For Sale: 1978 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow in Carey, Illinois

This is a very fine Silver Shadow II finished in 2-tone Walnut metallic over Masons black with tan fine-lines to the waistline and hubcap trim rings. The interior is finished in factory original, un-touched, rich chocolate brown Connolly hide leather with black piping. The Wilton wool carpets are in the reciprocal theme of black with brown piping. This combination is rarely seen on Shadow IIs in the US. This is a very clean and original Californian example that appears to have been well cared for over her years. She is pretty much mostly original with no modifications. She even has her original Blaupunkt blue-dot push button radio but enhanced with a modern "period" radio mounted in the lower console position where the cassette would have been. A nice genuine touch. The body is straight and paint very shiny and consistent. Much of the paint is original finish, which is quite rare and will please the enthusiasts. Of course, because of the predominantly factory paint, the car does have some minor marks here and there to include little stone chips around the headlights (which have been professionally brush-touched) and some of the signature hair-lines at the base of the "A" & "C" pillars (Rolls-Royce used the "lead-wiping" technique for joining body panels. With the different expansion and contraction rates of lead vs steel, this caused the paint to fracture and so paint stress marks at these points occurred on every single Silver Shadow). These are relatively minor however. Overall, the car is minor on other blemishes so presents well - certainly well above average for a Rolls-Royce of this age. As a daily driver, the paint presents extremely well. The imperfections are pointed out as part of clear disclosure and so rest assured they are not eye-catching. The interior presents stunningly, very clean and fresh with the leather in an excellent state. Importantly, and rare to see today, the Connolly hides have NEVER been re-dyed. This is something quite unique as usually the leather after this many years can become quite soiled. This is the best testament for the car being a well-cared for example. The leather is not only "clean" but remains super supple (as demonstrated in photos doing the "scrunch" test). What is the best part about virgin Connolly hides, is the original "toning" effect of the Vaumol hide is preserved. To explain, Connolly used a technique whereby the leather was surface dyed and then treated with a hand-rubbed darker toning that captures the natural pores and grain of the leather - a mild version of the antique look on a chesterfield couch. This toned grain look is referred to as Luxan grain. In re-dyed leather, this magnificent trait of Connolly Vaumol hides is lost. Not so, in this lovely example. The wood on this Shadow II is generally ok but is showing signs of hair-line fractures in the clear on the dash and delamination in some areas on the tops of the doors. We didn't refinish them because everything with the interior is original and we wanted prospective purchasers to see this. We do, however, recommend the wood being redone as this would make the inside of this car stunning. As it turns out, by the magic-touch of mother nature, the burl walnut grain is very rich and intense and this will look outstanding once we refinish. Please enquire if you agree. Further bonuses include; dash roll in excellent condition with no leather pulling at the vents, very clean broad-cloth headlining and the signature Wilton wool carpets in excellent shape. A set of brand-new factory issue mouton rugs are available at extra cost. We think a set in black or chocolate brown would equally work well. All features, gauges, instruments and electrics work correctly. All interior lights and dash lights are all fully working. Heater and air-conditioning are fully functional. These are all thoroughly gone thru by Park-Ward. For example, we service all the windows to ensure smooth and swift up and down movement (windows