Every car guy and gal has dreamt about owning a Rolls-Royce at some point in their life. The iconic brand is known for automotive excellence and it’s the name what most people think of when they hear “luxury car”. This dust-covered Silver Shadow may not be the wisest route into RR ownership, but the $5,500 asking price does make it tempting. It’s located in Staten Island, New York and is listed for sale here on eBay. Take a look and let us know what you think.
After inheriting the car from their father in 2005, the seller drove it home and parked it in their garage. It hasn’t moved since. What a shame too because someone obviously loved this car. It also has some stories to tell. The seller mentions that the paint color has been changed from mint green to this brown hue. If that’s not bad enough, check out all the junk in the trunk! There are a couple of amps to provide cruising bass and what’s up with the extra batteries?
There are more question marks inside. The leather upholstery and wood dash looks decent, but what are those auxiliary gauges doing under there? The factory gauges and warning lights should have provided enough vitals for most people, so you do have to wonder if this car was suffering from wiring problems or if there was something else going on.
There are no photos of the engine, so obviously our imaginations ran wild. Perhaps someone swapped out the original engine for a more powerful American V8? That would explain the extra gauges. That’s probably not the case, but it’s more fun to think about than the probable reality. Many of these cars were left unloved when maintenance costs became too much to bear. The Silver Shadow was one of the most prolific Rolls-Royces ever built though so it might be the easiest to get running and keep on the road. Do you think it would be worth the effort to be able to say you own a Rolls-Royce?
I can honestly say, I never wanted a Rolls Royce. I see these at tv auctions going for a mere fraction of what they cost new. I doubt Autoplace has a cap and rotor for ’75 Rolls, if you get my drift. And I’m from America, Cadillac was always luxury enough for my old man.
Every auto parts store in America either has, or can get the ignition points, rotor and distributor cap for any 1946 – 1959 SIX Cylinder Rolls or Bentley – Chevrolet parts fit! But the car at hand isn’t even a good parts car – 14 or 15 years inactivity will destroy what might be if interest to an impecunious Rolls-Royce owner. This car is resto mod material only.
Brakeservo,
But . . . But . . . But . . . Using Delco-Remy ignition parts instead of luckless, ahem, I mean Lucas, would make the 6 cylinder cars even more reliable compared to the V8 cars! [and cheaper, the Chevrolet sets are as low as $20 online, compared to $300+ at the R-R parts suppliers.]
And for the rest of the Barn Finds readers; Brakeservo has proved over the years here that he’s very fluent in Rolls-Royce and Bentley info. And I’ve owned and/or restored over 60 Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars, from 1932 to 1985. We both agree that this car is a huge hole to pour cash into, even if you intend to do the work yourself.
It’s my personal observation and belief that the Rolls-Royce organization, faced with designing the “ultimate luxury car” in the 1960s, realized that it was very important to design a reliable car, but one that required constant servicing by the factory authorized dealership network, thereby providing an avenue for a service and parts income to make it worthwhile for the vast investments required on maintaining a Rolls-Royce & Bentley dealership.
When I ran my independent Rolls-Royce & Bentley repair shop, I loved to see guys bring in a non-running Silver Shadow or T-type sedan, cars that needed lots of work. Cars like the one listed here. But I always told the owners in advance that I would be “raiding their bank accounts” on a regular basis.
Several times the new owner [who bought the car cheap or inherited it], on discovering what the repair/resto costs would be, and finding the R-R factory service facility estimates were two to ten times more than mine, would decide to cut their losses and sell the car to me, often for what the initial investigative repair bill came to.
I once bought a 9 year old Silver Spur Centennial version [100 built, 25 shipped to North America] , it cost over $200,000 when new. This car had been in a minor flood, and the owner had me retrieve the car from the water and start taking it apart to save the parts from corrosion or organic rot [my house was filled with the entire wood, leather and wool interior parts so the HVAC would quickly dry everything out].
When the insurance company decided to total the car, I presented my bill for services. They gave me the car to settle the bill, and I got the title from the owner.
