Post by guy on Aug 6, 2022 19:11:42 GMT
Hello All,
I’m new to both the forum and the Riley marque and thought it best to sign-up here and ask some genuine questions, in the hope of receiving some honest, straight-talking, genuine reply’s please…
I’m completely new to the world of Pre-War Riley cars, but I’ve grown-up, living & breathing Pre-War cars in general since I was a little-boy, ‘helping’ my dad restore them as an eager 6 or 7yr-old…🫣 something my twin boys have followed suit with as they’ve grown too! 😎
Indeed, I can remember in-around 1979/80, as a then 10/11yr-old, going with my dad to ‘unearth’ and buy, a fabric-bodied 1929 Monaco, which had been stored in a garage in North London (Edgware/ the Edgware Road area seems to ring a bell?) since the war - we had to quite literally cut down a mid-sized tree to get the doors of the garage open, before dad could pull out the Riley, covered in dust & cobwebs, flat tyres and stuck-on brakes, with his Range Rover!
For some reason that old Monaco has always stuck in my mind and I think now having a (slightly later) Monaco is something I’d really like to do!
I’m probably going to look-out for a ‘32-‘34 Monaco…and, in an ideal world, it’ll be a Plus-Ultra (?) BUT, what I’d like to know is GENUINELY, not only the obvious what the cars are like to own & drive, but also what is the club & spares-scene like too please?
I ask, as I’ve owned a couple of quality pre-war cars in the last 10yrs or so, that I’ve always ‘admired’ and fancied and then been out and bought - but which have unfortunately been badly let down by their respective Owners Clubs…which has really spoilt the ownership experience for me…😢
Now, although I wouldn’t normally do so, I’ll name one club and give you guys/ gals an example of the type of ‘thing’ that happened…
I bought a beautiful 1938 Lanchester LA-14/2 ‘RoadRider-Deluxe’ in glorious condition and duly joined the Daimler & Lanchester O.C. going along to a couple of O.C. ‘Social’ meetings…I was 43yrs-old at the time and took my then 8yr-old boys along with me to admire any other cars that turned-up…
On the first occasion - after being basically cold-shouldered for the first 30-mins outside in the car-park, I made a point of introducing myself and the boys and was then asked to sit with the others and ‘listen-in’…
The next attempt, a couple of months later, saw me being all-but interrogated (& not in a pleasant way either!) as to why a person of my (presumably to them, younger) age should own such a car and what my ‘intentions’ were for it…they even asked me why I’d brought my boys along on my previous visit, as the meeting obviously wasn’t intended for children! 😵💫…
Let’s just say I didn’t bother making a third visit…and my desire to ask some harder-sounding questions here, before I hand-over some of my hard-earned cash on a nice Riley Monaco!
So, basically - What’s the Riley Monaco ‘world’ really like please?
Is the club active?…do people actually bother attending the local-area meetings?…are people chatty & friendly or are they a bit ‘cliquey/ snobbish?…Can you buy/ are spares reasonably available?
I ask, as the pre-war car I buy next, is a car I seriously intend to keep ‘long-term…I want a car that I can genuinely enjoy - both the driving of and the ownership and social side of, too - something which has been seriously lacking in certainly one, possibly two of the last three old cars I’ve owned!
Sorry for the lengthy read…
Kindest Regards and Many Thanks In Advance…
Guy.
I’m new to both the forum and the Riley marque and thought it best to sign-up here and ask some genuine questions, in the hope of receiving some honest, straight-talking, genuine reply’s please…
I’m completely new to the world of Pre-War Riley cars, but I’ve grown-up, living & breathing Pre-War cars in general since I was a little-boy, ‘helping’ my dad restore them as an eager 6 or 7yr-old…🫣 something my twin boys have followed suit with as they’ve grown too! 😎
Indeed, I can remember in-around 1979/80, as a then 10/11yr-old, going with my dad to ‘unearth’ and buy, a fabric-bodied 1929 Monaco, which had been stored in a garage in North London (Edgware/ the Edgware Road area seems to ring a bell?) since the war - we had to quite literally cut down a mid-sized tree to get the doors of the garage open, before dad could pull out the Riley, covered in dust & cobwebs, flat tyres and stuck-on brakes, with his Range Rover!
For some reason that old Monaco has always stuck in my mind and I think now having a (slightly later) Monaco is something I’d really like to do!
I’m probably going to look-out for a ‘32-‘34 Monaco…and, in an ideal world, it’ll be a Plus-Ultra (?) BUT, what I’d like to know is GENUINELY, not only the obvious what the cars are like to own & drive, but also what is the club & spares-scene like too please?
I ask, as I’ve owned a couple of quality pre-war cars in the last 10yrs or so, that I’ve always ‘admired’ and fancied and then been out and bought - but which have unfortunately been badly let down by their respective Owners Clubs…which has really spoilt the ownership experience for me…😢
Now, although I wouldn’t normally do so, I’ll name one club and give you guys/ gals an example of the type of ‘thing’ that happened…
I bought a beautiful 1938 Lanchester LA-14/2 ‘RoadRider-Deluxe’ in glorious condition and duly joined the Daimler & Lanchester O.C. going along to a couple of O.C. ‘Social’ meetings…I was 43yrs-old at the time and took my then 8yr-old boys along with me to admire any other cars that turned-up…
On the first occasion - after being basically cold-shouldered for the first 30-mins outside in the car-park, I made a point of introducing myself and the boys and was then asked to sit with the others and ‘listen-in’…
The next attempt, a couple of months later, saw me being all-but interrogated (& not in a pleasant way either!) as to why a person of my (presumably to them, younger) age should own such a car and what my ‘intentions’ were for it…they even asked me why I’d brought my boys along on my previous visit, as the meeting obviously wasn’t intended for children! 😵💫…
Let’s just say I didn’t bother making a third visit…and my desire to ask some harder-sounding questions here, before I hand-over some of my hard-earned cash on a nice Riley Monaco!
So, basically - What’s the Riley Monaco ‘world’ really like please?
Is the club active?…do people actually bother attending the local-area meetings?…are people chatty & friendly or are they a bit ‘cliquey/ snobbish?…Can you buy/ are spares reasonably available?
I ask, as the pre-war car I buy next, is a car I seriously intend to keep ‘long-term…I want a car that I can genuinely enjoy - both the driving of and the ownership and social side of, too - something which has been seriously lacking in certainly one, possibly two of the last three old cars I’ve owned!
Sorry for the lengthy read…
Kindest Regards and Many Thanks In Advance…
Guy.