The Riley Motor Club...Christmas 2 Another Dogs’ Day Out -Christmas in the Park People circle and rock circle at Felixstow. Chrisine and Mark Hayes, Bev Wilson, Pam Loxton, David

The electronic Crank

2020 Christmas Edition Dec 2020 / Jan 2021

The Riley Motor Club

The Riley Motor Club of SA e.Crank - December 2020/January 2021 Page 2

An RM Drophead and Sedan at Kingston on Murray on a “Riverland Weekend” in 2004. Sadly, the totally-original RMB went interstate but Liz Pike and John Henderson now have the Droppy. It was owned from new by Bruce Catt who died in 2011. Before long, it’ll be back on the road again. Photo by Leigh Johnson


President’s Update

With less than a week to Christmas & 2 weeks to the new year we can say good-bye & good riddance to 2020.

Well, what a year 2020 has been. We have been through so many different situations. From being restricted in where we can go, who we can see, what we can buy (limited quantities) and continuous changes with the Governments health restrictions. Hopefully, we have reached a point in-time where we can get back to normality be it a new Covid normality. I think you would have to agree that life as we knew it will be forever changed.

You know the old saying “teaching an old dog new tricks” well we have had to learn some new tricks this year. Zoom meetings, the AGM done by email and “on-line” all sorts of things.

With 2021 fast approaching we can look forward to getting back together again for club meetings and car runs. As you will be aware the All British Day as been postponed for next year. This is one of our biggest car turnout days. So, with this in mind I’d like to have a couple of people step up and arrange a special day out for us. It can be whatever you’d like to plan. If you are interested, please let me know before the end of the year. If I don’t hear from anyone, you will have to put up with what I arrange.

Shannons haven’t opened they doors yet, if and when they do is anyone’s guess. We will be holding our first meeting for the year on Thursday February 25th. Hopefully at Shannons, if not at Sue Murphy’s home. All depending on Covid-19 restrictions that will be in place by then.

This brings me to the next AGM. This is the time to get involved with the club. All positions on the committee are declared vacant and are therefore up for grabs by you. Without people on the committee (filling all the positions) is puts a lot of work onto to those that are there. So please consider becoming a part for the committee and help guide the club forward.

May 10 -16 is the National rally. Being hosted by the NSW club in Broken Hill. They have had an extra year to fine turn this event so it will be a great week of Rileying. Put in your calendar of must do’s for 2021.

Keep safe, stay healthy & well. Get them Rileys on the road that’s what they were made for.

A Merry Christmas & a Happy New to you all.

Mark

2020

Our last event was…... December 13 The Christmas Picnic.

2021 February All British Day is cancelled

May The postponed National Rally, Broken Hill. Maybe

2023 Breaking News. The National Rally in Tasmania. 10 days of Touring

Events

Membership Renewal

If you have a vehicle or vehicles on conditional registration you will need to have paid & had your log book endorsed by one of the club’s authorised persons before you drive your vehicle in 2021.


Ruby at the Barmera Pub

Photo by Leigh Johnson

Dogs’ Day out - Woodside to Strath

The November Run

Carmen Friedrichs, Mark Hayes, Jeanette Kilgour, and Valerie & Mark Pullan at Woodside. Photo by Sue Murphy.

The full group at Strath including Lee Friedrichs, Rob Revitt, Rob McAllister, Judy Thompson and Barry & Nancy Softley together with Roxi and Carli who came with the Hayes. Photo by Christine Hayes.


The November Run continued.

A short stop to regroup ; one car short. Photo by Rob Revitt

The missing car. Photo by Sue Murphy


Ruby on the Bridge at Berri

Christmas 2

Another Dogs’ Day Out - Christmas in the Park

People circle and rock circle at Felixstow. Christine and Mark Hayes, Bev Wilson, Pam Loxton, David Thomson, Sue Murphy, Gail and Jim Sloan, Annette and Chris Kinney, Rob Revitt, Mike Quinn, Ross McOmish and Helen Miller. Photo by Leigh Johnson.

Sue Murphy and Tommie had only a very short walk to the Christmas Picnic. Photo by Leigh Johnson.


