Bentley 3 Litre
Discussion
Fascinating write up...very interesting and it is great to see such a car being used properly !
I had the fortune to run a classic Lotus Elan that was restored by my late uncle. After the initial phase of treating the car like it was glass...I slowly got used to using it like an 'ordinary car', so I used it for commuting to work in the summer ( a good 70 mile round trip on decent roads !), going to the shops, driving up to Scotland with the front seat full of golf clubs etc etc.
Over the time I 'owned' the Elan, I did over 35,000 hard miles in it, including an amazing European trip to the Villars-Ollon Historic Hillclimb event.
If there was one thing that I learned from owing a classic, it was that they run so much better if they are used regularly.
Also that mastering the art of double de-clutching is very rewarding....in fact I still do it on my modern car to smooth out gear changes !
Keep up the good work, more pictures please...!
I had the fortune to run a classic Lotus Elan that was restored by my late uncle. After the initial phase of treating the car like it was glass...I slowly got used to using it like an 'ordinary car', so I used it for commuting to work in the summer ( a good 70 mile round trip on decent roads !), going to the shops, driving up to Scotland with the front seat full of golf clubs etc etc.
Over the time I 'owned' the Elan, I did over 35,000 hard miles in it, including an amazing European trip to the Villars-Ollon Historic Hillclimb event.
If there was one thing that I learned from owing a classic, it was that they run so much better if they are used regularly.
Also that mastering the art of double de-clutching is very rewarding....in fact I still do it on my modern car to smooth out gear changes !
Keep up the good work, more pictures please...!
A most enjoyable thread. It is nice to see someone appreciate the old 3 litre Bentley. So much has been written and said about the 4 1/2 that the car which was I suppose the original concept is sadly overlooked. Whilst I cannot hope to afford a vintage Bentley of any size, I can appreciate the unique experience that a quality vintage car can give as I drive a 1926 Dodge Brothers tourer. It is a large, comfortable, 3 1/2 litre four cylinder car with a certain presence. Not in the same league as a Bentley but I like it. 
Paul S4 said:
Fascinating write up...very interesting and it is great to see such a car being used properly !
I had the fortune to run a classic Lotus Elan that was restored by my late uncle. After the initial phase of treating the car like it was glass...I slowly got used to using it like an 'ordinary car', so I used it for commuting to work in the summer ( a good 70 mile round trip on decent roads !), going to the shops, driving up to Scotland with the front seat full of golf clubs etc etc.
Over the time I 'owned' the Elan, I did over 35,000 hard miles in it, including an amazing European trip to the Villars-Ollon Historic Hillclimb event.
If there was one thing that I learned from owing a classic, it was that they run so much better if they are used regularly.
Also that mastering the art of double de-clutching is very rewarding....in fact I still do it on my modern car to smooth out gear changes !
Keep up the good work, more pictures please...!
Totally agree the only cars we have problems with are the ones we don’t use enough. Dad also has a 1977 Carrera 3.0. He had it fully restored back in 05 unfortunately with being so busy with other cars we haven’t really driven it for around 18 months now, it needs work again. Hoping to get it sorted this year. Been really annoyed with ourselves for neglecting it.I had the fortune to run a classic Lotus Elan that was restored by my late uncle. After the initial phase of treating the car like it was glass...I slowly got used to using it like an 'ordinary car', so I used it for commuting to work in the summer ( a good 70 mile round trip on decent roads !), going to the shops, driving up to Scotland with the front seat full of golf clubs etc etc.
Over the time I 'owned' the Elan, I did over 35,000 hard miles in it, including an amazing European trip to the Villars-Ollon Historic Hillclimb event.
If there was one thing that I learned from owing a classic, it was that they run so much better if they are used regularly.
Also that mastering the art of double de-clutching is very rewarding....in fact I still do it on my modern car to smooth out gear changes !
Keep up the good work, more pictures please...!
I have never been in one but Dad has been reading and mentioned he had elan +2 as a daily for a while and loved it. Has got me looking in the classifieds.
