Riley RMA.
Rileys don't yet feature to a great extent in the gallery of old photographs. This is the first old photo of a Riley RM saloon to be added in, it shows a lady sat in the passenger seat of a Riley RM in May, 1950. The car's registration is LPD 942, a Surrey series used from January 1947 onwards, suggesting that this particular Riley dates to 1947 or 1948.
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In 1947/48 there were two Riley RM saloons on offer - the RMA, and the RMB. The RMA had a 1.5 litre four cylinder engine under its bonnet, while the larger RMB had the 2.5 litre twin-cam unit. Visually both models are quite similar to look at, the giveaway is the badge on the car's radiator grille. Badges with a dark blue background signify that the car has the 1.5 engine, while those with a pale blue background advertise that this driver is fortunate enough to have a 2.5 twin-cam engine under his or her bonnet. The badge affixed to the Riley in the photo below looks to have a dark background, so would seem to make this car a Riley RMA.
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The Riley is parked outside the Seaforth Laundry. There is a Loch Seaforth in Scotland, and there is a Seaforth, Merseyside. I've also found reference to a Seaforth Laundry in Aberdeen, so this would seem to be the most likely location for this shot.
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A sign on a far wall has a large advertisement emblazoned upon it, with the slogan "The Greatest of All Tonics" along the bottom edge. This was the slogan for Phosferine, a tonic designed to boost your system, encourage vitality, and help you feel generally more chipper.
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Return to Page 13 in the classic & vintage car photo gallery. In 1952, the RMA would receive a mild update, thus creating a replacement model in Riley's line-up, the RME.
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