Showed the completed car to the person in charge of the service department for Rolls-Royce of North America, and told him how I had rescued the car. He smiled & said he never thought it possible to repair a flood car of any type [I’ve done 4 to date], but after seeing how I did it, he said he needed to start looking for a R-R flood car to buy, as it was the only way he could afford to own one!
Why bother, if pertronix makes module that fit? Mine is still workin after 25 yrs! More reliable than more complicated early HEI – poor rotor, pickup coil/wires, etc.
A Rolls of this vintage……….NO !! Would not take it for FREE. Nice materials inside when new, excellent woods and leathers. But, mechanicals are from the 1930’s. These cars were delivered new with two quarts of hydraulic oil in the trunk, because Rolls hydraulics are known to fail at just about anytime. Parts prices and labour charges are insane.
If a cat or dog had this many problems and was clearly suffering you would not think twice about humanely ending it’s life. Same here.
Dibs on the front seats, grill and hood ornament…good for man-cave arm chairs and wall art.
…those front seats most likely smell like the above dead dog on good day.
Well maybe…………I just spent 6K to save my 4 year old Siberian who had torn acl’s ( well the dog equivalent ) in both hind legs……….practically crippled. he’s a happy boy now.
Changing the color on a Rolls, that takes chutzpah.I’d prefer a ’52 though…..these always reminded me of Checkers…no offense to Checkers :)
There is little that is more expensive than a cheap European or British luxury car.
Not necessarily true. Ford-era Jags are very inexpensive to maintain and cost next to nothing. Considering the luxury and performance, these things are the greatest bargains on the planet. I have an S-type R which has set me back, including purchase price, about $5k, and that includes a ton of deferred maintenance work and upgrades. Not bad for 420hp plus supercharger…
It would not be cheap if they gave it to you unfortunately. It has seen its better days, I have seen a few of these Rolls in the same sad shape around auto repair shops mostly in larger cities.
Afraid that I’ve got to go along with the crowd. Never wanted a Rolls. If I wanted a British car to work on every weekend, I’d go find my (or another) old TR4. At least, that pain in the neck car (said with affection) was lots of fun to drive.
Nope I’ve never wanted or will ever want one. Too costly from the get go and beyond. I’ve been in a few and they were nice but just not my style.
Again going with the crowd never wanted one never will. I have seen The Rat’s Nest of wiring that’s in these things even if you did all the work yourself it would cost four times what it’s worth to get it roadworthy if not more.
These cars were hand built if I remember correctly..seats were hand stitched..engine was hand built etc. Makes me wonder why there was so much trouble with the drive train..hmmm
Larry, the problem is so obvious…………..it’s British !!
Somewhat oversimplified comment.Do you REALLY believe all British cars are/were bad?Have you driven many?
Rolls Royce anyway are German owned,as are Bentley.
Smokey,
Back in the 1980s when I used to sell rare British car parts at the Carlisle and Hershey shows, I produced & sold a vinyl bumper sticker with the British flag, and the words “All parts falling off this car are of the finest British workmanship!”
The engine and the transmission are fairly straightforward, the engine is pretty much like domestic 400 or so CID OHV V8 from the 60’s with more expensive parts on it and the transmission and air conditioning are sourced straight from GM, so they aren’t an issue either.
What usually is the problem is the electrical system and the complicated hyrdo-pneumatic suspension system that also runs the braking system.
Drivetrain is bulletproof. Hydraulics for suspension and brakes, as well as electrical is crap. No more ignorant comments from those who’ve never driven, let alone owned one!
Ecstasy is what the owner will feel if he can actually unload that pile on someone.
Ecstacy is what the buyer must be on to buy this (unfortunate) money pit!
I always wanted a Rolls Royce but could never afford to pay someone to drive me around!
Love the listing: Cruise, power windows, power locks, AC, power seats……….um……..IT’S A ROLLS ROYCE already !!!!! Sorry just having fun!
I was almost going to buy and then I read “NO WARRANTY”. I’m out!
