Car Porn

If you got the funds...

https://stockton.craigslist.org/cto/d/hemi-charger-1969/6308907164.html

 

Gorgeous, but wrong year for me to spend that kind of money on it.



Edit-
I thought that car looked familiar. I was ogling it the other day.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Dodge-...ash=item4b2516ee6f:g:nuwAAOSwJ~RZupHt&vxp=mtr

 

I have also been ogling this one, which is more local to me.
Even though it's not a Hemi and it's not a 4 speed, it's the year of my dreams and the value will appreciate. The only problem is that it's so expensive already, and after I restored it it'd be worth even more money. I'd never drive it because the first rock chip would break my heart, lol.
https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/1968-dodge-charger-t/6308909659.html

 

Loooooove the color.

 

That is Effin' Sexy!

 

My 1972 G.M.C. Jimmy.....sold it the other day.....
Very sad, but it was time for a new home.

 

I have every intention of getting behind the wheel of a real Rolls-Royce or Bentley (Real meaning manufactured prior to BMW's purchase of the Rolls-Royce marque about 15 years ago, and VW's purchase of the Bentley marque and the rights to the Rolls-Royce V8 in the late 1990s) and basically trying it before I buy it, but I think I can safely say that I've done my homework (with some help from a guy I used to communicate with who I will tell you about later on in this post) and am 99% sure that one of these cars is for me. For lack of a better term, anyone with substantial savings can buy an older Rolls-Royce or Bentley outright (I do not consider any "Rolls-Royce" manufactured after 2002 to be a real Rolls-Royce; We're talking about all models prior to the BMW-powered Silver Seraph which debuted in 1998). Just like any vehicle new or used, anybody with good credit can take out a loan and finance a a Rolls-Royce or Bentley. I recently saw a 1989 Bentley Turbo listed on Craiglist in my area, for about $20,000. The car had 145K miles on it and was more or less mechanically sound and pretty much turn-key, but the ad stated that the car had electrical issues. Pictures also showed that the exterior of the car was not in the greatest shape, being average at best. Most notably, it had a decent-sized dent in the back, at the top of one of the rear fenders next to the trunk lid (or boot lid in proper English). I'd be wary of buying a used Tacoma (or any "everyday" vehicle for that matter) with close to or more than 100K miles on it, especially if the records were incomplete! A Rolls or Bentley? Forget about it! If I remember correctly, the ad stated that the owner had most service records, included all receipts for recent work done. On top of that, the car was regularly serviced by a Palma Automotive, a reputable Southern NJ facility specializing in Rolls and Bentley.

Since you serviced these cars, I think you will agree with the below statement...

Any chump with plenty of money and/or really good credit can buy a Rolls-Royce or Bentley. It is my personal opinion that a well-maintained Rolls or Bentley is probably one of the most reliable vehicles in the world based on what my contact in Hong Kong told me. However, a Rolls-Royce is not a Toyota in more ways than one, especially in terms of routine maintenance. The aforementioned acquaintance from HK, who was driving a 1981 Camargue at the time, stated he always kept a dedicated "slush fund" of sorts that was separate from his other bank accounts, exclusively for dealing with unexpected issues that inevitably resulted in costly repair bills...

Also...

A BMW E30, built better than a Rolls? Really...?

I don't think better-built is the proper way to describe it...

My family has owned a 1987 Mercedes 300E (W124) and a 2002 BMW 325Ci convertible and those cars were both built like brick shithouses. My Tacoma has been on the receiving end of an elderly man's stupid decision to get behind the wheel of his W210 when he was almost double the legal limit, and the impact annihilated my left rear fender and almost ripped my back bumper off. His car had a bent frame and some front end damage, but it was driveable.

I believe that all German cars, especially the older ones, are built like tanks.

