Bentley 3 Litre
Discussion
Little bit of back ground my father and I first saw vintage cars racing properly at the first classic Le Man back in 2002. We drooled over the Blower Bentleys/ 4.5 litres and Bugatti 35s as well as the other wonderful cars raced in that period. At this time much like a 250 GTO we assumed these were cars for the seriously wealthy and seeing them at Le Man was as close as we would ever get as mere Mortals.
Fast forward to 2006 my father has bought himself a Continental GT and joined the Bentley Drivers Club (BDC). There he became friends with quite a prominent member of the club who amongst his incredible collection had several pre 1930 Bentleys. Which he brought to various events he noticed our genuine enthusiasm for the cars and was delighted to answer our million and one questions. Eventually he invited us to his house to show us his collection and give us a ride in his 4.5 litre. After the ride which pretty much blew our minds my father sheepishly asked him how much something like this was worth. The answer was as expected it was worth well over £500,000. He then asked if it was something my father would be seriously interested in which of course yes, he told us that 3 litres go for a lot less, more in the 150,000-200,000 price bracket. So of course we started searching every website and advert we could find. We searched for 5 years then a wonderful car in price range came up that my father went to view unfortunately he viewed it the day before a triple heart by pass that didn't exactly put him the mood to make the second largest purchase of his life. So he decided he would have another look after the surgery and probably buy it, but by the time he recovered it had been sold. So we continued searching by this time it has been 8 years since we started looking and the prices had all gone up hugely so my father thought he had missed the boat. Until his friend from the BDC called me at work one day to see how I was so I asked how to find a car to which he answered I will ask around for you. 2 weeks later I get another call saying he has found my father a car only one problem he wants to sell it quick as he has bought a 4.5 litre but needs the money to complete the transaction. This would be fine except my father was out of the country, so lots of phone calls later we agreed my father would view the car the day he got back and would buy it if it was as described.
It was and he bought it. So we went to collect his 1924 Bentley 3 litre speed a few months ago. A massive dream come true for my father who looks back at the pics we have of them in 2002 and can't believe he has one.
IMG_0174 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
It's the speed so has a shorter chassis however it didn't start life as a speed the chassis was cut in the 60s when it was restored and had a Le Man body put on it. Neither is it a matching numbers as the engine set on fire in the late 20s and was replaced back at the Bentley factory other than that fairly original.
So of course all we had to do was go collect it!!! For a bit of fun we decided we would get the train down to Watford from Norwich and drive the car back figuring that it would be a trial by fire in learning how the car works and how to drive it. So we get there bright and early 11am to collect the car after a quick walk around to inspect some of the work he wanted doing we began our epic journey.
There are a few things that are quite different with the car from a modern car of course there is no synchromesh so you have to double de clutch and blip the throttle on the way down which can be extremely challenging. Needless to say there was a lot of gear graunching as well as not much smooth progress. The good news is that it has so much torque you can pretty much go every where in top gear if you want to. The gear changes made more challenging by a centre throttle and the steering column going down between the centre throttle and the brake on the right so no heel and toe. Mix all of this with busy Watford traffic and you have the most fun and terrifying first mile in a new car you can possibly have.
Eventually we get on the M11 and start making progress we found that it would pull easily up to 60 with quite some gusto for a 90 year old or it at least feels like it does when you are being blown to pieces and the car is vibrating so much that the dash and the body appear to be going in separate directions to each other. This sounds terrible but is absolutely bloody brilliant it is the most fun I have had in a car going so slow.
After a couple of hours we stop for a late lunch. As we walk out my father says something I didn't think i would hear for at least 5 years "Do you want to drive the rest of the way" I couldn't believe it, I barely said yes. At this point my stomach went into a knot for the first time in my life I was nervous and a little bit intimidated by a car. I clamber into the drivers seat met by the huge steering wheel, I check it's in neutral with the gear lever on the right yet another thing to get used to. I flick the three switches press the starter button and it fires quickly into life, I put the car in first and tentatively pull away I try to grab 2nd it goes in but with a hell of a racket at this point i realise that 100m from the pub I have to navigate a busy roundabout with a car with drum brakes, no synchromesh, centre throttle and right hand gear change, to top off my already anxious state of mind it dawned on me that it wasn't even my car and it literally cost more than my house. Luckily I got it into third with a sweet gear change no resistance at all, a gap in the traffic at the roundabout appears i accelerate into the roundabout without stopping sweep round to the right accelerate out or the roundabout change up to 4th with a bit of graunching. At this point I feel like Woolf Barnato racing at Le Man except I was only doing 45 in reality but it was a huge rush. I rejoin the motorway and find it cruses quite easily at 70 which was a surprise as was the very sharp throttle response.
