So my grandpa had an old model when I was a kid that I always liked, but I never knew what I was, only that it was a very old car, Pre-WWII. Well, lately, I've inherited it so to speak (he's been gone since '99 or so).

I've been trying to find out what it was but I never had anything to go on, and I know precious little about prewar automobiles. It's a very old car certainly, I would guess around 1915, seeing as that was the year he was born. It's missing it's radiator cap, so if it had a car mascot, there's no way I could have known; but there is an emblem on the radiator housing/grille that has a red R inside a rectangle. Because of this, we thought it could have been a Rolls, but after doing a quick Google search the other day it is evident that it's definitely not (isn't nearly fancy or grandiose enough). Next we thought it might have been a Cadillac (he was a Caddy man, through and through; owned at least three), but again, it isn't, and again, wasn't nearly fancy enough.

After image serches and more research, I fount out more about what it wasn't than what it was. REO? No. Buick? no. Chrysler? No. Ford? Probably not. Chevy? Definitely not. Alfa? didn't come around until the 30's; too small. Fiat? close, but not close enough. Rover? motorcycles, mate.

I have no idea, but I thought you might, so I took pics:

closeup of the emblem:

Edited August 13, 201212 yr by Turbojett

That looks like a 1970's WACO radio. The car is a 1910 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost. Check the bottom, there should a cover you can remove and insert a battery.

While I was off looking, WMJ seems to have nailed it.

The emblem certainly called Rolls to mind, I was trying to find out if either early RR used an 'R' emblem, or if prior to RR, when it was just Royce, if that was their emblem.

Royce & Rolls joined in 1906, but from the few decent pics I can find, it seems the 'RR' emblem was used from that point on. This car is not pre-'06.

I suspect the modeler simplified the logo here on this 1910 for legibility perhaps. Weird.

bloody hell, that's it! The bottom is all one flush piece with a few details, but I never figured it to be a battery cover for a radio. Wow. All these years I thought it was just a model...this is pretty exciting.

Thanks guys!

Neat...I have a radio that I got as a kid in the '70s, it's an early '30s Rolls Royce 2 seat roadster...probably by the same company. Metal body w/ plastic parts. Also have a '63 Cadillac convertible radio I found at a flea market, approx. 1/24th scale, shiny gold plastic.