The Riley One-Point-Five and similar Wolseley 1500 are
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
s produced by
Riley and
Wolseley respectively from 1957 until 1965. They utilised the
Morris Minor
The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in th ...
floorpan, suspension and steering but were fitted with the larger
B-Series engine and
MG Magnette
The MG Magnette is an automobile that was produced by MG between 1953 and 1968. The Magnette was manufactured in two build series, the ZA and ZB of 1953 through to 1958 and the Mark III and Mark IV of 1959 through to 1968, both using a modified ...
gearbox.
Model series
Series 1
The two models were differentiated by nearly 20 hp (15 kW), the Riley having twin
SU carburettor
SU carburettors were a British manufacturer of constant-depression carburettors. Their designs were in mass production during most of the twentieth century.
The S.U. Carburetter Company Limited also manufactured dual-choke updraught carburetto ...
s giving it the more power at 68 hp (50 kW). The Wolseley was released in April 1957 and the Riley was launched in November, directly after the 1957
London Motor Show
London Motor Show, formerly the London Motorfair, is a motor show in England. It was held biannually at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, from 1977 to 1999. When the event won the support of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and P&O ...
.
[First Appearance Of New Riley. ''The Times'', 8 November 1957; page. 17; Issue 53993]
Series 2
The Series II was released in May 1960. The most notable external difference was the hidden boot and bonnet hinges. Interior storage was improved with the fitting of a full width parcel shelf directly beneath the fascia.
[
]
Series 3
The Series III was introduced in October 1961, featuring revisions to the grille and rear lights.
In October 1962 the cars received the more robust crank, bearing and other details of the larger 1,622 cc unit now being fitted in the Austin Cambridge
:''See Austin 10 for the Cambridge models of 1937 to 1947.''
:''See Austin A40 for other A40 models.''
The Austin Cambridge (sold as A40, A50, A55, and A60) is a medium-sized motor car range produced by the Austin Motor Company, in several ge ...
and its "Farina" styled clones. Unlike the Farina models, however, the Wolseley 1500 and Riley One-Point-Five retained the 1,489cc engine size with which they had been launched back in 1957.[
]
Production volumes
Production ended in 1965 with 19,568 Rileys and 103,394 Wolseleys made.
Gallery
File:Wolseley 1500 1961 Castle Hedingham 2008.JPG, 1961 Wolseley 1500 Saloon
File:1959 Riley 1.5.jpg, 1959 Riley One-Point-Five
Engines
* 1.2 L (1200 cc) '' B-Series'' I4, Irish Market only (Wolseley)
* 1.5 L (1489 cc) '' B-Series'' I4, 50 bhp (37 kW) (Wolseley) & 68 bhp (51 kW) (Riley
Differences
The One-Point-Five and its 1500 sibling had a number of differences, with the Wolseley generally being the less well-equipped model:
* Engine - The Riley benefited from twin 1½ inch SU H4 carburettors while the Wolseley was fitted with a single 1¼ inch SU carburettor. The cylinder head on the Riley was also slightly sportier to help with the power increase.
* Exterior - The front panel and grille looks similar on both cars, but is different. The stainless trim along the side of the cars is also different.
* Interior - Both cars received wooden dashboards. While the Riley had a full complement of gauges (speedometer, tachometer, and temp/oil/fuel) placed directly in front of the driver, the Wolseley made do with only the speedometer and temp/oil/fuel gauges, which were placed in the centre of the dashboard. The Riley was fitted with leather seats, while the Wolseley was often fitted with lower quality Rexine in its Fleet model.
* Brakes - The Riley was equipped with a larger Girling braking system, while the Wolseley received a smaller Lockheed system. The Girling brakes on the Riley One-Point-Five were often sought out by Morris Minor owners looking a way to upgrade their brakes.
Performance
A Wolseley 1500 was tested by the British magazine ''The Motor
''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine
''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...
'' in 1957. It was found to have a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 24.8 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £758 including taxes of £253.
A Riley One-Point-Five was tested by the British magazine ''The Motor
''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine
''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...
'' in 1961. It was found to have a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 18.9 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £815 including taxes of £240.
In its day, the Riley was successfully raced and rallied and can still be seen today in historical sporting events.
Australian production
BMC Australia
British Motor Corporation (Australia) was a motor manufacturing company formed in Australia in 1954 by the merger of the Austin Motor Company (Australia) and Nuffield (Australia). This followed the merger in 1952 of the Austin Motor Company and ...
produced the Wolseley 1500 in Australia from 1958.[BMC in Australia, as archived at web.archive.org]
/ref> It was built alongside BMC Australia's own versions of this design, the Morris Major
The Morris Major and Austin Lancer are passenger car models that were produced by BMC Australia between 1958 and 1964.
Series I (1958 to 1959)
The Morris Major and Austin Lancer were introduced in March 1958,BMC-Leyland Australia Heritage Gr ...
and Austin Lancer.[ The Major and Lancer were less luxurious and had many notable differences from the Wolseley.][ The 1500 was discontinued in 1959 and substantially revised "Series 2" models of the Major and Lancer were released in the same year.][ In 1962 the Lancer and Major were replaced by the Morris Major Elite which was powered by a engine.][
]
North American exports
1959 Series I Riley One-Point-Fives were exported to North America by BMC in an attempt to capitalize on the growing imported car market. While not a sales success, a number of the cars remain on the road in the hands of collectors. As was a common practice in many jurisdictions, some cars were titled as 1960 model year cars because that was the year of their initial registration.
File:Riley 1.5 LHD Dashboard.jpg, Riley 1.5 LHD Dashboard
Running changes
The badging for the One-Point-Five was changed early on in Series I production, after car number 4861 and before 6353. The earlier cars have smaller badges on the front wings and the boot lid. The later cars use simpler, larger badges with a different design and typeface.
File:Riley 1.5 Badges.jpg, Early (left) & Late (right) Badges
References
External links
Austin Memories
Riley Motor Club
{{British Motor Corporation cars, 1952-1966
One-Point-Five
Cars introduced in 1957
1960s cars
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Sedans
Wolseley vehicles