As we approach Norwich my worst nightmare begins to pass the engine begins to splutter and lose power I try to crawl the car home but no luck it goes totally dead 6 miles from home. At this point of course I think i have broken it and I'm going to be beaten to death by my father and buried in the field next to us luckily he took it very well and started checking a few things to figure out what was wrong. Oddly nothing seemed to be wrong except it was dead. Unfortunately our adventure ended on the back of a truck outside my fathers house with the garage who had done the work on the phone offering to come up the next day and fix it. As it turned out a wire had fallen off the ammeter making it go dead so just had to be reattached. My father drove it down to an event in Oxford the day after with no problems.
Since then has done various day trips.
IMG_2436 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_1619 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_2437 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_2439 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
As you can see my son rather likes it
It is not in the best condition but we intend to slowly restore it starting with an interior re trim in the winter and the body off and refurbished. Longer term we are looking for a spare 3 litre engine to upgrade to 4.5 litre which is a very common modification to make it 3/4.5 which would be fun. This way could keep the original engine so could go back if we wanted. Hopefully will enter some events with it in the next year or so like Monthlery.
Hope this wasn't a massively boring read.
Fast forward to 2006 my father has bought himself a Continental GT and joined the Bentley Drivers Club (BDC). There he became friends with quite a prominent member of the club who amongst his incredible collection had several pre 1930 Bentleys. Which he brought to various events he noticed our genuine enthusiasm for the cars and was delighted to answer our million and one questions. Eventually he invited us to his house to show us his collection and give us a ride in his 4.5 litre. After the ride which pretty much blew our minds my father sheepishly asked him how much something like this was worth. The answer was as expected it was worth well over £500,000. He then asked if it was something my father would be seriously interested in which of course yes, he told us that 3 litres go for a lot less, more in the 150,000-200,000 price bracket. So of course we started searching every website and advert we could find. We searched for 5 years then a wonderful car in price range came up that my father went to view unfortunately he viewed it the day before a triple heart by pass that didn't exactly put him the mood to make the second largest purchase of his life. So he decided he would have another look after the surgery and probably buy it, but by the time he recovered it had been sold. So we continued searching by this time it has been 8 years since we started looking and the prices had all gone up hugely so my father thought he had missed the boat. Until his friend from the BDC called me at work one day to see how I was so I asked how to find a car to which he answered I will ask around for you. 2 weeks later I get another call saying he has found my father a car only one problem he wants to sell it quick as he has bought a 4.5 litre but needs the money to complete the transaction. This would be fine except my father was out of the country, so lots of phone calls later we agreed my father would view the car the day he got back and would buy it if it was as described.
It was and he bought it. So we went to collect his 1924 Bentley 3 litre speed a few months ago. A massive dream come true for my father who looks back at the pics we have of them in 2002 and can't believe he has one.
IMG_0174 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIt's the speed so has a shorter chassis however it didn't start life as a speed the chassis was cut in the 60s when it was restored and had a Le Man body put on it. Neither is it a matching numbers as the engine set on fire in the late 20s and was replaced back at the Bentley factory other than that fairly original.
So of course all we had to do was go collect it!!! For a bit of fun we decided we would get the train down to Watford from Norwich and drive the car back figuring that it would be a trial by fire in learning how the car works and how to drive it. So we get there bright and early 11am to collect the car after a quick walk around to inspect some of the work he wanted doing we began our epic journey.
There are a few things that are quite different with the car from a modern car of course there is no synchromesh so you have to double de clutch and blip the throttle on the way down which can be extremely challenging. Needless to say there was a lot of gear graunching as well as not much smooth progress. The good news is that it has so much torque you can pretty much go every where in top gear if you want to. The gear changes made more challenging by a centre throttle and the steering column going down between the centre throttle and the brake on the right so no heel and toe. Mix all of this with busy Watford traffic and you have the most fun and terrifying first mile in a new car you can possibly have.
Eventually we get on the M11 and start making progress we found that it would pull easily up to 60 with quite some gusto for a 90 year old or it at least feels like it does when you are being blown to pieces and the car is vibrating so much that the dash and the body appear to be going in separate directions to each other. This sounds terrible but is absolutely bloody brilliant it is the most fun I have had in a car going so slow.
After a couple of hours we stop for a late lunch. As we walk out my father says something I didn't think i would hear for at least 5 years "Do you want to drive the rest of the way" I couldn't believe it, I barely said yes. At this point my stomach went into a knot for the first time in my life I was nervous and a little bit intimidated by a car. I clamber into the drivers seat met by the huge steering wheel, I check it's in neutral with the gear lever on the right yet another thing to get used to. I flick the three switches press the starter button and it fires quickly into life, I put the car in first and tentatively pull away I try to grab 2nd it goes in but with a hell of a racket at this point i realise that 100m from the pub I have to navigate a busy roundabout with a car with drum brakes, no synchromesh, centre throttle and right hand gear change, to top off my already anxious state of mind it dawned on me that it wasn't even my car and it literally cost more than my house. Luckily I got it into third with a sweet gear change no resistance at all, a gap in the traffic at the roundabout appears i accelerate into the roundabout without stopping sweep round to the right accelerate out or the roundabout change up to 4th with a bit of graunching. At this point I feel like Woolf Barnato racing at Le Man except I was only doing 45 in reality but it was a huge rush. I rejoin the motorway and find it cruses quite easily at 70 which was a surprise as was the very sharp throttle response.
