LIVE
I'vebeeninviteddowntotheRRCannual,whatarewecallingit?
FAST.
Thenationalrally,really.
Orinternationalrally,becauseyou'vegotownersfromalloverEuropeandtheUK,alltheclasswinnersfromallthelocalareascomingbacktotheinternationalandnationalrally.
Soit'sthebigone.
You'vegotafabulousstandhere.
Forthere'safewcardsherethatIalreadyknow.
Yeah.
AndIlovetheApplejackstory.
Soyou'vegotI'lltellyoubackto1980.
Yeah.
Soyouyouhaveverylittle,butyou'veplayedthepoolsandyou'vewonquitealotofmoney.
Thefootballpool.
Thefootball.
Doyourememberthefootballpools?
Soyou'vealwayswantedaVandenpla1500,buttheMetrowaslaunchedthesameyear,andApplejackwasthegenericMetrolaunchcolourinthepalette.
AndsoyouorderedyourVandenplaer1500inApplejack,whichwasbasicallyariotof70sbling,wasn'tit?
Andtheveryunusualcolour.
Andaveryunusualcolour.
TheymadeveryfewoftheminApplejack,Ithinksixormaybeeight.
It'stheonlyoneleft.
Butthestorygoesthattheladywhoorderedit,herhusbandwantedthenewspirittobemadeinApplejack.
Andsohedied,andsohewasneverdone.
SoIdecided,asatributeandratherabitoffun,wewouldrestoreaSeries1spirittoexactlythesamecolourpaletteastheVandplaa1500.
Sothiswasoriginallygreen,butadifferentgreen,obviously,soit'sbeencompletelystripped.
£45,£50,000later,youhaveaSpiritOnemapbookmatchtotheVandenplaatrimwiththesamechamois,leather.
What'sthemileageonthisatthemoment?
£40,000.
Itwasicegreen,sothelogbookhasn'tbeenchanged.
Butthereweare.
Itwasabeautifuljob.
It'snotbeenwrapped,it'sfullypainted.
It'safait'safabulousjob,butnobodywouldhavedonethistoaSeriesOnespirit,letaloneinApplejack.
Soitisunique.
Thismusthavebeenaneyewateringbillfromthebodyshop.
Itwasoverfiftythousandforthewholejob.
Thetrimmingalonewasninethousand,butifyou'regoingtodoajob,you'vegottodoitright.
Youalwaysdoit.
Yeah.
Justcrazyheight.
Thelastdegree.
It'sjustabeautifulthing.
I'llshowyouunderthetheenginepreparation'sbeenfantasticaswell.
It'sjustit'sit'sjustbeautiful.
It'swhatyouwouldhavereceivedin1980hadtheandthefactorywouldhavedefinitelypaintedthecolour.
Welltheorderwasin,butheneverlivedtoseeit.
There'sastrongargumentthatthismightbebetterthanwhenitwasnewnow.
IthinkprobablyIthinkprobablyyoumightwellberight.
Yeah.
Butititgetssuchahappyreactionfrompeople,andIthinkit'sverybeautiful.
AndI'mveryproudofit.
Andtohavethemtogetherisreallyspecial.
Whenyouseeitnow,youwonderwhyRollsdidn'toffercolourslikethis.
That'sright,butofcoursethey'vejustreintroduceditonthenewrange.
IputitIt'scalledNeonKnightsnow,butit'sthesamecolour.
Ijustthinkit'sawonderfulthing.
Noteverycupoftea,butpeoplesay,whyhaveyoudonethat?
BecauseIcould.
Andthebottomlineiswhynot?
Itgoesbacktowediscussedthisbeforeaboutcarstories,andcarshavegothistoriesandstoriesandbackgroundsandfamiliesandpeoplethatwraparoundthat.
Andthistomeisthestoryofthepeopleofthecouple.
Yeah.
Notjustthecars.
Absolutelyright.
There'sapersonalstorybehindit.
Andthey'llneverbeparted,andIwillneversellthem,andthat'sthewayitisfornow.
Ofcourse,youcanneversaynever,they'lloutliveme,sowhoknowswherethey'llendup.
Butasapair,they'vegottostayapair,haven'tthey?
Stablemates.
Ofcourse.
Justlovely.
Andit'sthefirsttimethey'vemetbecause,ofcourse,thisonlywasfinishedliterallyaweekago.
Sixyearsofajob.
Wow.
Ridiculoustiming.
Butthereyougo,that'sthestoryoftheRollsRoycerestorationworld.
Iwon'tgointothatyet.
Butthereyouare.
