The Vintage Car Collection I Looked After
The elegant garage at Mrs. McDougald's 'Green Meadows' home in Toronto came complete with a crystal chandelier that used to hang in the foyer of the main house and was full of priceless cars the likes of which i had never seen, or even dreamed of coming close too. There was a 1937 Rolls Royce Convertible: A 1931 Bugatti Type 37 Racing Car once owned by World Landspeed record holder, Malcolm Campbell: A 1928 Alfa Romeo Zagato: A 1928 Mercedes SSK supercharged: A 1926 Bentley: A 1921 Kissel Goldbug: A 1918 Packard: A 1904 De Dion Buton: A 1908 Hupmobile: A 1909 Ford Model T and more.
In another room were the vintage limousines: A 1928 Hispano Siuza with a leatherette body: A 1926 Isotta Fraschina, built for King Alphonso of Spain: A 1935 Rolls Royce Continental Convertible: A 1939 Rolls Royce Phantom, that had me imagining Great Garbo arriving to a movie premier.
And then there was the 1912 yellow Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, considered so precious that Rolls Royce wanted to buy it back, and that I got back into running condition after eighteen years as a musuem piece in the garbage, under the guidance of a Rolls Royce mechanic, after only four hours of work and a battery recharge!
In England, there was also a stately 1969 Rolls Royce Phantom VI, which Mrs. McDougald occasionally loaned to the Queen Mother, when grand state events called for the use of the all of the other royal cars.
For everyday use at home in Canada the fleet included a 1961 Rolls Royce Phantom V, a huge 1979 Yellow Lincoln Continental with special hubcaps emblazoned with the family crest, a 1974 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine, a 1971 Eldorado Convertible and more.
I loved driving every singly one of them.