Have you ever bought your dream car?

I assume you will now be leaving us for a more bougie forum???

Congratulations.  The smile on the Mrs., kind of says it all.  Hopefully the smiles on both of you lasts many miles.  Waiting on your driving impressions, and the general feel/condition of the car, after you've had time to go over it.  At the price mentioned, seems like a good buy.  Heck, a new golf cart can cost about the same.

Quick question.  Is it the Rolls or Bentley that has an umbrella tucked into the back door?  I seem to remember seeing that on some TV car show.

Welcome to the dream car owner group. I have one more to go before I have all 3 - a 1992 Yukon GT

Toyman! said:

The bleeding procedure for the hydraulic system. 

14 separate bleed points. That's amazing. 

Pretty sure I'm going to need to order a shop manual for this one. 

• 1. Remove fuse B1 from fuse panel F1 on the main fuseboard.
• 2. Depressurize the hydraulic systems as described in Section G3. Complete depressurization of the suspension struts is not
necessary.
• 3. Open the accumulator bleed screws, points A and B.
• 4. Start and run the engine at 1500 rev/min for one minute. Ensure that the facia warning panels are flashing i.e. STOP and BRAKE
PRESSURE.
• 5. Switch off the engine.
• 6. Close the accumulator bleed screws, points A and B.
• 7. Open the bleed screws at points C,D,E,K,L,M and N.
• 8. Depress the footbrake pedal.
• 9. Start and run the engine at 1000 rev/min.
• 10. Allow points C,D,E,K,L,M and N to bleed until air free.
• 11. Open bleed screws F and G, allow bleeding to start.
• 12. Close the bleed screws at points C,D,E,K,L,M and N.
• 13. Bleed at points F and G until air free.
• 14. Open bleed screws at points H and I, allow bleeding to start. Close the bleed screws at points F and G.
• 15. Bleed at points H and I until air free.
• 16. Close the bleed screws at points H and I.
• 17. Release the footbrake pedal.
• 18. Add weight to the rear of the car to actuate the levelling valve.
• 19. Allow the systems to pressurize (facia warning panels extinguished).
• 20. Open the bleed screw at point J, bleed until air free.
• 21. Close the bleed screw at point J.
• 22. Check the hydraulic system mineral oil levels in the reservoirs and top-up as necessary.
• 23. Switch off the engine.
• 24. Fit a rubber dust cover to each bleed screw, and replace the fuse in the fuseboard.

J, C, B, A.......what are those? I understand the dual masters, dual calipers, but I have no idea what some of those other bleed points are?

Oh wait, I see leveling valve in the instructions. So these aren't all part of the brake system some are part of the suspension? 

Dirtydog (Forum Supporter) said:

Quick question.  Is it the Rolls or Bentley that has an umbrella tucked into the back door?  I seem to remember seeing that on some TV car show.

Probably both, it's a fairly common feature on ultra-high-end luxury sedans. I've seen it on RRs and Maybachs.

In reply to z31maniac :

Here's the fun part: I'm pretty sure the suspension and brakes use the same hydraulic system. There's some pretty wild interconnections in there. 

In reply to dculberson :

Bentley and Rolls call it the central hydraulic system. It is probably going to be the system that drives me insane. I've already found one problem with it. I still haven't found anything that remotely resembles a master cylinder. 

The brakes, dampeners, and leveling system are all interconnected and run off the same hydraulic system. The most common failure is people dumping DOT brake fluid in the system and destroying every seal. Thankfully this system is not leaking anywhere. There appear to be 4 accumulators in the system. Two in the front under the hood and two in the back at the top of the rear dampeners. I'm 90% certain one or both of the rear ones have failed and that is the cause of the stiff rear suspension. I'm also about 50% certain there is air in the system that is causing the brakes to initially pull to one side when applied. 

The accumulators are fairly cheap at $90. My plan is to replace both of the rear accumulators and bleed the system and see where that gets me. I think that will take care of the issues. 

Driving impressions so far are pretty good considering the stiff rear suspension and the brakes. She drives like a big car. I love it so far and once I get the brakes and suspension sorted I'll love it even more. I'm already planning a trip to run the Blue Ridge Parkway from end to end next spring with my wife. 

I thought the TDI VW had torque. This thing is insanely powerful. Bentley advertised the HP and torque as "Adequate." I've seen estimates from 300-350 hp @ 4000 rpm and 475 to 530 lb-ft of torque at 2000 rpm. I fully believe it must be on the higher end of the spectrum. 0-60 is supposed to be in the 7 second range which is pretty good for a 2.75 ton beast. Surprisingly the red line on this engine is only 4500 rpm. I love low rpm high torque engines so that makes me happy. 

There has been zero buyer's remorse with this purchase. I love this car. 

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) said:

I assume you will now be leaving us for a more bougie forum???

My plan is to keep this one all original. I'll be driving it, but there won't be any fancy exhaust or bigger turbo. Just maintenance and repairs as needed to keep it in good condition. Y'all will probably kick me off of here and I'll have to go over and join the Classic forum. 

At least until the engine blows up and I start talking about an LS swap. 

Dirtydog (Forum Supporter) said:

Quick question.  Is it the Rolls or Bentley that has an umbrella tucked into the back door?  I seem to remember seeing that on some TV car show.

I think that's one of the newer ones with the suicide rear doors.

In reply to dculberson and Toyman!:

That's crazy. I can't even wrap my head around how that all works properly. 

In reply to Toyman! :

So, this is not the replacement of the G37 for  autox?  

