Recommissioning a Shadow-era Rolls-Royce or Bentley after long term storage

"It’s only got 25,000 miles on the odometer!  It’s been stored for ten-plus years!  It’s got to be in great shape, right?  How much will it take to put the car back on the road?  The seller only wants ten thousand dollars.  It's got to be a bargain, right?"

Quite a lot, in most cases.  This is the story of one of those cars.

1980 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith II (c) JE Robison

The late70s long wheelbase Shadows were badged as Silver Wraith II cars  (C) JE Robison

Jay’s Silver Wraith II arrived at Robison Service in the beginning of August, 2015. We saw a fairly clean-looking 1980 Silver Wraith II that had not run in some time.  The inspection sticker dated from the spring of 2007 – 8 years previously.  The owner believed the odometer reading of 30,300 was original.  The interior and mechanicals looked original; the body was repainted but clean and undamaged.  There was no sign of mildew or corrosion – at least where we could see. 

This was not a recent purchase.  It was Dad's old car, and now that he was getting on in years, his sons wanted to bring it to life for him to enjoy one more time.  That's often how these jobs begin . . . with a treasured old car from a parent or relative.  Other times we start with a purchase - a barn find.

We began this project by getting the car running (temporarily) and doing an evaluation of what we could see without a road test. The original fuel pump had failed and we had to make some modifications to install a new style pump from Bentley, because the current replacement unit uses entirely different line fittings and mounts.  The old Opus electronic ignition had failed in storage and had to be replaced. We identified a number of basic drivability problems that would have to be addressed before the car could be evaluated on the road:

- The owner was aware of inoperative brakes when he put the car in storage;

- We also found an inoperative parking brake;

- We found deteriorated fuel in the tank and corrosion/leakage at carburetors;

- There were a number of damaged rubber bushings in the front end that would lead to noise when driving;

- We saw collapsed brake supply hoses and aged hoses to wheels;

- All four tires were badly dry rotted.

We noted that the car was still a ways from being drivable and there could be other issues when it was on the road.  With an optimistic outlook, we set out to solve those major problems first.  The owner felt that most accessories had worked when the car was put in storage and he hoped they were still okay.

The first focus of our attention was the brakes, which did not work. There was no system pressure.  We replaced the supply hose to the front pump and tested the circuit. The front pump did turn out to be damaged, and we ordered a new one.  From there we moved on to the wheels.  We removed all six brake calipers and found rusted and frozen pistons in all of them. This is characteristic of a car that sat a long time without the required annual fluid flushes.  The cure is new pistons and seals.  The caliper bodies are generally usable once they are cleaned and honed, which we did.

When we took the calipers off we also examined the flexible hoses and found several of them were collapsing internally like the supply line. All appeared to be original and all were scheduled for replacement.  Rolls-Royce calls for these hoses to be replaced at the 8-year service interval but few owners do that.  In modern times, Land Rover and other carmakers have seen failures of 8-year-old brake hoses so the risk of failure is clearly real.

We pulled the combined accumulator/valve assemblies apart and found more rust and corrosion.  We tried to clean them, but in the end, the accumulator valve units were too corroded to repair and both had to be replaced.  Those valves are no longer available new so we sourced rebuilt units from the UK.  The accumulators themselves were rebuilt with new diaphragms and seals and recharged in our shop.  That was a bit of a challenge as the accumulators had been rebuilt at some time in the past and they were assembled incorrectly, so the factory holding tools could not be put in place.  We got them apart and they are assembled in correct alignment now.

We fitted new brake pads and retaining hardware once the calipers were rebuilt (most of the anti-rattle hardware was missing when the car arrived). The calipers were refitted to the car with new rubber hoses, and the parking brake calipers were rebuilt.  With this work done, we had proper functionality in one hydraulic circuit but the other pump continued to fail the test and we replaced it. With that done we had brake pressure in both systems. 

Moving on to the engine, we completed overhaul of carburetors and setup of the engine.  We drained the fuel system and refilled with clean gas, to find the gauge did not work.  The sender turned out to leak internally and we replaced it.  We replaced the aged ignition wires and mis-matched plugs, and repaired the distributor balance weights and springs which had been damaged by rusting in place. The bimetallic choke element was broken and we fixed that.  We tracked down and fixed a number of vacuum leaks and some under hood wiring errors that stemmed from prior vernacular repair efforts.  With that done the engine ran well.

The owner provided a set of Hankook tires which we mounted and fitted to the car.  The owner decided against fitting the original Avon tires due to the high cost and limited availability.  We have had good success with Hankook tires in the past.  The only issue we’ve seen is that the sidewalls are a lot softer than the Avon tires, and that makes for mushier handling.  However, that is not a concern for many owners of these cars.

