PennSilverTaco's European vehicle photo montage and rant/rave thread!

And here's another one!

 

And another!

 

And don't even get me started...

 

And this 1963 Silver Cloud III appears to be wearing wheel covers from a 1980s Chevy Caprice police car, with the RR logo slapped in the center...

WTF?

 

Don't do drugs, kids!

 

I am pretty sure this 1965 Silver Cloud III is not entirely correct, but at least it gives you a general idea of how the wheel disc accents are supposed to look!

 

According to the ad, this wildly painted 1964 Silver Cloud III was once once owned by Elton John. It also apparently has a 454 big block, TH400 automatic tranny, and Ford 9-inch rear end...

https://forsale.myclassicgarage.com/vehicles/76659/1964-rolls-royce-silver-cloud-iii-elton-john

All American Parts?!?! The last time I checked, Rolls-Royce was, oh I don't know, British!!!

 

I guess rocket man wanted one with some get up and go.

 

It is actually common practice for limo companies to replace the the factory inline-6 motors in the Silver Clouds will small block Chevy motors. While I do not like it that they do this, the exterior of the car is left largely alone. The reason for the V8 swap is not because the owner is some arrogant prick who doesn't care, but because the limousine industry takes its toll on any car, and 350 small block is much cheaper to maintain than an old Rolls-Royce motor.

Also, if something goes kablooey, replacing Chevy long block is as simple as pay a few hundred bucks at the local salvage yard.

Also of note is that many of these cars came from the factory with a GM-sourced 3-speed automatic transmission, making the swap a breeze.

DISCLAIMER: I am merely stating fact and in no way advocating the installation of a domestically-produced V8 engine in a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud!

 

As far as overall build quality and general reliability, the 2004-newer Rolls-Royces are good vehicles. My grievance with Rolls-Royces produced in the 21st century is that you are paying for the name and nothing more...

The captioned image below should tell you everything you need to know about overall interior quality in the 2018 Phantom...



This is just fine for a 2018 Camry, which starts at $23,495 for a base L model here in the United States, and tops out at $34,950 for an XSE V6. In Hong Kong, where the above photo was taken, a new Camry starts at HK$309,750 (a little over $39,600 USD; Hong Kong has very high taxes). By comparison, a 2018 Rolls-Royce Phantom is said to start at $417,825 in the States. The mirror above belongs to a slightly longer (and more expensive) extended-wheelbase Phantom. The price of this particular Phantom LWB (again, located in Hong Kong; HK spec is identical to UK spec) is about HK$11,800,000, which translates to about $1.5 million USD!

They are very well-built and safe vehicles, but old-world British craftsmanship has given way to cutting-edge German efficiency and mass-production...

This is just fine for a Mercedes S-class or a BMW M3, but not a Rolls-Royce or Bentley!

 

Specs for the 1981-1987 Camargue:

NOTE: According to the book, Camargue models included in this chapter were actually in production from 1975. This particular chapter also details other Rolls-Royce and Bentley models and only lists production numbers for the Camargue after 1980. I'm still a bit confused by how it is laid out.

ENGINE:
GENERAL:
L410 Eight cylinders in 90° V configuration, bore 4.1 in. (104.1 mm), stroke 3.9 in. (99.1 mm), cubic capacity 412 cu. in. (6,750 cc). Compression ratio 9:1 (8:1 on all cars for North America, Australia, Japan, the UK, and the rest of the world from 1986).

VALVES:
Overhead valves operated by helical gear-driven cast iron camshaft in V of engine. Hydraulic tappets.

CYLINDER HEAD AND CYLINDER BLOCK:
Aluminum cylinder head with austenitic steel valve seat inserts. Aluminum alloy monobloc casting with cast iron wet cylinder liners.

CRANKSHAFT:
Forged steel, counterweighted, statically and dynamically balanced five bearing crankshaft.

INDUCTION SYSTEMS:
Bosch K-Jetronic continuous fuel injection with 'closed loop' mixture on cars for North America, Australia, and Japan; also the UK and other markets from 1986. Four-barrel Solex downdraught carburetor for the UK and other markets until 1986.

EXHAUST SYSTEM:
North American and Japanese cars fitted with catalytic converters, then on all cars except those sold in the Middle East from the 1987-88 model year onward. Cars not fitted with catalytic converters: twin pipe system with six silencer boxes.
Cars with catalytic converters: Twin downtake pipes from engine merge into a single pipe prior to the catalytic converters, then revert to twin pipes with twin intermediate and rear silencer boxes.

POWER: Not available, except, unofficially, 240 b.h.p. using Bosh K-Jetronic fuel injection on non-turbocharged engines from 1986.

TRANSMISSION:
GEARS: Until 1992, GM400 3-speed automatic transmission with torque converter.
Electrically operated gear selection with the selector mounted on the right side of the steering column.