Yourcommitmenttodoingthemtothisstandardneverceasestoamazeme.
Oh,thankyou.
AlittlebitOCD.
Ithelpsmyaversions.
Beshotoftrouble.
Yeah,absolutely.
AndsatnexttoitwasanotherRollsRoyceSilverSpirit,butthisoneIalreadyknew.
Thisbringsmeontothiscar,whichofcoursewasyourlatefathers.
Averyrarecolourcombinationinthiscountry.
NowinCalifornia,perfect.
White,redleather,creampiping,veryEssex,very1980s,butnobodyreallywouldhaveorderedthatcolour.
Andsoit'saveryspecialcolour,butIlikeitbecauseit'strueBritishcolours.
StGeorge,whiteandred,forme,that'sareallyspecialRolls-Roycecolour.
SoIknowyou'vegototherquiteafewcardsinyourcollection,redoverwhite.
Isthisthefirstone?
Diditbeacolour?
Itwas,yeah,itwas.
It'sthefirstRollsRoycemypartnerandIactuallygot.
Okay.
Soit'sveryspecial.
Yeah.
Butthen,ofcourse,afterthat,wedecidedtopurchasetheContinentalChineseeye,whichisnotsomethingyou'remeanttosaythesedays,butthat'sitsofficialtitle.
Theyare,theyalwayshavebeen.
AndthatwasLuluboughtthatforMauriceGibb,andthat'sinFranceatthemoment,butthat'swhite,acrylicwhite,withtheredtop.
Sobecauseofthat,wethendecidedtocommissionthisnewbuild,whichisaBentleyS3drophead.
Shouldwegoandhaveatothesamecolourpalette,acrylicwhitewithaSt.
Jamesred,andelectricredmohairroof.
Now,backintheday,ifyouwereverywealthy,youwantedaRollsRoyceorBentleydrophead.
Theydidn'tmakeone.
Soyouwouldbuyyourfour-doorfromJackBarclaysorwhoever,andyoutakeitatMulliners,andtheywouldmakeyouanadaption,whichwasatwo-doorconvertible.
Anditwasatranimmenseamountofmoney.
Didtheymakeanystructuraladjustmentstothecar?
Yes,theydid,yeah.
It'saverysignificantjob.
However,theynevermadeawhiteS3,andsoweundertooktohaveonecommissionedtoMullinerBlueprints.
SoweboughtaBentleyS3andactuallyaCloud3,wedidtwo,andhadthemrecommissionedandrebuilt.
Soover£550,000later,theresheis.
Andit'sithasn'tdone100milessinceitwascompleted.
Butit'sstillgotthe64registration.
It'sstillacorrectclassic,butitdidn'texisteightyearsago.
Itjustwasn'tthere.
Soyou'vedoneallthesnaggingrunsnow,everything'sbeenalotofsnaggingruns,alotoffaileddeliverydates,arealarealtrial.
Iwouldn'tdoanother.
Verystressful,verypainfulactually,butafabulousthing.
Nowit'sfinished.
You'regladyouhavecomeouttheotherend.
Yeah.
Butneveragain.
Neveragain.
NevernotinthemonthofSundays,butagreatthing.
Butacompleteanduttermoneypitalongtheway.
Estimatedtimes,COVID,younameit,triplingincosts.
Butinterestingly,astime'sgoneon,thecostshavecaughtup,sothecostshaveballoonsasit'sgoingup,butthensohastheeconomy.
Soeverything'smoreexpensivethanitwaswhenitstarted.
Doesthatmakeanysense?
Itdoes.
It'scostyoutodoasidewhat'sitworthinthemarketplace?
TheRolls-Roycethatwehave,whichisitstwin,we'dsenttoauctionjusttoseewhatitwouldget,anditgot$185,whichwasnowherenearenough.
I'venowbeenofferedaquarterofamillionforit.
Cost$550.
SoIsupposethat'sthepriceyoupaytoplay.
Buttherealityisthevalueformoneyforsomebodybuyingitnowwouldbeincredible.
Wedidn'tbuyittosellit.
Iputitintoauctionjusttotestit.
This'llneverbesold.
Butifyouwentouttobuyonetoday,itwouldbe700,000toamillion.
Pinotwouldhavequotedamillionofpoundstobuildoneofthesetoday.
Socostshavejustgonemad.
Yeah.
Sotherewillcomeatimewhenpeoplethink,oh,thatwasworthdoing.
Butit'snottoday,butitwillitmightbeinayearortwo.