We then turned to the transmission, which still had the original undercoating on the pan bolts, indicating the fluid had never been changed.  Inside we found a lot of sludge – no surprise with 35-year-old fluid.  We cleaned the valve body and pan, changed the filter, and filled with fresh fluid.  With the amount of sludge we found inside we have some concerns for the life of this gearbox, but there is nothing more we can do right now.

When we ran the car we measured normal brake pressure on our test gauge but the warning lights did not work properly.  We rebuilt the switches (a common job.)  The car was taken on its first road test and some issues were noted with the accessories.

The air conditioning system was empty; we charged it with the owner’s supply of R12.  The heat worked and the dash outlets worked when the Fascia switch was operated. Two windows were inoperative. We took apart both right side window motors and cleaned them up as best we could as new parts are no longer available.  We repaired broken wiring in the driver door and passenger front door for locks and windows.

The car was all over the road on road test so we replaced all four shocks and we also changed the bushings that had been rattling.  After review with the owner, we fitted Bilstein shocks front and rear; they are the most common choice for this type of car with a slightly more positive ride than the original units.

We continued to road test the car and experienced a loss of pressure on both brake hydraulic systems.  We traced that to one inch of sludge blocking the outlets on the bottom of the reservoir. We cleaned out that sludge and replaced the screens and seals on the reservoir. That remedied the loss of pressure when hot but we were still seeing contamination from the level control in the rear circuit. 

We took apart and cleaned the level control rams, valves, and lines. We removed quite a bit of gelled fluid from that last area.  When we did that work the rear level control began working (it had been inoperative.)  We were finally able to bleed it and eliminate most knocking noise from the rear.

After further running the engine oil and filter were changed.  The transmission was drained and filled again, and the rear axle fluid was changed.  Engine coolant had been changed in the earlier round of work (we drained it for the carburetor work) so all fluids are now fresh.  The fuel system is all clear; the tank was removed and cleaned and the outlet hoses were serviced as needed when it was out.  Some lines were changed on the motor; there are others that may need attention in the future.

All the running lights were checked and several exterior lights were repaired. Most of the light repairs were simple, but a few required tracing dead wire circuits back to the main distribution panel, and some hours were spent bringing the lights back to life.  One shock absorber ball joint was changed, and the compliance mounts were renewed in the front end.  With that done the car steered well and all joints are tight.  New carpet mats were laid into the passenger compartment and the trunk and battery tray was reassembled.  Interior detailing was not within the scope of this job, but the interior is complete and most accessories seem to be in working order.

The car is driving fairly well now.  It starts and runs well, and the engine is quiet.  There are no major fluid leaks at this time.  Steering and ride are normal.  Brakes are working properly though there is still some roughness from the brake rotors – which the owner elected to leave alone for now.  There is slight sag in the front and rear springs.  All in all, this car is now better than 90% of the Shadow II and Wraith II cars on the road.

Going forward, I recommend that the transmission fluid be drained and refilled next season.  The brake hydraulic fluid really needs to be changed on these cars annually and that should be done next fall (or in spring 2017) to protect the work we did on that system.  Other than that, future maintenance needs will be limited to issues that arise in use, and cosmetic fixing up.

I advised the owner to always use the highest-octane fuel he can get.  If the car is to be stored I actually suggest filling with aviation fuel as that does not have the ethanol that proves so destructive. These cars use Mobil Delvac engine oil, 15-40 or 15-50 weight.  The GM 400 transmission uses regular Dexron fluid.  The coolant is the traditional green ethylene glycol mix.  Brake fluid is a special RR363 product and that’s the only fluid you should use in that system.  I suggest putting the tires up to the maximum pressure for winter storage, and I recommend the rubber chocks from www.flatstoppers.comto preserve the tire roundness.

This job is typical of a comprehensive re-commissioning of a Shadow-era Rolls-Royce or Bentley motorcar.  We spent a bit over 200 hours on this project between August and November 2015. Our labor was divided among mechanical work, alignment and tire work, electrical troubleshooting, and cosmetic and detail work.  Most of the parts we needed were available, though no one vendor had them all, and the factory no longer supports many of the pieces we used.  When considering the time spent, remember we have lifts and all factory tools, and we have experience (some of us were trained on these cars when they were new!)  A hobbyist doing this at home would likely need considerably more time.

I hope this gives a perspective of what it will take to bring a long-stored RR/B back to life; this car was actually in better shape than many we see.  It’s worth noting that many of the major service headaches on this car could have been headed off by proper preventative care before the car was put away.  Sadly, that does not usually happen.  The best we can do is go through all the key systems step by step and bring the car to life in an orderly and efficient manner, knowing that we will still probably encounter unforeseen problems and complications. 

