1967 Roll-Royce in parking lot

[JONOV]

Originally Posted by rbohm

if i had the money, there was a time when i could have bought one in super nice condition for $15,000.

The cheapest part of owning one of those is the purchase price.

[Fleet]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

Expensive to buy? I've seen a fair number of this series rollers around with low mileage, straight paint and bodywork asked (and not necessarily finding buyers) for under $12,000.

The "expensive" side is keeping one on the road in maintenance and breakdown repairs. One of the primary reasons that so many of these cars have low mileage today is because they were consistently down for repairs/awaiting parts. Most of the folk I know that had these "back in the day" owned at least 3 rollers for the proverbial "1 you're driving, one is broken and waiting for parts, and one is being worked on now" scenario if they wanted to have one to drive on a daily basis. I had several customers that fell into that category ... and never drove their rollers during inclement weather. That's when their MB's in the garage were pressed in to service. IF the roads were really bad, that's when they drove their Jeep Grand's, which were their standby "old reliable" transportation.

PS: current Hemmings listings: (and I get a laugh out of the ads describing a car "that still runs great" and it's got all of 20,000 miles on the odo) CHECK THOSE PRICES:

Beverly Hills, California 90210
Stock #: 06438
Condition: Good
Exterior: Silver
Description: 1967 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow

'67 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow left hand drive in silver over grey with grey interior. Very original car. Comes equipped with an automatic transmission, power windows, air conditioning and early chrome bumpers. Excellent original California car. Mechanically sound.

For $5,950 USD

Or:

West Boylston, Massachusetts 01583
VIN #:
SRX.6195
Mileage: 20781
Trans: Auto
Condition: Good
Exterior: Shell Grey
Interior: Red leather
Description: 1968 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, This is a nice car. It runs great, still drive it around town. Comes with full set of maintenance manuals.

Price: $12,000 negotiable

PS: your caddy limo series runs stronger, brakes better, handles better, has a far superior A/C & heater system, better running V-8 engine, better body/structural integrity, and more useful interior volume than the shadow. And Delco beat the heck out of lord lucas time and time again when it comes to reliable transportation.

PPS: just to get an idea of the common problems that afflict these cars which require extensive labor and craftsmanship to keep these cars functioning as originally intended, here's a blip from "park ward motors" regarding the restoration process that they go through for the cars they sell because the cars typically need all these items: (notice that they "modify" to improve items because the originals didn't hold up, some of the "syndromes" of failure were common on all the cars): (this stuff ain't cheap to do ... burl walnut needing "25 coats of clear lacquer" wet sanded and hand polished to restore it, or door panels needing interior plastic sheeting to protect from rain water entering inside the door to damage the panels ....)

"Every car has its interior door panels removed. If the wood is in need of repair (as most are) it is refinished in-house by trained and talented craftsmen at Park-Ward Motors. This is a detailed process of stripping the wood of its old lacquer, repairing the veneer if there is damage, staining the top surface as per Rolls-Royce methodology and refinishing with no less than 25 coats of clear lacquer. Hand wet-sanded and polished between all of its last 15 coats. New window felt guides and wood-to-glass foam seals are fitted. All window mechanisms are checked and serviced for smooth and efficient up and down movement. This includes an electrical modification to rectify the typical “slow window syndrome”. All tracks, chains and gears are lubricated. Where central locking is fitted, these are all serviced to ensure no “solenoid sticking”, another common problem. Units are repaired and or changed as required for refurbished units. Door wiring and door-to-body wiring is checked, repaired and/or replaced as required. The splash plastic on the inside of the doors to protect the leather panels from rain splash from inside the door is replaced with correct specification black plastic as used by the factory. Cut to shape and glued in position as per original. All door hardware is checked and repaired as required including locks, handles and scuttle finishes. The door is reassembled with all items cleaned and polished. The wood refitted and the leather panels are re-Connollised before final fitment.

Take this example and apply it to the many, many different aspects of Rolls-Royce restoration, service and maintenance and you have our dedication to correct and professional vehicle pre-delivery preparation and commissioning."

Good points you made, sunspirit.

Wow, I did not realize a Rolls-Royce could be bought for under $10,000.

I do have a Rolls-Royce Buyers Guide and do know that some years were problematic. As you mentioned, a same-era Cadillac is the better choice and much more practical. You can get a lot of car for well under $10,000.

Here are more photos I took:

[M3 Mitch]

I have to agree with Sunsprit, that your car, Fleet, is by far the better one. That Caddy, all you have to buy are gas, tires, and oil, put a set of spark plugs, maybe wires on it every few years, brakes when needed (no doubt the local NAPA has brake parts for it in stock, or next day at worst) and just drive it. The Rolls, I would have to buy a bunch of special tools, I have heard the brakes are a nightmare to work on, certain models spark plug access is damn near zero, etc.etc. - and for what? To say it's a Rolls?

Buddy has 2 Ferrari cars, both need an engine pull every 30K miles or so to change cam belts. Actually this is not as bad as it sounds, engines come out of these easier than a typical Detroit car. But at least you are getting the performance, the beautiful look and sound of these for your trouble. I'm not seeing what the Rolls actually brings to the table, that your Caddy does not bring as good or better.

BTW the paint on your car really looks excellent, a very good deal for what you spent on it!

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Wow, the Roller took two spots. That sure is going to be a problem when the other 100 or so spots close to the car are filled up. What would I do if I could not get one of the many open spots available even closer to the stores. Both Fleet and the owner of the Rolls parked away from the stores and walked in. I am thinking that with so many open spots the owner of the Rolls may have not thought about taking two spots.

I like the car myself. You can find a lot of examples for little upfront cash that are in need of restoration. I found a 2 door model that was in sad shape, still ran and had a strait body, but needed a new interior and paint. I think they wanted $15K for it.