Barn Find

[coolieman1220]

Well sort of, I found it in a garage in Trinidad during my recent vacation. For a while I always new my grandparents neighbor in Trinidad & Tobago had an old Rolls Royce that needed some work in his garage. I saw it once years ago but no one else has really seen it and people have offered to buy it and he's said no. The owner is an elderly man, late 70's with Parkinsons disease who is very familiar with mechanical work but has not had the time to fix nor can he fix it anymore. Over my vacation (last week) I asked him if I could take a look at it and he let me and allowed to me take pictures. At first I was confused because I thought it was a Rolls Royce but it had Bentley badges all over including the engine but had a Rolls Royce grille with a spirit of exctasy. I asked him and he said the previous owner put that grille on. I was confused but he said that both companies were the same. Now I know thats not true but I just came home did some research on how Bentley after the Great Depression was bought by Rolls Royce until sold to VWAG (Volkswagen Auto Group). I was not aware of the model nor was the owner but a quick search and I have identified it as a Bentley Mark VI. It is a 1947 Sedan with what looks to be a color of British Racing Green if i'm not mistaken. I noticed that it also came with a coupe and a drophead version which would decrease its value but I also noticed that only 5200 were produced. I could not find any kind of "VIN" numbers on the car. The interior was in very good condition. The car has no rust on the body per se. It's in a covered location and there was not much room to take pictures (wish I had my DSLR) It hasn't been driven in a long while nor do i believe it runs, needs some work to get it going. The current owner said he purchased it in running order in 1984. I did some research and noticed that the license plate is a PO (right now they are at PCP) PO would be early to mid 60's which means it was probably brought to Trinidad right after their independance from the British (1963). As of right now thats all the details I think i have on it.

I found some pics of what it should look like!

A nice 1947 Bentley Mark VI Sedan

http://tampa.backpage.com/AutosForSa...6-0000/3823560

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentley_Mark_VI"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentley_Mark_VI[/ame]


Enjoy!

[coolieman1220]

Some more pics! i got a few

[coolieman1220]

And more

[coolieman1220]

Last set, enjoy!

[csl177]

Fun sleuthing, eh Coolieman? Doesn't the proper grille look better than the RR? Kind of amazing it's survived that dry on an island. Also, kinda sad that it'll likely only move on after the old man passes... too often that's the fate of cars like this.

Value is also sadly limited... this is a $4,000 car, max. Fully restored cars of this model are only in the low $30K range with limited market appeal, so using this as a donor for a period-style special would be the most fun for dollar.

Unfortunately it'll still drive like a truck.

[f6fhellcat13]

Wow! That is a beautiful old car.
It looks so great with the patina it's gotten too, I hope if it's ever restored that they do one of the "sympathetic restorations" or whatever they're called when the car is merely brought up to running condition without replacing and repainting everything, though I;d imagine the interior isn't looking too good.
EDIT: Doh! Didn't see the interior shots.

[Kitdy]

Value is also sadly limited... this is a $4,000 car, max. Fully restored cars of this model are only in the low $30K range with limited market appeal, so using this as a donor for a period-style special would be the most fun for dollar.

This is part of why the classic car market astonishes me. This is a very rare car and yet somehow it's basically worthless. I guess it doesn't have a Ferrari or Bugatti badge on it, so that means it's worth peanuts.

My buddy looks at 69-70 Coupe de Villes on eBay and they sell in good shape for 15-20k USD. Those are surely rare as shit, they are beautiful, and from an era when Cadillac was the standard of the world. But once again, they are cheap as ****.

[csl177]

It's really not that rare, nor are '69-'70 Caddies... but there's a limited market so values are reasonable for pretty cool old cars. I'll amend my comment about cutting it as it really looks pretty decent. The interior patina is great! Love the radio mount...

If the finish could be coaxed back to life the overall vibe would be worth it, and mechanically these are pretty robust. Flush all the lines, replace seals and hoses, freshen the fuel tank, brakes, fluids and who knows? Preservation class ready.

[f6fhellcat13]

Kitdy, tose might not have been popular in Canada due to their too-big-for-an-igloo-garage length and width, but your friend should look down here. I remember seeing some around school for about half that and the ones down here for a little cheaper because usually they've gotten the bad modification treatment.
EDIT: Basically what csl said. If he is really interested, deeper probing (har har) should knock a rather large amount off those prices.

[csl177]

Just did a quick search of the NE on sitemash, some good buys. The '68 Eldo works for me.

site mash : cadillac 1960s : combined classified and auction listings

[Kitdy]

Kitdy, tose might not have been popular in Canada due to their too-big-for-an-igloo-garage length and width, but your friend should look down here. I remember seeing some around school for about half that and the ones down here for a little cheaper because usually they've gotten the bad modification treatment.
EDIT: Basically what csl said. If he is really interested, deeper probing (har har) should knock a rather large amount off those prices.

He's looking on eBay's American site, and he's also looking for ones in good condition - very good condition I guess.

Just did a quick search of the NE on sitemash, some good buys. The '68 Eldo works for me.

He doesn't like 4th generation and on Eldos as they are FWD. When I think of that car having FWD it just blows my mind.

[csl177]

He's missing out, the (1st gen) '67-'68 Eldorados are terrific cars with solid collector interest. A friend has a stunning pale yellow '67
that he's modified into a sleeper with a Keith Black built motor and trick transaxle. Handles well for a heavy car and turns 13's.
I'm partial to the early Eldos 'cause I once owned a '67 Toronado, which basically is the same layout.

Whatever he's looking for, the sitemash is a great assist. Tell him happy hunting.

[Kitdy]

He's missing out, the (1st gen) '67-'68 Eldorados are terrific cars with solid collector interest. A friend has a stunning pale yellow '67
that he's modified into a sleeper with a Keith Black built motor and trick transaxle. Handles well for a heavy car and turns 13's.
I'm partial to the early Eldos 'cause I once owned a '67 Toronado, which basically is the same layout.

Whatever he's looking for, the sitemash is a great assist. Tell him happy hunting.

Yeah first gen is what I meant - [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Eldorado"]Wikipedia[/ame] has previous Eldorados being included for some reason.

I understand FWD being used, but in the case of a big behemoth, it just seems so unnatural and wrong.

He wants to pick up a Caddy in a few years when he's a little older, has a better job, and can insure it.

[Matra et Alpine]

from an era when Cadillac was the standard of the world.

cough .... splutter .... WTF? .... seriously ?

Thank feck I'm away for a week or this convo would have been todays "chef's special"

[henk4]

cough .... splutter .... WTF? .... seriously ?

Thank feck I'm away for a week or this convo would have been todays "chef's special"

the standard of the country that organises the World Series