MyadviceisalwaysbuythebestrestoredcaryoucanbecausebuyingonethatneedsdoinganddoingityourselfwillalwaysIt'salwaysgoingtobepainful.
Freakyourbankaccountandyourheart.
Yeah.
Whenwelookatsomeoftheothercarsthatarehostrestorationwithotherpeoplewho'veownedthem,that'swhereyougettherealvalueformoney.
Yeah,buyonethatsomebodyelsespentallthetimeandmoneyonandthengoandenjoyit.
Butthenagain,youcouldhavelookedtheworldover.
Theydidn'tmakeoneofthese,sowehadnooptionbuttodoit.
Butwhatagreatthing.
Nowthatit'srunningbeautiful,it'snowfine.
Youcanhireitwiththegreatestpleasure.
Infact,itreallyneedstobetrue.
Whatdoesitcosttohiresomethinglikethis?
Itdependswhereitis,ofcourse.
WehavedoneaweddinginthesouthofFrance,whichwasalotofmoney.
Yeah.
Butalocal,let'ssay,aneveningout,ashowfor£1,500maybe.
Okay.
£2,000foranythingfurtheraway,twoandahalfthousand.
IfyouwentintocentralLondon,itsuddenlyballoonstothreeandahalftofive.
Sothat'swhatImean.
Thingshavegone.
It'samilliapolecolour.
Andit'saone-off.
That'sright.
That'saone-off.
Whathavewegotsaying?
TheR-typeisagain,thiscardoesn'tbelongtome,itbelongstoafriendofminewhospentquarterofamillionpoundsonthis.
ThiswasaBentleyR-typefourdoor.
Youcanseewherethisisgoingwithwhatyouhavetospendonthesecarstogetthemintheseconditions,though,can'tyou?
Yep,theywantedadrophead.
Anditwasafour-doorsaloon.
Theyconvertedittoatwo-door,thenthought,no,we'llgothewholehog.
Sotheyconvertedittoaconvertible.
Quarterofamillionpoundslater,itdoesn'thaveahood.
It'saitisanopentop.
Ithasn'tgotatop.
Soit'sjustatopTorah.
Yeah.
Butthereasonwhyisafterquarterofamillionpounds,theythought,hangonaminute.
Ranoutofmoneytoputalidonit.
Foranother50grandtoputaproperroofonthat.
Sotheysentittoauctioninthismarketjusttosee.
Highestbidtheygotwasfifty-eightandahalfthousandpounds.
Sohesaidit'snotgoinganywhere,Anthony.
Isaid,okay,we'llput85,000onitattherallyandseewhat'shappened.
Theladyofthehousehasdecreedit'snottocutbackbecauseshe'snothappy.
Butthat'sthemarketwe'rein,isn'tit?
She'smanagedtogetitoutofthegaragenow,hasn'tshe?
Butitisabeautifulthing.
Itrunsbeautifully.
It'sanewcolour,it'sAurora,whichisanewBentleycolour.
ButIthinkit'sfabulous.
Doesitdrive?
It'sfantastic.
Becausewhenthesearesetup,they'rewonderful.
It'sagreatthingonasunnydaytobebowlingthroughtheSuffolkcountryside.
It'sabsolutelyfabulous,butithasnowood.
Let'sgoandhavealookatthe1953WraiththatstarredintheCulkmoviewithNailandI.
Ah.
Let'sgoandlookatthat.
Thisisalovelything.
Justabouttosay,canyoutellmeaboutthis?
SothisisaperfectexampleofacarthatwastotallyrestoredbythepreviousownerwhosadlyhadtopartwithhiscollectionduetoAlzheimer'sandadvancingage.
Andthatistheproblemwiththesepre-warcars.
Thesortofpeoplewhohavethemandhaverestoredthemareleavingus.
Andthesortofpeoplewhowantthemareverythinontheground.
Sothisparticularcarhashadarestorationwellinexcessof£200,000.
AndIboughtitadoptionfor£26,500.
Howlonghaveyouownedit?
Justtwelvemonths.
Butifyoulookatit,thequalityofworkmanshiphereisjustfantastic.
Lookatthatjumpseatwithabackrest,butlookatthequalityoffittings.
It'sjustspectacular.
Theattentiontodetailwhenthesearedonerightandwhentheywerenewismind-blowing.
Yeah.
Butwhat'sinterestingaboutthiscar,ifyounoticeit,it'sveryhighroofed.
Yeah.
It'sactuallyalaund.
Andalotofpeople,ofcourse,replacedtheleatherwithplastics.
Thishasstillgottheoriginalleatherfoldingback.
Soweknowthehistoryofthiscar.
