Rolls Royce and Bentley Cars

Our parts department will be closed from July 3-July 10, 2009 for a little R&R. It is time to head to Far West Texas, think about all those stars in the sky and ponder why are we on this planet anyway. Then we head back to Houston refreshed.  You can still send e-mail parts requests and we will get to them once we return. Thanks. 

Service related telephone number   281.448.4739 

Spare parts telephone number      281.448.5165

Click here to email us ( Please send the VIN!)  >>> RR and Bentley Parts <<<

If you own, desire to own or are working with a Rolls Royce or Bentley automobile and enjoy learning about these cars, have a need for parts or service and this is your first visit to our website, you’re in for a treat as there is a lot of information here. If you're back for more, as we are always adding new material here and there, welcome back! We frequently add new photos and material  as interesting work moves through our workshops or as the notion strikes. We don’t track anyone visiting our website nor do we use popup ads so enjoy yourself. 

Where on the planet are we? We are located in accessible Houston, Texas in the same buildings we have occupied since 1976 consistently offering spare parts, services, repairs and restoration for Rolls Royce and Bentley cars that were built primarily since 1955. We are members of the USA branch of the Rolls Royce Owners Club and if you own a RR or Bentley, you might well consider joining the R.R.O.C. as well. This section of our website features many photographs of these cars with specific photos and commentary about restorative works we are or were engaged in. We explain about common misconceptions about Rolls Royce and Bentley such as what brake fluid is used in these cars and many other areas of interest to owners or want to be owners of these fine automobiles. 

While we mostly supply parts and a multifarious array of services for 1955-2008 Rolls Royce and Bentley cars, we also offer certain parts and rebuilding services for pre-1955 models when possible. For example we can supply new brake master cylinders, wheel cylinders, steering and suspension parts for Rolls Royce Silver Dawns, Bentley MK6 and R-Types. In other words, if we can supply parts for pre-55 cars we will as certain parts have a broader spread of applicability than others. However, we mostly deal with Rolls Royce parts and Bentley parts for cars built since 1955 such as the James Young 2 door saloon, Silver Dawn, Silver Cloud, R-Type, Phantom, Corniche Convertible and Fixed head Coupe as well as Silver Shadow, Silver Wraith, Silver Spur, Silver Dawn, Silver Spirit, Silver Seraph, Bentley S1, S2, S3, Bentley T, Bentley Continental, Mulsanne, Bentley 8, Arnage, Azure and Brooklands models. 

The Billions of Car Parts Company transports goods worldwide with UPS and as our worldwide shipping volume has increased, we are pleased to offer new lower shipping rates to international destinations for Rolls Royce and Bentley cars. 

B.C.P. ( That's us.)   can supply:

1. New Silver Cloud 1,2,3 and Bentley S 1,2,3 brake drums and also offer new and remanufactured brake related parts for most 1950 up  Rolls Royce or Bentley automobiles. 

2. New Carburetors for certain Silver Shadow II and late Corniche. Contact us with your VIN for applications. 

3. The last of new steering wheels for Silver Cloud II and III as well as Shadows. 

4. We offer new flywheels for 1955-1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I and Bentley SI. Many of these cars are suffering from worn or broken flywheel teeth that can and do ruin the starter gears. Now this problem can be fixed. 

5. New Owners handbooks, workshop manuals and electrical books in English, Spanish, French, German Italian, Arabic and Japanese. We can still supply quite a few of these books back into the early fifties on up. Some of them are quite rare.   

6.  We offer certain new old stock fenders, doors, roofs and many body panels for Silver Clouds, Corniche, Silver Spur, Silver Shadow, Chinese Eye Bentley, and certain Phantoms. Why spend a lot of money and effort trying to fix a 30-50 year old rusted out fender if we can supply a new one while they last? 

6. For Silver Cloud II and III and Bentley S2 and S3 owners, we now have these Lucas Screenjet electric  windscreen washer assemblies available complete with bracket and for Cloud I and Bentley S1 owners, we offer the vacuum model.

7. We supply many body seals such as windshield and door seals. We supply just about all the body rubber parts on Silver Clouds, Shadows and Spurs. We supply windshields, back glass and lenses for many models to enable nice detailing as well as weatherizing for paint restoration work. A note of caution. Glass for these cars is expensive. It is always best to cut the glass out of the old sealing rubber as glass does become more fragile over time and exposure to the sun. If you want to save money, the extra time expended carefully removing glass always pays off.  

8. For Silver Clouds, we can now supply the left hand front door vent seal, long unavailable. We don't have many of these left and have no idea when or if they will be available again. 

9. For Corniche, Silver Cloud, Silver Shadow, MK6 and R-Type cars with rust damage, we offer many rust repair sections such as fender repair sections, wheel arch sections, sills, valances etc. These are steel sections meant to be fitted by skilled welders. They allow a rusted out part of the car to cut away and a new section welded into place resulting in a proper repair. 

10. We offer the Euro headlamps for Spirits and Spurs. 

11. We have one extremely rare set of restored LHD RR headlamps with the little RR inside the lamps. These lamps are appropriate for Silver Cloud 1 and 2. 

12. A new part we will soon be offering are the top latches for Corniche convertibles. These latches are no longer supplied from the factory. Ours are exacting duplicates and will be available soon. 

13. What we often observe are rusted out parts of cars covered over with body filler, chicken wire or newspapers studded into rust holes with thickly spread body filler on top. There are many " restored" cars out there that contain a lot of old newspapers and bondo. These are horrible things to see on fine cars but it's the way it is. The rust repair sections we offer can be used to get rid of bad repairs and return a car to a solid condition. We photographed a big rusty Rolls Royce body job we did a while back and these photos are below. 

13.1 We offer many rust repair panels for Silver Cloud series, Silver Shadows, Spirits and Spurs.

Contact us by  e-mail with your VIN  or by telephone 281.448.4739 with your cars VIN ( chassis number), year and model so Scotty MacClymonds, our parts guy that has worked here since since the Silver Dawn of 1976 and possesses a rather large database of parts knowledge in his head and computers can do his job of helping owners in Texas and all over the planet with their parts requirements.  

Our Deutsch clients need to send us their fahrgestellnummer or chassis number for quotes. None of us speak Deutsch but we know a few words like fahrgestellnummer. 

For our Czech Republic clients here is information about the VIN translated by one of our CZ friends:

 Pro klienty z České republiky: prosím, pošlete nám identifikační číslo vozidla (VINko) a seznam dílů, které potřebujete.

Na požádání Vám poskytneme kontakt na servis veteránů RR a Bentley v Praze

 We speak Canadian and North Dakotan pretty well too, eh? 

We cannot fix ALL the Rolls Royce and Bentley cars out there. Such a thing would take more enthusiasm than even we can muster. This firm enjoys working with shops and owners worldwide that also like working on these cars to keep them running as they were intended. We encourage brave shops in areas without a dedicated Rolls Royce and Bentley shop to not turn down an opportunity to service or repair a Rolls Royce or Bentley because they don't think parts are available or perhaps lack basic knowledge about these cars. We can usually help get the task at hand done. 

Please have a look at our  Cars for Sale  section for Rolls Royce and Bentley cars we have available. 

We rebuild, supply parts for and offer many rebuilt assemblies such as:

Corniche and Bentley Convertible power top (hood) cylinders or rams. Most of these are no longer supplied but we do rebuild them. 

Corniche and Bentley Convertible top latches. These formerly unavailable parts are now available exclusively from us. 

Rear Axles- Here is a photo showing new rear axle parts used in 1966-1980 cars.  Over the years, the rubber boot perishes, dirt gets into the axle grease and chews up the 60 roller bearings, the races and sometimes the housing itself. This wear results in a clunk. You can prevent this by replacing the boot if it has a hole or is rotten. Replacing the boot requires pressing out the pin from the axle. 

Power steering racks for all Rolls Royce and Bentley cars with rack and pinion steering. We have these on the shelf. 

Power steering boxes for earlier cars

water pumps ( All rebuilt parts have a core charge that is refundable upon return of a good core) 

power steering pumps

brake calipers  (We fit all new stainless steel pistons)

brake wheel cylinders for Bentley MK6, Rolls Royce Silver Dawn and Silver Cloud

brake pumps for all models

brake accumulators and accumulator valves for Shadow, Wraith and Corniche

brake valves

radiators ( rebuilt with high efficiency cores)  

heater cores

carburetors

distributors

wiper motors

engines

transmissions

turbochargers

kingpin related parts and assemblies

air pumps

and many more...

such as this little boot that you more than likely need if you have a 1966-1981 or so car. 

