Bentley touring club motors through Bigfork
By DAVID REESE
Bigfork Eagle
The long hood of the 1927 Bentley stretched out in front of us, its powerful motor thrumming, begging to run.
Pulling out of Flathead Lake Lodge on Montana 35 we turned south to Woods Bay, and driver Peter Graham fed the engine. A car this old shouldn’t feel this solid or sound this good, but we coasted on the 2,500-pound frame. The warm June wind blew my hair back in the open-air car, and I could feel the freedom that these people from around the world feel when they climb into the small front seats of their open-air Bentleys.
About a dozen Bentleys and their owners arrived at Flathead Lake Lodge last week as part of a 2,500-mile tour of the Northwest United States with the Bentley Drivers Club. The Bentleys were shipped from England and Australia, and the tour began May 23 in Long Beach, Calif. From Bigfork the Bentley Motor Club made its way to Cranbrook, B.C., then up to Lake Louise.
The Bentleys are one of the oldest classic cars still on the road today. Only about 3,500 of them remain in the world, and at the Lodge, some of the cars represented less than 10 still in use today.
Bentleys is a love affair that is challenging and rewarding. For Graham, of Australia, the 3.5-liter that he drove burned to the ground on a tour of the Australian outback several years ago. But thousands of miles and thousands of dollars later, the car has been renovated to its current pristine condition. Sporting a grey flannel cap pulled down tightly, Graham noticed something amiss; a belt on the engine squeaked. “That’s going to drive me nuts,” he said, speeding up Highway 35.
Richard Freestone, a native of Essex, England, the same home town as Margaret Thatcher, brought his 1928 Bentley to tour the Northwest. This is his fourth long tour with his Bentley, having been to South Africa and New Zealand with it. Freestone was preoccupied with lubricating the steering on his motorcar in front of the Flathead Lake Lodge last Thursday.
The maintenance comes with the territory of owning an 85-year-old car. “I don’t know what it is about a vintage Bentley,” he said, “but it makes all the right noises. “The whine of the gears and sound of the exhaust are like music to us.”
In the 1920s, Bentley Motor Company emerged as a leader in the manufacture of luxury automobiles. Their engines were made for long-distance racing and the cars “substantially outperformed” the Rolls Royce of the day, Freestone said. Rolls Royce bought out the financially struggling Bentley in 1931. Bentley is now owned by Volkswagen, and Bentleys produced today are on a Volkswagen Passat chassis, Freestone said. Rolls Royce is owned by BMW.
Several new Bentleys also made the trip with their vintage brethren. Not all by choice. Some of the older Bentleys broke down along the way; one lost a radiator in Salt Lake City, and had to be shipped back to Australia. Another had starter issues at the Lodge. The owner kept rolling, though, with the help of his mates who helped him push start the automobile.
“We all carry lots of odds and ends,” Freestone said. “Unless something is seriously wrong you can generally get them going again.”
The love of the old Bentleys is matched by the camaraderie of the touring club. “It’s all about the cars and the social activities of a good bunch of mates,” Freestone said.
Wrenches clanked on the ground in front of the log cabins at Flathead Lake Lodge. Horses could be heard along with the low rumble of a Bentley pulling into the lane at the Lodge. “This is fabulous,” Freestone said.
Some of the Bentleys in Bigfork are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The cars were created for the ultra-wealthy of the day. Graham’s car in 1928 sold for 3,000 pounds. “In those days you could buy a row of houses for 3,000 pounds,” he said.
Graham has a car collection that includes Jaguars, a Czech Tatra, and Haverses, but his Bentleys — one of three — have a special place for him. “They all have character,” Graham said, “but the Bentley gets used the most.”
Graham puts on over 5,000 miles a year at home in his Bentley. “It’s one of the pleasures of owning one,” he said.
Graham’s Bentley was severely damaged in Australia several years ago after an electrical wire on the dashboard started a fire. He’s put 91,000 miles on his Bentley since he had it restored. Few of the Bentleys look alike. Back when these cars were made, Bentley manufactured only the engine, chassis and frame. The rest was customized by coach builders. Some of the cars had long wings, or fenders, while others sported a short style just covering the tires.
The cars are simple, but within that simplicity lies great beauty — and function. Graham has put 1,482 miles on it in one day. “They start, they run, they go,” he said. “It’s a friendly car.”