Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and Bentley T-Series: The Essential Buyer’s Guide
by Malcolm Bobbitt
Rolls-Royces and Bentleys are among the most prestigious cars in the world and, as such, attract a highly discerning clientele.
The Silver Shadow, along with its rarer sibling the Bentley T, were the first Rolls-Royce designed models to feature modern construction methods, resulting in enormous complexity.
Written by a marque expert (and Bentley owner) this Essential Buyer’s Guide is truly that, essential. Its relatively small size makes it ideal to slip into your car’s glove box or coat pocket—you never know when you will stumble across a Bentley T hubs down in some farmer’s field, or, more realistically, when you decide to answer an ad for a Silver Shadow. The book is quite practical—it gives the potential buyer an explanation of the chassis number (a vital bit of data that unlocks all sorts of records that the marque clubs can provide), what items to bring when checking out a car (overalls, flashlight, magnet etc.), the good and bad points of owning this model, and pages of photographs of potential rust areas, veneer problems and the like.
Maintenance schedules and production figures are given, along with sources for spares and information concerning where to find qualified assistance. Various checklists are provided as is the too often unheeded advice of when to walk away from a purchase as well as an explanation of the pitfalls of not using the car regularly.
Perhaps the best feature of the book is that it does not hide the complexity of these cars. The book points out the many opportunities for outlandish expense in maintaining or restoring them. Bobbitt is almost brutally honest in this; there is no sugarcoating, there is no clever admonition to “follow your heart.”
If there is a downside to this series, and the Shadow book in particular, it is that the companionable size of the book does not allow for larger, clearer photographs. But this should not be a deterrent. Considering the low price and its portability, and the clearly-marked chapter headings, this book is ideal for its purpose: an easy-to-carry, handy and useful guide to take with you when you go searching for that Silver Shadow, Camargue, or T. For a fuller treatment see the same author’s Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow/Bentley T-Series, Camargue & Corniche.
Copyright 2010, Bill Wolf (speedreaders.info)
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