All Silver Shadows, Corniches and early Spurs and Spirits with a metal header/expansion tank probably need one of these boots. The tank is located above the radiator. The boot fits over the fluid sensor connection on the tank itself. Have a look at your tank and you will most likely see two wires going to the small round sensor plugs and you may also see the remnants of the boot or a dried up rotten boot or no boot. We have the boots in stock.  

Let's say a decision has been reached to rebuild the suspension or hydraulic systems. As we have enjoyed working on so many of these cars for such a long time, once we know your intentions, we can make up comprehensive "parts kits" that will have the parts most commonly required so you don't have to diddle around and the work can be accomplished as quickly as your enthusiasm will allow. However, as all cars have parts that wear differently, we also supply parts less commonly used. Basically, we supply the same parts for your car as we do for our workshop. 

If a Rolls Royce or Bentley should, perish the thought, "fail to proceed" or "proceed without grace" or "the car has taken a long nap and now has a hard time waking up", we can most likely provide graceful assistance. We work for Rolls Royce enthusiasts and owners that reside all over the planet. We assist limousine companies with parts and services for maintaining and beautifying their fleets of Rolls Royce and Bentley wedding cars. 

Our Sport and Classic Car Company workshop often unties knots on cars or assemblies that may have experienced improper service or repairs that ended up costing an owner aggravation and ill-spent funds for an automotive experience that did little good for the car. We can and do sort out uncomfortable and unfinished automotive situations for owners worldwide. Give us a call, tell us the story and let's work together to get the project completed in a proper manner so the car can be enjoyed as it was intended to be. 

Rolls Royce and Bentley fuel injection and pumps

Concerning fuel injected Rolls Royce and Bentley cars such as very late Silver Shadow II, Silver Spur and Turbo R, the fuel distributors  are getting on in years and cause various running problems as they get clogged or deteriorate as a result of years of fuel and additives running through them. While new fuel distributors are no longer available from RR dealers, we have rebuilt units on the shelf and offer new injectors as well as all manner of fuel injection parts.

Here is a photo of one of our rebuilt fuel distributors. We offer these as exchange units off the shelf. 

This is the typical fuel pump used on all Silver Shadows up to around 1978. This pump can also be used for all Silver Clouds. We always have them in stock. We also keep fuel pumps for all fuel injected models. 

Air Filters

 It's a dirty world out there and you don't want dirt in your expensive motor.

If your Silver Spur or similar vintage Bentley has an air filter that looks like this dirt packed filter,  your car has been neglected far too long. A dirty air filter impedes the air flow into the engine resulting in poor performance and mileage. Look at how deeply the dirt has penetrated the filter media of this filter. Sure, we have air filters for Silver Clouds as well. 

  A new circa mid eighties Rolls Royce Silver Spur air filter looks like this.  Replacing these filters is the same sort of service situation as your home a/c systems air filter. A heavily encrusted dirty air filter is not doing much other than serving as a air dam. Treat your car to a new air filter if its dirty and check your home filter for your lungs. Sure, we have air filters to fit every Rolls Royce and Bentley built since 1960. Previous to 1960, RR used an oil bath air filter design and these are to be cleaned and serviced.  

Call 281.448.5165 with your VIN for parts requests or send an e-mail. 

Wiring looms

We can supply new wiring looms for certain Rolls Royce cars built front 1955-1990's. For many years these wiring looms have been unavailable and many still are.  The wiring in a car runs to every electrical device and component. Thus the wiring also goes under the hood where the wires are subjected to heat, oil fumes and water damage. On many cars, the main wiring section runs underneath the car where its exposed to, well,, everything the bottom of a car runs over. Many people, mechanics included, do not understand how electricity works or how relays work yet they will cut and splice wires, or cut them and twist them together creating a electrical nightmares or what we call "future fires".  We have seen countless live wires run to ground with the result being a burned up wiring system. It's a shocking experience to the pocketbook. 

 Wiring looms are made to be installed by professionals with knowledge of automotive wiring but a well skilled individual can install them. Vintage cars would tend pack all the wiring into one big harness. Modern cars split the harness into many sections so a repair can be done without buying the entire loom. This said, many of the smaller sections become unavailable rather swiftly after cars leave the factories. If you need a wiring loom for an engine compartment or whatever, contact us with VIN and production date if you have it. 

Sure, we provide new engine rebuilding parts to replace parts such as this Silver Spur piston that did not survive an "unforeseen circumstance".  

We supply suspension and steering parts, electrical parts, body parts and A/C parts such as this accumulator/dryer for a late model Spirit. 

This photo shows a pre-war Rolls Royce carburetor about to be shipped out.  We keep a good stock of parts to rebuild Rolls Royce and Bentley carburetors and rebuild many carburetors that are shipped in for this service. RR never supplied carburetor rebuild kits and many of the parts used fit no other carburetor.  RR supplied parts for the carburetors by the individual piece. We do make up carburetor "kits" by essentially placing all the usual parts we think ought to be replaced into the kit. We also supply the gas floats and many other parts for the carburetors and fuel related systems that are not normally included in conventional carburetor kits. For carburetors like those used on 1950's Silver Dawns and prewar cars,  parts from RR are no longer supplied. We rebuild these carburetors and make whatever parts are required. 

  This Silver Cloud is about to receive it's freshly rebuilt V8 engine. 

Bentley and Rolls Royce engines built from the 1940’s to now were not designed to call attention to the engines or engine bays through the use of polished cam covers with chrome head nuts like Jaguar and Alfa cars of the 1950’s and 1960’s. The typical purchasers of Rolls Royce and Bentley cars were more interested in the styling of the coachwork and appointments of the cockpit than the look of the engine. These owners already knew the cars mechanicals were well and stoutly designed to last. The engine and mechanicals were generally left to their service people to deal with. Rolls Royce and Bentley engines, many engine related components and the engine bays were painted a flattish black.

Once upon a time we rebuilt an engine for a Bentley SII owner and found that he was disappointed in the appearance. This was a highly unusual event and we wanted to know what it was that he found not to his liking. 

 Here is a snap of the Bentley engine about to be installed. 

 The owner of this car sent us a photo of his Thunderbird engine, year unknown, that had been extensively customized with polished aluminum valve covers, thick bright purple spark plug cables, a red distributor cap, red coil and a big chrome air filter among other T-Bird custom enhancements. The car was duded up like a muscle car.

This customized look on his T-Bird engine is what he thought we were going to do for reasons unknown as nothing along these lines had been requested and none of the photos we sent had customized parts shown. Customizing American engines is an enjoyable thing to do for muscle car fans and there are countless suppliers of aftermarket stuff for American muscle cars and hot rods. We respect the shops and people that do this sort of work yet it’s a long way from what we are about as our work on Rolls Royce and Bentley cars is more dedicated to preserving the original look and feel of a car with certain  enhancements such as electronic ignition well hidden.

 The lesson here is to impart your vision to whomever is working for you well ahead of time so details are sorted out in advance. Regarding the Bentley motor referred to here, we would not have agreed to make the engine look like an Ford hot rod motor and would have left those sorts of details to the owner to have done to his liking elsewhere. 

Rolls Royce & Bentley brake and suspension hydraulic fluids:

RR363 brake fluid and more

Over the many years the Rolls Royce and Bentley cars have been built, the manufacturers have specified several different fluids to be used in various models. None of these fluids are interchangeable and great harm can be done by using the wrong fluid. There is a lot of incorrect information out there about the proper fluid to be used in Rolls Royce and Bentley cars so lets clear this matter up.

