Thief tried to STEAL my Rolls Royce Spirit of Ecstasy ! Can I repair the damage? Silver Spirit Ep.10

[@stuartburden3968]

You are doing an extremely good job with restoring the Rolls Silver Spirit III bit by bit, Paul. Just take your time, there is absolutely no rush to get this beautiful car back to her glorious best. I wish you all the luck in the world, my friend. Stuart

[@jg6579]

I'm so glad this beautiful Rolls found someone who cares about every little detail that the manufacturers put into it to make it right once again.

[@philipmoores5202]

In the 70’s I worked on the Drilling Bay in the Main Shop at Crewe. One of the plumb jobs was drilling the hole in the base of the Spirit of Ecstacy. The hole had to be a precise size and was checked with a Go/No Go gauge. I can’t remember the going rate for each job, but it was piece work and you could make your money easily compared to other jobs.

[@mathijsdevries728]

I cannot stop thinking that the ‘damper’ is nothing less than a failed gas-strut that should push against the lever. Which means that, as soon as the spirit is knocked over, it should collapse downward with brisk speed. The passive way of sinking downward, as you showed, isn’t doing very much to quickly get the harmful lady out of the way of an unfortunate pedestrian... So I really believe this is not how it is supposed to work and you should perhaps investigate this a bit further. My thoughts anyway and thanks for another fun video! 👏🏻

[@life_on_cars]

Yes it's likely lost a bit over 30 years

[@wayne7939]

I was about to say , I've seen the spirit working properly and she disappears rapidly at the slightest push from vertical totally underneath. So I think you need a bit more work there . Think you need to replace that gas strut that's where the power comes from and check the trigger latch. Nice job though none the less.

[@dennismoore8351]

That grill is a piece of art in itself.

[@bantam49]

I haven't seen anyone with such an eye for detail in a very long time! You have transformed this iconic Rolls and watching your journey with it is beyond entertainment! Well done!

[@life_on_cars]

Thankyou 😊

[@johnparnell8571]

What a satisfying job! Well done, Paul. I cannot begin to imagine what a specialist garage would have charged to undertake this repair; and you can be sure they would not have done all of the careful detailed finishing that you put in. Each of these completed tasks doesn't just add value to the vehicle, they serve to justify that brave decision to take on this down-at-heel project car in the first place. Terrific content!

[@fv1291]

Most beautiful grill in rhe world. Great save of the beautiful lady. 😊

[@paulgeraghty1448]

Your attention to detail would make the original builders of the car very proud.

[@TheStobb50]

The Rolls is looking beautiful in the sunshine, you’ve done a great job of bringing the back the shine it’s amazing

[@SilasChapman]

30min. See the marking of the craftsman that made that exact grille, DD. Love these features so special

[@markclifton14]

Well done nice job done on the spirit , repaired and polished. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@thevauxhallman7157]

Well done on repairing the spirit of ecstacy, the thing that amazes me about this car is for a car that sat in a car park for years the paintwork really pops. Not taking away the work you did on it but even so it's like showroom condition. I've never seen a second hand car so good but I've also never had a Rolls Royce but it must have been a good base to begin with, well done.

[@JL-of3db]

I did the same with mine, when I took the grill off I found the spirit of ecstasy was held in by a piece of wood! The things people do! Anyway polished everything while I had it all off as it's the first thing people look at when seeing the car, everything else follows 🙂 great job Paul, looks lovely...

[@richarddoran3877]

Absolutely fantastic! I remember watching a documentary years ago, about the amount of work and hours it takes to make a radiator grill by hand.

[@life_on_cars]

A full day . 7 hours to make. 6 hours to polish

[@andrewf7822]

Great work Paul. Wish I had your skills.

[@iantomlinson2422]

the rolls is coming along nicely, nice to see things being fixed rarther than just replaced

[@david07JAG]

Great video, Not just technicaly good but your attension to detail is excelent as always

[@life_on_cars]

Thanks. This car is certainly an interesting project

[@Mark-dm2mb]

You’d not imagine how much engineering went into something like that would you. Great job fixing it!

[@philipcooke9457]

Awwww....what a wonderfully (quietly) satisfying job you did on this masterpiece. As I watched your video I felt myself become more and more enthused and immersed with the meticulous way you handled this. Your attention to detail is superb...... Absolutely excellent!!!!

[@matslundstrom7763]

I´m so glad you´ve taken on a Rolls-Royce, and are showing us how they are built. Did you know that those grill-vanes are not straight! If they were, they would look bent, as a result of an optical illusion.

