(first posted 2/19/2017) Wandering around beach town Florence, OR. Sunday after eating with my date at Mo’s, which is deservedly famous for its clam chowder, we ran across what I first thought was a nice Mini with a custom grill…then I saw the small trunk in the back.
What the heck is a Riley Elf Mk III? Browsing thru CC yielded little, but Paul posted two years ago that a nice looking Riley Elf was running around Eugene. I may have found it. (You most certainly did. PN)
I never did see the owner, so I couldn’t get any details, shots of the engine bay or a more in-depth story to add here.
I flipped a coin and decided it is a 1966 since it doesn’t have back-up lights which IIRC became mandatory in 1968.
Released in 1961 as more luxurious versions of the BMC Mini, the Riley Elf had longer, slightly finned rear wings and a larger boot that gave the car a more traditional three-box design. Wheelbase of the Elf remained at 2.036 m (6.68 ft), whereas the overall length was increased to 3.27 m (10.7 ft). This resulted in a dry weight of 638 kg (1,407 lb) for the Elf. The front-end treatment, which incorporated Riley’s traditional upright grille design contributed to a less utilitarian appearance.
The car had larger-diameter chrome hubcaps than the Austin and Morris Minis, and additional chrome accents, bumper overriders (which aren’t present on today’s car).
And of course a traditional British wood-veneer dashboard. The steering wheel is not original. The dashboard was the idea of Christopher Milner, the Sales Manager for Riley.
The name “Elf” recalled the Riley Sprite and Imp sports cars, also of the 1930s, (Riley’s first choice of name “Imp” could not be used as Hillman had registered it).The Riley Elf’s body was built at Fisher & Ludlow under their “Fisholow” brandname. Early production Mark I’s had a combination of leather and cloth seats whereas all later models had full leather seats. Mark I models were equipped with single leading shoe brakes on the front.
The Elf used the 848 cc (51.7 cu in) 34 bhp engine with a single SU HS2 carburetor, changing to a single HS2 carburetor 38 bhp version of the Cooper’s 998 cc (60.9 cu in) power unit in the Mark II in 1963. This increased the car’s top speed from 114 to 124 km/h (71 to 77 mph). Therefore, Mark II cars also came with increased braking power in the form of front drum brakes with twin leading shoes to cope with the increased power output.
Both Mark I and Mark II featured four-speed gearboxes (three synchromesh gears) with rod gear change, a.k.a. “magic wand” type. Automatic gearboxes became available on the Mark II in 1965 as an option. The Mark III facelift of 1966 brought wind-up windows and fresh-air fascia vents. Concealed door hinges were introduced two years before these were seen on the mainstream Mini. The gear selecting mechanism was updated to the rod type, as seen on all later Mini type cars. Automatic gearboxes were available to the Mark III in 1967 again. Full-four synchromesh gearing was eventually introduced during 1968. 30,912 Riley Elfs were made before production ceased in late 1969.
Just a few more shots, then we’re done. This is a beautiful restoration, as the paint and chrome work seem to be flawless throughout.
While it might seem a little pretentious, the Elf (and its sister Wolseley Hornet model) did something to address the lack of luggage space on the original Mini. It might be interesting to imagine what an updated booted Mini might have looked like with the Clubman front end and a squarer boot to match.
Lovely restoration!
I agree. The Mini Clubman front worked on the wagon but not on the humpback sedan.
It might’ve had a raised rear bumper and squared-up (fiberglass?) deck lid to minimize the dated “tail fin” look – it would’ve been done on the cheap because BL, and because it would’ve (should’ve) been Plan B after they came to the conclusion that a hatchback wasn’t going to happen.
A company in Britain in the early seventies that produced a fibreglass rear end for Minis just like you suggest. I remember seeing a small ad in the back pages of a magazine.
You basically doubled the luggage room by adding that tiny trunk. Here’s an example:
Eccentric.
Never knew this car existed. I like it better than the mini. Don’t like driving on the “wrong” side so wonder if any were brought to north america. Austin america is a cool car too – like a mini but longer rear window. And left hand drive – nice.
