1935 Rolls Royce 20/25 – Project Profile

If you want pure, unabashed luxury there is really only one car maker you can go to, and that’s Rolls Royce. Today, you can specify elements of your Rolls that would make a six-star hotel blush. Do you want diamonds crushed up in the paint to make it sparkle? Consider it done. How about some cut crystal glassware in the back? No problem. You want the headlining to be fitted with fibre optic lighting that replicates the position of the constellations on the day you were born? Of course! Yes, the modern day Rolls Royce is the limitless canvas on which we can paint our own picture of luxury. 

Of course, this offering of luxury didn’t happen overnight. It’s the evolution of years, decades in fact, of building luxury cars for customers who don’t understand the notion of being told ‘no’. It all started in 1904 when Charles Rolls and Henry Royce decided to offer the world luxury transport. Happily, it was something in great need. The car was a relatively new concept, and for many, it was a luxury. But that didn’t stop them from wanting to make it more luxurious. Rolls Royce set the benchmark for luxury with coachbuilt cars that offered space, comfort and style that was unrivalled. 

One car that embodies that thirst for early motoring luxury is the car you see here, the Rolls Royce 20/25, one of Rolls Royce’s most successful cars – it was certainly the most successful inter-war car, being built from ‘29 to ‘36. It boasted a 3,699cc straight-six engine with 20hp and a four-speed manual transmission, and it was car the well-heeled fell in love with in an instant. 

What is it? 

The car we’re looking at here is a 1935 20/25, making it one of the final cars to be built, given that production stopped in ‘36. It wears a four-door body, which was one of the more popular options for the 20/25. You have to remember, this car comes from a time when the bodies were built by a third party. The vendor doesn’t state who bodied this car, but we would err toward it perhaps being a Park Ward body. Though, it could also be a Mulliner. Either way, it’s a triumph of construction in aluminium. 

Being a 1935 model, it should have been fitted with a whole host of upgrades such as a three-rate charging system, silent second gear, ride control, air silencer, flexible engine mounts and a voltage-controlled generator. 

The engine in this car, which is reported to be in good, functional health, is a work of art. It’s a straight-six, overhead pushrod engine with a capacity of 3,699cc. It featured a cast iron block and cylinder head with an aluminium crankcase cover, internally there’s a seven-bearing crankshaft with a vibration damper, because one’s Rolls must be smooth. Cooling was taken care of by that huge front radiator, which was upgraded in ‘32 to be over 4 inches deep. 

The car is a work of art, but as you can see, it needs some love to bring it back to its best. 

Why is it a project? 

Sadly, the last owner had to abandon the Rolls due to his age. Happily though, what he did during his time with the car seems to be deeply impressive, with this car being restored – thus far – to a wonderful standard. He restored that wonderful aluminium body, which is now free of damage and ready for final finish and paint. The engine was overhauled, including a new cylinder head, and is now running smoothly. Finally, the front and rear seats have been professionally retrimmed in a lovely brown leather. 

This beautiful old Rolls needs someone to take on the baton and bring it over the finish line. Paint, electrics, the remaining interior trim like the door cars and headlining, all the visual stuff. The vendor states that most of the chrome-work has been restored and comes with the car, so again, that’s another thing you don’t need to worry about.  

Five things to looks for

1) Glass

Looking at this old Rolls, we can’t help but notice some of the side and rear glass seems to be absent. Is it present? If not, it could be costly to replace it. It’s just flat glass, but getting it in the right shape and thickness won’t be cheap. 

2) Parts/Trim

The vendor is forthright in saying the Rolls comes with a whole host of parts to finish it. As with any part-completed project though, it is worth going through those parts to find out what, if anything, is missing. This is not an off-the-shelf car. 

3) Chassis

Given the quality of the work thus far, we would be surprised to learn of the chassis being a mess. However, we can’t ignore the age of this car and with age comes many an opportunity for a bodge in the past. Something that may have been missed. Get under the car and have a good inspection. 

4) Body

It looks like there’s nothing to worry about here, but we are talking about a coachbuilt car, so there is no harm in just checking the condition of the aluminium. Check it for any signs of corrosion where it mounts to the chassis and look for any misalignment in the panels. 

5) Paperwork

It would be wonderful to know more about this car, specifically who owned it in the past, what the original colour and trim was, and of course, which company bodied the car. Well worth sifting through the paperwork to find out. Failing that, Rolls Royce itself should be able to help. 

What should you do with it? 

There are two trains of thought here. The first is that you go through the paperwork, find out the original specification and then build the car back up to how it was once. And that’s a very nice approach. But, it’s not what we’d do.

That body is an exquisite work of art and we think it deserves to be in the spotlight. As such, we would have the aluminium cleaned up and polished, and then we’d have it coated in a satin-finish protective coat of lacquer. Just think how amazing this Rolls Royce would look with a polished, bare metal body, lashings of chrome and an expertly re-trimmed interior. It would be a rolling work of art, and it would be a wonderful way to celebrate that handmade body.