The Riley 16 hp is a car made by the British Riley company from 1937 to 1940. It slotted into Riley's range immediately below their 18 hp V8 model. Announced in September 1937 for the Earls Court Motor Show[2] it became one of the two genuine Riley models in the rationalised range that followed the 1938 takeover by the Nuffield Organization.
It had a 2443cc straight-four engine with twin cams and S.U carburettor which developed 82 bhp (61 kW). The transmission was a four speed manual. It was capable of a top speed of around 80 mph (129 km/h).[1] The chassis was a lengthened version of the one used on the Riley 12 hp which was introduced at the same time.
The 1939/40 16 hp was available with a standard saloon, Kestrel fastback saloon or drophead coupe coachwork.[3]
Continental sports saloon (this body is on a 12/4 chassis)
Adelphi 6-light saloon (this body is on a 15/6 chassis)
Kestrel 16hp 6-light saloon
Adelphi 16hp 6-light saloon
Reciprocating internal combustion engine
Riley 2½-litre Big Four
Overview
Manufacturer
Riley Motors Limited
Also called
Riley 16 h.p.[4]
Production
1937 to 1957[5]
Layout
Configuration
straight four
Displacement
2.443 L (149.1 cu in)[5]
Cylinder bore
80.5 mm (3.17 in)[2]
Piston stroke
120 mm (4.7 in)[2]
Cylinder block material
cast iron, aluminium sump, alloy pistons
Cylinder head material
cast iron, hemispherical combustion chambers, spark plugs in centre between valve covers[4]
Valvetrain
90-degree angled overhead valves[5] operated by twin high-lift camshafts moving rockers with short light stiff push-rods powered from the crankshaft by duplex roller chains[4]
Compression ratio
6.9 : 1[5]
Combustion
Fuel system
Twin H4 SU carburettors[5] mechanical petrol pump[4]
Fuel type
petrol
Oil system
pressure fed from sump by submerged gear-type pump driven by skew gear from camshaft
Cooling system
water, thermostatically controlled flow, belt-driven water pump and radiator fan[4]
Output
Power output
106 bhp @ 4,500 rpm Tax rating 16hp[5]
Chronology
Predecessor
none before 1937
Successor
Riley RMH then BMC C-Series engine
Michael Sedgwick described this long-stroke four as a first-class tourer in the Riley tradition, Britain's largest four since the 4½-lire Bentley ended production in 1931. Its chassi, he said, was regular Riley - beam axles and Girling brakes - fitted with Borg-Warner overdrive as standard. It would run up to 90 mph. The engine ran very smoothly for a four-cylinder. Good value for money; it survived into Riley's Nuffield-owned era but with disc wheels, umbrella handbrake lever and ordinary synchromesh gearboxes, (Nuffield) ". . . made a few wire-wheeled Kestrels in 1939 and 1940 to keep the traditionalists happy".[6]
^ abCulshaw; Horrobin (1974). Complete Catalogue of British Cars. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-16689-2.
^ abcCars Of 1938. Riley Models. The Times, Friday, Sep 17, 1937; pg. 6; Issue 47792
^Sedgwick, M; Gillies (1989). A–Z of cars of the 1930s. UK: Bay View Books. ISBN 1-870979-38-9.
^ abcdeCars of To-Day. '’’The Times'’, Tuesday, 16 March 1937; pg. 22; Issue 47634.
^ abcdefRileyrob. "Healey Silverstone (1949–51)". Retrieved 31 January 2014.
^Michael Sedgwick, Cars of the 1930s, B T Batsford, London. 1970 ISBN 0713404655
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