1934 Riley 9 Monaco Saloon

Description

Arguably Riley's most important pre-war design, the Nine was a light car introduced in 1926 with a small capacity but advanced overhead-valve four-cylinder engine. Displacing 1087cc, the Nine's motor had twin camshafts, hemispherical combustion chambers and a hellical four-speed gearbox (with constant mesh on 3rd and top), with drive taken to the rear wheels via a torque tube and spiral bevel back axle. The motor produced 42 horsepower at 3600 rpm, with a compression ratio of 5.2:1 although enthusiasts soon discovered it responded superbly to tuning and many Nine's were suitably tweaked in the quest for more power. Riley initially offered the Nine with just two body styles, a fabric saloon (called the Monaco) and an open tourer, but the range was gradually expanded to include many other catalogued designs including the San Remo, Biarritz and sporting Brooklands model. Over the next deade the Nine underwent constant development, with refinements like a central gearchange, a new steering box, improved cable-operated brakes introduced - there was even the option of a pre-selector gearbox in 1934. The Monaco was always a strong seller and in 1930 a revised Plus version appeared, boasting a new roofline, bigger doors and boot plus rotax headlamps. The following year a metal-panelled version appeared, its handsome and well finished coachwork formed in aluminium over a timber frame. The Monaco had a luxurious interior, with leather trim, good carpeting and top quality timberwork. The Nine proved hugely popular in the pre-war period, with almost 30,000 sold by the time the model was phased out in 1938 and they remain excellent club cars, with good spares availability and excellent support from the many specialists and organisations around the world.