In Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Mike Fowler, a car enthusiast from the suburbs of Harrisburg, stumbled upon a gem of a place near his childhood home: a museum dedicated to the prestigious Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles. Little did he know that volunteering there would lead him to an engaging hands-on experience. Within just thirty minutes of his first session, Fowler was already getting his hands dirty with oil, and more than a year later, he keeps a detailed list on his phone about each car in the collection to ensure they are correctly started and maintained.
Fowler is among a team of about 50 volunteers who meet twice monthly, dedicating their time to clean, maintain, and occasionally take these remarkable, chauffeur-driven vehicles out for a spin. It’s a rare glimpse into an elite lifestyle they, like most people, wouldn’t ordinarily afford. “Driving one of these takes you back to a completely different era, with a whole different mindset,” remarked Fowler, who resides in Camp Hill.
New volunteers begin their journey paired with seasoned members as they undergo the museum’s compulsory driving school, starting out with modern models equipped with automatic transmissions. “We are vigilant about the collection’s welfare,” stated Sarah Holibaugh, the museum’s head librarian and archivist. “We consider ourselves caretakers, so not everyone who walks in gets to drive.”
Tucked away amidst expansive farm fields and industrial buildings, the museum houses 29 vintage and collectible Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles, dating back to the late 1920s. It is something of a hidden treasure, often overlooked even though it’s close to Mechanicsburg and owned by the Rolls-Royce Foundation. Its setup includes a showroom, a maintenance section, and a developing library and reading room.
“I sometimes wonder if the locals realize this foundation exists,” mused Fowler. “Or if they just notice these classic Rolls-Royce and Bentleys cruising around and wonder why.”
The museum traces its roots back to the nearby Harrisburg area, where in the 1960s, an owners’ club was established between significant dealerships in New York and Washington. After the 1972 Hurricane Agnes catastrophe, local businessmen donated land in Mechanicsburg for the new museum site. Today, a 6,000-member owners’ club with a global reach of 26 countries operates in tandem with the museum.
Despite its reasonable $5 admission fee, the museum inaugurated in 2004 welcomes only about 1,000 visitors annually. These visitors tend to be car club members, senior citizen groups, or school field trips, as all visits require prior scheduling.
The museum also provides its vehicles for use in films and other media. Notably, their 1961 Rolls-Royce Phantom V featured in the 2023 Timothée Chalamet biopic about Bob Dylan, “A Complete Unknown,” and a 1959 Silver Cloud I graced the screens in Season 4 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”
Volunteers also lend their hands to preserving and digitizing a vast archive of ownership and service records in North America, dating from 1907 to 2004. This period coincides shortly after the acquisition of Rolls-Royce and Bentley by BMW and Volkswagen, respectively. However, for European models, records are available via the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club in the UK.
These North American records, accessible for a fee and the foundation’s primary revenue source, have substantiated claims that certain cars were once the prized possessions of famed figures like director Alfred Hitchcock, actor Zsa Zsa Gabor, and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. They have also dispelled myths, such as dispelling rumors that a vehicle was owned by country singer Hank Williams Jr. “We definitively proved it wasn’t his,” recalled Randy Churchill, a volunteer with a history in marketing, while reflecting on the debunked claim. “Someone thought they had stumbled upon a million-dollar treasure.”
The museum’s car collection is valued between $30,000 and $120,000, and a whiskey delivery truck worth around $320,000 is set to enhance the display soon.
Rolls-Royce vehicles often remain roadworthy even today, and used models might appear affordable. However, the maintenance of older models can be costly due to their bespoke features and rare parts, pointed out Ron Deguffroy, a volunteer who used to practice psychology in Chambersburg. “The most costly Rolls-Royce purchase you might make,” he said, “could be the one you think is a bargain.”