Bentley 3 Litre
Discussion
The Dodge Brothers (as opposed to later cars which became just Dodge after the Chrysler takeover) has a crazy gearbox. The lever is in the middle as usual but the layout of the gears is such that 1st is left and forward but second is right and down with third (direct top) forward right. The confusing thing is that reverse is where you would normally expect second to be and there is only the inevitable objection from the gearbox that keeps you honest,.!!! Interestingly, there is no benefit from double de clutching (there is no clutch stop) just blip the throttle for downward changes.
My 7 year time with the DB is coming to an end and it will be available at the H & H auction at the Duxford sale on the 20th of this month.
My 7 year time with the DB is coming to an end and it will be available at the H & H auction at the Duxford sale on the 20th of this month.
More less than great news.
Turns out the clutch pedal for some reason has been bent quite severely for some reason on purpose and when you push it all the way down it hits the fly wheel. So having that put straight and a new floor put in to stop the pedal going all the way down will have to get figured out properly next year when the body comes off.
The brakes work great but the guys working on the car have no idea how!! There are some bolts that you put in to hold everything in place whilst you set up the rods etc they are still in place so they aren't self balancing like they should, bit of a mystery. Have asked to have them set up how they should be.
The wiring is a total rats nest that is basically falling apart so bad that the electrician pretty much refused to work on it unless he got to do all of it because he couldn't in good conscience guarantee it wouldn't break. So after being shown how horrendous the current wiring is we decided to get the whole car rewired to make sure we don't have any problems in the future. Especially as the only breakdown we have had is because of some crap wiring failing.
The body is broken at the back so now a matter of when not if we replace it which is annoying. Also for some insane reason the body has been stuffed with house insulation and bits of aluminium mesh for no apparent reason. Having to leave it until next year now as we are desperate to get the car back to enjoy.
The red bar in this photo with the bolts on the top are the ones that aren't meant to be there for the brakes.
Now that we have new wheels and tyres the mud guards need resetting so they fit correctly.
Turns out the clutch pedal for some reason has been bent quite severely for some reason on purpose and when you push it all the way down it hits the fly wheel. So having that put straight and a new floor put in to stop the pedal going all the way down will have to get figured out properly next year when the body comes off.
The brakes work great but the guys working on the car have no idea how!! There are some bolts that you put in to hold everything in place whilst you set up the rods etc they are still in place so they aren't self balancing like they should, bit of a mystery. Have asked to have them set up how they should be.
The wiring is a total rats nest that is basically falling apart so bad that the electrician pretty much refused to work on it unless he got to do all of it because he couldn't in good conscience guarantee it wouldn't break. So after being shown how horrendous the current wiring is we decided to get the whole car rewired to make sure we don't have any problems in the future. Especially as the only breakdown we have had is because of some crap wiring failing.
The body is broken at the back so now a matter of when not if we replace it which is annoying. Also for some insane reason the body has been stuffed with house insulation and bits of aluminium mesh for no apparent reason. Having to leave it until next year now as we are desperate to get the car back to enjoy.
The red bar in this photo with the bolts on the top are the ones that aren't meant to be there for the brakes.
Now that we have new wheels and tyres the mud guards need resetting so they fit correctly.
We do seem to have found the right people to work with on the car. Very much on the same page as far as how we would like to go about the work.
Small world though got chatting about ph and turns out the owner knows the Range Racer guys and it’s kept in his barn.
The insulation was a surprise can’t think why you would do it not as if it’s going to keep you warm.
Small world though got chatting about ph and turns out the owner knows the Range Racer guys and it’s kept in his barn.
The insulation was a surprise can’t think why you would do it not as if it’s going to keep you warm.
Having the car rewired has given us the opportunity to renew a few things. Like having new rear lights put on and getting rid of the horrible fog light on the back that you can see in previous pics.
Whilst the dash board is out of the car has given us the chance to move some of the buttons and get new ones to replace some of the not so original buttons to make it look a bit better. Decided to have it repainted as well. Turns out the dash was barely held in with block of wood and practically fell off the car when being removed to new brackets are being made to attach it a bit better so hopefully won't vibrate as much.
