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.

Rebuilding Brakes on Vintage and Collector Cars

The last of the Crewe-built Bentleys

Rebuilding a rear brake caliper on a vintage Rolls Royce 

Brake jobs used to be so simple!  Pop a set of pads into the calipers, and you were good to go.  No more, especially on high end cars like this Rolls.  Let’s look at what goes into a quality brake job on a classic high end car like this, using a 1980s Rolls Royce as an example.

When a car is new, everything moves freely and it’s easy to do routine service.  For the first service you can often still do pads only, but it gets more complex from there.  By the second pad change the car is certainly ready for new rotors.  When do you need rotors?

There are three reasons you may need new rotors:

1 – They are worn below the minimum safe limit, as marked on the rotor

2 – The rotors are out of true, and the car shudders when stopping

3 – The rotors are glazed with rust, so braking effectiveness is lost

Here is an example of a brake rotor showing both wear (1) and rust glazing (3)  This deterioration is all on the inside. The other side - facing the wheel - looked remarkably good.  Don't be fooled.

Rust on a brake rotor makes it slippery

When working on vintage cars 2 and 3 are common, but you see cars with 1,2, and 3 all together.  Rarely do you see (1) by itself. 

Measuring a brake rotor to see if it's too thin.  The numbers tell the story.

On most mass produced cars the rotors pop off with a few minutes work.  Not so on a Crewe-built (pre-1999) Rolls Royce or Bentley.  To get the front rotors off you are looking at a few hours work to remove the two calipers off each side, then the pipes and then the hub.  Once the hub is off the rotor itself can be removed with the whole thing clamped in a vise.

Separating brake rotor from hub - Rolls Royce Shadow

The rear hubs are a much more complex affair.  You need a special RR/B hydraulic puller to get the rear hubs apart, and to get them off the car.  Once they are on the ground the disassembly requires a press and various accessories.

Don’t be surprised if you find years or decades of neglect when you pull rear hubs.  Totally rotted rotors, and ruined bearings and races are common because some less-service-oriented people put difficult jobs off till “later” and later never comes.

On a newer car you’d just pop a rotor on at this point, but these Crewe RR products are old enough that shortcuts will come back and bite you.  We suggest removing and examining the wheel bearings, and replacing them if they are anything less than flawless.  In most cases, they are at the ends of their lives.  Don’t forget to do the seals.

Worn out wheel bearings and seals

We pack hubs with modern synthetic grease; all the hub rebuilding is done off the car on the bench.  Otherwise the process of bearing service is much the same as thirty years ago.  We use drifts to knock out the old races, and a press to set the new ones in place.

Rebuilt rear hub ready to install

We suggest splitting and rebuilding the calipers on any Rolls Royce that is more than fifteen years old because leakage is common when they get past that age.  And when one leaks, they are all ready.

Rebuilding brake calipers

When the calipers are apart consider refinishing the caliper bodies using the new hi-temp powder or ceramic finishes.  That’s what they do on newer high end cars and it’s a very attractive touch

Rebuilt hub, new rotor, and rebuilt and refinished brake calipers

If your hoses are more than 10 years old you should replace them.  Hoses rot from inside and old ones may blow with no warning.  

New brake hoses

Most owners of collector cars have paid for more than one brake job on modern luxury cars.  How does work like this compare, in terms of cost and time?  The short answer is . . . expect way more of both.

When you do brakes on a modern car the only parts are the pads, rotors, and ancillaries like anti-rattle clips.  On a vintage car the job may include bearings, seals, hoses, caliper parts, and even new hardware.  In addition, hard to get classic parts may be more expensive.  Finally, there may be quality problems.  You can be sure of getting quality brake parts for a late model Mercedes or BMW simply by going to the dealer.  For an old car that may not be an option, and the mail-order stuff can range in quality from wonderful to total junk.  

In general, you get what you pay for.  Here's my rule of thumb:  If you have to choose between five versions of a part (like brake pads) from known reputable vendors and the prices vary widely, the quality will vary just as widely.  You are a lot less likely to get burned buying the top priced part than the bottom priced one.  When prices for the same part range from $29 to $199 the $29 part is usually junk, and the $199 part is probably topnotch.  I know that's not what some people want to hear, but in my experience it's true.

When you fit low quality parts you are asking to do the job over, sometimes with additional damage.

The time to perform the additional steps I outline above can add up too.  Pulling and assembling the rear hubs on a 1970s Rolls Royce or Bentley is a solid two days of work.  And teardown can expose unknown problems, which may need dealing with now.  Rebuilding front hubs is more than a day's job.  Rebuilding the calipers will be another day and a half, plus the time and expense of refinishing the caliper bodies if you decide to do that.  

Rust and corrosion can double those times on cars that have run on salty winter roads.  On a classic car where parts are scarce you may spend days getting corroded stuff apart without damage because it's simply not replaceable at any reasonable cost.

And here's one more thought to consider:  Most people who service late model cars know the owners have limited ownership horizons. They will not own the car they' re fixing today in 1 year or 2 or 5.  Things that may wear out "later" will be someone else's problem.  Not so on the collector car your dad purchased and your son now dreams of owning, when you are old.  For that person, service must be done to a high standard, with a view toward a far distant horizon.

I hope this makes clear some of the additional challenges we face when doing a seemingly common service on an older car.  

