ANTIQUE CARS
A Sterling Silver
Collection
George Pararas-Carayannis
Introduction
My interest in luxury
cars begun in 1977 when I purchased my first Rolls Royce. It
was a year-old, 1976 Silver Shadow. I was truly impressed by
the Rolls Royce engineering and the car's comfort and performance.
Later that year someone from Los Angeles offered to sell me a
1932 Phantom II, Sedanca De Ville, Rolls Royce and showed me
photos of the car. The car had a long documented history and
was named "Duke of Winsdor". According to the records
presented to me, the Phantom II was one of only 12 such cars
manufactured by the Rolls Royce Company in that year. Furthermore,
the car was a special order placed in 1931 by Lord Louis Barron,
the Chairman of the Board of the giant cigarette company "Carrera",
for the use of Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick
David, Prince of Wales, heir to the throne of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland - who later became King of England known as
Edward the VIII but who, in 1935, abdicated the throne to marry
Mrs. Simpson - an American.
Shortly after meeting
this fellow in Honolulu, I flew to Los Angeles to look at the
car and immediately fell in love with it, purchased it and had
it shipped to Hawaii. At the time I had no idea what I was getting
into in trying to restore a 40+ year old antique car to its original
pristine condition. Fortunately people that knew a lot more than
I did came to my rescue. One of them was a judge of the Rolls
Royce Owners Club in Mechanisburg, Pa. Another one was a Chemistry
professor at the Univeristy of Hawaii - who was a collector and
very knowledgable about the Phantom II. Finally, a University
student from Sri Lanka who was helping me at my house, had worked
in his country at a garage that specialized in repairs of Rolls
Royces. The young fellow got the job of coordinating the three
year restoration project of the Phantom II - but that's another
story.
My 1932 Phantom II, Sedanca
De Ville, Rolls Royce fully restored (used for a wedding in Honolulu)
and Damike, my Sri Lankan driver/mechanic.
My interest in antique
cars continued and in subsequent years I purchased a 1939 Silver
Wraith, Rolls Royce and a two - door Convertible 1974 Corniche
Rolls. Indeed I must have been a glutton for punishment and the
expenses of maintaining them were great. Then, I decided to become
somewhat more practical, so I started collecting miniature replicas
of old cars instead (a much better hobby since these were easier
to store and they had no need for maintenance). While I was on
vacation in Europe I found in Cordova, Spain a silversmithing
Company that could fabricate a replica of any old car I wanted,
in pure sterling silver. Immediately, I placed an order. Below
is my part of my collection of some of the silver replicas of
antique cars that had impressed me the most for their engineering
and their past popularity. So, here are some of them.
1913 Cadillac
The Cadillac company
started out as the Henry Ford Company in 1901 founded by the
famous Henry Ford. V ery soon after Ford left to enter motor
racing. One of the conditions for him leaving was that the name
of the company be changed - to Cadillac. The following are exact
sterling silver replicas of the 1913 Cadillac.
1928 Mercedes
Benz SS Coupe
In 1928 the Mercedes
Car Company begun the fabriacation of the SS (short for Super
Sports) and SSKL series The SS had a 7.1 litre 225 bhp engine.
The following are sterling silver replicas of the 1928 versions
of the Mercedes automobile.
1930 Packard Victoria
The 1930 Packard Victoria
was one of the most expensive cars available in the USA at the
time. It was a wonderfully engineered car.
1930 Duesenberg
The 1930 Duesenberg
was considered to be the "King of American Classics."
It was a very expensive and very powerfull motorcar built in
Indianapolis, Indiana. It had a straight 8 Lycoming engine and
could reach a top speed of 186.7 kph / 116.0 mph
1934 Riley
The 1933 Kestrel 9
was a small fastbacked 4-door motorcar, with twin carburettor
sports engine. It stayed in production until 1936 when it was
effectively replaced by the Kestrel 112. The car was typical
of Riley models at the time, with Aluminium panels stretched
over a timber bodyframe. The interior was well trimmed with leather
upholstery, thick carpeting and plenty of Walnut veneer. The
Kestrel was easily identifiable from the front, with it's twin
horns.
1936 Hispano-Suiza
The 1936 Hispano-Suiza
was another exotic, and massive motorcar which had Spanish origins
but was built in France.
1937 Stutz
Bearcat
1938 Lagonda
Drophead Coupe
This 1938 Lagonda
was an extremely fast and luxurious motor car designed by W.
O. Bentley. The flowing lines and the helmet like spare wheel
carriers are typical of Lagondas produced in the late 1930s.
1938 JAGUAR
SS 100
The Jaguar SS Series
was released at the 1938 London Motor Show. It was a two-seater
coupe version of their SS 100 car. It featured rounded wings,
enclosed rear wheels and a flowint tail.
1945 MG
TC
The MG TC series was
the most successful ever produced by Morris Garages (MG) It enjoyed
immense international popularity when it was introduced in 1945.
The TC was a two-seater sports car. It had a four cylinder in-line
engine that delivered 54 bhp and accelerated the car to 125 km/h.
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