The automotive equivalent of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor Opus 67, better known as Beethoven’s Fifth, the grille on this 1969 Bentley T1 makes a bold and elegant statement but it does so without making a sound. A car like this makes a statement even as it looks now. The seller has this once elegant ride posted here on craigslist in SoDo – West Seattle, Washington. They’re asking $2,500 for this former crown jewel.
Ok, here it is. It’s like a former Hollywood star/starlet that has aged and shown up at a public event after several decades of being out of the limelight, and showing all of their wrinkles and other normal flaws that come with natural aging. Sadly, rust is an aging flaw that a lot of us have to live with our whole miserable, downtrodden lives and we never get over it. Or, maybe that’s just me.
What a car despite the budget-busting restoration that would have to take place in order for this once glorious, floating Silver Shadow cousin to float elegantly once again. As a general and somewhat sad value update from our friends at Hagerty, they list a #4 fair condition car as being worth $12,300 and a #2 excellent car as being worth $23,500. Ouch. This car needs that much money ravenously thrown at it to even make a dent in it being a former (ah-hem) shadow of itself again.
The Bentley T1 was their first unit-body, or unibody, vehicle and there are those who say that it cheapened the brand a bit. They were similar to Rolls-Royce’s Silver Shadow as I mentioned and the T-series was made from 1965 to 1980 with an updated T2 coming out in 1977. As much as I like early cars, I’d have to go with a 1979 or 1980 model to get Bosch fuel injection. Steve McQueen drove a 1967 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Coupe in “The Thomas Crown Affair” but I always thought of him as being more of a Bentley guy. More of a driver’s car rather than a rider’s car.
This is a right-hand-drive example as you can see here and that can be a red flag. Sometimes, cars that can’t pass an MOT (Ministry of Transport) inspection in the United Kingdom are exported to the US where such inspections aren’t as critical in many states. I don’t know if that’s the case here but it’s something to watch for. The seller does list this one as having a salvage title and you can see that almost every square inch of it needs attention. The gray leather is appropriately aged like a fine wine, although portions of the seats need work as you already assumed.
The back seat also needs work but at least you can make a sandwich on the pulldown tray tables while you’re being driven around. The seller can’t get the bonnet/hood open so there are no engine photos, unfortunately. It should have a sweet 380 cubic-inch V8 with around 200 horsepower. It was a lighter car than the previous body-on-frame Bentleys but 200 horsepower isn’t a lot. This car has been sitting for many years and the boot/trunk is packed to the gills with spare parts. I can see three different scenarios here: 1) Restore it to like-new condition, even though the price of doing that would bring it well above the value. 2) Leave it as it looks now but go through the original mechanicals to make it 100% reliable and drive it. 2) Add a (gasp!) modern drivetrain and have the ultimate sleeper. How would you restore this Bentley?
Just the ticket for rural mail delivery:-)
Can’t get the bonnet open? I bet there’s a surprise or two hidden under there. This car looks feels and smells like a parts donor.
The registration card says Organ Donor.
Alert the paramedics before beginning any resuscitation.
A Bentley T1 is way more scarce than a Silver Shadow. That alone might make this a worthwhile risk. It will still never make economic sense, but bringing a pretty rare car back from the brink might feel good.
Make it into a wrecker. Name the show, win a cookie.
I think Jeff Spicoli’s dad could fix this –
he’s got tools.
Want to make a $20,000 car outta this? Easy – but it will cost you $100,000 to do it!
Brakeservo,
You and I know this is a true statement, especially if the owner is paying someone else to do the work. Even more if it’s towed to a factory Bentley dealership!
This makes a great parts car for anyone with a similar T-1 or Silver Shadow. And you can hang the grill on the wall in your mancave!
Cars in the UK are MOT exempt!
Only cars and bikes more than 40 years old are exempt, and even then they are not allowed to be modified too much.
OK, somebody say it…”I’d throw a 427 V8 in it.”
Brakes alone will run $4000 : and unibodies underneath can be a real problem if as rusted as the lower parts of what we can see are. But, as my wife often observes, Rather another old car than a mistress.
Brakes $4000? That would be a bargain price. I am thinking more like $8000.
The British would be Citroen DS … suspension and brakes glorified Citroen DS but not as radically good.
A piece of junk … really. You would have to pay me to take it away.