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

I would venture to say you know more than anyone of any age from any country....at least in terms of the average person

 

My favorite Rolls Royce

 

That's a Rolls-Royce Wraith, not one of my favorite models...

I can only hope that's a wrap and not the actual paint...

 

It's Anthony Brown's Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver. He had it painted like that.

 

I thought I saw the Steelers logo in there...

That would be a sick paintjob for a custom van, but it just doesn't work on a Rolls-Royce...

 

Yea I think it's just a tad over the top

 

Or this one?

https://youtu.be/5xomArI4aJ0

 

The Rolls-Royce Camargue, produced from 1975 until 1986, is probably one the most (if not the most) misunderstood Rolls-Royce automobiles ever built. Going into production during what I consider to be the Golden Era of RR and Bentley (like 1971-1981ish), it had the same quality of any other Rolls-Royce. However, it's Pininfarina-designed coachwork was not for everybody. In more than a decade of production, only 531 were built worldwide! In 11 years, the car was changed very little (I will get to the exterior differences later in this thread).

The most noticeable change to the untrained eye would be the radio. The earliest models had an AM/FM stereo with a separate 8-track player. Beginning in 1979 or so, a Pioneer cassette deck replaced the 8-track player. The Pioneer was standard until at least 1981. The Silver Spirit and Silver Spur actually had Delco AM/FM cassettes with graphic equalizers, sourced from GM. Look in a fully loaded 1987-1988 Monte Carlo SS, or a 1989-1991 K5 Blazer or Suburban; same head unit as a roughly 1985-1988 Rolls!

A Canadian-spec 1986 Camargue I found for sale from Park Ward in Illinois has a Blaupunkt tape deck that looks original, but I don't know if it is or not...

Anyway, the biggest thing about the Rolls-Royce Camargue is the unconventional style. Some people think it resembles an American-made car of the same era, and some think it is just plain ugly regardless of what it resembles. It was also the most expensive Rolls-Royce in production at time; A guy I knew had a 1980-81 Camargue that he bought from the estate of the original owner, and the price when new in 1981 was £178,000 (that's pounds, not US dollars; in 1981)!

The aforementioned acquaintance with the '81 Camargue told me that the Camargue's coachwork is very color-sensitive, and it makes sense if you look at a Camargue in white or gray, and then at a Camargue that is black, blue, green, or red. I personally believe that the Camargue also looks best with whitewall tires, but that's just me...

NOTE: The Camargue was NEVER meant to be finished in two-tone!

One thing that makes the Camargue so special, among other things, is the HVAC system. Air-conditioning first became available as a factory-installed option on all Rolls-Royce and Bentley models in 1956, and became standard on all models worldwide in 1966. The 1960s Silver Clouds had York A/C compressors! By 1975, all Rolls-Royces had air-conditioning, and the systems were powerful and efficient to say the least (I've never experienced the A/C in an older RR, but RR's used good 'ol R-12 Freon until at least 1992)! However, they weren't much different from the A/C in a Cadillac or a Lincoln of the same era, at least in terms of basic operation.

In 1975, Rolls-Royce used the Camargue to debut it's split-level climate control system. The way the split-level system works is that you set the dials to the white (between blue and red), and the system heats or cools the cabin based on the outside temperature. Of course, you can just switch it to regular A/C or regular heat, but it kinda defeats the purpose of the system...

By 1976, all Rolls-Royce models had the split-level climate system, and this continued until BMW bought the company in the late 1990s

And now for a lesson on the Camargue...

This one is a 1976, which is the second year of production...




This is a 1986, which was the last year of production. Aside from the fact that the '76 is an American-spec, and the '86 is a Canadian-spec (speedometer in kilometers), these cars look identical to the untrained eye, despite the '86 being a full decade newer...




To the untrained eye, they are identical...

However, a true Rolls-Royce enthusiast can tell the difference...

First let's look at the '76 again...

Pay close attention to the front quarterlights (vent windows)!




And now, here's the 86...

The pillar of the quarterlight is slanted further frontward on the '76 model, whereas it is more straight on the '86!




Another way of telling newer Camargues (roughly 1979-1986) from older ones (1975-1978ish) is the lip above the rear bumper. The problem is that I don't remember which is which...LOL. I believe the older ones had a wider gap above the rear bumper while newer ones had the lip...

Both of these fine examples are listed for sale at Park Ward in Illinois as of January 2018!

 

Now, here's a look at a highly incorrect Camargue...

