, rebored/new Pistons/rocker shafts/oil seals etc etc etc ££££££'s etc etc etc . pic show rebuilt units fitted with a sourced correct BTH magneto that was missing. Final pic shows repaired scuttle ready for primer. Next job - final fettling and fitting of all wings.

Thanks for the welcomes see the thread started by Neils on 14/01/2013 -titled Rare 1931 War Department Riley Nine on which I have posted some details.link is Chttp://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?36355-Rare-1931-War-Department-Riley-Nine if this link doesn't work see PRE WW2 Vehicles section.

Neils - car is still in a state of build and not very picturesque at the moment, will post pics when "coming together " a bit more. Wally - is there an online link to view the report? Or do you know where I can get a copy from? Nearly four hours downtime for mechanicals between four vehicles over that distance in those conditions isounds really exceptional to me for the time period.

hello Runflat having become the owner of a War Dept Riley 9 some 16 months ago and which I am in the process of totally restoring I can confirm that these are now very rare with 4 known to survive - the Bonhams car mentioned above that has been messed with as you described, although the rear body is still unoriginal as the rear body on the WD was unlike the standard tourer; and three as original as can be cars - one in S.Africa, one in Herefordshire ( the one you refer to above on the Riley Registers site) and mine which is Cheshire based. The WD model resulted from a requirement for the War Dept for a rough terrain vehicle ( was this the first purpose built off roader?) that could do overseas expeditions as well as use as a staff car and as a result its specification uprated appropriately to include a strengthened chassis; uprated leaf springs; 21" wheels (31" diameter including tyres) - to provide increased ground clearance; a lower differential ratio of 6.75.1 ; larger long distance fuel tank of different design; all steel body of different rear design to a standard tourer which had fabric covered bodies and differing hood arrangement with a roll up rear window to provide better air flow thro' in hot climes. The War Dept ordered 77 under contracts during 1931/32 but the factory also offered the "Army" model to the public in 1931 -still only in Army Green - although it appears not to have been popular as due to the different spec it was £310 as opposed to the standard tourers £285, and was dropped from the catalogue in '32. The car was clearly a rough terrain success having been used to cross cross the African continent including the Sahara, taken the Jo' burgh- Capetown (961 miles) record in '32 and used in many other expeditions and rallies including a 7th place in the Monte Carlo Rally of 1934. If you have any further info on these cars I would be pleased to know more.

found this site doing a little research on a 1931 War Dept Riley Nine that I became the owner of about 15 months ago and have been restoring for the last 12 months.the Riley factory supplied 77 of these to the War Dept under contracts during 1931/32 for use both in this country and ostensibly to use for overseas expeditions. The vehicles supplied were to a differing specification to the standard tourers produced for the public being "upgraded" for use over rugged terrain. Would be interested in any details anyone has.