As we approach Norwich my worst nightmare begins to pass the engine begins to splutter and lose power I try to crawl the car home but no luck it goes totally dead 6 miles from home. At this point of course I think i have broken it and I'm going to be beaten to death by my father and buried in the field next to us luckily he took it very well and started checking a few things to figure out what was wrong. Oddly nothing seemed to be wrong except it was dead. Unfortunately our adventure ended on the back of a truck outside my fathers house with the garage who had done the work on the phone offering to come up the next day and fix it. As it turned out a wire had fallen off the ammeter making it go dead so just had to be reattached. My father drove it down to an event in Oxford the day after with no problems.
Since then has done various day trips.
IMG_2436 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_1619 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_2437 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_2439 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrAs you can see my son rather likes it
It is not in the best condition but we intend to slowly restore it starting with an interior re trim in the winter and the body off and refurbished. Longer term we are looking for a spare 3 litre engine to upgrade to 4.5 litre which is a very common modification to make it 3/4.5 which would be fun. This way could keep the original engine so could go back if we wanted. Hopefully will enter some events with it in the next year or so like Monthlery.Hope this wasn't a massively boring read.
Edited by ntiz on Thursday 24th August 09:18
I will take some more pics when I am over my dads next. Maybe of some of the detail.
The centre throttle isn't as bad as it sounds because the whole car is so different you sort of have to think about how you do everything in it so the throttle is just another thing to think about. I actually find the right hand gear change the most challenging.
It depends how you define parts supply. Original 90 year old parts are hard to come by and can take a lot of time to find and then will cost completely insane amounts of money. Luckily the BDC own the design for all of the parts and have given them to the garage in Watford that help source the car. So he makes them himself or has them made so you can get every part brand new made exactly to the original design.
I can't speak for all vintage brands but there is a huge amount of love and support for these cars to keep them on the road and racing.
The centre throttle isn't as bad as it sounds because the whole car is so different you sort of have to think about how you do everything in it so the throttle is just another thing to think about. I actually find the right hand gear change the most challenging.
It depends how you define parts supply. Original 90 year old parts are hard to come by and can take a lot of time to find and then will cost completely insane amounts of money. Luckily the BDC own the design for all of the parts and have given them to the garage in Watford that help source the car. So he makes them himself or has them made so you can get every part brand new made exactly to the original design.
I can't speak for all vintage brands but there is a huge amount of love and support for these cars to keep them on the road and racing.
This one is definitely staying in the family if I have anything to do with it.
The good news is my 18 month year old is totally obsessed with cars you have to pull him out kicking and screaming. Which is a good sign hahaha
I am very lucky that my dad has pretty much got my dream garage and he lets me drive them.
The good news is my 18 month year old is totally obsessed with cars you have to pull him out kicking and screaming. Which is a good sign hahaha
I am very lucky that my dad has pretty much got my dream garage and he lets me drive them.
My dads health is very good no thanks
As it turned out the car came at just the right time as he retired earlier this year and it is keeping more than busy tidying it up and taking it out every chance he gets.
I am aware of the registry ours is on there I checked this morning. It's not the easiest site to use, will have to update of the cars new home.
The prices have gone up my dad payed £195,000 for ours in the end and you will pay £250,000 for a better condition one. But still a lot less than 4.5 litre which are now far above the half a million. I think it's because the 4.5 is on a bigger chassis which makes them look very nice in my opinion. Its all relative though 6.5 litres are 1.5 to 2 million. As one poster spotted the Blower in the background from memory that is one of the original 50 built and I think 4 million was mentioned. So all round you could say we got a total bargain!! hahaha.
In terms of the cars next long trip weather depending my dad will be at Goodwood in it for the revival if anyone sees him do come have a chat if you like. Unfortunately I can't go but I will be helping drive it back. Other than that my dad is taking great joy in being the village eccentric who drives it to Lidl to get the milk.
As it turned out the car came at just the right time as he retired earlier this year and it is keeping more than busy tidying it up and taking it out every chance he gets.
I am aware of the registry ours is on there I checked this morning. It's not the easiest site to use, will have to update of the cars new home.
The prices have gone up my dad payed £195,000 for ours in the end and you will pay £250,000 for a better condition one. But still a lot less than 4.5 litre which are now far above the half a million. I think it's because the 4.5 is on a bigger chassis which makes them look very nice in my opinion. Its all relative though 6.5 litres are 1.5 to 2 million. As one poster spotted the Blower in the background from memory that is one of the original 50 built and I think 4 million was mentioned. So all round you could say we got a total bargain!! hahaha.
