ROLLER BOY

HOW ABOUT A BIG BRIT IN THE SHED?

THIS MIGHT be one of those mags that has to be hidden from my partner, the usually patient Ms M snr, as I reckon the whole idea could be enough to send even her into a tailspin.

Now this may have escaped your attention, but while (it seems) most of the population has been out there spending the kids’ inheritance on locally-built Fords, Holdens and Chryslers, thus jacking up the prices to stratospheric levels, there is a whole other way to blow your money on a big boofy car with a giant V8 in the snout.

I present you, ladies and gentlemen, with the product of a little British firm you may have heard of: Rolls-Royce. Started circa 1904 in Manchester (an area at the time betterknown for its bed linen) it developed a reputation for building particularly well-screwed-together (and hideously expensive) cars. And aero engines.

Now the chances of muggins ever affording a new Roller are similar to those of kicking off a successful rock ’n’ roll career. However the things are readily available second-hand for roughly the price of a basic Kingswood.

In fact they seem to keep popping up out of the woodwork at a rate that defies logical explanation. Who knew there were so many hidden away in sheds around the county?

Exhibit A is ahown here: lot 97 at a recent Shannons auction, and one of a mini f leet of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys on offer. The auction was still going as I write this, so we don’t have a sale price. But the estimate was $15-20,000 and a quick check of our classifieds revealed that a $30k budget would give you a huge choice of motors with the Sprit of Ecstasy bolted to it.

Yeah, I’m sure there will be traps for young players. However the mechanical report on this example was pretty good. Apparently it had been treated to a heap of resto work in the 1990s and currently had a few issues to be sorted out. Nothing too worrying.

Okay it has R-R stamped in the top of the radiator, which implies big parts and maintenance bills. But the other way to look at it is, it’s just a car and by current standards not a particularly complex one.

So, how am I doing so far in justif ying this? Maybe I should check out the interior, as I could end up sleeping in it...