For Sale at Auction: 1935 Rolls-Royce Phantom in Carmel, California

Chassis No. 54UK

Of all the coachbuilt Phantom IIs, few can claim a history as unique as the long-chassis example offered here. Originally invoiced on 27 June 1935 to Miss Marion A. Smith of Enfield, Massachusetts, the Phantom was shipped from Liverpool on 6 July 1935 and delivered with its guarantee commencing 30 August of that year. Its first body was a formal limousine, later replaced by a Newport Town Car style body around 1941.

The car's definitive chapter began when it passed to Douglas Rogers of Weston, Massachusetts, in 1954, a former Rolls-Royce of America employee whose intimate knowledge of the marque shaped one of the most considered restorations of a Phantom II. Shortly after acquiring the car, Rogers commissioned a bespoke open two-seater body from Hooper and Co. of London of his own design, working directly with Director and Chief Designer Osmond Rivers. It proved to be the final Phantom II ever bodied by Hooper, and among the last coachwork to leave the historic workshop before the firm ceased production in 1959.

The dominant theme throughout is an exhaustive substitution of stainless steel for other metals wherever possible, a program Rogers pursued with a thoroughness that gave even Hooper pause. Rivers wrote with candor saying, "I guessed that you would find it extremely hard work to make wings of stainless steel and quite frankly, we were rather pleased that you did not ask us to do them for you!" Rogers made them himself.

The full scope of the stainless program is documented in the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club Bulletin #92 from 1975. At the hardware level it encompasses every stud, nut, bolt, clevis pin, washer, split pin, control rod, conduit, pipe, and hose clamp on the car. Major assemblies follow suit including the spare wheel mountings, ride control linkage, water pump, dynamo and magneto drive couplings, transmission and rear axle fasteners, fuel tank, brake parts and cables, and front and rear bumpers. The fenders feature polished bare stainless beaded edges and entirely unpainted undersurfaces. Batteries are in stainless cases, the radiator hardware and shutter mechanism are type 347 stainless, and lastly the radiator shell itself is Firth's Staybrite, supplied by Rolls-Royce.

The engine received a high-compression cylinder head commissioned directly from Rolls-Royce, complementing the four-speed manual transmission, leaf spring suspension, servo-assisted drum brakes, and single-shot chassis lubrication system.

Interior appointments match the mechanical standard with solid walnut facia and door trims, solid mahogany running boards and floorboards with stainless fittings, and hand-made strap buckles on the road spring leather gaiters. The silk mohair hood was lined with West of England cloth, supplemented by a black nylon secondary cover for weather protection.

At a time when a new Cadillac Eldorado retailed for $7,750 and a Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn for approximately $13,000, Rogers' outlay of $30,351.27 in materials, alongside a further 8,239 hours of labor, speaks to a restoration conducted without compromise.

At the 1958 Rolls-Royce Owners' Club show in Montreal, the car won both the Rolls-Royce Memorial Trophy as Best in Show and the Hooper Trophy outright. Rogers held onto his beloved Hooper Phantom for nearly four decades until 1992, when it passed to a fellow enthusiast under whose custodianship a full frame-off restoration was completed in the 1990s, refinishing the car in Delft Blue with cream accents while retaining the original Hooper lines, Rogers-fabricated stainless wings, and properly replated brightwork throughout.

Accompanied by correspondence with Hooper & Co. and other documentation from the Rolls-Royce Foundation, chassis number 54UK represents an unrepeatable expression of marque history, coachbuilding legacy, and individual vision.