Photo by Rob Rivett

Library Link: https://sites.google.com/view/the-riley-cars-online-library/home

https://sites.google.com/view/the-riley-cars-online-library/home


Photo by Rob Rivett

Earlier this year Caltex Australia announced that it will be bringing Ampol, “the much-loved and iconic Australian fuel brand”, back to forecourts across the country after it was retired almost 25 years ago. It will re-appear at the more than 1900 Caltex sites nationwide, including co-branded Caltex and Woolworths outlets. Why? Because

the US oil company Chevron terminated the licensing agreement allowing the use of the Caltex name. The Australian Motorists Petrol Company, which later became Ampol, was founded in 1936 and has been part of Caltex Australia since the two companies merged in 1995. The Managing Director and CEO of Caltex Australia who sounds like he’s a litre short of the real measure said “Our market research confirmed that Ampol continues to be regarded as a trusted brand by Australian consumers – even those who weren’t born when the brand was retired.”!! The first two Ampol-branded sites opened in NSW in August and the transition to Ampol is expected to be completed over the next three years. Someone in Ampol said “These first Ampol stores also bring to life our drive to be world-class in everything we do and celebrate the best of our convenience offering through the Foodary and our unparalleled experience with premium fuels through our

Amplify premium fuels range." Foodery ??? Ed

This is believed to be a photo of the first petrol station in South Australia taken in 1924

The Riley Motor Club of SA e.Crank – December 2020/January 2021 Page 9

Staying on the Road

Roberts Service Station, Hindley Street, Adelaide. 1950. Now it’s McDonalds pronounced as Mick Donalds by some feral reporters.

Making your own gas. Somewhere in South Australia, 1941. Photo: SLSA 7798243

No petrol, just poo. London during the war.

Eyes and Crowle Ltd. Motor Engineers Cowell SA, 1915. SLSA B1163

R.B. Metcalf, garage, O'Connell Street, North Adelaide 1928. SLSA. B4803.

The Riley Motor Club of SA e.Crank – December 2020/January 2021 Page 10

** Gwyn Morris is the Official Wales Correspondent for the e.Crank. His knowledge of the RM knows no bounds.

May 21 2020

Phil C posted onThe Forum about a Brake Efficiency Meter attached to the dash.. He included a photo.

He thought a previous owner of his car must have wanted to know how bad the brakes were.

He wondered whether anyone had one on their car.

When next on the forum post something along the lines of ...

The type that I use can be obtained from most builders merchants or even laying around in most gardens. It can also be used to check the setting of the power output of the engine, i.e. acceleration and "G" force. Simply stand upright on the passenger floor panel, if the brakes are working well, it falls over. If the acceleration is outstanding, it falls over.

May 22

David G added…. “Gwyn's unit can also be used to test tyre adhesion, if you corner sharply at speed it should fall over, if not you are sliding!”

What a card!!

Card!! Don’t forget Jacque’s birthday..again or it’ll be curtains.

Another Gem gleaned from Gwyn’s** Notebook

The Riley Motor Club of SA e.Crank - December 2020 January 2021 Page 11

The Doctor

Down the Road

by Leigh Johnson

I’d seen this photo a number of times but never looked at it very closely. The reason is that it hangs on the wall at the medical clinic not far from where I live. I don’t go there very often but when I do it’s for something very important and, because I’m a very good pessimist, my focus is usually not on things hanging on the wall.

There was always something familiar about it but I’d never seriously turned my attention to working it out. And then I saw it on a Facebook Group the focus of which is old photos from Adelaide in South Australia.

The caption read something along the lines of.. Dr Gault and his New Orleans car. The name Gault was not unfamiliar to me as the Council Ward adjacent to the one that I live in is Gault Ward. It intrigued me to look further. This is what I found.

First, the car known as a 1901 New Orleans was actually a re-badged Vivinus from Belgium. Dr Arthur Gault who is driving the car emigrated to Australia in 1888 from Manchester, allegedly looking for a better climate as he was a chronic asthmatic. He was engaged to Mary Scott from Ulster in Northern Ireland. Mary followed soon after.

They married in 1889 and built their home at Hawthorn, South Australia (a suburb adjacent to the one in which I live) calling it Ardmeen from the name of her family home in Ireland.

