Now here’s an intriguing prospect. For the price of a used Honda Accord, you can own a pretty nice 1989 Rolls-Royce Silver Spur (the long wheelbase version of the Silver Spirit). It’s offered for $8,500 on Craigslist in Woodland, Washington. The cliché for these cars is that whatever you paid, it was just the down payment. Any trip to the dealer will require a second mortgage on your house. And this one has its flaws. The vinyl landau top isn’t disintegrating, but it’s coming apart at a seam. The power seats don’t work, and neither do some of the power windows. It needs a new battery, rear shocks, and an alignment.
Much worse things could go wrong, but I’m guessing fixing even these relatively minor things will go well into five figures. And with a thirsty 6.75-liter V-8 that has a lot of weight to move, the car won’t pass many gas stations.
Still, the Rolls “can be driven around town as is,” and a “clear title is in hand.” And the car’s leather-and-wood interior is absolutely gorgeous. Can you see yourself riding around in such luxury?
This Rolls is from the last days of the Mark 1 Spirit/Spur, with many of the mechanicals carried over from the Silver Shadow. The V8 is complemented by a GM TH400 three-speed automatic transmission. The body panels were stamped out at Pressed Steel, the same firm that messed up production of the Volvo 1800, so erase any ideas of silver-haired craftsmen building every bit of these cars by hand on Rolls’ own assembly line. They used to “panel beat” the fenders into shape, which meant they’d only fit on one vehicle.
One thing to watch out for on these Rollers is the hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension, which gives a very comfortable ride—when it works. When it doesn’t, it can get expensive to fix. And add to that a Girling-sourced hydraulic ride-height system. Eek. Yes, the Rolls has only 71,000 miles on it, but it’s also been out in the world for 36 years, with components steadily aging. Thankfully, parts are readily available to fix the hydraulic system, and if you are handy with a wrench, it’s a task you can tackle yourself.
So are you feeling lucky? Hagerty puts one of these in good condition at $14,600. And this is probably a #2- or #3 car, so it’s not overpriced. On the upside, it can deliver years of riding high before something expensive goes. On the downside, something expensive could go immediately.
Only a few things are as expensive as a “Cheap Rolls”.
Just very few things are as expensive as a “Cheap Rolls Royce.”
What is more pricey then a bargain Rolls-Royce, a bargain Bently.
Well a redo of the vinyl top would cost the same as your average Caddy of that era. Power seats and windows unless the components are fried wont be that awfull. Okay the shocks might be a tad expensive and an alignment is the same for everyone unless you need hardware as in tie-rods and so and so. What worries me is that these vehicules need specific maintenances a bit more involved than again a Caddy of that era so what was skipped saying ” aw it runs fine “
With the exception of the A/C compressor and transmission (TH400) internals maintaining these cars cannot be compared to Cadillacs of the era.
The vinyl roof is made from “Everflex”, which is significantly more flexible than the North American type. The Caddy style vinyl tends to lift and separate in the deep grooves along the roofline. Everflex material is very costly, and best installed by an expert. When old Everflex is removed, there is usually rust hiding underneath too. The front and rear windshield also have to come out, and seal$ replaced. This is best left to a specialist, and hope the glass does not break. Many (including me) just paint the roof after removing the old vinyl.
Things like shocks are more than a “tad” expensive. It is easy to spend $10-$15K on the hydraulic brake & suspension system. Ball-joints are $400 each, and require major disassembly to install… with expensive specialty (RR only) tools. These are great rides but are not just “a bit more involved” than maintaining a Caddy.
I never would have guessed how involved price wise it could have . i knew some components were to be expensive but wow. No wonder when these are often severaly neglected when they wind up on the used car market. Oh yeah you can buy it cheap but a second mortgage on your home to bring it ba k to snuff
Once you buy an old Rolls Royce, nothing worse can happen to you.
Having a Chevy trans means a Chevy engine will bolt right up to it and with a little modifying everything on or in this car can be converted to either Cadillac or other Big GM or Ford stuff. It’s a Rolls Royce BODY AND INTERIOR that can be lifter off and put on a Lincoln or Cadillac chassis with a hoist and a good imagination.
You are indeed blessed with a good imagination, William.
While most of the transmission internals are GM TH400, the casing is uniquely RR. GM engines do not “bolt right up”. The SY and SZ Rolls-Royce cars are monocoque design, so there is no separate chassis. These cars can be re-powered with whatever you like, but it is not a job for Bubba. Changing the engine is only half of it… The complex hydraulic brake and suspension must also be re-engineered as it runs off engine driven pumps. There are solutions, but not cheap, or easy.
To reduce the shock of maintenance , repairs are quoted in”RMU’s”. Rolls maintenance units. Each unit is $1,000! An oil change for 1.5 RMU’s, doesn’t sound too bad.
As for the thirsty V-8? Who in the world ever bought a Rolls, and worried about fuel mileage?
I’m kinda intrigued I know parts are expensive but I can do a lot of work myself mostly I just want to drive it and see how it rides compared to the Lincoln’s and Cadillac cars of the 70 that were really nice riding cars part of me wants to just take it apart to check out the engineering of everything