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Engines of the Silver Shadow:

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The 6230 cc engine

The 6750 cc engine

 


Engines of the Silver Shadow



All Silver-Shadow-models are provided with a beautiful V8.
In the beginning the Silver Shadow was launched with an engine capacity of 6230 cc. From modelyear 1970 on Rolls-Royce increased the engine to 6750 cc., especially to meet the international emission demands.



The 6230 cc engine of the 1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow SRH3485.

A first introduction
On the picture above some components are well recognizable. Have a look.
On the right of the picture you can see the expansion reservoir that is mounted on top of the radiator. That is on the front side of the car. In the left of the engine compartiment, on top of the picture, you can see the upper side of the spring-and-damper unit of the left front wheel. On the left upper side of the picture you see a container. That is the container of the hydraulic liquid that is used for the brake- and height-control-system. On the right of the picture, directly behind the radiator the V-belts are visible. In most types five V-belts are mounted. In most Silver Shadows the high V-belts are used to drive the compressor of the airconditioningsystem (amongst others). The compressor is the big black unit on the upper side of the engine just behind the radiator. The SRH3485 has no airconditioning and in the car of the picture a Lucas Generator is mounted. This generator is only mounted on early Silver Shadows and is in fact a rare part.
Another two rather outstanding components are visible on the picture. First that is the big black tube that winds itself over the engine. This tube sends the outer air to the engine management. The "engine management" may not be compared with the modern electronic fuel injection system, but is an old-fashioned pair of carburetters and contact-breaker points. Those carburetters are the two notable pots in the middle of the picture. These are the so-called SU-carburetters. When you unscrew the screwcap on top of such a carburetter, there appears to be fitted a small piston that, based on oil-damping (engine oil), supports a smooth engine-behaviour on frequently changing throttle positions.
On this picture you can see the mounting of height control on the front spring-and-damper unit. On the unit at the bottom of the picture you can see the small pipe that is used to supply the hydraulic liquid. Besides the unit on top of the picture the height control valve is visible on the right (front side) of the damping unit (the valve with the three pipes).
The container at the bottom of the picture is the reservoir of the screen jet. On top of the reservoir the electric motor is fitted to drive the liquid to the screen.

The engine of the Silver Shadow II



The 6750 cc engine of the 1977 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow SRF30477.

The second picture (above) shows an engine that is 10 years younger. The cylinder block still is the same block as with the 6230 cc engine: two cylinder blocks in a V-shape of 90°. The bigger engine volume is reached by enlarging the piston stroke. The four spark plugs can be found on the outer side of the cylinder blocks half-way the blocks (not visible on the picture). Even the ignition cables are only visible over half their length.
The later engines are provided with more and more features to meet the American demands on environment and safety. Sensors and several electronic aids are settled down.

This process has continued in the Corniches after the production of the Silver Shadow II was stopped. On the picture below you can see an engine of another 10 years younger, namely from 1987. This picture is of the engine of the Corniche II with the chassisnumber SCAZD02A2HCX20371.



The 6750 cc engine of the 1987 Rolls-Royce Corniche II HCX20371.

Remarkable on this engine is that the carburetters are disappeared and are replaced by a modern engine management system, on the right of the picture. Also the air cleaner has been modified, the container for the hydraulic liquid, the expansion reservoir has disappeared, and so on. Only the 6750 engine block has stayed.
In the years afterwards the developments have continued. Modern cars got plastic covers on the engine to hide the tangle of engine-components. And before the manufacturing of the Corniche was stopped, these covers were fitted on the Corniches too. On the picture below of the last Corniche but 32 that has been built in the 30 years story of the Silver Shadow, the plastic cover of the engine can clearly be seen.



The 6750 cc engine of the 1995 Rolls-Royce Corniche S SCAZC03C0SCX50124.

Specifications

The 6750 cc engine was based on the smaller 6230 cc V8. The bigger volume was reached by enlarging the piston stroke. During the tests it appeared that an engine volume of 7269 cc was attainable by enlarging the stroke. This would result in a power of about 220 bhp and a topspeed of about 203 km/h. Ultimately it was determined that a similar growth in performance was reached at an engine volume of 6750 cc. The advantage of this bigger engine was that as well the low-speed torque as the maximum speed was enlarged.



Engine of a Silver Shadow.


For the specifications of the 6230 cc engine have a look at the page dealing the 6230 cc engine.
For the specifications of the 6750 cc engine have a look at the page dealing the 6750 cc engine.




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