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.
Don’t the brakes on these cars have some kind of odd hydraulic pump system that’s incredibly expensive to repair, and that nobody outside of a dealership or a RR specialist shop knows how to work on? So, the first question on any used Roller is, How are the brakes?
Or am I completely misremembering this one?
They are very intricate in their operation and the replacement parts are incredibly expensive. The hourly rate for a quality mechanic will be above a standard high end automobile. It will most probably be close to $15,000 for the hydraulic system. That is just a start. For $2,500, it will be a good parts car.
Yes, the braking system is conjoined with a nitrogen charged suspension leveling system working with a fluid that is a combination of DOT3 and castor oil. The fluid attracts water so even with the best maintained systems one must plan on a replacement of the system every 8 to 10 years. Because of the age and lack of care of this car, one ought to assume also replacing all brake calipers (two per wheel), and the pump. Depending on where you live that can be $15,000 to $20,000. The rest of the car tends to be surprisingly reliable if it’s been well maintained. But here you have the mystery of why it’s not running. To be honest, unless there is a DIY hobbiest with RR knowledge, one has to assume the car is salvage at this point. Which is a shame because the interior looks good (although we can’t see the wood close up). Owner should plan on contacting a specialist salvage yard such as Luxury Junkyard where this car can be put to good use keeping the hobby going.
You are correct, the brakes on these and Bentleys of this vintage are the most complex and therefore very expensive to fix.
They use a very special mineral oil. That only works for RR & Bentley. $40 a quart. And it holds several gallons of the stuff. But that will be the cheapest thing you will buy for the brake system. And yes there are 2 engine driven high pressure pumps. That charge pressure to 2 steel spheers charged with Nitrogen @2,000psi. To provide a couple stops, without the motor running.. a normal car will have 3 or 4 flex lines in the brake system. These have 13 different flex lines all at great cost.
As the saying goes there is nothing more expensive than a cheap RR
seller should have their mechanic give it a look. Buyers need more info than it doesn’t run.
“Will it run???” is only the 1st question with a Shadow. “Will it stop?” is often the more important question. Lol.
I remember an episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson was reviewing an old Rolls and made the joke of “If the hydraulics broke down on the assembly line the person who just built it couldn’t even fix it.” So I do not think you are misremembering it.
You would have to pay me $5k to haul this anchor to the scrap yard.
I’ll be the first to drop the old quotation
“Nothing is as Expensive as a Cheap Rolls Royce.”
Oh YIKES!!!!
Can you imagine how expensive it would be to import parts from England to repair that thing? I think I would just put it out on the lawn as a display piece and install a water fall fountain to pour out of the grille. Hell, the radiator could be swiss cheese anyway and could spew it out the grille on its own!🤣
I fellow on this site once said there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Lamborghini! I feel strongly the same applies here!
The only car that you had to employ the factory approved mechanic/ chauffeur, provide him and his family a nice apartment on your property, and their health insurance for the life of the car. After all, it IS a Rolls Royce.
Strong pass because of the expensive health care…
Everything on this car can be replaced with Chevy parts! Since RR used a turbo 400 any Chevy engine will bolt up and you can change the entire braking system over too. If you are good with tools you can build a real sleeper for reasonable money outta this!
I had a friend who would have jumped on this thing gladly. He was a super mechanic and would have given this a coupla days to get running and if not he’d have called the junk yard and obtained a nice Ford V8 and stuffed it under the hood. He liked Ford motors.
He did it to a lot of cars and they all turned out fine. He has passed away now and I miss him and his “different” cars.
If I remember correctly, these used a transmission sourced from GM and a Chevrolet engine would bolt right up. I believe quite a few of the RR engines were replaced by Chevys when they failed.
Just bought one a 1971 silver shadow non runner for AUD$5000 all it took was tickle the fuel pump and a rebuild of the carbs to get it running.Now we are just addressing normal maintenance issues for a car that’s been sitting ten years plus I am third owner and pleased with my BF in much better condition than the one presented here
Better to shoot yourself and avoid the pain this jalopy will bring