Fuel pump fuse melted. I was told by the dealership that this is a common problem. Some fuses have become so hot that the circuit board cracked. They have an upgrade for this problem. I think they called it a fuse 13 upgrade. 13 being the number of the fuse. They no longer will use the fuse and place a circuit breaker in its place. The Bosch fuel pump is a big pump and pulls lots of juice and melts the fuse is what I was told happens.
Rolls Royce was still using lacquer paint on this model year. The paint work on these cars in awesome. However since it is lacquer, you need to invest time and labor in taking care of this delicate paint. The body panels fit perfectly and are the straightest you will see on a car.
The engine is extremely quiet. The engine has sufficient power to move this heavy car. It is not a fast car though. The engine temperature gage shows extremely cool even when going up a mountain. I guess the big radiator, 10 quarts of oil capacity, and engine oil cooler keeps the engine cooler.
This car features the reliable and cheap to service Chevrolet Turbo 400 along with the GM A-6 dual belt air conditioning compressor.
The ride of the car is about like most Cadillac models, it is not as smooth as a Lincoln though.
Wind noise is slightly more than a Lincoln or Cadillac due to its traditional body design.
Quality of the interior is much higher than a Cadillac or Lincoln. Real wood of high quality compared to low quality wood and plastic that looks like wood. Wool carpeting compared to nylon. All leather used inside and no vinyl whereas a Cadillac or Lincoln just has leather seating surfaces.
The mineral oil brake system is complex and difficult to find people to work on it other than the dealership. It has not given any problems yet.
The dash light bulbs are poorly designed; they have threads like lamp bulbs. Road vibrations make the bulbs unscrew themselves and the dash needs taken apart to tighten the bulbs.
The factory radio is a Blaukpunt. It is complete trash and cannot compare to a Delco or Ford radio of the era.
The intermittent speed on the wipers do not have a way to set the timing of the pause. there is only one x second pause when using the intermittent speed.
The gearshift is small like a turn signal switch from a GM car. The gear shift just slides up and down into gear. It does not need to be pulled toward you then shifted. It is so easy to knock this car into another gear while turning the steering wheel or to bump it into gear while parked. To make matters even worse the cruise control buttons are located on the gearshift. This is the worst part of the car.
Overall, I really love the car. It is a Rolls-Royce, but it is by no means a perfect car. I have yet to find the perfectly designed car. It appears that many of the quirks in these cars are with the electrical system.
So you are Running what is known as a plastic Rolls Royce then? By that I mean you bought one that had the Chevrolet Motor Transplant. How does that effect the value?
This car was an all original 19,000 mile and never had a Chevy motor transplant. Value is unaffected since the car is all original.
Rolls Royce used GM to supply many parts including transmissions and air conditioning systems. Some Rolls Royce motorcars even have Delco radios and Delco alternators.
The engine in this car was made by Rolls Royce. However, Rolls Royce had GM design and engineer this engine for them.
Ooops, I'm sure you meant transmission. RR had its own engine design and build. The Turbo Hydromatic 400 transmissions were from GM (not exactly Chevrolet).
No, I did mean engine. From what I am told by experts Rolls Royce had GM design their engine. Rolls did do the manufacturing though.
GM have never designed Rolls Royce Engines or Transmissions. I suspect the Guy you bought it from has told you this information.
Engines= no. Transmissions= = YES!!! During the late 1970's till late 1980's= the ONLY transmission used was a GM heavy duty turbo 400 (one of the best trans ever made- really tough!). Do some research and you will see.
From a third party...
Yes. It is general knowledge about the GM transmission origins of Shadows, Wraiths, Spirits, and Spurs.
I have been the proud owner of a silver spur from new in 1982 and today have only done 19.000 miles. It is a special Tudor red colour on the body with an eveflex white vinyl roof and is still a show stopper.
I have had no trouble with it, other than the panel lights that are difficult to adjust, and I am now planning to put a GPRS DVD/TV sound system in next week. I am also putting sun dim film on all the windows. I do fancy putting in a more modern set of wing mirrors with the indicator lights that are attached to it as in newer models plus new type Xenon bulbs. The interior is pure white hide upholstery. I have found it a very quiet and comfortable ride. I plan to keep this car for many years to come and is myfavourite out of my current fleet of 10 cars, that inclkudes a 1979 white Rolls Royce silver shadow two.
Very enlightened by your testimonies, I too have recently purchased a 1982 Silver Spur. By chance, would you know where I might find an original or re-printed owners manual. mrray1948@verizon.com.
Here is a good detective story to be solved. I have a 1980 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 2 with carburators. It has 30,000 miles on it.
When you press down the accelerator and release it, the choke rod drops from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock and the car starts at a high idle. After 34 seconds the car splutters out like you ran out of gas. It's useless to pump the gas or crank the ignition.
If you swap the fuel pump/ignition fuse on the board with any of the 10 amp fuses on the board, the car starts immediately and runs beautiful, you can drive forever. If you turn the car off for 10 minutes and start it, it runs for 30 seconds and splutters out. If you wait exactly 10 minutes, the car starts and runs perfect.
Now I have been milked to death by Rolls Royce mechanics. First a fuse 13 bypass was requested, but didn't help until it was learned that the board was just cleaned and re-soldered. Then a second request (paid another $98.00) to do the bypass. Still didn't help until it was determined that the ignition was put on a separate fuse block instead of the pumps. Now it appears that the pumps are being electrically disconnected at some point and for some reason
There is a cash reward for the winning suggestion. My car is being used as a cash cow.
njaeger@natejaeger.com
On your Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II, it sound like you have a bad Fuel Pump. Sometime before the fuel goes bad, it will start to hum very loud. When you turn the ignition to the ON position, you should hear a very light buzz, which is the fuel pump motor. If you do not hear this sound, you fuel pump is dead. There maybe just enough fuel in the line (after pumping a few times) to start the engine. Once the that fuel has burned, the car will just cut off. If this helps, e-mail me at vbullock1@nc.rr.com.
I have had my 1982 silver spur for 5 years since my fathers death. I love it,but it is definately a labor of love. such as my Freinds boats, however I will not part with it. in fact looking for more.
Regarding the "National Origins" of the famous RR V8 engine, I recommend a few minutes of highly interesting and clarifying reading at this site:
http://rroc.org.au/wiki/index.php?title=History:RR-V8_Designer
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