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Post by akstsstjs on Oct 26, 2018 13:06:53 GMT
My understanding is that the Riley 1.5 is substantially based on the Morris Minor mechanicals? As the Morris Minor parts are more widely and easily available, I am wondering which, if any mechanical parts are compatible with the Riley 1.5? Any information is much appreciated.
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Post by canuck on Oct 28, 2018 18:14:29 GMT
1) My understanding is that the Riley 1.5 is substantially based on the Morris Minor mechanicals? 2) As the Morris Minor parts are more widely and easily available, I am wondering which, if any mechanical parts are compatible with the Riley 1.5? Any information is much appreciated. Our Riley was designed as a replacement for the MM. The parts bin was raided of course as was SOP of BMC. 1) The Riley shares some suspension bits with the MM. For example the front swivel pin, trunnions and hub is shared whilst the brake assemblies are different & greatly improved versus those of the MM. The MM torsion bars are compatible but not the same. The rear axle is the same, rear end ratio different but again the rear brakes different and greatly improved. The scary 3" wide road wheels are MM same. The electrics are era Lucas compatible. The engine & transmission are much different than that of the MM. Being a 1.5 litre engine, (MM .900 litre) these are more MGA & Magnette compatible. Bigger engine dictates larger diameter exhaust system. The body work, glass, rubber seals etc. is pretty much Riley specific. Curiously the exterior door handles are same as those fitted to MGB. 2) The Riley Motor Club can guide you and most probably provide spares.
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Post by akstsstjs on Oct 28, 2018 19:47:54 GMT
Cheers!
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tjt77
Junior Member
Posts: 68
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Post by tjt77 on Nov 9, 2018 23:55:20 GMT
I'll chime in :- many people seem to think that the riley 1.5 has same chassis and floor pan as the Minor.. it does NOT.. it does however use many of the same suspension components and the front chassis rails are similar and can be adapted from morris replalcements .. and same axle case is used as the post '62 minor..same rear springs as the minor 'traveller'.. plus all the rubber bushings on supension are same..and shock absorbers same dimensionally and interchange, but the riley has different (stronger) valving. the front uprights on the riley are basically Morris heavy duty 'LCV' items.. but the hole for the steering knuckle is in the upper position on the riley.. later replacements were NOT machined for both positions.. only the lower one ..so the cannot be used on the riley unless machined out ( tricky as its a tapered hole with a keyway) the riley has bigger brakes front and rear.. and stronger torsion bars ( 8 cwt morris LCV times) ..same wheels ..same steering column and steering wheel .. but steering rack is different ( the minor one is mounted via 2 round rubber doughnuts.. the riley via 4 bolts) the riley body shell was shared with :- wolseley 1500 in Uk.and Austin lancer in Aus.. then slightly modified for the morris major and again for the later 'finned' Morris major. although all of those use same basic floor pan. basically. like the 'Nash Metropolitan" ( austin metroploitan in uk) like the riley 1.5 used a similar concept :- mix of BMC A series parts for chassis and rolling gear.. and B series for engine and gearbox,, which gave above standard performance 'back in the day' but one can vastly improve performance and overall balance in a Riley 1.5 by swapping the powertrain from a post '66 austin healey sprite or MG midget ( 1275cc) ..later version of the 1275 in 'A plus' format put out quite a bit more power then the riley 1500cc B series and are much more lively overall .. with a weight saving of over 130lbs.. furthermore this engine can be increased in capacity to approx 1430cc.. just 59ccs short of the original.. also..the riley 1.5 uses as 3.7 ratio diff .. the post '75 MG midget with 1500cc triumph engine uses the same ratio diff.. but its not a common ratio in other; BMC A series cars.. the Ausssie variants used the same 4.2ratio as in the post '62 morris minors.. whilst the post 68 Midget/sprite used the 3.9.. it was 4.2 before that.. starting in '58 with the 'bug eye.. most tuners of the riley 1.5 'back in the day. swapped the diff out for a 4.2 to give better acceleration..
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Post by akstsstjs on Nov 10, 2018 10:40:40 GMT
Very interesting & informative. Thanks for chiming in.
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