ACC0610 Rolls Royce

8/6/2019 ACC0610 Rolls Royce

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Rolls

Old gold

Words Bn Din

Photos Nn Duff

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As you can imagine, thisblazingly bright car dividesopinion. Even owner Alan

Gale concedes he might beinsane although not

because of the paint job

R

olls-Royce. The

merest mention

of this prestigious

name conjures

images of lords

and ladies

gathering on

green lawns for

a game of poloand assorted

frolicking, while penguin-suited

butlers stand holding trays of

champagne and hors doeuvres.

An accurate portrayal it might

not be, but owning this symbol of

wealth has never meant the owner

is short of a few bob. Alan Gale

is one man who has the means

but still describes his love of

Rolls-Royce as economic lunacy.

This doctors particular poison

chalice is a gorgeous 1929 Rolls-

Royce Phantom II that has quite

a remarkable history.

Fate and destinyFortune has graced us in bringing

Alan and his Phantom to our

attention, as it is quite something

to behold. A rare car to begin

with one of 1680 Phantom IIs

produced between 1929 and 1936

it was also subject to a restoration

that has some of the RR faithful

asking if another kind of lunacy

led Alan to his colour choice.

The true Rolls-Royce aficionados

hate it, Alan smiles. I saw the

1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom ii Sedanca de Ville

yellow-black colour scheme on a

Bugatti and knew it would suit

the Rolls.

This reaction to the colour is

quite universal. People either love

it or hate, theres no in-between,

Alan explains.

And then there is the size. The

car is massive, no doubt aboutit, but how it is proportioned is

something Alan took great pains

in deciding, making sure the right

body style was chosen for the

20-odd foot chassis.

Originally he wanted a swoopy

coup-style body, but after seeing

the original Sedanca de Ville

design, by Brewster of Springfield

in the US, he knew it would be

better proportioned.

The nostalgia of the Phantoms

era helped make the decision

easier. With the Sedanca de Ville

body style, Alan could enjoy theelegance of having the ladies sit in

the back and then the men in the

open carriage up front.

Its gargantuan size doesnt

really translate into imperiousness

or arrogance, though. From the

front it almost looks petit and has

a feminine elegance about it from

any angle.

The cabin has adequate room for

two up front and three in the back,

but doesnt have the limousine

spaciousness one might expect.

Interesting features abound, like

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CARAMEL AND

WALNUTS Whatever youthink of the Phantomsexterior colour, theres nodoubt the yellow leatherand walnut trim are amatch made in heaven.

The first two owners paid the

princely sum of 1589 for the

vehicle and sometime later sold

the Phantom to a farmer.

The fashion in 1930s and 40s

Australia saw many a Rolls-Royce

pushed into rural servitude its inherent mechanical strength

made it suitable for life as a truck.

The original Weymann body

was turfed in favour of a tray on

the back and simple cab up front,

stripping the luxurious Phantom of

all social status and relegating it

to the role of forced labour.

The Spirit of Ecstasy mascot

has become the most identifiable

feature of the Rolls-Royce brand

(the grille also, but this can often

be confused with a Bentley item

for the uninitiated). Yet for all its

elegance, it has a spicy history.

compartments for champagne

glasses and fold-down tables

just the thing for a Sunday outing

in the country, followed by some

pheasant shooting.

The walnut trim and Connolly

leather make the interior feel evenmore special than the exterior.

Outside, the wooden running

boards feature all the flat-head

screws in symmetrical alignment

along the length of the board. Alan

says this is due to Rolls the man

being a perfectionist.

It is the little things that make

Rolls what they are, he says.

Fresh oFF the boatAlan has documents stretching

back to when the car was imported

into Australia on February 4, 1930,

aboard the SS Fonsdale.


t 1930s 40s sw y Rs pus rur srvu

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The story is that early automotive

champion Lord Montagu, who was

also the editor of the fi rst motoring

magazine The Car wanted a

mascot for his Silver Ghost.

Marrying for everything else but

love, Lord Montagus mistress washis inspiration, his muse. Thus he

decided there would be no more

fitting a mascot to adorn the front

of his car than his lover and

secretary, Eleanor Thornton.

The fashion of the time was to

have a mascot on the bonnet to

symbolise traits, real or imagined,

of the car or driver. Lord Montagu

commissioned his friend and

confidant, Charles Robinson Sykes,

to create the adornment.

Sykes used Eleanor as his model.

Originally Sykes Eleanor was a

lady in fluttering robes with a

BACK TO ITS BESTFormer owner and 1960sTV star, Tony Ward, wouldbarely recognise the Rollshad he lived to see it now.

finger pressed to her lips. This

sculpture was named The

Whisper and was a symbol of

Montagu and Eleanors secret love.

Yes a symbol of secret love

that Lord Montagu plopped on his

Rolls-Royce for all to behold!Sometime later, Sykes was

again commissioned to produce

a mascot for an RR, but it wasnt

just for one Rolls-Royce, it was to

be the official mascot for all Rolls-

Royce models.

Eleanor was again drafted as

the feminine form to be used, and

thus the Spirit of Ecstasy was

born to almost universal acclaim.

Co-founder of the company,

Henry Royce, was one man not

enamoured with the sculpture, and

rarely drove a model adorned with

the figurine.

