Old Rolls-Royce and Bentley sedans really do get next to no love in today’s collector car marketplace. It’s a shame, because nothing about the car has fundamentally changed since it left Crewe. It’s still a high-grade luxury sedan with bank vault-caliber construction. It features impressive engineering that all works well when its suspension systems are functional. And the styling is effortlessly classic. This 1985 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit sedan listed here on Facebook Marketplace is offered with next to no information other than it won’t run, with an asking price of $7,500.
You see the tattered remains of an old for sale sign in the back glass, indicating it was previously offered for $9,000. The seller does mention it turns over, but that’s it for any information about its state of mechanical health. This sad Rolls-Royce has all the markings of a car that was left behind when an owner passed away, and now the heirs or the new property owners don’t know what to do with it, and other than knowing it’s a vintage luxury car and should be worth something, they’re not going to try much harder than what you see here to investigate its condition.
The wood trim on the dash looks faded and cracked in places, evidence of many years being stored outdoors. The mechanic-supplied floor coverings indicate it went in for service at some point, but who knows how many years ago that was now. If it did get get a once-over by a specialist, they would have inevitably assessed the health of the hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension, or the Girling auto-hydraulic ride-height control system. They may have also changed the fluid in the bulletproof GM-supplied THM 3-speed automatic transmission. Or perhaps all of those things were working fine when it was last operational.
Regardless, it will likely all require servicing at this point. The seat leather doesn’t look too tired, and perhaps will bounce back with some conditioner. The 6.75-litre V8 under the hood is also likely good to go, but probably suffering from issues with its Bosch fuel injection setup which has foiled many 1980s European cars left to sit for years at a time. With 200 b.h.p. and 340 lb.-ft. of torque, it’s a solid machine power-wise thanks to its healthy helpings of torque. Is this former luxury benchmark ready to be put out to pasture or should it be saved? Thanks to Barn Finds reader Terry for the tip.
It’s sad to see such a fine old car fall into such a decrepit state. Such will happen to all cars if left outdoors (as this one must have been) and then neglected for years.
The Spirit/Spur series used WAY too much plastic. The seat and window motors are trash and parts fall off the car from broken clips. They aren’t the hydraulic nightmare as the Shadow was, but are not good cars, IMHO.
If I wasn’t 80 and disabled, I would have jumped onto this Old Lady!!! Looks like all the pieces/parts are there and not too rusted out looking at the pictures. I wish there had been an under-bonnet photo.
Nice car but if it’s not running it’s going to be hard deal because I know (at least in my area) for one it’s going to be expensive to fix and two finding someone who knows how to fix it right. That is why my ‘85 BMW 635 is sitting.