Driving a '69 Rolls Royce Shadow to the Arctic in the middle of winter

welcome to a new Harry's garage I think this one's going to be a bit special because we're off on a bit of an adventure I've always liked doing adventures you've probably seen the Testarossa to Sahar Oh sort of a bit of an ethic and that was a couple of years ago and I've been thinking what else could I do along that sort of same sort of line and the last time you saw the Rolls Royce behind me I just bought it off Beebe ebay four and four thousand pounds four thousand one hundred pounds and it wasn't quite right it was pretty good by I'm really it's very happy with it but it had no performance of things so it's been down to a specialist and it's all got tweaked up it's much better now I'm very lucky to have a local rolls-royce specialist within five miles of DW car services they've been right through it and it came back and I'm really rather liked it it's bit scruffy on the outside but it has a good heater it's extremely comfortable and I thought well that's this car deserves a big trip now on the bucket list one of the places I've always wanted to visit whose very long way away it's the Arctic Circle could I take a rolls-royce shadow that I've bought off eBay before thousands of pounds all the way to the Arctic Circle it's a long way there's a little bit of trepidation because it's you know it's quite a thing to do a car like this but I'm quite excited anyway some look at map when I'll show you what we're gonna do and you know you're on a proper journey where you actually have to get the school appleís out but here we go we're in sort of Oxford area here and the first surprise go into the Arctic Circle is we're going to Norway Arctic Circle here is the dotted line there it's just how far it is if we were going from our house to Moscow here 1960 miles to do that but going to the Arctic Circle put that into Google Maps up to Tron so we're going right at the top there 2,000 243 miles is 300 miles further than Moscow what we're actually going to do is take a little bit off first leg of the journey we're going to Copenhagen and then get an overnight ferry into Oslo and that takes about four or five hundred miles out of it so all in all time we get back this car will done between four and five thousand more miles and it has now this car hasn't done much apartment taking people to and from their wedding on their wedding day so that is the equivalent of what it's done in the last 22 years big journey boxer spares of hats oils lots of fingers crossed so all we got to do now is the last bit of packing and then we're off and next time you'll join us we'll be somewhere on the way to Copenhagen [Music] [Applause] [Music] but an uptight this car is from an age when you used to get the novena to go down there 100 octane fuel is what this car likes to drink so cult star 5 star haven't quite got there I've asked a local apparently that's the only diesel pump all the rest of textual and you're just going to watch that one super II 10 that's the one with ethanol you do not put that into older cars because it destroys all the rubber lines hoses etc anything so I'm using super unleaded in this car at all times hang the cost right I might be here some time it seems to do about two hundred and fifty miles on a tank and because I was cruising along at 70 75 miles an hour I feel I'll get loads of mpg I've got it up to 15 shakin the team seems to be about right running around but 15.2 is my best so far so yeah I'm doing this quite often we had a bit of a surprise last night I can't get over how well it did the way across we did we've done 730 miles now did 560 miles in a day yesterday and it was fantastic it just sailed along that the Autobahn I thought it's all going very well and check the oil before we left it's just a little bit below max got to the hotel last night and just did some visual checks water fine check the oil and it was waved down below minimum we'd use a stack of ourn I kick myself for not checking it it's someone you have to do with older cars they do often drink oil but this sort of age and I've been advised that I should really do the valve guides on this car that seals out an old sort of rope seal early Rolls Royces like this they still all original all the engine hasn't been touched I know the compressions are really good so I knew the Rings piston rings are alright but the oil seals need doing and it was a wake-up lesson last night it was a bit of a heart failure when I saw how much oil we've used anyway what we upside 87 euros 60 litres this is 450 odd miles this misfit up what else happened [Applause] five countries we did last night and had a suspicion someone was going on I didn't see that we were using oil during the day but just at night just coming in here could just see a sort of puff of smoke well known to other classic car owners oh there we go in other people's headlights it's sort of the giveaway and that's why I checked it in the garage that's not too bad actually he says 113 euros 78 new leases I've got to work out what 78 liters in okay that Philip was a 14.5 - the gannets are not quite as good but we did hoof it a bit in Germany I wanted to see if I get a hundred miles an hour on the spinner but actually a long story short this is a replacement video because just before we left the speedo cable snapped on this car so we got ordered up a new speed okay we'll put that in and that one snapped and it turned out the original speedo head had seized and that's what they'd snap the cable so I've got a replacement speedo while that one gets replace and it's a forty