Restoration of Rolls Royce 94RF

alpineeagle · 7th October 2009, 14:48

Hi to all, As requested i am starting a new thread to show in detail the condition of 94RF as we received it, and progress pictures showing various stages of the restoration. As i have said before we at Alpine Eagle were delighted to receive instruction to restore such a wonderful and historically important car.

The pictures posted below start as 94Rf arrived to us, as you can see it is missing a few parts and the interior is in very poor condition, the rear seats were missing completely, front seat squabs were also missing. The wood was damaged and in places also missing. while we were stripping down, we found serveral rat or mice nests within the bodywork panels! After stripping out the interior and all the exterior removable panels we subjected the car to a thorough steam clean. After 94RF had been cleaned we started to repair all the dents and splits in the aluminium bodywork. We were only allowed to clean the engine as it was in good mechanical condition, so we painted the rocker cover and head / block assembly. The parts laid out on the brown paper are the first batch of items to be plated ! We had to find some replacement window winder handles as some were missing. All the window mechanisms were stripped down as some were inoperative, the springs in some were found to be broken (mainly due to either being wound up the wrong way and then over centre and build up of dirt or animal nests!) The same work was also carried out to the mesh fly / chaff screen mechanisms, the mesh screens too were repaired, re- soldered into frames if they had split or become damaged and then plated.

IndrojitSircar · 7th October 2009, 15:32

Wow that a good way to start off.what is the current progress ?

alpineeagle · 7th October 2009, 15:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Wow that a good way to start off.what is the current progress ?

Hi, 94RF is already back in India! fully finished! i will add some more pictures soon showing more stages of restoration all the way through to the finished car

Many thanks
Steve

karlosdeville · 7th October 2009, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpineeagle

Hi to all, As requested i am starting a new thread to show in detail the condition of 94RF as we received it, and progress pictures showing various stages of the restoration. As i have said before we at Alpine Eagle were delighted to receive instruction to restore such a wonderful and historically important car.

Wonderful, we are very grateful to the team for sharing this experience with us. Do share the time frames with us too, if possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Wow that a good way to start off.what is the current progress ?

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/pre-19...-india-71.html

scooby05 · 7th October 2009, 16:32

I Hope this thread Shows our Indian Restorers how restoration needs to be done!!
I have seen many restoration outfits in England and Germany, and they are Very methodical and do it with passion.
Its the attitude thats important, and thats whats lacking back here.
The average european worker costs 20 times our worker but his output and quality is 10 times better. A Pound may be Rs.75 here but in buying power there its just Rs.15

MARCUS_520i · 7th October 2009, 16:37

So, now we also know what the 94RF post-restoration looks like!!
Thanks for sharing pictures of that beautiful car karlosdeville.

@alpineeagle : That's a splendid job you've done there. Absolutely magnificent!

gomzi · 7th October 2009, 16:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpineeagle

Hi, 94RF is already back in India! fully finished! i will add some more pictures soon showing more stages of restoration all the way through to the finished car

Many thanks
Steve

I'm completely new to any thing regarding restoration, but the car seems to be in relatively decent condition considering it's nearly a century(?) old, is that correct? Were the mechanicals in a motorable condition?

It'll be a super experience walking through the restoration experience on this thread. Thanks for sharing the process.

DKG · 7th October 2009, 16:54

Thanks a ton for sharing alpineeagle !! This will be a precious record and we are thankful to you for hosting it here for all to see and learn.

What kind of mechanical attention did it require?

harit · 7th October 2009, 17:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Wow that a good way to start off.what is the current progress ?

Not done your research

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooby05

I Hope this thread Shows our Indian Restorers how restoration needs to be done!!
I have seen many restoration outfits in England and Germany, and they are Very methodical and do it with passion.
Its the attitude thats important, and thats whats lacking back here.
The average european worker costs 20 times our worker but his output and quality is 10 times better. A Pound may be Rs.75 here but in buying power there its just Rs.15

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

wasif · 7th October 2009, 17:25

Cant wait for further posts on this. what was the actual mileage on the car when it reached you guys for its resurrection ?

alpineeagle · 7th October 2009, 17:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Wonderful, we are very grateful to the team for sharing this experience with us. Do share the time frames with us too, if possible.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/pre-19...-india-71.html

This is not a problem, and i am very glad it is of such interest to you all, in regards to the time frame 94RF arrived at our workshop at the end of July 08, and as we had to give the car no mechanical attention we managed to sort everything else by early December 08.

alpineeagle · 7th October 2009, 17:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by gomzi

I'm completely new to any thing regarding restoration, but the car seems to be in relatively decent condition considering it's nearly a century(?) old, is that correct? Were the mechanicals in a motorable condition?