Back-up lamps were federally mandated for model year 1966. You’ll recall that low-end Chevys (Biscaynes, Bel Airs, stripper C-series pickups), for example, often came without them in ’65, but came with them standard in ’66.
Yes, but in the UK? This car was never imported to the US, even in 1966…
We had a 1981 UK market Renault 5 with no reverse light, so they weren’t mandatory here then.
In fact, my car has passed several MOTs with non-functioning reverse lights and I wonder if that’s an oversight or if they are actually not tested – surely they are?
1967 was the first year for them on VWs – that one year only they were separate pods on the bumper irons on Beetles.
Lighting on vehicles imported as classics under the 25-year rule is probably based on what is required to pass inspection in the state it’s registered in.
Um, I thought US FMVSS didn’t became mandate until 1967.
http://tinyurl.com/nhtsa-timeline
Perhaps you were thinking about some states that have their own vehicular operating requirements. California and its emission control regulations that predated EPA, for instance.
Seat belts for the front seat passengers were required starting for MY 1965. Shoulder harnesses and seat belts for all occupants were effective 1/1/1968. More emissions controls were also effective on that date. One of my old bosses purchased his Austin Cooper S on 12/31/67 to beat that date.
Federal law didn’t apply before 1967. Previous standards were a combination of state laws, government purchasing requirements, and industry association agreements.
I’ve never seen a Riley Elf before. I’ve seen pics of them, but I’ve never seen one in person, not even when I was visiting England back in September. I did see some Minis, both the classic Minis and the new Mini.
That is a beautifully restored and whimsically decorated upscale Mini. I am sure that its Mini chassis, big cloth sunroof, and upscale interior make it a great runabout on sunny days like the one where you found and photographed it. I would love to have a car like this one tucked into a corner of my garage, and it probably would fit into a corner.
I’ve always been irrationally fond of these – there was a lot of brand loyalty (and not a little class-consciousness) among Britain’s car buyers way back when, and the Elf and its Wolseley Sprite sibling sold very well (nearly 60,000 examples across both marques) to the older and more traditional buyer. Those that have survived have probably benefited from having been bought and cherished by older drivers. A rare sight away from club meets etc these days, though pleasingly there are some racing examples out there. [photo from Sports Car Digest]
Needless to say, you found the Elf that got away from me. Nice catch, and nice shots.
This car is extremely cute, and one does feel the impulse to just pick it up and take it home. I’ve been familiar with the Elf and Wolsely Hornet since their day, but I don’t think I’d ever seen one in the flesh until I came across this one in Eugene a few years back, without my camera.
BTW, I’m pretty sure this restoration was done at the Sports Car Shop in Eugene.
Wolseley Hornet even…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wolseley_Hornet_Biggleswade.JPG
This car has to have one of the most upright greenhouses ever put into production – but I like it! The upgraded interior and greater trunk space would make this a much more livable runabout than the original Mini. I even like the pseudo-Rolls grill treatment. Great write up on a quirky but lovable car.
Very nice little number!
I lived in the UK for three years and I don’t think I ever saw one of these, they are pretty rare now. When you get down to it, they were also quite superfluous. There was a Wolseley and a Riley version of the same big butt Mini — not necessary. Which is why they (along with Riley) were nixed 40 years before the Mini got the axe. The badges are nice, but that’s all they are, in the end…
That is a beautiful little car, and more power to the owner for actually driving it around. I do wonder about what’s in that bottle stuck in the door pocket, though. Maybe it’s just there for period accuracy. “If hard-living Don Draper owned a Riley Elf….”
Maybe it’s Beefeater Gin?
Seems to be Gilbey’s. Looks like “set dressing” to me, but Issigonis apparently wanted the door pockets to allow ladies to safely transport a pint of milk, so why not “mother’s ruin”?
That line of chrome across the wheel wells and rockers to the bumpers is stunning.
Ah, more BMC badge engineering. Not to take anything away from the car itself, but having so many different badges and dealer networks for essentially the same car.
