[Henry Perkins]

Hello, I'm Henry in Bohemia (well actually the Erzgebirge region of Saxony in Germany near to the Czech border in what would once have been Bohemia, and still is, about 20 miles south).

I've just bought a UK RHD Silver Shadow II. It's one of the 75th Anniversary models, made in 1979. Honey gold with magnolia leather. 61k miles on the clock. It's been re-sprayed in its original colour. An 8 out of 10 car in terms of condition.

I'm going to look into registering it in Germany. If that proves troublesome then I'll keep it on UK plates as long as possible.

I've done a little research on the 75th Anniversary models and it seems that there is incorrect information out there which specifies that 75 of the ltd edition were made for the overseas customers and 25 were made for UK customers.

This is wrong as far as I can see. The plaque in my glove compartment says it's one of 75. I've also seen other plaques which indicate that another 75 were made for the US market (in a special colour scheme) and another 75 were made for overseas (LHD or RHD). So there were 225 75th Anniversary Silver Shadow II's made (assuming they actually made the full 75 of each).

I couldn't find a single RR forum anywhere online, so I hope this one takes off and becomes frequented by enthusiasts and experts as it should provide a real help for average owners such as myself.

 

[Stirling]

Thanks for joining us Henry... and I hope the forum takes off too.

Perhaps Park-Ward can help you clear up the controversy about your anniversary model - you can see his website listed under the Memberlist.

 

[Henry Perkins]

I looked at the website of park-ward and it appears to just be mainly about 'models', as in, the small decorative things you put in cabinets.

The 75th Anniversary model I'm refering to, is an actual car, in case that wasn't clear. The only differences between it and the normal Silver Shadow II's are the red RR lettering on the badges (back, front and hub caps) and the plaque inside to say it's an Anniversary car.

 

[Lew]

Henry,

For additional forums you might want to try the RREC in the UK or the RROC in the US. Welcome to this one!!

 

[Stirling]

Henry, yes its mostly about models but he has a link called 'Archive' which will show you a sample of the vast amount of historical data that he has accumulated. Not that the link in itself will answer the question, but I think Park-Ward would have the answer - based on the research he's done.

Park - can you shed some light here for Henry?

 

[Stirling]

Henry,
I was surfing around and you're right there's a lot of confusion out there regarding your car. For instance, this seller on eBay says there were 75 made:
eBay #1

Whereas this fellow in the Robb Report says there were 100:
Robb Report

And this eBay has the story at 75+25:
eBay#2

Finally, at rrsilvershadow.com we're back to just 75:
RRSilverShadow

so, still a mystery.....

 

[Henry Perkins]

I don't think any of the sources could have seen enough plaques!

Perhaps it was the original intention to make 75 + 25, but that doesn't seem to have happened.

The UK cars have a plaque to say they are one of 75 for the UK customers.

The USA cars say they are one of 75 in a special colour scheme. So far I've only seen the special colour scheme in the USA on US spec cars (i.e. no wash/wipe and no front spoiler).

Both the European and commonwealth cars (I've seen a South Africa car) state that they are one of 75 for the overseas customers...no mention of a special colour scheme and I've seen such plaques in both LHD and RHD cars of different colours.

So, if RR made the full 75 for each type then there were 225 worldwide (as far as I can tell).

 

[Stirling]

Here's the latest on this question... the good news is your car is rarer than you think:

http://www.rrsilvershadow.com/EMod/Anniv.htm

 

[Henry Perkins]

Thanks, I'm going to look at that and contact him about the evidence I have and with my chassis number.

 

[Stirling]

Humm, back to 100 cars with this site. Are you familiar with this site? The author is German and very authoritative:

http://www.rrab.com/rsh2.htm#top

 

[jimknopf]

Hello, I'm Henry in Bohemia (well actually the Erzgebirge region of Saxony in Germany near to the Czech border in what would once have been Bohemia, and still is, about 20 miles south).

Hello from down south the republic! I used to live in Aue when I was kid. Where exactly are you located now?

I'm going to look into registering it in Germany. If that proves troublesome then I'll keep it on UK plates as long as possible.

This might well be possible, I am undergoing the same issue here in Munich. As long as you have all the papers they ask you for - especially the V5 documents, you should not encounter any problem. (As long as you don't want it registered on red 07xxx plate). The procedure for this will drive you crazy. And, if the car isn't 30 years old yet, this won't be possible after March 1st 2007. Did I get it right - yours is a 79?

