Hello 'Billy Bigtime'......Nigel....That dashboard on the No40 Riley, has got to be one of the most beautiful and interesting you will ever see. Even better than a Speed 6 Bentley! Done by a real craftsman.
You remember in Yards and Yarns, I was recalling some of the exploits that we got up to at Lincoln College in 1959. Well the Chrysler 77 that we used to zoom about in, is on this page....post 165. And as there are only 2 or 3 77's in NZ, this COULD be the actual one. Ours didn't have a hood, raincoats when it was raining, and I do remember it had rather a prodigious thirst, for what was then 82 octane fuel. It looks as though it could do 100mph doesn't it, well we regularly had it sitting on 70, and she sounded just gorgeous.
If the present owner is reading this, check out the ownership papers and see if a Monty Montieth is on there, if so, she's the one!!!
[original story...Yards and Yarns..page 5...post86.]
I agree and I see a jaguar gear box lurking in there as well. Is the car on the next shot an Ansaldo? I had a 6C Ansaldo as my second car and magnificent it was too. The one in the shot is not the same could it be a later model or, fantastic if it was, an 8 cylinder model.
Hadn't noticed that Dave. It was the most beautifully built machine, and the attention to detail just incredible......just like the 'Blue Car'. Just at a glance I thought the next shot was a Sunbeam, but you could be right. We had an OM at Lincoln. A very sporty little 4 cylinder Italian tourer. Smaller than an Ansaldo, centre lock wires, and for a vintage 4 cylinder, it could go like the clappers. Unlike the Chrysler 77, it did have a hood, of sorts, but no side screens. God, if we only had these things today, we would be rich!!
Dale Yes it may fit in our pre1960 group but the rear wheels may be a bit wide for our regs. A race prepared Zephyr running through a MGTD gearbox is a bit of a worry. Says a lot for the old MG.
Graeme
Have you noticed how there are always 'puddles' under parked English cars. Puddles of oil, puddles of water, puddles of differential-fluid. But as they say....if there is no puddle, she's run out of liquid!!.... Aren't B & W shots great. They add another dimension to a picture. I think you notice shadows more, and the curvature of a body always stands out better than in a coloured shot. Great stuff 'billy bigtime'. Talking of leaking fluid......'you gotta fix the nut behind the wheel, before you start fixing the bolts on the car'.