Risky Buy? 1971 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow
While many of us (me included) bemoan how inaccessible the car hobby has become, there are still glimmers of hope that you can get into a legitimate classic for reasonable money. However, there can still be a point at which you realize that even an affordable classic can be a bad idea, no matter how badly you want to roll up to cars and coffee in a vintage ride. This 1971 Rolls Royce may be an honest-to-God classic car, but is it the one you should buy if you’re just starting out? Find it here on eBay where bidding has reached $6,700 with no reserve.
In all honesty, that’s a decent number for a car that is still a common sight in wrecking yards after being hauled out of a deceased owner’s garage. The Silver Shadow has to be one of the very few classic cars that doesn’t strike a nostalgic car with widows, as they seemingly waste no time in having their husband’s half-finished restoration hauled off to the local pick and pull once he’s six feet under. These are stately cars and loaded with luxury, but they are pricey to restore and not worth all that much when complete. Thankfully, this example comes with a lovely cardinal red leather interior.
I say thankfully because many of them have a light colored cabin, with biscuit-colored leather that is extremely difficult to keep clean. And if these cars spend any amount of time in a damp storage situation, you can bet the mold and mildew will make all that thick carpeting and luxurious leather dumpster-fodder in short order. This Rolls Royce is definitely doing better than most examples that aren’t ridiculously low-mileage, time-warp specimens, with attractive chrome bumpers, decent paint, and the aforementioned interior appearing to be in good order.
The same goes for the trunk which sports lovely wall-to-wall red carpeting. The collection of shop manuals is encouraging, potentially pointing to a previous owner who could manage his own maintenance and keep ahead of any potential issues that might otherwise render the Rolls a garage-stored paperweight in short order. The seller reports the drivetrain is in good health and that it’s a lifelong West Coast car with no rust – so, perhaps, this is a Silver Shadow that’s actually worth taking a chance on.
Auctions Ending Soon
1981 Chevrolet Silverado K20 4X4Bid Now3 days$4,500
1963 Ford Country Squire WagonBid Now3 days$100
1989 Dodge Daytona ShelbyBid Now3 days$100
1991 Dodge Spirit R/TBid Now3 days$100
Comments
Checking seller’s feedback didn’t make me all tingly, not that I was too enthused about a 52 year-old high luxury British automobile in any case. I can eat Grey Poupon anywhere.
I don’t know much but the eBay listing says Silver Spur which they didn’t start making until 1980. Seems like a seller would know that. This is a Silver Shadow. Your skepticism is duly noted and may be warranted.
People get paid to write this junk, they should at least know the correct model they are being paid to write about….
Probably because not many care about which model of these Connelly leathered money pits, they are.
I have always loved these cars. I know that the interiors are prone to hidden mould and mildew and the brakes are about as complicated as you can get and require specialized knowledge. Tempting to grab one of these and play with some modifications. Silver looks great on these, though I’m not a fan of the two-tone approach.
I have owned several Silver Shadows, early, and late, including a ’71. If you really want one, this one looks good; nice colours, and not rusty. Keep in mind, even if you are relatively capable, servicing the complicated braking and suspension system can become very costly. These cars can easily cost more to keep than their value.
There were almost 17,000 (’65-77) Shadows built, so ones like this never be truly “rare”.
Finally, the pool of people that actually want one of these (and have money to buy it) is Very shallow.
Cam, what would be a ballpark cost of redoing the brakes on this Rolls Royce Silver Shadow if they were not working. Thank you in advance.
Gary,
The estimates depend on who is doing it, how well they are versed in R-R repairs, where spare parts are coming from, and how much work needs to be done. There are 4 brake systems [2 high pressure hydraulic, 1 manual hydraulic, and the hand brake.]
To get a rough estimate without any disassembly, the car needs to be started and run for a few minutes, then turned off. Before pressing the brake pedal, turn the ignition back on, but don’t start the car. If both brake warning lights do not light up, that’s a good sign. Stepping on the brake pedal with firm pressure while watching the brake warning lights [2 round red lights on the dash*], you want to count the number of times you press the pedal, noting how many times the pedal is pressed until the first light comes on. Keep pressing until the other light comes on, recording both pedal press numbers for future use.
If one light comes on within 5 presses, the car is not safe to drive on the public streets. Light coming on after 10 presses means the system needs hydraulic work. If both lights remain off after 15 presses, the brake hydraulics are good. No lights at 20 presses indicates the hydraulics are likely recently rebuilt.
The worst case for $ cost would be from the R-R dealer’s service department, $10k to $12k. An independent R-R shop who knows the cars will probably be $3k to $5k for rebuilding all 4 systems. If you have the ability to do high quality repairs & restorations yourself, and have bought the Shadow series repair manual set, the parts will likely be under $1,000.
*Shadow series cars have the unmarked round warning lights near the center of the dash, next to the clock, and are marked with the word BRAKES. Later cars have 2 square lights in front of the driver. When lit they say Brake 1 and Brake 2
Greg he made a point. You started the name calling.
It’s how Glen T made his point. A simple “it’s a silver shadow, not a silver spur” would suffice. His outrage is childish.
I am actually getting very serious about obtaining an affordable Rolls Royce. Ive had Triumphs and stuff but one of these would be amazing. Even If i did the dreaded SBC treatment
Careful Phipps- These are a challenge to keep on the road. I had a 1979 shadow II for thirty years. They’re complicated and finicky and parts are uber expensive. Having said that. My girlfriends father in the late 1970’s let us take his, looked identical to this, for a few hour drive. This may actually be the same car as I’m in Washington state. I was hooked and that led me to get mine some 10+ years later. When the cars are right, there’s no better cruiser made. I can still smell the Connolly hides and the Wilton wool. Anyway, I ended up using the car very little which leads to massive deterioration. It’s a tough car to own.
