Page 32 - May2022

The Int erview, cont inued from page 31

The Bug-eye, the Tiger, and the Kestrel Sprite all returning to Singapore, they rebuilt some of the
require clutch work and I?ve just not gotten on with car so Lilith could drive it in the 1972 Singapore
them. My first Model A is also still in residence. Vintage GP at the age of 17!

On the plus side, while the MGTC is technically a In later ?72 the family moved to the USA along with
basket-case, it is a complete car needing engine the Lynx, a ?34 Aston Martin LeMans, and an E-type
assembly and lots of paint! Jag. However, immigration issues resulted in Lilith
going to the UK while her parents ?sorted things? in
Q. Let?s stick with the Rileys. Tell me about the Lynx, America, which didn? work out!
t
where you found it and how you came to own it.
They rejoined their daughter in the UK in 1973,
A. Seeking a Lynx was a result of my Riley
bringing all the cars with them. Then, Lilith
immersion, which was started by The Sprite. My UK decided at 18, to move to Oregon. Within a few
Riley mentor, John Golder, was the person who
months her parents sold the cars and sent her
supplied me with the aforementioned Sprite ?ride money to buy a Winnebago, instructing her to
cassette?, along with a replacement engine/trans
drive it to Chicago (at age 18) to meet their plane
for the Sprite, many other parts, information,
as the immigration stuff was now complete. So,
encouragement, and friendship.
she did. I?ve been to visit Lillith in Florida and we
keep in touch.
In the 1970s and '80s John had two Sprites, a
Lynx,and a larger saloon car, a Kestrel Sprite. He
Q. What about the third car, the Kestrel Sprite? There
loved them all but claimed that the Lynx was the must be a story behind it, too.
most satisfying for a family man seeking a
combination of driving fun and pleasure. So I A. The Kestrel is a very competent car and with
started looking for a Lynx, without success, and a Sprite Tuned engine it performs well. The car
ultimately sent him money to buy one for me in rides and handles better than most US cars of
the UK if possible. Time passed. the ?50s while also being an 80 mph car if

pushed. As time passed the Kestrels by, they
In the meantime, in 1988, an ad appeared in
were still sought after in the UK into the 1960s
Hemmings Motor News. A Lynx was for sale, at a
reasonable price and already in the USA (no ocean as very usable, competent cars until their
shipping costs). I got my money back from John ash? framed bodies started to rot off!
and bought my 1937 Lynx.
Q. Isn't your involvement with the UK based Riley
In 2015, a contact at my Riley Register club emailed Register a bit more involved than being a simple
the info that a previous owner of the Lynx had member?
asked the club if they had any idea of its
A. I believe I became the club?s North American
whereabouts. Of course, I then entered into
Secretary in about 2007. I?ve been to the UK five
discussion with Lilith Evans (now of Pensacola, FL)
t
times on vacation/Riley diversions. I simply can?
about the car?s current state pretty much (just as
ignore Riley opportunities while there and I?m
she?d left it in 1973!) and our individual
experiences with the Lynx. an Anglophile whose roots go back to the
islands. I love learning about the culture. I still
Lilith?s father, Ken, was a petroleum engineer have relatives in Wales that my wife Carol and I
working in Singapore, which is where the Riley
visit, and I?ve made many new friends through
factory sold the car. He bought it wrecked in 1963
the Register I?ve not yet chanced to visit.
and fixed it up. They took the car to the UK on
Continues on page 33
vacation in 1968 and got it registered there. After

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