1939 Rover 14hp Tickford Three-Position Drophead Coupe

Coachwork by Salmons & Sons

Estimate: £20,000 - £24,000*

Reg No: CSG 739 MOT: Exempt

Chassis No: 931628

Surviving in very limited numbers, Bill McCreath’s 2018 book ‘Rover –The Salmons Tickford Drophead Coupes’ posits that only 8-11 of the 25 cars thought to still exist are currently roadworthy. Manufactured in 1939, chassis 931628 was received for coachwork by Salmons & Sons on the 18th of March 1939. Featuring the revised and more powerful 14hp straight-six engine allied to the four-speed manual transmission, the Rover was road registered as ‘CSG 739’ on the 28th of April 1939, being supplied new to the Edinburgh area. Next known to have received an engine overhaul in 1991 (costing £1,600) the Salmons Drophead subsequently saw minimal mileage in the following longterm custodianship (between 1994-2018), before being acquired by the vendor, and a sympathetic restoration was decided upon. The restoration works completed comprised coachwork repairs as required, a bare metal repaint in White, and the chassis was undersealed. A complete rewire with a new wiring loom was provided, and an isolator switch fitted, along with an alternator conversion (the original dynamo accompanies). The brakes were overhauled, and new rear wheel bearings, new tyres, and extensive re-chroming provided. The interior was refreshed as required and a new hood trimmed in Maroon was fitted, with renewed headlining. Completed in 2021, invoices on file amount to over £8,500 expenditure.

‘CSG 739’ is offered with a history file that includes a large quantity of images and invoices pertaining to the restoration; a few previous MOT certificates; an instruction manual; a copy of Bill McCreath’s 2018 book ‘Rover – The Salmons Tickford Drophead Coupes’, in which chassis 931628 features; a copy of ‘The Book of Rover’; reproduction workshop manual; a previous log book and a current V5C document. Described by the seller as ‘a good runner with nice gear changes’, this is an opportunity to acquire a very scarce Salmons Rover with just three known owners in the last forty years.

1951 Riley RMC 2.5 Litre

Estimate: £26,000 - £30,000*

Reg No: KWK 661 MOT: Exempt

Chassis No: 612S7630

The RM Series cars were the last ‘proper’ Rileys - the swansong of the marque before it was subsumed into the mighty British Motor Corporation. The model range was manufactured in Coventry until 1949, when production moved to the MG factory at Abingdon. The RMC and RMD were limited edition Roadsters. While the latter was a conventional two-door Drophead Coupe, the RMC was a far more distinctive variant primarily designed for export to North America. Ostensibly a two-door convertible version of the RMB, it featured a three-abreast front seat, cutaway doors, foldaway hood, large rear stowage area, fold flat windscreen and lower bonnet line. The 2.5-litre four-cylinder powerplant was also unusual in having twin push rodoperated camshafts placed high in the cylinder block. The unit’s output was circa 100bhp at 4,500rpm - sufficient to accelerate the big Riley to 60mph in around 16.5 seconds and on to a genuine 100mph. Only 507 examples of the RMC are understood to have been produced between 1948 and 1951, making it a rare car by any standards.

A desirable final production year car, this Riley RMC is a well-known example in the Riley Club and is offered for sale after being in current family ownership for the last 17 years, having been purchased from H&H Classics on 26 February 2005. Presented in the attractive combination of Cream over Black with the interior bench seat covered in Black leather featuring matching Cream piping, ‘KWK 661’ has been self-maintained in its current ownership by its enthusiast owners. Included with the vehicle is a small collection of previous MOTs, a small collection of previous invoices, some correspondence with a previous owner and the current V5C document which displays 3 former keepers. The vendor rates the condition of the bodywork, engine, electrical equipment, paintwork, transmission and interior trim all as ‘Very Good’.