One Owner CA Car 52K Actual Miles NO RESERVE

The car offered here on eBay is the ultimate survivor. This 1981 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit would be welcome in Rolls Royce Owner’s Club events in the preservation class or even the in the concours class. Collector cars which are preserved virtually as new rather than restored are increasingly appreciated in the collector car world; especially a car such as this one because the craftsmen who made it and the authentic materials that went into it (especially the original Connolly “VM” or Vaumol leather) cannot be replaced. Sometimes called a “reference” car, car such as this is one that restorers, ollectors and judges look to in order to judge restored cars.

One sees examples of this car which are higher mileage restorations or partial restorations selling for more than the opening bid for this car. I have tried to do the car justice in the photos but it really is a car “that has to be seen”, r at least it is a car that is better person than either the photos or description.

Rolls Royce began building cars in 1904. The modern era is commonly thought to have begun with the introduction of the Silver Shadow in 1966. The Shadow II was replaced by the Silver Spirit in 1981. The Spirit continued and built upon the mechanical basis of the 1980 Shadow II. Notably Bosch Jetronic Fuel Injection was introduced on US deliver Spirits. The Spirit also had a revised rear suspension and mineral oil hydraulics.

8129 Spirits were built beginning with a preproduction model in 1980 and continuing until 1989. This car, uilt in October of 1981, s a relatively early example. The Spirit is three inches longer and two inches wider than the Shadow II with one third more glass area offering improved visibility for the driver. The driving experience of this car is true Rolls Royce: smooth and powerful yet extremely precise with remarkable road holding and handling, specially for such a large and luxurious car.

While the Spirit is a modern era car, t was hand built by the craftsmen at the Rolls Royce factory at Crewe. For example, he radiator shell on this car was hand built by craftsmen who had been making these items for Rolls Royce by for generations and the car has the unique and desired Connolly VM leather which cannot be replaced: Connolly stopped making “VM” in the 1980’s and subsequently went out of business – any car like this which boasts of new leather or a redone interior does not, y definition, ave genuine Connolly VM leather. The Spirit embodies the charm of yesterday with the technological sophistication and convenience of modern times.

The car offered here is a remarkable find. It was ordered new and purchased by Roy Carver, s the Rolls Royce dealership in Newport Beach, alifornia was then known. Roy Carver was later called Sterling Motors (as shown on the period license plate frames which the car still wears) and is now called Rolls Royce Motor Cars Orange County. The Build Sheet and early history for this car have been acquired from the Rolls Royce Foundation: if desired I will email the PDF copy of this early history of the car (it is 50 pages worth of interesting documentation) to any interested eBay bidder.

• Roy Carver ordered the car in its present color scheme of Magnolia Paint with a double red fine line (pin stripe) along with Connolly VM Red leather 3086, rimmed with Connolly VM Magnolia leather 3997.
• The carpets are Wilton wool in Cherry Red with the same Magnolia VM leather trim both as to the floors and the inside of the trunk, ll in excellent condition. The original “oatmeal” headliner is also excellent.

• All of the original equipment including the motor and the original Blaupunkt AM FM radio and Panasonic Cassette player are still with the car, ncluding the Red Double Fine Line (Pin stripe) which has survived in remarkably good condition, t is common to see “rub through” of these fine lines but on this car they are excellent.

• The car was built in October of 1981 & Roy Carver Rolls Royce acquired title to the car in December of 1981 before selling it to the first owner in December of 1983 with 453 mile on the car. I purchased the car from the original owner in September of this year.

• The original California Blue & Yellow license plates are on the car and are the same ones shown to be on the car on the early service records from over 30 years ago. This, long with the rest of the paperwork, onfirms that this car has always been located here in Southern California.
  • The California blue/yellow plates were discontinued in favor of white plates with blue lettering in 1987. It is not uncommon to see “California cars” on eBay or in other venues which based on the age or issuance of their white/blue license plates were not registered in California until long after the car was first sold. That is, ne often sees “California cars” for sale on eBay and elsewhere, hat are “in California”, ut which typically have long histories in other states or countries before coming to California.

  • This car recently passed its smog test and the California title to this car is in my name and the registration is current.

I purchased the car in September from the family of the original owner, 92 year old lady. The original paper work was in the name of her spouse and the recent paper work is in the name of her son, lways the same family name, ut it was always her car.

I bought the car planning to use it as a daily driver but after doing extensive maintenance work to this car and detailing it, felt that it is too nice to drive, or my purposes anyway. It certainly is strong enough to drive on a daily basis and a good value when you look at the cost of a new car.

The car sat for several years and accordingly required considerable service and maintenance in order to get it into perfect mechanical condition. As is the case with the build sheets, nterested eBay bidders are welcome to contact me and I will email the PDF scans of the service work performed. All of the work was done in the last two months by Scott Motors, he preeminent Los Angeles service shop specializing in vintage Rolls Royce and Bentley. This would be easier for serious bidders because there are three visits to the service shop and the list of parts and labor come to six pages.

All of the work done was expected given a 34 year old car that has been sitting in a garage for several years: notably anything to do with hoses, luids, nd seals has been replaced along with much brake work, esealing the transmission and power steering unit, long with a great deal of work on the fuel system, ncluding a rebuilt Bosch mechanical fuel distributer, ew fuel injectors, une up and much more. The air conditioning was also serviced and charged.

These cars are very strong and reliable performers when they are fully serviced and ready to go like this one is, ut they should be used on a regular basis. The total for the mechanical work done in the last couple of months (the last 200 or so miles as of this writing) is $17,400. Also, he previous owner purchased a set of new tires and a new battery just before I got the car so $18,000 has been spent on very recent mechanical and service work done on the car which will stand the next owner in good stead for years to come. This is a 34 year old car which looks and drives essentially as the car drove when it was new.

Enjoy the photos and feel free to ask any question, o view the car in person, r to have the car inspected by your mechanic, tc. There are several Rolls Royce new car dealers and service shops in Southern California that can check this car out for you. The car is drives great and I see no reason why a purchaser could not drive the car home to no matter where. In spite of all the work done and the great visual and mechanical condition, he car is 34 years old and it is being sold as is. Please check the car out if you are interested. And, specially since this is a no reserve auction (every bid will be a winning bid), o not bid if you are not ready, illing, ble to, nd intending to complete the transaction.

Classic car ownership is a process and this car has had major money spent to bring it back to perfect condition, here are a few small flaws:

• Around the Right Rear wheel arch there are some paint chips missing, t has been theorized that perhaps a tire blew in the distant past and there was slight damage to the paint in this area. I have not touched this up because I have found no touch ups on the car anywhere and as you can see the paint is largely perfect and virtually as new. It is easier for the eBay bidder to see the car including this one area of paint loss and to know the car is all original and has not been touched up: it is all original. There is a photo showing this flaw.
• One of the courtesy (inside roof) lights does not come on when you open the doors (there are still at least five other lights that do come on but this should be corrected.

• The knobs for the Blaupunkt radio are a bit loose and need to be replaced, think I have found a supplier but otherwise the Blaupunkt Frankfort AM FM radio works fine. The radio sound seems to only come out through the two right speakers (there is a speaker balance knob which may be loose). Service or cleaning is needed for the original Panasonic cassette player, am leaving this for now because the next owner may wish to upgrade to a modern stereo.

Good luck bidding and feel free to ask any question or to view the car or have it inspected.