A TCL First? '67 Rolls Royce project thread...

[Traldan]

And do us all a favor, when you get her up and running (worth it if you are going to keep the car) don't put the F@cking Grey Poupon in the console. Or the stupid Chauffeur's cap. That's just seriously un-clever. And don't rent it out for weddings, that's trite. Just drive it, it's an experience like no other car in the world.

Great project! Good luck.

[ValveCoverGasket]

thanks, and im looking forward to posting some good news and shots of this thing outside and moving under its own power

[ValveCoverGasket]

quick update, been a couple months since weve done anything on this as weve been trying to track down transmissions... finally sourced a complete unit from what we were told was a running/driving car last week, its at the transmission shop now getting a once over. along the way weve managed to pick up another spare semi-complete 4spd for parts later (bringing our grand total up to 3 4spd RR transmissions... that has to be a record ).

hope to have some progress made within the next month or so after all of the transmissions come back from the shop

then its onto refinishing the wood, cleaning things up under the hood, and likely swapping on some reproduction early bumpers to make it look period correct again, should have it looking something like this after the bumper swap:

[HaterSlayer]

Gorgeous

[htownkid]

Needs:

[duke of chucchinchilla]

Such a great project. How much have you invested in the car thus far? Also any new pics would be sweet.

[KahviVW]

Incredible! TCL needs more projects like this.

[eunos94]

572 + coilovers + Driving lamps = WIN!!!

[ValveCoverGasket]

Such a great project. How much have you invested in the car thus far? Also any new pics would be sweet.

no modern v8 swaps...

original 60s shadows are getting hard to find, and swapping over the brake system to something non-rolls is much more trouble than id like to go through. would be a bit more tempting perhaps if the entire brake/suspension system wasnt tied into the engine, but

as for what weve spent so far...
we got the car for around $6000, havent bought anything yet as weve been waiting to hunt down a good trans before going any further. aside from ~$100 for an RROC membership and another $50 or so for factory service manuals and a RR Shadow enthusiasts handbook. i have a laundry list of new/used parts i need to hunt down but were likely targeting bumpers first as the big ticket items early on, and some cleanup parts under the hood. stuff like refinishing the wood and treating the leather, repainting under the hood and whatnot are all free, just time consuming.

no new shots yet, as its just been sitting in about the same state as what the first page showed.
ill take some more new pictures when i go to pick up the transmissions

[I once had a jetta]

Viton is $$$ and you would need to ensure it's actually compatible with the fluid.

Kalrez might be an option here but again, $$$.

Have you seen the price for Kalrez?

http://www.mcmaster.com/#kalrez-o-rings/=ayk7vc

1/16 x 2" dia = $105 - more than gold by weight

[tip]

beautiful

[duke of chucchinchilla]

no modern v8 swaps...

original 60s shadows are getting hard to find, and swapping over the brake system to something non-rolls is much more trouble than id like to go through. would be a bit more tempting perhaps if the entire brake/suspension system wasnt tied into the engine, but

as for what weve spent so far...
we got the car for around $6000, havent bought anything yet as weve been waiting to hunt down a good trans before going any further. aside from ~$100 for an RROC membership and another $50 or so for factory service manuals and a RR Shadow enthusiasts handbook. i have a laundry list of new/used parts i need to hunt down but were likely targeting bumpers first as the big ticket items early on, and some cleanup parts under the hood. stuff like refinishing the wood and treating the leather, repainting under the hood and whatnot are all free, just time consuming.

no new shots yet, as its just been sitting in about the same state as what the first page showed.
ill take some more new pictures when i go to pick up the transmissions

Thanks for the update! I'm glad you're approaching this with the RIGHT attitude. Shoving in an American V8 would ruin it and it totally misses the point of this car. Considering the purchase price, this is a totally doable project that'll have stunning results. I agree though, get the proper bumpers!

[ValveCoverGasket]

thanks for the vote of confidence

we went to check it out on a bit of a whim, and wanted something to mix up our usual slew of european econobox projects. i think its succeeded in opening the eyes of everyone involved to an entirely different car community/culture, which i think was partially the goal.
and i think trying to keep this thing as true to original as possible (visually anyway) was always part of the plan.

[ValveCoverGasket]

heres a couple more shots i found... the front seat looks a lot worse in the photo, and the finish on the wood generally seems to look better than in real life

[1.8TRabbit]

[ValveCoverGasket]

[geofftii2002]

Beautiful car. The chrome bumper Shadow/T-Series are really quite handsome once you step back from working on them and take a good gander...

Hey wait a minute... I SEE MUSTARD!!! DAMN YOU!!!!

