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Honest Seller: 1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow

The seller of this non-running 1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow offers a refreshingly honest summary of where he stands with this high-luxury project, noting that he’s disappointed with the outcome of a project he never should have taken on. The listing describes $25,000 being invested in a vehicle he’s never had the pleasure of driving in restored form, which is particularly sobering considering there’s no reserve and bidding is just $2,400 at the moment. Find the Rolls parked in a very nice garage here on eBay and located in Scottsdale, Arizona.

While the end result may seem like a total failure, there are plenty of enthusiasts who have been lured into restoring these high-zoot luxury cars with similar results. It’s a conundrum that even the most dyed-in-the-wool enthusiast will confront at some point, which is the financial justification of a project that isn’t worth much on the used car market. The Silver Shadow is one such car that ultimately will deliver an enjoyable driving experience like few other cars can do, but given the high levels of equipment and fragile features, they are enormously expensive to restore properly.

The seller notes the wood trim has been restored to an “…acceptable quality,” and given how much of it there is, I can’t even imagine what that bill looked like. The interior is still far from complete, with the seller noting that leather, carpets, headliner, and door panels are all in need of replacement. Given Rolls-Royce used top-shelf materials when building these cars, the cost to recreate the OEM look and feel is likely enormous. Every where you look, you can see money that has been spent or money yet to be spent. Fortunately, the iconic writing tables that pop out from the backs of the front seats are said to be in excellent condition.

To the seller’s credit, it sound as if he spent most of his time and money restoring the car’s complicated mechanical components, which includes the notoriously finicky hydraulic systems. The listing states that the pumps have been rebuilt and the accumulators overhauled and recharged, and that the carbs have been rebuilt. The big, British sedan does still turn over nicely, but it’s no where near where this owner wants it to be at this juncture. To me, if you’re a fan of these cars, you have to assess whether the work that’s been completed makes it worth rolling the dice on this non-running project with some significant expenses still looming.

Comments

  1. Avatar alphasud Member

    This reminds me of an article describing the costs to recommission a Chris Kraft wooden boat in dry dock. Nice to see them wafting along as long as you don’t mind spending a large sum of money for the upkeep.

    Like 6
  2. Avatar Classic Steel

    Looks like a good deal if one was closer to pickup.
    A hard lesson many find for taking one apart then getting lost….

    I hope it gets restored!

    Like 2
  3. Avatar PaulG

    When I first saw this on eBay I imagined the couches folks made with the rear clips from Cadillac’s…but this one just might be worthy of bringing back to life.
    If parted out, the interior would be pretty cool in a street rod!

    Like 4
  4. Avatar CJinSD

    It is lucky for me that this car is two thousand miles distant as I am in Virginia now. An ex-girlfriend’s father has a Rolls-Royce that started out just like this one. He drove it until it had a brake issue that nobody in his area could fix. Then it sat in the circular driveway in front of one of his houses while he ran his businesses and drove his other cars. Being in Virginia, the humidity and awful weather aged that car like a papier mâché sculpture submerged in a pond. Last time I saw it, the interior was swollen with invasive moisture and the sheetmetal was crumbling. It’s lucky for this Silver Shadow that it is two thousand miles away from me too.

    Like 5
  5. Avatar luke arnott

    He’s spent HOW MUCH on it?These were no good when new and drive like a pig.

    Like 1
    • Avatar ken tillyUK Member

      Rubbish! A lot better than a Caddy, especially the road holding as although the Rolls is no sports car, a Caddy is like cornering a battleship.

      Like 1
      • Avatar luke arnott

        I live in the UK too.I own a Caddy V16 – light years ahead of a Roller in 1939.The Shadows were/are overhyped,expensive cars.

        Like 0
    • Avatar Clay Bryant

      How do you know they drive like a pig? Maybe that was just the one you bought. Why were they no good when new? Did yours break down right after you got it?

      Like 2
      • Avatar ken tillyUK Member

        I seriously doubt that he ever owned a Rolls Royce.

