Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

Rick · Site Admin Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22842 Location: UK

Can anyone id the coachbuilder responsible for bodying this R-R, seen here on a tour of Europe?

Secondly, photos of a sad R-R chassis on the back of a '50s Commer were included with those shown above. Is it likely to be the same car?

RJ
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Peter_L · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 4:31 pm Post subject:

I can't help with the coachbuilder, but could the chassis be the same Rolls before restoration. The car could well have been rebuilt during the 1950's with a "grand european tour" in mind. Note the forward hinged front doors. White paintwork and what appear to be fairly heavy treaded tyres, maybe suggest that this gentleman had been there before and that could well be Monte Cassino during the rebuild period. (Destroyed 1944 and completed 1964 ish), If this gentleman had the car rebuilt, maybe it was destroyed during WWII, was he at Cassino ? if so then he wasn't an oridnary foot soldier.

OK, I accept it is all speculation and doesn't answer the question, but it would be great to know who he was.

Rick · Site Admin Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22842 Location: UK

Regarding the smart-looking R-R, this from the VSCC:

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GC 2344 is shown in "The Rolls-Royce Phantoms" By D.B. Tubbs on page 31, the caption reads "In 1930 Phantom 11 chassis no 12 XJ fitted with Thrupp & Maberley sedanca de ville body was sent on an extended sales, promotion and propoganda tour of 6,000 miles visiting ten countries in North Africa and then the Balkan states"

In "Rolls-Royce the Derby Phantoms" by Lawrence Dalton, it is listd as a Cabriolet by T & M.
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Peter_L · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2011 5:23 pm Post subject:

... Thrupp and Maberley did produce forward hinged front doors quite early, but surely the photos are not of a sedanca de ville body ?

The reg # fits with 1929 - 1930.

I can't see a tax disc on the windshield.

No clues on the actual photos Rick ?

Castellated nut · Joined: 08 Dec 2007 Posts: 91 Location: Shropshire, UK

DVLA have it listed as 1929 and colour as black, and it appears to be currently taxed. Date of first registration is shown as 24 11 2003, so maybe it has been off the road for a long time (or could it have been re-imported and its original registration recovered?).

Lomerc1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 14

XJ12 is definately shown as a Sedanca de ville body and if you look at the photo you can see the join in the roof behind the driver. You can also see the division between the front and rear compartments.

The chassis shown in the photos could well be from this car as it was manufactured prior to March 1932 (XJ12 was manufactured February 1930) when the phantom 2's were fitted with an air cleaner/silencer to the carburettor.
The only thing against it being the same one is that it does appear to have a large mudguard stay coming off the chassis just below the bonnet catch which would not seem to in keeping with the guards on XJ12.

David