Saturday, January 05, 2013

Man drives Rolls-Royce for 78 years then makes museum donation to ensure its preservation

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Mr. Allen Swift died in 2005 at the impressive age of 102, but his automotive story is even more remarkable.

Not only is the gentleman credited with owning a Rolls-Royce automobile longer than anyone else in the world, but he had the forethought and funds to ensure its future preservation after his death.

In 1928, while living in Springfield, Massachusetts, Swift's father gave him a 1928 Rolls-Royce Piccadilly P1 Roadster as a graduation present (Springfield and Rolls-Royce have a history – from 1920 to 1931, the British automaker built 2,944 vehicles in the city as part of its attempt to establish a US plant).

The young man was passionate about his green-over-green soft-top convertible, not only driving it on a regular basis, but maintaining it meticulously over the decades (the two door-received a complete body-off restoration and engine rebuild in 1988).

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