Photo: Bentley
A decades-old engine that for the better part of its life was used as a teaching tool for the Royal Artillery Corps School has finally been brought back to life by engineers working for its original builder, Bentley.
Revived as part of the carmaker’s activities dedicated to its centenary celebrations, the engine is 3.0-liters in displacement, was the 212th produced, and was initially used on the chassis 209. It took a team of Bentley apprentices some 700 hours to restore it to a working condition, but alas, it breaths again.
To get it back in shape, the engineers at first had to strip it down and then reassemble it, but not before taking photos of each individual part and feeding the images to a computer, so that a reassembly model could be generated and followed.
Old paint was removed, each part was carefully cleaned, and then repainted to the original colors used while the engine was in the possession of the Royal Artillery Corps.
Bentley says it did this in “recognition of that part of the engine’s history,” because No 212 had been in the Corps’ possession for over 70 years, from way back in 1935. In was not until 2011 that the powerplant found its way back to its maker.
“Everybody involved in the restoration felt privileged to be presented with an opportunity to work with such an important piece of history,” said in a statement Amy Denton, advanced paint apprentice at Bentley.
“It allowed us to develop new skills and techniques which will help in our future careers.”
The working engine has been mounted on a special plinth, where it will sit to be admired during a centenary exhibition at Bentley’s Crewe headquarters. There, it takes its place next to Bentley’s latest W12 engine as a means to show how far “engines have advanced over the last 100 years.”
To get it back in shape, the engineers at first had to strip it down and then reassemble it, but not before taking photos of each individual part and feeding the images to a computer, so that a reassembly model could be generated and followed.
Old paint was removed, each part was carefully cleaned, and then repainted to the original colors used while the engine was in the possession of the Royal Artillery Corps.
Bentley says it did this in “recognition of that part of the engine’s history,” because No 212 had been in the Corps’ possession for over 70 years, from way back in 1935. In was not until 2011 that the powerplant found its way back to its maker.
“Everybody involved in the restoration felt privileged to be presented with an opportunity to work with such an important piece of history,” said in a statement Amy Denton, advanced paint apprentice at Bentley.
“It allowed us to develop new skills and techniques which will help in our future careers.”
The working engine has been mounted on a special plinth, where it will sit to be admired during a centenary exhibition at Bentley’s Crewe headquarters. There, it takes its place next to Bentley’s latest W12 engine as a means to show how far “engines have advanced over the last 100 years.”
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