Small world I know Villar very well went to school there used to watch the hill climb cars go buy from my balcony. Great event.
Swallownut said:
A most enjoyable thread. It is nice to see someone appreciate the old 3 litre Bentley. So much has been written and said about the 4 1/2 that the car which was I suppose the original concept is sadly overlooked. Whilst I cannot hope to afford a vintage Bentley of any size, I can appreciate the unique experience that a quality vintage car can give as I drive a 1926 Dodge Brothers tourer. It is a large, comfortable, 3 1/2 litre four cylinder car with a certain presence. Not in the same league as a Bentley but I like it.
That’s a lovely looking car. Vintage cars of any kind make all journeys an adventure possibly because you never know what’s going to happen. 3.5 litre probably goes better than ours. I’m guessing quite a lot like a Bentley long stroke loads of torque?
RichB said:
monthefish said:
this: 
Obvs.
Good answer Obvs.
Picture shows an LNER A4 Pacific;
W O Bentley served his apprenticeship at GNR Doncaster, the forerunner of LNER;
LNER under Gresley designed and built the A4 Pacifics at Doncaster;
Much of Bentleys designs are clearly influenced by railway engineering, look at the overhead cam drive on his engines.
Don't think Bentley ever had anything to do with Gresley designed loco's though
Sorry don't mean to hi-jack the Bentley thread, just thought it was an interesting connection, excuse the ramblings of a long term impecunious Vintage Bentley fan, if only my lottery numbers would come up!
Edited by MisterT on Wednesday 6th March 22:56
ntiz said:
Swallownut said:
A most enjoyable thread. It is nice to see someone appreciate the old 3 litre Bentley. So much has been written and said about the 4 1/2 that the car which was I suppose the original concept is sadly overlooked. Whilst I cannot hope to afford a vintage Bentley of any size, I can appreciate the unique experience that a quality vintage car can give as I drive a 1926 Dodge Brothers tourer. It is a large, comfortable, 3 1/2 litre four cylinder car with a certain presence. Not in the same league as a Bentley but I like it.
That’s a lovely looking car. Vintage cars of any kind make all journeys an adventure possibly because you never know what’s going to happen. 3.5 litre probably goes better than ours. I’m guessing quite a lot like a Bentley long stroke loads of torque?
It was originally aimed at the buyer who wanted something a bit better than the ModelT Ford. You need to look at Packard or Deusenberg to better compare with Bentley.
Swallownut said:
The Dodge Brothers has plenty of torque but won't do much more than 50 mph. It is built for comfort rather than speed.! Only 3 speed box and one carb.
It was originally aimed at the buyer who wanted something a bit better than the ModelT Ford. You need to look at Packard or Deusenberg to better compare with Bentley.
That period of American cars always seems to be really under appreciated. When we thought we had missed the boat on a Bentley I started rearching other marques and gained a lot of respect for Stutz. We looked really closely at a 8 litre with a blower that supposedly had Le Man history. But the price seemed to good to be true for a car with so much history and we couldn’t really nail down if it was what it said it was. It was originally aimed at the buyer who wanted something a bit better than the ModelT Ford. You need to look at Packard or Deusenberg to better compare with Bentley.
Is it centre throttle etc? What quirks does it have?
I’m all for this becoming a general vintage thread for everyone to share.
Schmeeky said:
ntiz said:
This needs to be printed, framed and titled 'Generations'. Fabulous picture. Beautiful machine, thank you for sharing with us!
Maybe I should sell it to Bentley for advertising I would accept a new Conti GT.
M3ax said:
A bit like driving a left hand drive car but with a right hand drive action. I know what I mean but I may not be describing it adequately
Not really because a left hand drive car still has 1/2 on the left then over to the right for 3/4. The gears on the Lagonda are are laid out, like below, oh and the gear lever is on the right but that's not too bad.
3 1
4 2
Edited by RichB on Thursday 7th March 23:38
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