In the last edition of The Devil’s Steed we were talking about Mr. John Lennon’s legendary Rolls Royce and how it was modified. But after it was shipped to the US, things became a bit different.

In 1970 the car was shipped to the US by Lennon, where it was loaned extensively to many rock stars including the Rolling Stones, the Moody Blues, and Bob Dylan. When the car was available Lennon seldom used it, so consideration was given to sell it to an American buyer. But no serious offers were made. As a result of this the car was put into storage in New York.

In 1977 John and Yoko had serious trouble from The Man. So they decided to give the car as collateral for a $ 225,000 tax credit to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum which is a part of the Smithsonian institute.

The car was then put on display from October 3, 1978 to January 7, 1979. But by this time the museum could not afford the insurance for a full time public display. So the car was again put in storage at Silver Hill, Maryland.

By June 1985 the Cooper-Hewitt Museum decided to auction the car off through Sotheby’s.  Sotheby’s thought that the car would sell off at about $ 200,000 to $ 300,000
But when it was actually sold it went off for a whopping $2,299,000(US).

Interestingly enough it was purchased by Mr. Jim Pattison’s Ripley International Inc., of South Carolina to be displayed at the Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” Museum. The purchase of the Phantom V at this price made it the ‘World’s Most Expensive Car’ at that time and it was issued the license plates ‘LENNON.’

The Phantom V was then loaned to Expo ‘86 in Vancouver (Chairman: Mr. Jim Pattison) for exhibition. The American title was transferred from Ripley International Inc. to Jim Pattison Industries Ltd., in Canada (Mr. Jim Pattison is a well-known British Columbia business man.)

In 1987, Mr. Pattison presented the car as a gift to Her Majesty in Right of the Province of British Columbia and displayed in the Transportation Museum of British Columbia at Cloverdale (near Vancouver).

Then, in 1993, the car was transferred from the Transportation Museum and sent to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria, British Columbia. Here the car would be kept for secure storage, displayed only for fund-raising and occasional use. The car was serviced and maintained by Bristol Motors of Victoria.

Paint longevity on Lennon’s Rolls-Royce.

In order to protect the paint work on John Lennon’s famous Rolls-Royce Phantom V, the Royal British Columbia Museum requested that the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) do a paint analysis on the car. Here are the test results as reported from the CCI:

“Samples were mounted as cross sections to determine the structure of the paint layers. Paint chips were also analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray microanalyses, and polarized light microscopy. The analysis revealed that both cellulose nitrate and an oil-modified alkyd resin media had been used and that the surface of the paint had been coated with an oil-modified alkyd resin varnish. A colourful array of pigments was identified, including chrome yellow, titanium white, ultramarine blue, and toluidine red.” Quite the complicated analysis for a car painted by a hippie!

Based on the materials identified, cleaning and waxing the car was recommended; the analysis showed there was nothing in the paint that would be harmed by water or by the application of a protective wax coating. To minimize damage to the varnish and painted surface, it was also recommended that the car not be exposed to direct sunlight for long periods as this could cause deterioration of both the cellulose nitrate and the alkyd resin.