Anyone Bought A £5k Rolls Royce?...
Discussion
I picked this Shadow I up for £3.5k in 2014, but sadly I think the days of decent sub £5k Silver Shadows are now just a memory.
I foolishly sold the thing on just before prices really took off. The only real cost I incurred during a year of weekend motoring around London was a new radiator expansion tank and I decided to quit whilst I was ahead (I was also a penniless 23 year old graduate at the time!). It was a little crusty around the edges but really not bad at all. Brake and suspension hydraulics were all in fine fettle. Interior was in very good shape.
As for the driving experience, these are lovely old things. Engine and gearbox are silky smooth. The V8 provides adequate shove to keep up with modern traffic. Brakes and refinement were not bad at all for a car of this age. The only real negative point was that the steering felt a little over-assisted and imprecise. I'd have NIB 8056 back in a heartbeat.
I foolishly sold the thing on just before prices really took off. The only real cost I incurred during a year of weekend motoring around London was a new radiator expansion tank and I decided to quit whilst I was ahead (I was also a penniless 23 year old graduate at the time!). It was a little crusty around the edges but really not bad at all. Brake and suspension hydraulics were all in fine fettle. Interior was in very good shape.
As for the driving experience, these are lovely old things. Engine and gearbox are silky smooth. The V8 provides adequate shove to keep up with modern traffic. Brakes and refinement were not bad at all for a car of this age. The only real negative point was that the steering felt a little over-assisted and imprecise. I'd have NIB 8056 back in a heartbeat.
I’ve done this twice.....a £3999 1983 Bentley Turbo, and a £4250 1972 Silver Shadow...just boxes which needed ticking. Both kept for a few months. I’ll try and find the photos. Shadow was on LPG, the novelty of less than 10 mpg on the Bentley soon wore off.....small boys shouting w
ker at you is all part of the experience, they’re only saying what most people are thinking. Wouldn’t want either as a regular driver, but would recommend to try once.
ker at you is all part of the experience, they’re only saying what most people are thinking. Wouldn’t want either as a regular driver, but would recommend to try once.D1on said:
Been looking at Silver Shadows And Silver Spirits Lately...
Is it still possible to get a running example for around £5000....?
Shadow is a lot less complex than a Spirit.Is it still possible to get a running example for around £5000....?
Delightful cars to own.
£5k carefully spent will get something to smoke around in, but it'll need ongoing work.
rene7 said:
Image was terrible when these were new in 70's - now has has been mentioned most 'Normal' folks hate 'em - I wouldn't own one if someone give it to me together with your £5K
Must be the worst Classic which is maybe available for £5K.
Not how I remember it! Highly sought after. For a while you could run them for nothing due the waiting list.Must be the worst Classic which is maybe available for £5K.
rene7 said:
Image was terrible when these were new in 70's - now has has been mentioned most 'Normal' folks hate 'em - I wouldn't own one if someone give it to me together with your £5K
Must be the worst Classic which is maybe available for £5K.
By 'normal' folks do you mean the types that spend 5 grand on a secondhand fiesta? I'd have a roller over a crappy Ford / Vauxhall / Renault/ anyday, but then I don't give a toss about image or what people think about me.Must be the worst Classic which is maybe available for £5K.
Mercky said:
rene7 said:
Image was terrible when these were new in 70's - now has has been mentioned most 'Normal' folks hate 'em - I wouldn't own one if someone give it to me together with your £5K
Must be the worst Classic which is maybe available for £5K.
By 'normal' folks do you mean the types that spend 5 grand on a secondhand fiesta? I'd have a roller over a crappy Ford / Vauxhall / Renault/ anyday, but then I don't give a toss about image or what people think about me.Must be the worst Classic which is maybe available for £5K.
