RILEY ELF STILL COMPETITIVE IN RETRO/CLASSIC RALLYS :

You should understand that the Hornet outsold the Elf in the Republic of Ireland in the period 1962 - 1968 when both cars were current.
They were imported as C.K.D.kits and assembled in Dublin in 2 locations - one for each make - and because the Elf had a selling price which was £ 50 more than that of the Hornet (extra veneer ?), more examples of the Hornet were sold and more survive to-day.
My Elf is none of the above as it is a 1963 U.K.built car (Fisher Body No.R.268) which was subsequently first registered in N.Ireland as 5959-IL
In 1990 it was completely rebuilt in N.Ireland and converted into a Classic Stage Rally car - with all that entails - in brief, brakes,suspension
and engine were upgraded to Cooper 'S'spec. and with the addition of a full roll cage, rally seats, spotlamps & with its then owner at the wheel
it clocked up 3 successive years of victories - winning the Circuit of Ireland Retro outright in 1990 and ditto for the Donegal in '91 and the Galway in '92. It also won the N.Ireland Rally Championship for three years running 1990/91/92.
If members would like to hear about its adventures since I bought the car in 2003 - let me know.

welcome!

Glad i was able to get you signed up!

Yes I for one would like to hear more!

Sounds like bit of a speciality compared to most cars in here!

Have you have many wins yourself david?

Would love to see a picture of it....

Jase

sounds like a splendid little car - well done with what you've achieved and hopefully lots more to follow....

discoman41 wrote:Would love to see a picture of it....

Jase

There should now be 2 photos of my Elf available to view.........
One during the Circuit of Ireland Classic Rally taken near Hillsborough (Co.Down - N.Ireland) in 2008 &
another at the historic 1967 Dunboyne Road Race Circuit (re-opened for one afternoon per year) in 2009.

Welcome to the forum David. Enjoy.
Unfortunately do to circumstances beyond our control you will not be able to post photos until you have posted 5 times.
Tony

It's so great to discover another nearby Elf owner in ROI.

I hope to meet David soon - there are pics of his Elf in the 2009 section of the Dunboyne Motor Club site.

It is a beautiful car and has a fascinating history - can't wait til he can post the photos!

sounds like a cracker!

I promised to put these up so here we go.





Sorry about delay on these.

But think its worth it to see this little beaut!

Look at her go

Love that the first photo is in my home village. Hope some of you guys will come over for next years' Spirit of Dunboyne, it would be lovely to welcome a load of Elfs over!

amazin! when is the rally chief?

The modern incarnation of the Dunboyne road race is more a vintage car show and about 50 diverse vintage cars and bikes doing parade laps than a real rally but it's great craic nonetheless.
For details:
http://www.dunboynemotorclub.com/html/News.htm
It's on 1st and 2nd September 2012.
There was only one Elf this year, but I have a hunch there will be more next year.

Dates noted but no plans just yet!
Any more possible takers?

bummer for me as i am a teacher and those dates means a no go for me. Shame would have enjoyed a tour over to ireland!

Oh, what a pity. Sure you couldn't come the Friday afternoon and back Monday morning? ?

But there are plenty of other events you can come to during the summer if you like. I will make sure to post about any I hear about. There are a few big Steam Rally, vintage car shows and whatnot. There's even a vintage tractor show. All very 'Father Ted' and enjoyable.

Or you can just come over any time and have tea and biscuits! I'll tell where the nice places to drive are, lol.

Will keep you posted, anyway.

Here is a few more of this wondeful little car in action









Looks great!