Mk1 RileyElf

been over to look at i again can't wait to bring it home and get started

It's DO-ABLE! as I say. Interior looks good. What year is it? Keep the photos coming, it's gonna be interesting!
good Luck
Tony

1962 have been told there only 9 left in the world
with 41000 miles from new
want to try get info about the deal ship it came from.

If the dealership is still in existence (which is doubtful) it will be unlikely they will have records from that day!

No harm in trying though. I've been trying to find the history of Elfie but because the owner had died and none of the neighbours knew she had a car! (The tax disc was 1986 and I got her in 2004!)
Good luck in the search!

I think I can be pretty certain that the dealership has not existed for many years - being local to Nottingham all my life, I've never heard of them.

I had a 1961 A40 Farina that I restored (eventually decided it wasn't "me" and sold it to concentrate on my Minis). It still had the original dealership number plates, and the company only ceased trading last year. I still regret not taking the restored car to show them.

the elf has a heritage certificate and some paper work with it . will start searching as soon as i get it. even just to get a picture out side the building when i finished restoring it.

and want to search for any mark 1 riley elf that are still out there

patlink wrote:the elf has a heritage certificate and some paper work with it . will start searching as soon as i get it. even just to get a picture out side the building when i finished restoring it.

and want to search for any mark 1 riley elf that are still out there

Thats a good idea. Elfie was supplied to a garage in Taunton so that will be a fair hike from Chester, another excuse to have a weekend away YEH!

patlink wrote:the elf has a heritage certificate and some paper work with it . will start searching as soon as i get it. even just to get a picture out side the building when i finished restoring it.

and want to search for any mark 1 Riley elf that are still out there

I know of 4, two road worthy, one in the final stages of a very expensive restoration and one pre-production Elf

The two on the road.
One is in Birmingham and last I heard was for sale. It is complete with most of its Mk1 specific parts. Like yours it is a mid to late 1962 model. Damask Red and Whitehall Beige. The owner wanted about £2500.00 which was a little too expensive in my opinion.
The other roadworthy car is in Northern Ireland and originally came from Gloucester. Having said that it has its original registration number which is quite valuable xxxx MG. This is in yellow with blue roof and still has the original half leather half cloth seat covers and matching door cards and rear parcel shelf. This is in very good condition and the owner is a regular visitor to mainland shows. He has been to the London to Brighton show at least once. Built March 1962

The other is a car I sold to a fellow enthusiast and this has been through an expensive and thorough restoration. I expect this will be on the road next year. Again with the other Mk 1, this is in yellow and blue and still has its original registration again London based xxxx MG. I purchased the car from the wife of the late owner base in Essex and the previous owner lived in Finchley London. This car will be a show winner with all the original Mk1 parts. This car was built in February 1962.

Finally the pre-production Elf. The was one of 12 handbuilt in late 1961 for publicity work etc. These very early cars had de-seamed front wings and A panels, to match the rear wings. The car in question needs some serious restoration work. I haven't spoken with the owner for some time but I know it will be completed and will be back on the road before too long.

Hope this information helps and I'm sure there are still some other Mk1 Cars still to be found.

Good luck with your restoration. As mentioned before, have a word with Catmint as he offers some of the panels needed to repair the boot section. Bradford Mini Spares offer complete rear valences. The Stainless Steel Sill and Wheel Arch trims are quite difficult to find but Mini Mail in Gloucester had some a couple of years ago. You may come across a set at a Mini show but expect to dig deep into your wallet as they were also fitted to early Coopers.

Andrew

Hi

We have most of the Mk1 chassis numbers and details that Gaydon hold, if you want to PM the details I can check them for you (there can be a bit more info than what the heritage cert gives). There are still a few Mk1's knocking about, but not many. There have been about 4 up for sale in the last year on eblag.

Gordon

cheers andrew for all the info thats great
gordon soon as i have the elf i will pm you

as for the arch trim been told at it is hard to find and not cheap . but i was going to see if i can reproduce the trim

patlink wrote:cheers andrew for all the info thats great
gordon soon as i have the elf i will pm you

as for the arch trim been told at it is hard to find and not cheap . but i was going to see if i can reproduce the trim

Phoenix Supplies will do the wheel arch trim for about £20. That's where I got Rupert's from!

I also have details for some Mk1's - I think I posted a few pics on the old forum, they might still be there. When I have 10 mins to spare I'll let you know what I've got.

Jase

discoman41 wrote:


Phoenix Supplies will do the wheel arch trim for about £20. That's where I got Rupert's from!

the early stuff was in six pieces and made from stainless, but is like trying to find rocking horse droppings using a hens tooth magnet these days - all the "S" boys want it. Would certainly be interesting if you could suss a way to make it.

Gordon

that is my plan 6 piece set

Hi Pat,

Nice to see it's not alone and Mr Elf Service sounds like the man with the answers

See what we can do to get her running again. It was a runner 12 months ago so it shouldn't be too hard to sort it out.

Pat's Elf is September 62.

Bill

its got "flat outer sills" too by the looks of it? whan did this change to fluted?

Unless I'm very much mistaken those are after-market pattern sills.

Your Elf and my Elf are from the same dealership!!!!!!!!!!

have got a picture of your elf and any deals about the dealership etc.

So... it's been a while!
I have found this...
http://wayneburrowsnc.wordpress.com/lost-city/attachment/9264/
Which I have never seen before, it has the address of the dealership our cars came from.
We should plan a trip to Nottingham sometime and get them back together at the place they were sold.

I am hoping to get the elf home soon to start work on restoring to former glory.

only finished university this summer and was lucky to land my first post straight away.

so fingers crossed restoration can start soon.

I'm afraid I haven't had mine out for 18 months now, due to a combination of lack of funds and moving away. So it's been sat in my grandmas garage for a long while now.
Good luck with the restoration, sorry for taking over 2 years to reply to your last post.

no worries lets make them plans for the future

Sadly I have not had any time to start with the restoration of the Elf as yet the time will come.
Want to get the Elf back to former glory looking like new old

I'm not sure how I missed this thread when it first came out! Add my name to the list of people who will be interested in following the work you do to get the Mk I back on the road.

Do one thing right, if nothing else, during the rebuild. Note where the black sections on the slam panel and bonnet are and don't forget to add them back when you paint the car! Just one of those things the bugs me -- to see a photo of a newly "restored" Elf or Hornet and to have the body colour paint (especially light colours) glaring out through the grille. It happens more often than not.

Regarding the number still in existence, I have yet to see a listing that appears anywhere near accurate. For instance, cars that escaped England are not likely included. I have a Chartreuse Yellow/Florentine Blue Mk I in my garage with a little less than 32,000 miles on the clock...and being half way around the world in the NW U.S. I doubt it has ever been included. Only around 3500 were built, which doesn't sound like much when compared to the total of all Minis, but that's enough that I'd have to guess the number still around is more like three digits instead of less than 10.

Looking forward to following the restoration.

Any updates on the restoration of the Mk1. I have a very similar 62 car here in New Zealand