1907 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

This is a photograph that I took at the Broad Street/Cross Lane roundabout in Salford of one of the cars that took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1965.

It's the 1907 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost of  James P. Smith and the programme of the event had this note about the car:

18.   1907 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost. in Belgium,

Engine and chassis made at Cooke Street, Manchester, in 1907; 4½ in. bore x 4½ in. stroke; overdrive on the 4th speed. The second oldest Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce in Britain. Had two owners since 1907. Has completed numerous rallies in Belgium, Germany, Holland and Italy, driven by the present owner.

1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

This car took part in the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1979.

It's the 1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost of D. Marquis and is pictured in the assembly area prior to the start of the Run. The information in the programme of the event about this car is very sparse, being just details of the car model and the entrant:

27          Mr D. Marquis, Lytham

              1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, 6 cylinder 40/50 hp

 

1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

This is a photograph I took before the start of the Lancashire Automobile Club's Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run in June 1973.

It's the 1911 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost of Kenneth Neve and the programme of the event had this note about the vehicle:

'35. Mr Kenneth Neve, Aston-by-Budworth, Cheshire

       1911 Rolls-Royce "London-Edinburgh" Silver Ghost, 45 h.p.

In 1911 Rolls-Royce won a Challenge from Napier. The late Lord Hives, at that time Mr. Hives and the company's chief tester, drove a Silver Ghost with underslung cantilever rear springs, enlarged carburettor and higher compression ratio from London to Edinburgh in top gear. The journey was completed at a fuel consumption of 24.3 m.p.g. and then to prove that the axle ratio was not absurd, the car was taken to Brooklands where it clocked 78.3 m.p.h. Thus did the first sporting Rolls-Royce get the name "Type London-Edinburgh", and R1075 was the car that made the historic journey. In 1963 Mr. Kenneth Neve recognised a dejected chassis in Hampshire for what it was. Now, some 5,000 working hours later, the first "London-Edinburgh" is just as it might have been seen more than 60 years ago, serenely whispering its way on the Great North Road in top gear and heading for the Scottish capital.'

Kenneth Neve was at one time President of the Vintage Sports Car Club.

1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

I took this photograph in the Exchange Station car park in Manchester in May 1992 of two cars waiting for the start of the Lancashire Automobile Club's annual Manchester to Blackpool Veteran and Vintage Car Run.

The nearest car is a 1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, and the only information about it in the programme of the event is that it was entered by Triplex Safety Glass Co. Ltd. of St Helens, Merseyside. It appeared in several of the Runs around that time though, and in the 1987 Run this note was in the programme:

1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost,

Reg:  XR 6727  6 Cylinder  7428 cc

(Pilkington Glass Co. Ltd., St Helens.)

Found derelict in Aughton. Lancs, and was rebuilt by apprentices and artisans at the Eccleston Works, St Helens, and at King's Norton Works, Birmingham, with kind assistance from Rolls Royce at Crewe. Has completed more than 900,000 miles in its lifetime.

The car next to it is a 1923 Rolls Royce 20. and again the only information in the programme is that it was entered by A Pownall of Wilmslow, Cheshire. This car also took part in the 1987 Run, and this was the note about it in that programme:

1923 Rolls Royce 20 Tourer,

Reg:  VK 6701  6 cylinder  20 hp

(Major A. Pownall, Wilmslow, Cheshire)

The "smallest" Rolls of its day, the 20 Tourer cost £1,000 in chassis form. Rolls quoted a power figure of 53 bhp at 3000 revs. It was the first Rolls to have a detachable cylinder head.