It’s said that he bought the car because horses had an aggravating effect on his asthma. This could be true. He could also have been attracted to this new internally-combusted contraption and had a few quid in his pocket! He was a doctor after all.

The photo was taken in front of Ardmeen on what is now known as Belair Road but, at the time, it was Victoria Terrace (not to be confused with Victoria Avenue only few kilometres North off Cross Road in the high-rent district.) Some people thought that Queens were important then.

In 1902 Dr Gault built Nunyara, the sanatorium at Belair for sufferers of tuberculosis. Arthur and Mary had four children Ruth, Maisie, Freda and Arthur Kyle.

It’s said that the family’s cow was taken with them on holidays to Port Noarlunga to ensure an hygienic milk supply. Hmmm.

Dr Arthur Gault died in 1917 at the age of 53 at Ardmeen.

Another arm of the the Steele-Scott family still has a property called Ardmeen in Victoria. Arthur’s mother and Mary were second cousins, and Mary’s younger brother was Fred Steele-Scott, the passenger in the New Orleans photo. In some references he is described as Dr. Steele-Scott who practised down the road opposite Walford College on Unley Road.

Arthur Kyle joined the army in his second year of Medicine at Adelaide University. He was shot in the cheek at Gallipoli and would most certainly have died, had he not been discovered amongst the wounded by Professor Watson, then a Professor of Medicine at Adelaide University.

He was nursed back to health in Australia and completed his medical degree. Kyle then went back to England intending to continue active service. When he arrived in England however, he was informed of his father’s death and decided to return to

Dr Gault in his 1901 New Orleans. Photo: SLSA B22100

Dr. Arthur Gault. Photo SLSA B22101

Mary Gault at Ardmeen. Photo courtesy Mitcham Heritage Research Centre


Adelaide to continue the family practice.

In 1950 Dr Ken Crafter joined Kyle Gault whose medical practice was now well established in the Mitcham area. Kyle Gault left the practice soon after and Dr Crafter continued to care for the Mitcham community, slowly enlarging the practice with the addition of new doctors.

A new Medical Centre was built on the site of the old Ardmeen tennis court and became known as the Sturt Clinic which operated until 1975 when it was disbanded and the building sold to make way for a new group of doctors.

The new group changed the name of the clinic to The Crafter Medical Centre in honour of Dr Ken Crafter and his contribution to general practice.

The image above is a Ford Avenue Production. It’s an “artist’s impression” of the photo that might have been taken sometime later after the Gaults had added a conservatory to the family home and the garden had grown a little. The colourised image of the car and occupants is not the work of Ford Avenue Productions. The hard work was done by software accessed for free on a website called “myheritage”. You can upload your photos to them for free and their software will colourise it for you. It does a fair job.

Give it a try. It’s hit and miss but it does a much better job than the Photoshop Elements software I bought very recently! Peter Cathery, a contributor to the site on which I found the original photo mentioned on the previous page is responsible for the colourising via myheritage.

The background is a current photo of the original Ardmeen now the Lenzerheide Restaurant minus the signage.

I reckon it’s a damn fine job of blending two photos. Just don’t look too closely at the spokes in the wheels. That was very hard work.

Most of the above text is not my work. It is taken directly from an article by Terry Parker on the Veteran Car Club of South Australia website here and some was extracted from the Crafter Medical Centre website here.

https://vccsa.org.au/the-motor-cars-of-ardmeen/

https://www.craftermc.com.au/history/


Merry Christmas

Rob Revitt’s Christmas Light Show Posted by Christine Hayes on the Rileys in South Australia Facebook Page



The racing Riley had its beginnings in Adelaide, South Australia, sometime during the fifties. From a fiery insurance write off, the remaining body was discarded and the chassis shortened some twenty inches – a lightweight frame and aluminium body was installed.

Like many projects of the fifties, if it could have come to fruition instantly, it would have been a competitive car but fluctuations in enthusiasm and available money saw it lose momentum, and so it changed hands three times before I purchased it from the original owner, a Mr Alby Lobb.

It came from him as a going concern in the sixties – later that decade historic racing took off down in Australia and it has competed successfully from then up until the present time.