 Long ago, Rolls Royce contracted with Castrol to make a special brake fluid for their cars known as RR-363. This fluid contains special lubricants to service the finely machined parts within the hydraulic systems. Non- RR-363 fluids do not have these lubricants and the use of the wrong fluids will accelerate wear and tear on very expensive parts.  The RR363 Castrol fluid is NOT the same as Castrol LMA fluid used with pre 1988 Jaguar and almost all other vintage ( pre 1980) British cars.  All DOT 3 and DOT 4 brake fluids are not compatible. If someone tells you this, they are unquestionably wrong. If you use the wrong fluid, you will contaminate the entire hydraulic system and the rubber parts for all the brake components will be ruined if the system is not quickly flushed.  We have found that some shops and some new owners do not know about Rolls Royce brake fluid and when we explain the fluid to them, we find they have already contaminated the car they are working on and definitely do not plan on telling the cars owner. They fill the car system with wrong fluid and send the car out. We know this because all too often shops buy brake parts from us and don't purchase the correct fluid insisting all fluid is the same. RR and Bentley owners using shops that don't work on these cars on a regular basis have to be adamant about informing shops about the correct fluids. Many owners simply buy the fluid they need from us and make it available to their shop. 

Here is a photo of a typical bottle of RR-363 brake and hydraulic fluid. This fluid used to come in metal cans. RR-363 is appropriate for all Rolls Royce and Bentley cars up to mid 1979. After 1979 particular attention has to be observed about which fluids are used as 1979 was a transition year. Some 1979 Corniche cars used the next generation Silver Spur brake and suspension systems utilizing green Castrol Mineral Oil while Silver Shadows built in 1979 still used RR-363 fluid.   The brake fluid reservoir on 1966-1980 cars using RR-363 is rectangular and made of metal. Cars that use green mineral fluid were built from 1979 onwards use plastic reservoirs that are round. 

A typical container of green Castrol mineral oil brake and suspension fluid looks like this. This fluid is used on Silver Spurs, Spirits and Corniche cars built after 1979 or so.  The brake and suspension systems share this fluid. It's VERY important not to mix the various Castrol fluids as a contaminated system will require a complete rebuild of the entire brake and hydraulic system for a substantial cost.  If someone tries to sell you a $5 bottle of generic brake fluid and says all DOT 3 fluid is the same, run!   If an owner or shop is unsure, call us with the VIN.  

Castrol LMA is used for the brake system on later model cars such as Silver Seraph, Azure and Arnage.  

  Pentosin CHF11 fluid is used for the suspension system in Silver Seraph, Azure and Arnage series. The proper fluid application must verified by VIN!  If in doubt, contact us with your model and VIN. 

Frequently we receive enquiries concerning cars being brought back to active duty from a long slumber.  Owners want to know what to do. Following is a brief discussion of some basic safety work that should be high on the list. The braking and suspension system on Silver Shadow and Spur series cars use an average of 12 rubber flexible hydraulic lines along with four or more rubber feed lines. This system uses very high pressure and old hoses are a weak point. We suggest replacing all of these hoses if there is no historical record of them being replaced within the last 8-10 years. There are approximately 68 steel fluid pipes for the brake and suspension and these pipes should be examined for structural integrity. If the pipes are rusted, they have been weakened and should be replaced. Rarely are all the pipes bad but these cars all have history thus every pipe should be inspected. Blowing a high pressure hose or pipe and losing brake pressure is a bad way to end your day. This sort of advice is applicable to any car. 

  Shadows use a large fluid reservoir and this should be opened and all debris cleaned out. We stock all the required parts for this sort of work. Once all the hoses have been replaced and  the system flushed, the car can be tested to find out if further work is required such as brake caliper condition.  For cars that are driven on a regular basis, these hoses and pipes should be examined and replaced if they have not been replaced within 8-10 years.  To order parts, please send the VIN with your requests.

  Spur series cars use a similar system but many changes have taken place such as the use of throw away accumulators and green mineral oil. The inspection of pipes and hoses is also very important and frequently over looked.

Arsenic and Old lace or Death by incorrect fluid

  The use of wrong fluids, like drinking arsenic, will poison a hydraulic system in any car.   As you can see in this photo, an almost empty gallon of generic brake fluid was found in the trunk of this Silver Shadow when it was towed in and this means the entire brake system is contaminated with the wrong brake fluid. The Shadow brake fluid reservoir has a warning label that states in plain language that nothing else other than RR363 is to be used in this model.  Unfortunately, some people ignore this warning and to save a very little bit of money will use other fluids and badly damage the brake system. This fluid also powers the suspension so use of the wrong fluid is bad in every possible way. To rectify this situation and deliver a brake system that works very well as they were designed to do, we rebuild, clean and or replace the entire brake and hydraulic system. Would this sort of work be expensive? Absolutely.    

Call 281.448.5165 with your VIN for parts requests or send an e-mail. 

Rolls Royce and Bentley Brake Examples

  Here is a typical Silver Cloud or S series lower brake master cylinder after many years of service. As you can see, the brake fluid is oozing right through the casting. All metals are porous to some extent. The ancient brake cylinders age after a while and when they look like this, the inside is always in about the same condition. We supply both new and remanufactured cylinders.  

Here is a photo of one of a pair of 1968 Silver Shadow rear brake calipers that were shipped in from Mexico City for restoration. Texas is close to Mexico and has a long sometimes colorful history and shared border. The Spaniards stole Mexico from the Aztecs and much of South America from the Incas. Texicans seized Texas from Mexico and formed a new nation in 1832 while Scotty's  Braveheart ancestors were still in Scotland perfecting single malt scotch when they weren't enjoying battling the Brits. 

These days all is forgiven and we provide parts for Rolls Royce and Bentley owners from Spain, The Phillipines, Mexico when owners visit Houston. Check out this web site for a brief Texican history. http://www.texfiles.com/ERAmar02/sanjacinto.htm   

Let's return to to the brake caliper discussion. The bleeders and steel lines on this caliper had been replaced with parts from other cars and the calipers were a genuine mess. We rebuilt the calipers with new stainless steel pistons, made new pipes, repaired the damaged threads, reworked the handbrake mechanisms as parts had been lost over the cars life and replaced the pads.  The calipers work as new. 

  This photo shows the contaminated gunk that came out of a pair of 1980 Silver Wraith brake accumulators we were rebuilding for an owner in Michigan.  This pan of nasty contaminated sludge is a long term result of moisture reacting with brake fluid causing a chemical reaction that end up locking up the accumulator valves. This sorry situation is a result of poor maintenance. We recommend that all cars have the brake fluid changed every two years unless you live in Arizona or an area with little humidity. If your fluid has never been changed or you have no knowledge of when the hydraulic fluid was changed, have it done now with the proper fluid. Yes, we have plenty of all applicable fluids in stock at all times. 

This photo shows typical Silver Shadow brake caliper piston bores after many years of service. In this example, the brake caliper pistons were seized solid into the body of the caliper and after we removed the rusted pistons, the inside of the caliper was found to be full of contamination debris, rust and sludge accumulated from 35 years of service and mixed up brake fluids. Brake calipers in this condition are not doing much good work and this is not good! We always replace the calipers pistons as well because they are rarely if ever found to be good. 

Here is a photo of a rear brake brake caliper on a 1979 Corniche two door saloon just before we removed and rebuilt them. The 1979 Corniche cars were the first models to go to the new mineral oil brake system like used on the Silver Spur series. We are rebuilding the entire hydraulic system on the car for it's new owner. Although the cars brakes were working ok, the new owner wanted to drive the car a long time without brake problems so we rebuilt the calipers and replaced the hoses. 

Here is a photo of some front brake cylinders from a 1964 Silver Cloud III. The car had recently had a botched brake repair that resulted in the car having only about 25% of it's stopping power. It took both feet to stop the car...slowly. We found the master cylinders had been rebuilt incorrectly, the rear brake cylinders were rusted solid, the brake shoes on all four wheels were glazed and fluid soaked, the front cylinders as represented by the example in the photo were rusted internally and the mechanical brake linkage was bent and well out of adjustment. The steel brake lines were well rusted and fragile. This beautiful Silver Cloud with rare factory division was a car wreck waiting to happen. 

The brake cylinder on the right in the above photo had recently been "rebuilt". Look carefully and you will notice the brownish stain inside the bore. This staining is rust damage (creating small  pits that work like sandpaper) from many years of old brake fluid and water sitting in the cylinders and it acts like sandpaper on the rubber seals. The rest of the internals in the cylinders were rusted and weak. Rebuilding such a cylinder was a waste of the owners time and money. The cylinder on the left has been machined with a new stainless steel sleeve allowing the cylinder to have a perfect bore that allows the rubber parts to seal properly. Replacing the rubber parts simply got the car moving a few more miles as they began leaking brake fluid all over the brake shoes in short order. We see this sort of 'repair" all too frequently. Is the object of the work to simply make the car stop a little for a short time for the least possible expenditure or do a proper brake job that will make the car stop as well as it ever did for a long time? We prefer the later choice and believe most owners want their cars to stop well. 

