1914 RRAC

Hello Mark, A little late in replying due to a family tragedy I'm afraid, but starting to get back to working on the RRAC project. No, I didn't receive your PM; perhaps you could re-send it please. I gratefully received a paint colour chip from Tommo which is excellent. I'll be turning it over to my local automotive paint shop for them to do the match next week. The colour match was a real problem and I would have hated to paint the vehicle (when I get to that point) the wrong shade only to have someone come up to me and with primary evidence tell me it's the wrong shade. All hail Tommo! Question: WW1 - would the body be brush or spray painted?, The LHD to RHD conversion is now 90% complete; I just have to lengthen the steering tube (I had a R-R Phantom 1 tube which is shorter) and then start restoration of the steering wheel. The cooling system is now also complete with a Spal 1918cfm fan to draw ambient air through the original R-R rad matrix and the aluminium rad. bolted to the back of it. While it's of course a radical departure from standard (although you'd only know it if you lifted the bonnets to take look inside the engine compartment) it should amply address sustained low speed cooling issues where air flow is minimal. A recurring question which I've never really had an accurate answer to regarding the RRAC, how does the steel hull (body) attach to the chassis frame? I've studied countless online pics, but to date, there's nothing come across my desk which adequately either describes of illustrates how/where it mounts. Perhaps someone could help with this question please. Roger

Hello Mark, Thanks for your input, very interesting indeed. No, I don't have plans. I've been scaling everything off known measurements in photographs. In the future, I would like to visit the UK to visit the 1920 Pattern Bovington car and then over to Ireland to see the Curragh car. So many questions... As you correctly state, the only known RRAC 'survivor' of the 1914 (original) pattern, rests at a cavalry museum in India and is in poor condition as your pic illustrates. It certainly would be good to obtain verified dimensions of it's armor. I've only been collecting RRAC related literature since 2017 and I'm sure there are many gaps to fill. I'd be grateful to talk to you by PM. All, This RRAC tribute build is in two stages; the drive able rolling chassis, then the armor and woodwork. I'm currently working on converting this Rolls-Royce Springfield chassis from LHD to RHD using a Silver Ghost steering box and column. So I'm making every realistic attempt to follow the original vehicles specification with the exception of the Ford powertrain. One book/plans/pamphlet etc. which has never surfaced to the best of my knowledge is literature which would have been supplied to the several hull builders. Note Rolls-Royce only supplied the chassis and powertrain - these rolling chassis were driven from the R-R factory in Derby to various locations to have their Scottish rolled armor plate fitted and 'pick-up bed style' rear, constructed from wood. I've never seen and don't really know if such a document exists, although it stands to reason, there must have been 'Instructions and dimensions' for fitters and carpenters. I hope...

Hello Rick, Thanks for posting the pic of your frame. Originally, I was going to fabricate a chassis and had planned to source some wheels and springs etc. from the Rolls- Royce Foundation (USA) where I volunteer one day a month. Then I located the R-R chassis I subsequently acquired. There was a Phantom P1 drive train in it, but the owner already had a buyer for it. Regardless, the P1 engine is quite different from the motor that was fitted to the RRACs, so it was never really a serious option. Once word began to spread of my build in R-R circles, people began to contact me and that led to me locating a 'correct' engine and gearbox at what was really a very favourable price. I took a trip to Steve Litten at Ghost Parts near Cleveland Ohio USA as he specializes in the restoration of Silver Ghosts. Very accommodating chap originally from NZ, Steve took me through his extensive workshops where his team were restoring several 'Civilian' Ghosts. As we moved from room to room, I began to make mental notes of what I would need for this engine and the costs involved. It wasn't long before I ran out of fingers and realized the price of parts alone was going into the tens of thousands of (US) Dollars. So bearing in mind that this is not a restoration of an original vehicle and that it will be used in (reenactor) anger on a variety of off-road terrain, focus became more on correct exterior appearance and driveability than originality. I therefore decided on and easily located a Ford 300 inline 6 engine ( 4.9 Liter) of mid '80s manufacture and a Ford 4 speed gearbox with a 'Granny' first gear. Using a cam designed for this engine when used in a RV motorhome application, it will have plenty of low end grunt to carry a crew of 3, our personal equipment a Vickers and around 800 rounds of (blank) .303 ammo on an extended 4 day weekend at Newville giving the Hun a damn good thrashing. These are full immersion events, rather like a Territorial/National Guard weekend but using WW1 equipment. Only in America! As you can see from pics in my previous post, I made a drive shaft to link the Ford gearbox to the R-R rear axle and torque tube (which contains a partial R-R driveshaft 3/4 length with a 10 bolt flange). The radiator is a genuine R-R item circa 1917 and is of dubious water tightness. It's a huge cast iron affair and took 2 people to lift it into place on the chassis. To handle cooling, I 've bolted an aluminium rad to the back of it with a (coincidentally) 1918cfm Spal puller fan. In reality, it's unlikely I'll ever get out of 2nd gear in the terrain of Newville PA, so after discussion with Spal USA, the fan should do the job. Engine mounts are a combination of R-R and my modifications/fabrications - no original lugs were harmed in the installation of the Ford Powertrain, so if for any reason in the far future, someone wanted to convert the car back to civilian spec. with a body and OE engine, they can do so without cursing my memory.

Hello Tomo and thank you for your very informative reply. Having studied the vast majority of RRAC pics online over the past few years, I decided to build a 'tribute' 1914 pattern RRAC on a 1925 Rolls -Royce chassis I purchased from a marque collector in Pennsylvania USA. Differences in the chassis between '14 and '25 are minimal and it takes a trained eye as they say... Replica builds out there vary from pretty good to should be used for large calibre target practice. I'm hoping to build an accurately dimensionsed vehicle with equipment for in field service of 1918 but in 'green' rather than Camo and Uralite seen in 1918. As a long standing active member of the US based Great War Association in Newville PA, it will indeed see service in the field and will of course be Vickers armed with a crew of 3. About 700 of us meet twice a year (pandemic permitting) and recreate battles in France of 1918 on the no public allowed 150+ acre site, complete with dug outs, trenches, shell holes, red cross, dressing stations, period 12 bed field hospital and lashings of barbed wire in a heavily cratered No Mans Land. It's quite the experience, especially when 6 biplanes dog fight over the mile of trenches... Anyway, enough of the background before this post is diverted to another forum, I'd be very interested in obtaining a paint chip from the ammo box or a matching paint code so I can have it mixed. I'll contact you accordingly. Here's a pic of the build to give you an idea of how it's coming along. Regards to all Roger

Would anyone know the shade of green likely used on a 1914 Pattern Rolls-Royce Armoured car (western front service)? I'm looking for a present day colour match if possible. I contacted Bovington who were very helpful, but they didn't have a suggestion. I also got a colour swatch from Gillespie coatings (USA) of a dozen military shades of green, but which one (if any) to use? With the chassis of my '25 Silver Ghost RRAC now almost complete, it's time to paint it (and the armour plate once I get to that stage) before putting the drive train back in for the final time. Perhaps there is a verified shade from a primary source used on other WW1 British vehicles which could be used? No Airfix colour suggestions please unless verifyable, this is not a model. Roger (USA)