Early Silver Spirit - I have some questions.

[richard300]

Hi Chaps…

I find myself increasingly drawn to Silver Spirit ownership….
I have always liked them and being 6years old when it was launched it was always the ultimate luxury car when I was growing up – So I actually like the period styling and image.
I have dome Jaguars and Daimlers and always promised myself that I would buy myself a Bentley Turbo-R for my 40th Birthday.

However, I don’t crave the performance anymore and over the last couple of years have come to prefer the Silver spirits styling.

Ideally my budget is £8k to £10K and History and condition is more important to me than age and mileage – In fact I prefer the earlier cars looks over the later cars (wheel trims, front valance, steering wheel etc)…

I see plenty of 83-86 year (I know the Mk1 has a longer life span than these years) cars around, with good mileage, (allegedly) good service history and described as being in ‘very good condition’ in my budget. And I know all the normal stuff I should look for when buying a car BUT I have some model specific questions….

Will, even the most treasured examples of these cars, suffer from corrosion? Where are the key places to look and what area’s if any are ‘Walk away from it’ areas?

Will I be able to identify poor steering and suspension components over, what I imagine to be a very rolly polly soft ride and not exactly the 1st word in dynamic steering feel?

What are ‘essential’ works that should have been carried out (that the car should have invoices for)?

Are headgaskets an issue on the SS like they can be on the Turbo-R?

What is a good contingency fund/yearly running cost estimate for one of these old girls?

Can one of these cars be used daily? And if so, what is ‘around town’ real world fuel consumption?


Any feedback, owner’s opinions and fond (or unfound) memories and stories on this model would be greatly appreciated…

Is there a market for these cars – I ask this as I am emigrating to Australia, where I will never likely have the opportunity to own one of these cars, and I won’t likely have owned the car for the required 12months to be able to take it as a personal import – I would have to be able to move her one towards the end of the year.

Edited by richard300 on Thursday 30th January 13:48

[cardigankid]

If its a dry part of Oz you are going to it will be ideal

[tonys]

Heading says Silver Shadow, but thread is about Spirit.

http://www.rollsroyceforums.com/forums/

The above might be of interest if not already aware.

Realistic 'round town' consumption on a carb. car will be about 10-12mpg, with 15'ish on a run. Depends very much on how quickly you drive. Some cars have been fitted with Harvey Bailey handling kit which, in my opinion, improves the general feel/handling. However, it will still roll compared to Jags etc.. RR also marketed a 'handling package' which was similar, possibly the same? I'd drive a few first to get a feel for a 'good' one - some find the std. set up rolls a bit and not ideal for the twisty bits.

Mechanically generally fairly straightforward and understressed, except for the suspension, which would be worth checking in more detail. There is a'pump the pedal' method of gaining a fair idea of the state of the accumulators (ie how many pumps before red light comes on), but can't recall the numbers at the moment. I'm sure 'google' will assist.

Bodywise, usual checks on a 20 year old car, wheelarches often first areas to show problems.

Expensive as some mechanicals can be, don't underestimate how much a poor interior will cost to put right - wood veneers and leather worth a close look.

Above based on my experience (25yrs) of a Shadow 11, but basic things apply to Spirit. Personally, I still like the twin headlights and style of the Shadow.

[richard300]

Managed to get the mods to change the title of the thread

Thanks for the information.... Its all very useful.
I will check the interior trims and veneers - i don't mind mind some age related wear, but cracked/lifting woodwork would drive me crazy and i don't even want to imagine the cost of specialist refurbishment.

Are some of the early car on carburetors? when did they change to Fi?

[2woody]

around 1990 - so most early cars on carbs

In short, look for rust, hydraulic problems and bodges by previous owners. You really want someone who can attest to having spent money on their car, almost aside from what it was on.

mechanical items are all fixable at some cost, but bodywork and hydraulics are going to relieve you of the car for some timne to get sorted.

[silverfoxcc]

Richard,
If it helps i am getting a 12k service on my car done for c£600 and having the brake spheres replaced for another £300, at my age i cant be arsed getting underneath to do it,!!
Mine is a 90 Spirit II
Royal Blue, parchment piped blue upholstery

[buyer&seller]

Fuel injection was introduced, along with ABS, in late 1986 on the 87 model year, the chassis prefix is HCH. An easy visual way to tell if it's an EFI model is if the car has the four seat memory switches in the centre console, which were introduced at the same time.

[silverfoxcc]

Richard
,wood callings 75 each.don't know about a dash .seats not too bad 450.00 to get my two fronts refurbed,haven't sat on them yet,don't want to dirty them!!!!!