Why should your mechanic get to have all the fun? Maintaining your Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Silver Shadow LWB, Silver Shadow II, Silver Wraith II, Two Door Saloon, Drophead Coupé, Corniche, Camargue, Bentley T or T2 in top condition has never been this straightforward. The Shadow Owners' Companion enables anyone with reasonable mechanical ability to maintain his or her Shadow in top form. Each section is clearly written for the weekend mechanic and brimming with tips on tools, troubleshooting, and resource recommendations.
For people like us, the satisfaction of owning a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Bentley T, or one of the coachbuilt derivatives is obvious yet hard to explain.
We enjoy working with our hands and troubleshooting, and the Shadow is a clear challenge. For Rolls-Royce, the Shadow was the most ambitious attempt to best the competition at any time since WWII. It is dense with period technology: hydraulic height control, an early type of anti-skid control, monocoque construction, independent suspension, an all aluminum engine, and even automatic air conditioning later in the model run.
Because all of these mechanisms compete with one another for underhood space, seemingly simple acts such as changing the spark plug wires or replacing the thermostat become "rather involved." A perfectly running Shadow is a towering achievement for the individual who maintains her, yet only those "in the know" really understand.
There is an intellectual challenge as well. The design philosophy of this car differs quite a bit from the mainstream. Troubleshooting requires an understanding of the underlying principles rather than a reliance on conventional tips and tricks.
Of course, there is more to the ownership experience than maintenance. When driving a well maintained Silver Shadow, everything is at once harmonious and hushed, significant and discreet. As you take it all in, your sense of urgency washes away: very satisfying indeed, all the way around.
So you believe in the car. What about this book? There are three other service related documents for the Silver Shadow and Bentley T: the Handbook (Owner's Manual), the Workshop Manual, and From the Shadow's Corner by Cal West. I have a copy of each and so should you. What follows in these pages are all of the maintenance projects that I still had to figure out for myself during the first five years of my ownership.
This book was conceived as a companion to the previously mentioned works. The maintenance procedures that follow fill the gaps so that an enthusiastic owner can maintain his or her Shadow with only occasional help from a professional mechanic. For the most part, the projects in this book were included for one of two reasons: there is a simpler way to perform the desired task with modern tools, or there is a need to fill in detail that seems to be missing, but was obvious to a seasoned mechanic in the 1970s.
If you own a 1966-1980 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Silver Shadow LWB, Silver Shadow II, Silver Wraith II, Two Door Saloon, Drophead Coupé, Corniche, Camargue, Bentley T or T2 you can buy this book for far less than one full tank of gasoline. What are you waiting for?