In terms of interior fit and finish, I think that very few vehicles can even come close to a Rolls-Royce or Bentley manufactured prior to about 1991. My contact in Hong Kong (again, scroll down to read about him) said that 1987 (maybe 1989) was the last year RR used it's own power seat controls in the Silver Spirit and Silver Spur and their Bentley counterparts (SZ chassis). After that they outsourced to, speak of the devil, BMW, for these and a few other little parts. The Corniche III and it's Bentley counterpart followed suit in 1989 if I remember correctly. Despite this, the overall quality of all Rolls-Royce models manufactured prior to maybe 1998 was impeccable. Then in the late 1990s, beginning with the Silver Seraph in 1998-1999, Rolls-Royce fell victim to mass-production and so many things that made a Rolls a Rolls went away forever. The Silver Seraph didn't even have an RR engine, but rather a BMW V12, under the hood!

Going back to Beemers, I love the BMW 3-series, especially the E46, and particularly the 2002-2006 M3 with the true 6-speed manual (as in a bona fide stick shift with three pedals, not that SMG crap); Like I said my dad owned an E46 convertible when I was in high school, which he purchased not long after I got my learner's permit, and I got to take several driving lessons in it...

BMWs are great cars, but they it is my opinion that they aren't even in the same class as a Rolls-Royce or Bentley. Ironically BMW now owns Rolls-Royce (they have since 2002; The Phantom is not a real Rolls, but just a BMW in drag in my opinion). Bentley has been owned by Volkswagen (UGH) since 1998, though in my opinion, a few decent models did come out of the post-VW takeover era. These exceptions to the rule are the roughly 1998-2002 Bentley Arnage (Turbo, Red Label, etc), the 1998-2001 Continental, and the 2009-2011 Brooklands. The current Mulsanne does retain a variant of the legendary RR 6.75L V8 engine, but I'm not big on the styling...

 

As I said before, I connected with an older gentleman via a website for exotic car enthusiasts called ExoticSpotter.com, after he commented on my

Unfortunately I am no longer in contact with this particular individual because of a difference of opinion on politics (almost entirely on his end; NEVER discuss politics, seriously!), but this guy has owned numerous Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles since he was in his late 20s. In fact, he could be considered one of the foremost experts on postwar Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. He's studied the brands since the age of 5 or so, and his first such car was a 1950s Bentley Continental (I think) that he bought in the late 1970s for a mere $2,800.

I learned more about Rolls-Royces and Bentleys from this guy between about May 2016 and August 2017 than I'd ever managed to learn about them in my whole life.

As I said in my first message, the purchase price of any Rolls-Royce or Bentley is hardly the biggest issue. The issue is the cost of not only unexpected repair bills, but the routine maintenance as well!

In my opinion, about the only thing an owner (or anyone without even the most basic formal training as a mechanic/auto tech) has any business doing to their RR or Bentley in terms of repair/maintenance is change a flat tire, change the oil, recharge the air-conditioner (if it's R134a), and maybe (the keyword there being a big MAYBE) install a new radio/head unit. As for ASE-certified mechanics/techs, I also think that aside from basic preventive maintenance like oil changes, relatively minor repairs like charging the A/C, and doing annual emissions/smog testing and safety inspections (in states where they are required) are about all they have any business doing. These are not DIY cars.

The period of about 1970 until 1981 was one of Rolls-Royce's best in terms of sales and profits. My contact from HK said in no uncertain terms that most Rolls-Royce and Bentley buyers in the United States were (and still kind of are) people with more dollars than sense who were moving up in the world, and the Cadillac or Lincoln they were presently driving just wasn't cutting it for them. Like I said, I think my contact was primarily referring to roughly 1968-1990. As such, they sold that Cadillac or Lincoln and bought a Rolls or Bentley. Problems arose, my contact said, when they took the Rolls to an authorized dealer for routine maintenance or an unexpected repair and then almost had a heart attack when they got an estimate on how much it would cost. They would then take it to a trusted independent mechanic who could perform the most basic of prevent maintenance jobs himself, but lacked often lacked the proper replacement parts or fluids needed to do the work any competent mechanic could do, and/or lacked the experience to tackle much more serious issues.

