Rolls Royce, PH ?
Discussion
Very rarely see a mention of Rollers on here, the wife and I were discussing them the other night, had been to my grandparents and my grandma had been telling me how in the sixties and seventies, her boss would collect his new Rolls and as part of the same visit he would spec up his next one to be collected two years hence, I found it fascinating, he has been dead since the late seventies, cant imagine many original owners from that era are still with us, kind of think they would be owned by proper old school, capitalist, cigar smoking business b
ds, think Peter Bowles types or rich old Majors like the one from Fawlty Towers.
Was wondering what a 1970's Shadow is like to drive, always fancied one, or at least a go of one, it is the ultimate barge, it is what all the others aim for and probably surpass, but they dont really have that mystique or that badge. I know they are probably as wallowy as a waterbed, not all that realible, usually rotten, slow, epically thirsty and prone to bring out the socialist paint gouger in anyone with a set of keys handy but I have this guilty car crush on some whiffy old Roller that would bankrupt me and make me look even more of a tosser than the manky old Porsche does.
Thinking of something like this, not a white, Isopon laden, budget wedding three grand woofer, Corniche
I quite like the newer ones but they are a bit edgy now, these old ones were just pure old money, the establishment where the new ones may be a rapper or Alan Sugar.
Not really going to do it, bit one day, maybe, interested in your Rolls Experiences, only been in one which was our wedding car and that was a Silver Cloud.
ds, think Peter Bowles types or rich old Majors like the one from Fawlty Towers.Was wondering what a 1970's Shadow is like to drive, always fancied one, or at least a go of one, it is the ultimate barge, it is what all the others aim for and probably surpass, but they dont really have that mystique or that badge. I know they are probably as wallowy as a waterbed, not all that realible, usually rotten, slow, epically thirsty and prone to bring out the socialist paint gouger in anyone with a set of keys handy but I have this guilty car crush on some whiffy old Roller that would bankrupt me and make me look even more of a tosser than the manky old Porsche does.
Thinking of something like this, not a white, Isopon laden, budget wedding three grand woofer, Corniche
I quite like the newer ones but they are a bit edgy now, these old ones were just pure old money, the establishment where the new ones may be a rapper or Alan Sugar.
Not really going to do it, bit one day, maybe, interested in your Rolls Experiences, only been in one which was our wedding car and that was a Silver Cloud.
I feel your pain brother. In my head it would waft along with a very slight woofle smoothing the bumps in the road and keeping the out side world out, while I sit in comfort in the armchair.
In reality I would probably get to spend quite a bit of time looking at it with the AA man, or trying to fix horrible annoying faults while being quietly bankrupted.
My wife thinks it's a bloody stupid idea and that I'd look like a tosser. But she also thinks big Jags are old mans cars, so obviously has no idea.
In reality I would probably get to spend quite a bit of time looking at it with the AA man, or trying to fix horrible annoying faults while being quietly bankrupted.
My wife thinks it's a bloody stupid idea and that I'd look like a tosser. But she also thinks big Jags are old mans cars, so obviously has no idea.
If you are really interested in buying a RR, my first suggestion would be to join the RREC. Not only for the great club mag (6 issues a year) it issues an monthly Advertiser, with stacks of cars for sale privately.
Although there is a fair bit of rectum hiding there, on 'club' visits to stately homes it is more often than not , The section reports alway give the impression they are doing people a favour by drivin there in them, .....we parked our cars .. by gracious permission of, in a prominent postion so visitors could admire them etc. Also some of the older members do great impressions of braying donkeys, AND there is the uniform seen at the annual rallies, viz Straw panama hat, blazer, white shirt, cravat, and light trousers.... honest.
And they tend to consider Shadows/Spirits/Seraphs as 'not proper cars' as they do not have a seperate chassis, in fact the pre 65 cars are known to these members by the chassis numbers, and dont get me started on the 'Elegegance' of the marque. The majority of these pre 65 cars, in fact i would go so far as to say pre war cars, had bodywork designed by one of the many bespoke coachbuilders. Park Ward, Hooper, Weymann,Mulliner etc The RR customer just bough the chassis and took it away to be bodied!!. Thats the Bad news, the good news ids you dont have to go on these jaunts!
But aside from all that plus the fact it it the Rolls Royce ENTHUSIAST club, it is worth a punt.