Speaking of badge engineering, with Opel on the verge of becoming a rebadged Peugeot and Vauxhall about to vanish into the ether, would this be a good time to do a retrospective of GM’s ownership of those two marques?
Opel and Peugeot, the lightning bolt and the lion, how strange. I hadn’t heard, nor had I realized Opel was doing so poorly. Story here.
With GM struggling in Europe, how’s Ford doing?
PS: Wonderful car, I’d never looked at the Riley Mini up close. Thanks for a fine CC.
Perhaps ironically the two top selling car brands in the UK are Ford (who no longer even build complete vehicles in the UK) and Vauxhall with over 20% of the market between them in 2016. Despite this, the top selling British built car (Sunderland factory) was the Nissan Qashquai, a couple of thousand ahead of the Vauxhall Astra (from Ellesmere Port).
Halewood (the former Ford, now Jaguar car factory) is only 7 miles from Ellesmere Port. JLR is doing well. Could the Vauxhall factory be a possible option for them? Maybe even the brand for a smaller than XE car?
Ford is doing quite well, actually, and making pretty healthy profits ($800M IIRC). They’ve obviously done a better job of staying abreast of a changing and very challenging market.
Opel was once the biggest carmaker in Europe. In my opinion, they first slipped when they didn’t have any real competitor to the VW Beetle until 1962 (Kadett). Although they did come back and did well after that. But it’s been a rough ride since the 80s, up and down. One of their problems was that for decades, their CEO was almost always an American sent over from Detroit for a few years as a stepping stone on the headquarters executive ladder. Which means these guys invariably had no real feel for the European market. They treated Opel as a training ground for execs, at their expense. it wasn’t until fairy recently that they finally promoted an Opel exec to CEO. Too late.
The way GM treated Opel for much of its life after they bought it in 1929 was often a Deadly Sin. Now they are doing the right thing by ditching it.
The way GM treated Opel for much of its life after they bought it in 1929 was often a Deadly Sin. Now they are doing the right thing by ditching it.
Not wanting to hijack a BMC thread, there is much to discuss about the impending deal and how the parties got to where they are. There has been some discussion on a couple FB groups I read. Rumor mill says an announcement will come before the Geneva show on March 8, if someone wanted to work up an article for posting about that time.
I’ve been trying to get you to write something for us for ages. here you go… 🙂
+1 ’bout time Steve…
I’ve been trying to get you to write something for us for ages. here you go…
Not a chance! I skulk in the shadows around here. What I know about Opel could be put in a thimble, having had one drive in an Astra H with a bum front suspension and a bad cam phaser, and having ridden in a late 60s Kadette and a GT some 40+ years ago. By the time I researched Opel to the depth I have Studebaker, the cars will all be rebadged Pugs, following Talbot to extinction.
There is weird stuff going on in Russelsheim though. Found an Insignia build film from last year that was shocking in terms of worn, rusty equipment, and people doing work by hand that VW Wolfsburg automated years ago.
You guys write the general story, and I’ll toss in what tidbits I have learned.
Very nice ! .
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A guy I know had one of these he’d imported from New Zealand, he fell upon hard times and was trying to sell it, offered it to me at rock bottom price so I went out to test drive it, three BIG Americans and it scooted right along thanx to it’s Hot Rodded engine, we took it up hills and canyons, it handled very well indeed .
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The back seat was a bit cramped for both my short (32″ inseam) legs and my height of 6′ even but the ride was better than I remembered .
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These make terrific Rally Cars or weekend run abouts .
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-Nate
For a long time, I wondered how those vehicles without white reverse lamps communicate with other drivers when reversing. The answer came when I visited Australia in 1987 and saw a vintage Mini reversing into the parallel parking space.
The rear amber turn signal indicators are simultaneously and continuously illuminated when the driver selected the reverse gear.
Sounds like a wiring fault. They certainly didn’t do that in the UK.
Sounds normal to an Aussie. Many late-sixties and seventies cars without separate reversing lights did this. I think the law changed in ’68; Dad’s ’67 Falcon didn’t have these ‘reversing’ lights, but his friend’s ’68 did.