This exact car was posted here several months ago…I can hear it barking 2,500 miles away from NY.
“Every car guy and gal has dreamt about owning a Rolls-Royce at some point in their life. ”
Maybe but they put those in mental hospitals…….
This one….no way!!! MAYYYBE for $550 for a parts car!
Back in the 90’s a wealthy Floridian donated there Rolls Royce to the artificial reef program. No kidding, the car was sunk in about 100′ of water for scuba divers to enjoy.
It was 1985 and the location is West Palm Beach, sorry. The heavily corroded vehicle was a 1967 model.
West Palm is in Florida, trust me.
I remember the story, he was a local hair salon owner or something, and it was all after that freighter “Mercedes” had run aground behind someones house.
The car was a Corniche type coupe of some sort from what I recall.
Those of you who said you have never wanted a Rolls-Royce are kidding yourselves. That’s almost like saying, “Oh, I would never drive Ferrari” or “Lamborghinis are so lame”. Give me a break!
Well well………….this comment by Jesse should bring forth a lot of very interesting comments, eh?
I’m not kidding anyone, I don’t want one but that’s not saying I wouldn’t drive one. In fact I have driven one. I just wouldn’t want to be saddled with the financial burden.
Well, not wanting something and not being able to afford it are two different things…
You’re right Jesse I couldn’t afford it. My money goes into things that actually hold value, like my home, my vintage guitar collection, my motorcycle and my horses.
Like many, l had always wanted a Rolls and my oportunity came up when one was hauled in to the crusher. I rescued it and soon found out why! The brake system was a nightmare. A good friend was able to sort it out and got it working. I was able to drive it for a while but decided to sell it. A week after l sold it, it turned up on Craigslist with a bad transmission but l got Rolls fever out of my system. It did however make me love my Imperials all the more!
We’re living in London these days so I see plenty of high-end British iron rolling sedately through the posh parts of town on a regular basis. In Mayfair, Rolls and Bentley’s are thick as pickups in a Wal-Mart parking lot back home. I have yet to see a 1970’s vintage on the road, however. All are new, and almost certainly, still under warranty– they are no doubt traded once that has expired. Rich, but not crazy, apparently.
Thats how you know they’re “rich” but not “wealthy”.
You have to be “wealthy” to keep an old out of warranty one running……
I recall seeing this old girl posted on BF several months ago. Sorry [but not surprised] to see she still hasn’t found a forever home. I can’t think of any scenario where buying this car, or any older [1970s & newer] RR makes financial sense; even if well-maintained, they are money pits
I’ve driven several RR/Bentley’s over the years; they are a drem to drive, very sold, very quiet. I’ve always wanted a RR, or Bentley, but I’m smart enough to have not given in to the impulse.
first, of all….got to agree with the general consensus on this car. In the words of Monty Python…”Run Away !!!!”. These cars are not particularly expensive to buy and with the complexity of systems like the brakes, astronomical cost of genuine RR parts and similarly astronomical cost of restoring the interior wood and leather, it really isn’t worth bothering with a rough one. as others have pointed out, this car doesn’t make sense as a restoration candidate even if it were free.
I’m not sure I’d agree with the author that EVERY gearhead has dreamed of owning one of these cars, but I do see the appeal myself. There are few other cars that have the same hand-finished quality interior, ride quality and dignified silent motion. If I could only own ONE interesting classic car, this would not be my choice – but as another unique classic car experience among many others, it would be cool. I have often thought of trying to find one of these, or even better a Bentley equivalent ( the Bentley brand always seemed a little less pretentious, though this era RR and Bentley are basically the same car under the skin).
The problem is finding one that has been properly cared for, carefully stored and received appropriate service, preferably RR main dealer..
I have dreamt of those cars and would never dream of owning one.
This car in running and driving condition is worth maybe $10,000. As soon as you buy the first two parts you’ll be under water and still have a pile of junk on your hands. As others have said, run, don’t walk away.
I have worked on these cars. Would I ever want one? NO!