one he doesn't read show the speed correctly but it does count the miles and I couldn't do this journey without having the Mars being counted up right what we've done we look at a map you want to just come into this so we yesterday we stayed in focus and we came from Calais and then you you have to basically drive through this not of motorway routes through Holland Belgium and in Germany and we came out Hamburg and we actually stayed last night we're in Lubec at the moment there's two choices if we're going to go to Copenhagen where I was Copenhagen here and you can either go from where we are there's two routes you go all motorway it's a bit further and you go round like this to Copenhagen or you can go this way and just catch a little ferry they run every half an hour down here Peters garden Putin's garden sorry we go and then motorway in because we've got two ferries to do today we're doing this ferry up to Copenhagen and then in Copenhagen we catch this very overnight got to be there for half past three and then we're off to Norway so that's what we're doing today you'll join us somewhere on route probably on very [Music] [Applause] [Music] I'm arrived in Copenhagen we are four miles short of 900 miles since we left home just to home for a day in the bitty goes on quite two days we have the ferry it's behind me it's going to take us to Oslo overnight to Oslo that's our book Commodore class it doesn't the sounds rather posh it's not really just got a decent cabin for the night but where we came in what was quite fun is we for a blue line there we are the rolls-royce is first in the queue for Commodore class but a trip over night seems very appropriate I think for a rolls-royce I didn't actually go into detail what I've done I thought this cars are safe eBay fall in November and then what work I've done to get it to this sort of condition it's it's you wouldn't just go and pay 4000 as a rolls-royce expect to drive straight off terminal with the Arctic Circle hopefully so I did get Danny in the going to go through it this local rolls-royce specialist near to me and the things that were problematic I picked it up he had very iffy brains I also had no particular performance like none it sort of just drifted up to about 6070 ranek what we discovered was yes it had all brand-new brakes that were six calipers around only break pipes but someone who put the Bracy I didn't really understand the plumbing though all the brakes were pushing on one side of the caliper rather than a caliper squeezing like this so Danny's gang sorted out all the brake pipes made them work and in the fuel why didn't have performance turned out the carburetors were completely full of rubbish just completely full one carburetor wasn't working at or near the one was sawed half worth and then we went back all the filters weren't good and then I went to finish up with fuel and the boot stunk of petrol and turned out that the basically the petrol tank was porous and it was full of rust and that's what had blocked everything up so it was a new tank and put new tank in I didn't replace petrol pipes all the way through as well as precaution and suddenly we have loads of performance and they actually goes really well really surprising performance actually I mean it hasn't missed a beat coming up the apart from this oil consumption the other thing I did excuse the lorry just going past the other things we did was leaking steering hose gosh what else have we done break points a coolant check the coolant for this trip sensor put a new sensor on that oil pressure switch wiring was a bit wobbly they'd wired it in wrong so I didn't have a petrol gauge and something else sort of that all in all I spent about two and a half thousand pounds on bits and bobs bit more than I really wanted to spend but then were trip like this it seemed sensible thing to do and the final bit we added is in the wheel we have put full on snow tires on this car as he had imagined for where we're going I think it's about minus 10 e nonce Osmo when we arrive tomorrow and we're going pretty extreme conditions so couldn't surprise surprise trying to get snow tires for a rolls-royce in UK was tricky I had a set of Bridgestone blizzards they're called sent in from Germany they're commercial-grade but actually you see the work really well so it's on proper snow tires we're in Copenhagen now tomorrow morning will be in Oslo and the real adventure begins where we'll be isolated [Music] [Applause] [Music] just disembarked off the ferry in Oslo wonderful Faria say overnight very tencel you would not know you're on a very no movement utterly still no vibration for the engines really impressive and we woke up to Oslo and it was it was cold all the way in there was nothing but snow to be seen there the cabin windows and as we came in to Oslo corners you can see the ice is just this film of ices we were breaking it as you came in to the actual dog and then down to the cars out you go and as I'm really impressed with this thing because it was it's about an I think it's about - five - six outside you start the car up your inner cute customs slight amazement of what car would GOP's withdraw teen as soon as you out of there you're into a network of tunnels under the out underneath Oslo and unfortunate is no sat-nav because you know these tunnels are mine he's not a place to break down this thing just carries on regardless with the plan now just going at core in Oslo Airport just amazing photographer he's coming to join us on the journey and all looks good we're fuel up it really is going to be snowy now now is the time where it