Given the ambiguity in partner

choice by lords of the time it is

lucky that Lord Montagu enjoyed

relations with the fairer sex, as

Rolls-Royce cars could just have

easily been adorned with Roger

in f lowing garments.

Peas in a PodWhat is the ultimate antithesis to

a Rolls-Royce? Why a Datsun 120Y

of course!

Such vehicular extremes would

never usually have a chance to

meet, but destiny works in

mysterious ways. On one of his

many trips to the petrol station,

Alan stumbled upon a missing

piece of his Rolls-Royce puzzle.

Attached by rusty screws to an

even rustier Datsun 120Y was the

period black and white number

plate RR 1929. Alan knew right

away he had found the perfectobject to set off his Rolls.

A brief introduction followed, in

which the 120Y owner relayed that

his father had had the initials RR

and was born in 1929 and that he

had inherited the RR name (Roy

Ratbag, Alan jokes) along with

the plates, and most probably the

ancient Datto.

Alan named his price for the

whole car (plates cant be bought),

which coincidently happened to

be exactly the amount that Mr R

needed to buy a new shotgun.

Alan didnt delay. He went to theRTA with Mr R and transferred the

Datto into his name, exchanged

number plates and sold the car

back to Mr R for $10.

With the deal done and both

parties extremely satisfied, Alan

farewelled the gun-loving Mr R

and attached his new prize to

the Phantom.

LeFt to dieBefore coming to live with Alan,

the Phantom II was rescued from

an early death by vintage Rolls

expert and well-known Australianactor/journalist, Tony Ward.

The star of 60s TV spy show

Hunter, he found the remains

of the Phantom II on a farm.

Realising the cars value, he

quickly bought the chassis and

running boards and made plans

to restore his prize.

Unfortunately for Tony, a messy

divorce saw the end of that dream,

but it let Alan sink his teeth into

his f irst Rolls-Royce experience.

When Alan first took delivery of

the Phantom, he looked through

the endless documentation Tony

YOU DONT GET THAT IN A TOYOTA A fold-down tableand storage cupboards for your crystal tumblers are justthe sort of luxuries that gave Rolls-Royce its name.

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a s Pvu r $800,000

besides the paint, that is.

The car has won many awards,

including Australian and

Queensland titles, and it oftentakes the peoples choice award

due to its strik ing hue.

Alan has had the Phantom

valued at circa $800,000, which

understandably put a large smile

on his face, but he has no plans to

sell the yellow apparition just yet.

Alan is in good company, as

Clark Gable and JFKs old man,

Joe Kennedy, also chose this

Phantom model. Being in such

auspicious company is just one of

the many perks RR drivers enjoy. A

less attractive side of ownership is

often visited upon Alan when hesdriving in the city.

The Phantom builds up a lot of

momentum, so I leave a significant

gap in traffic only to have a

teenage girl talking on her phone

in a Korean jam-tin whiz in front of

me and then slam the brakes on,

Alan laughs, but coming close to

a serious accident in the big Rolls

has played out more than a few

times with Alan at the wheel.

Still, with a car as gorgeous as

Alan Gales Phantom II, suffering

economic lunacy has never

seemed so attractive.

1929 Rolls-Royce

PhaNtom II

seDaNca De VIlle

EnginE: 7.7-litre (468ci)inline six-cylinder

Transmission:Four-speed manual

PowEr: 90kW (120bhp)@ 3000 rpm

TorquE: N/A

whEElbasE:3658mm (144 in) /3810 mm (150 in)*

lEngTh:5588mm (220in)

widTh: 1524mm (60)

hEighT: 1369mm (53.9)

wEighT: 1837kg (4050lb)/ 3,500 kg (7,700lb)*

0-60 mPh: (0-96 km/h)16.8 seconds

ToP sPEEd: 140 km/h(87 mph)

*dependent on body style

sPecsThe


made in relation to restoration

advice, parts included and other

useful pieces of information.

Amongst the literature was the

official Rolls-Royce Phantom II fuel

consumption figure, pegged at 55

pints per hour without any engine

speed indicated.Broaching the subject of fuel

consumption Alan is deadpan: We

dont talk about that. A little later

he opens up and reveals that real-

world consumption is around

30L/100km or close to 8mpg.

Alan cites Tony as the first real

enthusiast who knew more about

vintage Rolls than anyone else

and often talked with the veteran

TV man about all things RR. Tony

never got to see the finished

product, though, as he passed

away in 2006.

Alanmayhave skipped over

Tonys notes on how the resto

should be done, and he concedes

the late actor could be spinning in

his grave at Alans colour choice.

economic LunacyThe Phantoms restoration is where

the economic lunacy begins 13years of hard graft and a mammoth

amount of folding went into making

the Sedanca de Ville body and

refurbishing all components.

Having parts made and sourced

burned up a lot of cash, examples

being the six-ply white rubber

Firestone tyres from the US and the

Spirit mascot, which despite being

a reproduction, was a four-figure

outlay but dont tell anyone.

Once you are in so deep,

everything has to be absolutely

concours, which it is, Alan says.

Well... absolutely concours

SHOTGUN SALE The numberplate once belonged to a Datsun120Y and had nothing to do withRolls-Royce. Alan snapped it up.

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ACC0610 Rolls Royce

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