The only Rolls Royce worth owning would be a Silver Cloud which they made from 1955 to 1966. All the others are not worth the time or money. Parts are available.
Just to clarify, I never said every car guy has dreamt of owning THIS Rolls-Royce – I said A Rolls-Royce. Look at a pre-war one or even one from the fifties and tell me you wouldn’t like to take one of those for a cruise!
I am from a lower middle class family.I do not say that I wouldn’t want something just because I knew that I could never afford it.I cannot afford a 1955 Chevrolet that was recently listed with BF but I honestly wish I could buy one.I do not agree with Jesse M. at all..I love the look of a lot of of cars including the RR Silver Cloud but I have never wished I could have one simply because there were always other cars that I liked a lot better.I also agree with most others including Dusty..There are so many other things in life that are worth much more than buying and maintaining a RR.For example a mint 1992 Cadillac Brougham or a 2012 Chrysler SRT8 with every available option,have done me nicely.My home,my grandchildren’s education and a few dollars in the back,etc. are a few of the more sensible things I could and have done with the money I have earned in my lifetime without one second of interest in a RR.Would I buy one if I were a millionaire,(wait,scratch that,a billionaire)?Considering that I was raised by a father who lived through the great depression and given that he left me with a lot of financial tool sense that I have continued to use since I left home,ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!.Everybody knows that a car is one of the worst investments that we humans make.You drive them and they break down..You let them sit and they deteriorate. We have to constantly poor money into maintaining a vehicle so why would you want to make that investment worse by buying a Rolls Royce?I wonder how many of the RR owners realized that owning an Impala,Oldsmobile or Cadillac would have been a better choice than flushing $10,000 bills down the toilet?I’m not sure if any amount of luck will help the owner to ever sell his old car but my advice would be that he rub that old blarney stone 100 times and just maybe someone will tow it away free.
The amount of emotion on the comments Jesse.
I have always wanted one, I have had two Bentleys which were no trouble at all (1965 Mulliners), both were lovely cars, I bought right and sold very satisfactory after two years of ownership. I had lost some space which on the Left Coast is always an issue. For those who dislike the car or feel some emnity towards it, let me remind you that the way to buy these cars is to know the Sellers and be careful on the purchase price. My experience is that almost always what we shall mercifully call deferred maintenance is always present. Figure $5000. When that’s done you will have a prince of a car,
drive and enjoy it.
Andrew Franks,
As someone who repaired and restored Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars for 20+ years, I can tell you that this car will require far more than $5k in parts alone, and if you’ve not been thru the factory training courses, you are going to go thru a very expensive learning curve figuring out all the little nuances associated with repairing these cars. These cars are not forgiving to anyone who has practiced “deferred maintenance”. On a Silver Shadow [or later Rolls-Royce], assume for every $1 saved in deferring repairs or service, if you end up paying an experienced R-R tech, it will cost you at least $10. It adds up fast!
The way to obtain an expensive Rolls Royce is to buy a cheap one. My 1968 was in running shape when I got it – for less money than what the seller is asking here. Like Art said above, this one has appeared on Barn Finds before. If you really, REALLY want one, you’d better want to, or be willing to work on it yourself.
The engine is easy to work on, the transmission (for mine, anyway) was the GM 2 speed automatic. The real fright factor would be the electrical system (surprise!).
Good Luck to the seller and Buyer.
G Wentzell,
If you had a 1968 Shadow 1, the automatic gearbox was a 4-speed GM Hydramatic, built under GM license by a company in France known as Hersey [not Hershey].
If you had a very late production Left Hand Drive version, a few of them came thru with the new GM Turbo-hydramatic 3-speed. That gear selector was the normal PRNDL type. The old 4-speed Hydramatic had a NDLR shifter quadrant, with the Reverse changing to the park gear when the engine was not running.
The car was a home market (UK) RHD, and it was a GM 2 speed Hydramatic.. I did have a mechanic friend store it for a winter, and he checked out the car and found a leak from the windscreen was due to a crash at some point at the driver’s side A pillar. So, a lot about the car was a mystery, despite having records going back to when it brought over to the States in 1970.
