1978 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II

This is a very fine Silver Shadow II finished in 2-tone Walnut metallic over Masons black with tan fine-lines to the waistline and hubcap trim rings. The interior is finished in factory original, un-touched, rich chocolate brown Connolly hide leather with black piping. The Wilton wool carpets are in the reciprocal theme of black with brown piping. This combination is rarely seen on Shadow IIs in the US.

This is a very clean and original Californian example that appears to have been well cared for over her years. She is pretty much mostly original with no modifications. She even has her original Blaupunkt blue-dot push button radio but enhanced with a modern “period” radio mounted in the lower console position where the cassette would have been. A nice genuine touch.

The body is straight and paint very shiny and consistent. Much of the paint is original finish, which is quite rare and will please the enthusiasts. Of course, because of the predominantly factory paint, the car does have some minor marks here and there to include little stone chips around the headlights (which have been professionally brush-touched) and some of the signature hair-lines at the base of the “A” & “C” pillars (Rolls-Royce used the “lead-wiping” technique for joining body panels. With the different expansion and contraction rates of lead vs steel, this caused the paint to fracture and so paint stress marks at these points occurred on every single Silver Shadow). These are relatively minor however. Overall, the car is minor on other blemishes so presents well – certainly well above average for a Rolls-Royce of this age. As a daily driver, the paint presents extremely well. The imperfections are pointed out as part of clear disclosure and so rest assured they are not eye-catching.

The interior presents stunningly, very clean and fresh with the leather in an excellent state. Importantly, and rare to see today, the Connolly hides have NEVER been re-dyed. This is something quite unique as usually the leather after this many years can become quite soiled. This is the best testament for the car being a well-cared for example. The leather is not only “clean” but remains super supple (as demonstrated in photos doing the “scrunch” test). What is the best part about virgin Connolly hides, is the original “toning” effect of the Vaumol hide is preserved. To explain, Connolly used a technique whereby the leather was surface dyed and then treated with a hand-rubbed darker toning that captures the natural pores and grain of the leather – a mild version of the antique look on a chesterfield couch. This toned grain look is referred to as Luxan grain. In re-dyed leather, this magnificent trait of Connolly Vaumol hides is lost. Not so, in this lovely example.

The wood on this Shadow II is generally ok but is showing signs of hair-line fractures in the clear on the dash and delamination in some areas on the tops of the doors. We didn’t refinish them because everything with the interior is original and we wanted prospective purchasers to see this. We do, however, recommend the wood being redone as this would make the inside of this car stunning. As it turns out, by the magic-touch of mother nature, the burl walnut grain is very rich and intense and this will look outstanding once we refinish. Please enquire if you agree.

Further bonuses include; dash roll in excellent condition with no leather pulling at the vents, very clean broad-cloth headlining and the signature Wilton wool carpets in excellent shape. A set of brand-new factory issue mouton rugs are available at extra cost. We think a set in black or chocolate brown would equally work well.

All features, gauges, instruments and electrics work correctly. All interior lights and dash lights are all fully working. Heater and air-conditioning are fully functional. These are all thoroughly gone thru by Park-Ward. For example, we service all the windows to ensure smooth and swift up and down movement (windows often get very slow on Silver Shadows).

The 68,000 odd miles, although not verifiable by documentation, is evident when you look closely at the various finishes. For example, the chrome and bright-work around the car is excellent. The brake pedal has minimal wear. As you would expect from a car of this mileage that has been well maintained, it comes with its original manual, tools and jack.

The car does have fitted a set of BF Goodrich correct size 235/70-15 tyres with the wide 1½” whitewalls. I think the traditional ¾” whitewalls suit the Shadow better but given these tyres are expensive ($2,000 fitted and balanced) and only 5 years old, we decided to leave them. If you agree with us and prefer the more traditional width whitewall, please let us know.

Mechanically this Silver Shadow II is strong. The car came to us from long term ownership out of California and is subject to Park-Ward Motors’ “Predelivery Commissioning” program whereby all aspects of the car are gone through to ensure correct performance and all services are up to date. Under our care, every Rolls-Royce we sell is fully work-shop tested to include the all-important hydraulics and braking system. Often overhauled where required; pumps, accumulators, reservoirs cleaned, lines & hoses replaced, calipers & pads replaced/serviced and system final pressure tested and bled.  Transmission, engine ancillaries and exhaust are all inspected/serviced as needed and the car road-tested for correct operation. The car drives very “tight” without any of the typical “rattles & thumps” typical of this model. The car is sold all up to date on its services and EVERYTHING operating as it should.

* Please do understand our Predelivery Commissioning process is very detailed and covers some 3-400 items that we check and attend to as necessary. The process takes several weeks to complete. We are very conscientious in all our work but please also understand, this is a +/- 50 year old Rolls-Royce whereby the cars themselves are somewhat idiosyncratic in behaviour and like to misbehave. Sometimes when you least expect it. Some might say, Rolls-Royce proved  the term “Murphy’s Law” and no truer words could be spoken. So please, we welcome you to all our cars that we are proud to say are amongst the finest, but do keep an open-mind:

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” ………………….

…………………………………………   American aerospace engineer, Edward A. Murphy Jr.