That’s worse than the American “Why is his taillight blinking?” turn signals 😉
A guy at my boarding school had one of these back in the day it was white and red oxide primer outside and quite rough inside but under the bonnet was a 1275 engine freshly harvested from a written off Austin 1300 he had the obligatory twin SUs and extractors and it went quite well, these cars are becoming rare even in NZ though there was a collection of three for sale online recently, no bids yet again so project grade cars are still not valueable yet.
That fuel filler is not standard, and these usually came with full wheel covers. I had a new (company) BL car in ’75 and it came without reversing lights ( but it was easy to add the lights and the gearbox switch). I was taught that you didn’t reverse if there was traffic coming, so there was no need to “communicate” with other traffic.
It annoys me that so many new 2017 cars come with only one reversing light – real penny-pinching.
Never was a car more appropriately named. Great find and nice piece.
Does that fancy grille make my butt look big?
Nice find. The owner has detailed and styled it into a piece of rolling art.
I saw a nearly identical Elf in Toronto a few years ago. It’s always interesting to come across cars that were never officially sold here but made it over one way or another.
One of my armchair projects is to graft that front end and interior onto a similar vintage Mini Countryman woody to make a Riley Elf Shooting Brake.
This would share garage space with A-series powered Austin 7 hot rod, and a rotary engined Citroen DS.
Having lived in England for 6 months in 1964, and already very much a car buff at age 7, I was quit familiar with the Elf and Hornet. But not having seen or thought of them for decades, this great post prompts the question … was the Mini the first mainstream 2 box car to get a be-trunked (or booted) variation? I always think of the Golf-Jetta as the first to this, followed by the Renault Encore-Alliance (9 and 11) and Honda Civic. Were there others in the ’60’s or ’70’s?
Were there others in the ’60’s or ’70’s?
The Renault R7, a big butt version of the R5, produced in Spain by Renault’s affiliate FASA from 74 to 84.
VW Derby was a Polo with a trunk starting in ’77, so predating the Jetta by several years. Doubly interesting in that the Polo itself was a rebadged Audi 50 but the Audi never got a trunk…
What a charming little car! I knew of them but hadn’t seen a feature on one before. And somehow the added boot looks good on this car despite having been originally designed as a hatch. That stands in stark contrast to many modern cars, which look good as hatches and absurd as sedans (the Ford Fiesta immediately comes to mind).
The Elf had a stablemate, named Wolseley Hornet though it missed out on an update of the original Hornet 6 cylinder OHC engine and made do with a mini powertrain, identical to look at as the Elf only fake radiator shell is different
Maybe I caught them on a bad day, but had a really bad bowl of chowder at the Mo’s in Lincoln City. It was nothing more than half & half with canned clams tossed in. Haven’t been back.
Pretty sad having dinner at the Oregon coast and all the seafood comes from Sysco or Food Services of America in Portland.
Been interested in all things Mini ever since my dad replaced the rusty ’49 Star Chief with a new ’61 Austin 850, as a “station car.” Now, *that* was a time warp.
Cord-pull door handles, sliding windows, bus-size steering wheel, cyclops “instrument panel,” and 2-ft. long magic wand shifter. All for $850, NYC, POE.
Lots of badge-engineerig at BMC/BL, but this Riley, sporting every-day licence plates is a keeper!
We recently got our first ever dog. After bouncing around a few names, we settled on Riley. I didn’t tell my wife it’s the name of a car. Though I prefer to think that our active cute puppy is more Brooklands Riley Nine than a gussied-up Mini Elf.
Never thought about it, but that radiator shell is almost as fake as the ones that came with a new hood that people bought from J.C. Whitney to put on the front of VW bugs. I guess it helps to get air into the engine compartment for the radiator, eventually.
If they hadn’t rounded that trunk but made it flush with the mini-tailfins, they could have doubled-up the trunk space once more.
Weird that this is a considerably more practical car than the Mini, and not bad looking, and BMC was only able to sell 30,000 over its lifetime? This was maybe the car they should have tried to export to America instead of the Mini.
Saw this 1969 Australian example in California in 2014 – makes me wonder if the dash above has been pimped up a little!