Here is a pic of the refurbished dash what do we think an improvement?
IMG_6214 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Whilst the dash board is out of the car has given us the chance to move some of the buttons and get new ones to replace some of the not so original buttons to make it look a bit better. Decided to have it repainted as well. Turns out the dash was barely held in with block of wood and practically fell off the car when being removed to new brackets are being made to attach it a bit better so hopefully won't vibrate as much.
Here is a pic of the refurbished dash what do we think an improvement?
IMG_6214 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrI can't see a before picture but that certainly looks good. The only point I'd say is that the '60s style toggle switches for mags, pumps, fans etc. look a bit out of place, so perhaps find a row of brass pre-war style switches?
These sort of things (without the LEDs)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223115712263?rmvSB=true
These sort of things (without the LEDs)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223115712263?rmvSB=true
Edited by RichB on Friday 3rd May 13:56
Was going through some old pics on my Dads old desk top and stumbled across this.
|https://thumbsnap.com/jGUhdNc8[/url]
Only pic of me with a car of the 100s we have of the 2002 Classic Le Man funny how I chose one of these. I look forward to everyones ridicule.
Hopefully will be having ours back again in a couple of weeks just waiting for shock absorbers to be delivered and chroming to be finished on the windscreen after some complications have slowed both down.
Here is a pic of last time I visited the chaps working on our car. They had this in for some work bloody beautiful. Not one of the original 50 but I think I could deal with that personally.
|https://thumbsnap.com/jGUhdNc8[/url]Only pic of me with a car of the 100s we have of the 2002 Classic Le Man funny how I chose one of these. I look forward to everyones ridicule.
Hopefully will be having ours back again in a couple of weeks just waiting for shock absorbers to be delivered and chroming to be finished on the windscreen after some complications have slowed both down.
Here is a pic of last time I visited the chaps working on our car. They had this in for some work bloody beautiful. Not one of the original 50 but I think I could deal with that personally.
We have our car back!
It has been well worth the wait to get it back. It is driving so much better than it used to. Adding the extra shock absorbers has really nailed the car down and stopped some of the strange wobble we used to get on the front that made going down a bumpy road quite challenging to keep the car straight. We just used to think that was part of driving a car this old but apparently not.
Having the correct size wheels put on seems to have made the steering lighter and with new suspension set up you no longer have to give a big arm full of lock and hope for the best. You can guide it a bit more with some accuracy.
New pedal position and gearbox adjustment have been worth it although putting the pedals back to how they should be has made the clutch and throttle really close together which is taking some getting used. The gearbox isn’t really any easier to get smooth but it does seem to be more forgiving in terms of totally refusing to go into a gear which used to happen if you got the timing really wrong.
Took a bit of time off work went for a drive out this afternoon to try driving it a bit harder. It has been a year since I last drove it and I forgot just brilliant it is as an experience. With all the work we had done it has made it a much more confidence inspiring car to push on in. Found myself catching up with traffic most of the time.
It’s fun racing people that don’t know how hard you trying to keep up.
Pics
Front shocks
Rear shocks double as well.
New wiring. We had some power points added under the dash out of sight to power sat nav etc. Much tidier than the rats next we had before plus we now know what all the switches do.
New windscreen with side panels that become aero screens.
The new view.
Peddles and random pic
It has been well worth the wait to get it back. It is driving so much better than it used to. Adding the extra shock absorbers has really nailed the car down and stopped some of the strange wobble we used to get on the front that made going down a bumpy road quite challenging to keep the car straight. We just used to think that was part of driving a car this old but apparently not.
Having the correct size wheels put on seems to have made the steering lighter and with new suspension set up you no longer have to give a big arm full of lock and hope for the best. You can guide it a bit more with some accuracy.
New pedal position and gearbox adjustment have been worth it although putting the pedals back to how they should be has made the clutch and throttle really close together which is taking some getting used. The gearbox isn’t really any easier to get smooth but it does seem to be more forgiving in terms of totally refusing to go into a gear which used to happen if you got the timing really wrong.
