| Author | Message | ||
     Mike Thompson Experienced User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 19 Registered: 4-2019 |
Hello, With a user name of VroomRR you might guess I like to step down on the pedal a bit and feel the G forces. You probably don't know if you are like me, that there are LS GM manufacturer engines, and small lock Chevy engines that can turn that slow mobile into smoke bellowing monster. Put those quiet Cadillac mufflers on there and it purrs like a kitten, until you push it to the floor. Then it roars and presses you into the seat like a F-16 fighter jet. You can buy these engines very cheap in used trucks with all the parts needed to zoom up your cars. Youtube is just full of examples how to do it. What to look for, and what parts to make sure you have. You don't have to wish you could get around grandma going so slow on a two lane highway and a mile of traffic behind her, You can hit the gas and be around her with safety to spare. Do some research on LS Swaps if you are tired of your slow mobile. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3199 Registered: 4-2003 |
Sorry Mike, This does not interest me at all - after all RRMC never disclosed the true power of their engines preferring the description "adequate". With rare exceptions, R-R/B vehicles are kept original by true enthusiasts both for monetary and preservation reasons. A "bastardised" car loses value extremely quickly and has limited resale appear when the owner inevitably tires of the vehicle and moves on to their next "victim". "A fool and his money are soon parted" as the old saying goes and the history of inappropriately modified RR/B vehicles suggests this is soundly based. As a confirmed "rev-head", I would get no satisfaction or reward from going down the road you suggest. . | ||
| Mike Thompson Experienced User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 20 Registered: 4-2019 |
Thanks for your opinion, but to try to get a $2500 1975 RR Silver Shadow back the way it was would cost more than they are worth (probably). The value at that price is only to say I own a rare item that was once a fine expensive automobile. The engine fires, little rust (Texas Car) a little paint still on it, and the interior is trash due to water/mold damage. We are talking about another level for you. This is not concourse nor will it ever be. So for you a slow mobile is just right, for me used to a Cadillac STS and CTS that I pass others at 120 to 140 MPH if I am tired of being behind them, 106 top speed is not me. I might as well buy a 1965 VW. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT4R3hyB1oM | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 382 Registered: 5-2016 |
Where is it legal to drive at 120 to 140 MPH. I want to keep a clean driving licence, it helps to reduce my insurance costs to a minimum. But whatever floats your boat. | ||
| Mike Thompson Experienced User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 25 Registered: 4-2019 |
Larry Unless you have driven in the USA (and Australia as well I'm sure) you probably have not experienced places where there are no police (at lease short distances) Part of the highway in Texas has a speed limit of 85 MPH so 90 is legal. I know one guy who would drive his bike to work at 190 mph everyday. As far as I know there are no places (outside of Germany) you can drive like that in Europe. I know a police officer who street races on the week ends. MAD MAX  . | ||
| michael vass Grand Master Username: mikebentleyturbo2 Post Number: 549 Registered: 7-2015 |
A turbo r will do 140 mph all day, the L series engine was roughly based on American engine anyway. Mike | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3201 Registered: 4-2003 |
Larry. I have done 150mph back in the 1980's on the Stuart Highway between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek in a Falcon XY fitted with a 351CID V8, auto transmission and 3.22:1 differential. Heaven in car capable of being driven at this speed. The best part was closing in on a NT police patrol car at 100mph and backing off as what would be the situation in NSW with our "Nanny State" absolute speed limits. My passenger immediately asked what I was doing and I said "There's a police car in front of us". Then came the answer from heaven "This is the Territory, we don't have speed limits. The cop will not do anything unless you are being stupid!" I passed the police car just over 100mph and with a long straight in front of me and no other traffic visible so down went the foot, up came the nose and the tacho ran up to 6000rpm where the hydraulic lifters "pumped up" and the car speed stabilised. Based on the ER70HR14 tyres fitted to the car and the differential ratio of 3.22:1, 6000rpm was a genuine 150mph. I will admit to a high-speed test of DRH14434 and it managed somewhere between 125 and 130mph as it was fitted with the UK high-compression [9:1] pre-emission control V8 engine and the Corniche 2.25inch single pipe exhaust system. I have always wondered what the outcome would have been if the car had been fitted with the later dual exhaust system with an integral balance pipe before the first set of mufflers. | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2817 Registered: 6-2009 |
