FYT181 was a real rarity, which made it all the more sad when it was scrapped in 1960. The reason? The crankshaft snapped, which was pretty terminal for pre-war cars in the early 1960s. It was a 1938 one-and-a-half litre convertible. I am told that only twelve were made. It was most definitely a transitional model between the pre-war (true) Riley cars and the post-war RM series. This car was owned by A G V Frykman from about 1954 to 1960.
In 1976 Gervald Frykman, as an undergraduate, bought a 1948 Riley RMA. That summer he took it to Germany, which was, in retrospect, a very foolhardy venture. It caused a lot of interest (and a lot of problems), and at one stage, a newspaper reporter in Speyer wrote an article about the two young men driving this dilapidated machine to Bayreuth. My co-driver was on old friend from school, Tony Rollett. Notice the independently-opening driver's window, and the oily hands of the driver.....
As soon as Gervald Frykman started teaching, it became imperative, and financially possible, to get the Riley in good condition. By 1980 it was ready to take on holiday again, and Gervald took it around Scotland. Here are two shots of the shiny green car in Glen Nevis.
The car is at present "resting" - use as a family vehicle throughout the 1980s didn't do it much good........
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