Fitting Riley 1.5 Front Brakes.

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 5:10 pm

BTW I don't see why you can't use the Moggy flexihose. The thread is the same and there looks to be sufficient space to get a spanner to it.

(the thing on the right is the chopped-off end of the Riley flexihose)

Post by **picky** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:52 pm

I can confirm that the riley brakes I have seen look the same as that, it would easily be possible to get a spanner round the brake pipe. Dont know about the screwthread though.

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:55 pm

picky wrote:Dont know about the screwthread though.

The end of the old Riley hose fits perfectly on a spare Minor cylinder.

Post by **chrisd87** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:42 pm

The only issue I can think of then is whether or not the Minor hose is long enough.

Post by **IaininTenbury** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:02 am

Hi, I've got Riley brakes on my convertible. These are the wider 9" drums with the Girling cylinders. It stops fine, no need for a servo. If anyone wants I'll have a shufty under it and see how the hoses are attached. I dont remember a problem last time I changed some wheel cylinders.
Recently fitted Wolseley brakes on the van. skinnier drums and Lockheed cylinders - not sure why they had different setups on two virtually identical cars. New wheel cylinders cost £25 each from the local motor factors - dont know if thats good or bad.
I prefer the bigegr drum set up to discs as there's no need for a servo. I like to keep a simple car simple...

Post by **alex_holden** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:23 am

Thanks a lot for that Iain. Can you feel any difference between the stopping power of the convertible and the van? Do you have standard Minor rear brakes on them both?

I think they used bigger brakes on the Riley because it was the sportier of the two and had a more powerful engine.

Post by **alex_holden** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:07 am

Some good news; I've measured the bore in one of my Riley cylinders and it's 19mm exactly, or 0.748". That reduces the theoretical difference in pedal pressure compared to the standard Minor brakes to 1.4x.

Post by **alex_holden** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 11:39 am

I've found another possible source for Riley brake parts: http://www.classic-brakes.co.uk/

I haven't managed to get prices from them yet because they're closed until Monday.

Post by **wanderinstar** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:15 pm

Another supplier of both Wolseley and Riley parts is

Earlpart, Longbridge Lane,Loscoe Rd, Heanor Derbyshire.DE75 7FG
01773719504

Post by **chrisd87** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:08 pm

I got my brakes this morning - it doesn't look like there will be any problem fitting the Minor hose so long as the thread is the same. I was quite amazed at how large the drums are!

Post by **wanderinstar** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:21 pm

Anybody know "Motoracingranpa" from Hinckley. He's just bought a set of Riley brakes. Is he one of our band or could he possibly want them for a Riley.

Post by **alex_holden** » Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:25 pm

He's also the current high-bidder on this set, which is described as being off a Riley 1.5 but the drums don't look anything like the ones I've got. I'm wondering if they're actually off a Wolseley 1500. Funnily enough the seller is the same guy I bought my Riley 1.5s from, so he ought to know what they look like.

Post by **IaininTenbury** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 11:48 pm

They are a Wolsey 1500 set with the narrower drums. Easy mistake to make inthe listing I suppose.

Iain

Post by **alex_holden** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:32 am

Excellent, that's what I thought. I won the auction, so I now have a choice between Wolseley and Riley. I'm tempted to refurbish both sets and try them both out for comparison... In theory the Wolseleys should work better when cold but overheat more easily than the Rileys.

Post by **alex_holden** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:29 pm

I've just had a scarily high quote for rebuilt Riley wheel cylinders: £56+VAT each, exchange. On the plus side they have stainless steel liners so presumably they'll never need replacing as long as you can get new seals for them.

Edit: He's also just said he won't take cylinders with broken studs in exchange (two of mine sheared off when I tried to unbolt them from the backplates).

Post by **chrisd87** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:09 pm

Where was that quote from?

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 3:03 pm

That was www.classic-brakes.co.uk.

Post by **d_harris** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 3:44 pm

Does anyone have a part no. for the (or model no, something I could take to the motor factors?) Wolsely Cylinder?

Post by **alex_holden** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:04 pm

Dan_Harris wrote:Does anyone have a part no. for the (or model no, something I could take to the motor factors?) Wolsely Cylinder?

Do you mean the wheel cylinders? Apparently you can modify the backplates to take standard Minor cylinders, which cost less than the original type.

I've got two other quotes in (all prices include VAT).

Earlpart:
Riley front RH wheel cylinders (new): £29.95 each.
Riley front LH wheel cylinders (new): £19.95 each.
Riley front shoes (exchange): £19.95 for the set.
Wolseley front shoes (exchange): £21.95 for the set.
Delivery was included in the quote. They have a £14 surcharge on the exchange shoes.

Wolseley 1500 Spares co.:
Riley front RH wheel cylinders (new): £25 each.
Riley front LH wheel cylinders (new): £35 each.
Riley front shoes (exchange): £42 for the set.
Wolseley front shoes (exchange): £42 for the set.
Not sure about the delivery.

www.classic-brakes.co.uk:
Riley front RH wheel cylinders with stainless lining (exchange): £65.80 each.
Riley front LH wheel cylinders with stainless lining (exchange): £65.80 each.
Riley front shoes (exchange): £38.19 for the set.
Wolseley front shoes (exchange): £38.19 for the set.
Delivery £9.99

It looks like Wanderinstar has come up trumps with his suggestion of Earlpart.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 7:15 pm

This thread is really getting somewhere now! Many excellent comments and much good information, especially now that the Minor flexi hose fits the Riley cylinder. I have never managed to fade my W brakes with no servo - where the 8" drums (in excellent condition) faded away to a very smelly zero on the same classic run! Normal Minor front wheel cylinders can be fitted realtively easily to the W backplates. I chose to weld up the remains of the old screw hole for neatness, but this would not be absolutely necessary. I find the pedal load perfectly acceptable with W brakes on front and dead standard Minor rears - the car stops with all 4 wheels locking pretty much at the same time.