Long Wheelbase Classic Rolls-Royce Restoration Project

Description for Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit/Spur/Dawn 1985

Unlike many of the other sellers here on eBay, I wanted to give some honest information about this car. It is my belief that many of the people who are selling these cars are selling them because they know the truth... they are cars that are in need of constant mechanical attention that goes way beyond the scope of most expert mechanics, never mind people who might call themselves British car enthusiasts, or even admirers. For this reason, I will not even consider selling this car to someone who is not either a dealer or a seasoned mechanic.
I will give some history on the car. I bought my car from a little old Indian lady named Lalita from California, sight unseen. I took her word on the history of the car, as well as the mechanical condition of the car, and she said it was her husband's car and he passed away. For the most part, she said she didn't know much about the history of the car, but it runs and drives well, and needs a few things. It was left unused for a few years and sat outside she said, but most of all the damage to the interior was fixable and was from sitting in the California sun.
In retrospect, now that I have come to my senses I have realized that people will bend the truth when trying to sell these cars, possibly more than any other car I have seen. I do not want to be one of those people. But, when it came to wanting one of these cars, I fear at first I was. And I don't want other people to suffer because of a seller misrepresenting what these cars actually are so I am going to attempt to get across what my experience was, so others may be warned.
Parts for a Rolls Royce are always expensive but "Can you find them?" is the question. Let's put it this way... even if you are a decent mechanic you will run into some huge and seemingly insurmountable problems if you are trying to keep a car like this 100% original as it was from the factory... it's virtually impossible. Many of the parts are either unreasonably expensive, or simply don't exist anymore in working capacity. Do not believe the people that specialize in these cars... they make a living by restoring these cars and they charge accordingly. You have to wonder if you have $40,000 to $50,000 to spend on a perfect specimen, would you choose this car?
This particular car right now has a fuel system issue that I am in the middle of sorting out. It will be sorted out and the car will be running 100% perfectly by the time a buyer would take possession of the car. Originally, the car would not start twice... this means once it warmed up, the car would need to cool down again before it would start. It was not overheating either.
This turned out to be an injector issue... and the car needs new injectors and a rebuilt fuel distributor... and the kicker is this... unless they have been run on only non-ethanol gas since 1985, they ALL NEED NEW BOSCH INJECTORS and A REBUILT BOSCH K JETRONIC FUEL DISTRIBUTOR. But let's get real about what's involved in that... there are no shortcuts to new injectors. It took me 24 hours of labor to get the fuel system dismantled and successfully remove all the injectors. I am still in the process of the rebuild so stay posted. Another thing that annoys me are these classic car dealers that use fancy white backgrounds and silly plates to increase the prestige factor of these cars. My car has 25,000 original miles, and when I tore out the carpets to have them redone I found hints of rust starting underneath the floor. The entire interior is being removed and I am in the process of Rhino Coating the floor inside the car... for both sound dampening and rust prevention.
The fuel injectors are blocked from access on the passenger side of the car and getting to them is the biggest issue... no shortcuts. By the time you get the entire EGR system removed, and move the air induction system out of the way, then move the fuel lines out of the way, remove the fuel distributor, and then finally get to the injectors, you will be deep in a pile of infinitely complex parts and a ton of MM sized bolts. I dare say, only the most determined of mechanics will be able to put this mess back together. I am still working on that so I will get back to you.
One of the things I hate these days is that the majority of people buying these cars are first time Rolls buyers, and feel like they are joining an exclusive club. While this may be true, the reality will set in when you realize the heat and A/C usually don't work and can't be maintained realistically because the electronics were never bullet proof and short of installing a Vintage Air system, you will probably be out of luck
Also, the transmission, while a GM 400 and known for reliability, is not without it's own issues because the shift gate is servo controlled and completely electronic, which means 99.9% of transmission mechanics have never worked on one. Thankfully the transmission on my car is 100% perfect, but I will be removing it and having it rebuilt soon.
In the area of suspention, it is a wonderful feeling system.... when it works. It is a contained gas/mineral oil Girling system with hydraulic lines spread in every direction along and underneath and around the underside of the car... which given any leak in the system renders the car inoperable. It's either 100% perfect, or nothing. Keep that in mind.
A more realistic listing for one of these cars would say:
Suspension: Hoping and Hopeful!
Fuel Injection System: Needs rebuilding 100% top to bottom
Fuel: Ethanol Free Only NO EXCEPTION and there is no way to adapt a car like this to Ethanol because no one ever anticipated Corn Syrup fuel in 1985
Seat motors: Probably don't work... care to ruin the leather to fix them?
Wipers: Won't work for sure
Horn: Probably not unless you are lucky
Electrical Problems: Guaranteed because these cars have multiple grounding points... everywhere.
Required Maintenance: You better be an 9.5/10 or higher level mechanic to own one of these... no one services these for reasonable prices anymore. They are a mechanics car only. Even Jay Leno only owns 1 and his is a Bentley Turbo R. They are the mechanical mess you graduate to only after a lifetime of wrenching. Guaranteed. I just hope that the honesty in this listing helps someone understand what they are really getting into with a purchase of one of these cars... and what these cars are in TRUTH rather than FICTION. See you out on the road... someday my friends.
My reserve price reflects the value of the car after the restoration is complete.