[@P.J.B.769]

I have to say you are really useful with the tools. I'm really enjoying your videos. I also must tell you this story ...A family friend worked as a service manager at a local Rolls dealer one day an owner came in and complained he couldn't get the angel up, the garage investicated the problem and to a young mechanics horror he discovered why the angel had jammed. Apparently someones little finger was wrapped around the angel. It must have been a very strong spring when new....True story by all accounts.😬

[@jfv65]

I used to have a leaper on the hood of my old Jag. They tried to steal it. I ended up just removing itall together. So annoying that jobs or other lowlives can't keep their hands of other peoples stuff!

[@blueman46]

Lovely Job, such a beautiful car and the colour is amazing. Looking forward to seeing the next episode, maybe mot time next?

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Absolutely fantastic job. The grill looks amazing, and it really pops, especially with the paint work shining so well.

[@skeelo69]

I enjoyed watching this episode massively....thank you. 👍😍

[@anonymous_bot_bot]

That was a massive transformation. Thanks for the effort to upload your work for our viewing pleasure.

[@davidbotterill7549]

Wow what a transformation. She takes pride of place now above a gleaming grill. The hard work paid off. Dave Birmingham.

[@JoshTheHeritageCollector]

Wow! You are transforming this car! I think ecstasy is what you were feeling when it was done! Well done.

[@Mjb89]

Good repair. Very well done. Top video. Good progress. I had a red grifter aswell. Heavy thing.

[@jimcabezola3051]

You performed this repair with the dedication and care of a true craftsman! What a beautiful result! You really put yourself (and us all...) in the shoes of the people who built this car in the first place. Can't get that experience from only reading the original service book or the Haynes manual. Equal parts exploration and adventure. Much aloha to you and Mrs. Life on Cars for preserving this problem-solving lesson for posterity!

[@life_on_cars]

Thank you 😊

[@Richard57072]

Love the attention to detail 👍👏🏻

[@stevebass3992]

Brilliant. The amazing complexity of the engineering just to retract the the spirit of ecstasy. Well done Paul.

[@BritishNath34]

Really enjoy watching these videos chilling out on a Sunday afternoon with the wife in the garden! Really great content. Nice work .

[@8052royc]

That RR has found it's forever home. Thanks for showing us how the spirit of ecstasy works.

[@hamishcruden7623]

Great video... good on you for leaving the RR over spray!

[@pamelarothwell1320]

Great video! Really enjoying this series. I had one of these vehicles when it was nearly new and the Lady dissappeared quite quickly when knocked or pushed.

[@philboyce1582]

Great work Paul, looking superb

[@essexdavenorton]

well you've got to keep the old lady happy and she's proudly displayed on your grill Well done absolute excellent job I'm glad you've done the fan shrouds soon as I saw you take that grill off I thought he's Gotta do them shrouds 😂

[@life_on_cars]

@@essexdavenorton 😂👍

[@bradfordbarrettluckotheIrish]

Excellent ingenuity!

[@londoncalling3009]

Hey Really enjoy watching especially when you clean and restore everything.

[@Tango22052]

Really enjoying the content big man🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

[@TheGramophoneGirl]

Loving the weekly updates on this channel. What a car.

[@life_on_cars]

@@TheGramophoneGirl thanks 😊

[@lothar52]

When he took that grill off and it was dirty behind it….. and whispered softly….”hoooover out”

[@LarryBees]

Another important job done Paul .Wel done ! and you got a chance to restore the rest. Minimal cost . !!😀

[@alanchurchill7305]

Well worth the effort.

[@life_on_cars]

@@alanchurchill7305 thank you 😊

[@silverspiritlll6676]

Wow ! Can’t believe to remove the grill it’s only three Allen bolts, I have today ordered matt black paint to do my fan surrounds, I’ll also polish inside the grill as best I can without needing to take it apart, great video as usual. 👍

[@life_on_cars]

Let me know what initials you have on the back. I'm trying to research the Radiator builders 😊

[@stuartdavies5191]

Thank you SO much for sharing your journey with this beautiful car. Well done Paul !

[@markvincent5241]

Magnificent work Paul, blimey you have the patience of a saint. I was tearing my hair out just watching. Funnily I don't have any hair either. Keep up the great work.

[@nicholasholland-smith1324]

Looking greater every week, that needed some attention to detail and patience, great rewards at the end. What's up next?

[@patwilkes4122]

Job well done, easy to see why the Rolls Royce is such a heavy car . Look forward to the next instalment.

[@MovesLikeJaguar]

Cracking job 👌👍

[@LeeFradley]

Looks absolutely amazing you are a perfectionist. Love it.

[@davidhowell5927]

If you look at the back cover plate near the spirit of ecstasy, you will see a DD stamped on the plate just like the RR, the initials of the guy that made it

[@davidhowell5927]

Had I not paused it I would have heard you mention it….haha

[@davidhowell5927]

There is a Rolls Royce video showing it all being made and DD stamping his initials on it

[@life_on_cars]

@@davidhowell5927 really ! I'll have to find that

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Put an electrical current through it.

