Doug's 1969 Riley Elf

[tannyo]

Doug's super rare 1969 (last year made) Riley Elf was using to much oil and couldn't maintain oil pressure. So off it went to Malcolm the wizard of mechanics for an engine rebuild. First things first, off went the hood.

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Out came the engine.

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At first Doug just wanted a rebuild, but then out of his magical garage came a Cooper head and dual carburetor setup that Doug had been saving for a rainy day. Now with this engine you can't just paint it a drab olive green that Malcolm wanted, no not drab olive green! Riley competition blue is the order of the day. Well, actually Ford blue, but we can dream can't we (the blue looks lighter in the picture than in real life and is not quite finished yet)?

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Later this week or next the engine goes in with a new free flowing Cooper exhaust manifold.

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Then it's up to us to help Doug get in that first 500 break-in miles so he can more quickly start using that extra horsepower. Also, we need to encourage Doug to mount those pretty Cosmic wheels that he has hidden in his magical garage.

[whitebuffalo]

Yes, add the Cosmic wheels. Elfs only look good on Cosmics Ok I guess I am biased.

[VWNate1]

Well ? .

What's the status now ? .

I rather like the original Austin Green , my Met's engine is painted that and will remain so once I find that elusive three main bearing 1800 C.C. engine to stuff into it.....

How about some pix of the <magic> wheels for those of us who have NO IDEA what ' Cosmics ' are . (except of course for the 60's)

[tannyo]

Doug finally got his Elf back from Malcom. Malcom just kept finding things to fix that made the car dangerous to drive. On a test drive he found a bad wheel bearing, then when fixing the wheel bearings found leaking wheel cylinders. That's all fixed now and I think Doug may have asked Malcom to shut his eyes so he could get the car back. That's what happens when you have a 40+ year old car. I'm sure there's more to do, but now the car's safe to drive. The joke here is that every time I went to see Malcom the Elf was still there and Malcom felt bad about it. The Elf now has a Cooper head and exhaust and a dual instead of single SU carb setup. Doug wrote me last night.

Hope you won't mind visiting my Elf out here for awhile, instead of at Malcolm's. Room had to be made for Malcolm's new MGB-GT, so something that looks like my Elf came home with me today; though whatever it is drives more like a tiny rocket with a close-ratio gear box. It's a little scary. I chirped the tires a couple times from a standing start -- in an ELF!! Have to keep it under 50 mph/3K rpms for the next 456 miles, though. Frustrating.

I know that frustration from when the engine in my MGB was rebuilt so I wrote the following.

Hi Doug,

You haven't seen anything yet! After 500 miles you get the oil changed, cylinder head re-torqued, valves adjusted and timing advanced. It'll have even more power. But wait, there's more! After a 1,000 miles the engine loosens up some and you're pulling even more power and every time you get out of the car you have a big grin on your face. Then you hit 2,000 miles and it gets better again.

I know it's hard to keep your foot out of the carbs, but be strong, it won't be long.

Tanny...

Let's all help Doug pu 500 miles on his little Elf so he can go faster than 50 on the next run on April 23.

[VWNate1]

WHEEEE ~!!!!!!!!!

Good to hear it's doing well .

I hope a magnetic oil drain plug was added as that grabs the normal SWARF in the oil and so further protects the engine for longer life....

When do we get newer underhood pictures ? .