[duke of chucchinchilla]

thanks for the vote of confidence

we went to check it out on a bit of a whim, and wanted something to mix up our usual slew of european econobox projects. i think its succeeded in opening the eyes of everyone involved to an entirely different car community/culture, which i think was partially the goal.
and i think trying to keep this thing as true to original as possible (visually anyway) was always part of the plan.

I love older luxury cars that used to cost a fortune but are now deliciously affordable. When you don't have to worry about the buy in price, you can start to appreciate the car for what it is.

Oh and the leather looks good, just needs to be redyed/sprayed.

[rpmk4]

i really like this car in that color. not flashy but not silver, white, gray, black.

[ValveCoverGasket]

Beautiful car. The chrome bumper Shadow/T-Series are really quite handsome once you step back from working on them and take a good gander...

Hey wait a minute... I SEE MUSTARD!!! DAMN YOU!!!!

ive been too lazy/forgetful to take it out of there.

dont judge me!!!

[Dravenport]

looks like it was kept in really good shape!

[Zman86]

Love it! I've always wanted an old RR to tinker with, and they are just beautiful cars to sit and stare at.

[Der Audidude]

ive been too lazy/forgetful to take it out of there.

dont judge me!!!

Bahahaha!

That's rad.

[Chapel]

I thought these were just Turbo Hydramatics

[naiku]

Great project, these people may be able to help with sourcing parts, they usually have at least 10-15 RR's parked outside their shop... http://www.moyermotorcars.com/

[ValveCoverGasket]

I thought these were just Turbo Hydramatics

after '65 in the US, and after '67 everywhere else, they used the GM turbo transmissions... up until sometime in the 80s if memory serves. these were all 3spds, and theyre definitely the one to get.
otherwise they used a RR 4spd licensed from GM, but made by RR, thats the one weve got. it resembles an old GM hydra used in the 50s, but this one is a 4spd. the transmissions are rare, the parts are even more rare, and theyre relatively fragile.

we could have been back on the road for a couple hundred bucks if this were the GM turbo trans

[geofftii2002]

I thought these were just Turbo Hydramatics

They're basically a hydro but they use a lot of RR specific internal parts. A lot of items that are cast or stamped in the "regular" GM unit, are precision machined in a RR unit. Those boys in Crewe didn't mess around.

[Chapel]

after '65 in the US, and after '67 everywhere else, they used the GM turbo transmissions... up until sometime in the 80s if memory serves. these were all 3spds, and theyre definitely the one to get.
otherwise they used a RR 4spd licensed from GM, but made by RR, thats the one weve got. it resembles an old GM hydra used in the 50s, but this one is a 4spd. the transmissions are rare, the parts are even more rare, and theyre relatively fragile.

we could have been back on the road for a couple hundred bucks if this were the GM turbo trans

and it doesn't just swap?

[ValveCoverGasket]

has an electric shift box on it that actually runs the transmission (along with numerous levers and linkage bits for the kickdown, etc) that would need to be replaced with the later style, and as ours is a right hand drive car we would need basically an entire RHD parts car with the later trans... parts would include the column, gear indicator stuff, new electronic shift box, harness for the shift box, linkages on the carbs, transmission, driveshaft, shift box, new flex plate, etc etc

more trouble than its worth without having a RHD parts car... the 4spd trans are out there, theyre just rare

[Mooosman]

heres a couple more shots i found... the front seat looks a lot worse in the photo, and the finish on the wood generally seems to look better than in real life

What does it say on the door sill plate? Weren't these cars actually finished (interiors) by one of several different coach builders?

It should be a nice Sunday driver when you get it running.

[skip57]

If you talk to MOYERS in Va. all I have heard is it better to deal with ENRON be cause you know your F*&T at that point. I have not know any happy victims of theres.

[ValveCoverGasket]

If you talk to MOYERS in Va. all I have heard is it better to deal with ENRON be cause you know your F*&T at that point. I have not know any happy victims of theres.

just checked out their site...

this picture made me chuckle.

[epbrown]

What does it say on the door sill plate? Weren't these cars actually finished (interiors) by one of several different coach builders?

Nah, the Silver Shadow was pretty much the end of coachbuilt Rolls-Royces. There are some coupes in the early years, with the Mulliner-Park Ward becoming the Corniche, but its monocoque body pretty much killed true coachbuilding with custom bodies.

[ValveCoverGasket]

yup, that door sill plate says "mead of weybridge - distributors of rolls royce and bentley"
looks like it was added by the dealer in england.

[ValveCoverGasket]

another quick update, got some good condition early bumpers headed our way, along with some other misc parts ive been working for a while to track down - namely a new intake boot!

we made the executive decision to have the good trans we got in a few weeks ago completely gone through. new cltuches, seals, etc. when we put this thing together we dont want to have to take it apart again for another 50 years


ill post some pictures of the new parts when we start getting stuff in