1954 Other Makes

Bentley R Type

Bentley / Rolls-Royce 4.5 Liter Six Cylinder

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14.00 THE CAR: 1954 Bentley R Type Four Door Saloon. RHD with Suicide Doors and factory sliding steel sunroof. Original Bentley 4.5 Liter “Big-Bore” Six Cylinder engine and four-speed Rolls-Royce “Hydramatic” automatic transmission. THE GOOD: Runs and drives as well as ANY Bentley on eBay today, probably better than most. Rebuilt engine and recently serviced brakes. All lights and accessories work with two exceptions, front center driving lamp (could be the bulb) and the original radio. Ready to be driven home anywhere right now! Did you read that – ready to be driven home anywhere right now!! If you want it, we’ll pick you up at the airport and you can drive it home. There are quite a few old Bentleys on eBay right now – but I’ll bet none of the other owners are willing or even able to pick you up at the airport in their Bentleys so you can drive home, because I’m sure most of those cars are in such perilous condition you can’t drive them home, let alone even 20 miles to the airport! For that matter, how many other sellers even give you their phone number – 97I-998-27O3 so you can easily talk with them? Gee, I wonder why not, what are they trying to hide? But if you do manage to talk with them and they say that their car “runs great” make them back it up with specifics – what kind of oil pressure reading will the car maintain on the gauge, even after 50 – 100 miles of high-speed running on the freeway? You do know, don’t you that low oil pressure readings on a fully warmed up car can show serious wear to the engine lower end bearings and crankshaft? Just as excessive smoke indicates worn cylinders or rings. All of these are indicators that an engine rebuild may be in order. Budget at least $20,000 if you can do a lot of the work yourself, plan on even more if you can’t. Bet you didn’t know it could cost so much to properly rebuild one of these. But it does . . . ‘specially if you do it right! Ask if it can drive it at 65 – 70+ mph up a steep grade on a hot summer day without overheating? The poorly maintained ones won’t do that without boiling over, but mine will! Will also run cool even on a hot summer day in extended stop and go traffic. Most ‘bargain Bentleys’ can’t do that either. Ask them, when were the brakes last done or serviced and how well do they work? A weak brake servo is all too common on these cars and most guys don’t even know how to adjust one, let alone reline, rebuild or set one up. How good are the tires? Are they bias ply or radials? Is the owner confident enough to cruise at modern highway speeds for extended time and distances? Good modern radial tires like this one has absolutely transform the handling and steering of the car. You can and should drive this one fast and far! THE BAD: Cosmetically this car is virtually all original 1954 – paint, leather, wood chrome. Minor rust in a few spots. But with the current craze for ‘original unrestored cars’ maybe the condition of this car isn’t a bad thing at all, but rather a plus? How many 60 year old Bentleys are left still sporting all their original surfaces such as paint, leather, chrome etc?? It might be a shame to restore this car . . . but what do I know, everyone has their own idea of what’s cool or desirable. Right now it seems the operative words are “Patina” and “Barn-Find” both of which are way over-used, but both entirely appropriate for this car. If it were a hot rod, the guys would over-use the term ‘rat rod’ on it, but it’s not a rod so that doesn’t count. But it is ratty. Personally, I like the cool factor – it attracts more attention at a show than a perfectly restored example – it’s that “romance” of the unrestored car thing going on. People love it. I love it. Maybe you hate it, if so, check out the Honda or Kia listings I guess . . . how ‘bout a nice mini-van with perfect paint?? MISC: Car was with prior owner 45 years, in California. Has owners handbook, partial service records. THIS IS NOT AN AUCTION – the price is what it is. You can find cheaper Bentleys, but not that run this well, and you can find more expensive Bentleys, but even most of them don’t run this well. If you want the car – call me first – 97I-998-27O3 – a car is too big an item to buy without even talking first. Please don’t email or text – it seems only scammers text, and time wasters email. Serious prospects will take the time to call me. Yes, if you buy this car, we will pick you up at the airport, Oakland is easier than San Francisco, but if that’s where you have to fly into, that’s where we’ll meet. The only concern I think is about driving the car back in winter weather – and you don’t want to get caught in a Wyoming blizzard in an ancient classic car – I know, I’ve been there, done that. I can make some recommendations for shipping if weather is a concern. Description above is my best personal opinion and observations, your personal and professional inspections are most invited as obviously this 60 year old car is being sold with no warranty or guarantee. SCROLL TO BOTTOM TO SEE ALL PHOTOS/ VIDEOS97I-998-27O3 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE h V