1953 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn

This is a gorgeous 1953 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn that is a rare US delivery from new example that has benefitted from a concours quality restoration. This is one of the very best Silver Dawns extant. This Rolls was owned and enjoyed by Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas and his wife Carolyn Agger in Washington DC from 1965 until 1981. This is the highly desirable combination of LHD, large bore engine, automatic transmission and big boot design. It is now about as close as you will find to a new Silver Dawn, with an open checkbook available for its restoration. Chassis No. LSMF-30 was delivered new on June 9 th , 1953, to Mr. John Mason in Cambridge City, Indiana. By September 16, 1965, Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas and his wife Carolyn Agger acquired the Rolls and enjoyed it for the next 16 years. The Rolls was an important part of their lives and was frequently written about in Time Magazine and numerous other publications. By December of 1986, the LSMF-30 was acquired by Margo Reese from Culver City, California. Ms. Reese enjoyed ownership for the next 25 years. The present owner acquired the Silver Dawn in 2011 and set out to have it restored through 2014. Most of the restoration was performed by the highly regarded specialist, Santos, at Tony Handlers in Los Angeles. The mechanical restoration is superb in every respect. LSMF-30 was ordered new in the same stunning color combination as it is today, Velvet Green (X21416) over Shell Grey (222/2128) with a single Ivory pinstripe. The paint and chrome are concours quality and performed by Lanse Collision Restoration Center in Los Angeles during 2007 for over $19,000. The quality of the paint and chrome speak for itself, this is concours quality workmanship. The interior was restored by Harrys Auto Top & Upholstery in Los Angeles in 2012 for an investment in excess of $19,000. This included Grey leather, Grey Wilton wool carpeting and Grey wool broadcloth headliner. All the leather is like new today. The wood refinishing is spectacular. The burl walnut and crossbanding is gorgeous and in excellent condition today. All of the instrumentation works as it should, and the original radio has been restored. In the glovebox is a modern stereo CD player as well. The rear window shade can be raised remotely by the driver for increased privacy. The venerable 4,566cc (278.6cuin) inline six-cylinder engine was a replacement engine that was completely rebuilt by Santos at Tony Handlers. He has more experience rebuilding Rolls-Royce engines than any other expert in North America. The radiator, transmission, engine, steering column, and more were all rebuilt or replaced at a cost of more than $40,000, with most of the work being performed in 2014. The engine has excellent power and the transmission shifts perfectly, much smoother than most any Silver Dawn weve driven. There are no rattles, clunks, vibrations, etc. All of the instruments work exactly as they should. The only item we see is that it des