1953 | Bentley R-Type James Young

For Sale 1953 Bentley R Type Saloon with a James Young Coach built Body
Chassis No: B334SR
Engine No: B167S

History of the R Type

The Bentley R Type shared similarities to Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn
Other than the radiator grilles and the carburation there was little difference between the standard Bentley R Type and the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn. The R Type was the more popular marque. Some 2,500 units were manufactured during its run, as compared to the Silver Dawn's 760.

During development it was referred to as the Bentley Mark VII; the chassis cards for these cars describe them as Bentley 7. The R Type name which is now usually applied stems from chassis series RT. The front of the saloon model was identical to the Mark VI, but the boot (trunk) was almost doubled in capacity.[citation needed] The engine displacement was approximately 4½ litres, as fitted to later versions of the Mark VI.[3] An automatic choke was fitted to the R-type's carburettor. The attachment of the rear springs to the chassis was altered in detail between the Mark VI and the R Type.[4]

For buyers looking for a more distinctive car, a decreasing number had custom coachwork available from the dwindling number of UK coachbuilders. These ranged from the grand flowing lines of Freestone and Webb's conservative, almost pre-war shapes, to the practical conversions of Harold Radford which including a clamshell style tailgate and folding rear seats. ‘The template Peacock inline is being considered for merging.› [peacock prose]

Running gear
All R Type models use an iron-block/aluminium-head straight-six engine fed by twin SU Type H6 carburettors.[citation needed] The basic engine displaced 4,566 cc (278.6 cu in) with a 92 mm (3.62 in) bore and 114.3 mm (4.50 in) stroke.[3] A four-speed manual transmission was standard with a four-speed automatic option becoming standard on later cars.

As of 2017, it remains the last car by Bentley to be sold which has manual transmission.

Brakes and suspension
The suspension was independent at the front using coil springs with semi elliptic leaf springs at the rear.[3] The brakes used 12.25 in (311 mm) drums all round and were operated hydraulically at the front and mechanically at the rear via a gearbox driven servo.[citation needed]

Coach built examples
The first example is the standard steel saloon built by Bentley, but a number of customers opted for a bare chassis which was taken to a coachbuilder of their choice.

Fiennes Showroom are delighted to offer B334SR for sale after over 40 years of ownership. Whilst the car was subject to an older restoration where the body and chassis was fully restored to a very high standard with photographic records to show the extent of the works carried out. dennis Pilling and Sons carried out a bare metal restoration which is fully documented and dated between 1987 and 1988. During the restoration repairs were carried out to the Ash frame before the attention to the corrosion on the body was addressed. The photos tell the full story! After a complete repaint in the striking two tone colour scheme we see today the car was reassembled with a substantial amount of new and refurbished parts which include the running gear, radiator, weather seals, carpets, headliner and much more.
In 1993 Dennis and his team removed the engine and embarked on a full rebuild. During this time further works were carried out on the front hub assemblies with new bearings, brake overhaul, carburettor overhaul, all accompanied with £25k mechanical invoices.

Recent works carried out to complement the extensive works that have been carried out include a complete brake overhaul with new wheel bearings, new dynamo fitted and finally a service and engine tune.
153HYP is supplied with a comprehensive history file, hand books and photographic restoration history.
Fiennes Showroom can offer Classic and Sports car finance, storage, enclosed transport and vehicle detailing.