Rolls-Royce Phantom III - body refurbishment

Having completed the engine rebuild in March 2003 I felt that I had earned a break.  The sensible method of relaxing seemed to be to drive the car; enjoy the fruits of my labour, get the engine bedded in and sort out any teething troubles.  Of the latter there were few I am pleased to report.  Over the following six months I covered about 3,000 trouble-free miles.  The engine was carefully run-in with a sequence of ever lengthening trips.  I covered 100 miles at a maximum speed of 30mph in top gear (utterly frustrating), followed by the next 100 miles at 40mph and then 800 miles not exceeding 50mph.  At the distance marks of 100, 200, 500 and 1000 miles the oil and filter were changed, the cylinder heads re-torqued and the tappets adjusted.  Thereafter, the speed was occasionally extended up to 60 and then 70mph for very short periods as well as starting to use full throttle on occasions and also driving with the engine under load on inclines.  The water temperature stays steady between 85 and 90C irrespective of speed, traffic queues and ambient air temperature.

In October 2003 the car went in to RR&B Garages, owned by Ian Pinder, to undergo its transformation from lurid pink into a more dignified colour scheme.  From the start of the process it was agreed that I would act as the project manager, dealing with all third party contractors, and Ian would control the bodywork, paintwork and (most importantly) the standards.  My unreserved thanks go to Ian and his team for their superb conduct of the whole operation - the results speak for themselves.

A brief summary of the tasks to be undertaked by third parties will give an idea of how complex a simple restoration really is: -