G Wentzell,
The “Dual-Range Hydramatic” was in fact a 4-speed automatic gearbox, however when properly set up for a Rolls-Royce or Bentley, the 1-2 shift and the 3-4 shift are VERY smooth. Because the 2-3 shift for a Hydramatic involves changing between 2 basic planetary gear units [hence the name “Dual Range”], it’s often a bit of a jolt, especially when coupled to a 1940-42 Olds or Cadillac motor, and early post war Pontiacs as well.
6 cylinder Olds and Pontiac cars were especially prone to hard 2-3 shifts because the lack of power allowed the transmission to take it’s time in the 2-3 shift. Automatic transmission experts & re-builders all agree that the harder the 2-3 shift is, the better for the Hydramatic transmission in general.
If you never experienced all 3 shifts thru 4 speed ranges, hopefully it’s because the 1-2 and 3-4 shifts were so smooth you never felt them. Either that, or the car was extremely sluggish from a standing start because it was only shifting between the 3 and 4 ranges.
Another possibility for not shifting thru all 4 speeds is the driver’s understanding [or lack of] what the shift points on the shift lever pointer represent.
Hydramatic shift quadrants had [from left to right] N for neutral, D for drive [with 2 shift points, one on either side of the D], L for low, and R for reverse [with a built in parking pawl when the engine is not running]
A common problem with the 2 “points” on either side of the letter D was because the driver didn’t understand the important differences between the 2 points. If in shifting from neutral to the first point, the transmission would only shift thru the first 3 speeds, not manually shifting to the 4th speed until about 100mph!. To have the gearbox use all 4 speeds, it’s important that the driver select the right shift point. The left point was designed for mostly in-town driving where 4th speed was not required.
Since the first shift [1 to 2 speed] happens very quickly, often at under 5mph, many people don’t even notice it. So it’s possible when the shift lever is in the “left point”, to think the car has a 2-speed Hydramatic because they only feel the 2-3 shift, and the transmission never engages 4th speed. And in that case, the car gets horrendous fuel mileage when driven over 40 mph!
We saw this a while ago ?
cannot even probably give it away
No matter what…RUN and don’t look back. Unless you love losing money. If you are looking for a status symbol, an old Rolls is not it. Rich people drive new ones.
My high school friend’s father had new 1968 Mercedes 280SE, awesome car, then leased a Rolls. Magnificent. It was two tone, maroon and gold. It was obvious the maroon had been repainted, perfectly buffed out and smooth, but not masked well, there was paint on the rubber…Then we tried waxing it. The maroon paint came off in sheets. Then it started blowing fuses. He turned it in and bought a new 250c Mercedes. The Rolls was awesome in every way except unreliable….
Jesse – I’m with you…I have always thought it would be “cool” to own a “Roller”. Having lived for years on Chicago’s North Shore, I’ve seen plenty…of many vintages. Saw one at my local city hall just the other day. Back when the ’85 Bears were all the rage, “Iron Mike” Ditka had a slightly older RHD white one with “DITKA” plates that I often saw him driving up the Edens toward Lake Forest. Very cool. I’d hang back in my ’83 RX7 for a while then motor on. Good times. In the case of this one, just a look at the lower door cards tells me FLOOD CAR. Likewise, all the visible mold on the steering wheel and console. More evidence being the cracked wood there and instrument surround. The seller says “complete restoration”, and he’s likely correct. Sad.
I agree with other comments, that these are not cars that do well with deferred maintenance. I think that is possibly one of the reasons why these cars have a poor reputation for being unreliable money-pits. They have gone through the typical cycle for high-end luxury classic cars – once they are a few years old, they are no longer owned by the original buyers and no longer being serviced by the book, they then pass through several owners who can afford to BUY them but can’t afford to (or don’t choose to ) look after them so they deteriorate and become that unreliable money-pit. I’d class Jaguar XJS in the same category…superb high-speed V12 grand tourer. It’s a car I’d love to own if I could find a well cared-for example, but so many of the old ones out there now are neglected and abused cars that have passed thought a number of less than careful owners who didn’t have the skills and/or funds to maintain them. It would take a lot of patience, time and money to get these rough cars back in decent shape.
