About six years ago, Tom met Howard Hulvey at the Hershey Swap Meet. Howard told Tom about his unique collection of GM barn finds. The day has arrived for Tom to come to Central Virginia to film one of the unique Buick collections in the U.S., including low-mileage and rare packaged mid-1950s Specials, Supers, and Roadmasters.
It's The Rolls-Royce Show
As the two of them examine the Buicks in various degrees of rustiness, some of them still running, Tom catches a glimpse of a Rolls-Royce. It is a 1988 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur with 60,000 miles on it, and this one is a long wheelbase.
Howard goes on to show Tom another one of his Rolls-Royces – the Silver Spirit. Tom did not expect this elegant and beautiful car among the decrepit cars scattered around. This is a 1981 Spirit with 80,000 original mileage. Howard says this is one of the first 36 of this body made, so it’s a very early production car. Howard found out there are some very expensive parts on it after someone tried to steal a rack, and the core fee was something like $850.
A couple of Buicks later, they get to the third Rolls-Royce. This time it’s a different model. Tom tries to guess the year and misses. He thinks it's 1939, but the car is actually 1951. There’s a history to this car. A real estate company bought it in the late '50s and imported it over. The car runs and drives. This car has a four-speed transmission and the gear stick is by the door. There’s a special two-barrel carburetor and according to Howard, this will fit on a Buick.
Now, the two are going to see the next Rolls, as Howard has more. Along the way, they see a couple of Buicks, a Model T Coupe, a Model T Touring car, and an International truck. In another building packed with cars, Tom spots the flying lady. This is the fourth Rolls-Royce, the 1974 Silver Shadow with quad headlights. It has a 414 ci V8. This car also runs, which seems to be Howard’s requirement. He likes to get his cars out on the road once in a while. If he doesn’t run them on the road, he runs them on the field.
The Promise Of The Last Rolls-Royce
In the end, after Tom has seen a good part of the collection, he finds out which car is Howard’s most precious. Next time, Howard promises to show some other specials and the fifth Rolls-Royce built-in 1928.