Honeymoon Express

Freestone & Webb had a unique style when coachbuilding Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars.

The company was formed in 1923 by V.E. Freestone and A.J. Webb as a specialist coachbuilding service, based in workshops in Brentfield Road, Willesden, North London, which became its home for its entire life.

On the death of A.J. Webb in 1955, the company was taken over by the Swain Group or dealer H.R. Owen of Berkeley Street, London. This was the same year as the introduction of the Bentley S1/Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, neither of which came as a chassis only option. With its main chassis supplier relationship now ended, it continued to refurbish and build bodies until 1958, when it became a pure showroom brand. In 1963, after Swain decided to divest itself of its coach building arm and focus just on motor retail, it was sold in 1963 to the new owners of fellow coachbuilders Harold Radford.

 

 

 

 

There is a very special F&W car coming up on the auction block in May:

 

 

This is a far cry from the formal four door limousines.

 

 

 

A two seater. What some may refer to as a Speedster, perhaps?

 

 

 

 

Spectacular. Years ahead of all the others...

 

 

 

 

Even a full metal tonneau cover.

 

 

 

 

Fresh from the RM Auctions Catalogue:

 

 'HONEYMOON EXPRESS' IN MONACO                                                                             
             On May 12th, one of the rarest and most important post-war coachbuilt                                     
             Rolls-Royces in existence will be offered at our Monaco auction: the 1958                                 
             Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I "Honeymoon Express" Drophead Coupe, chassis no.                                
             SGE270, with sensational original 'finned' Freestone & Webb two-seater                                    
             coachwork and disappearing top. Christened the "Honeymoon Express" by design                              
             journalists at the Earl's Court Show due to its limited seating capacity and                              
             ample trunk space, it featured design that was not only daring in its day but                             
             unlike anything the average British motorist would have ever seen before.                                 
             The rolling chassis was delivered to Freestone & Webb in London on March 11,                              
             1958. While most mid-1950s Rolls-Royces had graceful, gently rounded side                                 
             panels, the body sides of this car featured concave coves that stretched from                             
             stem to stern, with rear wings that feature aggressive vertical tail fins.                                
             Aside from its breathtaking presentation in two-tone Lugano Blue with Silver                              
             Chalice coves, the Honeymoon Express is exceptionally rare as one of only one                             
             percent of all Silver Clouds to carry truly bespoke coachwork. It is one of                               
             just three with this radically-designed drophead coupé style, still carries                               
             its original engine stamped SE385, shows only 42,070 miles and is even                                    
             accompanied by its original British registration plate, AM2375.                                           
             Such Bespoke motor cars are valued like fine art—they will always be                                      
             treasured. The opportunity to acquire this motor car after its single                                     
             ownership over the last three decades may very well be a once-in-a-lifetime                               
             opportunity, as this is one of only two such Rolls-Royces built.

 

 

http://www.rmauctions.com/FeatureCars.cfm?SaleCode=MC12&CarID=r365&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Act-On

            

 

This is the one to watch next month.

 

 

(Posted by David Irvine)

Rolls Royce Silver Spur 1985 running on test engine stand

Rolls Royce Silver Spur 1985 engine running on test engine stand, as viewed at The Touring Shoppe for Ron!

Window Shopping

Awe... Come on, admit it, we all do it.

 

 

But then you see a Bentley parked on the street and decide "To hell with clothes, let's look at cars instead...."

 

These guys are thinking just that:

 

 

So off we go to 'Our Jack's' and his neighbour in Berkeley Square. Hey, so you may see a few reflections but no sales staff will approach because you are, after all, STILL OUTSIDE :

 

 

 

 

 

Here's Jack's neighbour's place:

 

 

 

A little layer of (solid) plate glass never hurt anyone.

 

 

I windowshopped years ago:

 

 

Then on to 14-15 Conduit Street:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which is sadly now coincidently only a clothing store..

 

 

Oh dear, how on earth did that happen?

 

Then on to Kennings:

 

'Right left, Right left, Right left...'

 

 

And Harry Fox's place. (I always think of the old joke "Wear the Fox 'at" )

 

 

 

 

Then Harry moved to warmer premises a half mile away:

 

 

 

After that, our man Mann's:

 

 

 

 

Finally you actually find what you really want.

 

"I'll take this one please. And can you gift wrap it?"

 

 

 

 

"Sorry, how much....?

I, euh, just have to run to the bank machine - I'll be back in a few minutes, okay...?"