        Like 2
  6. Avatar johnu

    I live in Scottsdale and I’m not feeling a “draw” towards it!

    Like 1
  7. Avatar F Again

    Lovely vehicles. Shame that without full knowledge of the marque, becoming involved with one quickly devolves to burning stacks of twenties in the driveway.

    I’ll never forget Bobby Unser running one of these in a demolition derby, on Wide World of Sports.. Every other contestant immediately piled into him, and the Rolls very quickly caught fire.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Casey

      Bobby set it on fire.

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Bob McK

    run…away

    Like 3
  9. Avatar Richard Hollis

    A running RR is trouble enough. One that is not running is a nightmare.

    Like 5
  10. Avatar Mike

    He says that he’s relisting because the previous high bidder backed out. I checked his past auctions and this current auction is the second relist. So two winners backed out?

    Like 1
  11. Avatar MG Steve

    Not sure how I got this far off track, but one fine night I ended up finding this site in the UK for RRs and Bentley “parts”. Wish I could give you the link or site name. Regardless, there were seemingly beautiful RRs and Bentleys posted . . . tons of them. For the most part, they were NOT wrecked, but rather “not running.” The reasons given were usually electrical and computer issues, and were brought to this place because they were deemed to be “beyond economical repair.” I was particularly shocked to see Bentley Continental GTs (I think that’s right) that were only a year or two old, for sale for literally a couple thousand bucks. I was not even remotely tempted, but it is fascinating reading.

    Like 4
    • Avatar Roy L

      Flying Spares has Rolls Royce parts, very expensive Rolls Royce parts.

      Like 1
  12. Avatar schmuckl281 Member

    The problem with cars like these is that there is virtually no aftermarket parts available. Parts are only available from the manufacturer. So bring your platinum MasterCard and another Visa. I got partially through a common as grass in Europe Mercedes before I realized it. Hate to see it parted out but that’s probably the only way your gonna do anything and keep your credit score acceptable.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Michael

      You’d need an AmEx black for a lot of these piles.

      Like 0
  13. Avatar Danny from Oz

    Run Forest Run.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar john c

    HoLy Mackeral… it’s a bidding war on this gem right now !! Ahhhh gone at $3,351.

    Like 2
  15. Avatar H5mind

    I see late model Rolls gliding around London on a regular basis. But the old models? In the past year I’ve seen exactly one on the road. Proceed at own risk.

    Like 1
  16. Avatar Ray Krause

    Nice pre-1975, pre-CA smog platform for grafting on the guts and underpinnings of a rolled Dodge Magnum SRT.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar MG Steve

    Reading through a lot of the ads on that “Flying Spares” site, the words “corrosion” and “electrical issues”, then logically followed by ” . . . beyond economical repair, therefore staged for breaking for parts” pop up constantly.
    It is somewhat hard to get your head around how such incredibly expensive cars do not hold up better than that, and have virtually no resale value. One ad talks about the previous owner driving it to their location, with his bicycle in the back seat, and then pedaling home. That’s insane.

    Like 1
  18. Avatar Kenn HIldebrand

    Please Alphasud, it’s Chris-Craft. And you’re correct, expensive to restore if you don’t do it yourself.

    Like 0
  19. Avatar V8roller

    I owned a 1970 Shadow for two years. Like wafting around in a library, the wood the leather. And they handle pretty well.
    But it was rusty, boy was it rusty.
    And everything I needed to work on was hard to get at, and when I got there the fixings were frozen.
    Sadly, it ended up at Flying Spares after the chap who bought it from me ran out of time & energy on the resto.
    Here https://www.flyingspares.com/rolls-royce-silver-shadow-fsd-464?ct=t%28Cars+Update+-+March+2019%29&mc_cid=54db1b6f32&mc_eid=%5BUNIQID%5D
    I still have the mascot, yes it was a dog.
    Glad to have owned one but have no wish for another.

    Like 0

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