(c) 2015 John Elder Robison

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, celebrating 30 years of independent Rolls-Royce and Bentley restoration and repair in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the Rolls-Royce and Bentley clubs, and he’s owned and restored many fine British motorcars.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

Reading this article will make you smarter, especially when it comes to car stuff.  So it's good for you.  But don't take that too far - printing and eating it will probably make you sick.

Building a Rolls-Royce engine

A few years ago one of our clients bought an exceptionally nice 1972 long wheelbase Shadow.  Like most "clean" Rolls-Royce motorcars of its vintage the car was very clean everywhere but under the hood.  That was a mess.  It's too old and too complex to be anything else.

He tried all sorts of tricks to spruce it up.  Painting, cleaning, and power washing.  The bottom line - the Silver Shadow engine bay is not "perfectible" with ordinary cleaning techniques.  When compared to the engine bay of a 1972 Chevy, it's ten times as complex.  It's no wonder owners left them alone, and showed their cars with hoods closed.

"It's unseemly to have a Rolls-Royce with its hood open."

"And it's not a hood.  It's a bonnet."

Many drivers of lesser cars put their tails between their legs and turned away.  But the owner of this car didn't do that. He said, "Let's fix it.  And let's start from the inside."  So that's what we did.  We removed the car from the engine, and stripped it to its component parts

This is the same engine as in the top photo, but 1,440 pipes, fittings, assemblies and pieces have been removed to get to the point you see here - a short block, heads, and exhaust manifolds.  Looking close you can see how the cosmetic problem under the hood got its start.

We found problems inside too . . . piston rings broken and stuck by sludge.  Gaskets that came apart and allowed oil and gas to mix.  Bearings that wore out, long before their time.  As much as I love Rolls-Royce and the British cars, I see how Daimler Benz did it better, with their 600 Grand Mercedes engine.

Rolls-Royce markets itself as the finest motorcar maker in the world, but the exhaust manifolds are bare rough, rusty cast iron.  The heads are painted, but the block is just rough cast aluminum.  It was a mess fully assembled, and it's a mess broken down into component parts.

We decided to do it differently, going back together. Here's the block, ready to begin assembly.

 As you can see, it's not dirty anymore.  We've cleaned it, and finished the outside in silver.  The inside is fully blueprinted.  Liners pulled and redone, new pistons, line bored crank journals, and everything balanced better than new.  The cylinder heads looked like pieces of art.

We did our best to keep the appearance of the engine original, but we addressed some designed-in limitations as we could. For example, these engines did not have front oil seals, so they leaked a small amount from the crank all the time.  The used similar low-tech seal for the back of the crank, and that leaked too.  We fitted modern rubber seals on both ends which required some crank and block machining but it's invisible in the assembled engine.

We used modern synthetic gaskets in place of leather, paper, and cork.  We hope they will be more durable, and the evidence of the newer Crewe-built 6.75 motors says they will be.

Every piece needed attention. The carburetors, front and center atop the engine, looked like this:

The only way to make this right, in my opinion, was to do what we did: take the assembly apart, dismantle both carbs, polish all the pieces and paint what needs painting with durable powder coat.  Then we assembled them with new jets, bushings, floats and valves.  So they should work like new and look better than new.

Once the block was rebuilt the engine around it began to take shape:

In many cases we had to decide how to finish parts that Rolls-Royce had left as bare metal.  The exhaust manifolds were done in a silver high-temp ceramic.  The valve covers were refinished in black, but we did the Rolls-Royce logo in silver rather than the original bare aluminum.  The step pipes that were not painted were plated.  Meanwhile, all the little subassemblies had to be rebuilt - hydraulic pumps, accumulators, valves, water pump and ignition to name a few.

The engine seemed to grow bigger as successive layers were added. And every piece had to be refurbished in some way.  Some needed mechanical repair, others jest needed cosmetic work.  Every piece needed that, and it was time consuming.  Take a look at the box of outer parts:

That stuff looked ok on an old ratty engine but it won't play where we are taking this project.  Here are a few of the mechanically good parts after cosmetic cleanup.  Quite a difference, wouldn't you say?

And it all came together.  In the end there were so many pipes and fittings you could hardly see the actual engine:

One big milestone was joining the engine to the subframe, which was also rebuilt to a better-than-new level of finish and a fully as-new level of performance.  Brake calipers were rebuilt, hoses, bearings and seals were renewed, and bushings replaced.  The transmission was overhauled and refitted, using a new gear reduction starter.