 

 

(Posted by David Irvine)

 

 

Royal Rolls-Royce Motorcar - Andrew Pastouna

A promotional video for Royal Rolls-Royce Motor Cars written by the late Andrew Pastouna and published in 1991 by Osprey Publishing.



Excellent book for the Rolls-Royce or Royal enthusiast.

Thanks to Don for the video

The Chinese Way

Good song by Level 42.

 

 

 

Dunno why it makes me think of Silver Cloud III Mulliner Park Ward two door cars, both FHC & DHC...

 

 Here's one I spotted in Toronto in 1980.

 

 

Rodney Dangerfield drove one in the movie 'Caddyshack':

 

 

(It's right hand drive...)

 

 

 

RR1? I don't think that's real as Rolls-Royce Motor Cars own that plate.

 

 

Here's one in Toronto more recently:

 

 

A side profile of another from somewhere else...

 

 

The Imperial Palace Auto Collection in Las Vegas has one for sale.

 

http://autocollections.com/index.cfm?id=1500&action=details&tab=inventory&cartable=&sortorder=car,year&sr=66

 

A stunning car. One of my favourites and I look forward to seeing it in 'Vegas soon (providing nobody buys it...).

 

(Posted by David Irvine)

Johnson's Car-Plate.

Way back in 1952 there were not a lot of car polishes on the market like we have today.

 

 

Did people really care back then? 

Here's an old advertisement for a product that world famous Rolls-Royce and Bentley dealer Jack Barclays' used and endorsed:

 

 

So it must be good - I wonder if they still have any?

  

 

Maybe H.A.Fox used it too...?

 

 

 

There must be someone out there still using it.

 

 

 

(Posted by David Irvine - aided by good old Photoshop...)   

 

 

Self Preservation Society

I love polishing a car worth polishing.

It's almost like therapy - it gets your mind off work and troubles...

I do have a real job during the week but when I get the chance, it's very satisfying to spend time on some paintwork preservation.

All my knowledge of this is self taught through trial and error. You simply do what works best.

I think that in order to polish a car you really need one of these:



A 'Gem' orbital polisher.

And these:



Then lots of clean hand towels, elbow grease (something you can't get off the shelf), a nice clean, bright, temperate garage and 'Mothers' products (well, I like them...) :



Never try to polish a car outside as there is always too much dust blowing around and the sun dries the products, potentially ruining your efforts - and your paint.
One of the most amazing products you will ever use is a 'Clay Bar' or 'contaminant remover'.





You thoroughly wash and rinse your paintwork, then rub the paint one panel at a time with the bar and very very soapy water (I call it silly Putty - although it is not that product at all - just a nickname I use when showing it off).

The soap should never be dishwashing detergent as that has too much 'wetting agent' and will destroy your paint.

Over time I have found the best car wash soap is actually the Autoglym one - it’s the gentlest on a car wax finish:



The claybar removes those nasty little things on your paint that you cannot see, but can feel when the car is clean and dry.
There should no sound as you gently rub a finger on a clean (not at all dusty) paint surface. If you hear a 'shshshing' sound - as though you were rubbing your shirt or trousers your paint needs to be claybarred before polishing and waxing.

That can take an hour or two on a large car. Once finished with the bar, wash and dry the car again.

As for the polishing I always use the Mothers Number 1 Precleaner and Wax, followed by Number Two Sealer and Glaze and then the Number Three Carnuba Wax Paste. All applied using the orbital polisher and final finishing by hand.

It takes me four hours to do the paint on a Rolls-Royce or Bentley, depending on the state of the paint - sometimes twice as long, but I usually only work on the same cars over many years so nothing is ever too bad.











When you wash your car always use a sponge, a big bucket of clean soapy (car wash soap - remember) and lots of water from the hose.

Always clean off the sponge as you use it - don't rub the dirt from one panel onto another...



Dry it with a synthetic chamois. Synthetic chamois are hard to use when new so often soak them for a few days when new and constantly wring them until they are 'workable'. Then I keep them moist, always wrapped in plastic.



Car cleaning is good exercise, fun, a great way to appreciate the details and lines on a car and when you do it properly you get great results.
Bentley and Rolls-Royce cleaning is the best for you, though. Take my word for that.



I really like Mothers' products but many other products are as good (maybe even better).

I tend to use what I can find easily at my local autoparts store. If it doesn't work, I simply won't use it again...
Happy spring polishing!
(Posted by David Irvine)