Model wise , go for a Shadow II with the flared arches and air dam. Most of the earlier problems were ironed out by then. As regards the Spirit, and these can be got for 10k up for good one, pre 88 were carb, 88-90 fuel injection, 90 onward had improved riding qualities.
Costwise, well to give you an example, my 90 Spirit II was bought in 1998. since then i have spent out for a replacement rad, wiper motor, and an alternator, plus getting the cruise control and reversing lamps sorted. ( they operate off the gearbox by cams. could have done it myself, but i dont like lying on my back Saturdays now!! The alternator and the cruise conrol cost me 600 via a very good indy) He has also quoted me 300 to replace the braking spheres. and seeing where they are situated, thats money well spent. most jobs on th Shadow can be done DIY and the club runs weekend courses that take you through everything on the car.
I dont know if you saw the Wheeler dealers prog on the Bentley. That galvanised me into getting a quote to have my front seats refurbished. Have been quoted £200 for that, although another local guy wanted 650 plus VAT. The door cappings have suffered being hit by the belt buckle over the years and to get them relaquered is 175 inc p+p both ways. Tyres, Avon w/w are 180 a corner.
Ins for me( lets say i am of mature age!!) is 200 fully com and as the car is over 20yrs old, if it gets w/o i get the agreed value plus the car!!!) and as most of these cars are worth more broken than complete, that is a winner
i get about 15-18 mpg, and the feeling you get wafting along with that bonnet and Spirit of Ecstacy in front is just well...nice.. plus youdont have to hoon along, i have only had the old girl over 80 once, and at 65 on c/c is in near silence
If you want a bit of ooomph go for a Bentley Turbo R
And if you ant to look at an Advertiser just pm me with you address and the next issue will be in the post.
Just dont buy the first you see, and its worth getting it checked over by an indie beforehand. I did, only needed a bit of work to get it up to scratch.
Also have a look at the RREC site
Any questions just ask
Although there is a fair bit of rectum hiding there, on 'club' visits to stately homes it is more often than not , The section reports alway give the impression they are doing people a favour by drivin there in them, .....we parked our cars .. by gracious permission of, in a prominent postion so visitors could admire them etc. Also some of the older members do great impressions of braying donkeys, AND there is the uniform seen at the annual rallies, viz Straw panama hat, blazer, white shirt, cravat, and light trousers.... honest.
And they tend to consider Shadows/Spirits/Seraphs as 'not proper cars' as they do not have a seperate chassis, in fact the pre 65 cars are known to these members by the chassis numbers, and dont get me started on the 'Elegegance' of the marque. The majority of these pre 65 cars, in fact i would go so far as to say pre war cars, had bodywork designed by one of the many bespoke coachbuilders. Park Ward, Hooper, Weymann,Mulliner etc The RR customer just bough the chassis and took it away to be bodied!!. Thats the Bad news, the good news ids you dont have to go on these jaunts!
But aside from all that plus the fact it it the Rolls Royce ENTHUSIAST club, it is worth a punt.
Model wise , go for a Shadow II with the flared arches and air dam. Most of the earlier problems were ironed out by then. As regards the Spirit, and these can be got for 10k up for good one, pre 88 were carb, 88-90 fuel injection, 90 onward had improved riding qualities.
Costwise, well to give you an example, my 90 Spirit II was bought in 1998. since then i have spent out for a replacement rad, wiper motor, and an alternator, plus getting the cruise control and reversing lamps sorted. ( they operate off the gearbox by cams. could have done it myself, but i dont like lying on my back Saturdays now!! The alternator and the cruise conrol cost me 600 via a very good indy) He has also quoted me 300 to replace the braking spheres. and seeing where they are situated, thats money well spent. most jobs on th Shadow can be done DIY and the club runs weekend courses that take you through everything on the car.
I dont know if you saw the Wheeler dealers prog on the Bentley. That galvanised me into getting a quote to have my front seats refurbished. Have been quoted £200 for that, although another local guy wanted 650 plus VAT. The door cappings have suffered being hit by the belt buckle over the years and to get them relaquered is 175 inc p+p both ways. Tyres, Avon w/w are 180 a corner.
Ins for me( lets say i am of mature age!!) is 200 fully com and as the car is over 20yrs old, if it gets w/o i get the agreed value plus the car!!!) and as most of these cars are worth more broken than complete, that is a winner
i get about 15-18 mpg, and the feeling you get wafting along with that bonnet and Spirit of Ecstacy in front is just well...nice.. plus youdont have to hoon along, i have only had the old girl over 80 once, and at 65 on c/c is in near silence
If you want a bit of ooomph go for a Bentley Turbo R
And if you ant to look at an Advertiser just pm me with you address and the next issue will be in the post.
