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My First Car: Springfield Rolls Royce Phantom 1, Jerry Formaz, 83, Zephyrhills

 
Published Jan. 23, 2015

'28 Springfield Rolls-Royce Phantom 1

At the age of 18, I lived in Michigan and was a proud owner of a Rolls-Royce. It was a 1928 Springfield Rolls-Royce Phantom 1. It had a body by Brewster & Co. of Long Island, N.Y., and was assembled in Springfield, Mass. I worked for an import car dealer and a young man called and said he had inherited this Rolls-Royce found in a building on his great-grandfather's farm (stashed in a corner next to a huge Case thrashing machine). But he wanted a sports car, not the Rolls. The owner of the dealership really didn't want the Rolls either, but he worked out a deal selling a new sports car and taking the Rolls in trade. The dealer didn't have a great deal invested in the Rolls and I was able to buy it. At that time, owners of "real" Rolls-Royce cars (built in England) were of the opinion that the Springfield cars were not truly Rolls-Royce and shunned the cars. My Rolls-Royce was not an antique; at the time it was only 21 years old. I had a great time with my Rolls! It took a lot of work to clean it up and some tinkering to get it in perfect running condition. Then I received "Greetings" from Uncle Sam. The Korean War had started. Rather than be drafted, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. I didn't know where I would be for the next four years, so I had to part with my Rolls. A fellow was in the area on his way to moving to Utah, but had to have my Rolls. So I regretfully sold it.