A gentle Rolls-Royce restoration

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Many people would lavish money on restoring a Vintage Rolls-Royce, perhaps in the hope of recognition at shows and Concours, but some people are content to do whatever is in their means to save a dying car. The advantage of this second approach is that it is often cheaper to preserve existing items than to replace or restore them, so the finished result is a nice Oily Rag as in the case of this 1929 Rolls-Royce 20hp tourer.

Like many Rolls-Royces, the ownership history of this car is reasonably well-documented, though there are some mysteries still to be solved, such as how it came to wear a Hooper tourer body when it had originally been bodied as a coupé by Connaught. One of the most important points in this car’s history is that it was taken to the Isle of Wight in 1956, where it has stayed ever since and shall stay for the foreseeable future.

Except for two weddings in 1978 and 1986, the car saw no use for 60 years and, on being rescued, it was found with dead rats inside it, a seized engine and tattered upholstery. Patience, perseverance and conviction saw it tidied up and restored to the splendid condition in which it can now be seen running around the island. Michael Ware tells another tale of resurrection in his Back on the Road series in the April issue of The Automobile, on sale now.

Words by Zack Stiling. Photographs by Michael Ware.

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