It'll be a super experience walking through the restoration experience on this thread. Thanks for sharing the process.

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.

alpineeagle · 7th October 2009, 17:42

What kind of mechanical attention did it require?[/quote]

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!

howler · 7th October 2009, 17:46

Alpineeagle mentions that he got the car in July 08, while the pics on the forum are of Mar 08. It looks in pretty good nick in the Mar 08 pics. Have i missed out on something?

alpineeagle · 7th October 2009, 17:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by wasif

Cant wait for further posts on this. what was the actual mileage on the car when it reached you guys for its resurrection ?

The Mileage of 94RF when it arrived with us was just under 6800 miles!!!

7th October 2009, 14:48	#1
alpineeagle Newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: oxford Posts: 19 Thanked: 0 Times	Restoration of Rolls Royce 94RF Hi to all, As requested i am starting a new thread to show in detail the condition of 94RF as we received it, and progress pictures showing various stages of the restoration. As i have said before we at Alpine Eagle were delighted to receive instruction to restore such a wonderful and historically important car. The pictures posted below start as 94Rf arrived to us, as you can see it is missing a few parts and the interior is in very poor condition, the rear seats were missing completely, front seat squabs were also missing. The wood was damaged and in places also missing. while we were stripping down, we found serveral rat or mice nests within the bodywork panels! After stripping out the interior and all the exterior removable panels we subjected the car to a thorough steam clean. After 94RF had been cleaned we started to repair all the dents and splits in the aluminium bodywork. We were only allowed to clean the engine as it was in good mechanical condition, so we painted the rocker cover and head / block assembly. The parts laid out on the brown paper are the first batch of items to be plated ! We had to find some replacement window winder handles as some were missing. All the window mechanisms were stripped down as some were inoperative, the springs in some were found to be broken (mainly due to either being wound up the wrong way and then over centre and build up of dirt or animal nests!) The same work was also carried out to the mesh fly / chaff screen mechanisms, the mesh screens too were repaired, re- soldered into frames if they had split or become damaged and then plated. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 15:32	#2
IndrojitSircar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Kolkata/Delhi Posts: 2,318 Thanked: 972 Times	Wow that a good way to start off.what is the current progress ?
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 16:32	#5
scooby05 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,145 Thanked: 192 Times	I Hope this thread Shows our Indian Restorers how restoration needs to be done!! I have seen many restoration outfits in England and Germany, and they are Very methodical and do it with passion. Its the attitude thats important, and thats whats lacking back here. The average european worker costs 20 times our worker but his output and quality is 10 times better. A Pound may be Rs.75 here but in buying power there its just Rs.15
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 16:37	#6
MARCUS_520i BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 524 Thanked: 166 Times	So, now we also know what the 94RF post-restoration looks like!! Thanks for sharing pictures of that beautiful car karlosdeville. @alpineeagle : That's a splendid job you've done there. Absolutely magnificent!
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 16:54	#8
DKG Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 3,711 Thanked: 1,389 Times View My Garage	Thanks a ton for sharing alpineeagle !! This will be a precious record and we are thankful to you for hosting it here for all to see and learn. What kind of mechanical attention did it require?
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 17:25	#10
wasif Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Abu Dhabi (for now) Posts: 2,957 Thanked: 414 Times	Cant wait for further posts on this. what was the actual mileage on the car when it reached you guys for its resurrection ?
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 17:42	#13
alpineeagle Newbie Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: oxford Posts: 19 Thanked: 0 Times	What kind of mechanical attention did it require?[/quote] 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!
	() Thanks

7th October 2009, 17:46	#14
howler BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: coorg/bangalore Posts: 447 Thanked: 570 Times	Alpineeagle mentions that he got the car in July 08, while the pics on the forum are of Mar 08. It looks in pretty good nick in the Mar 08 pics. Have i missed out on something?
	() Thanks