gets properly cold and there are what sort of temperatures going to see but I'm really looking forward today especially where our end point where we're staying tonight is held they are hell was frozen over that's where we're going to stay tonight see later on yeah my life thinks this is very funny because I've managed I've just checked the oil and I have trapped my jackets in the bonnet and it has a funny place where it hides the bonnet how to open the bonnet lever not there Oh bleep I couldn't talk Patricia injured please open up on it it's because of trust in his life thank you honest [Music] well we're just gone through Liddy Hammond and me in from ro done a thousand and fifty miles since leaving home quite amazing we're on the e6 which is the main road in Norway goes all the way up to the top think of Norway's bit like a guitar and the bottom then you've got them there a little bit the top is a very long country the e6 goes all the way up to the top but what was sort of floating I was like an economy run have to say no way they don't do speed in it's 80 kilometers now some bits of 70s sometimes cf-19 very slow or in possession they also wanted if he gonna drive to the Arctic Circle inner Theodore in February well as a Saints on the bucket list but the other thing on the bucket list is to see the North lights and we're at peak season for Northern Lights at the mode but if you go right at the top is comes out of darkness about the 12th of February and then goes complete daylight from about the 22nd of April so you've got this window at end of February beginning arts is pixies of the Northern Lights so that's why we were going after the art serve at this time I can't get over how the cars behaved just in the last 50 miles east got a slight miss father was like a stumble which is a bit of a pain but I filled up with some potentially dodgy fuel it was first I put 95 unleaded in it it was snapped or don't I think it was cold so I'm gonna stop and fill up with some 98 as soon as I can we're just we've got another to get to hell we've got about another 100 80 bars to do today and it's yeah it's half past two so yeah better way to go I really don't want to look at the engine to start to stop worn out this Beach is perfect the way it's been running both the oil well that the oil sort of can't down as well but it's very scenic Lily have obviously all the ski runs now so we're yeah we're definitely a different scenery outside and it was just a day ago anyway see you later [Music] just put in over because the bit of super unleaded didn't do the trick unfortunately I've spoke to my man and he thinks I've got to check the points the new points have a habit of closing up so we're just going to do a little inspection on the engine I don't really want to do we're in a national park so it's all very pretty outside I'm very bossy lady on the right Bonnie too uptight oh you feel me yeah I'm just trying you only what I'm doing I've got it we'll check the points I need to get the heel of the points onto a lobe and I know there's a gap there so that's I just do that yeah a police report that there's two sets of points on these cars and one has closed up so I'm just bringing that away do it up hopefully we still got a gap that we all gap yeah yeah all we ever get there right good back together time [Applause] I'm not really dressed for this this is just over the tops now not sure exactly what altitude well but the rows have changed it here you've got this packed ice and you're never quite sure how much you're gonna come across as you go around the next bend and then suddenly you're faced with this ice pure ice no grip and the sort of cart tracks in between the ice not friendly definitely see concentration right here and it's getting dark I don't really want to be out here in the dark so we're going to the Arctic Circle so I think we should expect this sort of conditions but it's just a bit of an eye opening when you see it for the first time and I'm sure yeah at the 1972 ton Rolls Royce isn't the perfect tool for this job but so far is being supremely comfortable and I'm very pleased to say the little adjustment on the points is making it from running absolutely beautifully again it's good news well Maury we inhale and yeah it didn't really want to start this morning so I'm gonna check on the engine see if it's those points again we did the points last night and it worked treat but maybe they've closed up again on the way there and it sounds like it's only firing one bag per cylinder so I'm gonna pop the engine and have a look I found out what the problem is it's basically the choke is set for UK temperatures minus 6 here and the shape is so fully on it can't run so I'll tighten the choke off now we have a perfectly healthy rolls engine yeah another little quirk of this trip I can imagine we're going where a head is about minus 15 so I need to get this adjusted and to feel that those engine warm up in the car park [Music] [Applause] [Music] escape from hell's waiting room you recording right right we've just discovered that I've got the maps I want to show you where we've been and I have two maps one from 97 and one a brand new map and we've noticed the Arctic Circle let's move north so the target fortunately the modern map that we are going to refer to as the main map the Arctic Circle is slightly closer to where we hunt now than the old map which sees pivot further up the hill but come down here and I'll show you what we've done yesterday we dr. Paul's load that was on the theory and in we went right across Lillehammer cross the middle of Norway close to