Just dont buy the first you see, and its worth getting it checked over by an indie beforehand. I did, only needed a bit of work to get it up to scratch.
Also have a look at the RREC site
Any questions just ask
Thanks Gents.
I also went on the 'Driving Course'(worthy of a series of threads on its own) that was 2k of someone elses money well spent!!
And before the split, if you had a Crewe product*, you could get a free guided tour around the fctory.
So i took advantage of that, and parked the old girl outside the canteen. Just as the personal tour was to start, a suited gent approached me and asked.
'Where is your vehicle parked?'
'By the canteen, is it in the way?'
'Oh No, when we have visitors, we park their car otside the main entrance. May i have you keys?'
And there she stood all day alongside a German Bentley, that the guy, had returned to get everyone who had worked on it to sign the build record. The guide that took us round use to tke pics of cars through the complete process if the owners wanted it. He did it as a hobby. As i worked in Jessops at the time selling cameras, i gave im a stack of free processing vouchers as a thank you, as he cobbled together pics of a Spirit going through the paint process.
I also went on the 'Driving Course'(worthy of a series of threads on its own) that was 2k of someone elses money well spent!!
And before the split, if you had a Crewe product*, you could get a free guided tour around the fctory.
So i took advantage of that, and parked the old girl outside the canteen. Just as the personal tour was to start, a suited gent approached me and asked.
'Where is your vehicle parked?'
'By the canteen, is it in the way?'
'Oh No, when we have visitors, we park their car otside the main entrance. May i have you keys?'
And there she stood all day alongside a German Bentley, that the guy, had returned to get everyone who had worked on it to sign the build record. The guide that took us round use to tke pics of cars through the complete process if the owners wanted it. He did it as a hobby. As i worked in Jessops at the time selling cameras, i gave im a stack of free processing vouchers as a thank you, as he cobbled together pics of a Spirit going through the paint process.
- was told at the factory, never to call them Rollers or Rolls but a Royce, as Sir Henry royce built them and The Hon Charles Rolls sold them!!
Edited by silverfoxcc on Thursday 3rd January 10:33
Just come back from my bodywork chap. I scraped the front o/s wheelarch a few months ago, and horror of horrors, whilst jacking up the front to take the wheels off to get the tyres changed ( HINT dont let the normal monkeys use their guns, for a start the wheels on the LH side are LH thread, plus you only torque them up to 40lbs/ft, it dropped off the jack and hit the underside of the rad, which in turn hit the bonnet, which in turn created a small tit in it. This plus the wing repair and a bit of rust on the front wing corner by the wheel arch is about £200.00, so for around 600.00 i've got the front seats refurb, door cappings relquered and the bodywork fettled.
Just need a wedding or two to pay for it!!
Just need a wedding or two to pay for it!!
you will never be able to afford to run it then 
silverfoxcc said:
If you are really interested in buying a RR, my first suggestion would be to join the RREC. Not only for the great club mag (6 issues a year) it issues an monthly Advertiser, with stacks of cars for sale privately.
Although there is a fair bit of rectum hiding there, on 'club' visits to stately homes it is more often than not , The section reports alway give the impression they are doing people a favour by drivin there in them, .....we parked our cars .. by gracious permission of, in a prominent postion so visitors could admire them etc. Also some of the older members do great impressions of braying donkeys, AND there is the uniform seen at the annual rallies, viz Straw panama hat, blazer, white shirt, cravat, and light trousers.... honest.
And they tend to consider Shadows/Spirits/Seraphs as 'not proper cars' as they do not have a seperate chassis, in fact the pre 65 cars are known to these members by the chassis numbers, and dont get me started on the 'Elegegance' of the marque. The majority of these pre 65 cars, in fact i would go so far as to say pre war cars, had bodywork designed by one of the many bespoke coachbuilders. Park Ward, Hooper, Weymann,Mulliner etc The RR customer just bough the chassis and took it away to be bodied!!. Thats the Bad news, the good news ids you dont have to go on these jaunts!
But aside from all that plus the fact it it the Rolls Royce ENTHUSIAST club, it is worth a punt.
