1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith Series B Touring Limousine

1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith Touring Limousine Description

1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith Series B Touring Limousine• Seldom-seen pre-war Rolls-Royce• Included with Chassis Card Details from Rolls-Royce Enthusiast’s Club Archives• One of 491 examples made in 1938 and 1939 • Ordered at the Brussels Car Show on 12/09/38 and completed on 4/14/39 for J.J Kino who was a Belgian diplomat• Competing coachbuilder, A. Mulliner Ltd. in Northampton, England owned the car until October 21, 1940 • 4.3L OHV straight six-cylinder engine• Four-speed manual transmission with synchromesh on second, third and fourth gears; 8x34 final drive• Black exterior with silver trim• Hooper & Company Coachwork featuring original brown front Connolly Leather upholstery with tan rear cloth upholstery. Front seats have air bladders for lumbar, lateral supports• 136-inch wheelbase• First year of electric power for dividing window and curtain between front and back• ‘Bijur’ automatic chassis lubrication system• ‘Safe-T-Flex’ independent front suspension, licensed from Packard• Dual side-mounted spare tires with covers• Original key, original toolbox is 2/3 complete; hydraulic jack system• Front and rear heaters• Dual fog lights, mascot original to car, original Hermès mirror, parfum bottle and clock • Documents include original Rolls-Royce Handbook; a copy of the Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club, June 2002; hand-written diagrams and printed ones related to vehicle systems; parts and service invoices; a copy of “The Flying Lady,” May 2004; a black-and-white photo of the car, probably commissioned by Hooper that is in the South Kensington Science Museum; Hooper Coachbuilders Treasures in the Denver Public Library Stately, formal and dripping with status, pre-World War II Rolls-Royces have a look unmatched by any other car. One glance and you know what this car is and what it was designed to do. This 1939 Wraith Touring Limousine Series B was one of 491 examples made during 1938 and 1939 and it retains its complete and original interior, which is an exceedingly rare find on a car from the 1930s! Made in Derby, England, the order was made December 9, 1938 at the Brussels Car Show, R-R began chassis fabrication on December 12, 1938 and it was delivered to Hooper & Company Coachwork on February 1, 1939. The instruction book, in English and French, were issued to Hooper’s on February 21, 1939. The original owner was a J.J. Kino, Esq. in Belgium. The second owner was a curious turn, someone at a competing coachbuilder, A. Mulliner Ltd. in Northampton, England owned the car until October 21, 1940. Next, an Eric Fox of Fox’s Glacier Mints, Ltd. in Leicester owned it from October 28, 1940 until September 7, 1948 then an R. J. Metcalfe of Leicester bought it on October 19, 1953. Between 1953 and 2012, ownership records are unknown. On March 21, 2012, a Steven B. in Michigan bought the car. Dressed in black augmented with silver doors and fenders, the paint and trim are in overall excellent order, as expected. The vehicle’s windows are clear and intact, its lights are haze-free and original, with two large foglights perched above the front bumper and below the owl-like dual headlights. Atop the radiator, the mascot is original to the car. There are dual, side-mounted spare tires mounted in the front fenders. Rolls-Royce did not begin making its own car bodies until 1949.This example’s coachwork is from Hooper & Company, as noted above. The details are present for those who take the time to examine them. For example, the aluminum door handles mimic the overall body shape; this is an intentional and unusual design feature. Both underside panels are intact, too. The coachwork is straight and solid and the chrome bumpers are in excellent order. This car still has his original key, its original toolbox is two-third complete and it has a hydraulic jack system but the wipers are inoperable.This car rolls on Lester Company tires, size 6.00/6.50-17 at all four corners. Each tire is mounted on a steel wheel, topped by steel wheel disc covers. The wheel covers are in very good order while the tires are in good, original condition.The 4.3L inline six-cylinder, overhead valve engine was based on that of the 25/30 but featured a cross flow cylinder head, which placed the inlet and exhaust valves opposite one another. The four-speed gearbox has synchromesh on second, third and fourth speeds and retained the traditional right-hand gear change. The Wraith was the first year and model to feature an independent, coil sprung front suspension based on the “Safe-T-Flex” design from Packard’s 120 and under license. It used an unequal upper and lower A-arm type with the largest possible lower A-arm composed of two different arms bolted together at a ninety-degree angle. Advantages claimed for the system included superior maintenance of wheel alignment from the wide spread of the lower A-arm, a permanent fixing of the caster angle, and an increased percentage of the braking force transmitted to the frame through the torque arm. It retained semi-elliptical leaf springs on the rear axle, along with licensing of the automatic ‘Bijur’ chassis lubrication system. The hydraulic dampers at the front had their damping rate controlled by governor and so varied with the speed of the car, making it superior to its predecessor, the 25/30 H.P., and on par with the Phantom III. The car was still built on a separate chassis, but this was now of welded rather than the traditional riveted construction. The drum brakes were assisted by a mechanical servo driven by the engine patented by Hispano-Suiza and built by Rolls-Royce under license. Wire wheels of 17-inch diameter were fitted, with the spokes usually covered by removable discs. A built-in hydraulic jacking system was fitted operated by a lever under the passenger seat. Inside, the front section of the cabin is finished Connolly brown leather. In the back is an expansive cocoon, waiting for its next passengers. The tan cloth bench is stuffed with goose down, and complete with center armrest looks great, as does its Wilton wool carpet. For the woman passenger, the original Hermès mirror, parfum bottle and clock. The front bench seat is in satisfactory order, along with the matching carpet and headliner, which are in great condition. The front seats also have air bladders for lumbar, lateral supports. There are front and rear heaters. A three-spoke steering wheel faces the driver, extending from an instrument panel that is in excellent shape, as are the inner door panels. A floor-mounted shifter completes the interior.Competition to this Rolls-Royce in 1939 included similar limousines from Cadillac’s Series 39-60 Special Sedan, Chrysler’s Custom Imperial 8 Series C24, Lincoln’s V-12 Series and Packard’s Twelve 1708 Series. For pre-war car collectors, Rolls-Royce and Bentley fans, this stunning example of automobilia is available at MotoeXotica Classic Cars. You owe it to yourself to check it out, so stop by today!VIN: WMB-35
EIN: A-7-WC This car is currently located at our facility in St. Louis, Missouri. Current mileage on the odometer shows 90,025 kilometers or 55,939 miles. It is sold as is, where is, on a clean and clear, mileage exempt title.GET OUT AND DRIVE!!!
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