As published in the March 2018 Issue of Northern Prancer Ferrari Magazine.
The first car deal we brokered was a 1973 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow long wheel base. The car was a dark blue with a red interior. A mature couple purchased the car and seemed very happy with it. Three months later, the husband called me to tell me that they liked the car but they needed to re-sell it. The problem was that the lady kept being stopped by the police because no one could see that there was someone driving the car.
Another Rolls-Royce story involves a very nice Corniche hardtop with low mileage in a pretty blue colour. The new owner had trouble adjusting the power seat. He called and asked me to demonstrate how it works so that a tall person could get comfortable. I got to his house and he insisted that I watch a video of him trying to adjust the seat instead of going to the vehicle that was parked right in front of us. It still remains a mystery to me.
When I was in the RR restoration business, I dealt with the RR head office in Dorval. The service manager told me the story of this hippy that came in one day and wanted his Silver Shadow restored, the company president refused to deal with him as he had a pony tail and obviously no money for the project. It turned out that the hippy was the TV personality Don Francks, they restored the car completely without incident. A few years ago I was offered the car for a tiny fraction of the cost of restoration, I see the car occasionally in Woodbridge at a very ordinary garage. One of his other RR’s was the Phantom V previously owned by Engelbert Humperdinck, painted in Royal colours. His last collection was of Model T racing cars.
LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Avoiding Life’s Lemons
Lipstick on a Pig features excerpts from the vast library of Maurice Bramhall’s experiences.
