1937 Rolls-Royce

• An extremely attractive and very rare Phantom III three position drophead coupe
• Full ownership from new to present day known
• Complete with sliding tool tray in the boot and handbook
• Equally attractive in all three hood positions
• Ideal for future high level concours entry
• A rare opportunity to acquire a Phantom III with stylish open original coachwork

Just over seven hundred Rolls-Royce Phantom IIIs were created with the vast majority being fitted with four door coachwork, mostly saloons. A very small number were fitted with two door bodies, with just a fraction of these being completed with open coachwork. Chassis No 3AZ174 is one of the finest looking examples on the Phantom III chassis in our opinion, fitted with very striking three position drophead coupe coachwork by Freestone & Webb which looks equally attractive in all three hood positions, a feat rarely achieved on a car of this size. The chassis was “off test” in August of 1936 and dispatched to the coachworks in October for Body No 1225 to be fitted and furnished, built to Design No 1774 by Freestone & Webb. It was originally completed in January of 1937, finished in olive green to the bonnet, boot and wings and sage green to the side panels, complemented by a mottled green leather interior. Some of the original equipment included wheels discs, horns, a Marchal foglamp (instead of the standard Lucas), and a rear-mounted spare wheel. The car was registered DUC 314 by the County Council of London in January 1937, the number plate it still retains today. According to Rolls-Royce records the chassis had originally been ordered by RSM Motors for sale to Mr A Markham of the Mayfair Hotel, London and that he took delivery of the car on the 30th of January 1937. Freestone and Webb records indicate that the first owner was “Cook, Esq” and indeed Rolls-Royce records show Mr Francis Cook (later Sir Francis), of 28 Mallord Street, Church Street, Chelsea, London SW; and Cothay Manor, Greenham, near Wellington in Somerset, as the owner on the 28th of May 1937. He put his chauffeur of one month, Mr W Moon, through the Rolls-Royce School of Instruction in June of 1938. His main residence was Doughty House, Richmond Hill, Richmond upon Thames. Sir Francis Ferdinand Maurice Cook, 4th Baronet and 4th Viscount of Montserrat (1907-1978) inherited his titles on the death of his father in 1939. His father had effects valued at £671,634 for probate purposes and Francis was the main heir. Francis was an artist, musician and art historian, exhibiting at the Royal Academy. Paintings by Cook appear in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Manchester, Northampton and Bournemouth. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (1940–78) and an Associate of the Royal Society of British Artists (1938–48). Cook was also a founding member of the Jersey Society of Artists, and the Jersey Artists Group. He was married seven times and was divorced six times. In May 1945 Jack Barclay Limited had Chassis No 3AZ174 for sale, showing a speedometer reading of 38,000 miles. It was sold on the 21st of June 1945 to Miss Nora Hardy McCaw of Trebah, Falmouth, Cornwall for £2,900, with her Bentley 4¼ Litre Park Ward coupe Chassis No B30MR traded in for £3,900 (so they paid her £1,000) Nora Hardy McCaw (1893-1971) was a lover of both speed and style, her cars included a Bentley 8 Litre, several 4½ Litres, three Derby Bentleys as well as two Phantom IIIs. Nora was born in India where her father, William McCaw, a qualified solicitor, was a partner in Kettlewell, Bullen & Co, managing agents for jute & cotton mills, tea estates and railways. Nora was a keen motorist and during WWI she joined the Red Cross and was stationed at Salonika in Greece as a chauffeur. After the War she remained in Europe and spent her summers in Biarritz. She is recorded in Rolls-Royce records as still owning 3AZ174 in August 1954, when she was living in Monaco where she died in 1971. On the 29th of October 1954 the car was sold by Jack Barclay Limited to HC Paul Limited, a used car dealer in London, for £1,050. In November 1954 William D Edwards of the Fabricated Metal Products Co of St Louis, Missouri, began correspondence with the Rolls-Royce Service Centre in London about buying a Phantom III, and in December he indicated that he was interested in buying 3AZ174 which at that stage was for sale by Knightsbridge Motors Limited. Rolls-Royce had examined the car and advised Mr Edwards of its condition. Edwards acquired the car in March 1955. William Edwards is recorded by the RROC’s The Flying Lady (issue 58-5 of October 1958) as having taken 3AZ174 to the RROC’s Montreal Meet where the car won first prize in the Phantom III category. Photos of 3AZ174 and its engine appeared in this issue of the magazine, with the car still bearing its UK registration plate numbered DUC314. In 1962 the car was purchased by Chase W Phelps of Governor’s Island, New Hampshire and the car was photographed in The Flying Lady (issue 62-1, February 1962) In the Rolls-Royce The Flying Lady Bazaar in issue 62- 6, December 1962, Phelps advertised 3AZ174 for sale. It was acquired in 1963 by Ralph A McIninch also of New Hampshire. The McIninch family owned 3AZ174 for over 60 years and Dick McIninch is recorded as attending various concours events in more recent times, with it winning trophies at both Amelia Island in 2012 and then Boca Raton in 2013. We are delighted to have repatriated Chassis No 3AZ174 to the UK for the first time in over six decades and to be offering it for sale at this time. Rolls-Royce Phantom III’s rarely if ever come better than this example in our opinion, with a very stylish body which looks superb in each hood position, with the hood sitting almost completely flat in the fully lowered position. This car is an ideal candidate for top level concours in the future should the next custodian choose to raise its condition to that level. It comes complete with a sliding tool tray in the boot plus original handbook.  

In 1936 Rolls-Royce made their first move away from the highly successful six-cylinder engine with the introduction of the Phantom III. For the first time in nearly three decades Rolls-Royce chose to power their new model with a V12 engine following several years of development. The new V12 engine was fitted with overhead valves and could produce very impressive performance figures, especially when considering the sheer size and weight of the finished motorcar. Speeds in excess of 80mph were well within this powerful model's grasp. Production of the Phantom IIs successor continued until 1939, available in just one size that being a 142-inch wheelbase, with little more than 700 chassis rolling off the production line at the factory.