Itwasorderedbyaladyin1933.
Butitdoesn'tlooklikea33car.
ItlooksmoreEdwardian.
ItlooksveryEdwardiacarriage.
That'sright.
SoshethespecificswereshewantedtohaveanEdwardiancarbuiltonamodernchassis.
Okay.
SoitwasbuiltinperiodwithaBarker,Edwardianbody,becausetheybothworetophatsandheaddress.
AndatLondon,it'saLondontowncar,they'dhavethebackdownsoshecouldhaveherheaddresson.
Amazing,really.
Ithinkit'srealMonteCarloorbustandit'srealTonyCurtis.
IwantyouguysIwanttoputskisonitandputitinthesnowinthewinter.
Loveit.
Anditdrivesbeautifully.
It'sjustasweetheart.
Haveyoudoneafewmilesinthisone?
Iknowyoudrivethemall.
Idodriveitalot.
AndIjustlovethequirkysoundsofit.
It'sjustlovely.
They'recharming.
Andit'sverypower-larking.
Verymuchnicercarthanthat.
Butisn'tit?
It'sjustpoetry.
Butforthemoney,it'sridiculous.
Sothat'sthewaytodoit,isbuyonewhensomebody'srestoredit.
Itis,itreallyis.
ThisraceherebelongedtoaveryimportantRolls-Roycecollectorwhospent£350,000restoringit.
Ipurchaseditnotthatlongagofor£45,000.
Andit'sjustbeautiful.
What'sgoingonwiththese?
Eachdoorhasitsownyalenot.
Doesitreally?
Isn'tthatfantastic?
Sowhotrimmedit?
Themarketwillcomeback.
ItwasdonebythesamecompanythatIuseinLangley.
No,Iboughtitlikethis.
Butagain,thiswasrestored.
Thisrunslikeanewpin.
Butagain,it'saright-handgearstick,manualfloorshape.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Butit'sasweethearttoit.
It'sintheRileyPathfindernotlongagothathadonedownthere.
Ilikeit.
Lookatthisrazor-edgeddesignfrom1954.
Andit'squiterakish.
Thebackendonitisbeautiful.
Yeah,veryspecial.
Thefrontistypicalasyouwouldexpectfromback.
Buttheoriginalowneralwayshadchromestudsonhisbonnet.
Andofcourse,beingasilverwraith,ithasakneelinglady.
TheWraithalwayshadakneelinglady.
Yeah,doyouknowwhythough?
Idon'tIknowtheIdon'tknow.
No,Idon'teither.
AllIcantellyouisitdeference.
CarsforArabiaatthetimehadtobekneeling.
AndIknowsomeArabiancarsbackintheday,youhadtodeliverthecarwithouttheladyonittotalk.
Whyisthat?
Becauseininthosecountries,thatthedeferencetheladymadetothemale,theyhadtochooseiftheywantedtodoitontheinthefirstplace.
Whichisn'tverynice,isit?
Intheoldendayswhenthatshitwasacceptable.
That'sright.
SonowwehavethecarIwantedtotalktoyouabout,whichiswhichisthis,whichisthesilverWraithHooperSedanka.
Sothefrontofthisherecomesoffandtherearopens.
AndImightshowyouthatinaminuteifI'vegotthekeysforit,butit'sareallyimportantcar.
Thisisprobablymyfavouritecarofyours.
You'vegotIloveIlovetheWraithanyway,butIthinkthattheSedanka'sreallyrare.
It'saone-off.
Andso,apartfromthefactthatitwasUncleMonty'scarinthefilmwithNailandI,whichisreallyspecial.
ItwasbuiltforNewBarbleBenku.
Itwasthewealthiestmanintheworldin1953.
Hewasanoilbaron,Mr.
5%.
Googlehim.
He'sArmenian,eccentricbillionaire,gotfivepercentofeveryoilbarrelsoldinhistime.
It'safascinatingstory,buthecouldindulgehimwithHooper,theroyalcoachbuilders,tobuildeccentriccarstohisdesign.
Sothisparticularcarhaslizardskininterior.
Oh,it'sgotaspeedointheback,sohecankeepaneyeonhiserrantchauffeur.
Abitofacontrolfreak.
Absolutely.
Andthiscarhashadover£250,000spentonit.
Notbyme,butbythepreviousowner.
Andit'sworthafractionofthatnow.
It'sonsaleat£95,000.
Soforthesale,yeah.
Thelizardskinandtheinteriorisisasitis.
I'venotrestoredit.