We have found that most Silver Cloud series cars that arrive at our workshop for the first time have poor or little effective brake response. In many situations, the owners think the brakes are supposed to be vague as the brakes have "always" been that way. However, the assertion that these cars have inherently poor brakes is not at all accurate. All Rolls Royce and Bentley cars have a backup brake system either mechanical or hydraulic depending on the model. Lots of Silver Clouds and R-Types or MK 6's are driving around with only the rear mechanical brakes working as the hydraulics have failed so long ago no one remembers what the car drove like when the brakes were working well. As a matter of fact, 1940's-1960's Rolls Royce and Bentley cars have the inherent capability of having very good brakes when compared to other cars of the period. We know this to be true because we make them that way for owners on a very regular basis and find it very interesting that some owners have formed the notion that in the olden days, Rolls Royce would purposely design a car with bad brakes. 

 Brake cylinders

Over time, brake cylinders inevitably become scratched and gouged from contaminants such as dirt that make their way into the system. The scratches cause a cylinder to become no longer smooth. The rough areas grind against the soft rubber seals and destroy them. Thus it's not good enough to install new rubber seals into pitted and scratched old brake cylinders and pronounce the system rebuilt.  This sort of repair is done by personal unknowledgeable about such matters and are also favored by people trying to "fix" a problem as cheaply as possible with no regard for the safety of the occupants. One has to ask themselves what their life is worth? How about the lives of others? We think that brakes on any car should be 100% at all times. We stock a lot of brake parts for these cars and it's amazing how many people will not replace the old brake pistons on 20-50 year old cars even though these pistons are almost NEVER good.  If a new part is expensive, its equally amazing how a decision may be made that the part is still good regardless of poor condition. A bad brake part is not good and saying so does not make it so. The cost of the replacement part should not be the deciding factor. On many modern cars, manufacturers no longer supply cylinder rebuild kits because they don't want people to take shortcuts and render a brake system unsafe as bad brakes are bad for everyone. 

Rolls Royce Silver Cloud series cars require a number of time consuming adjustments to the mechanical linkages and to other brake related components to make them stop as designed. We have rebuilt many of these cars over the decades and have amassed a great deal of experience with Silver Cloud brake systems. As a result, owners can enjoy their cars with considerably more pleasure and confidence as the cars simply perform as intended. Ignoring scratches, gouges and rust pits in the bores is a bad idea. 

The question you ask yourself is, " Is my life, the life of my passengers or other travelers worth the cost of new brake parts?" If not, please start walking a lot more !

Continental GT Expectations

These are worn front brake rotors on a '05 Bentley Continental GT.

  These 20.5 kg. brake rotors are the largest used by any manufacturer on a production car. This GT already has about 64K miles on it. The angry owner told us that for the money he paid for the car from the local Bentley dealer, the brakes should last forever. Forever is a very long time and reality has a way of interfering with such expectations. All brake parts wear out no matter how expensive the car may be. 

As you can observe from the deep groove on the outer edge of the brake rotor, the rear rotors have been considerably reduced in thickness. This sort of wear is about right for a fast city car with 64K miles.  The brake pads are worn down to very little as well. Owners of these cars should be aware that the rear brake pads cannot be changed on these cars without the Bentley dealer computer to reset the electric handbrake. We do not have one of these computers as our work is on more vintage models. This is a very annoying trend by some manufacturers to force owners to take their cars to a dealer for even the most basic work. Texas is the nations second largest state yet we have but two Bentley dealers. It's about 800 miles from El Paso to Houston. 

What also happens with Bentley GT cars that have not received scheduled services as seen in this photo, is that electrolysis corrodes the steel center wheel hub where it contacts the mag wheel. This car was probably driven on the beach somewhere and not properly cleaned.  It's a good idea to remove the wheels once a year, polish off the corrosion and apply a bit of anti seize compound. Otherwise, if the car suffers a tire puncture and the owner wants to change the tire, the wheel will most likely not be able to be dismounted on the side of the road. If you are a Bentley GT or Flying Spur owner, you might want to have this procedure done. 

Suspension dampers are also known as shocks and how is your Autoride? 

  Bentley Turbo R's, Rolls Royce Silver Spurs and Spirits are big heavy cars and the dampers feel the weight after 20,000 miles or so. The rear dampers exhibit this tiredness by leaking. If you examine the rear dampers, if they are leaking, you will notice the suspension mineral oil will have leaked down the shaft and is soaking into the lower rubber bushings. Suspension fluid circulates through the dampers when the engine is running thus the rear dampers are a part of the hydraulic and suspension systems.  If leakage is apparent, its time for new dampers. Later cars with the "Autoride" active suspension use dampers with electric coils that operate internal valving. We offer new Autoride dampers and looms. For those cars that have seemingly unsolvable Autoride problems, such as the system is stuck in the "rides like an old truck" mode, we have a solution.  

This suspension design incorporates  rear "gas springs" as well. This part is a charged high pressure vessel or ball that also needs replacement from time to time, usually 20K miles or so.  When the gas springs are depleted, the rear end of the car will tend to hop or bounce around in a un Bentley or Rolls Royce like manner. Of course we supply all these parts and can insure you receive the correct parts with your VIN as there are many variations. 

  Here is a photo of a typical left  rear damper (shock absorber) on a Silver Cloud series.  It's cocooned in a thick layer of road dirt mixed with hardened shock oil that slowly leaked out for decades until nothing was left in the unit. Dampers that look like this are happy to be there but are doing nothing and the car will ride like a rolly polly lump instead of a nicely designed luxury car. By now if a damper that looks like this one is no longer leaking, there may well be no fluid left to leak!  

  Here is a photo of the right rear damper  after we rebuilt it and replaced the bushings. You can see an anti-rust solution we use on the bolts that help prevent them from seizing in the future. You can also see the rotten rear spring leathers that we will be replacing. These leathers keep the grease that services the spring from washing away. Behind the unit you can see part of the new stainless exhaust. We are sorting out a variety of mechanical deficiencies and as the car has a division window befitting a limo, we are resurrecting the ancient a/c system that had been worked on by Frankenstein's cousin long ago.  

Contact us with your chassis number for e-mail  parts quotes or Call 281.448.5165 for parts requests. 

Rolls Royce and Bentley automatic transmission rebuilding 

Transmissions are another specialty here. We seem to specialize in specialties don't we?

  This photo reveals a freshly opened late 1950's Rolls Royce Silver Cloud transmission that had been hibernating a long time. There is typical rust inside that has resulted from poor service and moisture laden storage. When we rebuild a Silver Cloud or Bentley S series automatic transmission, we do rather intensive rebuilds.  Contrary to some miss-information floating about, these transmissions are not the common Turbo 400 units that were fitted to many American cars as well as later Silver Shadow and newer Rolls Royce and Bentley models.

We carefully and exhaustively examine each part and check for excessive wear as these transmissions are 40-50 years old or more and may have been "overhauled" several times before. We replace many bushings, springs, piston rings, clutches, plates, bearings and bands and do whatever it takes to make these venerable transmissions a lot better than what we found so they will last far into the future. Vintage automatics are tricky and take vintage special tools to deal with some of the component rebuilding. Our rebuilds may well cost more than some may charge to do because we usually replace a lot of parts rather than just call them good in the hopes they will last another mile or two.  All of our work is performed to a very high standard and are not compromised to achieve a low initial price point. Our rationale is that by replacing parts that get weak or worn with age (40-50 years in many cases) rather than trying to save the owner an inconsequential amount of money as related to the scale of the this sort of work, we are actually bettering the odds of the transmission lasting a long time and shifting properly as designed. This philosophy has proven to work well to save an owner the aggravation of premature failure. Contact us beforehand on shipping engine and transmissions for advice on how to best ship them to our service department.

  This photo shows the inside of a cleaned and painted Silver Cloud or Bentley S transmission case about to receive the rebuilt servos and drums, valve body and other parts.

This photo shows the rebuilt drums fitted into the casing ,

In this next photo the rebuilt valve body and filter screen are fitted.  

  Here is the completed transmission just before being mated to the original 6 cylinder engine ,also just rebuilt.

  Here, a restored RR transmission is mounted onto a restored rolling chassis.