In terms of the cars next long trip weather depending my dad will be at Goodwood in it for the revival if anyone sees him do come have a chat if you like. Unfortunately I can't go but I will be helping drive it back. Other than that my dad is taking great joy in being the village eccentric who drives it to Lidl to get the milk.
Thanks however 4 hours by the side of the road kind of proved maybe we shouldn't have been so ambitious to start.
Our thinking was these cars do Paris to Peking should do Watford to Norwich easy!!! To be fair one bit of soldering let us down other than that the car has been flawless it took 10 mins to fix.
Our thinking was these cars do Paris to Peking should do Watford to Norwich easy!!! To be fair one bit of soldering let us down other than that the car has been flawless it took 10 mins to fix.
Random update.
Though I would just do a quick update of the small stuff my dad has been doing to the car in his new found retirement.
When we collected the car we realised that not all the wheel bolts where the same some where rusty and others made out of different materials. So bought a whole new set so that they match.
IMG_1891 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Also fitted some side screens as apparently they stop a bit of the buffeting. The ones that it came with where plastic and not very well made so as we work with polycarbonate at our company we made some more up and mounted them.
IMG_1889 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Other small things making all the bolts holding the headlight protector on make match as where some how all different. Also we are looking into getting a new set of rear lights for it as the rubber ones on the back are all cracked so we thought would add chrome set to match the front of the car. Mechanically my dad has been fiddling with the clutch brake as we had a new clutch put on the car before collection it has worn in and the clutch brake needed adjustment.
Thats it for now so here are some more pics I took yesterday. Apologies for the poor photography the garage is quite tight with the other car in there and I was in a hurry promise to take some better ones next time. My dad actually read my post and as everyone seems so interested he will now be taking pics for me whenever he works on the car or takes it anywhere of note. We do share this account so he will post from time to time.
Tried to take a pic of the driving view as it's in my opinion one of the most special in the world what do you think? I should say you do actually sit lower in the car.
IMG_1887 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
And one of the interior.
IMG_1888 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Though I would just do a quick update of the small stuff my dad has been doing to the car in his new found retirement.
When we collected the car we realised that not all the wheel bolts where the same some where rusty and others made out of different materials. So bought a whole new set so that they match.
IMG_1891 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrAlso fitted some side screens as apparently they stop a bit of the buffeting. The ones that it came with where plastic and not very well made so as we work with polycarbonate at our company we made some more up and mounted them.
IMG_1889 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrOther small things making all the bolts holding the headlight protector on make match as where some how all different. Also we are looking into getting a new set of rear lights for it as the rubber ones on the back are all cracked so we thought would add chrome set to match the front of the car. Mechanically my dad has been fiddling with the clutch brake as we had a new clutch put on the car before collection it has worn in and the clutch brake needed adjustment.
Thats it for now so here are some more pics I took yesterday. Apologies for the poor photography the garage is quite tight with the other car in there and I was in a hurry promise to take some better ones next time. My dad actually read my post and as everyone seems so interested he will now be taking pics for me whenever he works on the car or takes it anywhere of note. We do share this account so he will post from time to time.
Tried to take a pic of the driving view as it's in my opinion one of the most special in the world what do you think? I should say you do actually sit lower in the car.
IMG_1887 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrAnd one of the interior.
IMG_1888 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrEdited by ntiz on Thursday 24th August 09:27
We do have a lever arch file user manual that pretty much tells you how to assemble the car. Dad read the whole thing the week before we collected it. I have never seen him so excited to pick up a car.
We haven't given it a go yet but we have been told to clean it with WD40.
The bodies are pretty robust considering they are made of wood. The problem with them is if you fit anything to the body then take it off it leaves holes which means whole body needs refurbishing.
Dad read the whole thing the week before we collected it. I have never seen him so excited to pick up a car.We haven't given it a go yet but we have been told to clean it with WD40.
The bodies are pretty robust considering they are made of wood. The problem with them is if you fit anything to the body then take it off it leaves holes which means whole body needs refurbishing.
Unfortunately since my last post the car hasn't been out all that much with the weather not being great. But as the weather is getting better have been able to take it out a few times I think my Dad has taken some really nice pics in front of Blickling Hall will have to post them when he gets back from holiday.
Tinkering wise have had a nightmare with one small but annoying problem. It has it's original rev counter which we would ideally like to keep, however after several months of waiting for a custom cable to run off the front of the engine the fitting on it was wrong so had to wait another month to get another to find that our rev counter we think goes the opposite way to what was expected so we can't run it off the front of the engine like we thought. It appears that it might have used to run off the dyno so we are looking into that at the moment. It's not the end of the world but we would just like to know if we are revving the nuts off it when we drive it or not as we have no idea at the moment.