RATIOS: Up to 1987: 3.08:1, 4:56:1, 7.64:1. Final drive 3.08:1.

BRAKES:
All four wheels fitted with 11-in. (279-mm) disc brakes ventilated at the front. Each rear caliper fitted with one four-cylinder caliper and each front wheel with two twin-cylinder calipers. Two independent hydraulic circuits from separate high-pressure hydraulic systems operated via distribution valves operate by the brake pedal. Separate brake pads for foot-operated, hand-released parking brake. Anti-lock brakes (ABS) from late 1986 (which probably means that no Camargue had ABS).

SUSPENSION:
Front: independent by coil springs and telescopic dampers, with lower wishbones, upper compliant levers and anti-roll bar mounted on the front sub-frame.
Rear: independent coil springs with semi-trailing arms and anti-roll bar. Telescopic hydraulic suspension struts and pressurized gas springs act in conjunction with the coil springs and incorporate both damping and self-leveling height control.
The height of the car is maintained under all normal load conditions by the gas springs and suspension struts plus an automatic self-leveling system with restrictors in the pressure lines which ensure that the leveling responds slowly to suspension movements.
Braking and self-leveling systems take Hydraulic System Mineral Oil pressurized up to 2,500 p.s.i. from two hydraulic accumulators mounted on the crankcase and fed by twin camshaft-driven hydraulic pumps. A safety valve ensures priority pressure to the braking system when pressure in the accumulators is low.

STEERING:
Power-assisted rack and pinion with center takeoff. Power assistance by hydraulic pressure from engine-driven pump. Collapsible energy absorbing steering column. 3.25 turns lock to lock.

WHEELS AND TIRES:
15-in. pressed steel wheels fitted with 235/70 HR15 steel braced radial ply tires.

UNDERFRAME:
Separate front and rear sub-frames. Front: steel box section mounted to underframe with rubber mounts. Rear: suspension and final drive cross-members connected by bracing tubes to form rigid structure attached to underframe by rubber mounts with short horizontal telescopic dampers at front mounts.

COACHWORK:
Welded steel construction by Mulliner Park Ward on reinforced base unit with aluminum doors, bonnet (hood) and boot (trunk) lid. Body stiffened by underfloor cruciform. Electric lift windows , electric front seat adjustments and fully automatic air conditioning.

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 10 ft. 0.5 in. (3,061 mm)
Front track: 5 ft. 0.5 in. (1,537 mm)
Rear track: 5 ft. 0.5 in. (1,537 mm)
Overall length: 17 ft. 0.5 in. (5,194 mm)
Overall width: 5 ft. 11.7 in. (1,821 mm)
Overall height: 4 ft. 11.75 in. (1,518mm)

PERFORMANCE:
1980-1985:
Maximum Speed: 126 MPH (202 KPH)
Acceleration: 0-60 MPH 12.8 sec.
Acceleration: 0-100 MPH 29.9 sec.

1986:
Maximum Speed: 126 MPH (202 KPH)
Acceleration: 0-60 MPH 10.4 sec.
Acceleration: 0-100 MPH 32.9 sec.

VIN NUMBERS, FIRST AND LAST:
1981 First-SCAYJ42A8BCX01570 1987 Last-SCAYJ42A1HCX10412

WORKS CITED:
Bird, Anthony, et al. The Rolls-Royce motor car and the Bentley since 1931. B T Batsford, 2002.

 

Avon Turbosteel tires, considered to be the tire for Rolls-Royces of this era (shown on a '76 Camargue)

 

Closeup view...

 

Original designer sketches from the 1970s...

 

Another prime example of an incorrect Camargue...

I do not know the story behind this one...

 

FUN FACT: There's no such thing as a factory Camargue convertible. Any convertibles out there are aftermarket conversions...

 

An article about the Camargue in Hemmings Motor News...

https://i1.wp.com/newportconvertible.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/camargue-wh1.jpg

 

I don’t know what the deal is with this car; The caption included with the picture was highly incorrect...

 

Rolls-Royce came out with the first fully automatic climate control system, debuting it in the Camargue in 1975, and putting it in all Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars from 1976 onward.

The 1998-2002 Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph was the first Rolls-Royce product since 1975 that didn't have the split-level A/C system, but I should also note that the Seraph is pretty much a BMW product. It lacks the trademark thru-the-floor brake pedal and other traditional RR touches. It also has a BMW V-12 under the hood instead of the traditional Rolls-Royce 6.75L V8 engine.

The Corniche, which remained in production until 2003, was the last real Rolls-Royce. It retained the split-level system until the very end...

2002 Corniche dashboard:

 

Going back to the pre-BMW cars, the split-level climate system was quite revolutionary, and many consider it to be the best automatic air-conditioning and heat system ever...

1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith II dashboard (HVAC controls circled in red):


1980 Silver Shadow II interior (temperature sensor circled in red):