1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow 2

First registered in 1979 and out-shopped originally in Brewster Green, this Silver Shadow II has been in the care of our vendor and current owner since February 2021, with this masterpiece of British engineering being purchased somewhat on a whim, after his other Silver Shadow was taking too long to come back from a prolonged period of work.

Having discovered the car was owned by a genuine enthusiast as part of a small collection - it was stored in a garage alongside a Silver Seraph and other Rolls-Royces and only driven annually to the MOT centre - the deal was done, and so the short ownership story began.

Quite clearly - as you’ll see from the paperwork below and the history section - this is a Silver Shadow II that has had enormous amounts of care and attention bestowed upon it by various specialists, with over £40,000 worth of work recorded whilst the car was in the care of various previous owners.

The owner just prior to our vendor purchased the car in a mechanically excellent state following the aforementioned extensive works, though they decided Brewster Green wasn’t for them, and set about commissioning a respray into the delightful Brooklands Green you see here before you, with the work carried out to an incredibly high standard in 2012.

Effortlessly comfortable, mechanically sound and on-the-button, our owner has driven the car all across the country, up into Wales and the Midlands without any problems whatsoever, even in heavy traffic.

You know the saying that cars get better the more you use them? Well, by that logic, this is as good as any Silver Shadow II you’ll find, as it’s been the vendor’s near-daily driver for a number of months, with the car remaining in tip-top shape.

Despite being a Bentley Turbo colour, there is no doubt that Brooklands Green looks absolutely fantastic on this Silver Shadow II, with the paintwork still holding up well despite now being nearly ten years old.

Importantly, the bodywork is straight throughout and remains in excellent condition, with even panel gaps and no dents, dings or impact damage. There are no real corrosion around the wheelarches or elsewhere despite the respray happening nearly a decade ago, signs of a good car, and a good respray.

All of the brightwork work - including the trademark front grille and Spirit of Ecstasy figurehead - presents fantastically with only the most minor pitting and dulling, in keeping with a cherished car that has seen regular use. Remember, viewers - cars are meant to be driven!

All four wheels are excellent and sit on matching period-look Avon tyres, which are now only a couple of years old and still have plentiful tread. We love to see matching tyres here at The Market, and the fact these ones are period-correct to the car’s appearance is a very welcome sight.

Whilst his Silver Shadow II is a fantastic example, it’s not perfect. There is a patch of paint shrinkage above the nearside front arch, a paint reaction blister below the bottom edge of the near side of the windscreen and on the nearside lower corner of the rear window, a small patch of chip/bubble on one rear arch, and the usual light wear-and-tear you’d expect to find on nine-year old paintwork, with a few patches of paint that have fractionally lost their depth.

Being super picky - as we pride ourselves on being - we’d also suggest there are a couple of largely hidden marks along the rear edge of the offside rear wing.

Comfort is key for a Rolls-Royce, and they certainly achieved this aim with the Silver Shadow. Swathes of high-quality leather cover just about every surface possible, set off against gorgeous wooden inlays along the dashboard and door tops.

The interior of this example remains in wonderful condition and presents fantastically for its age and mileage.

There is the usual light wear to the bases of the front seats, with some light creasing and sagging but no damage to the seat covers to speak of. The carpets and door cards only show light commensurate wear such as minor marks and indentations, whilst there is also some small scuffs noted on the outer edges of the lower seat trims from the car seeing regular use.

Taking pride of place across the dashboard and door tops, the wooden inlays are in excellent condition, showing no major cracks, chips or damage to the lacquer. The headliner remains in great shape, and all the gauges and switchgear are working correctly to the best of the vendor’s knowledge. This even includes the electric mirrors and front fog lights. The exception may be the headlight wipers, simply as they’ve never been used!

Keen-eyed viewers may have noticed that there are no lambswool rugs. However, this Silver Shadow II goes one better, and is supplied with a full set of lambswool seat covers, which are still in very good order.

So, the bad news? Well, there really isn’t much to speak of. The nearside front passenger door seal creates a bit too much noise at high speed so could be replaced, the intermittent setting on the windscreen wipers doesn’t work (though the single-speed settings work perfectly) there is a minor issue with the central locking (one door doesn’t always lock, but will always unlock correctly) and one of the rear window regulators is a little slow.