In this photo we are fitting a freshly rebuilt transmission into a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III with division. 

Some owners complain about a "wallowy" steering on these cars and yes, this condition can be substantially rectified. All bearings, seals and bushings are replaced on our power steering unit rebuilds and the improvement in steering is dramatic. 

 Here is a photo of a power steering sector box assembly as used on Silver Cloud 2 and 3 and Bentley S2 and S3 cars. This photo was taken after a complete rebuild was performed on the unit and it's ready to be shipped. We stock most of the parts for these rebuilds as we do so many of them. Few Silver Cloud series cars have had their steering sector boxes rebuilt and this is evident when they are driven as the steering has a lot of side to side play, they leak a lot and the car steers like an very old truck. This is not how these cars were intended to handle and a vintage car that drives well is a joy to experience.

Working with enthusiasts or car repair shops is a part of what we are about. On many occasions an owner or shop may ship engines, transmissions or other assemblies to us for rebuilding that require special tools or knowledge. We are happy to help keep these cars going as they were intended any way we can. Everyone cannot be or have local access to an intense specialty shop such as ours so we are "worldwide" by virtue of shipment.

Contact us with your chassis number for e-mail  parts quotes. 

Here we have a scarce 1958 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith Bodied by James Young, in for service and electronic ignition installation. This car was the RR Earl's Court show car that year and features many features such as a James Young roof mounted luggage rack, swivel reading lamps and many other delightful options. 

Here are a few photos of some details such as the drivers side outer door handles. This shows shows the signature James Young boot handle. 

The car features a division window and very nice woodwork. 

A James Young roof rack for extended touring is an unusual touch. 

 Here is a lovely 1961 Bentley Continental Convertible and this link will take you to a webpage that describes a series of restoration work we did on the car. 

http://www.bentleyclassic.com/62bentley.htm 

We have extensive experience with great cars  such as this 1964 Silver Cloud. This neglected car had quite a few shops work on it the last few years and little of this work did much for the car as the car has collapsing front road springs, a poorly installed A/C system, rotten suspension bushings, massive power steering leaks, poor brakes, a truly miserable electronic ignition installation, sloppy workmanship, lots of missing parts just left off and many other ailments that make this particular car a rather unpleasant experience to drive. It's truly sad to see a great car in such a bad mechanical state. The car looks good in photos though. We find all too many cars that have suffered from unqualified although perhaps well meaning attention as Rolls Royce has many ways of building cars which are quite different than other car manufacturers and Rolls Royce probably assumed that owners would have qualified people work on the car. 

Boxing Bentley

  Here are photos of a Bentley engine and transmission that was shipped to us in a zillion pieces from San Francisco. This sort of job is called a "basket case". Someone had lots of fun disassembling it and tossing all the bolts and fasteners into the oil pan which was full of greasy goo. 

  In these photos we were inventorying the parts and hoping all is there. The water pump was shattered into pieces and  yes, this is a real mess and we resurrected this engine from doom and built it into a fine engine again with new pistons and we rebuilt the transmission as well.  The owner decided to ship the car for the engine and transmission fitting and once we inspected the car, he decided to have us re-wire the entire car and sort out the brakes. The car had some sort of $10K brake job just before it was shipped to us. 

In this photo you can see the sorry state of the brake reservoirs after the $10K brake job.  No fluid showing and rusty reservoirs on a fresh Bentley S2 new brake job. What can one say? Perhaps the work order did not include restoring the reservoirs or adding brake fluid or maybe the shop thought the car had air brakes! The steel brake pipes were rusted to the extent they broke when we removed them. 

These two photos are the completed Bentley engine on the stand. 

The rebuilt transmission ready to mount to the motor. 

Here is the nasty engine bay as received. We were told the bay had just been painted by a body shop. What do you think of the quality? 

  We thought the previous work was worse than simply bad and in this photo we have ground down the complete engine bay, removed all the rust that was bubbling under the "new" paint and are ready to prime and paint the bay.

  Here is the engine bay having new wiring fitted. Yes, we supply complete wiring for this model and we rewired the entire car.

  In these photos, we have mated the engine and transmission and next are about to fit the assembly to the car. This Bentley is in primer as it came to us from a body shop in California. 

Rolls Royce and Bentley Air Conditioning

 We understand the intention of the designers philosophy and do our best to maintain these cars in the manner they were designed although we also undertake certain modifications that allow the cars to be driven on a regular basis in Houston, a sultry environment (some people call it a swamp). Some good modifications for modern day living in an increasing warmer world are custom air conditioning installations, discrete electronic ignitions and carefully considered and installed audiophile sound system installations. 

With the extreme heat and humidity of Houston as a climate test environment, we design and install custom air conditioning systems that are attractive and which work well for cars without A/C. Merely installing an A/C system into a car is usually not sufficient as an important part of the work involved is in making sure the new system will not cause the engine to overheat. Otherwise, what is the use of newly installed air conditioning? 

 Here is a photo of a boot (trunk) mounted  a/c system we are installing in a 1963 Bentley S3. The system incorporated a new state of the art high efficiency radiator core, our rebuilt water pump, engine block cleaning, new radiator hoses and fan belts, new electric auxiliary cooling fan, new state of the art a/c compressor and custom a/c hoses with a complete blower system mounted in the trunk where it runs quietly and effectively without ruining the nice wood dash appointments with ugly vents. The vents used on the ugly installations feature cheapo black plastic with silver painted trims, think of bad 1973 styling. As the a/c installation require more power to operate them, we fit a 75 amp alternator in place of the original generator. This unit delivers all the power the car needs to operate the power windows, a/c, stereo, electronic ignitions and other accessories. A "cool" thing about this particular installation is that it can be reversed back to the generator for a new owner that might prefer originality over reliability although insufficient power is sure annoying when the battery is dead after a long run with the A/C on.

Here is a photo of the old a/c system with pipes running all over the engine compartment in a Rube Goldberg installation. We also restore and upgrade the original under-wing A/C units or in the boot systems with new evaporators, condensers, compressors and hosing that vastly improve the reliability and efficiency of the system. Old a/c systems leaked refrigerant from the usage of the old style clamps. The new hoses we make are triple crimped and we have zero leakage problems. Life is better when you are not leaking something.

Rolls Royce and Bentley Electricals

Here are a few photos of a 1962 Phantom V during a complete re-wire.   

Phantoms are a coach built car that was hand custom wired when built.  We were doing the same thing, using correct cloth covered wire to replace the ancient wiring. While there, we are sorting out many problems under the dash so when completed the car will enjoy considerably better reliability. 

Please E-mail us with the VIN (vehicle identification number) for parts requests! 

  This photo shows the main fuse box on a scarce long wheel base Silver Shadow. As you can see, Frankenstein's cousin was working on it and this situation is all too typical of the sort of wiring "work" we are engaged to repair. Look closely and you can see that foil was wrapped around some of the fuses and a switch with unknown purpose was connected leaving bare hot wires dangling. Soon this car would have been up in smoke. We will remove all the funky wiring and make sure all the circuits are in good order. We supply new fuse panels for these cars when needed. In the trunk of this car, we discovered a very bad clue. 

 Here is a photo of the dash on a 1976 Shadow with the wood and fascia removed for restoration. We removed the gauges, disassembled and cleaned them so they will sparkle at night, replaced all the dash bulbs and cleaned and serviced the wiring while installing a new stereo of the owners choosing. The original Quad 8-track had been replaced years ago and several generations of stereos, phones and other accessories had been installed. We removed all the added on wiring +and rewired the speakers. The original radio between the seats was missing so we had a wooden door made for the "hole" with a nice wood knob so the owner had a useful place to place things. We lined the inside of this new cubby area with felt. 

This photo shows a scarce ( on this side of the pond) Silver Shadow with the optional headlamp brush wipers. Look carefully and you will see that the wipers are actually brushes. 

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap

These photos are of a 1987 Silver Spur as we received it. We received the car  from another shop that endeavored to replace a leaking heater core. They dug into the dash, blindfolded we think. 

The previous shop removed a lot of components, tossed them into the back seat and that was that. When smoke began appearing from the wiring that was burning up from the manner of disassembly, we were contacted. They were doing this work with the battery connected and decided the job was over their heads. This shop asked us if we would take over the job and did we mind if they did not re-assemble it? We do take on such jobs because we are nuts and who else is going to do them? We sorted out the damage to the electrical systems, replaced the heater core and carefully reassembled the dash appointments and inner structure.   