Other than that we have been trying to figure out how to replace some of the switches on the dash as some are quite modern and were obviously put in just to do the job, Dad would just like them to be more in keeping with the car. The issue is we quite like larger switches that match the rest but they are a lot bigger than what is there at the moment so figuring out how to make them all fit and look right is a bit challenging.
With summer round the corner Dad has joined the VSCC so he can go on some rallies and maybe a couple of sprints. By coincidence it turns out there is a VSCC member with a 3 litre who lives less than 2 miles away who races, he gave Dad a call and has kindly invited us offer to see his car. Turns out he races quite successfully and is very knowledgable about how to get your 3 litre to go faster so we will be picking his brains in the future hopefully.
Also have entered the car for Monthlery for next year after my father in law told us about it, he runs his bike there.
Looking for a little bit of advice does anyone know what the law is on car seats for a car of this age? I would like to take my 2 year old out in it but not sure if I can, have been thinking of trying to add a seat belt or mounting points for iso fix it has been done before apparently. Any advice on the the rev counter would be helpful as well?
I will post some pics when I have some. Hope my posts aren't to boring.
Tinkering wise have had a nightmare with one small but annoying problem. It has it's original rev counter which we would ideally like to keep, however after several months of waiting for a custom cable to run off the front of the engine the fitting on it was wrong so had to wait another month to get another to find that our rev counter we think goes the opposite way to what was expected so we can't run it off the front of the engine like we thought. It appears that it might have used to run off the dyno so we are looking into that at the moment. It's not the end of the world but we would just like to know if we are revving the nuts off it when we drive it or not as we have no idea at the moment.
Other than that we have been trying to figure out how to replace some of the switches on the dash as some are quite modern and were obviously put in just to do the job, Dad would just like them to be more in keeping with the car. The issue is we quite like larger switches that match the rest but they are a lot bigger than what is there at the moment so figuring out how to make them all fit and look right is a bit challenging.
With summer round the corner Dad has joined the VSCC so he can go on some rallies and maybe a couple of sprints. By coincidence it turns out there is a VSCC member with a 3 litre who lives less than 2 miles away who races, he gave Dad a call and has kindly invited us offer to see his car. Turns out he races quite successfully and is very knowledgable about how to get your 3 litre to go faster so we will be picking his brains in the future hopefully.
Also have entered the car for Monthlery for next year after my father in law told us about it, he runs his bike there.
Looking for a little bit of advice does anyone know what the law is on car seats for a car of this age? I would like to take my 2 year old out in it but not sure if I can, have been thinking of trying to add a seat belt or mounting points for iso fix it has been done before apparently. Any advice on the the rev counter would be helpful as well?
I will post some pics when I have some. Hope my posts aren't to boring.
greswolde said:
Hi,
Ref your issue with the rev counter - it's possible to get a miniature reversing 1:1 gearbox to solve this problem. A quick look on Google turned up the links below but there may also be other suppliers.
Hope this helps
Mike
http://www.gaggs.co.uk/html/tachometers.html
http://www.speedograph-richfield.com/html/minature...
Thanks. Something like that could work if it will fit.Ref your issue with the rev counter - it's possible to get a miniature reversing 1:1 gearbox to solve this problem. A quick look on Google turned up the links below but there may also be other suppliers.
Hope this helps
Mike
http://www.gaggs.co.uk/html/tachometers.html
http://www.speedograph-richfield.com/html/minature...
Don't quite go full period attire but flat cap, tweed and goggles are the usual. I do feel the need to own a cravat and start smoking cigars though 
Even my Mum and my wife feel they can't go in it unless they dress up.
History we have a huge file of it with the original order and things like that in it. If people are interested I will scan bits of it that are interesting?
I took some quick pics of the switches we want to replace suggestions are welcome. We have thought about having the dash turned but not sure it will look good with the brass bits. Also thinking of having carpet put in as we don't really like the rubber floor although it is practical.
IMG_3488 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_3489 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Even my Mum and my wife feel they can't go in it unless they dress up.History we have a huge file of it with the original order and things like that in it. If people are interested I will scan bits of it that are interesting?
I took some quick pics of the switches we want to replace suggestions are welcome. We have thought about having the dash turned but not sure it will look good with the brass bits. Also thinking of having carpet put in as we don't really like the rubber floor although it is practical.
IMG_3488 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_3489 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrMX6 said:
Wow, fantastic machine, not something you see in Readers Cars every day! It sounds like quite some experience to drive, and looks in lovely condition without looking over-restored. Given what you say about rising prices it ought to be a great investiment too especially if improved upon.
