1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Pall Mall Tourer Rolls-Royce 40/50

This 1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Pall Mall Tourer was delivered new to Mr. E.M. Winslow of Lynn, Massachusetts on December 24th, 1924 and stayed in New England until recently being brought to California. The car has been a well-known member of the Rolls Royce community for decades, having resided for many years in the collection of Rolls Royce enthusiast and Friendly’s Ice Cream founder S. Prestley Blake. Assembled at Rolls Royce’s Springfield, Massachusetts facility, the car features a Springfield Ghost right hand drive chassis with 4-speed side shifter. This is a matching numbers example with its original Pall Mall open bodied coachwork. Under current ownership it has been the recipient of a new top and some upholstery work. Recent mechanical work has kept it in good running order, and the paintwork was renewed 10 years ago. The selling dealer is located in Santa Barbara, California and is offering the car with the build sheet card from Rolls Royce and a clear Missouri title. The Silver Ghost became so successful for Rolls-Royce that the company set up production facilities in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1920, citing the area’s access to suppliers and the ample supply of skilled craftsmen as the reason for the location of the plant. The first Springfield Silver Ghosts were assembled from kits of parts brought from England, although they continued to add American vendors for accessories and electrical systems. This example was repainted 10 years ago and a new tan canvas soft top was recently installed. The car has a live front axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs, a live rear axle with platform cantilever rear suspension, and rear-wheel mechanical drum brakes. While the Springfield-built cars were late to get improvements such as four-wheel brakes, many of the American components were of higher quality than those available in the UK. Tubular bumpers and drum-style headlights were some of the exterior features that made the Springfield Silver Ghosts unique, and this car is equipped with American-made wire wheels. The American coachwork was also known for being visually lighter, less formal, and more suited to being used by owner-operators rather than chauffeurs. The open body was built by Rolls-Royce Custom Coachworks. A number of different leading coachbuilders worked on open orders for cataloged bodies from Rolls-Royce, and this brand name was allocated to designs owned by the factory that were produced under contract. Many of the interior panels are original, and the seller reports that the black leather upholstery has received a sympathetic restoration. The 7.4-liter L-head straight-six features a single Rolls-Royce carburetor and distributes power through a 4-speed manual side-shifter transmission with overdrive. The engine compartment looks clean, and the copper and other metallic surfaces have been polished. The factory brass name plate on the bulkhead shows the chassis as number 404-MF. The build sheet card from the files at the factory show the body number as M-1101, and the seller notes that the engine number is 22043. These American Pall Mall examples are reported to be desirable entries at RROC and Silver Ghost Association events, and this car can be used for touring as the overdrive makes it easier to drive at higher speeds.