Here is a starter we recently rebuilt for a 1935 RR 20/25.  It was not painted as we wanted it to look like the rest of then engine bay parts which were pretty much original. 

  The power windows in the rear cabin of this Phantom V were totally worn out with the wiring frayed and exposed. In this photo you can see some red tape stuck on the wiring. It's hard to photograph the miserable condition with broken bushings and power window parts stripped. What a mess! We made a new wiring harness for both doors and are rebuilding the entire window mechanisms so they will operate smoothly and not burn up the wiring. We fitted a new stainless steel exhaust system to replace the hodge podge exhaust that had been spliced together on the decades. There were big pipes going into small pipes all over thus producing unwanted restrictions.  We updated the ignition with a Pertronix electronic ignition so the car will be more reliable and run better. This is a wide and large scale renovation that made the car dependable and drive much better than it had in many years. 

Rolls Royce and Bentley electronic ignitions

This 1965 Bentley S3 is having a new Pertronix Electronic Ignition fitted.

The electronic ignition installation will greatly enhance reliability and enable the venerable V8 to run even smoother than before. The car will start faster, idle better and run through the power curve smoothly.. One of the nice aspects of the installation is that this ignition system fits entirely inside the distributor cap so it cannot be seen.  

Enhanced yet hidden enhancements are a nice addition to any car that is intended to be driven.  Check out our Pertronix page for how the ignitions work. We offer these ignitions for many Rolls Royce R-Type, Silver Cloud, and Bentley S cars from about 1947 up. We also supply all the ignition parts and a 40 or 45,000 volt coil in black. This system is quite inexpensive as well.

                 Contact us with your chassis number for e-mail  parts quotes. 

In this photo are original carburetors on the bench ready for rebuilding.

This photo shows the carburetors ready to refit.

Here is a photo of a Silver Shadow LWB boot compartment that we just restored.  The car had become.... a pimp car. The new owner is having us return the car to its former days of grace. The trunk floor had a big hole chopped into it for some sort of huge amplifier and was shall we say, unpresentable.  We made a metal section to reproduce the hacked out section and welded it into place to make the hole go away. We made new under felting for the carpets and fitted the owners choice of a nice blue bound in blue leather, Wilton wool carpeting as per original specification. This boot is very nice now and could be used as a spare bedroom.  

We supply new rh floors for Shadows with rusty floors so you can fix them right. The lh side is no longer available. 

Silver Cloud and Phantom restoration and repairs

Here is a photo of all the cockpit wood in a Phantom V that was in the car, now on our floor being inventoried before the wood shop restored it. 

   This sad 1965 Bentley S3 came in from a large chain store transmission shop. They rebuilt the transmission and sent the car to us for engine tuning. We received the car,  tried to drive it into the work shop and discovered that it had no forward speeds and very poor brakes. It did have reverse though! 

 This photo of this S3shows the spark plug cables laying on the exhaust manifolds and other electrical sins all over. Someone had replaced the spark plugs with plugs that were the wrong heat range. These plugs would have burned holes in the pistons. There are tool marks from locking pliers on the soft brass fuel nuts and a choke cable was fitted as the automatic choke has been defeated. 

This Bentley S3 had a huge exhaust leak, we had a look under the car and discovered the original S3 exhaust had been replaced with some sort of aftermarket mufflers. In this photo, you can see that one of these mufflers had exploded probably from carburetor flooding. The excess fuel runs down into the exhaust and can make quite a bang. 

A Rolls Royce Silver Cloud I Restoration with Extensive Commentary and Photos

Twas in April of 2003 that we received this early 1955 Silver Cloud for what turned into a complete ground up frame off restoration. Here is the story of a massive restoration on a Rolls Royce with lots of photos and description. 

Here are some of the first photos we took of the car, taken after we removed the engine. 

 Here follows the restoration journey this car had. We began the restoration in May of 2003 and performed an initial compression test on the engine. We found the compression to be very low and uneven. The owner had previously stated to us the brakes were not working at all. This car was some 50 years old and past persons unknown had replaced the interior in an unusual (hideous) manner not to the currant owners liking. The interior trim woodwork was not in good condition and had been brush finished during a previous restoration attempt and was damaged from someone sanding right through the veneers and had been crudely brush finished.  A very large Webasto sunroof  had been installed in a poor manner. The chrome trim bright work had been polished with abrasives and steel wool until not much brightness was left. The grill was a mess with dents and heavy scratches. A very poor redo of the interior had been done in cheap leather and junk carpet.  The paint work was a faded and chalky white. The boot or trunk was trashed and this car had obviously not been well maintained in many decades. 

  Here are the engine and transmission just after removal.

  The engine about completed. 

We steam cleaned and pressure washed the engine, engine bay and under chassis as well as possible. We removed and disassembled the engine. The cooling galleys were found to be well occluded with rust chucks and sediment.  We hand chipped these rust chunks out to improve the cooling flow as much as possible. The cylinder head was damaged beyond repair from 50 years of electrolysis that corroded away considerable metal. The radiator was rotten. The engine block was cleaned and bored to fit larger size new pistons. The crankshaft was machined and the engine was balanced. We located a decent used cylinder head as new heads are unavailable. This cylinder head, also 50 or so years old, was extensively machined and fitted with new valves and guides. New cam bearings were fitted to the block and the bearings were bored to pin fit the camshaft. The camshaft was rebuilt as it had severe wear to the lobes. New cam followers were fitted to the block as was a new rocker shaft to the rocker assembly.  New connecting rod nuts and bolts were fitted. The oil pump was not available as a new assembly but we were able to obtain new gears to rebuild it. The new gears did not mesh properly so we hand fitted /shaped them to fit better. New bushings were installed in the oil pump and machined to fit. All engine bearings were replaced and the crankshaft was Plasti-gauged during the fitting work. Once the engine was completed, we repainted the various parts that were painted and cleaned the rest. New motor mounts were fitted. We rebuilt the crankshaft balancer with replacement style discs from RR that replaced the original unavailable cloth. The flywheel had extensive damage to the gear teeth, the gear teeth were machined into the flywheel and we were able to obtain a new old stock SC1 flywheel. This model RR used five variations of flywheels from 1955-1959 and the exact flywheel for the engine was no longer available. We machined the new old stock replacement flywheel we were able to obtain to enable it to be fitted properly and also re-clocked the flywheel to ensure the timing marks were accurate. We disassembled the distributor, rebuilt the mechanical advance, fitted a special electronic ignition with coil and made a new set of ignition cables. 

  The engine is now installed onto the restored rolling frame.      

  Yes, we supply many new RR exhaust manifolds for cars built from 1946-2009.  Trying to hang a new exhaust system onto an age weakened cracked manifold is a recipe for a major exhaust leak as the old metal won't take a strong weld and disintegrates. So would you if you had hot exhaust gases running though you for 50 years! We fit stainless steel or mild steel exhausts made especially for these cars.

There are three firewalls on this model and we removed the two removable walls. We disassembled the body shell, removed all exterior trim and ultimately removed the body from the frame. We removed all mechanical parts from the frame such as the transmission and differential as well as all brake parts, pipes, wiring, suspensions and steering components. 

Above are photos of the suspensions and some chassis and shots of the frame as found 

This photo shows the under chassis after the frame has been removed and before the chassis rebuild commenced

This photo is not great but shows one of the main frame mounts with rotten metal that came from the actual chassis that was so rusted, the mounting was no longer actually connected. 

In this photo, we have the body mounted on our car body rotisserie and are finishing disassembling some bits before sandblasting rusty areas. This chassis had extensive rust in the sills and elsewhere. 

This scary photo  shows an area on the left front fender where a bodged repair involved layering  plastic body filler on top of deep rust. Rust never sleeps and eventually this area rotted though. It was an ugly situation that required replacing the rotten fender with a new old stock fender. Yes, we can still supply new fenders for certain Silver Clouds subject to change when the last one is gone. 

These photos show extensive rust damage in and underneath one of the front fenders and in other areas.  

 This photo shows the right rear fender.  Notice the very thick body filler under the paint where we ground through to determine the condition. 

   In this photo, under the thick layers of bondo, you can see an old body repair that was made by brazing a steel section onto the fender to repair an old rust situation. 