I guess this (at least to some extent) is what separates Bentley enthusiasts from RR enthusiasts. I've never had "the need for (excessive) speed" even when I was younger, and I definitely don't have it now. It's not like I poke along, but the speed limits in most US states on interstate highways of 70 to 75 MPH is plenty, thanks. I've always loved luxury cars that are boulevardiers in their souls. They can go way more than fast enough when that's needed. Those who want their Bugatti Veyrons, Ferraris, Lambos, etc., can have 'em. They can't be driven to "their full potential" anywhere but a test track, at least not without both risk of an encounter with the law and putting others at what I consider to be unacceptable risk. The road is not all about you (any you). Brian, whose Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon has the LT1 engine in it, and has a lot more "get up and go" than most would ever suspect. It's not tuned to Corvette specs, though. | ||
| Mike Thompson Experienced User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 35 Registered: 4-2019 |
When I was 7 or 8 years old we lived on a big steep hill. And back then they had these thick metal toy cars, chain driven like a bike, with no brakes. We lived near the top. I was tootling down the road and the chain fell off and I had no shoes on. The toy car started to pick up speed and I tried to stop it but I had bare feet. Soon it was to fast to do anything but ride it out. I bet I got up to 30 or 40 mph before the bottom of the hill. Now part of me was very scared, the other thought, Let's Do It Again. In the end I think that is probably the one that won.  | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 388 Registered: 5-2016 |
When I was younger I enjoyed speed but now I'm probably past that excitement. What I love most in a car is getting the best possible fuel economy cruising at a speed where the engine is at it's quietest possible, I like it when the engine is barely audible and the clock on the dash can be heard ticking while I'm cruising at about 60 MPH. That's not to say that I'm a slow driver, it's just that I like to proceed and accelerate with the least possible strain on the engine, it doesn't mean that I don't take bends briskly. I don't hog the middle of the road and if anyone wants to pass I move over to give them room. Now and then I'll give the old girl the wellie when I meet a steep incline as I believe it helps to clean the plugs and clear some carbon. I think the Silver Shadow was designed to waft along gracefully but it will respond admirably when asked and the occasional brisk drive seems to do her good. I have a Porsche 944 S2 which is currently off the road but I've been known to take that up to 130 MPH on occasions when I think I'm unlikely to be pulled over, it handles really well at any speed and grips corners very reassuringly. It's difficult to resist flooring the pedal on the Porsche but the traffic police and speed cameras are very enthusiastic revenue collectors and licence endorsers in Ireland so I have to be wary. | ||
| Graham Hutton Experienced User Username: gph Post Number: 35 Registered: 1-2019 |
Speed is all relative, if you need to get somewhere quickly (emergency?) then great, a car capable of doing the required speed is important, if you want to race, there are places and times to do that. what i feel is important is the ability to use speed (reserve power) to get out of trouble when needed, otherwise i want a comfortable ride which is safe and enjoyable | ||
| Mike Thompson Experienced User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 39 Registered: 4-2019 |
David Gore "150mph on the Stuart Highway between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek" Can you still do that today, or have they taken all the fun out of the roads there as well? I would like to take a Cadillac STS-V (500 hp to the wheels stock from the factory) to its limit. | ||
| Mike Thompson Experienced User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 40 Registered: 4-2019 |
I forgot to add this, You all should see the movie: The World's Fastest Indian (2005) Anthony Hopkins New Zealander Burt Munro spent years perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle. The year is 1967, and Burt takes his machine to Utah's salt flats, where he attempts the impossible, using his dream bike to set a new world's record for speed. Based on a true story, the record Munro set more than three decades ago still has not been broken to this day | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3204 Registered: 4-2003 |
