"Ruby" the Riley
Her new life from 1 Dec 2019 - Rick & Joan Fletcher

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UPDATED:     22 August 2021


This where we left it on the last page.
Glad to say that the steering wheel is back and I'm very pleased with it. Steve Gallagher at United Motor Trimmers, Goulburn NSW did a great job of hand stitching the rim in leather. 02 4822 5022
On the way to Goulburn I called in to see John's RMB 2.5 L Riley and was able to take some photos and discuss restoration with him.
This is John's lovely Riley in this set of 4 photos.

A project dear to my heart is the installation of a safety cut out switch.
This can save you watching your car go up in flames after a wiring fault which can happen in seconds. Fits into the battery earth lead.

A recent addition is rear shock aborbers from Pedders. Spare parts man Paul gave the part number (8038). Also fit a Valiant apparently.
The only problem I had was fitting the bushes in the eyes. They are no longer provided as 2 separate tapered rubber bushes. The Pedder's tech guys checked out the best solution which was to push out the existing one-piece bush and cut it in half. (necessary because the mounting pins face in opposite directions).Thanks Pedders.
Most lights are undergoing change to LED bulbs.
The headlights fitted are P700s with original bulb bases P22d
The 2 fog lights are Lucas 4" 4G2 Foglamps with P22s bulbs. These will be daytime running lights
UPDATE: P700 tripod lights are NOT suited to LED so Halogen or conventional bulbs must be fitted.

This is the park/turn signal light on the top of the front mudguards fitted with a Bay15d 15mm staggered pin bayonet bulb.
TRAFFICATORS
I extracted the n/s housing just behind the rear door as shown below.

These are the major parts and I found the basic solenoid function still operated the arm. Unfortunately the Semaphore arm is broken as shown. I will repair it and look for some replacements.

I decided to repair the arm by pinning the pieces together using a steel pin drilled into both parts and reinforced with 2 part epoxy. It has asted 3 years so far. The solenoid part was very dirty but the coil was intact (tested with with a multimeter). A small amount of light lubrication was used.

Try Ebay: search for:
Self flashing 36mm slimline amber 2 sided semaphore
trafficator leds.

or CONTACT:
Classic Car LEDs on 0800 246 5678 (UK)

Postal Only address -
CCL, Box 53, Tenbury Wells WR15 8QP, United Kingdom

This should be a direct replacement for the old ones.

This will improve the operation of these historical items.

 


I used two 12v LED Bullet Tail Lights from:
Classic and Vintage Bulbs - Anthony Pearson
82 Cumming St Blackwood SA 0401 123 316

$90 pair +P

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The bracket is a piece of aluminium angle, polished on a buff.

The old wiring loom is past its best days. Some recognisable TR2 bits.
CORONA VIRUS!
I haven't got it but like many others, I had some mild flu like symptoms. OK now and able to get on with work on Ruby.
One "Corona" project was to assemble my BSF dies and taps into a rack so I can easily find the ones I want to clean up or cut threads. Where possible I am using original bolts and nuts.
Most of the wiring has now been removed from the front half of the car and it was clearly the best procedure as I can now clean up the engine bay and give it a new coat of paint.

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