1953 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn Saloon

4,566cc OHV Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Zenith Carburetor
4-Speed Automatic Transmission
Independent Front Suspension – Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes

* Desirable specification of Rolls-Royce
* Understood to have been sold new in Monaco
* In the USA from 1980s-late 2000s
* Extensive invoices on file

Previewing in Bedford Hills, New York by appointment. Please contact [email protected] for scheduling.

THE SILVER DAWN

The policy of rationalization begun in the late 1930s continued at Rolls-Royce after WW2; more components were bought in rather than manufactured in house and for the first time there was factory bodywork, which was better suited to the owner driver than to a chauffeur. Produced by the Pressed Steel Fisher Company, of Cowley, this 'standard steel' body was available at first only on the MkVI Bentley, the equivalent Rolls-Royce - the Silver Dawn - not appearing until 1949. A separate chassis was retained, the same basic design being built in three different wheelbase lengths, while other notable features were independent front suspension and hydraulic front brakes.

The range featured a new 4,257cc six-cylinder engine (enlarged to 4,566cc for 1951) with inlet-over-exhaust valve gear, which had been under development since the mid-1930s. The company used belt drive for the water pump and dynamo for the first time on this engine, which employed a Zenith Stromberg carburetor in Rolls-Royce configuration. The latter was preferred to the MkVI's twin SUs as it offered smoother running and a cold start facility, which was not available on the SU-equipped Bentley until 1952.

A welcome improvement to the standard bodywork arrived in mid-1952 in the shape of an enlarged boot together with associated changes to the rear wings and suspension. This design was introduced on the 'E' series Silver Dawn and was retained until the final 'J' series. The first Rolls-Royce to be offered with factory bodywork, the Silver Dawn is recognized as a landmark model in the marque's history and is fast becoming sought after as the enthusiasts' choice.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
LSMF50 dates from that later series of cars with the enlarged stowage and increased engine capacity. Above its standard chassis plate is an additional plate in French language, which it is understood from notes on file refers to the car being delivered to Monaco originally. Further details of its original ownerships have not been verified at the time of cataloguing. In absence of that information, its early history remains to be discovered. Only a copy of an old title on file lists an Ed Weaver as the owner by 1987.
Research by Bonhams has traced later ownership transactions to have included a sale at Auburn in the mid-1990s, and a secondary auction date in 2000, when it was cited as having been owned previously by the disgraced TV Evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. When offered for sale that year, it wore a burgundy and gold exterior and tan interior and was described as having been stored between those two sale dates and needing cosmetic attention.
That requirement was clearly attended two 4 years later to judge by a series of invoices on file for then owner Gene Sorbo, with much of the work carried out by Realistic Auto Restorations Inc. of St. Petersburg, Florida, and with many parts supplied by Albers Rolls-Royce of Zionsville Indiana. During this rebuild, top half of the car was painted to gold and the interior retrimmed in burgundy hides.
In 2008, the car was sold by John Cory to Europe, passing to a Johan Wouters in Belgium, it moved on to the current owner shortly after that. Viewed today, the work carried out in the mid-2000s has also now aged, mainly it seems due to lack of use, with both the interior and exterior having minor losses or damage. It has also not been run properly in some time and a proper recommissioning would be recommended before it is returned to the road.
Accompanying the car is a period handbook for the left-hand drive Silver Dawn model as well as many invoices for the 2000s rebuild.