I am considering selling my 68 Riley Elf MkIII....but not sure yet. It now resides in southern New Jersey.
I have had 6 classic minis since 2000. Presently, I have a Rover Mini Cabriolet, a late model Japan Spec Sportpack with A/C, and about a year an a half ago, I purchased a 68 Riley Elf MkIII. It was simply a non descript "driver". It needed lots of work. I keep all my cars in show-ready condition. I try my best to keep them as factory stock as possible. Anyway, I recently retired, and made a vow that I would restore the Elf to its original glory by taking her back to the original build specs. So, this became my full time job for 13 months. Getting Elf-specific parts, trim pieces, interiors, etc was a real chore! Something I never experienced with standard minis. And 99% of all the bits had to come from overseas. Most had to be used parts that had to be refurbished, rechromed, or custom made. Just for a few examples, 1)I had to buy 3 complete sets of wheel trims in order to get 4 of show quality, and had to buy 2 grills in order to piece together one perfect grill with all the slats being the quality I was looking for. But, after 13 months of consistent work, the Elf "Olive" is done. Its back to its original build specs....FINALLY!!
I was hoping to get a Heritage Certificate from the UK from which I could restore it back to documented specs, but alas....the British Heritage people responded by telling me that the car was a "CKD"(complete knock down) car and was sent in pieces to New Zealand where it was assembled at the New Plymouth plant in NZ. It was then sold in Oct. 68 by Moller Motors in Auckland to a Eunice June Potter. She owned the car until 2001. It was sold to a Neville Wooderson. He accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary to the top of Mt. Everest!! He and his wife owned the car until 2010 and were members of the Riley Club of New Zealand until his wife's death. He then sold the car to Turky's in Charleston, SC. I found all this information from the Riley Club of New Zealand and the New Zealand Transport Agency. Originally, The NZ Transport Agency told me that they couldn't give out the history of the car...but I told them that the car was on the other side of the planet!! So, they emailed me the info including the build specs. Interesting...eh?
It is done to original specs. It was painted "Olive green" with OEW roof. These colours were not offered on cars built in the UK. It originally had a dove gray leather interior with porcelain green stitching and piping. Gray carpet. All that was made in the UK and shipped over here. The engine bay has been totally done professionally. Pictures will be forthcoming.
The car has won Best Of Show 3 times this summer including the prestigious "Brian Owens" award for most faithful to originality and best of the concours class at Mini Meet East at Kingston,NY this summer. It won awards in every show it went to since it was completed in May. She was invited (and attended) the prestigious Radnor Hunt Concours D'Elegance in Pennsylvania as well. This is not your typical "driver" Elf. Most people would not have spent the time or money restoring this car to the level it is now. So, when I post it for sale I know the price will eliminate buyers interested in "a driver". That is not the market I am aiming for.