Model wise , go for a Shadow II with the flared arches and air dam. Most of the earlier problems were ironed out by then. As regards the Spirit, and these can be got for 10k up for good one, pre 88 were carb, 88-90 fuel injection, 90 onward had improved riding qualities.
Costwise, well to give you an example, my 90 Spirit II was bought in 1998. since then i have spent out for a replacement rad, wiper motor, and an alternator, plus getting the cruise control and reversing lamps sorted. ( they operate off the gearbox by cams. could have done it myself, but i dont like lying on my back Saturdays now!! The alternator and the cruise conrol cost me 600 via a very good indy) He has also quoted me 300 to replace the braking spheres. and seeing where they are situated, thats money well spent. most jobs on th Shadow can be done DIY and the club runs weekend courses that take you through everything on the car.
I dont know if you saw the Wheeler dealers prog on the Bentley. That galvanised me into getting a quote to have my front seats refurbished. Have been quoted £200 for that, although another local guy wanted 650 plus VAT. The door cappings have suffered being hit by the belt buckle over the years and to get them relaquered is 175 inc p+p both ways. Tyres, Avon w/w are 180 a corner.
Ins for me( lets say i am of mature age!!) is 200 fully com and as the car is over 20yrs old, if it gets w/o i get the agreed value plus the car!!!) and as most of these cars are worth more broken than complete, that is a winner
i get about 15-18 mpg, and the feeling you get wafting along with that bonnet and Spirit of Ecstacy in front is just well...nice.. plus youdont have to hoon along, i have only had the old girl over 80 once, and at 65 on c/c is in near silence
If you want a bit of ooomph go for a Bentley Turbo R
And if you ant to look at an Advertiser just pm me with you address and the next issue will be in the post.
Just dont buy the first you see, and its worth getting it checked over by an indie beforehand. I did, only needed a bit of work to get it up to scratch.
Also have a look at the RREC site
Any questions just ask
Wow, thanks Silverfox !Although there is a fair bit of rectum hiding there, on 'club' visits to stately homes it is more often than not , The section reports alway give the impression they are doing people a favour by drivin there in them, .....we parked our cars .. by gracious permission of, in a prominent postion so visitors could admire them etc. Also some of the older members do great impressions of braying donkeys, AND there is the uniform seen at the annual rallies, viz Straw panama hat, blazer, white shirt, cravat, and light trousers.... honest.
And they tend to consider Shadows/Spirits/Seraphs as 'not proper cars' as they do not have a seperate chassis, in fact the pre 65 cars are known to these members by the chassis numbers, and dont get me started on the 'Elegegance' of the marque. The majority of these pre 65 cars, in fact i would go so far as to say pre war cars, had bodywork designed by one of the many bespoke coachbuilders. Park Ward, Hooper, Weymann,Mulliner etc The RR customer just bough the chassis and took it away to be bodied!!. Thats the Bad news, the good news ids you dont have to go on these jaunts!
But aside from all that plus the fact it it the Rolls Royce ENTHUSIAST club, it is worth a punt.
Model wise , go for a Shadow II with the flared arches and air dam. Most of the earlier problems were ironed out by then. As regards the Spirit, and these can be got for 10k up for good one, pre 88 were carb, 88-90 fuel injection, 90 onward had improved riding qualities.
Costwise, well to give you an example, my 90 Spirit II was bought in 1998. since then i have spent out for a replacement rad, wiper motor, and an alternator, plus getting the cruise control and reversing lamps sorted. ( they operate off the gearbox by cams. could have done it myself, but i dont like lying on my back Saturdays now!! The alternator and the cruise conrol cost me 600 via a very good indy) He has also quoted me 300 to replace the braking spheres. and seeing where they are situated, thats money well spent. most jobs on th Shadow can be done DIY and the club runs weekend courses that take you through everything on the car.
I dont know if you saw the Wheeler dealers prog on the Bentley. That galvanised me into getting a quote to have my front seats refurbished. Have been quoted £200 for that, although another local guy wanted 650 plus VAT. The door cappings have suffered being hit by the belt buckle over the years and to get them relaquered is 175 inc p+p both ways. Tyres, Avon w/w are 180 a corner.
Ins for me( lets say i am of mature age!!) is 200 fully com and as the car is over 20yrs old, if it gets w/o i get the agreed value plus the car!!!) and as most of these cars are worth more broken than complete, that is a winner
i get about 15-18 mpg, and the feeling you get wafting along with that bonnet and Spirit of Ecstacy in front is just well...nice.. plus youdont have to hoon along, i have only had the old girl over 80 once, and at 65 on c/c is in near silence
If you want a bit of ooomph go for a Bentley Turbo R
And if you ant to look at an Advertiser just pm me with you address and the next issue will be in the post.
