Movie star is being revived

In its prime, Jan Bringgold’s 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn convertible starred alongside Debbie Reynolds in the 1963 romantic comedy “My Six Loves.” It’s curvaceous body appeared in various product ads throughout the 1960s, and it once belonged to the DuPont family.

Sadly, unlike its Hollywood starlet costar, the car has not aged well.

“After my husband died, we didn’t really know what to do with it, so we just let it go, let it go, let it go,” Bringgold said, referring to herself and her two daughters. “We started calling it ‘the Band-Aid special’ because we would tape the upholstery together with silver tape.”

But the 75-year-old Newport Beach resident is reviving the car. An avid fan of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover,” Bringgold decided it was time to do the same for her ride.

“The bids we’ve gotten to fix it up before are all in the $70,000 range,” she said. “But we didn’t need it to be perfect. We just want be able to drive it without the upholstery blowing up in our faces.”

Bringgold, a Newport Beach resident, purchased the elegant auto more than 40 years ago for her husband, who she described as a “Rolls-Royce nut.” The $3,500 she paid was almost immediately reimbursed when the couple signed the film contract.

“Supposedly, there were only 10 of these ever made,” she said. “It’s got an aristocratic, noble ancestry.”

Unlike many classic car owners, the Bringgolds drove their car as they would any other, though it only accumulated 90,000 miles over the years.

“We didn’t want to keep it in a jewel box like some sort of gem,” she said. “That’s no fun.”

Bringgold’s daughter Kimberly remembers the relic as the car that brought her home from the hospital when she was born in 1962.

For the next few months, the Rolls will be off the Newport streets as Luigi’s Paint and Body in Costa Mesa labors to restore its exterior and give it a two-tone paint job. Bringgold is also considering new, red leather upholstery.

The car has been appraised at $70,000, and Bringgold expects that when the work is completed, it will double in value.

“I’m treating the car like the old movie star that it is,” she said. “With less than $20,000, you’ll see the Band-Aid special turn into a queen.”

WATCH IT

To see Jan Bringgold’s 1954 Rolls-Royce convertible in action, rent “My Six Loves,” starring Debbie Reynolds and Cliff Robertson.