A typical race weekend will start by packing up on Thursday (it’s great being retired) and starting what will be a 1500km round trip to, say Phillip Island near Melbourne, Victoria for a two-day race weekend. I will always take a mechanic – they prefer it that way – according to them, letting me work on the car is like having two men away from work for the day – the three of them are excellent tradesman and all are lifelong friends.

For the technically minded, and starting at the front, the steering is 2/2-litre rack and pinion, the lower wishbone has had its outer pivot lowered I” by extending the lower king-pin housing down. The torsion bars have had around .080″ machined from their diameter over the full length to allow for the lighter body, When the chassis was shortened, it was found that due to the chassis gradually tapering smaller at the rear, you could slide the back section up inside the front part after removing some 12″ to 14″. This has added strength to the shortened and welded area. We have somehow managed to extract more than double the horsepower out of the motor – the head has been machined down to 3.275″ thick, the inlet valves are just under 2″ diameter and the exhaust is 1.75″ diameter, it has a cam with a lift of 0.525″ and each

lifter has a light spring between the head and the top of the lifter – this keeps it on the cam and allows us to run lighter valve springs.

Four Carrillo style rods and forged pistons forced a second-generation engine build and the compression finish up at about 9.00.1. We still run the water manifold to the head but the exhaust manifold has been replaced with extractors of 1.625″ diameter.

The gearbox has given us plenty of headaches, with the advent of better and stickier tyres, the mainshafts started breaking. For some reason Rileys drilled a radial hole in to the main shaft to a depth of about 1/2 the diameter of the shaft. It holds a spring and ball to locate the synchro hub but has proved to be a very weak point and we have broken two shafts due to this. The first cure was to weld up the top of the hole and cut a circlip groove in the shaft to hold the hub – but welding the shaft was not good enough and it still broke – this time destroying a set of close ratio gears in the process. I have now had two new shafts made up to my own specs and have had no trouble since.

The trunnion and torque tube have been done away with and an open style tail shaft is used. I left the brakes standard but added a booster to the front wheels. The car competes against open wheel racing cars up to 1960 and holds its own very well all around Australia, it always finishes in the top 6 or 8 and usually in the top 3 or 4 outright.

I have been very fortunate to have owned a large service station for nearly 30 years – this came with a big workshop and tyre bays with “wall to wall” mechanics. I could never have done it working from home and doing everything myself. I am sure you will all understand when I say I love that car – it has given me hundreds of hours of fun and continues to do so.

This article comes from the Rileys in Australia website maintained by Phil Soden.

You can see and hear the car on the track here at 1minute 38.

A Racing Riley

By John Virgo

https://rileys.org.au/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtDlQEp4wBI

The Riley Motor Club of SA e.Crank - November 2020 Page 16

For Sale Clearing Sale at Stirling

1½ engine block, crankshaft, con rods and rocker gear

2½ head, crack tested, polished ports, skimmed, plus crankshaft, camshafts, con rods and rocker gear etc Pair lightweight aluminium running boards for 2½ - never used Later dash in poor condition, but all gauges. Air cleaners

2½ carb H4 set-up (tall tops, no dashpot pistons as per original

for earlier cars) headlights hubcaps fuel filler pipes steering racks torsion bars quarter bumpers overriders

Pre-War and post-War torpedo side lights and door/dash mounted swivel ashtrays

Contact Paul Stark

[email protected] 0497 652 031

Wiring Loom for RMB

Brand new for RMB 1950. Bought for a restoration that did not happen. Manufactured as per original looms were with cotton woven cover, black with yellow silk fleck. Cables all plastic with bullet and eye ends as needed at each termination; copper wire sizes as needed. Additional double connectors included. I used an identical loom for my own restoration; everything fitting as needed following the Riley RM wiring Workshop diagram and using same colour code for cables. (Is Catalogue C, Type A, RY19C T, Parts 3, and on reverse 2762. For square instruments and from AutoSparks Ltd, Hull, UK) A current loom from www.vinwire.com.au RL490 costs AU$924 inc. GST. My price AU$ 650

