Re: 1965 Bentley T-Type

^{[continued from above]}

I nearly had a bit of a prang on the second lap, but managed to avoid doing more than knocking off a silly bit of chrome trim and the last hub-cap. We also broke two bottles of a fine Petrus. At about ten miles into the route I suspected the plugs were a bit oiled as the Bentley was firing uncertainly. Then they must have cleared as there was an almighty surge of urge from the motor and I found myself pointing at a rock face before a hair-pin bend with more power than with which I knew what to do. Luckily, a length of stout guardrail kept us on track and I was able to slide the car along it, shaving off speed hastily. We left the rear bumper behind us, clattering across the road. Land-Windermere got out shortly after – for a little exercise, perhaps. To do so he had to climb out of the window because the doors had sustained some damage when the car met the ironwork. The lesson learned here was the turn-in and steering quality were as one would of expect of car with a more sporting role in life but which also aspires to great comfort.

"...some loafing farmers..."

There fell much rain the night before so I was thankful for Bentley´s grippy standard tyre. Prodigious quantities of mud were sprayed all over the car´s body work by lunch time (usefully obscuring much of the damage). I ran across a bit of a muddy stretch and felt the car wander. On one side stood some loafing farmers who I didn´t really want to alarm so I had no choice but to let the Bentley´s masses find the line of most resistance, which in this instance, lay sideways in the direction of a heap of soft earth left standing about. There was a bit of a dull thud and the side windows went black while soil ploughed up to the roof. No harm done, however, and with a bit of revving the Bentley pulled itself free and off I went. The rear window remained clogged with soil and dirt but the air-conditioning meant I didn´t need to open it anyway.

"...bottom..."

While I would say the suspension was more than comfortable enough for most, the drawback was that, under very specific conditions, the car could bottom-out. Then the sump would occasionally make contact with the tarmacadam. I can report that the Bentley can take large doses of this kind of abrasion. It was a humpback bridge that led to the sump´s final undoing. We left oil all over the road and had to make an emergency stop at a blacksmith who kindly offered to affect a repair. We stopped for the night in Pelegrino where some urchins stole the Bentley badges and a curious passer-by broke the offside quarter light and removed the radio. The mortadella was excellent and I stocked up on some panoforte.

I carried on around the Targa Florio for the remainder of the second day, and the only reason I had to stop was that I had drained several of the smaller petrol stations in the area. Over the 3200 miles of the tour the Bentley consumed 290 gallons of four star and I consumed 240 cigarettes. The ashtray needed emptying just twice a day, which is very, very creditable indeed. This speaks volumes of the attention to detail Bentley have paid in making this a truly peerless sporting saloon.

Concluding remarks

I can conclude that having been declared to be a high performance motor, the T lives up to its billing. Otherwise we would not have attempted to ask of it tasks its sedate and bloated Rolls-Royce stablemate could never have managed. Thus, when Bentley inquired how the car returned with so many dents, scratches and bits of missing trim, they could not affect surprise when I replied "Well, we drove it in a spirited fashion. It´s not a Rolls-Royce, is it?"

A lambswool passenger rug (in matching colours) will be available to order.

Re: 1965 Bentley T-Type

Indeed. I believe Bentley had to have the car extensively repaired and Mr Vicar was banned from testing Bentleys until his newspaper signed an insurance note. It was a landmark in motoring.

The total list of damaged items included the front wing, doors and rear wing, the rear bumper mounts, bent front bumper, front lamps cracked, cracked windscreen, a dented bonnet, sheared front suspension mounts, ripped oil-pan, crooked valve stems, burst hydraulic hoses, twisted brake discs, bald tyres, fouled window winders, failed rear suspension mounting assembly, failed water pump, torn leather (L-W´s shoes, apparently), a stolen radio, stolen badges (and damage to the surrounding paint), lost hubcabs, kerbed wheels (left side) broken quarter light and a bad leak to the head gasket. The gearbox was also replaced due to torque shear on the converter,the boot carpet was stained from two bottles of wine which broke under heavy braking and multiple cigarette burns to the dash top, doorcasings and carpets (front and rear).

The new Bentley has rather unfortunate lamps. The outmost lights are lower than the inner ones and give the car a rather sad appearance. The rest of the car looks quite alright and rather nicer than the Continental. I´d still prefer an Arnage, which I liked the moment it came out. It had perfect proportions. I shall take another look and think again.

Re: 1965 Bentley T-Type

It´s been terribly quiet in the Classic Cars department. This is a little discouraging. Perhaps I should simply post the items in question directly to the readers?  

Re: 1965 Bentley T-Type

How wonderful Bert, you are a marvel!

Amongst the greyest of backgrounds you have provided a vivid burst of a rainbow; a beautifully crafted, wonderfully researched and evocatively redolent piece of imagination. I cannot tell you how happy I am to read such prose on these pages. I actually clapped with the mention of Land-Windemere.

Thank you again Bert for enlivening my day.

Batty

Re: 1965 Bentley T-Type

Bert, you're going to have to send me some pointers from your archives on the Land-Windermere photography style...I'm in the mood to chronicle a roadtrip in a manner unlike the typical snapshot-shooter or magazine photographer, and it'd be nice to do a homage to this misunderstood genius.

Also, I've just been browsing through your photo gallery, and I enjoyed your various analyses, not to mention rarities such as the Kappa coupe, and of all things, the Buick Riviera!  I preferred the Lincoln Mk VIII in terms of bulbous American luxury coupes - it was a bit more next-generation Star Trek swoopy in comparison to the whale-inspired GM models of the time.  Still, good to see it represented in the eurocentric webpages of CAR.