We all love to hear a good news story from the world of classic cars, don’t we? Well here’s one for a glum Monday afternoon: the first Bentley T Series (and therefore Bentley’s first monocoque production car) has been lovingly restored to take its place in the marque’s extensive heritage collection.
Discovered under a tarpaulin without an interior having not run for years, this was not a small job even by restoration standards. As chassis SBH1001, moreover, Bentley’s original development and media car, it had a few quirks that wouldn’t be found in a later car. These included details like the Rolls-Royce logo on the seat belt buckles which only early cars had - that’s how obsessive the rebuild was.
Having been dismantled by a group of Bentley apprentices, the restoration work was handled by marque experts P&A Wood. The aim was to repair what was original rather than replace, meaning an awful lot of time spent on sorting dodgy damage repairs, corrosion and inconsistent panel gaps. Challenges described as ‘major’ included the missing dash, a wiring loom ‘in pieces without a detailed diagram’ (!) and an absence of interior trim. A donor car helped with the parts that were either missing or beyond any kind of repair. Rewiring and refitting the dash was described as ‘requiring huge amounts of time and perseverance’. And tea, presumably. It’s hard to imagine those who restore Bentleys exaggerating about hours invested, so enjoy that gorgeous driving environment - it’s been a long time coming.
Plenty was retained, though, and proved less stressful to sort out. Apparently the big V8 only required fresh fluids, the gearbox ‘minor adjustment’ and the rear axle new seals, so they ended up being smaller jobs. The hoses had to be replaced for the hydro-pneumatic ride control, but the original Vibrashock sub-frame mounts and brake distribution valves were retained, albeit with extensive restorative work. The paint received ‘multiple coats of 2k high build primer’, and although some really rusty parts had to be replaced, elements like the chrome and bumpers could be retained; cleaned and polished but without any new metal, to keep that patina.
We can hopefully all agree that the end result is sensationally good, the interior in particular a real highlight. The T Series marks an important milestone in Bentley history, a smaller, lighter, faster - 115mph once upon a time - take on the finest four seater around, so it’s great to see the very first one back to its best. In the 60s it cost from £5,425, which probably would have bought Blenheim Palace back then, so it should be no surprise to find just 1,868 were ever made. Well worth saving, basically.
Mike Sayer, Head of the Bentley Heritage Collection (and really nice bloke), said: “The T-Series is one of the final two pieces of the puzzle to complete our rejuvenated Heritage Collection. Our Chief Communications Officer, Wayne Bruce and I quite literally found it under a tarpaulin in the back of a warehouse, and given it was the first-of-line chassis we knew we had to save it. Together with our T-Series Mulliner Coupe, this revitalised sedan completes the Bentley heritage story of the 1960s and 1970s, and is now an outstanding example of the model, which was the first Bentley to use a unitary monocoque construction.” This brings the Heritage Collection up to 46 cars, more of which PH really should get to Crewe and drive. A T Series of your own is available from £30k - just don’t expect it to be quite as nice as Bentley’s…
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