1933 Riley Monaco

This delightful Riley Monaco is not only one of the very best in the country; its perfect mechanicals and immaculate bodywork is backed up with an unrivalled, almost fully documented history that includes the name of every owner from the very first all the way back in 1933.

It’s also had an incredible amount of money spent on it over the years, the bulk of which was with Blue Diamond, the world-renowned Riley experts. Offered for sale with no know faults and in stunning condition, this example would be a fantastic vehicle to cut your vintage teeth on: the owner calls it “a darling car”, a description we’d be hard-pressed to argue with!

The Ford Midnight Blue over black coachwork was refinished in 2002 and is still looking utterly wonderful, as might be expected as it has only covered 6,000 miles since then. There is the odd small stone chip, and some rubbing near the rear offside door opening, but this is only to be expected and is entirely consistent with its use and mileage.

A previous owner had the fabric of the sunroof repaired at the same time as the bodywork was refinished. This means it is now as taut and watertight as any vintage fabric roof is ever likely to be. It also slides beautifully – another credit to this example as so many have had sunroofs ‘welded’ shut as a ‘preventative maintenance’ feature.

The chromework is in very good order having a deep lustre to it and the matching blue wire wheels, complete with chrome centre spinners, are perfect and shod with high-quality, period-appropriate rubber.

As is often the case with vintage cars, the original grille mascot has been upgraded with a rather impressive piece. It is thought that the elegant emblem is nickel and so from the early thirties era, it is either from an Crossley, or one of those made by famous UK mascot manufacturer Lejeune.

A new headlining and boot carpet were made and fitted in 2002. The owner was (rightly, in our opinion) keen to preserve the car’s originality and conserve whatever materials and fittings he could, and while these two items were too far gone to be saved, the leather seats were treated with Neatsfoot oil before being professionally re-stuffed with horsehair. This work revitalized them and has helped ensure that they’re fit for the next half-century.

Because the carpets were in good condition they were re-used, despite the owner’s personal misgivings about the cord material! The dashboard retains its Jaeger instrumentation.

The interior is thus a charming mixture of older, patinated wood and leather, which blends beautifully with the newer headlining and carpets. This is exactly how we think classic interiors should be preserved.

A restoration in 1997 by Blue Diamond Services, probably the UK’s preeminent Riley specialists, has left the vehicle in very good health. The work briefly comprised a rebuilt engine, front suspension assembly, braking system and repairs to the wiring and miscellaneous electrical work, all of which cost an absolute fortune, even at 1997’s rates; we’d hate to try and calculate what the same jobs would cost now...

More recently, the owner has recently invested almost £800 with Blue Diamond to get the brakes sorted. As can be seen from the video, the engine starts on the button and ticks over beautifully. The owner tells us that it drives as well as it looks and sounds.

The Riley’s underside is an absolute delight. While we’d accept that this might be seen as something of an odd thing to say, when you spend as much time looking at the underneath of old cars, to find one in this sort of condition is such a rare delight that it’s worth commenting on! The vendor is keen to show any serious bidder around himself, organise a trip before the auction end by using the Contact Seller button.

The Riley comes with the original tan continuation log book and a complete list of previous owners, which is quite some feat as it dates back to the very first in 1933! The records also include a sheet documenting the car’s mileage since 1973.

The car also comes with a lot of expired MOT certificates, some of which also date back to 1973. Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photographs of these along with a huge number of receipts, invoices and bills from 1972 onwards that help form this car’s charmingly comprehensive service history.

Oh, and the online MOT history shows a completely clean bill of health since 2006 with no advisories whatsoever. That’s remarkable.

This Riley Monaco might just be the perfect introduction to vintage motoring. Mechanically robust, utterly solid and delightfully original, this charming little car is ready to whisk you off to the beach, local car show, or countryside picnic in true style. And, don’t forget that the vintage car scene has a very active social side to it too, so it could act as your passport to a new vintage lifestyle, too.

And the price of entry is likely to be very reasonable; while the price of classic cars has rocketed over the past few years, that of vintage cars has lagged behind with few appreciating significantly in the past decade or so. This means that there are some real bargains to be had, and none is likely to represent better value than this Riley Monaco; we expect it to fetch between £14,000 and £18,000, at which price it should prove to be a decent investment and a safe place to put your money. ‘Oily-rag’ is a wonderful description used for the condition of well-patina’d, mechanically-sound pre-war cars; this example is so far above that description on its interior, mechanicals, paintwork and chassis making the lower reserve a very attractive proposition as the car will almost definitely cost less to run.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here near Bicester; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.