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.
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.
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