Trondheim but we discovered a little place on the map called hell and we felt we had we couldn't had to visit hell because that's not often a patient visit in your lifetime and we've come back here and is even a hell station and we've dropped by there guys very carne let's just do some filming outside the health station with the waiting room over there as well which we thought we might find some mates in that it's empty today we're going to go from Hell up to the Arctic Circle just outside because we want to get there in daylight so mo I Rhonda I'm sorry if I've to all Norwegians are not pronouncing it properly but that's where we're heading and then the only thing we're a bit concerned about today is the temperature is due to go down to petite well one forecast is minus 15 and one says minus 20 and after that starting performance this morning with a car it's got too much choke on it basically I think it's set for nice countries UK countries or the temperatures it's not quite used to arctic temperatures I don't have to do a little bit of adjustment on there because I think we used about five liters of fuel starting this morning but now it's running beautifully I know we have to head up we are 329 miles from where we think the Arctic Circle is so we're going to do about 300 miles today and we very close to it there is snow forecast as well just to make life a little bit more interesting so it's really starting to get pretty tough and the poor old now this car 48 years old so we should take more care of it but we'll be gently drifting up the coastline and you'll see us later by heading up and he started to get me more ominous you can see outside if you just swing round see how the Weber's started to close in a bit was - 10 or there abouts outside and what's happening is you get pure ice in the road you've got these car tracks to follow and the temptation is to apps a lock on it and there's a big truck taking no prisoners coming the other way then you notice some of the cars are actually running on the ice but it's because they've got studs so they may aim at this the ice but when he's just going like this when you're not quite sure there's pure tarmac weather is Isis it's it's bottom clench and so we say we're rocking along at about 50 between 80 and 90 kilometers an hour 5060 miles an hour yes we're definitely definitely closing in on the Arctic Circle now lost my kart track of good tarmac and it's just ice all the way across so it feels like you're on a toboggan run so coming down you just got to just keep the momentum going and hope nothing's gonna put our something in front of you it was a surprise around the corner locals don't seem to mind a car car over I haven't yet seen a local car with any crashes on it and scratches or anything it into barriers so they just just propped around this is a perfectly normal I suppose Coffee stop the magic moment in the cars history about to happen I'm looking at the barometer and all the nines are up is just about hook up the hundred thousand mile time in this history 58 years old commitment and we got it at about 97 3 so we've done two thousand seven thousand eight since we look outside what a moment to do it it's on the mirror it's the last block which is on the last glob on the in temperature indication on outside and that's minus 50 the road there that idea sort of car tracks with a bit of tarmac showing that's history everything is now ice there's this snow blowing around as well as you can't see where the road is what a moment there he goes it's just clocked up for the one of the nose it has just come up it's going yeah well for a moment to do it we're about about a hundred and sixty hundred and seventy miles from the Arctic Circle is my guess it feels very definitely more Arctic than this time yesterday just the subtle changes as a there's a harshness now to outside and yeah getting quite excited to be able to say this car is going to get to the artists so fingers crossed tomorrow but don't want it to get any tougher really this is just about my limit this should be easy but the the gauge is frozen on this on the pumps I'm gonna do it with this what I hadn't realized is the tire pressures will go down they're perfect in the UK we get out here in it's minus 15 and therefore the air in the tower is that much colder and therefore the pressures go right down so you have to blow the Stars back up live and learn [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] stupid idea bring the rolls-royce Silver Shadow up to the Arctic Circle welcome to a very chilly Norway we are now 80 kilometers away from the arch it circles at 50 miles what a day yesterday was coming up from hell the journey from hell as you might say it the weather really closed in surprise surprise with this far north there was a lot of snow and it blew blizzards it was drifting across the road the standard of Norwegian driving is off the scale back way I'm gonna just charge on regardless and also the amount of snow piles that are out constantly clearing the one road and it was going through the pain barrier it wasn't particularly pleasant I'm amazed at this car how is coping though this morning ographers Justin got up a bit earlier than me he said it's just touching - 20s about minus 15 at the moment out here and yet the car soldiers on I have to manually start it now I have to use control the Chokey just over chokes but I'd just get under the bonnet and lift the choke up as it started up it starts fine oil was fine just a little bit of water I've just opened up the points a little bit more as well but we're so close to the goal of