1930 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Sports Saloon by The Southern Motor Co.

Registration No: EEL 999
Chassis No: GLR2
MOT: Exempt

• Originally fitted with fabric-covered Weymann Saloon coachwork by Cooper & Sons
• Rebodied and updated in 1938 by The Southern Motor Co.
• Much expenditure in current ownership
• Driving and presenting ‘very well’

Rolls-Royce introduced the 20/25 in 1929 as a successor to the outgoing 20. Though the newcomer was primarily aimed at owner drivers, many examples were nevertheless sold to customers with chauffeurs. Power came from an enlarged version of the straight-six unit used in the 20. Now 3,699cc, it made for swifter acceleration and a higher top speed of up to 75mph. Bodywork for the 20/25, was to the taste of each individual customer, and Freestone & Webb, Gurney Nutting, Park Ward, Thrupp & Maberly, Mulliner, and Hooper were among the many coachbuilders selected to clothe these fine motorcars. Nearly 4,000 20/25 chassis were ultimately produced, making it the company’s best-selling model between the wars. Today’s Rolls-Royces are undoubtedly technological wonders in their own way, and the company, though no longer British owned, does at least conduct its manufacturing on English soil. Whether they match the majesty of their wholly British forbears is a matter of opinion, however.

First registered on 14^th April, 1930, chassis number GLR2, originally began life as a Weymann's Saloon from coachbuilders H. F. Cooper & Sons. The system used a patent-jointed wood frame covered in fabric, based upon aircraft fuselage manufacturing methods the design was fashionable on cars in the 1920's, it offered quieter travel. Originally delivered to Mr Maurice T. Molloy on the 14^th April, 1930, at some point in its life, the 20/25 was ‘modernised', with the chassis undergoing a re-clothing in a Sports Saloon body by The Southern Motor Co. of 72, Park Hill, Clapham in July of 1938. H.F. Cooper & Sons only delivered 5 cars on a Rolls-Royce chassis, and 3 further rebodies, 8 in total.

With just two 2 former keepers recorded on the V5C, the current family owners, purchased the Sports Saloon some 20-30 years ago. In the ownership of the Henderson family of Penrith, the 20/25 Sports Saloon, finished in Cream with complementing Cream leather interior, has seen work on the body and mechanical areas with invoices on file. There are invoices for the repair of the dynamo between 2004 and 2007 and in 2005 Dennis Pilling & Son, Rolls-Royce & Bentley Specialists of Leigh, Lancashire, carried out a number of jobs that included investigation and repair of the cylinder head and fitting a new cylinder head, along with a manifold repair. The work came to a total of £10,308.71. Over a thousand pounds was spent at Clark Automotive, Cumbria, in the autumn of 2007, for brake work, shock absorbers and the exhaust. In late 2011, the owners, Cars of Distinction of Penrith (Henderson family owned), employed the services of Ian Bainbridge Motor Body Repairs, Shap, Cumbria for some bodywork at a cost of just over one thousand pounds, with an invoice on file.

Bodywork and paint present ‘well’ and the engine ‘runs smoothly’. Receiving an interior retrim at some point, the woodwork, which is believed to be original, still presents nicely. ‘EEL 999’ is said to drive ‘very well’, at the time of our visit. Offered with some old MOT paperwork, invoices for restoration work and repairs carried out over the years, there is also a V5C present in the family name relating to it more recent long-term ownership.

For more information, please contact:
Julian Pinkster
julian.pinkster@handh.co.uk
07889 223 904