John Lennon’s ‘yellow submarine’ needs a mechanic

[In 1987, Vancouver tycoon Jimmy Pattison donated John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce Phantom V to the province of British Columbia/Global News]

Is there anyone out there who can fix a yellow submarine?

The Royal BC Museum and Archives in Victoria is on the hunt to find such a mechanic to help spruce up one of pop culture’s most prized pieces of colourful history: John Lennon’s 1965 custom-made Rolls-Royce Phantom V.

The procurement services branch, on behalf of the museum, submitted a standing offer (RSO) to the government of British Columbia on Jan. 28 in hopes to find a mechanic who would be the car’s personal caretaker for the next three years.

“This vehicle requires mechanical work from time to time,” the offer reads. “The intent is to maintain the vehicle in existing condition, preserving the original materials as they were received into the collection of the Royal BC Museum and Archives and based on the value, with emphasis on the historic significance of the car as it relates to John Lennon.”

The lucky candidate will be responsible for a long list of duties including maintaining the psychedelic paint job, regular maintenance and replacing parts when necessary as the car is still fully functional.

The mechanic will also be responsible for finding an indoor and closed work space facility that has stable temperature, is heated, fully insured, secured and with jack stands to relieve pressure on tires.

The closing date for applicants is Thursday at 2 p.m. PT.

Meet the mechanic

Jim Walters, owner of Bristol Motors on Vancouver Island, has been the car’s caretaker since 1993 when the museum acquired it from the British Columbia government.

Walters, who’s a big fan of the Beatles, calls his time as the car’s mechanic a fantastic experience.

One day in 1993 Walters received a call from the museum asking if he’d be willing to tune up one of its collector cars.

Walters, who’s been restoring classic Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars for almost 40 years, agreed, but didn’t know anything about the car.

It wasn’t until he visited the car for the first time that he realized what it was.

“When they removed the car cover I knew what it was right away,” Walters said. “I was absolutely dumbstruck. I couldn’t believe it.”

The excitement built even further when he took it for a spin for the first time.

“I got to drive it from the museum to my shop and it was a real experience,” Walters said. “The feeling you’d get driving it. I mean, here I am driving John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce. I never dreamed one day I’d be involved with this car.”

Walters hopes to continue being the car’s mechanic. According to Walters, the call for mechanics is now part of new procedures the museum must go through in order to award government contracts.

“It’s an icon of a generation,” said Walters. “It represents a lot of the 1960s, his music and what he was saying in his music. It’s important to keep it exactly how (Lennon) had it for future generations to see what it was like as it was there.”

Journey to B.C.

The Phantom V was delivered to Lennon in 1965 after he had placed a special order for it. Only at that time the car had a matte black finish and Lennon didn’t have his driver’s licence.

But he did get his car just in time for him and his bandmates — Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — to drive it to the Order of the British Empire ceremony at Buckingham Palace, where the four men received their MBEs (member statuses at the Order of the British Empire).

According to the museum, the car weighs 3,000 kilograms. In comparison, a 2016 Smart Car weighs only 820 kilograms. It is the largest model made by Rolls-Royce.

Lennon had made modifications in the following two years, including transforming the rear seat to convert into a double bed.

It wasn’t until 1967 when Lennon asked artist Stephen Weaver to create a custom paint design for the car’s exterior, a move that did not sit well with the luxury car company.

The car was shipped to the United States in 1970 when Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono moved overseas. Seven years later it was donated to a New York City museum.

In 1985 the Smithsonian auctioned off the car. B.C. tycoon Jimmy Pattison acquired the piece of history for a whopping $2.3 million, making it the highest price ever paid for a car up until that time.

In 1987, he donated the car to the B.C. government and five years later, it was donated to the Victoria museum.

The Royal BC Museum currently has Lennon’s ride on display until April 28.