Engine :
6 cylinder, in line configuration,
one piece cast iron cylinder block and cranckcase
Transmission :
Single dry plate clutch, 4 speed
gearbox, synchromesh on 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear
Chassis :
Parallel girder with channel crossmembers
and cruciform bracing
Dimensions :
120 inches
Peformance :
Max. speed : 90 mph (144 km/h)
The Silver Dawn's left hand drive
revealed straight away that it was principally destined for the US car
market.
Its chances of success were better
than for the Silver Wraith with its coachbuilt
body or the Bentley Mark VI.
Infact, the Silver Dawn was nothing
more than a badge-engineered
Mark VI.The standard Steel saloon
body was equipped with a Rolls-Royce radiator and instead of emblems
with a winged B, those with the
entwined RR were attached. Minor modifications under the bonnet - and t
the bonnet, as this was shaped
to conform with the wings' edges - completed the alterations.
The engine was the one that served
in the Silver Wraith, i.e. the version with a single carburettor
and a camshaft profile resulting
in a slightly lower powered output than that
of the Mark VI.
For the American car market the
Silver Wraith was not as attractive
as a car which was tailored to
be driven by the owner - it had been designed to be driven by a chauffeur.
This was not the case with the
Silver Dawn. Nevertheless this badge-engineered car still did not successfully
fulfil the wishes of American buyers because it
had a four speed gearbox which was manually operated via a lever at the
steering wheel. In
motor cars of the luxury class an automatic gearbox had become common in
the USA
earlier than in other parts of
the world. Rolls-Royce started to offer this feature in 1952.
Several variants of the Silver Dawn
do exist, distinguishable partly because of their noticeable technical
modifications.
The original model from 1949 had
a capacity of 4,257 cc
and was always left hand drive; right hand drive later
became available strictly to special
order only. From 1951 the Silver Dawn was available with body unchanged
but fitted with the bigger engine
of 4,566 cc. This version was to become referred to as "Big
Bore - Small Boot".
The early models of the Mark VI
and the Silver Dawn were both extremely prone to rusting.
This was the first attempt by Rolls-Royce
in the field of producing a complete car.
The necessity for careful precautions
against later corrosion had not been understood.
This problem was exacerbated by
the quality of material - particularly sheet steel - in the early
post-war period which was considerably
below the usual Rolls-Royce standard.
There are more Silver Dawns about
today than might be expected - usually extensively restored,
but some still in original condition.
The latter group are, more often
than not, guaranteed to be in need of ground-up restoration,
with the most expensive part being
the body repairs.