hitting that Arctic Circle just show you on a map where we are this is really nice Kandak Hotel in Murano great Dawson restaurant etc what and great inhale the here is was terrific we thought and today the Arctic Circle is a snake just here but this is a climb up into the mountains we're told and we're just then going to decide how far we go when I go to bodo we were planning on going right up to transfer but it's a long way and in the road conditions that we experienced yesterday that might be just a step too far but of course of course you have to turn round and come straight back and that's about 380 and miles away so it's another 700 miles 700 miles would have to do any sort of arctic conditions but at least it's bright today anyway next stop is the Arctic Circle I can't wait [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] Ray's not what two three days are driving up here get an icy road like this and it's whatever and when I first saw them they spoke to you completely you just drift down there's no other trappings there's no sharp breaking anything and you just carry the momentum and just watch it on the corners and things but I thought this is going to be really tough up to the final bit because we're up in the vials as you can see outside so far reasonably easy were just 20 miles now to go to get to the artisan if you want to look out the front this is what we're faced with and then every now and then it just opens up a bit more but this sort of road yard illiberal is my temperature gauge on the mirror is off the scale so it's it's minus 15 ish outside looks picture-perfect with that far north that's what very pleased that the Ice Road Truckers seem to have gone home it's a Sunday today and rows of really quiet we're getting mighty close now would come out the valley trees have gone and we've got this open Vista can't believe two miles or there abouts to go and it's been an amazing journey how many how many bars have we done about sixteen hundred and eighty miles to get to the Arctic Circle they're about Koretz 1,700 miles since we set off from home just some of the bits about the car can't get over but this car is 48 years old and yet it feels absolutely like a Rolls Royce there is a distinctive feel to a Rolls Royce and the way it goes down the road it seems to have this bottomless no there's no bump stops just absorbs all undulations those huge springs and it's unique to a Rolls Royce that wafting feel when the speedo is broken I just couldn't tell what speed we were doing it was there was next to impossible do you got no reference you've got we've got this silence and I can't I can't get over how you know we took that Rolls Royce ray phones have been a desk day of the summer and there is the same sort of feel you have the narrow windscreen do you have the drive that the Spirit of Ecstasy right at the end of the body lead in the charged where you go and it's just wonderful experience so it might be a full grand Rolls Royce of eBay but it's very definitely a Rolls Royce and in the way it's just got us here have been little nickels but they've been easily fixable you know I think the points close and that's just sort of where tear is a two minute job just to bring them out again the old consumption that was a bit weird but it's it's carved down there at you ought to just look out as we're getting mighty close to the Arctic Circle [Music] so what you wanted it to look like is open barren mr. Lister snow blowing across the road I think the Arctic's there it is well I didn't know it was that close right this is where it really starts to get interesting you won't be surprised to hear that I did not deserve I believe is closed because they don't expect many tourists in middle of February of it too few cars here though it's good to see what how close is that it's as close as we can go it's at the end of the road oh I thought you could park next to where we are Arctic Circle taking this about three four days to get here seven countries we've driven across eight if you count going into Swedish water in the ferry which doesn't really count this is my pass to prove that I've got this Rolls Royce to the Arctic Circle Mads that I think he's earned this bad I'm staggered how well this cars run all the way up here yes problems and things but there we are that proves this car has been to the Arctic Circle this is going to be the end of part one of this video taking a rolls-royce to the Arctic and next we're just going to explore this area so if you want to watch part two we're gonna chase down the Northern Lights that's the next thing on the bucket list on this trip to the Arctic hope you enjoy the video you have keep watching keep subscribing walking along very soon warm up

Channel: Harry's garage

Views: 957,997

Rating: 4.9384155 out of 5

Keywords: arctic, rolls, harry, garage, harrys, harry's, evo, diaries, metcalfe

Id: VIdNcbsgOiM

Length: 37min 25sec (2245 seconds)

Published: Wed May 23 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/wes_andersoup]

Awesome! From England to Africa in an old Ferrari and now England to Norway's Arctic in an old Rolls. Harry is living the dream.

[u/woodchiponthewall]

Harry is such an old English eccentric. Obviously completely loaded but not in the slightest bit snobby!

[u/nipcarlover]

Harry is such a legend. Taking an old Rolls Royce up to the Arctic Circle is something most of us can only dream of doing.

Also, all the Hell jokes were hilarious

[u/Darkfire25]

Harry is just the best. Love that he's taking his old cars that traditionally aren't driven much and taking them on awesome treks.