Project Rolls-Royce
Dan Furr’s lifelong love of Silver Shadows has resulted in the purchase of a secondgeneration Silver Mink stunner he very nearly walked away from…
Buy the right car and top drawer motoring needn’t cost a fortune.
Buy with your head, not with your heart. That’s what they say, isn’t it? “There’s no such thing as a cheap Rolls- Royce.” That’s another classic quote. These are sentiments that can be easy to ignore when you’ve spent your formative years in awe of Crewe-built cars, only to be presented with an affordable land yacht later in life.
My birth in the late ‘Seventies means I grew up in the era of the status symbol. Across the media, rich businessmen, pop stars and television personalities were regularly photographed leaning against their ‘Royces or similar-looking Bentleys. On the silver screen, a mullet-wearing Elton John rocked up in B120 WYM (a Tudor Red Continental) in the video for his hit single, Nikita. James Bond was assisted by a twin-tone Silver Shadow II in ‘License To Kill’. Stories of rock musicians driving their Rollers into swimming pools excited me. Back then my young mind was fascinated by these incredible-looking machines.
I was firm in my belief the Shadow and its derivatives were unlike anything else the automotive world had to offer. Their distinctive styling and uncompromising road presence assured me these large barges were to be celebrated, but the fact they cost double the value of my parents’ house was enough to assume that the chance of ever seeing my name on the logbook of a ‘Royce was the stuff of fantasy.
Fast-forward to the present day, and I’m the proud owner of SRH40385, a late Silver Shadow II registered in November 1980 and originally sold by Jack Barclay, the UK’s largest and oldest Bentley dealer. I bought the car in 2014 after spotting it in the classifieds of a popular online auction website. Having just sold a car (and being in the habit of monitoring the sale prices of modern classics) an evening of trigger happy mouse clicking saw me request information from the seller. This was the point of no return!
The Shadow in question was presented in a finish of what I can only describe as ‘primer grey’. This unusual shade appealed to me. Furthermore, a quick investigation revealed the car had been on sale for a couple of months. I figured this meant there was room for negotiation on the already agreeable asking price. The seller was happy to entertain offers. It was time to start the three-hour journey north from my home in Cambridgeshire to where the car was being stored near York.
“That can’t be the same Shadow!” I said to my fiancée, Sharon, when we arrived at our destination. The car was light blue. Silver Mink, to be precise, but definitely not grey. Damn you, camera ‘phone colour correction errors! To make matters worse, I detected signs of a respray left to dry in a moisture-rich environment. Yikes.
When fired up, the car’s engine produced less of the purr associated with a smooth-running L-Series, and more of the angry growl of a muscle car. I crawled beneath the beast and discovered an OEM exhaust system with a nearside silencer that had more in common with Swiss cheese than solid metal. No matter – it was a bargaining point and a complaint I considered to be an easy fix.
Inside the car, beige leather with special order blue piping left a lot to be desired. Dry hide with surprisingly deep cracks featured on each upright, along with evidence of poor upholstery repair work and walnut in questionable cosmetic condition. A flick through the accompanying history file revealed details of a light restoration in 2003 (when Silver Mink replaced original Caribbean Blue), but since that time, the car has only been treated to the minimum requirement of servicing and whatever was needed to pass each successive MoT test. At least the expensive lambswool over-rugs were being included in the sale!
A test drive of the six-and-threequarter-litre V8 put a massive grin on my face, but I couldn’t help feel an extensive catalogue of fixes would soon make this wafting wonder an expensive purchase no matter how few pennies I was able to secure it for. I was ready to walk away. “Think of the potential!” cried Sharon, offering the heart that was to overrule my head. Who was I to argue?! Armed with her encouragement, I managed to knock the already heavily reduced asking price down by further three grand and set off in my very own Rolls- Royce. Eek!
The journey home gave me a taste of things to come; I don’t think I’ve ever experienced so much attention from fellow road users as I did travelling down the southbound A1 that day. Drivers of less exotic machinery reduced their speed before positioning their four-wheelers alongside my own. Repeatedly, a camera ‘phone (supported by grins of excitement and the occasional ‘thumbs up’) delivered bursts of octane-fuelled flash photography, only for the budding Lord Lichfields to speed off as soon as the money shot was captured.
Zig-zagging between the lanes ahead of me, these very same action snappers were unable to resist getting a glimpse of my new car’s chrome-laden, six-foot wide front
end in their rear-view mirrors before they remembered not to crash. I’m delighted to report my trip home was completed free of accident, although it would be churlish of me to pretend not to understand the want to gawp at such a beautiful profile. Whether the focus is those instantly recognisable front lights, that iconic grille, The Spirit of Ecstasy or a combination of each and every one of the car’s superb styling features, a Silver Shadow (first or second generation) is a sight to behold.
I was quick to secure the service items needed for my new toy. Bentley-branded fluids, filters, washers, spark plugs and replacement chrome windscreen wiper arms (not to mention a beautifully presented leather-wrapped chrome key fob decorated with the Rolls-Royce emblem) landed on my doorstep a short while after the car was parked on my driveway.
You may be surprised to learn from the online catalogue of Rolls- Royce and Bentley parts specialist, Introcar (introcar. co.uk), the cost of service parts for a Shadow is in keeping with most modern hatchbacks, although the same can’t be said when it comes to fuel consumption. Not that one should buy a ‘Royce with concern for mere miles per gallon in mind!
After servicing the car, I patched the car’s knackered exhaust to stop it blowing. A full stainless exhaust is on the cards. I also sourced a full complement of matching walnut. My intention is to restore each part before replacing the damaged interior trim. My only other major purchase has been a set of Bilstein B6 heavy duty monotube sports dampers which should improve handling and stability (without sacrificing ride comfort) when compared to OEM parts. I’m also eyeing up uprated coil springs, an enlarged anti-roll bar kit and durable polyurethane bushes. Introcar’s sales team (and my credit card) are going to be kept very busy!
We’re now getting on for four years since I first laid eyes on the car. The list of
jobs which are ‘need to have’ is matching those which you might consider ‘nice to have’. In fact, I was so certain the car would struggle to pass its last MoT, I registered it SORN and left it motionless while I concentrated on my other automotive projects. Perhaps unsurprisingly, leaving the large barge impotent for so long has done it no good at all, which is why I will be documenting my adventures bringing the car back to life over the coming issues of Classics Monthly.
The first port of call will be independent Cambridgeshire-based Rolls- Royce and Bentley specialist, Daniel Moore & Co. (bit. ly/dmooreco). I’ll be delivering the car to the firm’s Whittlesey-based workshop for a health check and to determine what jobs – not to mention the associated parts – are required to get the ol’ bus into a state where it will comfortably pass an MoT test. I’m sure the list will be long! Once the diagnosis has been delivered, my intention is for work to begin in earnest, including essential repair and maintenance, all new fluids, replacement filters and restoration of the car’s hydraulic system in advance of less crucial tasks, such as cosmetic updates.
Despite the threat of these tasks, I’m pleased to be in charge of what until recently was a reliable ‘Royce which didn’t break the bank. Famous last words? Be sure to tune in to next month’s project progress report to find out, so watch this space!