Bernie Digman cruises on a Cloud

Bernie Digman’s cruiser turns heads wherever it goes. It’s a 1958 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud.
“I purchased it via an on-line auction site last year,” Digman said. “I had wanted a car like this since about 1965 or so, growing up in Farmington, where either a local doctor or insurance agent owned a similar year and model of Rolls. I was first attracted to the "swoopy" front fenders”
Digman, owner of Milagro Coffee and Espresso on East University Avenue, frequently drives the behemoth around Las Cruces to buy groceries or run errands. When he’s not on his beloved motorcycle or in his company van, he uses the Silver Cloud for daily transportation.
With the auction bid in the back of his mind, Digman was about to leave on a trip to Alaska when he got the notification that he had won the bid and needed to arrange shipping from California to New Mexico.
“The seller was the fourth owner of the car and had purchased another car, so he needed the garage space,” Digman said. “When we talked, I told him I was heading to a raft trip in Alaska and time was tight, so we managed to get it shipped.”
The day arrived for the car to arrive, but it didn’t. At around 11 p.m., Digman went to bed, not knowing where the Silver Cloud was making its shade from the light of the moon. An hour later, he was awakened by a text notification from the transport driver, who was clearing the Deming city limits with Digman’s precious cargo.
Since he’s also a longtime volunteer firefighter, Digman made arrangements for the driver to meet him at the Talavera Volunteer Fire District station, which has a large parking lot where the truck and trailer could maneuver upon arrival. The agreed meeting time was 7 a.m. Digman warned the driver not to block the station’s garage doors at any time.
At the appointed time and place, Digman took delivery.
“They had the vehicle unloaded, and between their very limited English and my very limited Spanish, we got the inspection done and signed off. I asked them if I could take a picture of them with the car. I now have what is likely the only image of a '58 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud with a couple of guys kneeling in front flashing what may or may not be gang signs.”
It turned out the car had 62,000 original miles on it and what Digman called “tons of documentation. As the Rolls crowd would say, it was ‘well sorted.’”
The color is called Tudor Grey, and the vehicle sports a six-cylinder engine with a 4-speed General Motors transmission.
“The engine is low compression, so it likes low-octane fuel,” Digman said. “I usually keep it around 70 mph or so [on the highway]. It has been in one wedding, so far, up in Kingston at the Black Range Lodge. It was for a good friend -- the world famous banjo player, Bill Evans, and his beautiful new bride, Babi.”
In the days before radial tires, all the best cars rode on bias tires, and Digman’s car remains true to those roots. He said it floats like a boat.
It came with an "A/C kit" from England. Most of the components were installed for air-conditioning, but neither a condenser, compressor nor evaporator – all expensive, and all American made – had been installed to make the system work.
And although it’s a beauty to behold, the car is not the safest on the road.
“There are no seatbelts or shoulder harnesses, which causes our son (a nurse) to raise holy hell if he finds I have toted his mother around,” Digman said.
Except for the bench section of the front seat, the seats are all original. The trim throughout is hand-finished English walnut burl.
Unlike modern vehicles, the Silver Cloud is mostly mechanical. Among the very few electronic components are the radio and some solenoids on the suspension. The radio is an original RCA tube-style, and Digman said it still works fine.
Parts are not as costly as Digman had feared and also reasonably easy to find. There were slightly more than 2,200 of these models made in the ten or so years they were manufactured. When it needs work, Digman either does it himself or hunts down help.
“To date,” he said, “I have removed and had rebuilt and replaced the generator, thanks to K&S Auto Electric down off Watson Lane. I also replaced a cracked radiator cap with the sage advice of the folks from Las Cruces Radiator up on Lohmador. I was excited to find that one of the country's esteemed restorers of Rolls Royces and Bentleys moved here a couple years ago and lives out in our neighborhood. I have not yet met him, but I dang sure will.”
Meanwhile, he’s turning heads and waving out the window as he tools around town, with his signature Fu Man Chu moustache blowing in the breeze.