PennSilverTaco's European vehicle photo montage and rant/rave thread!

1960 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, UK-spec (RHD)!

 

1963 Silver Cloud III


The most obvious difference between this one and the 1960 model in the previous post is the quad headlamps...

 

I'm usually not big on the prewar Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, but this particular example (which like all the cars in the photos in this thread is listed for sale by Park Ward in Illinois), but this one has had my eye for a while though...

It is a 1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III with coachwork by Thrupp & Maberly!

 

Thanks for the informative post; that was an enjoyable read. When I was a kid I had several of those coffee table classic car books; one in particular was written by an British author and seemed very biased towards British cars, naturally. I remember being intrigued by cars like the Carmague and the even-weirder Aston Martin Lagonda. The Rolls doesn't work from every angle but the thin pillars, big greenhouse and kamm tail are so classic Pininfarina from that era.

 

My old contact in Hong Kong once owned a Lagonda when he lived in the states!

 

Thanks for the entertaining read. A lot more interesting than “can I fit 35’s without rubbing?”.

True story: my uncle is a finishing carpenter. His work truck broke down about the same time he inherited an older Rolls Royce Corniche from a death in the family. Pressed to get to work with no wheels, he threw the mitresaw, hand tools, and planer in the trunk of the Rolls, and a small stepladder in the back seat. For a couple weeks he showed up on the job everyday in a Rolls, which made his employer proclaim “I pay you guys way too much”.

 

The guy from Hong Kong I mentioned is an interior designer, and he brought cobblestones or blocks of some sort to a client's home in the trunk of his '81 Camargue!

 

Ahh. That's so great. Sounds like an episode of "Arrested Development" or something, haha.

 

RANDOM FACT:

Just about every real Rolls-Royce had an open rear differential! The Bentley Continental (not the overpriced Volkswagen that debuted in 2004, but the real Bentley Continental made from about 1992-2001) had a limited-slip rear differential. A few of the one-off all-wheel drive Bentleys built for the Sultan of Brunei in the 1990s had limited-slip differentials as well.

However, I 99.9% guarantee that any Rolls-Royce you see is doing the one-wheel peel! Translation: No, a Rolls-Royce does not have a posi!

 

@Danno1985
@Stocklocker

This is a 1992 Bentley Continental R, probably my favorite in the Park Ward inventory!

 

By all reports, the Corniche made a great service vehicle. The trunk was absolutely huge, and the ride plush and soothing after a hard day’s work.

 

When my old acquaintance from Hong Kong told me that the vast majority of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys DO NOT have what most car enthusiasts refer to as "positraction," I was a bit shocked that something so expensive had an open rear. However, I eventually got to thinking. WTF would you ever be using a Rolls for that requires a posi rear? You're not gonna be drag racing the damn thing, or driving it in the mud or snow!

 

Did he keep the Corniche?!?!

 

It might be blasphemy but I sure do like the Bentley's with Vw motors.

 

Oh yes please.

 

So do I, but knowing what I know now, I would NEVER actually buy one!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you could probably change the starter on your Taco by yourself, right?

Not so on a Bentley Continental...

My contact in Hong Kong said this was to get wealthy owners to junk the old Bentley and buy a new one...

The engine layout is designed in such a way that the engine must be removed to access, and thus replace, the starter motor! When all is said and done, you're looking at about $15K in parts and labor!

 

I was in high school when these came out, and it was my dream car for the longest time! However, while I would still like to get behind the wheel someday, I'd never buy one! We'd all be better off keeping our Tacomas than buying a Bentley Continental if we hit the lottery!

 

Yes. He lives on a homestead and is a bit of a pack-rat. Never sells or throws away anything. I expect him to be featured on “American Pickers” (or the Canadian version) one day. Last time I visited him, the Rolls is still on his property, but I’m not sure if it still runs. Will be a find for someone someday.

 

What year is it?

 

Here's an interior shot of the 1936 Phantom III with Thrupp and Maberly coachwork...

This motorcar is not in bad shape at all, inside and out...

The interior is quite correct (I think it was restored at some point in the 1980s). Obviously, a 1936 Rolls-Royce did not come from the factory with a radio, so that AM/FM unit is obviously not original. My old acquaintance from Hong Kong looked at this very picture and believed that the radio was probably added in the 1960s or 1970s. It is not at all original, and while I don't think "correct" is the proper term, the install is very good in my opinion. It does not take away from the overall appearance of the car!

If this were my car, I'd install this head unit in it, with some Pioneer 6x9s discreetly hidden under the dash and in the rear footwells....