Restoration of Rolls Royce 94RF

[wasif]

That is just amazing. Also in the pictures posted of the dash there is a big opening in the center. What was housed in this ?

[alpineeagle]

Originally Posted by wasif

That is just amazing. Also in the pictures posted of the dash there is a big opening in the center. What was housed in this ?

The large circular hole in the centre housed a clock, as did a binnacle in the passenger compartment. Unfortunately both of these were missing when the car arrived and we had to find replacements

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/pre-19...-india-71.html (Rolls Royce's in India)

Sorry i remembered about this now after seeing it.

Originally Posted by harit

Not done your research

Cheers harit

Agreed sir just had forgotten i had replied to it in the other thread.

Forgiveness required!

[DKG]

Alpineeagle of particular interest to me is how you restore small dents on the bodywork and manage a blemish free finish? Would you have pictures of how you renew a body panel with dents. Considering on this car you don't have the luxury of putty and paint how do you eliminate blemishes

[IndrojitSircar]

Hi

What were the various jobs you did on this car and what were all the special techniques and ways used since it is a very rare and old car any different ways you worked on it?how was the engine responding as in was there any kind of miss firing,excess of and colour smoke etc ?
What were the different treatments did you all do ?

Originally Posted by DKG

Indrojit as the earlier post (shown below) mentions the car was driven to the garage

Thank you DKG for highlighting this.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Was it in running condition when it arrived to you and how was the engine responding as in was there any kind of miss firing,excess of and colour smoke etc ?

Indrojit as the earlier post (shown below) mentions the car was driven to the garage

Originally Posted by alpineeagle

Luckily this had been attended to in India by an associate so we didnt have to do anything to the mechanical workings of the car, we jump started 94RF when it arrived and drove it into the workshop!

[alpineeagle]

Originally Posted by DKG

Alpineeagle of particular interest to me is how you restore small dents on the bodywork and manage a blemish free finish? Would you have pictures of how you renew a body panel with dents. Considering on this car you don't have the luxury of putty and paint how do you eliminate blemishes

hopefully i will put up some pics of this tomorrow, i have to find them first!! its very difficult, its all done using a hammer and dolly and alot of time, when its as flat as you can get it, or on the curves roughly the right shape we then use a body file and take out the bumps. Finally go through the sandpaper grades until its as you see on 94RF!. There were also a few splits which we welded up and given the same treatment!! Its a very time consuming job.

[travancore]

Originally Posted by alpineeagle

Hi and welcome to the restoration business! yes we are all in agreement that 94Rf was in remarkable condition, we have re - built cars from rusting remnants! an associate of our came to India and managed to get the car into a drivable condition, new tyres were needed along with cleaning the fuel system and air intake. The sump was removed and engine spun over to make sure there wasn't any damage to crankshaft or scoring on the cylinder bores. luckily everything internal wise seems to be in good condition.

Super job and thanks for sharing tips and pictures. I assume the original seats were blue cloth ? Cheers

[alpineeagle]

Originally Posted by travancore

Super job and thanks for sharing tips and pictures. I assume the original seats were blue cloth ? Cheers

The only original seat parts we had were the back rests of the front seats! all the rest had been removed and vanished over the past years! the car it seems was trimmed originally in pigskin leather according to the build sheets! we did find a small amount in places. Most of this had been cleaned at some point with a corrosive cleaner which had unfortunately destroyed the remnants!

[wasif]

Now that the car is back to its former glory what were your suggessions to the owners on storage and use ?

What would you advice people on the proper manner to store / use a car of such value to ensure it remains in perfect shape.

Also please look at this link below. If you were to advice on what should be done for this RR Silver Ghost, which has under 1000 miles on its clock to date, which direction would you take ??

Do look at the beginning of that thread for pictures of the cars and the current page for the discussion on what should be done to them and comment on this please.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/pre-19...carriages.html (The Nizam of Hyderabad's Collection of Cars and Carriages)


Since obviously you have been deeply involved in the restoration business your views on restoration / useage / preservation of these old beauties would be invaluable to us.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by alpineeagle

its all done using a hammer and dolly and alot of time, when its as flat as you can get it, or on the curves roughly the right shape we then use a body file and take out the bumps. Finally go through the sandpaper grades until its as you see on 94RF!

Wow I know that's a whole lot easier said than done. I can quite imagine the phenomenal skill, finesse, and patience required to achieve the desired result.

I once saw a team of italians work out dents on a car which had suffered hailstorm damage. It was all done with hand tools and no repainting. The end result was faultless. Its all about skill and congrats to your team to be able to do such a fine job.

[scooby05]

Originally Posted by harit

Not done your research



Agreed, but it is not only the pay. Just ask any restorer. A 'karigar' can agree to work for a certain rate, take advance and after some time disappear, often leaving the work half done. Or they go to village during festival, sickness etc. and come back from extended leave. As it is vintage karigars get paid more than the ordinary car karigars. And then there are company karigars, those who work in authorised dealerships etc. There these karigars are sometimes employed, but they also tend to work on contract basis.
I am of the view that paying more money to the karigars does not necessarily mean better and timely workmanship. Any restorer on this forum willing to comment?

Cheers harit

Harit, I totally agree. Its my point of view too, its not about the salary or payment, its the attitude and sincerety and discipline. The output there is something different and had nothing to do with climate.

[karlosdeville]

Steve, did the team have access to period photos of the car while restoring? I believe each Rolls Royce of the era would have been photographed before delivery, am I right?

[alpineeagle]

Hi, as promised i am uploading some more photos showing progress of 94RF, in these photos the body is being hand beaten back into shape, the splits in the aluminium being welded up and finally sanded back through various grades of flatting paper. 94RF was then masked up to enable us to paint the chassis legs and door shuts. This was painted in a bright silver to try to blend in with the aluminium. After this was completed and the car back in the main workshop we began to repair all the interior wood, this involved plugging many tack and screw holes throughout the car! the cappings and cabinet were at this time stripped of varnish and colour. the wood was all then repaired having new bits added in where it was needed. we then completely re-wired the car as the original wiring although partially working was not really safe. We replace the wiring using correct Rolls Royce colours and with cloth covered wire as per original. We also clean up the original wiring markers and re - fit. once this was completed and the window mechanisms re - fitted the re - trim could begin. Firstly the headlining was tacked up in position, we still use tacks and glue! no staples!! the rear seat frames made from scratch. the front seats were re - built i have included some pictures of various staged of the seats being built. The carpets and door panels were also trimmed and all fitted into the car.

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Hi

What were the various jobs you did on this car and what were all the special techniques and ways used since it is a very rare and old car any different ways you worked on it?What were the different treatments did you all do ?

Hi steve i have a mentioned a few things above i guess you forgot to mention about these things.Thankx