Mike, The sections of the Stuart Highway most travelled by self-drive overseas visitors are now subject to absolute speed limits due to very high accident rates as they are not experienced in driving at 100km/hr[60mph] speeds in their home countries north of Australia. There were some unrestricted sections of the major highways in the more remote areas until a change of Government in 2016 saw the implementation of absolute speed limits to a maximum of 130km/hr [82mph]: https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/a-brief-history-of-open-speed-limits-in-australia I suspect we will have to wait for another change in the NT Government for a return to unrestricted highway speeds. There is a major problem with "highway hypnosis" induced by the monotony of the vast distances between towns in the Territory and the current speed limits IMHO.  . | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3205 Registered: 4-2003 |
Forgot to add: The initial catalyst for imposing speed limits in the NT was the infamous crash of a Ferrari F40 in the 1994 "Cannonball Run": https://www.deseretnews.com/article/354912/FIERY-CRASH-LEAVES-4-DEAD-IN-AUSTRALIAS-CANNONBALL-RUN.html This is what was left of the car after the accident:  Before this occurred, there had been an increasing number of accidents involving Japanese and other tourists crashing rental cars on the road between Uluru [Ayers Rock] and Alice Springs by not turning early enough at the speeds they were travelling when going through curves. This was the first road in the NT to have speed limits imposed entirely due to this record. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3208 Registered: 4-2003 |
Also worth a repeat showing: NSW Police Random Breath Test Stop on the Hay Plain near Booligal NSW - this was when all highway police were required to spend a designated period each day doing roadside breath tests........  One to show the bureaucrats how stupid some orders can be. | ||
| Mike Thompson Experienced User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 45 Registered: 4-2019 |
David Gore Please tell me that, that dirt road is not what they consider a highway down under? I wouldn't go more than 50 mph on that. (Well maybe faster in my truck.) Sad to hear a few screwed it for the many. For the Ferrari F40 probably that white car had a Japanese in it going 70 mph scared poopless.  | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3209 Registered: 4-2003 |
Mike, No - the white car belonged to one of the checkpoint oficials. I cannot remember if he was one of the two officials killed or a survivor. The road in the photo is a main road that originally had insufficent traffic to be classified as a highway. The road is classified as an "all weather" road being a centre lane of gravel with dirt verges; in dry conditions, cars will travel on the verges where the cop 4WD is parked because it is smoother and you can travel faster. The gravel centre is for use after rain as the verges turn to mud and traction is impossible, the "sticky" mud is so tenacious that it packs under the mudguards and it doesn't take long for the accumulation to build up and stop the front wheels from turning left or right. Then it is out with the collapsible trenching shovel you carry in the boot/trunk for digging out the mud so you can travel a kilometre or two and then repeat the process. You might ask how do I know this? From actual experience in 1960 when we lived in a town called Hillston in far-west NSW which was my father's first appointment as a bank manager. Booligal was a very small village on the Lachlan River half-way between Hillston and Hay which comprised a classic country pub, a few houses and not much else. The road pictured was the section between Booligal and Ivanhoe which has since been upgraded to be part of a tourist road called the Cobb Highway which originally was used by the Cobb & Co horse-drawn coaches which were the only form of public transport in the early days. The Cobb brothers came to Australia from the USA and established their iconic stage coach services in outback Victoria, NSW and Queensland: http://www.thelongpaddock.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Long_Paddock_Brochure.pdf P.S. In dry weather after the Council grader had been through, speeds in excess of 80mph were possible until wheel ruts were created then you had to slow down or lose your teeth fillings from vibration caused by the ruts. | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 55 Registered: 4-2019 |
David Gore You know I considered myself a bit of a crazy driver. I think you guys down there have me beat. No wonder Mad Max came from down there. | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3212 Registered: 4-2003 |
Mike, We wrote the book - line, chapter and verse  . | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1340 Registered: 2-2013 |