Intheoldendayswhereasnowleatherinteriorisdenotesluxuryorthemoreexpensiveinterior.
Duringthistime,thechauffeurgottheleatherseatbecauseyoucouldwipeitcleanfromhisfromhisdirty,possiblyoilytrousersandboots,butthetheposhpeopleinthebackgotthecomfortable,thecoolWestofEnglandcloth.
Fabriccloth,yeah.
Sothat'swhyinthecarsofthisageyougetit'stheotherwayaroundfromhowweperceiveitnow.
Leatherinthefront,tradesmen'sright.
Andthentheposhpeoplegotthefabricintheback.
Sogoingbacktothestoriesaboutthecars,it'sallaboutthepassions,it'sallaboutthehistory.
Theyaretimemachines.
Andthisisveryspecial.
Justcomeandhavealookatthis.
SothelateRichardHarris,ofcourse,mostyoungpeopleknowhimasDumbledore.
Yes.
Wasoneofthegreatestactorsofhistimeinthe60s.
Hewasahellraiser,ofcourse.
Itwasacarhewasacelebration.
Hewasaverymuchthat.
ThiswashisPhantom5.
Thiswastheonlycarheeverowned,andheneverdrovebecausehewasalwaysratheranebriated,blessing.
SoherecordedhissongMacArthurParkinthiscaratAbbeyRoadStudiosandsaidtoachauffeur,ifthissongisahit,youcanhavethecar.
Ofcourse,itwasamassivehit.
Hetalksthroughit.
Heleftthecakeoutintherain.
It'saverymovingsong.
Idon'tIIknowthedog.
Yeah,anyway,italwaysbringsateartomyeye,buthewasawonderfulactor.
Iknowhissonverywell.
AndwefilmedofafilmcalledTheGhostofRichardHarris,whichisthestoryofthiscaronSkyArtsItisthroughoutthelifeofthefamily.
It'stheonlycarheowned.
Iwasjustabouttosayhewasn'taclassiccar.
No,hewasgifteditreputedlybythelatePrincessMargaret.
RollsRoyceweren'tkeentosupplyhimacarbecause,ofcourse,hewasaseriousdrinker.
Asyouprobablyknow,OliverReedisoneofmyfavouritecharacters.
Andtheheap'spartofthis,thiswasaRatPack60sswingmobile,whichisjustfab,isn'tit?
Ibetthiscouldtellafewstories.
Absolutely.
RichardBurtonElizabethTayloruseditfortheirwedding,theytouredWalesinit,andhefamouslytookittoNewYork.
Sodidtheyownitordidhealwaysjustlenditouttohisfriends?
WasitOhhelentitouttothem,buthetookittoNewYorkforusewhenhemovedthere,andheleftitfor25yearsinthecarparkandforgotaboutit.
And25yearslater,onahundredgrand'sworthofcarparkfees,hisaccountantsaid,Ithinkyoushouldbringthecarback.
SoitwasshippedbacktoJackBarclayswhenIfirstmetthecarinthe1990s,wherehehaditcompletelyrebuilt.
IsthatwhenyouwereworkingatJack?
That'sright.
AndthecarIfirstmetthere,IneverdreamtI'dactuallyownit.
Butit'sarealmagicalpieceofhistory.
Andit'smidnightblue,it'saclassicalcolour.
Idon'tknowwhetheryoucantellonthecamera,butit'sathedeepestofbluesofdiscobits,isn'tit?
Youcanjustseeitwherethesunheadssay.
It'sjustspanglyonthiswinghere,look.
Yeah.
It'saverybeautifulcolour.
She'sveryspecial.
Sowhopainteditthiscolour?
JackBarclaysdidit.
Okay.
Andwhatcolourwasitoriginally?
Black.
No,it'smidnight.
Itwasalwaysmidnightblue.
It'salwaysbeenmidnightblue.
Butthisisthenewerversion,sothere'salittlebitmoreofacrinkleinit.
Okay.
Butaveryspecialcar.
Andhesaid,ifacarcouldtalk,thisistheonetotalk.
Thestoryisthisonecouldtell,eh?
Sodolookitup.
TheGhostofRichardHarrisisafilmonSkyArt.
Okay.
Thecar,myself,andJaredHarris,who'saveryfamousactortoday,wetalkthroughthecar'shistory.
I'llfindthelinkandI'llputitinthecommentsintheshownotesaswell.
Andthat'salsoonthatbanner.
Thereweare.
Thankyousomuchforshowingusround.
Pleasuretoseeyou.
Alwaysapleasure,mylove.
Oh,that'sit.
Thankyouverymuch.
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