I appreciate that Richard and I know its not as simple as a drivetrain swap out. Ive been saving for years to do it so would be prepared to immediately do basic services etc. But guys like you know how deep the water can get on these. Ive been zapped on BMW’s before but this would be next level I can imagine
If I was offered the choice of 2 identical 1965 and newer Rolls-Royces, one with 20,000 miles and stored in a garage for 20 years unused, and the other with 200,000 miles, but with a good service history, I’ll take the one with the higher mileage every time. In my car collection I’ve always gone for low mileage American and European cars, but not my Rolls-Royces.
I have a good friend with a 1989 Silver Spur Flying Spur with the twin-turbo motor. His car has almost 250,000 miles, but as it’s been kept garaged and always gets the services it needs, the car actually looks like it has only 20,000 miles. When properly maintained, R-R cars don’t show their age like other cars.
It’s not the engine to worry about that’s pretty simple and bullet proof. It’s the brakes! Parts are brutally
Expensive. And insanely complicated. If it’s been sitting a while, gulp!
Right on Frenchy. Accumulators, hydraulic pumps, impossible cylinder system, collapsing hoses, specialized fluid. Even well cared for, the brakes are scary to deal with and they don’t suffer fools. Not for the faint of heart or the thin wallet.
Congratulations to you but that evil bay add called it a silver spur. Not that anyone cares
Does the chauffeur’s cap come with it?
Yup! There’s 2 of them in the trunk per the eBay ad..
No but the dance cap does
Only thing I know about these cars is from 80’s movies and music videos. I have heard the parts suppliers are proud of the parts and charge accordingly. I guess the only true way to learn about them is to buy it take it apart and put it back together. Online its a equal mix of love and hate with them.
Back in the mid 80’s I worked as a auto mechanic in Miami, Florida. I read the want ads in the Miami newspaper everyday. There was a running ad for a mechanic at the Rolls Royce dealership, Their big thing was cleanliness, clean, clean. apparently you spent most of your time cleaning your tools and work area and little time actually repairing anything so no wonder the cost of service/repairs is so high on these rich folks jalopies.
I’ll stick with American thank you very much.
God Bless America
Beautiful car but I will get as exotica as an MG Midget. Cost $47.00 at MOSS to replace the front brakes – DIY in under an hour with a basic set of imperial wrenches -oops – spinners! ;)
Kelly,
The word is Spanners, not spinners, referring to the size of the wrench based on the ‘span’ of the wrench opening size as found on the original ‘Whitworth” spanners, where the measurement was across the bolt head from one flat side to the parallel one on the opposite side. {Either square head or hexagonal.]
Don’t play the race card. I got ostracized for having a 1965 Mercedes fin tail when I was in high school. I only paid $800.00 for it and worked my ass off to get it on the road.
Lots liked it and some were jealous.
Maybe it was an anti Irish thing…
Bollocks. Jealousy is jealousy. Good for your friend and his sweet ride. I think anyone working in the public sector gets a lot of hate from a small minority when they buy something nice.
Start a war somewhere else.
I don’t think he was playing any “ race card.”
But you might be…
I own 7 Shadows (and love them)! If you are not mechanically inclined, do NOT buy one! In 30 years owning them, I have NEVER ever seen one in a junk yard (as mentioned in the writeup)! If there was one in any of my PicknPulls, it would be stripped to bare metal in a few hours!
Richard G,
Your comment is so correct. Not only are these cars overly complicated, but the increased degree of fastidious and attention to detail is far beyond what most line mechanics are willing to observe. I used to run an independent Rolls-Royce shop, and we often repaired poorly done work done by others.
As you probably know, just replacing a brake pump requires the removal of the top of the engine. On replacement of the cast alloy valley pan that supports the dual brake pumps, there is no gasket, and no sealant is used. The seal is accomplished with a tiny SILK THREAD, carefully overlapping the ends in a specific location. Using any other sealing method will result in quick damage to the camshaft and both pumps. Last time I did that job [25 years ago] the price for the cam,16 lifters, and both pumps, was over $5,000, plus labor!
The primary reason Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars rarely make it into used parts yards is because of one guy in southern California; Tony Handler. Tony buys up almost every example in north America to put in his large Rolls-Royce & Bentley used parts yard. Plus shops like mine would often buy wrecks from owners & insurers.
When I operated my shop years ago, I had almost a dozen R-R & B parts cars out back, 1935-1976. As I’m sure you know, even small items like nuts & bolts are different from other cars [those are often stainless steel with fine thread].
Re the complicated brakes ( I have zero experience on R-R brakes) I wonder could it all be sorted with by keeping the R-R discs, and using calipers, booster and master cylinder from a full size American car. Or even Willwood/ Baur/ Brembo calipers?
There are threaded bosses on the back of the spindle/hub assembly that could be used to bolt a custom adapter for simpler brake calipers. I’d have to actually put my hands on the car to come up with something.
Absolutely can be done with a GM hydroboost! I have 3 GM converted RR with the system.
No. If was feasible, owners would have done that by now. There is no repairing these cars “on the cheap.”
Absolutely can be done with a GM hydroboost! I have 3 GM converted Rolls Royces with the GM system! There is absolutely no difference in the braking!
Richard G,
If that’s the case, and the conversions are technically safe to use, then the person who created the conversion should consider offering kits or a how-to guide for the conversions. There are quite a few owners who would be interested.
Zsa Zsa Gabor owned a few of those cars.