1926 Springfield Rolls Royce Piccadilly Roadster - S454FL

The Rolls Royce Phantom I

The Rolls Royce Phantom I was produced from 1925 to 1929 and was the model that followed the Silver Ghost. In Derby England 2,212 were produced and in Springfield MA production was at 1,243.

Rolls Royce introduced their pushrod-OHV straight-6 engine through the Phantom I. It was designed as two groups of three cylinders with a detachable iron head on an aluminum crankcase. Weighing 1,007 lbs, the 7.7 litre engine has a 4¼ in. bore and a 5½ in. stroke, producing 330 lbs.ft. torque and 108 h.p. at 2,300 r.p.m. Rolls Royce also introduced four-wheel servo-assisted brakes through the Phantom I via a licensing agreement with Hispano-Suiza. The 144 in wheelbase chassis weighs approximately 4,000 lbs. With a body fitted, it has a top speed of approximately 80 mph. A Piccadilly bodied car weight's 5,800 lbs.

Differences between the US and UK models included retooling to support left versus right hand drive. UK cars' transmissions had 4 speeds and US models 3. US models also offered larger Buffalo wheels and a centralized Bijur lubrication system oiling 44 chassis wear points. In addition, US supplier parts such as Waltham and Chelsea clocks, Haverhill Auto Lighting headlights {with Bausch & Lomb prizm lenses}, dual Dejon distributors and Mallory coils, and Trico wipers were fitted to the US cars.

Chassis S454FL

This car, chassis S454FL was the 54^th Phantom I produced in Springfield, and the second Rolls-Royce restored by Frank Cooke. It was delivered new in 1927 to Mrs. L. B. Morse of Charleston, NH with Warwick Limousine coachwork by Brewster & Co.

The Piccadilly Roadster body (M1388), is made of aluminum over hardwood and is one of 70 produced by the Merrimac Body Company of West Amesbury, MA under contract to the Rolls Royce Custom Coachworks. It was delivered new on Silver Ghost chassis S178ML to A. H. Beck of Wayland, MA then fitted to chassis S454FL at the time of the Cooke restoration. Bob Potvin of West Brookfield, MA accompanied Frank Cooke on the trip to Mount Vernon NY to purchase S178ML in December of 1961. He reports that Cooke told him he paid Sam Adleman, "Eight cents a pound," for the car.

A total of 79 Silver Ghosts and 20 Phantom Is were fitted with Piccadilly Roadster bodies, which was inspired by "Seymour" a bespoke RR built for Grace Knox of Buffalo NY, as a birthday gift for her 23 year old son.

The car received a class win at the 1963 R-R.O.C. National Meet at Williamsburg, VA, The Frost Trophy for the car voted "most appealing" by the women at the 1964 R-R.O.C National Meet in New York, won Best of Show at the 1966 Atlantic Region Fall Foliage Tour, was featured on the 1967 R-R.O.C. Christmas card, and is documented in John Webb de Campi’s 1974 book Rolls-Royce in America. It's estimated that Cooke drove it over 50,000 miles during his ownership, continually demonstrating its reliability, and ability to keep pace with much younger cars.

From September 2006 to October 2014, Bruce Papazian of Harvard, MA was the primary caretaker and worshiper of this old iron.