German Riley Elf member says 'Hello!'

Hi all,

I'm Paul and a Mini fan for about 10 years.

Owning two 'normal' Minis from the 90s, it is now the time to go into some more historic and rare topic ... and so I bought an 68 Riley Elf Automatic in November last year. The car originally was registered in Cardiff and came to abroad in the year 1994. The previous owner planned to restore the car for himself, but never had time to start.
Tomorrow I will catch up the car from him here in Germany. I'm quiet excited about it. It is almost complete, but I'm going to fully restore it in the next years as a long term project.

With my registration here in the forum I hope to get some help especially in the automatic gearbox topic (Any documentation or literatur available or recommended?).
Pictures available soon...

Cu

Hi Paul!
Welcome to the forum! I'm sure all your questions can be answered here!. It's a friendly forum. It will be good to see pics of your car!.
Regards,
Nick.

kaschperl wrote:Hi all,

I'm Paul and a Mini fan for about 10 years.

Owning two 'normal' Minis from the 90s, it is now the time to go into some more historic and rare topic ... and so I bought an 68 Riley Elf Automatic in November last year. The car originally was registered in Cardiff and came to abroad in the year 1994. The previous owner planned to restore the car for himself, but never had time to start.
Tomorrow I will catch up the car from him here in Germany. I'm quiet excited about it. It is almost complete, but I'm going to fully restore it in the next years as a long term project.

With my registration here in the forum I hope to get some help especially in the automatic gearbox topic (Any documentation or literatur available or recommended?).
Pictures available soon...

Cu

For the automatic gearbox, check out the Auto Mini Register where there is plenty of expertise. My Elf's an auto too, welcome to the club!

Willkommen im Club!

Hello from Ireland, it's nice to meet you and I look forward to seeing photos of your car.
Everyone here is so nice and helpful, you came to the right place!

...for the nice Welcome.

In 9 hours I will catch him

Catch up the Riley...


Beautiful back...


Nearly 90% complete...


More photos on my website

In conclusion: lot's of work!

But you do seem to have most if it there. You've even got hubcaps and a steering wheel centre.

You're going to have a great time fixing her up. Have you got a name for her yet?

Coco_ChanElf wrote:But you do seem to have most if it there. You've even got hubcaps and a steering wheel centre.

Yes, the only parts that are missing so far are the bumpers and the chrome trim from the windscreen lower panel. But I am sure to replace some more panels and interior parts.

Are there any rare parts existing (which I should not throw away )?

Coco_ChanElf wrote:
You're going to have a great time fixing her up. Have you got a name for her yet?

Hope so ... I can't wait to start the restoration, but before the Riley my Mini Mayfair needs some attention.

I noticed the British Mini scene to give names for their Minis, but not me ...sorry.

Everything on it is rare parts! Don't throw anything away, if there's something you don't want, put it on eBay or offer it here for someone who does.

Coco_ChanElf wrote:Everything on it is rare parts! Don't throw anything away, if there's something you don't want, put it on eBay or offer it here for someone who does.

No, I won't throw everything away... better repair/restore every part if possible. Only the wear parts and some realy rusty panels I will replace for sure.

With my question I intended to find out which parts are realy rare or expensive to get (e.g. the front panel). Restoring Mini Saloons for about 5 years I only have an idea about these parts but no idea about Elf/Hornet specific parts yet.

I'm sure you'll get a more specific answer but as a general rule, anything that diverges from the parts that are in common with the mini or other BMC cars are harder to come by. So in my experience, that has been the overriders, the hub caps, and steering wheel and centre (that last two you have!) but many items can be obtained from eBay, and various specialist suppliers. . Just ask here or search the forums for similar answers if you find yourself wondering about a specific part.

Must go, am blocking an aisle in the supermarket typing this lol.

Coco_ChanElf wrote:Must go, am blocking an aisle in the supermarket typing this lol.

LOL ...thx.

Elf/Hornet-specific parts: Quite a few of them!

Front panel and rear valance are available from M-machine. Although it's possible to convert a saloon front panel (Catmint here on the forum does a kit, and a few other parts).
Doors are unique to the models and unobtainable - repairing and reskinning what you have is about the only option. Door handles - both inside and out - differ from the Mini; the window winder mechanism is unique. The Elf/Hornet door was essentially the prototype wind-up window!
Rear wings, bonnet, boot also unique to the model. The boot floor has an extension section and support brackets underneath which you can get from Catmint.
All chrome trim is near-unique; bumpers and overriders are very hard to find.

Most other parts are shared with the Mini so are easily available.

Coco_ChanElf wrote:But you do seem to have most if it there. You've even got hubcaps and a steering wheel centre.

You're going to have a great time fixing her up. Have you got a name for her yet?

I think you should give her a name - how about " Elfa " ?

Ok, my girl friend likes 'Elfriede' ... think, I now name her so.

Excellent

Welcome!

You have to give her (or him) a name. It's International law!

Failure to do so will be in breach of the Geneva Convention!

Jase

Elfriede arrived Dresden ...via trailer.

P.S.: Got a front bumper for her.

Alles gute! Die besten Wünsche für die Zukunft!

Thx.

Visited the SMD 2012, I catched up a rear bumper including number plate lights.

Let's go to MiTP 2012...

L2B Mini Run soo (of course without Elfriede   ) .. but I will be there looking for some parts for current projects.  

By the way, my website URL direct link (I posted in the past) has been changed... The new link 'into my garage' looking at Elfriede is here.
Currently my website is not completely translated. Sorry for that... .

Kein problem! The Google is good at translating. Nice Rover Cooper on your site by the way. I like those, but they are still not legal for import into the USA. Must be 25 years old. Bummer.