Silver Shadow I or II

I am thinking of getting a Silver Shadow, either II or I, as a daily
everyday driver.

I would appreciate any advice from Shadow owners, especially those that
use them everyday.

What MPG can you expect?

What are spares like, cost, availability, etc (in the UK)?

Are they fairly reliable?

What should I look out for when going to look for one? Common rust
points, etc?

Thank you.

On 2 Jan 2006 14:40:37 -0800, vls.RemoveThis@cezpublications.co.uk wrote:
>I am thinking of getting a Silver Shadow, either II or I, as a daily
>everyday driver.
>
The Shadows are made of good steel, so rust isn't usually that bad.
The problem areas are the lower parts, where mud and dirt can collect
behind the bumpers. I found my pretty reliable as a daily driver, with
the only failure to proceed occurring when the alternator belt broke
and the battery died before I got home (it was raining, and I think
the headlights and wipers are what killed it).
Areas to watch out for are engine condition (look for piston slap
or leaking head gaskets) and hydraulics and braking (good hoses and
lines and proper pressure in the system). People talk about the SS
being horribly complex, but that was back in the day; I found mine a
joy to work on compared to more modern cars.
Gas mileage was poor though - I think I got 10 mpg in the city.
For better write-ups, most of the UK classic mags have done
profiles of the Silver Shadow in recent years: Practical Classics had
a good one, Classic Car and Sport and Classic Car did them as well.
epbrown
--
2003 BMW 325i Black/Black
2003 BMW Z4 Black/Black