Topic: I bought a Rolls Royce and want to build it.
EDIT: follow the build on instagram @rollsroycedoesntcare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey guys, just did my first race on my friends team and it was a super fun time. Since then I have been thinking about building a car non-stop and bought a crappy 1977 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow.
From the research I did there was one that ran, but it was so slow that it was a hazard and not allowed to run again.
To be able to make this car compete the 3 problems I see are swapping in a manual, fixing the brakes, and fixing the suspension.
To swap a manual would cost so much money with custom fabrication that I think it would be easier/cheaper to swap something else. The Factory engine already uses an adapter to convert the RR pattern to BOP pattern and uses a BOP pattern TH400. Adapting anything requires a giant custom flywheel that has to be custom machined $$$. Its a shame because I love the factory 6.75L V8 in these. As far as engine/trans swaps go the easiest and cheapest I can think of is a LS style setup...super boring, but also super cheap. The car has many GM parts on it, so it makes sense to keep it somewhat GM.
As far as suspension/brakes the factory engine uses high pressure hydraulic pumps driven off the engine camshaft to power the suspension leveling & brakes TOGETHER! Pretty dumb if you ask me, and might be why 50% of these cars have braking/suspension problems. To fix this I would have to build a completely new suspension/brake setup, which is a huge amount of work.
So I guess my main question is, would it be cool with the judges and the other racers if I spent the time to swap in a new drive train and fix the suspension & brakes? If I do the work, do a good job, and invest all this time into the car it I would hate for our team to show up and get a ton of penalty laps.
I guess the main point I'm trying to make is I want to build an awesome car, but don't want to build one that is not in the Spirit of Lemons. I'm hoping to get some insight from the people on the forum to help build the car.
Thanks!
2019 Rust Belt GP - Spirit of Entropy Award
2019 The Tony Swan Never-Say-Die Memorial - Index of Effluency Award
2020 The Tony Swan Never-Say-Die Memorial - Class C Lap Winner