Kapiti Mid-Winter Christmas Lunch pages 8

Beach is opposite the restaurant, via the children’s park across the road. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t conducive for walking off our Christmas lunch on the beach. As Ann O’Rorke mentioned in the Kapiti Christmas Lunch report last year in the Motoring Spirit, if you haven’t been on a mid-week run please consider coming along. You’ll be made most welcome, visit interesting venues and eat some really good lunches. You certainly would have enjoyed lunch at The Front Room.

JUNE CLUB NIGHT - Paul Hooper’s BENTLEY

Paul Hooper brought in his 1949, 4.25 litre, Mk VI Bentley and gave a talk about its acquisition and restoration. This model was the first Bentley production car (by Rolls Royce) that could be driven out of a showroom (previously chassis and running gear was done by RR and the body was built by a specialist coachbuilder to buyers’ specifications). It was considered to be the Poor Man’s Rolls Royce. This car had been in UK for 25 years, brought to NZ and registered here, then left on blocks for about 25 years in a garage covered with a tarpaulin. The car was owned by the husband of a friend of a friend and when he died, the family had no interest in the car. Paul bought it six years ago and he sold his Armstrong Siddeley to fit this car in his garage. The chassis is massive. The car was very original, but rusty. It had previously been badly resprayed, so he needed to strip it to bare metal. The motor was seized; Paul got it going only to find cracks in the block. He removed the motor and took it to a reconditioner. He told them he was not in a hurry for it, but five years later he had to hassle them to get onto to it and get it done! He recovered the door panels, and replaced the carpets. The car has veneer inlays - to fix wood veneer he made himself a vacuum press. He used paint stripper to strip the car down to the bare metal. He did bits of welding, but mostly it was in good condition. Panel beaters need to paint all the panels at once to get the exact same colour on them all. Because Paul was removing and doing up the panels one by one, he painted them himself using a party tent inside the garage as a spray booth. The colour (champagne) has upset some RR purists as it is not an original colour for these cars. He used Dulon paint with clear over the base. It is certainly a beautiful job! The gearbox and differential haven’t had anything done, but the car does have a new clutch. The transmission is four-speed, it has twin SU carbs, and the bores have been re-sleeved. Paul had a lot of problems getting compliance done. He was told the brakes didn’t work. The brakes are servo-assisted, so they all need to be going to test them. They had tried to test them on the rollers with two wheels at a time, which didn’t work. He explained how the brakes worked. (Continued on page 11)

PAUL HOOPER’S BENTLEY (Continued from page 10) Eventually they told him the brakes were okay, but as the car hadn’t moved from where he left it, he believes they just gave up as it was too hard! They also said the lights didn’t work; it turned out that this was because they couldn’t find the light switch! The wheel nuts are brass, and these were not considered suitable. He eventually had to get a RR dealer down south to write a letter saying that brass nuts had been used since 1926. The car has the following unusual features: Servo -assisted brakes driven off a clutch on the gearbox; brakes are hydraulic in the front and mechanical in the back. It has a central lubrication system with a pump on the passenger’s side. The ride control is adjustable. There is a gear cog driven off the driveshaft which changes the crankshaft so the timing changes as it drives. The gear stick is on right-hand-side of the driver, with a hollow in the driver’s door panel to accommodate it. Paul has put a blind inside the back window and the car has drinks tables on the backs of the front seat backrests. The car looks similar to a Mk V Jaguar but the Bentleys generally cost about three times as much. He says it is an amazing car to drive with lovely steering, and very quiet. The car is a wonderful testament to Paul’s hard work! (See photos on page 14)

For his achievement in restoring the car, Paul (on left) was given a Meritorious Restoration Award badge and certificate. The award was presented by Club Chairman Phil Kidd at the June club night.