Contact: Peter Sydenham 0404083339, or

Wanted Riley Elf Any year any colour

Contact Christine on [email protected] or 0434 950 758

Pathfinder Barn Find

Deceased Estate in SW Victoria - Riley Pathfinder 6-

seater, about 1955. Duco dark green in variable condition (some minor worn or crazed patches), woodwork and interior in fair condition, chrome in fair condition - some spare headlight trim and bumper pieces and one spare grill, but missing front bumper. Otherwise appears complete, and with original jack, crank handle and air filter (sports filters presently fitted). Only obvious body rust in sill just behind front right wheel. Degraded rubber seals on windscreen and back window. Starts easily and runs quietly, with no smoke or rattles. Odometer reads 25,306 miles (only 72 miles driven since May 2011, when registered with Riley Club of Australia). For sale as is, where is (just North of Camperdown)- unregistered and without roadworthy. For further information contact Andrew Lang 0409 977048 (pref between 9-5 including weekend)

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.vinloom.com.au


The Riley Motor Club of SA e.Crank - November 2020 Page 18


The RM donated to the club has been sold. Mark Hayes found this smelly little squatter inside while he was preparing it for shipping to WA. Avid readers of The e.Crank will recall that when the car was picked up it had a similar squatter. Ed

The November Meeting

Had it not been for a non-resident on a graduate visa (whatever that means) moonlighting in a Pizza Shop and telling Porky Pies (ALLEGEDLY) we would have all been here for our November meeting. Sue Murphy had graciously offered her home for the gathering (Shannons still aren’t receiving visitors) and then the Government closed down the State. Tommie, the overgrown chihuahua, was all ready to receive us and then tragically disappointed. Counsellors were called in. She is recovering….slowly. Ed


This lovely photo in old-fashioned hard copy 8 X 6 is in our club archives. I’d long wondered who it might be and where the car might be now. I’d asked a couple of people. They didn’t know and then I moved on. The answer came on the cover of a Riley Motor Club of SA Newsletter from June 1992 (before it became The Crank) that came to go into the archives with some others from Peter Sydenham who was once our Editor. It’s Charlie Warnes and his Roadster. He was not a member but obviously known to members. I saw the car (it was red) about 10 years ago at Collectable Classics on South Road. And why is the photo lovely? Check the starburst (or sunburst if you prefer) from both of the chrome hubcaps. You can add it in these days but this is real. Ed.

Carefully concealed amongst the pile of old publications that came from Peter Sydenham (see above) was this sun-damaged photo. It was the 1980s and a Riley Run. There are some familiar faces. Some are no longer with us. Some are just no longer members. Peter Sydenham who we thank for the photo is 5th from then left. He hasn’t changed a bit. Ed.

From the Archives


It’s nearly Christmas

So Elves in Red Abound

Photo found on Facebook somewhere

Wanted: Riley Elf. Any year any colour Contact Christine. [email protected] or 0434 950 758


More Cars of which I’d never Heard

1926 Wolseley-Vickers

“Equipped with both tracks and regular wheels, this vehicle could be driven around like a traditional car or it could lower its tracks to tackle tougher terrain like a tank. It's called the Wolseley-

Vickers because it's based on a regular Wolseley car, with Vickers adding the track system later on.

It is likely that it was being evaluated for use as a sort of all-terrain staff car. Records from the British Imperial War Museum indicate that the car was tested in trials to determine its capability against a number of other similar vehicles, including offerings from Citroën and different British manufacturers along with Vickers.

Although images of the vehicle in the open-top cabriolet configuration are not available from the British Imperial War Museum, it does have a photo of the vehicle in a different configuration. Seeming more tank than staff car this time around, this armoured-up version of the vehicle apparently could travel 15 miles per hour on tracks, or 25 on its wheels.

Clearly, the added mechanical complexity wasn't really worth just ten miles per hour.

In the end, one can assume that the need for such a vehicle was satisfied by less-complicated contraptions like half-tracks and smaller, faster tanks.”

Text taken from an article by Peter Holderith here

1958 Rolls-Royce ‘Honeymoon Express’

“Unlike its counterparts, this 1958 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was built strictly with a couple’s requirements in mind, soon earning it the title “Honeymoon Express”. Despite its significant proportions, the aptly titled ‘Honeymoon Express’ had only two seats, the vacant space being used to accommodate extra luggage and the concealed hood instead.