Thanks I wasn't sure how well it would go down on here as it's not particularly fast or sporting. It is fantastic to drive in its own unique way usually I drive very fast but there is something special about doing 50-60 on a country road in the old girl. Probably because every corner is a challenge that requires planning, concentration and coordination to maintain your 50 mph were as you don't need half as much to do the same corner at 100 in the Ferrari. Both are fantastic though.We are in a bit of a conundrum with its condition as we quite like that it looks its age but we want to tidy it up a little bit, the tricky part is knowing when we should stop. The previous owner we know used it a huge amount it had only just got back from 2 weeks in Portugal when we bought it. The issue is that he did also seem to put things in to just keep it going on trips which aren't correct that we would like to set right. But on the other hand they are kind of parts of its character that show it has been used.
As much as we don't like to admit to it. It being a good investment was quite a big factor in justifying the purchase as it was double what we had payed for any other car so being fairly certain it won't be worth 50k in a couple of years did help. Also not a bad vehicle for passing money on to your children
Although there is one major issue with thinking of cars as investments. It relies on the concept that you will sell it at some point which I certainly never intend to do, a lot of other assets will be going before this one like a kidney for example.
Edited by ntiz on Tuesday 24th April 16:40
That’s pretty much the plan keep it as is only replace stuff that is clearly to modern like the pozidrive screws on the interior.
We are thinking about possibly giving the engine more power with new pistons, crank, cams, modern fluids etc. If we do that though we will keep all the original parts so can be put back if we want to not really sure yet.
We are thinking about possibly giving the engine more power with new pistons, crank, cams, modern fluids etc. If we do that though we will keep all the original parts so can be put back if we want to not really sure yet.
We are looking into all of the engine options originally we thought about changing it to a 4.5. As the 3 litre speed chassis with the 4.5 engine is considered the best drivers spec for these cars the worth goes up by around 100-150k for around 60k investment although we think we could do it cheaper as we would like to get our hand dirty. It’s a no brainer really but at the same time that’s what lots of people do and we think it would be quite nice to keep it as the configuration it left the factory in. We have been told with some not so huge investment we could make it a genuine 100mph car which we think for the time being is fast enough for us.
It’s all quite a long way off anyway as we want to get it to a condition we are happy with and use it a lot before we get into changing anything major. Plus Dad is building a new garage that will be heated and big enough to make working on the cars much easier at the moment you have to be pretty comited to get out there in the winter which at 71 my Dad is not.
It’s all quite a long way off anyway as we want to get it to a condition we are happy with and use it a lot before we get into changing anything major. Plus Dad is building a new garage that will be heated and big enough to make working on the cars much easier at the moment you have to be pretty comited to get out there in the winter which at 71 my Dad is not.
Pacman1978 said:
Can you comment what it is like to work on? Is there feature or function that you would like to see on a modern day vehicle which is missing?
How likely is it to still be roadworthy with your (oap age) son at the wheel?
:-)
To work on I have no idea yet really need to get it into the new garage next winter to start tinkering. We are determined to use it as much as possible while it is warm.How likely is it to still be roadworthy with your (oap age) son at the wheel?
:-)
All cars should be opened wheeled and have a bonnet strap! Also real petrol heads don't need synchromesh (have always wondered if Bentley boys sneered at synchro the way we do at paddle shifters these days)
. In seriousness not really that I can think of at the moment.Which son do you mean me or my son (Grandson). Hopefully I will be able to keep it for my life time as I love it and won't be getting rid if I can help it. If you can afford to these will still be going in another 100 years the support and passion for them is huge!! You can buy all the parts brand new if required so there is no reason they will ever stop. Of course there might not be much left of the original car but they will still be going.
The level of love for these cars is like no other brand I have been involved with. The BDC does tours all over the world for the vintage cars couple of years ago a whole bunch got shipped down to NZ for a tour. I know of a group of guys who shipped there cars to the East coast of the US, drove to Laguna Seca raced won had a party drove back. My Dad knows a guy who isn't leaving his car to his kids because he knows they won't look after it so it's in his will to go to his mate, so it will be looked after. As long as there are mad people like that around these cars will always be around.
So I had a little look in the file for the car last week found a couple of things but will have to ask my Dad if he has more of the older history.
Just took couple of pics one is just some pics of it as its original body and its tour of New Zealand (didn't know it had been there) and of when it was restored in the 60/70s.
IMG_3501 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_3502 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Asked Dad to pop by work Tuesday for a quick chat was surprised to see he turned up in the 3 litre it turns out since I had seen him Friday he has got it out and been using it as his daily
enjoying the weather. He got bored over the weekend and has been out in it just driving around all his favourite roads/places.
More pics.
IMG_3711 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_3710 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
I took some video to try and get the sound but its rubbish so will have to try again.
Totally unrelated but does anyone know the best way to heat a garage to look after your cars? Garage is being started this week and we are trying to decide if we should put underfloor heating in or radiators or just have a dehumidifier? Or a combination any advice would be really helpful.
Just took couple of pics one is just some pics of it as its original body and its tour of New Zealand (didn't know it had been there) and of when it was restored in the 60/70s.