Took a bit of time off work went for a drive out this afternoon to try driving it a bit harder. It has been a year since I last drove it and I forgot just brilliant it is as an experience. With all the work we had done it has made it a much more confidence inspiring car to push on in. Found myself catching up with traffic most of the time.
It’s fun racing people that don’t know how hard you trying to keep up.
Pics
Front shocks
Rear shocks double as well.
New wiring. We had some power points added under the dash out of sight to power sat nav etc. Much tidier than the rats next we had before plus we now know what all the switches do.
New windscreen with side panels that become aero screens.
The new view.
Peddles and random pic
Unfortunately the car has been back at the garage again.
The end of the Rev counter cable broke off so have had to have a new one. The speedo cable pretty much disintegrated itself whilst we driving along falling into the road into tiny pieces. New cable for that as well.
It has been making some strange noises on the over run that turned out to be a loose fitting in the engine bay. The carbs also needed setting up.
Went to collect drove up the road decided to use all the revs as we have now have Rev counter to know. Lots of not good noises straight back to garage. Turns out wasn’t just the carbs various other small things off that only became an issue when going to the crazy height of 3500 rpm
4 hours of hard work for the guys at the garage engine is now running better than ever. Definitely going to need an engine out restoration soon though. As not totally confident the previous didn’t neglect the engine a little.
Anyway she is back at home driving well again!
Dad dropped off my Goodwood tickets for tomorrow and is on his way down in it this morning. I would love to join him but 3 year old and a wife means boring Range Rover for the trip down this evening.
The end of the Rev counter cable broke off so have had to have a new one. The speedo cable pretty much disintegrated itself whilst we driving along falling into the road into tiny pieces. New cable for that as well.
It has been making some strange noises on the over run that turned out to be a loose fitting in the engine bay. The carbs also needed setting up.
Went to collect drove up the road decided to use all the revs as we have now have Rev counter to know. Lots of not good noises straight back to garage. Turns out wasn’t just the carbs various other small things off that only became an issue when going to the crazy height of 3500 rpm
4 hours of hard work for the guys at the garage engine is now running better than ever. Definitely going to need an engine out restoration soon though. As not totally confident the previous didn’t neglect the engine a little.
Anyway she is back at home driving well again!
Dad dropped off my Goodwood tickets for tomorrow and is on his way down in it this morning. I would love to join him but 3 year old and a wife means boring Range Rover for the trip down this evening.
Got the 3 litre out for going down the coast for our family exercise. Been desperate to get it out since the weather turned sunny. Plus I think the car counts as exercise
This was quite special for me. As we have never been out in the car as a family. My son is mentally disabled, we have always shied away from taking him out. But now he is a little older decided to give it a go. He loved it which was awesome to share with him. He sat in the front out of the wind stuck his head out the side and had a had on the wheel helping me drive. Bit weird to share on PH but thrilled to share my passion with my son.
Car wise started on the button after a few months of being sat which was pleasant surprise, considering how often some of our other cars fail to start.
It drove great however unfortunately/fortunately all future plans to have major work done on the car are on hold. As My father is helping with build a new house.
Meanwhile since I got it out it has stayed out on the drive since and Dad is using it as his daily. It’s at Morrison’s at the moment
Doesn’t quite fit with my house so much.
Whole squad minus me.
Sorry not the most exciting update.
This was quite special for me. As we have never been out in the car as a family. My son is mentally disabled, we have always shied away from taking him out. But now he is a little older decided to give it a go. He loved it which was awesome to share with him. He sat in the front out of the wind stuck his head out the side and had a had on the wheel helping me drive. Bit weird to share on PH but thrilled to share my passion with my son.
Car wise started on the button after a few months of being sat which was pleasant surprise, considering how often some of our other cars fail to start.
It drove great however unfortunately/fortunately all future plans to have major work done on the car are on hold. As My father is helping with build a new house.
Meanwhile since I got it out it has stayed out on the drive since and Dad is using it as his daily. It’s at Morrison’s at the moment
Doesn’t quite fit with my house so much.
Whole squad minus me.
Sorry not the most exciting update.
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