I always thought it would be neat to own a Rolls-Royce and was looking for one for a few years. About 2 weeks before Christmas of 1987, my mother-in-law called my wife telling her that she saw a Rolls sitting in a front yard with a for sale sign and a large red bow on it. I explained to the seller that I would not be able to come to look at it until Christmas day because of my job. He said “no problem - I’m trying to sell the car” and stopping in on Christmas morning would be ok - and that we did.
It was exactly what I was looking for - a ‘62 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II right-hand drive, Embassy Black over Sand. The Silver Cloud II’s were made from mid-1959 to October 1962 and boasted the 6.23 liter V-8 OHV engine.
An auto body friend went with me on Saturday, New Year’s day, to check out a few things. Having his reassurances about my questions helped seal the deal, and I drove the Rolls home.
Over the years we’ve owned the Rolls, we have done some restoration of the car. We, and a couple of friends from our T-Bird club, helped us take most of the chrome off and sent it to Iowa for re-plating. One of those friends stripped the car from the belt-line down to metal, repaired some rust spots and repainted the sand color. The black was still very presentable and left it intact. For mechanical work, we found Palma’s Automotive in Audubon, NJ, a great place as they specialize in Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and other exotic cars.
I and my wife, Corrine, have enjoyed the car, taking it to shows, to church on occasion, doing weddings, proms, and special occasions for family and friends. I remember the first time I took my Dad for a ride. When we returned home, he said “never again”. He didn’t like sitting on the left (facing traffic) with no steering wheel in his hand. Also in the garage we have a 1966 and 1954 Ford Pickups, 1956 Thunderbird, and a 1957 Ford Fairlane Skyliner. Submitted by John Brickner Clarksboro, NJ