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Johnny Cash's Rolls-Royce Gets Tesla Resto-Mod, AC Controls in the Trunk?

Back in 2014, autoevolution published an article featuring Johnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow as the car was being auctioned by the person who bought it from the artist in the mid-1980s.
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Tesla-powered restomod 9 photos
Photo: SHIFT EV
Johnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla partsJohnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla partsJohnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla partsJohnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla partsJohnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla partsJohnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla partsJohnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla partsJohnny Cash's 1970 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow resto-modded with Tesla parts
The Rolls had 32,000 miles on board and looked in pretty good condition for something that was 44 years old. After the auction listing, the Rolls-Royce that was gifted to Johnny Cash by the ABC Studios disappeared off everyone's radar, only to resurface now with... a few modifications.

When you hear everything the car went through, you'll understand why it took so long. What we don't understand is how the car reached SHIFT EV, the outfit behind the conversion, in such a bad state and with so many miles on board. "At 130k miles, it ran, rolled, and stopped. Two Rolls-Royce mechanics diagnosed the car with problems like three bad cylinders, frozen/dragging brakes, and other issues requiring a significant overhaul. That led to exploring all options for a resto-mod."

It's not clear when the restoration project started, but it was definitely back when Tesla still produced the Model S with a 75 kWh battery pack because the team bought one new. To say the thing was gutted would be an understatement: almost everything that was related to making the car go or stop was translated onto the Rolls, and then some.

"The car is also equipped with Tesla luxuries like ABS, TPMS, traction control, stability control, and all-electric power steering, brakes, heat, air conditioning, and more." The team even made room for the Tesla's large central display unit, but since they wanted to maintain the original look of the cabin, the screen was placed in the trunk. It's not clear whether it still controls features such as the AC unit, but if it did, it switching it off on the go would definitely be a two-man job, with at least one of the two being a stuntman.

Jokes aside, what the guys at SHIFT EV did is truly amazing. The attention to detail - the original fuel gauge now displays battery charge, to give just one example - is out of this world and the fact they managed to keep everything a secret this long (the news about it originally broke in July), with all the attention surrounding EVs in general and Teslas in particular, is remarkable in itself.

This is definitely resto-modding done right. Not only is the appearance of the classic car kept almost completely intact, but the new powertrain is also a perfect fit for the Rolls. "Johnny’s car is now quicker, more reliable, and stops faster. We think he would approve of the updates, assembled "one piece at a time."
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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