FUN FACT that Itchyfeet probably knows, but most people probably don't: Rolls-Royces and Bentleys require a very specific brake fluid. When it comes to American vehicles or even other high-end (but still much cheaper than a Rolls) European luxury cars, brake fluid is very "one size fits all." If one uses generic brake fluid in a Rolls or Bentley, the fluid will pretty destroy the system and result in a repair bill of $10,000-$12,000 when all is said and done!

The reason I said that installing a new radio in a Rolls or Bentley is a "very big maybe" is because these cars have very complex electric electrical systems. The wiring loom, when totally unraveled, is about a mile long (maybe more) if I remember correctly. For a veteran car audio person who has many installations under his or her belt, putting a new head unit in a Rolls should probably be no problem. Installing new speakers in the factory locations is also probably not a problem, but you still have to be careful. If you plan on installing a subwoofer like my contact from HK did in a 1982 Silver Spirit he owned in the late 1990s-early 2000s, then paying someone who knows a lot about these cars is the better option. One slip-up could result in a repair bill for hundreds or even thousands of dollars!

But yeah, I just wanted to tell you that I'm pretty much sold on the idea of owning a Rolls or Bentley one day and have done quite a bit of research...

 

What we have here is a 1980 Rolls-Royce Corniche...

Some people may consider the following image to be car porn, but what I see is a very incorrect example of a classic Rolls-Royce...

Thanks to what I learned from my contact in Hong Kong, I can tell you that this not a factory Rolls-Royce color. I can also tell you that the tires are incorrect...

Whether a Rolls-Royce or Bentley came with blackwall or whitewall tires was entirely dependent on the original owner's preference, and the market in which the car was originally sold. My 1989 Rolls-Royce full-line brochure features cars with Goodyear tires. I also believe certain models came from the factory with Dunlop tires. My contact told me that many owners, especially in the USA, go the cheap route and put Vogue tires on their Rolls-Royces when the time comes to replace them. Vogue tires are not bad in my opinion, but not up to the standards of Rolls-Royce. In addition to looking incorrect, the ride and handling of the automobile will suffer. When in doubt, owners should stick to using Avon Turbosteel tires, referred to by my contact as the "Rolls-Royce of tires." They cost approximately $300 each, and due to the sheer weight of a Rolls-Royce, and the way both the cars and the tires were engineered, they will not last as long as tires on a regular vehicle (36K miles for your typical tires on a typical car or truck; I think it's considerably less than 30K for Avons on any SY or SZ depending on a number of factors like driving conditions and driving habits).

The wheelcovers (also called wheel discs), while from a Rolls-Royce, are not original to this Rolls-Royce...



I am a self-confessed audiophile when it comes to car audio (or in my case, truck audio). However, there is a huge difference between a Toyota (or any entry-level vehicle) and a Rolls-Royce or Bentley. Back in 1999-2000, my contact put what I would classify as a "killer stereo" in a 1982 Silver Spirit he owned at the time. The system consisted of a McIntosh head unit with CD player (a $1,000 head unit!) and Alpine speakers in the factory locations, as well as an Alpine subwoofer which was discreetly hidden so as not to disturb the car's handmade interior.

My verdict/opinion? If you want to put a stereo system in the trunk of a car, get a Cadillac or any other full-size American land yacht, or even an import. Don't do this to a $%#@* Rolls-Royce!

Again, I think the enclosure is very beautifully done, and this system probably sounds amazing. They just installed it in the wrong car...

 

Don't even get started on this one...

It's a 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. The Silver Cloud, and the nearly identical Bentley S, are among my favorite cars by this marque...

Right off the bat, I can tell you that the tires are incorrect (as evidenced by the too-large white walls). Once we get past that little detail, even more noticeable is the gold-plated trim...



Click HERE for original article!

 

First, I would like to point out that I have nothing but respect for the building and fabricating skills of whoever built this vehicle.

Like ordinary vehicles and their owners, Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, and their owners, have to live in the real world. Sometimes, shit happens. That's just life. Regardless of whether you're driving a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow or a Toyota Camry, all you can do is get really good insurance for your vehicle, wear your seatbelt at all times, and and practice defensive driving habits. However, shit still happens. When a Rolls-Royce or Bentley is totaled/written off by an insurance company for whatever reason (road accident, natural disaster, etc), or if one that has been sitting for an extended period of time or is in really poor condition is just too far gone for a restoration, my contact told me that these cars should be parted out and thus allowed to live on with dignity as part of another car (or many cars).

