| Author | Message | ||
     Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 16 Registered: 1-2017 |
Well at 70 + years old I should know better, it's not my first one and have had to do a lot of work on some of them. So an add appeared for a 1988 Spirit with 65,000 miles beige ( goldfish) with a vynal roof, it looks great,the price was good, I spoke to the guy who was selling it for his mother in law her husbands pride & joy for 5 years which he bought from Ghost Motors. He sent me a copy of all MOT's from 1992, all service receipts from day 1, 45 stamps last service July 18 at 36,000 SO I TOOK A CHANCE I paid for it without going to see it, I am in Ireland and it is in Scotland, I am getting it picked up by a small 1 car transporter on Friday. I joined this site in 2014 and have read and watched a lot of articles on Spirits and my conclusion on what I read is that the 1988 Spirit with Injection & ABS without active suspensions was the best one to buy with the 2.69 diff (31 mph @ 1000 rpm) so that is what I bought. I am waiting in hopeful anticipation with all fingers crossed. I got a guy in Irelant to collect it and deliver it to Wicklow Ireland for 650€. He is taking a car from Ireland to UK and is collecting my car for a return job. I will be looking for help soon. Richard Tracey gave me great help when I changed a differential from a 3.08 to a 2.28 in a Bentley Eight - it made it a spectacular car doing 22 mpg, I put up 10,000 miles on it as a daily driver in a little over a year. I had it on LPG and it did around 16/17 on LPG. . | ||
| Steve Emmott Frequent User Username: steve_e Post Number: 95 Registered: 11-2018 |
Mmmmm....is that July 2018 @ 36,000 as that is some mileage to 65000 in just over 8 months. Did you have lots of pictures to view before you made your decision........hope as they say you have the 'luck of the Irish' (another one for David G to tell us where that saying came from). All the best | ||
| Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 17 Registered: 1-2017 |
No Steve it is 13/05/88 uk rege417 gnl JCH 24027 the owner duel last summer .all the MOT's match up to the miles on the clock | ||
| David Gore Moderator Username: david_gore Post Number: 3171 Registered: 4-2003 |
For Steve, "The luck of the Irish" It appears this phrase originated in the USA during the California Gold Rush according to Edward T. O'Donnell, an Associate Professor of History at Holy Cross College and author of "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Irish American History." "During the gold and silver rush years in the second half of the 19th century, a number of the most famous and successful miners were of Irish and Irish American birth....Over time this association of the Irish with mining fortunes led to the expression 'luck of the Irish.' Of course, it carried with it a certain tone of derision, as if to say, only by sheer luck, as opposed to brains, could these fools succeed." . | ||
| Steve Emmott Frequent User Username: steve_e Post Number: 96 Registered: 11-2018 |
Thanks David you are mind of useful information. Kevin certainly the MOT check history looks good and just the odd mistake on one where they put 80k miles instead of 60k but you can see that is just a typo. One past fail on a worn tyre and one later one shows an advisory on front brake pipe corrosion but as it then disappears even that may have been sorted. I assume you at least also checked this Gov.UK service before buying. Certainly appears a sound car at least from MOT history. | ||
| Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 18 Registered: 1-2017 |
Yes there is a note on his file showing this error and a reply from rhe test centre stating that an error was made by them. The car is due in the next few days depending on weather so we shall see if I am lucky or an old Irish fool??? | ||
| Brian Vogel Grand Master Username: guyslp Post Number: 2783 Registered: 6-2009 |
Even if you're not lucky, you've been around the RR maintenance and repair block way more times than a great many people have, and you seem to enjoy those trips. Unless the car were to be a complete basket case, and there's nothing that really suggests it should be, you'll probably have a grand old time with it. Post a few pictures once it arrives. Brian | ||
| Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 19 Registered: 1-2017 |
Thanks Brian,I did apreciate the help I got,I just love these cars and I am happy to get them fixed up and enjoy them for a while ,I had a 78 wrath,84 B 8,a 84 Spirit ,86 Turbo R and now the 88 spirit.and I hope get another couple of them saved from the dismantlers in the future.There are not a lot of them in Ireland and no agents and no Rolls mechanics at all in the country. Kevin | ||
| Vladimir Ivanovich Kirillov Grand Master Username: soviet Post Number: 1331 Registered: 2-2013 |
Kevin how many RR/B up to mid 80s in Eire? I may immigrate. | ||
| Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 24 Registered: 1-2017 |
I don't know Shadow 11 might have an idea,the agent Huet Motors closed in about 1990 and was not replaced,.I just bought a 1988 RR Spirit with a hull history last service mid 2018 and that will be the last stamp as I will have to do the work on it Kevin | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 372 Registered: 5-2016 |
