1984 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit 6.75 412 cf V8 from North America

Summary:

Winning

Faults:

I have had the pleasure of owning this vehicle for 3 years now. This is what I have done to the car.

AC compressor and lines.

Rebuilt all the brake calipers, as all of them leaked mineral oil.

New brake pads all around the car, as well as new brake lines.

Trans service.

New rubber mounts that hook up to the A-frame; I think they call them appliance mounts.

Exhaust manifold gaskets.

Passenger side air rail.

Fuel accumulator.

Rack and pinion.

Valve cover gaskets.

Plugs, wires, and oil.

New cruise control bellows.

Tires.

Battery.

All new vacuum lines and ventilation hoses; someone put a metal plug with a small hole drilled through it inside one of my ventilation hoses. I found out about it when I was replacing the ventilation lines. Goes to show you can't trust people.

New air filter, fuel filter, O2 sensor, belts, and thermostat.

Had the radiator rotted out.

New upper and lower radiator hoses.

New AC condenser fan switch.

New AC condenser fan.

New smog pump, alternator, all new rubber hoses throughout the car.

New emergency brake cable, 2 new door lock accouters, cap and rotor.

I'm sure I have replaced more parts than that. Like windshield wiper blades and ext.

General Comments:

Nice car, rides great, reliable if you've got tons of cash to keep it up, but all older luxury cars are that way. Put about $11,000 into it just keeping it up these 3 years. Something to consider before purchasing one.

This car ran and looked great when I bought it with a clean interior. I've put 11 thousand miles on it. The repair cost is over $1.00 a mile. LOL, and that's before the 7 to 10 miles per gallon driving it. That is why many older Rolls Royce cars are junk, people fail to maintain them, and in time it cost over $50,000 to restore.

I watched my uncle vest $25,000 restoring a 1983 Mercedes 380 SL. That was without restoring the interior. The engine blew, he sold the car for $3,000. Got to love it.

I wanted to drive the best. So I pay the price, I drive it every day. I do have 3 other vehicles so I do not drive it excessively, and the day will most likely come when I will divorce the car, but for now she treats me alright. You only live once, drive what you like.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st October, 2011

29th Jun 2013, 16:53

Great review mate. Spot on and very realistic of the ownership experience that comes with this sort of car.

I like that you drive it often because you are making the most of your investment. Keep up the good work!

1984 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit 400 turbo from North America

Summary:

Adventure

Faults:

This is pretty much everything I have done to the car:

A/C condenser fan switch, exhaust manifold gasket, doughnut gasket, smog pump air tube, brake lines, front brake caliper seals, and pads were replaced, oil pan gasket, valve cover gaskets, fixed the horn, hood light tires, A/C recharge, new condenser fan, window motor switch, alternator, smog pump, automatic door lock actuators, spark plugs, O2 sensor, belts, and hoses, cruise control, bad OEM jack, transmission service, outside window weather stripping on the front doors was bad, radiator cap, emergency brake, windshield wipers, oil changes.

General Comments:

Overall, I really cannot complain. The car is 26 years old, I have found it takes a couple thousand a year to maintain one of these cars; that is less than average depreciation on a newer car.

What sucks is finding affordable parts. For example, my new alternator was going to cost me $600.00 through a Rolls dealer. I took my old alternator to Myers Auto Parts here in Las Vegas NV; they were able to cross reference the part to an old Chevrolet, and were able to get it for me $62.00, and it is exactly the same, worked out great.

No auto parts store in town has Rolls Royce in the computer; every part has to be cross referenced, or special ordered, or eBay, or partstrain.com. Myers was really helpful, with my smog pump, Myers was able to find the pump, but it was slightly different and would not work. I bought one from eBay, got it home, did not fit; bought another one on eBay, and it fit. Took almost two months to fix a smog pump.

The transmission is the same as in the old Chevrolet's. Most parts are GM. Some things are no problem. Other things can be a nightmare to find, at least at an affordable price. The problem is when something goes bad, it can take a month or two just to get the part.

These cars do not like to sit; you have to run and drive them, I let mine sit for a month or two, waiting for my smog pump to show up on eBay. I put the pump in, started the car, and the engine sounded really bad for almost a minute before quieting down.

The seals also go bad from sitting. I would never buy an old car with super stupid low mileage, These cars can leak like no other, and are very labor intensive to work on.

I have done all work myself, and I can honestly say these cars are like no other. The brake system uses the mineral oil. The mineral oil is very toxic, and over years, eats up all rubber it touches. Including the brake lines. So little by little, I have replaced most of the brake system lines.

The car burns oil? Smokes when first started, possibly the valve guide seals? I go through about 1.5 quarts a month on everyday driving.

The rack and pinion steering has a slow leak, and the accumulator pumps will need replacement in the near future.

Overall a good car. I have owned many cars that had much more wrong for the year. These cars are quality built, and you have to be careful.

These cars are super quiet, and I have almost fell asleep a couple times driving at night, simply because sitting in the car is like sitting in a sofa; it's too damn cozy, quiet, and comfortable for me on long trips at night.

I love the wood, leather, smell, charm, and lambskin mats. The ride is amazing, like floating on the road. My favorite thing about the car is driving down the road, looking at the spirit of ecstasy (the hood ornament).

Gas mileage sucks. Gets 7 to 10 miles per gallon.

These cars are actually under powered in my opinion. For the $100,000 price tag, you would think they would be much faster; it will do 140 mph, just don't expect to get there fast.

My knuckles hit the shifter when the shifter is in the reverse position. Have to be careful.

Driver's sun visor hits the rear view mirror in a certain position.

Gas pedal is really close to the brake, have to be careful; I drive the car with no shoes, so I can feel the pedals.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th October, 2010

12th Jan 2011, 14:51

Thank you very much. I have an '84 Silver Spur. Just paid $600 for an alternator. Everything you wrote about these low mileage older cars is true.

6th Sep 2011, 17:29

I really appreciated reading the review, as is full of valuable personal experience.