The Farina MG-Riley Newsletter

Rare Riviera On View

A real rarity was aon view at the BMC day on the 1st August. The rarity was in the shape of a Riley Riviera belonging to Peter Kenny. The vehicle, which is in a very rough state, was trailered down to the event from Manchester. I felt that a lot of people were a little unsure as to what it was, not least the rally steward who upset Pete by telling him that it wasn't a banger racer meeting!

I had already seen the car on previous visits to Pete's garage in Manchester; he is a very brave man indeed to attempt the restoration. His car XAM 533 is the only known surviving Riviera, which was basically an upgraded Riley 4/68. The same upgrades were carried out on the Riley 4/72 and it was renamed the Riley Sillouette. The only one of these is believed to be owned by Earlpart.

As many of you will know the Riviera and Silhouette were created from the basic models using parts from other BMC models. The upgrades were carried out by BMC agent Wessex Motors of Salisbury, Wiltshire. The upgrades were in three stages depending on your budget. The most visible changes were the chopping down of the rear fins and the addition of wire wheels. Front disc brakes were offered, as were the fitting of spotlamps recessed into the front panel rather like Wolseley 6/110. The MGA 1588cc engine replaces the 1489cc normal power unit in the Riley.

Pete's car is the car which was actually used on various road tests and in magazine articles so he is not short on pictures of how it should look. The color of the car is dark blue. A real superhuman effort will be required to get the car back on the road along with a rather large bottomless pit of money, but I am hopeful that Pete is the man to do it.

GOOD LUCK.