If you’d seen Doug and Jenny Andrews’ 1950 Riley 2.5-litre Drophead Coupe now and on the day they bought it, you probably wouldn’t believe you were looking at the same car.
Built somewhere between late 1949 and early 1951, Mr Andrews said the Drophead was always a dream car.
“When it came up, I had to have it,” he said.
While every panel looked to have succumbed to an irretrievable rusty fate, Mr Andrews could see the potential when he bought ‘Victor’ in June 1984.
“The body was extensively rebuilt in our possession,” Mr Andrews said.
“When purchased, there were no timber components in the body rear of the A posts.
“All the timber had been replaced with angle iron.
“This was all corrected using Australian hardwood.”
The Drophead is composite built. Steel panels are fixed to timber framing and mounted on the chassis.
Much of the hood mechanism was missing and was rebuilt using original cars as references.
Mr Andrews, who spent seven years as the president of Australia’s Riley club, said there were only 10 to 12 of his model Riley in Victoria and “maybe five on the road”.
Australia-wide, it is estimated there are 600 various Riley models.
He said the Riley family who owned the Riley Motor Company that was established in 1899 had a very interesting and successful sporting history.
“Its six-cylinder engine was used as the basis of the very successful ERA racing cars in the 1930s, which evolved to BRM post-World War II,” he said.
Apparently, the company’s resources and capital were strained by the Riley brothers’ personal ambitions, resulting in a huge array of body and engine combinations, as well as a foray into the V8 luxury car market.
William Morris bought the company when it collapsed in 1938 and it became part of Morris Motors.
Rileys maintained some independence under Morris until the mid-1950s, with production shifted from Coventry to the MG factory in 1949, but from the late ’50s they became ‘badge engineered’ versions of Morris cars together with MG and Wolesley cars until the name was eventually dropped in the late ’60s.
Mr Andrews says his Drophead must have been registered in another state before being registered in Victoria in 1958.
“The car was not sold originally in Victoria as it did not have the external tail-light switch peculiar to Victorian rules,” he said.
It had three owners in Victoria before being written off after an accident in May 1960, but was rescued from the wreckers by a club member in 1960 and sold.
Mr Andrews said there was no further history of his car between then and when he purchased it in 1984.
Featuring a twin camshaft engine, Hemi head and twin carburettors, Mr Andrews said his Drophead, which is number 286 of 501 built, sat comfortably on the road at 100km/h, but had a top speed of just under 160km/h.
He loves to travel in the immaculately restored machine and has driven it as far and wide as Port Augusta in South Australia, Merimbula on NSW’s Sapphire Coast and to the birthplace of Australia’s favourite rum in Queensland.
“The car has travelled widely in club rallies, mounting up some 56,000 miles since it hit the road again in 2001,” Mr Andrews said.
“More recently, it drove up to participate in the National Rally at Bundaberg in May 2024.”
On the recent Melbourne Cup weekend in November in Victoria, Mr Andrews drove the Drophead more than 1000km during a club event at Horsham.
And everywhere Doug and Jenny venture, their little backseat passenger, a goggled teddy bear wearing a scarf and jacket, joins them for the ride.