Just Arrived I Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - FSD 838

Just Arrived

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - FSD 838

Chassis: SRH16752

It isn't every day that one Rolls-Royce leaves and six classics arrive to take its place.

Not long ago, our rather rare Mulliner Park Ward 2-Door Saloon found a new home. In return came something altogether less glamorous, but arguably far more exciting: a transporter loaded with six Rolls-Royce and Bentley classics making the journey across the Irish Sea from the Emerald Isle.

It was quite the sight. A Bentley Mulsanne Turbo, two Bentley S1s, a Bentley S2, a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and a Bentley T1, all spanning decades of Crewe engineering and all perched on one lorry. They arrived looking tired, weathered and carrying the sort of honest scars you'd expect from cars that have spent years waiting for somebody to make a decision about them. Some will inevitably donate their parts to keep others alive. One or two, however, might just have another chapter left in them. That's exactly what we'll be finding out over the coming weeks.

Next off the transporter was this Silver Shadow, finished in a soft pearlescent shade that sits somewhere between oyster, gold and champagne depending on how the light catches it.

At first glance, it's one of the nicest looking cars of the collection.

The body presents surprisingly well, the proportions are right, and despite years of use it still carries the quiet elegance that made the Silver Shadow such a success. The grey leather interior has certainly seen life, but it's far from beyond saving. The seats are well worn rather than ruined, and although the door cappings have long since lost their lacquer, revealing bare timber beneath, that's hardly unusual on an early Shadow.

It even rolled off the transporter without complaint.

That may not sound particularly impressive, but when you're surrounded by cars with seized brakes and reluctant wheels, simply rolling freely counts as a small victory.

Unfortunately, our optimism took a slight knock before the car had even reached the ground.

As the transporter tilted skywards, it gave us a rather better view of the underside than we'd been expecting. Sadly, what we saw wasn't especially encouraging. Corrosion appears to have taken hold underneath, and in places it's already making itself known through the cabin floor.

It's enough to pause the conversation.

When this Shadow first arrived on paper, we hoped it might become another straightforward rolling restoration. It still might. But before anybody gets carried away by its handsome appearance, we'll need to get it into the workshop and establish exactly what lies beneath.

Sometimes the prettiest cars hide the biggest jobs.

We're hoping this isn't one of them.