IMG_3501 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_3502 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrAsked Dad to pop by work Tuesday for a quick chat was surprised to see he turned up in the 3 litre it turns out since I had seen him Friday he has got it out and been using it as his daily
enjoying the weather. He got bored over the weekend and has been out in it just driving around all his favourite roads/places.More pics.
IMG_3711 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_3710 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrI took some video to try and get the sound but its rubbish so will have to try again.
Totally unrelated but does anyone know the best way to heat a garage to look after your cars? Garage is being started this week and we are trying to decide if we should put underfloor heating in or radiators or just have a dehumidifier? Or a combination any advice would be really helpful.
So the Bentley has had a busy few weeks since the weather improved.
I have been looking for a good time go out with my Dad to have long drive in the car so I can become confident with the gearbox, brakes etc as I have only really driven the car on wide open roads were you just slot it into 4th then 1st when you have to stop and pull away again. So I wanted to have a good drive down some great winding roads to get some confidence, big reason for this is that I obviously would like to be able to take the car out by myself or with my wife.
A cunning plan was hatched, I had noticed there was quite a large wedding coming up that would mean most people wouldn't be out early on a Saturday morning. I arrived at my fathers at 8am expecting to have to turn him out of bed. Much to my surprise I found the car already out of the garage with Dad checking all the levels turns out he was as excited as I was. After having the various ignition settings explained and what they are for plus the adjustable throttle on the steering wheel to be used for getting the car warmed up and how to know when it's warmed up.
We then set off with the plan of going from Mundesley to Hunstanton using the coast road through Blakeney and Wells to have breakfast/brunch at our favourite pub. I will admit to being apprehensive of how enjoyable this road would be in the Bentley as for those of you who don't know that route is a fairly twisty, undulating road with some longish straights great fun in sports cars, but I was concerned with how much fun it would be in something that although sporty in its day isn't exactly the last word in agility
As it turned out we got blue sky's barely any traffic and fantastic road. I needn't have worried you can actually hustle her along at 50+ really easily once you stop treating it like it's made of glass. It took me some time to get used to the gearbox and steering. I should confess that until this drive I had just been dipping the clutch trying to select a gear hoping for the best. My father taught me how to double de clutch and rev match on the way down the box. It really is great fun challenging yourself to get it right as there is a lot of rhythm in knowing how long to leave between putting it in neutral to trying for the desired gear and to make it harder each gear requires different timing, also how warm the box is changes it all over again. I am fairly proud to say I only had one complete f
k up were couldn't get it to go into third as I approached a corner. I did attempt something I have been thinking would be helpful which is to left foot blip the throttle on down changes so that you can change down whilst braking which was a success.
Handling wise I have never driven any car that is so throttle responsive. At first I was sort of trying to coast my way around bends then accelerate on the straights but the steering was extremely heavy after the first mile or 2 my Dad told me to stop being such a vagina and give it some bloody throttle like I would in any other car (yes he is slightly mental). This totally changes the way the car feels if you have the power on even just a little the steering becomes much lighter and you can adjust your line were as before it kind of felt like a super tanker not really wanting to go round.
We got to the pub an hour earlier than expected for breakfast and pint
IMG_3943 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
The next day dad went on a VSCC tour all round Suffolk meeting loads of great people with a wide range of vintage cars. The car ran great except for it developing a worrying rattle that sounded like the exhaust was tapping the road after inspection he came to the conclusion it wasn't serious as nothing was hanging down and the noise didn't seem to coincide with braking, steering etc. I did get blamed for it though as I had clearly thrashed his car
Pics of that day coming soon.
On these road trips we had noticed that the ride was a bit odd up until now we assumed that it was just the way it was but the car seemed to flex a bit side to side when going quickly (relatively) so dad has taken off all the shock absorbers and reset them back to factory setting as in the manual. This was done by using a hook scale to make sure the resistance was correct whilst tightening or slackening as necessary. It turned out as suspected they were all at different settings which would explain the slightly odd flexing.
IMG_3801 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
We are looking into having a new roof and cover made as the ones on the car at the moment have holes in just waiting for quotes.
Other than that just been driving around having a blast!
More pics just because I have them.
Passenger shots.
IMG_3947 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_3945 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Random
IMG_3948 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_3791 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
Next generation.
IMG_3951 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
I have been looking for a good time go out with my Dad to have long drive in the car so I can become confident with the gearbox, brakes etc as I have only really driven the car on wide open roads were you just slot it into 4th then 1st when you have to stop and pull away again. So I wanted to have a good drive down some great winding roads to get some confidence, big reason for this is that I obviously would like to be able to take the car out by myself or with my wife.