No idea Vlad and there are no available stats. All I can confirm is that they are few and far between. I've seen probably no more than 6 Silver Shadows on our roads within the past 10 years and even less Silver Spirits and a couple of Bentleys. They are so rare that they attract a lot of attention when they appear. I suspect that there are a lot more of them in scrap yards and locked up in garages than there are still driving. RRs & Bs are even rare at classic car events in Ireland. | ||
| Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 25 Registered: 1-2017 |
I have imported 4& sold 3,there is a lad Jim Kenny has 2, there are 3 others on this site + Larry & me there is 1 in Kerry and 4 for sale in Ireland. = 16 | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 374 Registered: 5-2016 |
I know of 3 more Silver Shadows not on Kevin's list, one which is rusting away in a garden and probably going to be broken up for parts (only 27K miles on the clock) and 2 others in storage at a Mercedes-Benz dealer's garage. | ||
| Graham Hutton Experienced User Username: gph Post Number: 31 Registered: 1-2019 |
How could anyone let a Shadow rust in a garden? crikey, even a few hundred to take it away would be better :-( | ||
| h_kelly Prolific User Username: h_kelly Post Number: 277 Registered: 3-2012 |
Larry, I'd reckon we must have at least a couple hundred Shadows here in the Republic. Saw a fab 2 tone last week near the N3.A Hungarian guy( who bought a set of seats off me), has 3 he hopes to restore, likewise a Polish chap has 3, I can recall several guys from around the Leinster region, (who called me when selling the Shadow 1) whom already had a Silver Shadow. Having said all that,a rear sight to behold,seeing a Silver Shadow on the roads here. Kevin, did Jim Kenny do Wedding car hire years ago, I bought a Mercedes w115 limo of a Jim Kenny years ago (20+years) when I was a young fella. | ||
| Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 26 Registered: 1-2017 |
Up-date (I did this earlier but it got lost) The car arrived on 17/03 I started work at the front and worked back,Removed grill and polished it,replaced all bulbs with new ones ( I had them)cleaned,oiled and checked the engine compartment Removed door cards and cappings and sanded down the capping tops and clear lacquered them,cleaned all wire contacts & fitted new earth wires to Windows cleaned the leather and oiled & fed it 12 times,cleaned the rugs,T-cut & waxed the car,removed the number plate and sprayed the black section Sand to match the car.Everything works as it should.it drives great,new tyres,good battery.There are a couple of surface spots which I will get done properly. The bad points There are a few spots under the everflex roof that feel like rust or paint lifting but I can live with that. It's the best one I have had yet with under 65,000 miles,it was purchased from Ghost Motors nearly 5 years ago by the last owner | ||
| Kevin Deasy Experienced User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 27 Registered: 1-2017 |
There is a retired auctioneer Jim Fitzgerald who lives in Athgoe,told me he has 2 Shadows lying in a field when they stopped working,1 he said was blocking a gap in his hedge He made me an offer for my 84 spirit which I refused ,I sold it for 1000€ less later on. I didn't want my car scrapped in a few years, They are so cheap to buy,my 161D mercE220 is depreciating at 100€ a week,my rolls is not depreciating . The Mercedes tax & ins is 900€ the Rolls is 260€ 10000 miles in the merc a year @(50 mpg) = 7200€ + service 10000 miles in the rolls a year(@16.5 mpg).= 3860€ + service | ||
| Steve Emmott Prolific User Username: steve_e Post Number: 181 Registered: 11-2018 |
Larry, what you see on a Shadow speedo is not necessarily TRUE mileage due to lack of 100k character. My car shows only 23,000 miles and you would look at the car and indeed think it was genuine mileage for the cars condition. However it has actually covered 123,000 miles and not a spot of rust or panels been changed. | ||
| Jeff Young Grand Master Username: jeyjey Post Number: 402 Registered: 10-2010 |
Sounds like a great buy, Kevin. Anyone know if my '79 Regal Red T2 stayed in Ireland? | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 375 Registered: 5-2016 |
Steve, The Silver Shadow that's rotting in a garden has a genuine 27,000 miles on it. It was driving well before being parked a few years ago but now the body is rusting and the interior has started to rot due to dampness. It's a long story - unhappy differences between the car owner and his missus so he moved out and left the car behind -. I saw the car about 3 years ago and it was probably just about restorable then. I met the owner at a local engineering shop recently and asked him if he had done anything with it but he says that at this stage he'll probably sell the parts. I reckon that the engine & gearbox should be very good after recommissioning. My own Silver Shadow has only 68,000 miles on the clock and it's a genuine reading according to service records, I've had it for 10 years and covered only 25,000 in that time. | ||
| Steve Emmott Prolific User Username: steve_e Post Number: 183 Registered: 11-2018 |
Larry, then that really is a shame to see an engine that can only just be about 'run in' go to waste. I hope someone one day makes good use of it. | ||
| Larry Kavanagh Grand Master Username: shadow_11 Post Number: 376 Registered: 5-2016 |
I agree Steve, it is a shame. I think I'll get proactive and have another chat with the owner and encourage him to advertise parts for sale. He's busy and preoccupied with other work while running a business. |