Freestone & Webb’s “Honeymoon Express” project would turn out to be one of its last. . Ultimately, only three “Honeymoon Express” bodies were created by Freestone & Webb – two Rolls-Royces and one Bentley With Rolls-Royce and other key clients moving away from separate bodies and on to monocoque construction, the London-based coachbuilder was soon absorbed into H.R. Owen. But in its twilight hour, the highly regarded outfit produced this pretty drophead, with a prominent pair of tailfins dominating the design form. This was clearly influenced by their popularity in the USA at the time, but the fact that F&W crafted wingtips for the Spitfire during the War might also have played a role in their inclusion.

The extra luggage space was welcome for obvious reasons, but also tucked out of view was not only a spare wheel and toolkit for the practically minded gentleman, but also his-and-hers ashtrays and an extra-large vanity mirror in the passenger-side cubby box. Unusual for the time, the fabric roof folded down hydraulically beneath the rear deck, completely out of sight. A pair of cocktail cabinets could also be found behind the newlyweds’ seats – for when you were safely parked up at your destination, of course.”

Text taken from Classic Driver here

https://www.thedrive.com/news/37510/this-car-tank-transformer-was-the-future-of-mobile-warfare-in-1926

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/seventh-heaven-rolls-royce-honeymoon-express


Pre-War Rileys near Wynne’s Hill, South Africa during the Riley Rendezvous in October 2007.

You have to be in the right place at the right time, and have a little bit of luck to get a great photo. This is one of them. These cars would have been in this position for only a second or so. Margaret and Peter Leppard in their Nine are

in the centre. On the left is Michael Davies’ Kestrel 15/6 driven by Malcolm & Viv Fishwick from the UK . Michael Davies was the organiser of the event. On the right is John Harmsworth’s Ulster Imp 9, driven by Jim & Glenys Runciman from W.A. Bev Wilson & (David Thomson and Phil Evans also shipped their cars to South Africa for the event.) The photo was taken by Peter Swift from the UK.


The Riley Motor Club of South Australia is one of six Riley clubs in Australia. There are other Riley clubs in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and Western Australia. We have around 100 members across South Australia with Rileys spanning the 1920s to the 1960s.

We meet monthly (but not in January) on the Fourth Thursday of the month at 7.30pm at Shannons 863-865 South Road, Clarence Gardens. And every month we take our Rileys out for a run somewhere. Classic cars were made for cruising.

Readers are advised that the views and opinions expressed in the e.Crank are solely the views and opinions of the contributors and are not necessarily the views and opinions of the management or membership of the Riley Motor Club of South Australia Inc.

The Riley Motor Club of South Australia

Committee and Other Useful People - to March 2021

Committee Members

PRESIDENT, USED PARTS

& ALTERNATE REGISTRAR: Mark Hayes 8524 3594 0422 925 312 [email protected]

VICE PRESIDENT: Mike Quinn 8235 9157 0427 840 830 [email protected]

SECRETARY: Ross McOmish 8388 5340 0413 430 767 [email protected]

CLUB CAPTAIN: P O S I T I O N V A C A N T P O S I T I O N V A C A N T

TREASURER

and PUBLIC OFFICER: Barry Softley 8370 4571 0417 851 440 [email protected]

GENERAL COMMITTEE: Rob McAllister 8381 6911 0409 990 209 [email protected]

Paul Stark 8339 7237 0497 652 031 [email protected]

Other Useful People

HISTORIC VEHICLES

REGISTRAR & FEDERATION REP: Chris Kinney 8379 1724

SPARE PARTS (New) Library, Website, and sometime Editor: Leigh Johnson 8271 8638 0417 856 804 [email protected]

CLUB MAILING ADDRESSES: [email protected] and PO Box 267, Fullarton, S.A., 5063

CLUB WEBSITE: rileysa.org.au

POSTING A LETTER: An RM Riley on Portrush Road near the Post Office, 1950s. Photo courtesy Burnside Council

Documents

The Riley Motor Club...Christmas 2 Another Dogs’ Day Out -Christmas in the Park People circle and rock circle at Felixstow. Chrisine and Mark Hayes, Bev Wilson, Pam Loxton, David