1935 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Coupe by Freestone & Webb
Chassis # GLG53
Engine # D3T
Fixed Head Three Quarter Coupe 20/25 GLG53
One of two examples of this attractive body on the 20/25 chassis
Beautifully finished, national award-winning restoration
Accompanied by copies of build records, restoration photos, and invoices
A CCCA Full Classic
Chassis number GLG53 was one of two Rolls-Royce 20/25s fitted with coupe bodies to this design by Freestone & Webb, highly regarded for their sporting razor edge style.
Featuring sweeping fenders and an especially tasteful roofline, it was specified for continental touring with firmer springs, lower headlights, and dual spares by its original owner, James Henderson, Esq., a British diplomat living in Milan at the time. The elegant coupe is shown as delivered in Lawrence Dalton?s legendary Rolls Royce bibles "Those Elegant Rolls-Royce", as well as in a period advertisement by London dealer Jack Barclay, who appeared especially proud of this sale.
Factory records indicate that the car next passed to a Mr. Stroppel, then to Donald Fraser of Harley Street, London, and to American enthusiast W.E. Hurlock in 1965. Two additional owners, Fred Pennington of Pennsylvania and Thomas Moody of Florida, followed before the car was acquired by the present caretaker, an avid Rolls-Royce enthusiast.
Beginning in 2016, the owner undertook a full restoration of the car to its original condition. Much of the work was completed in his own hands, including rebuilding the inner wood framework, repairing the sheet metal, and finishing the body in a period-correct color scheme of Embassy Beige and Sandstorm Beige. The engine was rebuilt by James Long and the upholstery done by L&S Auto Trim of Gainesville, Florida, using wool and leather materials matched to samples of the originals.
With restoration at last complete, the car was shown quite successfully in competition, including appearances at Keeneland and Hilton Head in 2018, an Antique Automobile Club of America First Junior at Palatka in 2019, and first place in the Early Small Horsepower Concours class at the Rolls-Royce Owners? Club Annual Meet at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 2023. Still in excellent overall condition, it is accompanied by a particularly interesting history file, including photographs and invoices from the restoration.
One of the most award-winning and best-finished small Rolls-Royces offered in recent memory, with especially pleasing and dramatic styling, this is an exceptional example of the 20/25, offered from one excellent caretaker to the next.
The Rolls-Royce 20/25 is the second of the inter-war entry-level models. Built between 1929 and 1936, it was to prove very popular, becoming the most successful selling inter-war Rolls-Royce.
Its success enabled Rolls-Royce to survive the Great Depression, unlike the majority of its competitors in the luxury market, and remain one of World's great brands.
Only 3,827 20/25s were produced over its 7 years of production, and as a testament too their incredible build quality more than 70% of these reportedly still survive in use today.
The target market for the 20/25 was the same as the Twenty the luxury, owner driver, not chauffeur driven, market. The project to develop the next generation 20 hp was code named Goshawk with the goal for the new model to increase both power & performance.
This was achieved by increasing the bore from 3 to 3.25 inches. The stroke was unchanged at 4.5 inches. This increased capacity by 17%, from 3,128 to 3,675cc, and raised the RAC rating up to 25.4 hp!
In 1936 the 20/25 model was replaced by the 25.30, in which the bore was further increased to 3.5 inches. In 1938 the 25/30 was given a new chassis with independent front suspension, and became the Wraith.
The 20/25 also enabled Rolls-Royce to quickly capitalize on its 1931 acquisition of Bentley Motors Ltd and as part of integrating its acquisition, Rolls-Royce discontinued the Bentley 8 litre due to the perceived market overlap with the Phantom II. This meant the acquisition brought with it the Bentley brand but with no car to produce!
They quickly decided to create a new Bentley using the 20/25 engine with some adaptations, and a chassis that had been developed for a 2 litre Rolls-Royce that had been intended as an economy version of the 20/25 but had been cancelled. This formed the basis of the first "Derby Bentley" aka know as the 3 1/2 liter.
The general technical specification of the 20/25 are as follows:
Engine:
Inline 6-cylinder, overhead pushrod operated valve engine with 3,699cc capacity. Separate cast iron block and aluminum crankcase with detachable cast iron 6-plug head. It has an 82 mm bore with a 114 mm stroke. 7-bearing crankshaft with vibration damper. Pressure fed lubrication with relief valve feeding rocker shaft and timing gears.
Ignition System:
Independent coil and standby magneto systems. 12V system. Centrifugal advance with hand override. Distributor gap 0.017-0.021inches
Cooling System:
The famous Rolls-Royce radiator with triangular top with vertical louvres, the angle of which can be adjusted to control engine cooling. In early models, the radiator shutters is operated manually via a lever on the dashboard. Cars from 1931 onward have an automatic control via a thermostat. Engine driven centrifugal pump and belt-driven fan.
Carburation:
A single Rolls-Royce two-jet type with starting carburetor, automatic air valve and steering column control.
Fuel:
14-gallon rear tank, increased to 18 gallons from 1932 onward. "Autovac" vacuum-fed fuel pump. Electric fuel gauge from 1933 onward.
Transmission:
Four-speed gearbox. Gearboxes from 1932 onward have synchromesh in third and top gears. Right hand gearchange. Single dry plate clutch. Open drive propeller shaft.
Suspension:
Semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear. Hydraulic dampers.
Brakes:
Internal expanding four-wheel operation with independent handbrake on the rear wheels. Mechanical servo motor driven from the gearbox.
Chassis lubrication:
"One-Shot" Bijur centralized chassis lubrication system.
Steering:
Worm and nut.
The 20/25 engine and chassis were designed for owner drivers: ideally to be fitted with a saloon or coup? body, however, many 20/25's were fitted with larger and heavier limousine bodies, which impaired their performance.
Rolls-Royce made only the chassis and mechanical parts. The body was made and fitted by renown coachbuilders such as this particular example by Freestone & Webb
Today 20/25s are very popular with enthusiasts. They are significantly less expensive than the inter-war large horsepower Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, and are solid drivers on modern roads. The 20/25 is a joy to drive. The steering is quite high-geared, so little turning of the wheel is required, and it is accurate, enabling the car to be placed exactly where the driver wants. On country road cruising at 40 to 50 mph, all but the heaviest bodied cars are un-stressed.