John Elder Robison is the general manager of J E Robison Service Company, independent restoration and repair specialists in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John is a longtime technical consultant to the Mercedes, BMW, Porsche and Rolls Royce Owner's Clubs, and he’s owned and restored many of these fine vehicles.  Find him online at www.robisonservice.com or in the real world at 413-785-1665

How to Buy Collector Car Insurance

What should you look for, when buying insurance for a collector car? Insurance is a complex thing; something many enthusiasts don’t come to understand until it’s too late – when they are unhappy or furious over their treatment when a claim is filed.

In my work managing insurance claims in a repair shop I see a few common problem areas. Figure these things out with your agent BEFORE buying a policy, and you will head off 99% of the worst potential problems.  The first is total loss value.  That’s what an insurance company will pay you if your car is wrecked beyond repair, burnt to a crisp, stolen or lost in the ocean.  It’s determined three ways, and it’s VITAL you understand which you have.

AGREED VALUE – this kind of coverage pays the value you agree upon.  Your premiums are typically xx dollars per thousand, so a $100,000 policy will cost twice what a $50,000 policy costs.  If you buy $50,000 of coverage, and your car becomes a total loss, that is what you will get.  If your car is damaged but not a total loss, they will repair it up to this limit.  Once repaired, your car will be covered by the agreed value limit once again. This is the only kind of coverage you want for most collector cars.

STATED VALUE – this sounds like agreed value, but it’s not.  Stated value will pay you the stated value, or the actual cash value, whichever is less.  Let’s say you buy $50,000 of stated value coverage, and you total the car.  The insurance company finds six similar cars offered for sale at prices ranging from $28-32,000.  Stated value coverage allows them to offer you $30,000 because that’s the average actual value as shown in the market.  The $50,000 you thought you had, isn’t.

Stated value is for all practical purposes the same as actual cash value, but they charge more for it. Stated value coverage benefits the insurance company, but it does not benefit the car collector.  I suggest you avoid this coverage.

ACTUAL CASH VALUE – this is the coverage most ordinary cars carry.  The insurance company sets the rate based on the average value of your car, and if the car becomes a total loss they pay the actual cash value at that time.  On a new Mercedes they might pay $80,000 (almost what it cost new) where the same car might fetch a $40,000 settlement a few years later as it had depreciated.  This coverage is usually fair and reasonable for modern cars, where replacements are easy to get and values are consistent.  It’s not very good for collector cars where value is often in the eye of the beholder.  Expect this coverage on your daily driver, but avoid it for your collector cars.

The next problem area is claims handling.  All policies spell these terms out, but few enthusiasts read the fine print.  Here are a few questions to ask:

What constitutes a total loss, and what about “loss of collector value?”  In many states the legislature of insurance commissioner has defined what constitutes a total loss.  In many states a total loss is a loss where the initial damage appraisal equals roughly 70% of the vehicle’s total loss value.  Depending on where you live, your insurer may or may not have control over this figure.  It’s good to know. 

In my state, as an example, a $100,000 car that suffers $60,000 damage will be fixed (not totaled), because that’s the law.  You may think it’s terrible and you may think your car’s collector value has been compromised, but in most cases there is nothing you can do.  So be aware.

Does your policy allow repair with new, original equipment parts?  Or does the policy say the first choice is used or aftermarket pieces?  Most people prefer the former; most policies provide the latter as the default.  Coverage may differ for glass and other parts in some states.  Deductibles can vary too.

Does your policy allow you to have anyone fix your car?  In some states your freedom of choice among licensed repair shops is a matter of law.  In other states shops are on some insurer’s approved lists but not others.  If you want the best shop in town fixing your baby, make sure the policy allows you to make that choice.

Does your policy pay prevailing rates for repair, or do they set an arbitrary limit?  Some places have a state-approved “standard rate” for auto body labor, which may work fine for repair of ordinary cars but prove unworkable for collector vehicles that require special skills.  If your car ends up at a shop that charges $69 per hour, and your insurer pays $38 an hour, you will probably have a problem. 

When dealing with collector cars you should ask if the comprehensive coverage includes rodent damage.  If mice eat your wiring or your upholstery will your policy cover that?  Rodent damage to upholstery can be extensive, especially on a collector car where new materials might have to be made to order at considerable cost.

Does your policy allow betterment, and if so, when and how much?  Betterment is the term for the part of a loss you (the insured) are responsible for because the repaired car ends up “better than before the loss.”  Here’s an example:  Let’s say you have an all wheel drive car that gets into a crash and the two tires on the right are damaged. The tires are half worn. Your insurance company say they are charging you 50% betterment because the tires were worn, and they have to fit new tires to fix the car.  Your tire dealer says you need to replace all four tires because you have an all wheel drive car, but the insurance company says they are only responsible for what’s damaged.

That is a normal thing in most places and with most policies.  Betterment may be set by the insurance commissioner in your state or it may be something you can choose in a policy.  Know what it may be, before you have to pay it.

If you understand the points above, and make good choices, you should end up with good coverage that you understand.  What about problems during the claims process?  Sadly, claims troubles are all too common, but they do not have to be.  At my company we’ve handled millions of dollars in claims and major problems are really rare.  But there are shops where every claim ends up as a fight.  What makes the difference?

That will be the subject of my next installment, so stay tuned

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