I think they have past the "scrap yard owner" phase.....I love seeing them around, classy, particularly the series 1 cars.....I have had quite a few shadows and spirits/turbo r below £5K...most have needed a few bits and pieces but on the whole have been fine...Shadows are on the up for sure
Bought this for £4.5k in late 2014 and sold last year (for peanuts in Norway where it had sat in a garage rapidly and constantly disintegrating with very little buyer interest). Biggest money pit I've ever had the misfortune to own (cost me more to keep going than my 4 XJ-S's combined). On the plus side was a lovely ride and the suspension somehow didn't go wrong, plus the interior is gloriously cossetting. Rust spreads fast especially on sills and wings. Watch out too for leaks from gearbox, engine, power steering and braking system. Odometer quickly went on mine, as did the digital clock/temp gauge. Parasitic battery drains were a mystery to all, ditto the non-functioning cruise control system and occasional immobilizer issues. Starter went (cost me about £1500 to replace including labour). Tyres were expensive and it got 14mpg at the best of times and really needed to be pushed to get a move on. Think it's so true that a "cheap" RR will cost way more in the long-run than a top-dollar lovingly maintained one.
It is still possible, you should do it instantly. Someone (and it may as well be you ) needs to save the 'sub prime' examples. There are many now in the various specialist breakers, they do not need any more.
But, they are really, REALLY expensive to restore. So you need to buy some decent tools, get on the Australian forum and get fettling... If you have to pay specialists (do not take it to a normal garage, they will ruin it and charge you vast amounts while doing so) it will bankrupt you in short order.
If I was going to buy now, I would get a late Shadow 11 which is a decent steer especially if it has the Harvey Bailey suspension upgrades and love it long time, it will increase in value, I'm sure (?) .
Bodies do rust sadly and what doesn't rust, will corrode . The structure of these is very complex (it was the first model without a separate chassis and so over-engineered) and will cost fortunes to restore properly if rotten. So get a good one in the first place and then pour gallons of your favourite anti corrosion gloop into all the areas where you might expect it to rust, so get a really big bucket and dunk the entire car I!
Parts are expensive and difficult to find alternatives for go on Flying spares website and check out the prices of parts for cars you are interested in, if that doesn't instantly put you off then you are a good man. FS though are very good and carry a huge amount in stock and can get everything else in short order (I have no connection with them) but there are many other suppliers out there.
The early cars are not fast, but they are not slow either! It's all about torque man.... The engines and gearboxes are usually fine but they do leak and they like a drink.
) needs to save the 'sub prime' examples. There are many now in the various specialist breakers, they do not need any more. But, they are really, REALLY expensive to restore. So you need to buy some decent tools, get on the Australian forum and get fettling... If you have to pay specialists (do not take it to a normal garage, they will ruin it and charge you vast amounts while doing so) it will bankrupt you in short order.
If I was going to buy now, I would get a late Shadow 11 which is a decent steer especially if it has the Harvey Bailey suspension upgrades and love it long time, it will increase in value, I'm sure (?) .
Bodies do rust sadly and what doesn't rust, will corrode . The structure of these is very complex (it was the first model without a separate chassis and so over-engineered) and will cost fortunes to restore properly if rotten. So get a good one in the first place and then pour gallons of your favourite anti corrosion gloop into all the areas where you might expect it to rust, so get a really big bucket and dunk the entire car I!
Parts are expensive and difficult to find alternatives for go on Flying spares website and check out the prices of parts for cars you are interested in, if that doesn't instantly put you off then you are a good man. FS though are very good and carry a huge amount in stock and can get everything else in short order (I have no connection with them) but there are many other suppliers out there.
The early cars are not fast, but they are not slow either! It's all about torque man.... The engines and gearboxes are usually fine but they do leak and they like a drink.
This has been for sale many times on ebay, I guess he had no luck, now I see he's listed it as an auction, no reserve.
Worth a look?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rolls-Royce-Silver-Shado...
Great colour combo.
Worth a look?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rolls-Royce-Silver-Shado...
Great colour combo.
Du1point8 said:
Urgh, wedding car white.I don't know how to link to facebook, but the group 'Bentley & Rolls-Royce Cars and Parts for Sale-Wanted' has a Jay Ship selling a Mulsanne S that looks good.
Try this https://www.facebook.com/groups/529350287221967/
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