Maybe it’s a little unfair on the RR itself to brand them as unreliable? These are basically well engineered cars and if they were serviced in accordance with the Factory schedule they could be pretty dependable. As someone else said, the real 1% millionaires out there just buy new ones and can afford to have them serviced by the RR main dealer. I’m sure their ownership experience is pretty nice.
It’s also an interesting question…..if you are driving a RR of the vintage, are you perceived by the rest of the public as desperately tying to pretend you are ultra-rich ? my guess is NOT. I think at this point in time, most people would just assume you are a classic car enthusiast enjoying a old vehicle rather than a pretentious poseur trying to convince people you are wealthy ?
I agree with your assessment. A friend had several XJ6’s, loved them, but a wild pig ended his last one. He had a Jag mechanic who was great but unfortunately died of cancer. His next Jag, an XJS, was awesome to drive, but problematic, leaking gas tanks, and when it would shudder at low speeds, the local Jag dealer told him it needed a valve job. I suggested the centrifugal weights in the distributor were sticking open leaving the timing too advanced at slow speeds. He took it to a private mechanic who verified that was the problem, saving thousands in a bogus repair. This is another problem with exotics, finding a reliable and knowledgeable person who is not a parts changer. I have lucked out in my own life finding good independents, but sadly, not everyone knows enough to be able to tell, hence the stories of “Oh, all I needed was turn signal fluid.”.
CCF,
One of the most important part of buying a vintage Rolls-Royce, especially beginning with the Silver Shadow in 1965, is what we in the R-R trade refer to as the “FSH”, or Full Service History, either directly from the selling dealer or from the owner.
Quality, cared-for vehicles always have the FSH for viewing [and it goes with the car on the sale]. Beware of non-Rolls-Royce factory authorized shops that offer a car without any service history.
I have a long time friend [and former customer] who has a 1995 Rolls-Royce Flying Spur turbo, it’s had meticulous service since new [he’s the second owner], and because of it’s FSH and expert care, his car, with over 150,000 miles on it, looks as if it has perhaps done only about 10,000 miles since new. It’s an incredibly reliable car, and has been driven on many Rolls-Royce Club national meets and caravans all over north America, without any problems. [For RROC members who also go on the tours, you’ll likely know the owner from this brief description: The Beard!
As for the public’s perception, If the car runs and looks decent, the vast majority of the public, who haven’t a clue as to the car’s real value, think you have an incredibly valuable car. When I drove a Silver Shadow on a regular basis, I used to get young ladies wanting to date me just because I had the car, thinking that my car [that I bought for $500 with a bad engine], was worth a cool 1/4 million Dollars. [And yes, we all know what kind of a person you get if you take up an offer like that!]
A true story: I did have a beautiful girlfriend for a number of years who was also a gear head. We took a trip to visit her alcoholic father in his trailer in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. On meeting him, it was obvious his first impressions of me, a guy twice his daughter’s age, was not that good. However when his daughter took him outside to see my 1973 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, explaining that I “Collected Rolls-Royces”, he smiled at me and said “You have permission to marry my daughter!” TRUE STORY!
FYI — I didn’t marry her, sadly she had the same problem with alcohol as her dad.
As far as I am concerned, a RR is just a car. They require lots of “routine maintenance”. The best one that I ever worked on was a 29 Boat tail Speedster. We made it do what is was supposed to do at my garage, but it was only a fun weekend drive car.
Free is too expensive. Fiscal self-immolation awaits for anyone foolish enough to take this beast on.
Girling Brake Fluid.
my brother bought one like this from a local mechanic who fell upon hard times..it had a Chevy 350 under the hood..understand it was a 10K engine swap..Didn’t like the car..right hand steering & it steered like a Mack truck, and the brakes suked & were hard to stop that heavy hunk.