If this or any of your beauties came of age by now, you will be able to have it registered on either red 07-plate or the historic plate. This is a regular white German registration with an H at the end of the number, like "ASZ RR 1977 H" - if you are in the Aue-Schwarzenberg area.

Greets from

 

[Henry Perkins]

I'm about 25 mins south of Chemnitz, near Stollberg!

I see lots of Aue SchwarZenburg number plates around here! I've been to Aue a couple of times. I can't stand football, but I understand the nearest football club is there.

My car is a '79, so not yet 30.

So I have to register it in DE before March 1st?? Why is that? It won't be possible because the car won't be here yet and there will probably still be snow around!

I can't register it here at all after March 1st 2007 and before 2009 (when it's 30 years old)?

 

[jimknopf]

REgistering your car in Germany

Hello HEnry!

Of course you can but this won't be the cheap way. Road tax for a 6,75 liter Engine without catalyst is slightly mor than 1700 EURo per year! Insurance depends on your personal history. You get discount for every year without an accident. the lowest would be 30 percernt of the regular insurance rate.

This is where I am at. The geman insurance companies calculate a so called "Schadensfreiheitsrabatt" (SF xx). So if you have a clean history in Germany you pay less every year.

If the rate would be 1000 EUR per year for a car, with high rate SF you pay as less as 300 EUR only.

Young people and beginners start off with at leas 125 or even 175 %. A Newbie most likely will have the cheapest car possible when starting an own insurance history. FEW people anly would run a Rolls as their first car.


More details I sent in my answer to your personal message.

Greets, JimKnopf

 

[Henry Perkins]

The road tax is over £1100 per year! My god!

In that case it'll stay GB registered and I'll pay £180 per year as British Road tax.

So I'll drive it over to Germany about April 2007.
Retire it for the winter Nov/Dec 2007.
Drive it back to GB for an MOT at about April 2008.
Retire it for the winter Nov/Dec 2008.
Register it in Germany on H plates in Spring 2009!

One last little question.....How accurate are they with the 30 year old thing, does the car have to be exactly 30, i.e. it's 30 years old on the anniversary of its build date, or is just the rough year good enough (i.e. I could start registering it on 1.1.09)?

Thanks,

 

[jimknopf]

The road tax is over £1100 per year! My god!
How accurate are they with the 30 year old thing, does the car have to be exactly 30, i.e. it's 30 years old on the anniversary of its build date, or is just the rough year good enough (i.e. I could start registering it on 1.1.09)?

You're in Germany! So you can rest assured, that the registration office will not issue an H-Plate if the car is younger!

On the other hand it is said in "my" BMW-Forum, that there are "Zulassungsstellen" that do not look after the exact day. But this was with the youngtimer-plate - the red 07xx one.

for information:

red 06xx plates are issued to companies only like dealerships, garages

red 07xx plates are issued to individuals and allow more than one car with this plate! But you may have only ONE car on the road at a time.


Greets, JimKnopf

 

[Henry Perkins]

Thanks Jim.

Following on from my discussion above about the 75th Anniversary model and my evidence for there being 225 made, not 75, or 100. The proprietor of a very complete RR website has seen my evidence and changed his webpage a bit, mentioning my name!

http://www.rrsilvershadow.com:80/EMod/Anniv.htm

 

[Stirling]

Wow, Henry it looks like your research has got the experts thinking. I'm looking forward to hearing the final word on this.

Too bad there isn't a historian at RR who could simply field questions like this. Does anyone know if Rolls-Royce have an equivalent to BMW's Mobile Tradition?

 

[Stirling]

I may have answered my own question. Is anyone familiar with the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust? They don't seem to have their own website but there is a section on them at the corporate site. Doesn't seem to be as extensive an operation as Mobile Tradition but possibly they would have an official historian or some such.

 

[Henry Perkins]

Thanks, that should be worth a try.

 

[Henry Perkins]

I've joined the RR enthusiasts club and will soon receive from them a copy of the build schedule for my car. It includes serial numbers for major parts and hopefully some previous owner details. I already know that it confirms the car is an Anniversary edition, which will be good evidence to keep with the car as proof when I eventually sell it.