Seriously?

[Existential Crisis]

Originally Posted by ITSv40

Whilst I agree with most of what is written, I cannot agree that S/Silver Clouds are vile. One man's meat is another's poison and all that, but I absolutely enjoyed my 33 years of Cloud ownership, both driving and maintaining it.

Rolls - Royce have never set out to make a driver's car, they are to be seen in and everything is designed around the passenger's comfort. the post war cars in particular were designed primarily for the american market - effortless freeway cruisers.

The braking system on the S/Clouds is a little unusual. They still used the mechanical servo fitted to all Rolls and Bentleys from 1907, this was driven from the gearbox and was only effective if the rear wheels were turning. Without the rear wheels turning there is no braking force on the front wheels. At mot time the brakes had to be tested by a Tapley Meter as it is impossible with a conventional brake tester. It can cause some amusement in tight spaces and manoeuvring at slow speeds as there is lag in the servo - effectively giving little braking effort.

Steering is designed to be vague - Rolls-Royce claimed it was to ensure that if the driver sneezed or made some other violent movement the car would continue in a straight line and not veer uncontrollably. When I first bought the Cloud I would fight to keep it on the straight and narrow, tightly gripping the wheel to the point of having white knuckles. I soon realised it was better to relax and let the car go where it wanted, just keeping a hold of the wheel sufficient to guide it in the general direction of where we wanted to go. It was also best to join the middle lane owners club as tramlining on the inside lane could be quite tiring on a long journey - even in relaxed mode.

The vast majority of S/Clouds didn't have seatbelts. Mine was factory fitted with 3 point static belts made by the Irvin Parachute Company and unusually also had 3 point rear belts.

All in all there is no better experience than having the view of the road framed in finest walnut whilst aiming the Spirit of Ecstasy - like a gun sight six feet in front of you - and purring along on superbly soft leather seats.

Incidentally, I do not suffer from travel sickness, but cannot ride in the back of a Shadow without feeling queasy, the ride is just too soft.

A scruffy but mechanically sound Cloud or S1 would be one of my dream classic 'daily drivers', what a sense of occasion