[@Wheels_of_Interest.]

Beautiful!

[@pirateatfourty]

i bought a 1999 siler seraph a couple of months ago paid less that 35 grand for her with 36000 miles on her, my spirit was down when i went to pick her up, apparently there is a conversion to make it automatic when i turn my key on she comes up but i can also push her down by hand i drove her after sitting for 4 years 2800 miles homee, 3 oil changes not that it needs it but because it sat so long, car is a sweet heart, love it, they are meant to be driven mot parked in a garage to show your friends what you have lol mine now has over 45000 on it now, runs better every time. but that v 12 is a bmw, wonderful car i cant say more than that lol i could but i wont

[@life_on_cars]

Sounds a beauty 🇬🇧👍😉

[@bramprins229]

Its so nice!

[@salamander5703]

That thing which you call a damper looks like a gas strut, which would be pressurised so the rod goes to fully extended position. Looks like yours isn't so maybe it has lost the gas? I'm guessing it was pressurised to make the retraction of the Spirit of Ecstasy quicker (and damped, so more controlled) in event of being hit. Worth a check.

[@christophers7070]

Great job, just chip away, 1 job at a time. One can imagine the meetings in RR head office when the anti theft device was created from the engineering department (version 1). With the spirit of ecstasy abruptly dropping into the grill with a clunk. The email goes back to engineering 'This will not do, The Spirit of ecstasy must glide effortlessly and silently down into the grill, lets put a shock absorbing ram in, that will do the trick'. Engineering department. 'OK team, the boffins HQ said we need to re-design the mechanism so it glides effortlessly and silently into the grill'.

[@dDoOyYoOuUtTuUbBeE]

It is a shame that these grills don't open and close with the coolant temperature anymore.

[@johncrocker1019]

Is Mrs Life on Cars happy with you working on the kitchen table🤣 That's a fab job you've done there. What's on your jobs list for the RR now?

[@life_on_cars]

She doesn't know about me using the table 😅

[@johncrocker1019]

Yeah right, 😂

[@life_on_cars]

😅​@@johncrocker1019

[@seansabhaois]

The original model of the 'Spirit of Ecstasy' was a Miss Eleanor Thornton, who was a young beauty of the day. At age 22 working as a secretary she attracted the attention of one John Edward Scott-Montagu, a publisher, who became the 2nd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu in 1905. She became his mistress & they had an illegitimate child. Years later, en route to India, she drowned with hundreds of other passengers on 30 December 1915 when the SS Persia, on which she was travelling with Montagu through the Mediterranean & was torpedoed without warning by a German U-boat His Lordship survived, Eleanor did not, which lead to questions, how they became separated & he ended up in a lifeboat?

[@fishandreptileinfo]

It looks proud now.

[@artistglyn]

Somebody has a very understanding wife !!! That looked like a kitchen table.

[@pirreli5]

does the spirit come down with the ignition?// i missed that i think, very good:)

[@life_on_cars]

@@pirreli5 100% mechanical

[@pirreli5]

so there's a switch you press to bring it up and down/?

[@PhilGillingwater]

​@@pirreli5 only on much later models than this.

[@LeeJGold]

You should not need to locate the base plate first when pulling up, should come up and click into place

[@ron2256]

I saw Wheeler Dealers doing a Rolls Royce and I think they put new oil in that damper

[@PhilGillingwater]

These are sealed, and it's obviously lost its gas pressure that provides the spring force, but they're standard parts available from industrial supplies, just need to match the lengths and force rating (marked on the body).

[@pamelarothwell1320]

Really great episode. It looks amazing. I had one of these cars when nearly new and the Lady did dissappear very quickly when pushed. Maybe you do need a new damper. Look forward to your next episodes. 😊

[@rogerreed905]

Would love to know who DD was . Is he still with us . . What is his history with Rolls Royce . . ????

[@life_on_cars]

I'm trying to find out. I believe he was called Dennis Jones.

[@RadlerMannheim]

Fortunately your wife still seems to get more love then the Rolls-Royce... otherwise she certainly would have not helped you... 😊😊😊

[@danielsiminski5878]

Such a REGAL car!!!

[@gary1705]

Why don't you put the lovely chrome wheel covers back on the car which would look much nicer than those dreadful wheels😒

[@life_on_cars]

They won't fit until I change the tyres. Also, wheels need refurbishment.

[@wojciechbudnarowicz6684]

Not bed, spirit of ecstasy on an Ikea box instead of a silk pillow. I'm shocked ... 🫣

[@life_on_cars]

😂