1934 Riley 9hp Imp 'Special'

Registration No: SAA 27
Chassis No: 1MP6025492
MOT: October 2026

• Dispatched from the Riley works on December 1st, 1934, as one of c.120 Imps produced between 1934 and 1935
• Fascinating pre-war trials history
• Discovered after a period off the road in the Northfield Garage, Long Eaton, in 1955 and in its current guise since then
• Very nicely presented, and well-known to the Riley Register

Spiritual successor to the ‘Brooklands’ competition model which had achieved so much success around its namesake circuit, not to mention on the Tourist Trophy, Irish Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours, etc., the Riley Nine ‘Imp’ débuted in prototype guise at the October, 1933, Olympia Motor Exhibition. Fast enough to accrue silverware but tractable enough for road use, the newcomer was also among the prettiest automotive designs of the 1930s. Notably compact, its 7ft. 6in. wheelbase chassis featured all-round leaf-sprung suspension, four-wheel drum brakes and an underslung rear axle. Fed by twin carburettors and utilising an optional Scintilla magneto, the two-seater’s free-revving 1.1-litre engine developed some 42bhp and was allied to a four-speed transmission. Tipping the scales at just 17cwt., the Imp was reputedly capable of 80mph (a speed few rivals could match). Total production figures are unknown but have been estimated at 120 to 150 cars, of which some 80 are known to have survived.

Originally built to Imp specification, this charming Riley special was registered ‘ALJ 454’ in Bournemouth on December 1st, 1934, and saw action early in its life, participating in the Lawrence Cup Trial (year unknown) and in the Riley Motor Club’s “24” event of 1935. A photograph of the car in the Lawrence Cup appears in G. N. Georgano’s A History of Sports Cars, and may also be found online. A photograph is understood to exist from 1952 of the car in good order, but in 1955 it was for sale with the Northfield Garage (John T. Gilman) of Northfield Road, Long Eaton, Nottingham, as a “Riley Imp chassis c/w wheels, axles, headlamps, steering and radiator.” For £50, the buyer was Mr. A. R. Bance of Bordon, Hampshire. It was then reregistered ‘SAA 27’ and rebuilt into its present form, with a 12/4 engine and riveted aluminium sports body constructed round a neat ash frame. The engine change required the gearbox to be moved back, along with the shortening of the torque tube.

From Mr. Bance – understood to have actually been relatives Ralph and Maurice Bance – it was sold to Len Luffman, who kept it in daily use around Bordon, before it was transferred to an owner in Manchester. In long-term ownership from 2000 to 2024, the Riley’s wheels were refurbished in 2003, twin SU carburettors replaced its earlier Zeniths in 2010, the front axle was overhauled with rebushed kingpins and a needle-roller conversion in 2012, a spin-on oil filter conversion was performed in 2014, and new tyres were fitted in 2020. Equipped with Girling brakes and a double-dipping headlamp conversion, ‘SAA 27’ remains in fine order and presents as a charismatic and genuinely historic example of the type of P.V.T. specials that were so popular post-war. Its history file contains the V5C, invoices back to the 1950s (including the sales invoice from the Northfield Garage), much correspondence, MOTs back to the 1980s, and photographs of the chassis in the 1950s.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452