10/03/2026
Story Time:
Hard to believe this was ten years ago.
This Phantom II Continental is a car we know inside and out, having cared for it for a very long time. (You might remember a recent post featuring this car at the 2026 RROC National Meet, where it took home the coveted Royce Memorial Trophy.). This story is from 2016.
We had serviced this car in our shop and it was shipped to Chicago to be used in their daughter’s wedding. ​On Friday morning, we got a call. The Phantom had been running flawlessly, but refused to start on the Friday leading into the wedding when an arranged driver tried to take it out for a familiarization run. Knowing the incredible stress surrounding wedding preparations, we told the owner not to worry—we’d handle it.
​We arrived Friday night and checked on the Phantom first thing Saturday morning. It turned out to be a very simple fix, and the engine fired right up, purring as smoothly as always. We then went for a test drive with the designated driver, but it quickly became clear he wasn’t comfortable behind the wheel of the Phantom. (It was almost as if the car knew he was nervous and decided not to start for him in the first place!) Luckily, I had come prepared with a change of clothes, so I told him we would stay and I’d handle the driving for the wedding myself. The owner had no idea we’d swapped drivers.
​Soon, it was time to leave the suburbs and make the drive into downtown Chicago. Three vintage cars were slated for the wedding: a pre-war Buick touring car, a Silver Cloud III, and the Phantom II, with my wife and son following in a chase car.
​Only the lead Buick and the Silver Cloud knew the location for picking up the wedding party and told us to simply follow them. Just in case, I had the original intended driver jump into the passenger seat with me, assuming he knew where we were headed as a backup.
​We set off in formation, cruising down the expressway. But in heavy Chicago traffic, our group got split up. With time ticking away, the Buick spotted an opening and darted ahead, leaving us behind.
​As we pushed further into the city, we completely lost sight of the Silver Cloud along with the chase car driven by my wife. To make matters worse, the skies opened up and it started to rain. That was the moment my co-pilot turned to me and confessed he had no idea where we were going, and the driver in the Buick wasn't answering his phone.
​Panic began to set in. All lanes were gridlocked—nightmare traffic in any vehicle, let alone a concours winning pre-war Phantom II. My wife was trying to call my phone, but I couldn't answer because my co-pilot had literally jumped out of the car and was running through traffic on foot, scanning the gridlock for the rest of our party. I had to inch across multiple lanes of heavy traffic just to keep him in sight. With only minutes left before we were supposed to collect the wedding party, hope was rapidly fading.
​Just as I was about to give up, I caught a glimpse of my co-pilot further up the street, wildly waving his arms. He sprinted over and dove into the passenger seat as I rolled past, shouting, "Turn here!"
​I swung the wheel, only to realize he’d routed us down a narrow, one-way alley with zero room to back out. Miraculously, no oncoming traffic met us, and as we popped out the other side, I looked to my left—and there it was. The Buick was parked right in front of the Hotel Lincoln, with the Silver Cloud pulled up alongside it.
​Meanwhile, my wife had flagged down a police officer, explaining that she was lost, her husband was driving one of the wedding cars, and they’d been separated in traffic. With no address or hotel name, she simply said it was a nice downtown hotel. The officer suggested checking a hotel just a block up the street—and as she and Andrew rounded the corner, they spotted the Buick, too.
​We pulled up to the hotel just in time as the wedding party and guests were stepping outside. From there, we made several seamless runs between the hotel and the venue without a single hitch.
​On my final trip back to the hotel, the bride’s father and wife walked out and climbed into the back of the Phantom. When I turned around to greet them, their jaws dropped—they had no idea I was the one behind the wheel. I just smiled and said, "Your driver wasn't quite comfortable, so I took over." (They didn't get the full chaotic story until the following week!)
​In the end, every star aligned perfectly, almost as if the whole wild sequence had been scripted. The sun even broke through the clouds long enough for photos.
​After the event, as we headed back to the suburbs to store the Phantom, massive black storm clouds began rolling in. Fortunately, traffic was light, allowing us to maintain highway speeds just ahead of the dark sky. Within a minute or two of parking the Phantom safely inside, the skies opened up into a torrential downpour.