Just dont buy the first you see, and its worth getting it checked over by an indie beforehand. I did, only needed a bit of work to get it up to scratch.
Also have a look at the RREC site
Any questions just ask
very interesting stuff, not sure I could carry off a cravate, blazer etc, would be jeans, t shirt and a coating of various oils, polishes and unidentified stuff, really couldnt be bothered with sniffiness, if I want that I will try and join a posh Golf club, do these people have no sense of irony or a sense of hunour, have seen the type sat round picnic baskets looking a bit haughty, they are the ones sat in a field with their car !
I think with me, its me admitting I like them and quite fancy one, ten years ago it wouldnt have been on the radar.
I need to see if one would fit on the drive, and also, whether they can live outside.
Have you tried asking here? - http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?h=0&a...
Stain,
You are dead right there!
The year i joined the RREC, i was not yet an owner, and the Southern meet was at Charterhouse School. So i rang a contact, and got a very honking voice on the other end asking me all sorts of questions. When the subject of my transport came up, the phrase, 'i dont have a Rolls Royce yet, i drive a Volvo 760 Estate' it went quiet fro a moment or two, and then i got this reply
'Oh........thats ok, you will have to park behind the hedge though'
So i went and sure enough i was directed behind the hedge along with Jags and even an Aston Martin. Only the products of Derby and Crewe were allowed to grace the centre stage. The great unwashed were allowed to get within touching distance and even ask questions. There i saw just how much of a clique existed, with the emphasis being on who knew who, and who has gone where ( all this being done in foghorn braying) you couldn't miss it. Later when i went to the Weekend course on the SZ series ( Spirits and Bentley variants) there was a different set of guys, all willing to get their hands dirty and very interested in the mechanicals. The woodwork and trim course was also well worth it,even did a bit a bit of lead loading. It was stressed to us by one of the guys, Eric Healey if i recall, that these are just cars, its how they are designed and built that puts them apart. To illustrate his he told the tale of a Spirit that needed a full nearside floor pan. and asked us to guess the cost. This varied and the lowest guess was about 3k Eric said it cost the guy £750, IT Was ONLY a floor pan. in fact some Transit Wheelarches are the same as a Spirit!!!
Just dont get put off by the minority, if you want a car. just use the club for what you need, and advice and experience are there in spades. There is also the RROC of the USA and the Australian site as well, which has enough technial reading to keep you busy for the rest of the year,a lot of it is written by guys who have done it and put it down warts and all.
You are dead right there!
The year i joined the RREC, i was not yet an owner, and the Southern meet was at Charterhouse School. So i rang a contact, and got a very honking voice on the other end asking me all sorts of questions. When the subject of my transport came up, the phrase, 'i dont have a Rolls Royce yet, i drive a Volvo 760 Estate' it went quiet fro a moment or two, and then i got this reply
'Oh........thats ok, you will have to park behind the hedge though'
So i went and sure enough i was directed behind the hedge along with Jags and even an Aston Martin. Only the products of Derby and Crewe were allowed to grace the centre stage. The great unwashed were allowed to get within touching distance and even ask questions. There i saw just how much of a clique existed, with the emphasis being on who knew who, and who has gone where ( all this being done in foghorn braying) you couldn't miss it. Later when i went to the Weekend course on the SZ series ( Spirits and Bentley variants) there was a different set of guys, all willing to get their hands dirty and very interested in the mechanicals. The woodwork and trim course was also well worth it,even did a bit a bit of lead loading. It was stressed to us by one of the guys, Eric Healey if i recall, that these are just cars, its how they are designed and built that puts them apart. To illustrate his he told the tale of a Spirit that needed a full nearside floor pan. and asked us to guess the cost. This varied and the lowest guess was about 3k Eric said it cost the guy £750, IT Was ONLY a floor pan. in fact some Transit Wheelarches are the same as a Spirit!!!
Just dont get put off by the minority, if you want a car. just use the club for what you need, and advice and experience are there in spades. There is also the RROC of the USA and the Australian site as well, which has enough technial reading to keep you busy for the rest of the year,a lot of it is written by guys who have done it and put it down warts and all.
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