Rolls-Royce or Bentley (part I)
Buying a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley is a dilemma I did not think I would ever have to deal with, but the alleys of life invite dilemmas even if you have not prepared for them. Here is the story…
MJ, a dear friend from Singapore, with whom we meet every few years in various places around the world (this time in the Black Forest in Germany), threw an idea during a dinner conversation that he would be happy to participate in a rally from Beijing in China to Paris. The beauty of this rally is that the youngest car in it is 50 years old.
Throwing a sentence like that around me does not go unnoticed 🙂. A team was immediately set up that included MJ (driver / navigator / sponsor), me (driver / navigator), Omri (the technical expert of the vehicle) and Ira (alternative navigator / trip documentation). So just like that we have changed our plans and for the last two weeks have been visiting dealers in England looking for a suitable vehicle… and here I am wrestling with the question of what is better: Rolls-Royce or Bentley 🙂.
Rolls-Royce or Bentley (part iI)
Life is hard… Need to choose… In a showroom, wandering around like a little kid in a toy store, stroking a wing, opening a door, peeking at the engine, crawling underneath… maybe this one? and what about that one?..
We visited the first dealer in Belgium (300 classic cars!) and the first question we were asked: “pre-war (called a vintage car) or post-war (a classic car)?”. World War II of course. We chose four cars – two vintage (Chevrolet 1932 and Price-Arrow 1934) and two classic (Rolls-Royce 1960 and Mercedes 1955) and did a test drive with each. At the end of the day we decided we wanted them all (!) 
To the next dealer (in Wales) we have already come more prepared: “We are looking for a classic car (between the years 1945-55)”. Since our goal is to make a rally that crosses countries like Mongolia and Kazakhstan on the questionable roads, the car must be lightweight, powerful, high, and simple. This time Rolls Royce Silver Dawn 1950, Bentley Mark 6 (sounds like a tank name) 1951 and a few others were selected. The insight was: Silver Dawn or Mark 6 (veterans in the field, to say the least). Additional criteria were added, such as without a sunroof, preferably manual gearbox (quite rare in these vehicles) and preferably left-hand drive (very rare) and most importantly the vehicle should be fun and comfortable to drive. We have now focused on these two both of which are very similar and meet all our requirements and started our search. Of Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn only 760 vehicles were produced – we saw 6 of them and drove most of them, while Bentley produced several thousand and we also saw a few of those. And now all that remains is to choose Rolls-Royce (silver) or Bentley (blue).
WE ARE PROUD OWNERS OF ROLLS-ROYCE!
We did it !!! The first phase is over. We are the proud owners of a Rolls Royce Silver Dawn 1950. The car is now making its way to Spain where we will prepare it for a rally and from the middle of next year we will start destroying it, first two short rails in England (for study), then one longer in Italy and Greece.
We are on the way...
To get a vehicle outside the UK on a truck you need a physical vehicle license (the original) even though the license has been registered and confirmed in the email. However, for driving the car outside the UK a digital license is enough… one can’t understand the bureaucracy and logic behind it 
.
By the way we have a copy of the first license of the car from 1949 (handwritten!) but it is not convincing since my name does not appear on it . I recruited my friend, Ori Brin who boarded a plane from Tel Aviv to the UK and we started a trip to Barcelona that should take about a week. It’s not a difficult journey for a car but… she is a 72 year old lady after all!
We crossed the channel and we are in France, so we overcame the bureaucracy and now left to deal with the mechanics. First fault: heating does not work and there are 4 degrees outside (!). After making a quick research, we managed to get the heating system to blew out the air but it is even cooler!!!! So, we wear gloves and a coat and a hat and that of course will not break us .
The Journey from England to Spain
We have set out to move our ‘elderly lady’ from England to Spain. In preparation for the adventure while getting ready for any mishap, we have built alternative scenarios and plans, routes and road maps. We flew a crew from Israel, filled the trunk with tools, spare parts and fluids of all kinds, and… the ending is quite boring … the ‘elderly lady’, celebrating 70, went through the entire journey of 2,000 miles without a hiccup, just one big yawn . We completed the ride in five days and the car is in Barcelona. Tomorrow we will start preparing it for the upcoming rally.
Boring!!!
The Last Chapter
Rolls Royce – farewell tour
The sum of the previous chapters – about two years ago we met MJ, an old friend, who brought up the idea of participating in a rally of antique cars from China to France; we purchased a 1950 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn model known as “Sylvia”; we moved Sylvia to Spain; we participated in a rally in Spain; Putin invaded Ukraine and postponed the next window for the rally from China to Paris (which mostly goes through Russia) for 2028 or later… We decided to sell “Sylvia”. Tomorrow we are on our way. From Greece (where we are now), a flight to Barcelona, from there we cross Spain driving to Bilbao (it looks quick, but the car has undergone a thorough engine overhaul and this is its first trip), boarding a ferry to Portsmouth in the UK, and a farewell trip for about 10 days around the British Island that will end in Wales at the dealer from whom we purchased the vehicle. Wish us luck.
HE
1 thought on “The Story of a Rolls-Royce”
Thanks for your blog, nice to read. Do not stop.
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