See if this budget-friendly eBay purchase can make the journey.
Sometimes you need some crazy adventure in your life, like taking a classic British luxury car on a long trip to the Arctic Circle and back. While people in North America could do such a trek completely on land, this man named Harry from the United Kingdom had to hop a ferry to Scandinavia and drive through Norway to reach his goal. Making things more exciting, he purchased the 1969 Rolls-Royce Shadow on eBay for a mere £4,100. Heading out on a long trip through the extreme cold in a budget luxury sedan probably sounds like a bad idea, but it’s something you need to see for yourself.
What you should know is this Rolls-Royce wasn’t taken out on the open road without any preparation. The video description talks about “fettling” the car in advance, or for those of us on the other side of the pond, fixing it up. Otherwise, there’s little doubt this expedition would’ve ended with some sort of mechanical failure.
That’s not to say there isn’t some drama in this adventure, because that would be boring. Engine misfiring, choke adjustment, tire pressure dropping, and other issues arise as Harry pushes the car further north, the height of roadside snow increasing steadily. Ice on the road presents a real danger for the Rolls-Royce Shadow, something anyone who’s lived in snowy, mountainous terrain knows all too well. Then snow starts to accumulate on the pavement, making it even more treacherous.
Harry’s Garage, the YouTube channel which posted this video, was created by Harry Metcalfe, the man who founded Evo Magazine. Of course, Metcalfe has considerable car knowledge, so he’s not just some guy who just decided to take an old car to the arctic without proper preparation. In other words, if you want to do your own arctic road trip in a rust bucket, do so at your own risk and without blaming anyone else if it goes sideways. If you’re successful, you’ll have one hell of a story to tell afterward. Oh, and you might want to invest in some good snow tires, preferably with studs.
Photo credit: YouTube