As you can see, all minor stuff in the grand scheme of things. The only notable issue, we feel, is that there appears to be a problem with the air-conditioning system. Our vendor notes that at the start of the journey there is a wonderful blast of cool air, but as the car warms up and the journey goes on the air becomes more like a warm breath, rather than a cooling blast. Various sources have stated a re-gas and part overhaul is likely to remedy this, but it has not been confirmed.

Regular use is always beneficial for a car, which is excellent news seeing as this Silver Shadow has been used almost daily since the vendor purchased the car back in February and previously had an excellent run of MOTs.

As such, it starts on the button, drives fantastically and has never let our vendor down, coping admirably with long journeys, extended motorway driving and heavy traffic even during hot weather.

Open up the bonnet, and the 6.75-litre V8 engine is in excellent health, as you’ll be able to hear in the video below.

From an aesthetic standpoint, the block and ancillaries would benefit from some TLC and a couple of afternoons in the garage with some elbow grease, whilst the original insulation on the bonnet itself is looking a little tired. However, none of these issues impact the way the car drives or behaves, so this should be of no concern.

Underneath the bodywork, the chassis has benefitted from being coated with corrosion inhibitor at some stage in its history, and therefore presents very well for a car that sees regular use regardless of the weather.

There is, of course, some surface ‘bloom’ to exposed areas such as the suspension components, exhaust system and subframes, but nothing that sets any alarm bells ringing for us. There appears to be a slight oil leak or misting seen in image 286 on the nearside of the engine, which would concur with the MOT exam in 2019 stating the sole advisory as an “oil leak - not excessive” but this has never proved to be any issue whilst in the vendor’s care, and no oil leaks onto the driveway when parked.

It is evident from the paperwork included with this Silver Shadow II that plenty of attention has been lavished upon it over the years, totalling to over £40,900 worth of invoices. There are two major periods of work, in both 2008/9 and in 2011, with over £35,000 spent during these two ‘bouts’ of work alone,

In the late 2008/2009 round of work, alongside various sundry items and minor mechanical work, the engine was completely torn down, a new set of pistons installed, two cylinder heads resurfaced, all valves re-faced and all valve seats machined.

In 2011, notable work includes a new camshaft being installed alongside a new water pump, pulley and alternator, new ignition module, spark plugs and several runs of carburettor adjustment took place, in order to get this Shadow into peak mechanical condition, with invoices totaling comfortably into the five-figure range. Of particular note is that not only are the invoices present, but also the work sheets detailing exactly what maintenance and work was carried out and some positive compression test results. Happy reading!

Quite evidently, during this period the car visited several garages with the intention of completing a ‘money no object’ restoration / re-commissioning. This, along with the lack of paperwork from before 2008, leads us to believe the car accumulated the majority of its mileage during its earlier years, but was later laid-up, possibly following the engine problems mentioned during the recommissioning process.

The documentation from the aforementioned respray into Brooklands Green - an OE Bentley colour - is also present showing a final bill of £4,214 and there are also numerous photographs of the process, showing the car being stripped down from its original Brewster Green, primed and re-sprayed. These photographs show just how good the quality of the body was underneath the original paintwork, and also show the level of care that went into the process, with the glass being taken out, the windscreen seals replaced and the brightwork being removed and professionally polished during the course of the respray.

More recently, there is an invoice for new brake pads all round in December 2017, the offside brake flexi pipes being replaced in July 2014 and both front shock absorbers in April 2013. Mileage since the respray has been minimal.

The V5 registered keeper document is also present showing nine former owners, and there are numerous MOT certificates, along with the UK registration documents for the current numberplate, following the car’s brief spell in Ireland.

Finally, the spare wheel, jack and tool kit are all included with the car.

If you want to arrive in style, drive a Rolls-Royce. No matter where you go, you’ll turn a few heads, and for those ‘in the know’ classic models such as this Silver Shadow II will be of particular interest.

This 1979-registered example looks fantastic in Brooklands Green and represents the opportunity to obtain a wonderfully usable example of the second-generation Silver Shadow that could be driven on a daily basis or saved for weekend jaunts and shows - whichever takes your fancy more.

Benefitting from significant expenditure with past owners and having proven itself to be a reliable and dependable driver’s car for the past year, we estimate a value of £11,000 to £18,000.

Our vendor is also so confident in this car’s condition that he’s decided to offer the car at NO RESERVE, so if you’re interested, be sure to place your bids - you never know what will happen!

Viewing is always encouraged and as stated this car is located at THE MARKET headquarters near Abingdon; we are open Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm and to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.