English Roll Royce

Very formal!

All depence on a price i think 

Another.  I am unsure of coachbuilder and perhaps one of our more knowledgeable members can educate me on this local to me RR.

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Classic Car FanJun 30, 2018

If I recall correctly this is a 1928 Barker bodied Phantom. The photo was taken in 1985 when the restoration was complete. Mike Fennel Enterprises, Saugas Ca.I was tasked with being the project manager on this car.

This looks a lot like the one restyled by Briggs Cunningham in the 1950s.

Having been born and raised in Springfield, the British  cars just don't do anything for me...............

If I could have any car I wanted - and only that car – it would be a 1914 Ghost with a London-Edinburgh tourer body.

JV PuleoJul 1, 2018

If I could have any car I wanted - and only that car – it would be a 1914 Ghost with a London-Edinburgh tourer body.

Imteresting choice........what about a Chadwick? A Pierce 66, and a whole bunch of others to consider. While I agree the Ghost is fantastic, there are some very interesting low production things out there.........Big Peerless T head, 48 Loco, Alco, Knox six, etc,etc, and all are just as interesting as the Rolls........and several will be better drivers. Ed

Ed, bear in mind a favorite could n.v e based on some subliminal thing from the distant past vs. Research, stats or even experience.  Do you agree sir, that Cars are a unique blend of emotion and practicality. 

Aside from photographs I've never seen a Chadwick though I understand they were fabulous. My exposure to the Pierce and the big Loco is also limited though, from what I have seen, they are wonderful machines. I have spent a good deal of time on the Ghost and probably have just about every book in English dealing with pre-WWI RRs so it is the great early car I feel competent to make a judgment about. As to the cars I have less personal experience with, I am very skeptical of the American penchant for judging cars by their appearance. It's the mechanical parts that interest me far more than the bodywork. The fact is, I'd prefer the bare chassis of something I liked to most any mid-30s car, even the highly desirable classics.

Oh... and my second choice would be a 48HP Locomobile.

I agree on Pre WW1 stuff the engine and chassis are where it’s at. Pierce used cast aluminum bodies......absolutely fantastic machines, and add in 825 cubic inch T head motor........they are hard to beat. I had a ride in a Chadwick, and it was quite the beast! Nothing refined about it..........but it sure is an interesting car. Most of the Pierce guys prefer the 48 series......although the 66 is like killing a fly with a land mine. There are a lot of very cool early high horsepower cars, unfortunately they seem to never get out of their garages or museums. 

Ed, another beast to go along with the Chadwick would be a big Thomas K 6-70 (51/2 bore 51/5 stroke) which as David Greenlees says, you up shift going up a hill. While on great pre-WWI cars don't forget Lozier, National, Packard, and of course Simplex. Years ago it seemed as though the most common cars on a FARTS tour were Silver Ghosts and Model 30 Packards. Having been raised in a Packard family my favorite brass Packard was the 1905 Model N, a car my father bought in 1936 from the original owner, two years before I was born. Truly a fantastic car that the owners had driven from Philadelphia to the West Coast at least once and had climbed Pikes Peak in it. Easily cruised around 50 and I frequently would pass Model A's on trailers on my way from Downingtown to Hershey every Fall. Although not one of the huge displacement cars, it is hard to beat a T-Head Mercer raceabout for sheer driving fun. Ed, yes the Stutz boys always said "There is nothing worser than a Mercer", the Mercer people always responded with "You've got to be nuts to drive a Stutz'".

I just finished reading Gentile's "Phantom II Continental".    The book is not very expensive (typically around 50 bucks) but contains a LOT of good information.  For example,   he lists every chassis change in each Series of the PII.     There were close to 1700 total chassis built at Derby in series.   A typical series might be around 100 cars.     The book contains lots of pictures and Gentile was a fan of the English bodies over the American Brewster bodies that went on most of the LHD AJS & AMS series cars.     There are some crazy Brewster bodies,  but I have to admit that most of the English bodies are cool.

I think this particular car has its own thread around here somewhere and is well noted in the book.  It was originally owned by Barbara Hutton's husband.  Some history here from when it went up for sale a few years ago.

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24809/lot/156/