Eye Candy for Vintage Car Enthusiasts.

[NicolasKL]

You would not catch it in a Corolla I promise you.

Maybe not, but I think any modern performance car would give it a pretty bad thrashing in the acceleration department, e.g. a late model Mustang, Subaru WRX, Nissan 350, etc.

 

[Rickster71]

Maybe not, but I think any modern performance car would give it a pretty bad thrashing in the acceleration department, e.g. a late model Mustang, Subaru WRX, Nissan 350, etc.

But then it wouldn't be a Vintage car race.

 

[Alex2507]

But then it wouldn't be a Vintage car race.

I was gonna say one of these would smoke it in a trans Atlantic race.

 

[TLS Guy]

Maybe not, but I think any modern performance car would give it a pretty bad thrashing in the acceleration department, e.g. a late model Mustang, Subaru WRX, Nissan 350, etc.

They would not give it a severe thrashing and the Bentley could very well best any on that list in the Alps. I don't think the Subaru WRX would be in the Bentley class at all. Not near enough thump and low end torque.

 

[TLS Guy]

I was gonna say one of these would smoke it in a trans Atlantic race.

Smoke underwater?

 

[NicolasKL]

They would not give it a severe thrashing

Is his extremely heavily modified with modern high performance parts? Because stock (and even race modified back in the day) they really just didn't have very much horsepower. The supercharged variant only had 175 horsepower, a non-supercharged but race modified was ~130 hp. Even if his is very heavily modified with modern parts and tuning and know how I don't really see how it could have more than 200 horsepower, which means it's going to have less hp/lb than a V6 Toyota Camry.

and the Bentley could very well best any on that list in the Alps.

Maybe, I don't know how they handle. Suspension technology has come a long way in the last 80 years though, just like engine design.

I don't think the Subaru WRX would be in the Bentley class at all. Not near enough thump and low end torque.

A WRX would rip a supercharged 4.5 Bentley a new one. 265 hp and 3100 pounds vs. 175 hp and 3800 pounds.

I'm guessing that any of the old Bentleys feel really fast for a few reasons. One, open cockpit, two, exhaust note/volume, and three, a torquey motor with probably a heavy flywheel and definitely a lot of reciprocating mass.

But the best single stat to indicate straight line acceleration is hp/lb, and Bentley's have too much of the latter and not enough of the former to really accelerate very quickly.

 

[TLS Guy]

Is his extremely heavily modified with modern high performance parts? Because stock (and even race modified back in the day) they really just didn't have very much horsepower. The supercharged variant only had 175 horsepower, a non-supercharged but race modified was ~130 hp. Even if his is very heavily modified with modern parts and tuning and know how I don't really see how it could have more than 200 horsepower, which means it's going to have less hp/lb than a V6 Toyota Camry.



Maybe, I don't know how they handle. Suspension technology has come a long way in the last 80 years though, just like engine design.



A WRX would rip a supercharged 4.5 Bentley a new one. 265 hp and 3100 pounds vs. 175 hp and 3800 pounds.

I'm guessing that any of the old Bentleys feel really fast for a few reasons. One, open cockpit, two, exhaust note/volume, and three, a torquey motor with probably a heavy flywheel and definitely a lot of reciprocating mass.

But the best single stat to indicate straight line acceleration is hp/lb, and Bentley's have too much of the latter and not enough of the former to really accelerate very quickly.

Not much mod. It has aluminum pistons, and that's about it. You can't do much and still race them.

I can assure you the acceleration is monstrous. They accelerate out of a bend or from a dead stop like you wouldn't believe. Its a bit like old tractors, my 1948 JD A, 39 HP out pushes a modern 60 HP when it comes to snow.

Torque curve is very important, and the curve of older engines is frequently a lot more useful than rated horsepower.

The shorter wheel base 1925 Bentley he had would lift the front wheels off the ground when you really pushed it, but that engine had been stroked, by Bentley himself, for a fighter pilot/racing ace.

The turbo charged Bentleys are not as good and Bentley was never in favor of it. There are more turbo charged Bentleys around that Bentley ever made, in fact he made only 36.

 

[highfigh]

Parts of the house date from the fourteenth century. There are lot of lovely exposes oak beams.

I suspect the car is either an Alvis or a Rover. I think those pictures were my Uncle John's. He was a Catholic Priest, but a fantastic mechanic and racer of cars and bikes in his youth. He was a wonderful mechanic and machinest and we all learned a lot from him. Especially how to get the last ounce out of an engine. He was had a lot of Alvis cars over the years. In their youth he and my father drove Austin Sevens almost entirely and there is a convertible Austin 7 in one of those pictures.

He drove everything to the limit, but never had an accident all his life.

My first vehicle was an Alvis TA 21. I had to do a top overhaul and change the clutch before it was drivable.

Unless it's rock or fossils, I don't think we have anything above ground that dates from the 14th century. That's one of the reasons I want to make it to GB. That, and to see the stomping grounds of some ancestors who came here in 1654.

I had a great-uncle who raced Fronty cars in the late '20s and early '30s. He raced through the lower midwest and did pretty well.

 

[TLS Guy]

Unless it's rock or fossils, I don't think we have anything above ground that dates from the 14th century. That's one of the reasons I want to make it to GB. That, and to see the stomping grounds of some ancestors who came here in 1654.

I had a great-uncle who raced Fronty cars in the late '20s and early '30s. He raced through the lower midwest and did pretty well.

Let me know when the time gets close.

 

[Alex2507]

Smoke underwater?

