This might be a good idea, or it might be a very, very bad one. On the surface, five grand for a genuine official Rolls-Royce doesn’t seem like that much money. The car in question, seen here on ebay, is listed as needing an opening bid at that precise number. You have seven days to raise that paddle. Should you win, you’ll have to get to the middle of the country, Woodstock, Illinois to be exact, to retrieve it. You’ll thank Barn Finds for the discovery should you make this garnet and ebony beauty your baby. So why not do it?
How about these words: “Great Project Car. Does not run. Pick up only.” Is this a challenge you’re up and ready for? On the plus side, the car seems to be all there. The trim looks complete. The paint is old and faded, but call that patina, or try your best buffing technique and see where you end up. The interior needs a good cleaning, but it looks like it could spit-shine its way to acceptable with some effort. There are lots of positives. It’s a four-door, which is perfect for you (rear) and your chauffeur (front). It’s a Silver Shadow model, which means that it falls in a generation that stretched from 1965-1980. This series offering was distinguished amongst Rolls-Royce models by its new unibody construction and four-wheel independent suspension. One thing favoring the acquisition of this unit is that if you live in California, you can register this car and drive it right away and with no worries about passing a smog exam, due to its age. Well, if you can get it moving. And that’s the rub.
On the downside, you’ve got to figure a non-running Roller is a complicated assembly to reignite after it has been sitting for an indeterminate amount of days-weeks-years. Then there’s the fact that comparable models in the market that seem like they’re running and driving well are going for about triple this price, between $15 and $20 large. Why choose this car, then? Maybe for its history, if you get super lucky.
“Who owned it before me?” is a question classic car owners all play. If you’re buying a Mustang, was it the property of a little old lady who had it since she was young and in her first job, or did a guy just home from Viet Nam pilot it around the streets looking for races? When you buy a Rolls-Royce, anything is possible. Didn’t the Beatles and Elton John Each own a car of this spec at one point? Was the prior caretaker a captain of industry? A foreign dignitary? Someone longing for the England he left behind for a life in America? All fun to B.S. about on the cruise-in parking lot on a Friday night. But then again, you might never get this hulk moving on its own power. You don’t even have the luxury of an engine photo as a starting point. Maybe the other choices available on ebay would make more sense. Quite the conundrum.
I’ll stick with my 1986 White Ford Escort 4 speed hatchback, radio delete, carburetor and manual window cranks.
Thank you.
No. Just no.