My contact from Hong Kong actually viewed images of this Silver Shadow and said that it was in fact a correct color, and the paintwork looked good, but that was the only good thing he had to say...

I have no idea how this particular car came to be; My guess is that the car itself was solid, but the engine was probably bad, the interior was probably in bad shape, and the car was just worn out. It would be really sad if this car was actually not past the point of no return in terms of being salvageable.

Like I said, I love the concept of repurposing an old car into a dragster or other "weekend toy," but this just isn't something you do to a Rolls-Royce!

 

September 16th, 2017:

For the first time in my life, I went to a van show, and not just a mere show but a 4-day campout of sorts for diehard vanners. The even is called Keystone Madness and 2017 was it's 25th consecutive year. Keystone Madness is held every at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds, and isn't even technically open the general public. I almost didn't get in (See my upcoming story on this in my "Charlie's Asperger's Thread) and was actually met with hostility from the guys at the gate, but luckily I'd been in contact with this woman who pretty much runs the even for about two weeks prior to actual event date and she'd said I could come to the event and take pictures. It was only after I dropped her name and the the guys at the front gate confirmed my story that I was granted entry.

This is just one of many awesome vans I saw at the show!

This particular van is a 2010 Ford E-series cargo van, dubbed "The White Knight" by it's owner...


The owner built the medieval-themed interior himself...

Old vans are awesome, but with age comes inevitable mechanical issues. You would also be surprised how many of the original custom vans of the 1970s and 1980s DID NOT have air-conditioning! Inside and out, these vans are works of art. They have beautiful airbrushed murals like The White Knight here, and the theme often carries on inside the van (as seen above). They have killer stereo systems, CB radios, plush captain's chairs, and in some cases even fridges and microwaves, but a lot of the older vans don't have A/C! Some people don't mind not having A/C, but I am not one of those people. As I said, old vans are awesome, but with came comes inevitable mechanical issues. Old vans are great to look at, but in addition to lacking creature comforts like air-conditioning, they lack many modern safety features that we now take for granted, like airbags, anti-lock brakes, and even full seatbelts. It is also not that easy to find parts for certain older models in the event that something breaks or the van is involved in an accident. Old vans are AWESOME, but some may not be exactly practical as daily drivers...

What we have here in The White Knight is one hell of a compromise. It has the the heart and soul of an old shaggin' wagon, right down to the beautiful artwork painted on the exterior and a truly unique interior, but with the reliability and safety of a newer vehicle. By the way, according to the owner that medieval mural took about three months to complete! It is so well done that it wins it's owner awards at just about every show and event he takes it to, but underneath it's a late model Ford van. Under the hood is a 5.4L V8 engine. By the way, those sidepipes are real. The factory muffler and catalytic converter remain in place and fully fuctional, so the van will pass emissions testing anywhere in the country (the owner lives in a county in Pennsylvania that does not require emissions testing, so it's a non-issue).

This van has airbags and 4-wheel ABS, among other things. It's also got power windows, power locks, cruise control, tilt wheel, and yes, even air-conditioning. Have you ever been to a Ford or Chevy dealership and they have seemingly endless rows of no-frills white cargo vans on the lot. This is one of those vans, but it was ordered fully loaded...

As seen above, the owner was all too happy to open the door so I could get a picture. From what I remember, the only thing "stock" about this van was the stereo, just the factory AM/FM CD player with an AUX input...

So yeah, the first of many pictures from Keystone Madness...

 

September 16th, 2017:

This van is not exactly custom (at least not compared to others at Keystone Madness), but it was one of only two 2008-present Ford E-series vans present at the show (the other being The White Knight) and it's also a Quigley 4x4 conversion!

 

September 16th, 2017:

Keystone Madness 2017-Schuylkill County Fairgrounds

 

THAT is a renaissance faire shaggin' wagon!