Subframe and Strut assemblies (C) JE Robison Service

A Rolls-Royce / Bentley subframe - used virtually unchanged from 1965 to 1999

New ball joints, bushes, and hoses, and everything else rebuilt and refinished (c) JE Robison Service

Once the engine was on the subframe the throttle linkages and piping could be connected. This is no small job on a RR V8.  Take a look at some of the detailing in the linkage and piping, and recognize that every single piece must be refinished, sometimes sized or bushed, and fitted and adjusted.

Many of these parts had been left unfinished by the assemblers in Crewe but we did not repeat that.  We finished them in clear or silver in most cases.  It's certainly an esthetic decision, but to clean them up to be just as made, only to let them rust and go bad, seemed foolish. The sorry appearance of parts like these was the whole reason for the job!  And it would not have happened if RR had invested a bit more care at the original assembly.  The exhaust pipes are a good example - we did them in clear ceramic, while the factory left them bare, and they were rusty and shabby looking before the cars were even delivered!

We used a tank filled with pressurized oil to verify the integrity of the lubrication system, and prime the pump.  The engine was filled through the port for the oil sender.  Needless to say, you don't proceed to the next step unless the pressurized oil remains in the engine and not on the floor or the wall.

With all that work to the mechanicals, we had to restore the engine bay in the car, which meant the unibody parts (black, textured, and car-colored, and all the subassemblies (AC evaporator housing, radiator top, all the pipes and hoses, hydraulic reservoir, all the electrics . . . .

In the photos below you see the engine bay being prepped.  The frame rails were (and are now) finished in a black texture semi-gloss.  The sides of the fender wells are smooth semi-gloss.  The shock tops and many other undressed bits are medium gloss black.

This next photo gives a sense of the final engine bay detailing

In that shot you can see that the pipes had to be cad plated. The brake reservoir was redone in silver.  The expansion valve is new.  The heater fan is cleaned.  The wiring is cleaned and re-taped with the original "friction tape" cotton tape.  The vinyl duct is cleaned.  Most all the black metal was repainted.  This is no different from what we'd to restoring the engine bay of a 1930s car but a Shadow era or newer car is vastly more complex and it takes a lot more time as a result.  This is the future for all you concours-bound Shadow, Corniche, and Spur/Spirit/Turbo owners as the cars age.

There is a ton of detail in this one image and that is not 10% of the engine. bay.

Here's the whole assembly on the floor, ready for the test fitment:

6.75L Rolls-Royce drivetrain (C) JE Robison Service

If you look close you will see the transmission casing looks dingy and unfinished. The GM400 transmission was rebuilt, and the case is spotless. We have sprayed it with a clear satin protective coat but left its appearance otherwise unchanged as it still has ink stamps (RR) from GM and hand marking with assembly numbers.

Original marks on a GM 400 transmission supplied to Rolls-Royce

If you have an original car this is what you will find.  If your car has a rebuilt tranny it will likely have been spray painted by the rebuilder and that bit of history will be lost.

All that's needed is the car body, and here it comes:

The result goes well beyond what the folks in Crewe provided back in 1972.  There's no way to get this level of detailing other than to do what we did. I can't tell you how proud I am of Bob Toti and the rest of the crew at Robison Service who pulled this off.  And I mustn't forget Justin Morini in the powder coat booth, and Al Keinath with the Glasurit paints . . . liquid gold, that stuff, and laid down by a master.  I wonder who will be next to do this . . .

As of this writing we are doing the final assembly and hookup.  Stand by for the rest or the story, and the rest of the car . . .

(c) 2015 John Elder Robison

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, celebrating 30 years of independent Rolls-Royce and Bentley restoration and repair specialists in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the RROC and other car clubs, and he’s owned and restored many fine vehicles.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

Reading this article will make you smarter, especially when it comes to car stuff.  So it's good for you.  But don't take that too far - printing and eating it will probably make you sick.

Convertible Top Repair in Bentley Azure / Rolls Royce Corniche

Convertible top hydraulics are shaping up as a major weakness in the Bentley Azure and Final Series Corniche from Rolls Royce.  These cars were built from 1996-2004 (a newer Bentley variant remains in production today) and all are vulnerable to this issue.

The Bentley Azure and RR Cornice are fine cars but the tops are a weakness (c) J E Robison

Here’s the problem, in a nutshell.

The engineers at Crewe wanted to design a fully automatic convertible top for the new Azure series.  But they did not have the resources to do a new design; they had to adapt something else that was already out there.  The Mercedes SL500-type design was well regarded, and they chose to adapt it to the Azure body.