This photo  shows the rust damaged area now cut away.

In these photos, we are cutting away rusted areas and are welding in new specially made steel sections to remove all rust and make the body solid again. The rust was so extensive, we decided to replace the entire rear fender sections. Once we removed the outer skin, we discovered widespread rust in the inner superstructure. We cut away all the rusted areas and welded in new sections. As you can observe, this sort of work is very time consuming and required considerable care to ensure all the body sections were properly fitted. 

In this photo  we are fitting a new inner panel in the right rear fender.

Here we have removed the severely rusted rocker panels. 

In this photo, we are welding in the new rocker panels. Much reshaping was done on these rockers as the very early Silver Clouds are different than a bit later Clouds of the same year. We made other sections on site to remove all rusted metal. We sandblasted the entire frame. Sections of the frame were found to have extensive rust damage from the topside down. We cut away and welded in new repair sections and  structural parts. We had the body shell sandblasted to remove every vestige of rust that was possible. 

We acid washed the frame then primed the frame several times with rust preventative primers and catalyzed primers followed by painting the top coats then  treated the interior of the frame with several anti rust solutions and preservatives by rotating the frame on our rotisserie. After individual restoration of parts to be re fitted or acquisition of new parts, we reinstalled all parts back to the frame. New steel brake lines were hand made and shaped to fit to the frame and components with all new original clips.

This photos shows much of the completed suspension and steering work completed and various pipes are being fitted for the brakes and Bijou lubrication system. 

  We disassembled and rebuilt the automatic transmission with all sleeve bearings and case bearings, bands, clutches, gaskets, seals and piston rings. We replaced whatever parts were worn past tolerance or damaged. The transmission had been rebuilt before; perhaps several times but still had extensive wear.  We disassembled and cleaned the Torus. The transmission case was bead blasted and repainted as original. We adjusted the bands and shift points after the car was made to drive in our parking lot.

In this photo we are about to mate the finished transmission to the finished engine. 

  We restored the jack and tire pump. The original Rolls Royce flashlight (torch) fitted to the boot was missing. We eventually located a good used torch and restored it to work.

  We rebuilt the front suspension, steering and brake systems. All parts were cleaned, blasted and painted if originally done so. One of the front dampers was internally damaged and not rebuild able so we supplied a used spare unit to rebuild, as new dampers are unavailable. All worn parts were replaced or rebuilt and new front road springs were fitted with new spring cups and rubber rebounds. The manual steering box was disassembled, cleaned and resealed. The original Bijou chassis lubrication pump was damaged as someone had cut off the lower part of the foot pedal with a hacksaw. We located a used replacement foot pedal as no new parts were available, repaired some of the damaged lubrication lines and made all suspension lubrication lines carry fluid. Each steering assembly or part was disassembled, cleaned and examined for wear and all worn parts were replaced. A local machine shop made and supplied some of the front suspension swivels from high quality alloy that were found to be worn out and unavailable from Rolls Royce. We rebuilt the front brake cylinders, master cylinder and rear wheel cylinders. We replaced the brake hoses and restored the fluid reservoir. We had the brake shoes relined. We replaced the brake servo drive gear as it was badly worn and rebuilt the mechanical brake servo. All seals and bushings were replaced. We restored the handbrake mechanisms and replaced the cable. We replaced the drive shaft bushings and obtained and fitted several missing drive shaft stabilizer parts.

 The water pump. The original pump had a case that had broken in the past and someone had tried to braze repair it around the bearing galley so a used replacement pump was found and rebuilt as new pumps are not available.

  The carburetors were found to have different mixture needles in them from past work and were in generally poor condition. We disassembled and rebuilt the twin carburetors, cleaned serviced and painted all linkage, serviced the automatic choke mechanisms, replaced the electrical solenoid and cleaned and adjusted the throttle. As certain linage pieces were missing and others had been made of rigged up pieces. Over time, we were able to supply original replacement linkage parts so the throttle action would be proper.  We installed an aftermarket modern fuel pump. The fuel tank was removed, cleaned, repainted and refitted with new mounting bushings. 

  The original radiator was rebuilt with a high efficiency core. All cooling hoses were replaced. The heater cores were disassembled and cleaned, as the cores were good. We replaced the dead blower motor with a new old stock original. All of the heater actuator parts were seized and corroded from age. We were able to obtain parts to rebuild the actuator mechanisms and made others that were unavailable so the heater/defroster system would operate.

  We fitted a new set of handmade leather leaf spring gaitors. Gaitor is not slang for alligator. A gaitor in this instance is a leather cover made to fit the leaf springs to hold layers of grease applied so the springs don't squeak.  Axle grease is hand slathered over the springs and the leather  gaitors are fitted and laced up like a high top tennis shoe to wrap the springs. Squeaky springs are simply not allowed on proper Rolls Royce cars. We had already replace all the rubber bushings on these springs. The differential was refitted and all available rubber parts were replaced.

  Body parts on this very early model were found to be structurally different than slightly later versions of the same model and all of the body parts we could supply required extensive modifications and re shaping to fit properly. 

  In this photo, we ground through the thick layers of bondo to see how deep the filler was and to find out if the fender had much metal left. We found this area where the bondo was ladled right on top of a heavily rusted area and paint over. The rest of the body was found to have been repainted many times over the years and underneath the thick layers of paint there was considerable rust under many of layers of Bondo. This excellent car was excellently rusted. We applied four shades of blue paint, one shade on each fender,  to help the owner choose his color shade. We had the entire body shell stripped and sandblasted to bare metal. We cut away all the extensive rusted areas that were found after the sandblasting and replaced the metal with new sections that were specially made such as new rocker panels, rear fender sections and door tread under plates. We made other sections that were unavailable and weld fitted them as well. The left front fender was found to be composed of mostly rust under Bondo so we replaced the fender with a new old stock fender. This fender had been hanging on a rack in England the last 50 years and had small dings and surface rust that were repaired. We poured rust preventative into all areas we could access. If this car was considered excellent before we started on the massive restoration, how would one describe it now? Super duper excellent? Ok. Super duper excellent it now is. 

Here you can see what remains of one of the front fender frame supports. This support holds up the fender. When it rots away, the fender will sag . 

This photo shows the opposite side, same sort of rust damage, with the old support removed and we have welded the new section into place. 

  After the body welding repairs were completed, we primed the body shell with catalyzed primers. We fitted the body shell back to the frame with new frame mountings except for one we could not obtain. We stripped the doors that we had previously removed of all mechanicals and trim and sent the rolling chassis with mounted body to the paint shop for body work and painting. 

Here the rebuilt body shell is about to be re-mated to the rolling frame. The engine and transmission have been fitted.

    Here are a few photos of the car before it was painted silver blue. The body has been refitted to the frame, the welding work has been completed. The new old stock left front fender has been mounted. Consider it an ugly ducking about to turn into a beautiful swan. 

  In this photo, the rust damage around the sunroof hole can be observed. This car had a huge Webasto folding fabric sunroof fitted long ago. We had previously removed the entire assembly prior to sandblasting. The sunroof installation had been a crude installation and many thick layers of bondo, well over an inch thick, had been applied around the opening to smooth out the roof curves. The cars  owner wanted no Bondo so we removed all the old filler. We later modified the roof metal as much as we could to reduce the amount of required filler, this time an expensive aluminum based product was used. We undercoated the entire underbody after primer sealing it.

  In these photos taken in the spray booth, the clear top coats have not as yet been applied. After the car returned from the body shop, we began installing the new wiring looms and electrical parts. All wiring harnesses were modified if required to fit as no two RR cars have exactly the same wiring.  

  All electrical parts were cleaned, serviced or replaced. We rebuilt the starter. Other electrical parts were disassembled, cleaned, repaired and serviced as well as possible or were replaced if condition too bad to sort out. We restored and refitted the original Lucas horns. Some of the original electrical parts were no longer available new and we were able to supply and fit good used parts. 

  We fitted a pair of special vintage Lucas made for Rolls Royce motif headlamps and were able to supply new PF770 buckets to allow the lamps fitting. Halogen bulbs were fitted to the headlamps and all other bulbs and lenses were replaced including the dash bulbs.  The rear passenger vanity lamps were repaired to work again.  We were able to obtain a very rare pair of new old stock Lucas side lamps for this restoration rather than use reproductions. The original windshield wiper motor was worn out and we were able to supply a new old stock wiper motor. The wiper wheel boxes exterior serrated ends were corroded away and we were able to supply obsolete new old stock wheel boxes so the wiper arms would stay attached. 

