On at least two occasions in my project-car owning career, I’ve had the chance to buy parts cars for one of my road-going rides at very good prices. Unfortunately, due to living in suburbia where fellow homeowners cringe at the sight of any vehicle produced before the model year 2010, it’s not been possible to have an old Isuzu Trooper or BMW 3-Series parked on blocks in my driveway. However, if I chose to invest in a slightly statelier project car – like, say, a 1985 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit – perhaps my abutters would be OK with a parts car in the drive. Find this package deal here on craigslist for a Silver Spirit and accompanying parts car for $19,999. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Pat L. for the find.
The good news is the running, driving Rolls doesn’t exactly need the parts car at the moment. It appears to be a beautiful, low-mileage specimen, with the seller noting a mere 22,000 miles on the odometer. The interior appears to be in excellent condition, and this is one of the first places you’ll see the signs of cheap or careless owners, as just keeping the acres of leather, wool, and wood in good shape is a full-time job. The seller doesn’t offer much in the way of maintenance history or records in the listing, instead choosing to summarize the basic attributes of the model.
But I suppose if you’re buying a car like this and the seller already has a complete parts car ready to go, perhaps that’s a sign you’re buying from a true enthusiast. I’ve had one parts car in my life, a 1988 Isuzu Trooper with a blown engine that a reader on this very site sold to me for an exceedingly low price. I ended up using for a few spares and the safari rack it had, and selling it along for a little more than I paid for it. It worked out well for everyone, including the seller who got a dead truck out of his yard. Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the end for some of my neighborly relations.
As you can see, the running, driving Silver Spirit is in find shape all around, with excellent chrome, sharp wire wheels, and panels in excellent condition. The top photo shows a twin to this car, albeit undoubtedly in worst condition and sitting on flat tires. I’m not surprised the seller has a parts car, as you can buy basketcase examples of these 80s Rolls-Royces and Bentleys for next to nothing due to the expense involved in fixing the misdeeds of years of cheap owners. If you have the space and the right kind of neighborhood, this is a potential bargain for the Rolls enthusiasts.
If your old car hell is not quite hot enough, get an old Roller.
Jeff, if you have room, put up a building. When my car collection outgrew the two car garage, I built a 32 x 48′ barn. I made sure before I bought the house I had room for the barn. It’s not cheap, but the neighbors can’t (usually) complain about it with the door shut.
I had one neighbor (two houses up, couldn’t see the barn without driving around the block) who knew that I brought a 63 Impala Convertible home from Virginia at midnight March 3, 1991. I didn’t go past their house, backed the trailer into the barn, shut the door, and started taking it apart for restoration.
The guy was always friendly to me, I walked my sheepdog past his house every night. But he asked two neighbors if I was working on cars down there. He’s long gone, but I’m still trying to figure out how he saw that car. It was in the back of the barn, not visible from the street and he couldn’t have seen it on the way it.
I was known for parking my Dad’s tilt bed in the driveway with a demolition derby car on it, but that was overnight and it was gone by 11:00 AM. I did break in a few motors with open headers, but I tried to get done by 9:00 PM,
so I was never the neighbor they really wanted, but I tried to be “not so bad.”
I try to make up for that by plowing snow in the ‘hood for free. Past sins . . . .
The best revenge story is I stored a pressure vessel from work (that we couldn’t handle) on my car trailer in my barn until we were ready for it. It was about 5′ diameter and 16’ long, laying down on the trailer. It had dished (round) heads on both ends. Painted white, it looked like a rocket
So my helper, knowing the story about the neighbor, gets out his electrical tape and labels “NASA” on the side of the thing. We went around the block to go by the neighbors house, stopped and honked the horn, and waved at them. They never asked another question of anybody in the neighborhood that I know of.
I love this story, had a great belly laugh!!! Some neighbors are just prone to being nosey and complainers! The Self Proclaimed neighborhood police! Would have loved to have seen his face when saw he that rocket! He! He!
How sweet it is, to live in HOA gated communities. There’s a place in Florida that won’t even allow pickup trucks, R.V’s, boats or any other type of vehicle beyond 4 wheel passenger cars no more than 5 years old.
God bless America
The most expensive Rolls you will ever buy is the bargain Rolls. Without service records run the other way.