NOTE: By looking at the quarterlight, we know this is 1980 at the oldest...

The wheels and tires on this otherwise tires are the most incorrect aspect. To be on the safe side, one should only use Avon tires on Rolls-Royces and Bentleys (whether or not they use whitewall or blackwall is up to their personal preference; either one is correct). I have no idea what brand of rubber this car wearing, but I know they are not Avon. Tires are an easy (but expensive) fix.

Those wheels, on the other hand, are absolutely hideous!

Do not be fooled by the RR logo on the centercaps... UGH! Those are garish custom-made aftermarket wheels...

Though gold-plating was available from the factory for anyone willing to pay for it, nobody with any taste should have ever gotten it...

The gold-plated spirit of ecstasy hood ornament is just ugly, too!



That Nardi steering wheel is about as incorrect as they come!

As for the stereo, any purist will tell you that all motorcars should be left completely stock, but I think it is okay to install a modern head unit and some new speakers as long you don't damage any part of the interior!

As you can see, this Camargue has an aftermarket CD player...



The interior is not in bad shape, but I can't get past that friggin' steering wheel!


Under the hood, what else but the legendary 6.75L V8 engine? Official horsepower and torque figures were never released, but I've heard that the engine in a Camargue is putting out close to 400 lbs-ft!

The engine compartment does not look as pristine as I would like (makes my Tacoma look like a Concours D'Elegance contender), but it's not in horrible condition either...

 

This is the dashboard of the Canadian-spec '86 for sale in Illinois...

This, fellow TW members, is what a correct Camargue steering wheel looks like!

 

The Canadian-spec '86 again...

And these are correct wheel covers!

 

This is the radio and HVAC controls in the American-spec '76, also for sale at Park Ward in Illinois...

The 8-track player at the top is factory, but the original AM/FM stereo has been replaced by a modern Blaupunkt AM/FM stereo CD player with USB and 3.5mm AUX inputs...

 

In about 1998-1999, when I was like 9, my dad found his Roy Orbison Greatest Hits cassette and popped it in the tape deck of his 1990 Mazda B2600 pickup while we were out driving. I'd first heard Roy Orbison when I was much younger, but I became reacquainted with him when my dad played a cassette just like the one in the picture below in his old truck. Roy Orbison died right before I was born, but I instantly fell in love with his music and have been jamming to it ever since...



NOTE: My dad's tape had the same cover seen in the picture above, but the actual tape was clear, not black...

 

If I hit the lottery, I'd buy this '86 Camargue, dig up the old Roy Orbison tape my dad ended up giving me, and pop it in the tape deck...

I would then cruise along the Delaware with the windows down and Roy Orbison blasting!

 

Some pictures of me and the aforementioned Mazda B2600 (circa 2000)...

 

Here's another interior shot of the '76...

I repeat...

THIS IS THE ONLY STEERING WHEEL THAT SHOULD EVER BE INSTALLED IN A CAMARGUE!

 

FUN FACT:

Rolls-Royces from the 1968 (1975-1986 Camargue included) until at least the early 1990s used a GM-sourced TH400 3-speed automatic transmission. This was the very same transmission used in ¾-ton and 1-ton Chevy and GMC trucks, as well as ¾-ton Suburbans! However, it was engineered to Rolls-Royce's exacting specifications to be much smoother than the variants used in GM products. It was designed to shift smoothly and effortlessly, while lasting hundreds of thousands of miles!

For the latter half of the 1970s and much of the 1980s, Rolls-Royces also used Delphi-Harrison A/C compressors and other Delphi-Harrison A/C system parts.

As mentioned above, the head units in roughly 1985-1988 SZ cars were Delco models, just like you would find in numerous GM products manufactured from about 1983 to 1994!

 

Nice writeup... and brave on a Tacoma site. I absolutely cannot find anything I like about these cars, but +1 for you having a vehicle you are passionate about! Enjoy them

 

Another thing about the Camargue would be the interior...

The interior of every Camargue is upholstered in exclusive Connolly Nuella leather. This leather was only used in the Camargue, while Connolly is still around, Nuella is no longer being produced! If anybody reading this presently owns a Camargue or is ever lucky enough to acquire one someday, take extra special care of the interior!

 

Open the bonnet (that's proper British English for pop the hood), and you'll like what you see...

That venerable Rolls-Royce 6.75L V8 produces close to 300 horsepower and close to 400 ft-lbs of torque!

If properly maintained, the 6.75L can go well past 500K miles before needing a major overhaul!