Our new Lemons car. Pardon me....

At the end of this season, we agreed "we are not building another car this winter", as we needed the time to attend to everything we neglected over the past two winter builds.

Then, on Friday, I saw a posting on Craigslist that changed that. Later that night we bought it, and picked it up on Saturday.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the 1969 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, brought to you by 3 Pedal Mafia.

Lots more info and pics on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ThreePedalMafia

Yes, this is a legitimate Lemons grade Rolls. $1000. The previous owner had a sentimental attachment to it, as it belonged to his father who passed away. The first people to look at it brought their truck that said "junk cars hauled" so when we showed up with tales of bringing the car to new glory as a race car, it was a done deal!

Let's be honest...we have a lot of work. It doesn't run, and hasn't run in 5 years. There is a giant hole in the driver's side floorboard. These cars are not cheap to keep in decent shape, let alone to bring back from 5+ years of sitting. As such, we are going to try to keep this one simple. We are never going to win anything by going fast in this thing, so we just want to get it rolling and keep as much of the original character as possible.

Here's the plan
Step 1: Get it running/driving.
Step 2: Add roll cage, kill switch, seat, belts, fire bottle.
Step 3: Win IOE. Again.

I'm super entertained by being able to tell people I just bought a Rolls Royce, and then having to completely change the initial impressions of whomever I am speaking with.

Hopefully we can get to it after the holidays, but the trouble is that it is too big to fit in any of our garages!

Mega awesomeness to the nth degree

I think the Winged Victory alone is worth more than $1,000.

Enjoy your Holidays. And then get that build thread going, dammit!!

dump the hydraulic suspension and brakes asap.

I seen it all

That is awesome!!!

You've gotta be able to get a whole bunch of dough back with selling uneeded parts on that deal. I'd offer the grille up and build a cheap replica, myself. Maybe a rubber duck in place of the flying lady...

Do you plan on keeping the Roller V8, or is it LS time?

The grille and hood ornament are 1/2 the value of this thing, and the whole reason to race it!

There is absolutely no reason this car should not have some form of GM V8 under the hood. If anything, it will be the cheapest way to get it running.

I suspect that you will be able to recoup far more than $1000. Heck, you may be able to turn a profit for its first race.

i dunno, i kinda think it's lame to do that to a rolls.

i'd rather LS swap it and drive it on the street than make it a beater lemons POS just for shock value

That is awesome. I'd pay a grand for that all day long.

Damn! I've been trying to do the cheap Rolls thing for about five years but anything even remotely affordable is either missing the grill or in need of a windshield.

a LS street sleeper would be badass

pass the gray poupon please

patgizz wrote: i dunno, i kinda think it's lame to do that to a rolls. i'd rather LS swap it and drive it on the street than make it a beater lemons POS just for shock value

Well, good thing there isn't a berkeleying thing stopping you from doing that yourself, is there? Lotta big talkers in the world. Not many "doers."

Nice score, Sonicman. Can't wait to see her in action. Beats the E36 M3 outta rusting away in a field or being sent to china in chunks.

There needs to be some sort of chauffeur thing going on. I can't quite come up with the perfect idea. A dummy in the back seat is too easy. Something more awesome is right on the tip of my brain .........

poopshovel wrote: Lotta big talkers in the world. Not many "doers." Beats the E36 M3 outta rusting away in a field or being sent to china in chunks.

Truth x 2 right there. I'm waiting with eager anticipation of the build thread

mazdeuce wrote: There needs to be some sort of chauffeur thing going on. I can't quite come up with the perfect idea. A dummy in the back seat is too easy. Something more awesome is right on the tip of my brain .........

It should be sponsored by Grey Poop-on...

Hell yea Poopie!

Seriously, this thing was about to be scrapped. We are going to keep it as original as we possibly can, and change as little as possible to get it on track. They made more than 16,000 of this model, they are not rare, and most of them are living a pampered life being rubbed with a diaper and serviced every 300 miles. This one will be the dirty whore of the Rolls family that gets out and rubs elbows with the peasants.

As for the LS swap? Only when the stock motor blows up. The first race will be as close to stock as possible, hence the plan: Get it running, cage it, go racing.

We have already told our team that words like "race", "fast" "racing lines", "apex", "lap times", and "handling" are not to be used in the presence of the Rolls. It doesn't do that. As James May noted, in the development of this car, "Nothing was allowed to compromise the quality of the ride", and that includes any sort of handling. Trying to go around a corner at speed? Blasphemy! That isn't proper! We plan on playing smooth jazz in the stereo as we go motoring on the track, very satisfied with our last place lap times, but enjoying the spectacle, pomp, and circumstance of being some of only a few people to ever have a Rolls Royce on a racetrack.

STEER FROM THE REAR!!!

Put the dummy chauffer in the front seat and drive it from the back. That would be awesome!

Awesome. Just awesome.

For inspiration:

Worst case if the Rolls engine finds racing unbecoming, a SBC should fit in there. I think RR were using the TH400 in there in '69.

A later '70's version was in my buddy's body shop a few years ago. That thing was loaded with lead from the factory.

Last night I was watching a video of a newer rolls hooning in a field and was thinking about looking for a cheap one for rallycross. Then I checked Facebook and saw you picked this up. Nice score!

The sheik from cannonball run is a much better theme than grey poopon.

Sonic wrote: Yes, this is a legitimate Lemons grade Rolls. $1000.

Plenty of room in the budget for the 2013 Challenge as well.

In reply to Sonic:

I'm pretty sure that picture is a friend from high-school's grandfather. Seriously.