Mike my Cadillac will easily crank 100 mph plus on a nice road like that and the copper would not catch me in that rice beater. Nor would he be able to read the number plate because of the dust. What will pull you up is A: Wombat that will tear a front wheel with suspension clean off, B: Kangaroo that can enter through windshield and break your neck and C: Echidna that will destroy entire front tyre. Apart from that thousands of European backpackers and bikinis! | ||
| Mark Luft Prolific User Username: bentleyman1993 Post Number: 248 Registered: 10-2016 |
Mike Enjoy your car. Whatever you decide to do to it, enjoy your car. For the rest, I realize what Mike wants to do to his SS is a bit non conformist. Sacrilege, destroying a Rolls Royce. True to a point, let's remember that at least an enthusiast is trying to keep another old Roller on the road. Resale? doubt it. Does it matter? NO. I say we support Mike and encourage him to complete his dream of having a fast assed Rolls Royce. May not be to our tastes, but Motor on Brother! | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 392 Registered: 5-2016 |
True Mark, this RR might otherwise have ended up in a scrapyard. | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 63 Registered: 4-2019 |
Mark Luft Thank you for your kind words. Maybe I should say where this car would be if I did not buy it that day. A mechanic at that shop said he was going to buy it, and take every part off of it and sell it on ebay. Of course he would make more money off this car that way then probably I ever will. This is one of those cars that the scrap dealers say it is non-repairable. Because the cost to repair it is more than the value of this vehicle. At this time the only value of this car is its parts. But if you have seen my video on my 1964 Chrysler Imperial Crown I do save these old junkers. (See my profile.) Are they like they were on the show room floor, no, I can't afford that. Are they back on the road yes. Car saved, they can take it the rest of the way (if they wish). | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 72 Registered: 4-2019 |
The bad pictures of this SS-RR.  | ||
| Steve Emmott Prolific User Username: steve_e Post Number: 213 Registered: 11-2018 |
Mike.....you even have the chrome cigarette lighter.....now that's rare... usually its the first souvenir to get pinched.  | ||
| Mike Thompson Frequent User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 94 Registered: 4-2019 |
Well they didn't get the chrome cigarette lighter but they did get the nice chrome horn button. As you can see below. I thought it was just some cheap aftermarket steering wheel and that the horn button fell off or something. I was looking for a replacement and saw it. I went to the site and it is a Nardi $1350. I about made a messy in my pants. The horn button alone cost $350. So as you can see I made one for now, out of a convex mirror (for a truck). and painted the RR on there. And will glue it to the horn button. https://wood-steering-wheels.com/130-rolls-royce-steering-wheel/  | ||
| Glen Poolen Prolific User Username: wgipps Post Number: 159 Registered: 3-2018 |
The Nardi looks nice though.  | ||
| Mike Thompson Prolific User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 108 Registered: 4-2019 |
Yours is a bit different, how did you get that cushion upper dash board off? | ||
| Glen Poolen Prolific User Username: wgipps Post Number: 160 Registered: 3-2018 |
the large dash roll? | ||
| Steve Emmott Prolific User Username: steve_e Post Number: 225 Registered: 11-2018 |
Mike if you mean the front top dash roll there are some bolts along the top/front which are easily seen and two hidden nuts that you have to get at from inside the glovebox. Those two are a bit awkward. Then there are two either side in the footwell at the lower corner | ||
| Mike Thompson Prolific User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 111 Registered: 4-2019 |
"large dash roll" Don't say that around cops in the USA you'll have a stampede to the local donut shop. (Just kidding.) Well taking that off is not a priority at this time, but nice to know the basics. Do you know how the front seats come off? | ||
| Robert J. Sprauer Prolific User Username: wraithman Post Number: 243 Registered: 11-2017 |
The seats squabs pull up and are interchangeable from L to R. The seats are secured with a allen bolt in each corner and you must slide the track to gain access. | ||
| Mike Thompson Prolific User Username: vroomrr Post Number: 113 Registered: 4-2019 |
Slide the track, sounds scary in this car, the electrics are a bit wonky and the fuel pump the guy put on is loud and squirts everywhere at the moment. I'm putting in a cut off switch today. I doubt you have experience with a RR so poorly maintained, but the fuel tank worries me. On my 1964 Imperial, the gas turned to varnish and a white film of oxidation reaction was on the tank, that when I tried to start the car the first time then dried in the ports and I had to rebuild the carburetor. Any thoughts on that. Thanks a lot again. |
