1961 Silver-York Sovereign 61 Custom – the Strange, the Odd, and the Remarkable 1
car by @ProfessorP3PP3R
A bit of a special car today featuring today, as there’s quite a story to this one, next to it being a truly beautiful automobile. And the latter you would expect when we mention it is an early 60’s Silver-York. In fact, it is a beautiful wood-accented custom version of the '61 model year Silver-York Sovereign, the generation that first appeared in 1959.
We could have gone for either car of our generous contributor this week, as he dailies a 1985 Sovereign, bought new, still. The longevity of ownership here is hardly surprising. After all, the according to the company slogan, Silver-York “engenders a statement of respect that is unique in the world of proprietorship”. He owns a number of older ones as well, and is even rumoured to hold shares into the one surviving 1935 Teleiótitas – if you don’t know the car, your subscription is automatically revoked.
That said, this 1961 Sovereign is a relatively new addition to the garage of our contact – a distinguished grey-suited gentleman near retirement age with the leisurely charisma of someone who doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone anymore, but who wishes to remain anonymous. He confided in us – strengthening in our mind at least the rumours on the Teleióta – that this project was eventually the result of some frustration in not being able to procure the original.
Now, what is the story here? This 1961 Sovereign was bought new by a Californian real estate developer who had become big during the post war years, we know that much. We also know that somewhere in the 70’s the car was sold to someone in the Nye County, Las Vegas area, and that within not that long a time the Sovereign ended up being stored in a shack, falling into disrepair. We have to candid here, as we are unsure on the chronology here; the Silver-York Sovereigns can take a lot when being loved and cared for, but the large twin-carburetted, 409 cubic inch (6706cc) V8 was not exactly known for its longevity – despite rather over-engineered internals.
Back in 2008, the run down, rusting, parts-missing, by now engine-less Sovereign was freed from its shack(les) and came into the possession of our contact who started the restoration process. The running gear was put into working order with some difficulty; a replacement Silver-York 409 V8 was found, the suspension and the Runlock then-newfangled differential were restored. Upon the ladder chassis, however, the restoration diverted from historical correctness. Instead of repairing the body panels as they were, the bold decision was made to customize the Sovereign, but to historical example.
Enter the famous but lost or destroyed 1961 custom Sovereign owned by legendary Hollywood actress of Danish birth, Mairi Lynne Mortenson – sometimes better known as Lynnie Baker. The movie star had her Sovereign privately commissioned to include wood panelling along the flanks, shortly before her untimely and unfortunate sudden death (or suicide, or ritualistic murder, or political liquidation, or passionate drama, or whatever version or conspiracy you prefer).
That beautifully restored and customized example is the result of the owner’s dream and vision. A magnificent car that we can now take for a spin. The engine may not be its original one, but it is a genuine 409 V8, putting out around 305 horsepower and almost 400 ft•lb. The exhaust note is subtle and starts from an almost purr going to a low roar. The owner warns us that overheating can be an issue – historically this line of engines did not have the best reliability record.
Inside, the interior is beautifully redone as well, with the car’s original components cleaned up where possible. The front bench – room for three – is slightly damaged, but even-so the great craftsmanship of the hand-made seats is still obvious. The fashionable instrument panel and radio, with the chrome covered glove compartment, all surrounded by dark blue leather is equally impressive.
The drive is sedate and floaty, although the 3-speed automatic is quite short-geared without overdrive. The tyres on this 61 custom are the only element that is clearly not original. They are custom produced radial compound tyres. Drivability is helped with power steering, something needed in this over 2 ton, almost 6 meter long landship. Very much original are the drum brakes, noticeable even during our drive around town. One needs to drive anticipatively.
Cornering and evasive manoeuvring is at least in some part helped by a front and rear sway bars, and the innovative Silver-York Runlock differential, which could be manually disabled – signs of an upscale brand in the late 50s and early 60s on the US market. And upscale the original 61 Sovereign was, with prices going as high as $13199 back in 1961; at a time when the median income was $5700 per year.
The Silver-York is fun to cruise with, but we were at times scared of not being able to brake soon enough to stop this one-off Silver-York in modern hectic traffic. Fuel consumption – and emission limitations in the city centres – is another reason that this car is not being dailied (our drive ended with an economy of 7,8 mpg). But then again, driving was always a bit of an afterthought in completing this project.
This is sentiment. This is nostalgia.