I'd advise against doing customer calls in the Bentley.  They may perceive they are overpaying.  I know it seems wrong.  You can arrive in a $50k, new Ford Transit van with no qualms but arrive in a $10k Bentley and they'll get all bent out of shape.  

In reply to John Welsh :

Most people in the construction business make calls in $100k trucks. 

I had a lady at O'Rileys call me Mr. Jefferson yesterday after asking what kind of car it was. The perceived image is a thing. 

z31maniac said:

Toyman! said:

The bleeding procedure for the hydraulic system. 

14 separate bleed points. That's amazing. 

Pretty sure I'm going to need to order a shop manual for this one. 

• 1. Remove fuse B1 from fuse panel F1 on the main fuseboard.
• 2. Depressurize the hydraulic systems as described in Section G3. Complete depressurization of the suspension struts is not
necessary.
• 3. Open the accumulator bleed screws, points A and B.
• 4. Start and run the engine at 1500 rev/min for one minute. Ensure that the facia warning panels are flashing i.e. STOP and BRAKE
PRESSURE.
• 5. Switch off the engine.
• 6. Close the accumulator bleed screws, points A and B.
• 7. Open the bleed screws at points C,D,E,K,L,M and N.
• 8. Depress the footbrake pedal.
• 9. Start and run the engine at 1000 rev/min.
• 10. Allow points C,D,E,K,L,M and N to bleed until air free.
• 11. Open bleed screws F and G, allow bleeding to start.
• 12. Close the bleed screws at points C,D,E,K,L,M and N.
• 13. Bleed at points F and G until air free.
• 14. Open bleed screws at points H and I, allow bleeding to start. Close the bleed screws at points F and G.
• 15. Bleed at points H and I until air free.
• 16. Close the bleed screws at points H and I.
• 17. Release the footbrake pedal.
• 18. Add weight to the rear of the car to actuate the levelling valve.
• 19. Allow the systems to pressurize (facia warning panels extinguished).
• 20. Open the bleed screw at point J, bleed until air free.
• 21. Close the bleed screw at point J.
• 22. Check the hydraulic system mineral oil levels in the reservoirs and top-up as necessary.
• 23. Switch off the engine.
• 24. Fit a rubber dust cover to each bleed screw, and replace the fuse in the fuseboard.

J, C, B, A.......what are those? I understand the dual masters, dual calipers, but I have no idea what some of those other bleed points are?

Oh wait, I see leveling valve in the instructions. So these aren't all part of the brake system some are part of the suspension? 

I am an engineer. If someone asked me to design a way to interconnect the suspension with the brakes, and design as complicated as a system for working on it as possible, with basically an unlimited budget, I am not sure I could do better. Maybe I would design a special tool to hold the brake pedal down during steps 8-17, which could be single use and fold into a small pack kept under a hidden storage facility in the floor under the seat.

Congratulations on a cool car, and also not being murdered!

John Welsh said:

In reply to Toyman! :

So, this is not the replacement of the G37 for  autox?  

I'd advise against doing customer calls in the Bentley.  They may perceive they are overpaying.  I know it seems wrong.  You can arrive in a $50k, new Ford Transit van with no qualms but arrive in a $10k Bentley and they'll get all bent out of shape.  

Toyman! said:

In reply to John Welsh :

Most people in the construction business make calls in $100k trucks. 

I had a lady at O'Rileys call me Mr. Jefferson yesterday after asking what kind of car it was. The perceived image is a thing. 

Like Transit vans, trucks get a free pass for some reason. I understand if a customer sees someone showing up in an expensive vehicle as a red flag, the issue is that most people don't really know what an expensive vehicle is or isn't.

Toyman! said:

In reply to dculberson :

I thought the TDI VW had torque. This thing is insanely powerful. Bentley advertised the HP and torque as "Adequate." I've seen estimates from 300-350 hp @ 4000 rpm and 475 to 530 lb-ft of torque at 2000 rpm. I fully believe it must be on the higher end of the spectrum.

sounds like a dyno session is in order...

Short answer: no, I didn't buy them, I built them :)

IIRC, historically a Rolls Royce was a car to be driven in, while a Bentley was a car to drive yourself. :)

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

This one doesn't have enough rear-seat room to be chauffeured.

So far my only disappointment with this car is the key. 

You would think that a big powerful car would come with a big powerful looking key. Instead, it looks very similar to the key to my filing cabinet. Compared to every other car key I've ever owned it's pitiful looking. 

So I figured I would go online and order the correct fancy OEM key. Nope, it looks just like the one I have. I ordered 5 of them to make some spares.

And while I was ordering the accumulators for the rear, I figured I would at least order myself a Bentley keychain. 

Oh, and it has a temporary home until I get a garage bay emptied. 

I swear this car changes colors every time I look at it. 

Ugh, that really is a particularly sad-looking key (you might want to cover the teeth before posting pics online though)...maybe get it plated with a nice gold-ish coating? Maybe laser-etch a Bentley logo into it afterwards? Starting with a copy made with a more car-key-shaped head might be good.

Big keys didn't become a status symbol until relatively recently, I suspect. Maybe you can get Tom to fire up one of his many fabrication machines and make you one befitting your beast.

There's a story about being able to start a Series Land Rover with a filing cabinet key. Based on the keys for my filing cabinet and my Land Rover along with the condition of the cylinder after all this time, it's plausible.

Keith Tanner said:

Big keys didn't become a status symbol until relatively recently, I suspect.

I think it has to do with the increasing amount of electronics in the fob.

Maybe jazz it up like this?

Big keys are recent, due partially to electronics and more recently to the new Casino Royale movie, but reasonably cool keys were around in 1991, example: