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| 1936 Rolls-Royce 25/30hp |
| Chassis:
GXM68, Engine no. U24J (Later replaced with C29A) |
| Owner: Penny Meakin |
One
of
the 1203 cars of this model built between
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| First
owner: Commander C.H. Davey RN of Great Britain, who had the body made to the same design as his 20/25hp, GWE33, which was a four-door saloon by the coachbuilder Vanden Plas. |
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| Vanden
Plas saloon body on chassis GWE33 |
| (Picture courtesy of "Those Elegant Rolls-Royce" - p229) |
| At
some stage the car found its way to Northern Rhodesia, where it was acquired in 1969 by Capt. Chris. Tilney from someone in Ndola, possibly Maj. N.J. Buss. By this time the car was body-less and was fitted with engine C29A ex. chassis GTL68 which had been owned by Maj. Buss of Ndola in 1965. It was most likely that he selected the better running engine to keep GTL68 going. This car is now back in the UK. |
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| As the car
was found in Northern Rhodesia, in 1969 |
| In
December 1970 the car was acquired by Capt. V.S. Meakin of Lusaka, Zambia. Originally a woodwork and before pursuing a career as an airline pilot, Vic Meakin was able to apply his considerable skills to the restoration of GXM68. He started on this project soon after he had built himself a little workshop and carport in the back garden of his house in Lusaka. The overhaul of the engine was tackled first, and the list of parts he required was very long indeed. There cannot have been very much left of the engine when he started with it. The car had been essentially stripped. |
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| Vic Meakin lowering in the engine | Crankshaft |
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| By
1975 Vic. Meakin had designed and built a replica Gurney Nutting style drop head coupe body, by adapting plans of a similar body for a Phantom 1. To make the rear wings of the car, he first had to construct a wooden mould, over which he shaped the aluminum. The car passed the roadworthy test in June 1975 in Lusaka. |
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| The
car was brought to South Africa in 1976, where it was in use for a number of years up until late 1990 when problems arose with the cylinder head which had developed hairline cracks. After Vic Meakin passed away in late1990 the car stood for ten years. |
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| Vic
Meakin with
the car under the wing of a Dakota taken at Johannesburg International Airport, date unknown but probably around early 1980’s |
| In
Pietermaritzburg in 2000 work started on the car again and an attempt was made to repair the old cylinder head. She once again ventured out of the garage but not before several days were spent releasing the clutch! This apparently should have been ‘jacked out’ during storage. However the old head did not last for long before water was detected in the oil and once again she was off the road. In 2002 a new cylinder head was ordered from Fiennes Engineering in the UK. In March 2005 the car was re-sprayed in Pietermaritzburg – and Rolls Royce ‘Pacific Blue’. |
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| (My
sincere thanks to Penny Meakin
(Vic's daughter) for all her enthusiasm and assistance in researching and compiling the history of GXM68, and for agreeing to have her magnificent car featured on this website. Penny also thanks Wayne Kennerley for his assistance and research on the history of the car) |
| In memory of Penny's
Father, Capt. Vic S. Meakin. |