To keep up with my trash talking I was gonna say that I could push my fofo up a mountain faster than you could drive a Bentley down one but the above comment stole my thunder. Way to go.

 

[NicolasKL]

Not much mod. It has aluminum pistons, and that's about it. You can't do much and still race them.

That's pretty much what I figured.

I can assure you the acceleration is monstrous. They accelerate out of a bend or from a dead stop like you wouldn't believe.

Low down torque (and heavy reciprocating mass) gives the feeling you're describing. My Jeep with a 258 ci straight six felt the same way (210 lb/ft, 112 hp). It can pull hard, the problem is it can't pull long. Before you know it you're out of steam and having to shift into the next gear. Those traits make it feel like you're lunging away from a stop (or out of a corner), but they don't translate into actual quick acceleration (i.e. good 0-60 or 1/4 mile times). TBH the 1/4 mile time of a 130 horse Bentley 4.5 is probably about 18 seconds, which is slower than most modern passenger cars.

Torque without RPMs isn't very good at accelerating a vehicle. Give me a hundred foot long stick and I can generate thousands of ft lbs of torque. But hook me and my stick up to a cars drivetrain and I'm not going to have much luck getting it to go 0-60 like a bat out of hell, because I'm only going to be able to turn my stick at about 1/100th of an RPM.

This is the same reason stock diesel pickups aren't kings of the drag strip. Mountains of torque, great/flat torque curve, but they're not very fast. The reason they're not very fast is because they don't rev very high, and hence don't have very much horsepower.

There are tons of vehicles out there with gobs of horsepower and relatively little torque, that are still quite quick. 600 cc sportbikes, Honda S2000, Formula 1 cars, etc.

I can't think of any cars with tons of torque and no horsepower that are quick.

 

[highfigh]

That's pretty much what I figured.



Low down torque (and heavy reciprocating mass) gives the feeling you're describing. My Jeep with a 258 ci straight six felt the same way (210 lb/ft, 112 hp). It can pull hard, the problem is it can't pull long. Before you know it you're out of steam and having to shift into the next gear. Those traits make it feel like you're lunging away from a stop (or out of a corner), but they don't translate into actual quick acceleration (i.e. good 0-60 or 1/4 mile times). TBH the 1/4 mile time of a 130 horse Bentley 4.5 is probably about 18 seconds, which is slower than most modern passenger cars.

Torque without RPMs isn't very good at accelerating a vehicle. Give me a hundred foot long stick and I can generate thousands of ft lbs of torque. But hook me and my stick up to a cars drivetrain and I'm not going to have much luck getting it to go 0-60 like a bat out of hell, because I'm only going to be able to turn my stick at about 1/100th of an RPM.

This is the same reason stock diesel pickups aren't kings of the drag strip. Mountains of torque, great/flat torque curve, but they're not very fast. The reason they're not very fast is because they don't rev very high, and hence don't have very much horsepower.

There are tons of vehicles out there with gobs of horsepower and relatively little torque, that are still quite quick. 600 cc sportbikes, Honda S2000, Formula 1 cars, etc.

I can't think of any cars with tons of torque and no horsepower that are quick.

Actually, low end grunt is how cars used to be designed and it worked fine. With the ability to multiply the torque by way of the transmission, semis can haul monstrous loads, although they need to shift like a tap dancer to get up to high speed. In a car with enough, a driver who can shift quickly and smoothly will have no problem getting to high speeds- look at Pro Stock cars for a good example.

The straight 6 is a good example of great torque/low power & displacement. Great torque and as long as there's not too much side loading of the crank, they usually last quite a while.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

For those of you in FL you might want to visit the Sarasota Classic Car Museum It has changed names since I went to it (used to be the Bellm museum of cars and music of yesterday). When I was there they even had a Tucker Torpedo in the collection.

 

[TLS Guy]

Very nice. In the first shot inside the garage, there's a photo on the wall, under a red marathon sign. Is that a '30s Renault?

All three vehicles are MGs.

You can follow Paul Carter in his Bentley Derby in the Evian to Montecarlo Mountain Challenge race, which starts Monday at: - www.ClassicRally.org.uk

 

[GO-NAD!]

This is an ambitious drive...

Hey Doc, thought this might interest you.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1250741.html

The only spare parts he's carrying are spark plugs. If he wants to do this trip in 2 weeks, driving on secondary roads, he'll have to drive somewhat "aggressively"...

 

[TLS Guy]

Hey Doc, thought this might interest you.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1250741.html

The only spare parts he's carrying are spark plugs. If he wants to do this trip in 2 weeks, driving on secondary roads, he'll have to drive somewhat "aggressively"...

Nice article!

That is a nice 2.4 lt Bentley.

My brother has one of those. His is 1929.

He has raced that one a lot, including across the Sahara Desert. He won the Liege to Cortina rally a few years ago in it.

I took these pictures at the Goodwood revival.

 

[GoFastr]

Thanks. Great pics of great cars, what else can you say.....well one more thing, you got a pretty cool brother!

 

[TLS Guy]

Nice article!

That is a nice 2.4 lt Bentley.

My brother has one of those. His is 1929.

He has raced that one a lot, including across the Sahara Desert. He won the Liege to Cortina rally a few years ago in it.

I took these pictures at the Goodwood revival.

Correction those are 4.5 lt Bentleys. I don't know where my head was this morning.

 

[Davemcc]

This is the same reason stock diesel pickups aren't kings of the drag strip.

With great torque comes great responsibility.
Not stock.

 

[LAB3]

TLS ... cool pictures. Hey Doc do you own a Acura?

Louis