Rolls Royce enters rally 'battle'

Sunday, June 3, I participated in a nice historic touring rally with some friends. This modest and social tour is organized by Altena Classic Service for ten years now. The rally is called "Slag om Ane" in Dutch which means "The battle for Ane" (Ane is the location where the firm is located.) Normally I would drive the Rover P6B V8 or the Triumph TR6 but my mind was set for an 'up class' classic experience and presence. A bright white 1971 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was picked up at Imparts (www.imparts.nl) and I found a bright white linen jacket to complete the picture.

Cruise controlled and in a flash we were directed to the start location of the rally, did we drive or were we teleported by the Spirit of extacy? We will never know. Right from the start we realized why Rolls Royce would never give information about the engines power. The factory alway said 'sufficient' - we now know that is true - seeing the Austin Healey's, Mercedes SL Pagoda's and other sportscars shrinking to pinpoints in our mirrors!

We had a great time and we finished 7th of 42 participating cars. This without trip/twinmaster, or other aids. Just teamwork: a driver and a chief navigator at the front seats, Junior navigator calculating the distances in the rear seats (left or right depending on the actual speed and sharp bends in the road).

I almost forget to mention the last team member residing under the white bonnet: his royal V8 highness supplied us with massive torque and effortless acceleration over a total distance of 450 kilometers in exchange for 120 litres of high octane petrol. Not bad for the tons of fun the Silver Shadow gave us. We express our compliments to the people of Altena Classic Service (www.altenaclassicservice.nl) for organizing this highly enjoyable event!

Jensen Interceptor III, 1974

Last Saturday I received a phonecall from Wilco Beijer of Imparts, a Dutch specialist in British cars and spare parts. If I could spare a moment of my time to drive and photograph a 1974 Jensen Interceptor III. Why not ;-)?

It became a nice afternoon with the Jensen and it's owner. We drove for miles thru the countryside accompanied by the magnificent sound of the 7.2 litre Chrysler V8 engine.

With 325 brake horsepower under the throttle, superb leather seats, a beautiful dash and a power sliding roof the car proved to be a superb GT. A comfortable yet sporty Trans Europe Express. This fine car in excellent condition will be added to the ClassicarGarage sales collection shortly.

Rolls Royce Phantom I Super Sport

At Geert Jan Peters Automobile Restorers, located in Kampen the Netherlands, a very interesting project can be seen. At the company a Rolls Royce Phantom I is being rebodied with a 'Jarvis experimental' bodywork. The original Phantom I was found in England in the year 2006. The car was fully original and came with the original factory book in which the production of the car is fully described. Every part of the car is numbered and is described in the factory book. They discovered that every part is still matching. With only one exclusion, the speedometer.

The owner wanted a Super Sport special and he decided the car should be exactly the same as the Jarvis Experimental. A very scarce original 'Jarvis' was photographed and measured all round including the curves of the bodywork. Also a lot of documentation and factory drawings were collected. The car was stripped up to the rolling chassis. Mechanics were overhauled where necessary and a new body was created by hand by a Dutch specialist. Originally the aluminium 'Jarvis' body features a wooden framework, this car was given a rigid steel structure. The steel frame was intensively coated against rust and to prevent electrolytical corrosion between the steel and the aluminium panels.

The interior and a lot of other exterior parts were also handcrafted.

In May 2007 the car was fully built up for testing. The body was not painted so eventual flaws could easily be corrected. The car was inspected and approved for road use by the authorities. After several hundreds of miles testing every detail was inspected and the car was taken apart again. Right now the Rolls Royce Phantom I super sport is being painted. After that the car will be build up to perfection. Look at www.ClassicarGarage.nl and visit the presentation of Geert Jan Peters Automobile Restorers. - To be continued when the automobile is finished!