Unfortunately, the design didn’t work as well on the RR/B.  It’s remarkably reliable on the Mercedes, and astonishingly flimsy and incredibly costly to fix on the Azure.  What went wrong?

There are a few essential problems.  First, the systems use very high hydraulic pressures.  Older automatic tops used big cylinders and rams.  With several square inches of ram, you don’t need very high hydraulic pressures to generate the force to move the top.  However, the newer cars use tiny actuators hidden in the top. They are smaller, so the hydraulic pressure needed for a given actuation force rises.  Because the hydraulics are hidden, they are often at a mechanical disadvantage (leverage in reverse) and need to push harder to move the top.

The result:  hydraulic pressures on a 2001 Bentley convertible top can run almost 10 times as high as the pressures on a 1987 Bentley convertible top.  With that factoid in mind, it should not surprise you that the newer tops are not as reliable.

In addition, the newer tops use automatic latches instead of human power to pull it shut and locked.  Those latches are not as rugged as they should be.  Why, you ask?  Look at a Bentley Azure and then look at an SL500.  What do you see?  The Bentley top is significantly larger.  That multiplies the forces on every component and it’s one more reason a reliable Mercedes design didn’t work out the same on the RR/B.

The next problem probably started in Crewe’s engineering department, though I doubt they would admit it.  Mercedes uses plastic lines that are impervious to hydraulic fluid, but that material selection did not translate to RR/B. Someone there chose a hose material that deteriorated with contact with hydraulic fluid.  The result – when they get to be ten years old you see the black rubber casings falling off the hoses, and blowouts inevitably follow. 

How do you check your convertible top hoses?  Look at the hoses in the main hinge area when the top is partly lowered.  Here are examples of hoses that are coming apart.

The upper photo is a closeup of jacketing peeling from a hydraulic hose.  Failure is imminent (c) J E Robison Service

If this problem is ignored you will see leakage, as evidenced by the leaked oil in these photos.

Leaked hydraulic oil in the convertible top well (c) J E Robison Service

Oil seeping from the convertible top hydraulic line bundle 

If you ignore it even longer, you will eventually be showered with oil when a line blows under pressure and the interior of the car is sprayed and damaged.

Header bar line with deterioration.  These are the worst if they blow

"Green showers" most often come from the header bar, when the lines above the rear view mirror blow out.  The reason those lines are the first to blow is that area takes the most beating from the sun. In a hot climate that area can be over 200 degrees all day, and the oil they originally used breaks down into a green jelly that won't pump, and causes pressure surge and blowouts.  Jaguar is known for having this problem too.

The new hydraulic oils are synthetic and they resist this, but the moral there is - change your top hydraulic fluid every few years, or else.

When the top is partly folded there is another thing you want to check – the cables.  These new automatic tops need to fold into a tight space to be hidden under the rear deck.  To do that they rely on cables sewn into the top lining.  Loops of wire around those cables pull the top fabric against the bows and fold everything properly.  If the cables break the top will jam in the bows, and if the bows bend as a result – you have big trouble.

Broken stay cable on Bentley convertible top

In most of these cars you will see leakage from the hydraulic actuators in addition to problems with the lines.  Here is a set of actuators removed for service.  We rebuild these units rather than replace them.

So how do you fix this?  You remove the trunk lining, and the pump and lines.  Open the convertible top boot and remove the top as an assembly. Remove the cover in the convertible top well, and unthread the lines there.  Remove the rear seat, both side panels, the right side floor covering, and the right side dash and windshield pillar trim.  Remove the windshield header bar covers.  Remove the lines and remaining actuators.  Replace and reassemble.

Sounds easy?  Look for a job time of 60-90 hours, more if you are not experienced or run into trouble.

In the next convertible top installment I will begin to cover the actual repair process.


This article is about the automatic convertible top system used in Rolls Royce and Bentley Azure and Corniche from 1996-2005.  Check out this article for thoughts on the newer Bentley GTC convertible top and its problems

And here's an article on 1997-2005 Jaguar XK8 and XKR convertible tops - they have some of the same issues but are simpler to fix

Good luck

John Elder Robison

Robison Service has provided independent service, repair, and restoration for Rolls Royce -Bentley owners all over New England for over 25 years. Founder John Robison is a long time technical consultant for the Rolls Royce and Bentley Owners Club. Our company is an authorized Bosch Car Service Center. We also service Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, and MINI motorcars. We have flatbed transport throughout the northeast region, and we work with Intercity and other transporters for greater distances. We also offer pickup and delivery for cars in  Springfield, Wilbraham, Longmeadow, Agawam, Westfield, Northampton, and Amherst.  Our drivers are available to pick up cars in Boston, Hartford, Greenwich/southern CT, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire.