The Bentley received some loving today. Namely tires.
The suspension on this car has so much droop that my air jack wouldn't lift the frame high enough to get the tires off the ground. Rather than dragging out more equipment we took care of the tires one at a time.
The suspension under this car is enormous. Everything about it is large. The underside is where she shows her age. She looks like a car with 125k miles on it. The good news is the brake rotors and pads look to be fairly new. I think I can scratch that off the list for a long time.
The Avon tires that were on the car were 13 years old so it's probably a good thing I was replacing them. The Firestone tires that replaced them were a little wider but still appropriately sized for the vehicle.
With this car, I've taken to doing a little reading before I jump in and take things apart. For one thing, parts are expensive, and breaking something out of ignorance would cost a lot. The British also have some bizarre ways of doing things. This time it paid off. For starters, the passenger side of the car uses reverse threaded lug nuts. Not something I haven't seen before, but also not something you see on cars built in the 90s. Second, the lug torque is only 50 lb-ft! This is because the lug nuts are brass. Yes, you read that right, brass.
While it was in the air, we took a look at the spare. It was dated 1985 so we replaced it with one of the 13-year-old tires.
Also while it was in the air, I have been smelling gas from the back of the car. Some studying found that the low-pressure side of the fuel pumps (yes, it has two, no I don't know why), were leaking a bit. That turned out to be loose hose clamps. We got those tightened up and backed it out in the yard for a bath. Yesterday's wind had blown a fair amount of trash through the shop doors and onto the car.
With all the fiddly bits taken care of, it was time for an afternoon cruise. I have been wanting to find a decent place to take some pictures. Someone's gated driveway seemed appropriate. She cleans up pretty well.
I felt like a paparazzi trying to take pictures of someone famous while shooting these.
More to come as it happens.