A cunning plan was hatched, I had noticed there was quite a large wedding coming up that would mean most people wouldn't be out early on a Saturday morning. I arrived at my fathers at 8am expecting to have to turn him out of bed. Much to my surprise I found the car already out of the garage with Dad checking all the levels turns out he was as excited as I was. After having the various ignition settings explained and what they are for plus the adjustable throttle on the steering wheel to be used for getting the car warmed up and how to know when it's warmed up.
We then set off with the plan of going from Mundesley to Hunstanton using the coast road through Blakeney and Wells to have breakfast/brunch at our favourite pub. I will admit to being apprehensive of how enjoyable this road would be in the Bentley as for those of you who don't know that route is a fairly twisty, undulating road with some longish straights great fun in sports cars, but I was concerned with how much fun it would be in something that although sporty in its day isn't exactly the last word in agility
As it turned out we got blue sky's barely any traffic and fantastic road. I needn't have worried you can actually hustle her along at 50+ really easily once you stop treating it like it's made of glass. It took me some time to get used to the gearbox and steering. I should confess that until this drive I had just been dipping the clutch trying to select a gear hoping for the best. My father taught me how to double de clutch and rev match on the way down the box. It really is great fun challenging yourself to get it right as there is a lot of rhythm in knowing how long to leave between putting it in neutral to trying for the desired gear and to make it harder each gear requires different timing, also how warm the box is changes it all over again. I am fairly proud to say I only had one complete f
k up were couldn't get it to go into third as I approached a corner. I did attempt something I have been thinking would be helpful which is to left foot blip the throttle on down changes so that you can change down whilst braking which was a success. Handling wise I have never driven any car that is so throttle responsive. At first I was sort of trying to coast my way around bends then accelerate on the straights but the steering was extremely heavy after the first mile or 2 my Dad told me to stop being such a vagina and give it some bloody throttle like I would in any other car (yes he is slightly mental). This totally changes the way the car feels if you have the power on even just a little the steering becomes much lighter and you can adjust your line were as before it kind of felt like a super tanker not really wanting to go round.
We got to the pub an hour earlier than expected for breakfast and pint
IMG_3943 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrThe next day dad went on a VSCC tour all round Suffolk meeting loads of great people with a wide range of vintage cars. The car ran great except for it developing a worrying rattle that sounded like the exhaust was tapping the road after inspection he came to the conclusion it wasn't serious as nothing was hanging down and the noise didn't seem to coincide with braking, steering etc. I did get blamed for it though as I had clearly thrashed his car
Pics of that day coming soon.
On these road trips we had noticed that the ride was a bit odd up until now we assumed that it was just the way it was but the car seemed to flex a bit side to side when going quickly (relatively) so dad has taken off all the shock absorbers and reset them back to factory setting as in the manual. This was done by using a hook scale to make sure the resistance was correct whilst tightening or slackening as necessary. It turned out as suspected they were all at different settings which would explain the slightly odd flexing.
IMG_3801 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrWe are looking into having a new roof and cover made as the ones on the car at the moment have holes in just waiting for quotes.
Other than that just been driving around having a blast!
More pics just because I have them.
Passenger shots.
IMG_3947 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_3945 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrRandom
IMG_3948 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_3791 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrNext generation.
IMG_3951 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr1275 GT said:
What a stunning car, its nice to see someone documenting working on it.
I always wondered what effect re-bodying had on the value, none it would seem! I think it probably needs to have been done a while ago though.
I've always had aspirations of restoring my grandads lesser Derby Bentley.
Joe
It does seem a bit mad that you can change the entire way a car looks and it not make a difference to the value at all, but if the number on the engine and chassis don't match you are out 50,000+.I always wondered what effect re-bodying had on the value, none it would seem! I think it probably needs to have been done a while ago though.
I've always had aspirations of restoring my grandads lesser Derby Bentley.
Joe
Dad originally really wanted a matching numbers car but came to the conclusion that having matching numbers doesn't make a difference to enjoying the driving experience. Once he came to that conclusion he started looking for cars that could be traced back to the factory.
It does get a lot of very friendly attention people wave at you all the time and come ask you questions. It's very different kind of attention to something like a Ferrari.
In other news we found the rattle that has been worrying us! Had a good listen as it was backed out of the garage decided it wasn't coming from underneath so opened the bonnet to find a plate on the magneto being held on with one screw instead of 4 as it moved around we got rattles some times and not others. We have just added some more screws for now but the holes don't really line up so will have to and make the plate fir properly or make a new one.
IMG_4093 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
IMG_4094 by Elliot Simpson, on Flickr
In other news we found the rattle that has been worrying us! Had a good listen as it was backed out of the garage decided it wasn't coming from underneath so opened the bonnet to find a plate on the magneto being held on with one screw instead of 4 as it moved around we got rattles some times and not others. We have just added some more screws for now but the holes don't really line up so will have to and make the plate fir properly or make a new one.
IMG_4093 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrIMG_4094 by Elliot Simpson, on FlickrGassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff