Here at Barn Finds, we thought you might appreciate a proper party vehicle to help ring in the New Year 2016, so we found you this special vehicle offered for sale here on craigslist in Aurora, Illinois. The seller calls it a “Rolls Royce conversion” and it was done on a 1989 Lincoln stretch limousine. Imagine yourself and a dozen or so of your closest friends in this, doing the pub crawl, or even just cruising around town. Is this car obnoxious in a fun way, or what? It may have enough elements present to aggravate both Lincoln and Rolls Royce owners.
But it’s not all bad. The workmanship looks good, at least cosmetically, and the standard Ford mechanicals would make for reliable service and easy and inexpensive parts sourcing for maintenance and repair. Easy to work on if you happen to be hung over. The engine is said to have been rebuilt 28,000 miles ago, and the car has clearly been taken care of, as well as properly stored. The seller says it’s from a southern state, so this should defer the potential for future rust-through, at least for awhile.
No mention is made of the source of the Rolls Royce parts, or whether they were new or used, or authentic or not. We look forward to hearing from any of our sharp-eyed viewers who can enlighten us further on this.
As with many limos, the interior features a small TV, space for drink glasses, and folding foot rests. The seller says it also has a bar, divider glass and an intercom. The grey leather seat upholstery, carpet, side panels and faux wood trim all look to be in good condition as well.
A white exterior with grey interior was a common and attractive color combination with the Lincoln limousines of this era, and to an untrained eye, the color black seems to be a little more typical on the Cadillac limousines, although obviously both were available in either configuration. But with the Rolls Royce element added, perhaps this car might have been painted silver instead? What do you think? If your head is throbbing and you’re seeing double, what the heck does it matter anyway?
The seller also wants us to know this car is great for weddings, proms and other special events. The $9,885 price tag is considerably higher than other Lincoln limousines of similar vintage. The Rolls Royce conversion undoubtedly cost money to do, and adds value, but does it add enough to justify this asking price? What do you think?
Happy New Year 2016 from all of us here at Barn Finds!
happy new year. looks good in the photos but would need a PI to see how both conversions were done. need to know miles on car also. i hope seller has the conversion paperwork so could you do body repairs if the car got damaged. nice find.
Interesting novelty
So what do we make of the bowling trophy usurping the flying lady’s place on top of the radiator??
Interesting car. I’m thinking this is a RR conversion kit. It looks to be nicely done.
I always liked the looks of the late 80’s Town Cars, so for my tastes making a Lincoln look like a Rolls is silly. I have no use for a limo, but would not mind owning a nice survivor quality Town Car.
Nothing wrong with a Rolls either. Rolls Royce is a car that has been and always will be out of my league. For a novelty as a prom limo it probably attracts a lot of attention and it does look like a quality customization.
What do expect from the home town of Wayne and Garth? “A sphincter says what?” “what?” “Exactly.”
Haig, this is all you
In the Chicago area stretch limos are used as virtual airport taxis and run up a lot of stop and go miles. If you call for a ride from anywhere in the suburbs it will usually be a stretched limo that picks you up. So buyer beware!
The only Rolls-Royce factory parts I can identify are the Grill shell, front parking lights and the rear light assemblies. If I remember, the headlight chrome trim is off a bus or truck. If the owner has actual Rolls-Royce badges on the grill & rear section, and he advertises the car as a Rolls-Royce, when someone reports them, the guys in the legal department at Rolls-Royce in NJ will hit him fast & hard with cease & desist orders.
Having owned & operated a vintage “Rolls-Royce STYLE” limo service in the 1980s & into the 1990s in Washington DC, I found the general public renting these cars didn’t have a clue what the differences were between a Rolls-Royce limo, Austin Princess limo, Daimler 420G limo, or a Daimler DE 8 cylinder limo. They were only concerned about the “look” of the vehicle. I could advertise I had cars with the “Look” of a Rolls-Royce [and I did have a few genuine Rolls-Royce vehicles too], and as long as my rental contract said exactly what the car was [I.E. – Vanden Plas Princess limo, Daimler limo, etc.], The guys at R-R were not bothered at all.
So it seems this owner realizes the situation, hence the Rolls-Rincoln name. As long as it’s not rented as a real Rolls-Royce stretch & doesn’t have real R-R emblems, he’s legal.
Because I had a good relationship with both R-R USA and the factory in Crew, England*, I never rented our cars as anything other than what they were. I always found it interesting how we could rent a Princess limo, and make it clear to the client that the car was NOT a Rolls-Royce, yet the clients would almost always refer to the car as a Rolls-Royce. More than a few times I had other people who knew the differences, on hearing the client calling the car a Rolls-Royce, come over to the driver and complain about us claiming the car was a R-R! I made sure the drivers were very diplomatic, simply saying thanks for the info!
*Many years ago I was allowed to actually drive THE Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, the one with the British registration plate AX 201, said to be the most valuable car in the world. I have pics of myself behind the wheel, as I drove the car a couple of feet forward, so I could tell everyone I drove it!
Interesting comment, particularly that RR would go after Austin’s and Daimlers wearing their emblems, but the grill itself and Flying Lady are trademarks as well. I wonder if they ever went after all Bentleys running around disguised as Rolls-Royce’s back when that name was more prestigious than Bentley.
If I remember the conversation basics [it was about 25 years ago], I had just finished a personal guided tour of the Mulliner-Park Ward assembly plant outside of London [a few years before it was closed], and I was discussing my limo service in America with some of the management, over a spot of tea.
I was asked point blank if my non- Rolls-Royce or Bentley cars had been changed to resemble their products, and I replied “Heavens NO! Americans can’t tell the difference anyway, so why waste time & money making the conversions, and actually lowering the values of the cars.”
One of the chaps indicated that the legal guys are keen at going after anyone who ADVERTISES they have Rolls-Royce [or Bentley for that matter] products of any kind, if in fact they are not R-R or B. It’s not illegal to turn a Princess limo into a Rolls-Royce using factory parts, But it’s illegal to sell the car or use it in a service if one claims it’s a Rolls-Royce. One can even have a Princess with Rolls-Royce trademark pieces on the car, and provide limo service with the car, as long as the contract specifically states what the car is, or that it’s not a Rolls-Royce.
A good friend in Baltimore ran a limo service using Austin Princess limousines with Rolls-Royce & Bentley trademark items on the cars, and Chevy truck 6 cylinder drive trains, But his contracts specifically said the company did not offer any Rolls-Royce or Bentley limousines for hire. I believe that in his contracts he used the license plate number to identify the promised vehicle. The public didn’t care. His advertising indicated he had “Traditional Vintage British Limousines”. That said it all, without saying anything!
As for converted Bentleys, because after converting a post war Bentley to a Rolls-Royce using the correct factory parts, results in a Rolls-Royce with a Bentley VIN, as long as the car is not SOLD as a Rolls-Royce, I don’t think the factory gives a damn. After all, other than a few rare custom versions, the cars are identical except for trademark items.
And for what it’s worth, I’ve sold all my big British cars with the exception of one: A 1961 Vanden Plas Princess limo, but it’s a rather unique one: Built on order of the UK government, for use in America by the Royal Family. LHD, lots of special equipment including factory A/C [in the roof, like a Cadillac limo], power windows all around, even power headrests! It also has a blue glass coach lamp in the front center of the roof, just like the other Royal cars in the UK. I have all the factory records, along with photos of the family in the car.
Bill, your comments are interesting and informative. Living in the rural south we rarely see the cars you speak of. Most of the Limo’s we see are the traditional Cadillac, Lincoln, or Hummer versions.
Love the car!
I did something wrong
What I did wrong was my name, I din’t pood a “-” bitween Rolls and Royce, thats why I pood a other comment on it. But, I love this car.