Rolls-Royce 1937 25/30 H.J. Mulliner GWN70

1937 Rolls-Royce Other Description

1937 ROLLS-ROYCE MODEL 25/30 CHASSIS NO.GWN70

Four Door Sports saloon by H.J. Mulliner

Based partly on history provided by prior owner ofGWN70, 1969-2015

ChassisGWN70was sold by Rolls-Royce Corporation directly to its first owner, Mr. V. Jobson, Esq.of Qualcast Works, Victory Road, Derby, England in December, 1936. Earlier in the year, GUL17, a 25/30 with H.J. Mulliner body 4315 had been delivered to the same Vincent Jobson. Now he traded it back and as specified in the chassis cards forGWN70, the four-door salon body by Coachmaker H. J. Mulliner from GUL17, his first 25/30, was fitted toGWN70. In the meantime, Rolls-Royce specified that Mr Jobson should ?have use of a car? whilst the body was being transferred.

Mr. VincentJobson,was chairman and managing director of Qualcast, Ltd., of Derby and chairman of Aga Heat, Ltd. Qualcast is one of the most enduring names in British grass mowers, and Agahaveprovided a range of kitchen stoves over many decades that have always been desired. The current owner ofGWN70remembers that, in his youth, twice a day it was his job to shovel coke into one.

In the attached image, 1936 was a boom year for Qualcast mowers if their advertising is to be believed and this may explain his confidence in buying two 25/30s in the course of one year.

The Build Sheet shows the price of the chassis to be UK pounds 1,100 which was about $5,500 at that time. The cost of the body is unknown.

How long Mr. Jobson owned the car is unclear. His ownership was probably fairly brief as Andre Blaize has a record that it was traded in by Jobson for a Phantom III for a credit of £1,150 in 1937 for a new Phantom III 3CP128, Jack Barclay invoice 04/10/1937.

Sir Lionel Reginald and Heather Alice Blunt then boughtGWN70but also coincidentally traded it in for a Phantom III, a used 3AZ136, Jack Barclay invoice 09/11/1938 order 1173.

Keith Pyman, Geoffrey Llewellyn Reckitt (sp?), and Andrew A. Kinnison are listed as subsequent owners. At some point Car Mart may have been an owner, as a dealer's plate, Car Mart of London was on the car.

The car was bought by the most recent prior owner through an agent in April 1969 from a Rolls-Royce dealer in London, Adams & Oliver. Nothing could be found about the history of the car before it surfaced at Adams & Oliver.

The agent arranged for shipment to Chicago, Illinois. Because of a dockworkers strike in Chicago, after a long delay it was shipped to Detroit, Michigan. As the car was driven to the London docks, on July 3,1969, the prior owner flew to Detroit and bravely drove this 32-year old car to Illinois. Surprisingly, there were no major problems.

The car was dirty, but undamaged when it arrived at the Detroit docks. It looked its age, inside and out. The good news was that it was all there - even the RR number, tags, and Coachmaker name plate - little need to search for parts.

A long, tedious restoration followed. Much of the wood framing of the body had to be replaced. Engine, transmission, running gear and brakes were repaired. All upholstery was replaced. All interior trim was repaired. All sheet metal was straightened and repainted. The original color was black, now a silver/blue. All bright work was re-chromed. The restoration started shortly after 1969 and proceeded unevenly in steps. It ended in 2012 after an extraordinary sum had been paid in restoration. Hundreds of pages of invoices and details of the restoration are available and the total spent is in excess of US$300,000.

The wooden body framing was completely replaced with new white ash wood. Interior woodwork was refinished and a new dashboard was installed, all of the original color. All windows were replaced with laminated safety plate glass. Tires are new. The trunk has been completely rebuilt. Upholstery, carpets and the headliner are new and of the original color. The original hood mascot is on the car as are the builders' plates and the dealers' plates. The exterior paint is of a silver-blue color rather than the original black.

Charming airmailed letters still survive from 1969, along with myriad other documents, describing the purchase after consideration of other cars. Boxes of correspondence and invoices abound.

Mileage is not known. 9,900 miles are shown on the odometer.

The car is structurally very sound, drives beautifully with a sweet-sounding engine, and benefited from the unlimited budget of a determined and enthusiastic owner over almost fifty years.

Glyn Morris,glyn@daltonwatson.com

Video athttps://youtu.be/7Syd4_f55uE