Riley RMD
Bob Stear had a dream, but it took almost a decade of graft to turn it into a reality.
The culmination of ten years of graft, finished in time to star at a family wedding.
We were in Hay-onWye, with the Riley club,” recalls Bob Stear, looking back on the discovery of his Riley RMD drophead. “We dropped everything and hurried down to Poole to see it – they come up so rarely, especially in the condition that fitted with my budget. We’ve owned and enjoyed a Riley RMB saloon since 1995, but everyone knew I really wanted a drophead.” The car Bob and his wife Katrena went to look at was rough, but he was undeterred: “I’d fallen in love with the RMD, so I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity to have one for myself. Plus, it was cheap.”
Bob purchased the car on 2 May 2004, taking it back to the family home in Bristol to begin the restoration. Working out exactly what he’d bought wasn’t easy, however. “There were so many random boxes of parts, it was difficult to know what was what. So we invited some fellow Riley enthusiasts and club members over for a ‘Name That Part’ party, and managed to work out what almost everything was.” Once the car was stripped down, Bob and son Kit won a prize for Best Restoration Display at the 2006 Bristol Restoration Show. “We were rubbing down the chassis at that point; I was still addressing the ancillary parts at home, ready for refurbishment later.”
Everything had been stored in the pit of the owner's garage, which flooded each winter…
Getting stuck into the restoration proper, Bob soon ran into some major issues. “The previous owner had tried to repair the car by grafting on a completely different rear end.” Initial efforts to repair the damage came to nothing; eventually there was nothing for it but to start from scratch, so a new rear panel and swage line had to be made. The patchwork welding holding the rear panels together was bad enough, but more sinister problems were hiding underneath. “Struggling to get the body and chassis to line up correctly, he’d chopped the body mounts and re-welded them further back,” remembers Bob, “meaning the rear wheels were rubbing on the wheelarches. It took me ages to sort that out properly.” The floorpan was also terminally rusty, so Bob made up a replacement himself.
He can’t pinpoint the most difficult part of the restoration, “although trying to correct the misalignment of the body caused me most anguish, largely because there is no manual to refer to. Luckily there are two RMDs within a few miles of me that I could refer to ‘in the flesh’ so to speak, as well as photographs taken during Rod Sterland’s RMD restoration.”
It didn’t get any easier when Bob switched attention to the oily bits. “Everything had been removed from the car and stored in whatever came to hand – cardboard boxes, flower pots, you name it, then left in the pit of the previous owner's garage, which flooded each winter! Everything was badly corroded as a result, including the engine and suspension. I had to rebuild the lot.” The crankshaft was reground, with rebored liners and pistons being installed in the 2.5-litre ‘Big Four’ engine. The pile of parts included with the car didn’t include a distributor, however. So Bob bought one, advertised as being for a Riley, although the car just wouldn’t run right with it fitted. “It turned out to be an SS or early Jaguar item,” chuckles Bob, “the bob weights and shape of the cam were completely different. Luckily I found a correct version, which got the engine running more smoothly.”
Come 2010, the metalwork was complete, meaning it was finally
time for some paint. Bob sprayed the car himself at home, rigging up a makeshift booth under the carport next to the house. “We went through several colour choices before deciding on a modern Midnight Blue hue, supplied by KGC Bristol. It took multiple coats to build up the depth of shine that I was after, but the effort was worth it. My friend Norman Bright also did sterling work helping me to flat it all back and polish it up.”
Fast forward to May 2012 and, although good progress had been made, there was still plenty of work to be done. Then Bob and his wife Katrena received some happy news. “Our daughter Caroline got engaged to her partner Leon,
Overheating issues were traced to cracked overflow pipe. and told us she’d love to use the RMD as her wedding car,” recalls Bob. So with the date of the ceremony set for September 2013, the challenge was on!”
Efforts ramped up a gear then. “The wiring harness was none existent, so I got a new one from Autosparks. Fitting it under the dash was a pain!” The steering wheel was treated to fifteen coats of varnish, giving it a lustrous shine. The interior furnishings and hood frame were also in a bad way. “None of the interior coverings
were salvageable,” remembers Bob, “it all had to be remade from scratch. Once the frame was ready to receive a new covering, the hood itself was a challenge taken on by Chris at Equinox Custom Interiors in Keynsham. “Chris did a great job,” acknowledges Bob, “and the final result is a beautiful, attractive and tight-fitting hood.”
The rear courtesy lights also proved troublesome to source, recalls Bob: “The only other car they were fitted to is the Austin Sheerline, and I’d been searching for a pair for ten years. Eventually I found a set on eBay for £36. They were pretty rough and needed a bit of work to bring them up to scratch, but at least I had some. You’d probably pay close to £200 for a good pair nowadays.”
Despite a few last-minute hiccups, including some issues with overheating, Bob met the family deadline and the RMD successfully served as Caroline’s wedding car on 6 September 2013. The overheating problems were eventually traced to a split overflow hose from the radiator. “The system wasn’t pressurizing properly before, but I’ve repaired the hose and everything is fine now. I’m still running the engine in and will need to change the oil and adjust the tappets soon. The carpets also need replacing, there’s still some trimming to complete, some brightwork to make and have plated and some final fettling of the windows, but it's really not far from being completely finished. Other than that, I’m just enjoying driving the car that I fell in love with fifteen years ago, along with taking care of the ongoing improvements needed to keep any old car fit for purpose.”
The steering wheel was treated to fifteen coats of varnish, giving it a lustrous shine