1931 Riley 9 Plus Two-Seater Tourer with Dickey

Registration No: MW 9445
Chassis No: 6013593
MOT: Exempt

• Supplied new to solicitor George Creswick who made the second owner sign a contract giving him first refusal to re-purchase when he finally relinquished possession in March 1968
• Sympathetically restored by its second keeper to award winning condition and used to tour France during 1971
• Purchased by the vendor from the second owner's family following some two decades on display at the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum
• Recently treated to a thorough engine overhaul, refurbished magneto, new inner tubes and general recommissioning
• Nicknamed 'Black Beauty' and due to be driven some 160 miles to the sale

According to its accompanying paperwork, ‘MW 9445’ was supplied new to George Creswick Esq. A solicitor by profession, Mr Creswick used the Riley until 1960. Thereafter, it was stored in a coach house on his grounds. A keen enthusiast with several Austin Seven renovations to his credit, second owner Frederick Eley Esq. attempted to buy the 9 Plus in 1967 but it was not until the following year that his offer of £50 was accepted. Even then he had to sign a contract giving Mr Creswick first option to re-purchase the Two-Seater throughout the latter’s lifetime (coincidentally both men died in 1997). Stripped to a bare chassis and extensively restored by Mr Eley, the rejuvenated ‘MW 9445’ proved smart enough to be invited to Beaulieu by Lord Montague before motoring down to the South of France and back during 1971.

A multiple award winner over the years, the Riley was loaned to the Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum by Mr Eley’s family after his passing. Having belonged to just two families for the first ninety years of its life, the 9 Plus entered the current ownership in October 2021. No stranger to mechanical work, the vendor set about sympathetically recommissioning the Two-Seater including a thorough engine overhaul, re-plating the windscreen surround and fitting new inner tubes to the tyres. Uprated with an SU fuel pump and SU carburettor for improved driveability (though, the original Zenith carburettor comes with the car), ‘MW 9445’ started readily and ran well during our recent photography session. Indeed, the seller intends to drive the Riley some 160 miles to Buxton for the auction. The paintwork, upholstery and hood / sidescreens are thought to date back to the late 1960s with the weather equipment having fared the worst. A rare survivor of the short-lived ‘9 Plus’ series, this delightful Two-Seater is only reluctantly being offered for sale due to the arrival of a new project.

For more information, please contact:
Damian Jones
damian.jones@handh.co.uk
07855 493737