Just Arrived I Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - FSD 843

Just Arrived

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - FSD 843

Chassis: SRH18848

The Irish Six… Plus One

Remember the Irish Six?

We may have been slightly premature with the name.

It turns out there was a seventh car.

It simply couldn't fit on the transporter.

So, a couple of weeks later, when the transporter happened to be heading back this way, our missing member finally made the crossing. Please welcome number seven.

And, rather fittingly, it looks as though it has been waiting patiently for us.

This 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow is finished in Athenian Blue, a metallic shade that would once have suited this car rather beautifully. These days, however, much of that blue is rather harder to find.

The front left wing, for example, has surrendered almost completely, leaving little more than primer where the paint ought to be. Elsewhere, the finish still manages to hold a reasonable shine, but much of the bodywork has become tired and weathered. The brightwork has suffered too, with pitting and corrosion appearing in various places, while one of the front bumper-mounted fog lamps has been smashed.

It's fair to say this Shadow has lived a life.

The interior tells much the same story, although there are still glimpses of what it once was.

The matching blue leather would have made a particularly smart combination with the Athenian Blue exterior, but time hasn't been especially kind to it. The seats are now dry, cracked and heavily worn, while the door cards have disappeared altogether, leaving the inner workings of the doors and speakers rather more exposed than Rolls-Royce originally intended.

The wood has gone too.

There's no dashboard veneer, no wooden door cappings and no rear vanity mirrors. Instead, the cabin is currently populated by exposed instruments, wiring and rather more mechanical honesty than most Rolls-Royce passengers would have expected.

The headlining, somewhat surprisingly, has survived.

It's about the only part of the interior that hasn't decided it would rather be somewhere else.

And that's really the story of number seven.

Unlike some of the other Irish arrivals, there isn't a question over whether this one will be saved as a complete car. It has already reached the end of that particular road.

It doesn't run, and with so much missing from the interior and so much work required elsewhere, restoration simply isn't realistic.

But that doesn't mean there's nothing left.

Quite the opposite.

A Silver Shadow is made up of thousands of individual components, many of which are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Beneath the tired exterior are still mechanical components, suspension parts, trim, fittings and countless other pieces that can give another Shadow the chance to keep going.

And that's exactly why it's here.

Number seven may not be the most glamorous member of the Irish collection, but it still has a job to do.

The Magnificent Seven, perhaps.

Although this one is probably more magnificently dismantlable.

Either way, we're glad it finally made the journey.