Photo: Vintage Bentley
Vintage Bentley is a relatively modest-sized business founded by William Medcalf over 25 years ago. With a staff of just 30 dedicated people, they are managing to achieve incredible feats when it comes to restoring, preserving, and preparing classic Bentleys for events.
They work exclusively on W.O Bentley models from 1922 to 1932, from unrivaled facilities, capable of providing everything in-house from prototyping to manufacturing dedicated parts for classic Bentleys.
Using their experience and facilities they were able to restore the chassis SB 2761, Bentley Speed Six Close Couple Coupe to exactly how it left the factory in 1930. William Medcalf said that this was a labor of love and a passion fulfilled for him, as a lifelong Bentley enthusiast. Before being dispatched to the coachbuilder, the rolling chassis enjoyed an 86-mile (138km) test drive, striking big success on social platforms.
In preparation for the restoration project, the original interior was stripped along with careful removal of the paint in order to assess the current condition of the car’s body. For this project, Vintage Bentley operated solely as the coachbuilder. They refitted the car’s original coachwork following the exact same process that would have been used when it was first built.
This is a truly mind-blowing achievement and something that happens once in a blue moon. According to historical documents, the original body color was ivory and brown and Vintage Bentley has replicated it in the restoration process. A script was discovered on the original seat, believed to have been written at Martin Walters’ workshops and it led the coachbuilder to properly restore the trimming.
The engine was a mammoth task to restore, with the scraping being a very labor-intensive part. Astoundingly, it was carried out by apprentices and completed in one sitting. Grey primer was applied by hand to the chassis and Bentley Motors Parts, in keeping the period correctness approach that Vintage Bentley took to this project. With all the work taken care of, Vintage Bentley will unveil their crown jewel of restoration projects at Pebble Beach.
Using their experience and facilities they were able to restore the chassis SB 2761, Bentley Speed Six Close Couple Coupe to exactly how it left the factory in 1930. William Medcalf said that this was a labor of love and a passion fulfilled for him, as a lifelong Bentley enthusiast. Before being dispatched to the coachbuilder, the rolling chassis enjoyed an 86-mile (138km) test drive, striking big success on social platforms.
In preparation for the restoration project, the original interior was stripped along with careful removal of the paint in order to assess the current condition of the car’s body. For this project, Vintage Bentley operated solely as the coachbuilder. They refitted the car’s original coachwork following the exact same process that would have been used when it was first built.
This is a truly mind-blowing achievement and something that happens once in a blue moon. According to historical documents, the original body color was ivory and brown and Vintage Bentley has replicated it in the restoration process. A script was discovered on the original seat, believed to have been written at Martin Walters’ workshops and it led the coachbuilder to properly restore the trimming.
The engine was a mammoth task to restore, with the scraping being a very labor-intensive part. Astoundingly, it was carried out by apprentices and completed in one sitting. Grey primer was applied by hand to the chassis and Bentley Motors Parts, in keeping the period correctness approach that Vintage Bentley took to this project. With all the work taken care of, Vintage Bentley will unveil their crown jewel of restoration projects at Pebble Beach.
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