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Here’s an interesting project for someone who wants something very classy. It may be hard to tell in the photo, but there’s a 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom under there! It’s obviously going to need a full restoration and it’s not going to be cheap, but the end result will be stunning. These were amazingly high quality cars when new and apparently there is some speculation that this is a rare Continental model. That would mean it would have a shorter wheelbase and stiffer suspension than the standard model. Sounds like a sport model to me! I don’t know enough about these wonderful cars to confirm that little detail, but perhaps our readers can crack the mystery here? Take a closer look here on eBay and let us all know what you think.
Hmm. I’m not all that knowledgeable about old Rolls Royces, but I would think that this is a bit high for an incomplete, literal basket case. But unfortunately people see perfect examples sell at auctions for obscene prices, and hey! It’s a Rolls, so it must be worth a small fortune, right?
I love a basket project. They sell so much cheeper than an assembled car that has to be disassembled for restoration anyway……and some of the labor is already done. Old cars are not that complicated and there are plenty of experts and other examples to learn from if you get in a bind. This one would be fun.
I would love to restore it. On the clock-on someone elses dime! I’m sure the purchase price will be the least expense in the project.
64 bids? And only $15k so far. Bidding a couple of hundred each pop?
I know how to make a small fortune restoring this car . . . but unfortunately you need to start with a large fortune . . .
The firewall tag is in French, does that mean it was destined for France, or possibly Quebec? just curious.
It will be a very impressive car when it’s back together.
http://goodmanreed.com/inventory/1931-rolls-royce-phantom-ii-continental-touring-saloon-1/
It’s sad and illogical, this car is not economically viable to restore. Were it any of it’s contemporaries such as Duesenberg, Bugatti or say Hispano Suisa, it would be.
I think if this car could be well purchased, moved to a proper storage facility where everything could be organized and inventoried so you could begin the search for any missing or replacements for unusable parts. I would finish the disassembly and start building it from the ground up at a slow bell. The car will be appreciating as time goes. I would continue a slow deliberate restoration as time and opportunity permitted. Even if someone else finished the project, in the end, it would be a success.
This car will never be worth anything to a serious collector – it’s just a big ugly 4-door, can’t even tell if it had a division which if it does makes it even more undesirable. If this thing survives as a car under it’s chassis number, it will be rebodied as a sporty convertible or roadster, otherwise it’s either parts car or hot rod material, in fact the body could be re-purposed as a huge hot rod if someone built a sporty roadster or convertible on the chassis. But big ugly four-door Rolls-Royces like this are all too common, all too ugly and not very desirable. And I am a Rolls enthusiast, I’ve just got to call it like I see it!
No one mentioned anything about my challenge to figure out if it really is a Continental model. My guess is no, but does anyone here know enough about these old Rolls to confirm that?
Would be easy enough to confirm, unfortunately my reference books are packed away so I can’t do it.
The French tag is probably a coachbuilder ID, Rolls didn’t make their own bodies back then. Bentley made “continentals” I’ve not yet heard of a Rolls with such a name, considering they were not united back then it could have been referred to as a “continental” if it was LHD. SWB Phantom? Has anyone ever heard of this?
A quick search reveals that they did build a short wheelbase version.
I’m sorry to be so critical here, but this is how so much bad information gets promulgated on the internet – the plate in French is there because the car was sold new in France. It has NOTHING to do with the coachbuilder. Rolls first used the Continental name back in 1931!!! which is the year Rolls-Royce bought Bentley. There were only 125 LHD PII’s built, most sold new in USA through Inskip in NYC. There were two wheel bases used. Virtually all construction records for pre-1966 cars are available through RREC in England so useless speculation is generally just that – the answers are there for those who really want to get them.
Measure the wheelbase. 144″ = Continental, only 281 made.
According to the Rolls Royce Owners Club, no GN serial numbers were turned into Continental models. This car is 114 GN.
http://rroc.org.au/wiki/index.php?title=Phantom_II
Also note that GN is only 1930. May have been bodied in 1931?
So it’s not a continental, but it’s still an impressive car with incredible build quality. The seller says 90% + parts are with the car.. I’d be curious what is missing because some bits will be hard to find. I hope someone will at least get it reassembled and preserved if not restored. The cost to do this one will be high, and the end value for these is unfairly low. It’s contemporaries sell for a million, leaving lots of room for a proper resto, but with this car one will need to be careful with their spending.
Awesome barn find!
Re: Tim, I earlier noted that if it were a Duesenberg, Bugatti, or Hispano-Suisa sedan it might very well be worth restoring and quite valuable when done, but for some reason one might sink three or four hundred thousand into restoring this one and if lucky have a mere one hundred thousand dollar car when done. That simply makes no sense but is the reality of Rolls-Royce values in today’s marketplace. Particularly for a rather ordinary four-door saloon with no significant history that anyone apparently knows of.