  This photo shows some of the new wiring going in to the partially assembled dash and some of the cockpit trim fitted. 

This car used up a fair bit of the remaining stocks of rare new original parts left on this planet such as these little snowpak grilles we were able to supply. Inside the grill, the black part is made of rubber. On most Silver Clouds, this rubber has rotted away over the decades and metal mesh has been substituted for the rubber. As these grills have been unavailable for a long time, owners do what they gotta do. 

The three new roof lamps required a custom made wiring harness to be designed and fitted so the back door courtesy switches operate the back roof lamps and the front door switches operate the front lamp. The original fuse box was not available new so we disassembled the box and hand cleaned each connection. We wound new fuses and serviced the box as well as possible. We modified the wiring to accept an alternator.

  We refitted the three firewalls but also fitted state of the art insulation between them and fitted new insulation on the floors and exposed roof sections. 

In the first photo, you can see the new insulation fitted to the exposed roof sections. In the right of the photo, you can see the edges of the headliner section of the Webasto Folding Roof. The second photo shows the roof of the new Everflex Blue Webasto Folding Roof now in place. Many special screws and fasteners were replaced and there were many hundreds of these. We spent considerable time matching the obsolete original screws and fasteners as closely as possible.  Each of the hundreds of individual screw holes on the car body was tapped as many were damaged from various screws and fasteners being driven into them over the years, others were rusty. 

   The wood tacking pieces for the headliner and inside trim were rotten, missing or damaged so we hand made and fitted all new wood pieces. I believe there were at least 32 of them, each of them unique. 

  The trunk locking mechanisms were missing parts. These parts were found to be fitted only to very early Silver Clouds such as this one and were long unavailable. We handmade all the required parts and recreated the missing internal mechanisms so the trunk would close and snap shut. There were quite a few parts missing from the trunk and we were able to source and supply most of them. The original RR tool box was missing and we were able to supply a complete tool box after several years of searching for one good enough for this car. Over the many years of this cars existence, parts were lost from previous paint jobs and interior replacements. We found that other parts were lost or damaged from old repairs or from unknown causes. As we encountered these problems, we would source new parts if available or replace the missing parts with good used parts or make the parts or have them made. We replaced the individual window tracks as well. These tracks are unavailable from Rolls Royce so we were able to supply an equivalent. The drivers window regulator had damaged gears and we were able to supply a new old stock regulator. The passenger front window was missing one of the internal steel window track brackets, long discontinued and we were eventually able to supply good used parts to replace it. The windscreen squirters had corroded away to a nub underneath the dash. New parts were no longer available so we made the required parts from brass so the supply tubes can be fitted.

The front doors on this model have opening vent windows. Here is a photo of some of the many parts as they were removed that go into the vent mechanisms. Most of these parts are no longer available so we made them as required. 

  We designed and installed a custom a/c system that incorporated a new trunk mounted unit, with new hoses running front to back under the car much like the original units did. We fitted a modern compressor and condenser. We custom made all the brackets and designed and fitted a belt tensioner device. We fitted an auxiliary cooling fan. We had a special pulley made for the crankshaft to drive the compressor. We rebuilt the original generator but later in the job we found that there was going to be more accessory equipment fitted to the car than the generator could supply so we custom made and fitted brackets to enable an alternator to be fitted.  The a/c system is holding a vacuum and is not charged. The a/c switch pod has to be made as well. The location and design of the operating switch base needs to be decided on by owner. We made a new closing panel for the a/c unit. Early 1955 Silver Clouds with the rare factory A/C had a cooling fan shroud hand that was hand soldered to the radiator structure. This specimen never had this shroud as it was not fitted with factory A/C and we wanted such a shroud to help the cooling system load as we were fitting a modern A/C system.  After several years of searching, we were eventually able to obtain, restore and fit one of the correct original shrouds as a used part after receiving several wrong shrouds for cars built just few months later than this car. We designed and had built two special wooden a/c vent boxes and a special air return piece that were designed from inspiration from the original wood of the car. These vents were veneered with burled walnut and cross banded.

  We were able to supply new original hubcaps and had the repainted trim rings pin stripped to match the leather. All exterior trim with the exception of the grill were restored and re-plated to a very high standard. 

  Here are a few photos of the completed the interior,  restored with the owners choice of cream leather with light blue Wilton carpet and light gray wool headliner. We had a new pair of front seat lap belts made with a special order cream belt material to complement the seat leather. 

       Here are photos of the car near the end of the restoration. This particular Silver Cloud is without a doubt one of the very finest cars on the planet Earth if we do say so ourselves and we humbly do say so. 

Here is a list of the individual bright work pieces that were restored and re-plated on this Silver Cloud and the quantity of pieces would be about the same for any Silver Cloud series. 

4  outer door handle                     4  outer door handle button                         2 tail lamp base

1 boot handle                               1 LP lamp                                                   3 inner grab handle

4  inner window handle                 4  inner door handle                                     8  door handle base

2 strap handle-boot                      1 aerial base part                                          2 headlamp ring

2 headlamp spear                          2 sunvisor clip                                             1 glove box handle

1 glove box striker part                 2 fog lamp base                                           4 outer door handle trim

2 round trim buttons                     2 Webasto trim parts                                    2 w/s squirter

2 w/s squirter base                       2  retainers                                                   4  interior switch base

2 flathead machine screw               1  bonnet trim point                                     2  front side trim point

2 center side trim squares               2 rear side trim points                                 2 vent handle

4 interior light switch striker               2 large flathead pan machine screws          1 boot strip

1 aerial base                                      2 w/s clip (inside)                                      1 Webasto striker

2 squirter large base                          2 w/s nut   2  w/s washer                         2 headlamp screw                            

1  boot lamp cover                             2  ash tray rim                                        1  glove box lock back plate

2 hl bulb rim                                      1 glove box lock face                               2 door arm rest base                         

1 w/s molding                                   2 handle-ash tray                                      2 sunvisor base

2 sunvisor stick.                      Four grab handle clamshell parts                         2 sunvisor swivel parts

2 door lock escutcheons                     4  switch plate                                            12 door striker screw-flat

2  sunroof crosshead screw-long        4 short crosshead countersunk-short          11 flat countersunk screw

4  door striker slider                            1 mascot                                                    1 mascot base

1 mascot base part                               4  window track assemblies                       2 door vent

3 lock base                                          3 lock tumbler faces                               4 bumper over rider

2 bumper bar                                       1  horn push                                        4 misc. Webasto parts

  Frequently we work with owners and shops that want to re-commission a car that has been long stored. Perhaps the car is a recent purchase or may have been inherited as many such cars are considered family heirlooms.  Fresh owners should know that these cars were and still are marketed to the wealthiest segment of the population. Parts costs for cars do not depreciate with the age of the car as inflation and manufacturing costs are ever rising and parts for expensive cars are considerably more expensive than domestic cars. Why is this so? Rolls Royce and Bentley cars were and still are built in very small numbers and exclusiveness is certainly a part of the appeal of expensive cars. 

Parts for limited production cars are made in very small production runs. Such parts cost considerably more to produce and stock. As well, demand for parts for very limited production cars is much less than mass produced cars and costs are higher. This sort of explanation may seem to be Economics 101 for some people but we are often asked why expensive cars have expensive parts so perhaps the above information will be helpful. We are also asked why are parts for Rolls Royce and Bentley cars not available at the generic parts stores. One reason is that the generic stores focus is on generic cars as this is where the fast money is. Making fast money is not a part of the business plan for restoration shops. 

Insurance agents and salvage car rebuilders: We are not a salvage yard and do not have piles of perfectly used late model Rolls Royce and Bentley body crash parts laying about. We do supply new body parts yet do have some used body parts. We do provide new crash related parts to repair cars that have had an unfortunate experience. We do not have "front clips" for RR or Bentley cars but we can and do supply many new parts for whatever is required to repair them. 

That's it for now. 

   New photos and material are included as time allows!    If you would like information about our services or for parts requests just e-mail us!   Or Call 281.448.5165.                                                                                                                                                            

Send mail to blimycapn@oplink.net with questions or comments about this web site that is maintained by Al MacClymonds.
Last modified: Jul-09