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In February, a crack developed at the top of the windscreen. In the out-turn, this was a mixed curse, as my contribution to replacing the screen amounted to the relatively trivial insurance excess and a new screen always improves night driving. I dread to think what it cost the insurers.
An ongoing issue had been a small but irritating loss of the special mineral hydraulic fluid that powers both suspension and braking systems. The car went in to Paul Mascard's Specialist Cars Southwest for a comprehensive replacement of gas spheres, accumulator housing and brake spheres. That improved the ride and reduced the leakage, but has not wholly eliminated it.
Over the summer, a great deal of road works, in particular the ghastly habit that highways departments have of "top dressing" with large excesses of grit, which passing traffic is expected to roll in for them, resulted in a neat hole through a main beam headlamp glass in August. I was not best pleased to learn that a replacement was going to cost over £160, but ordered one anyway. When it arrived, I found that it was significantly different from its opposite number. When I had fitted it, I discovered why: the main beam headlamp units that I had inherited with the car were not at all the right ones. Though they functioned perfectly well, the fronts of the lamp glasses projected a little over a quarter of an inch further forward than the correct ones: this had obstructed removal of the headlamp fairing, necessitating removal of the radiator shell to change a light bulb!
I have now ordered a second "correct" main beam lamp unit, despite the cost, to have both sides right and to make it possible to change bulbs without such disproportionate dismantling.
In September, we travelled to Northern Spain in company with 29 other Bentleys of temporal origins ranging from 1924 to 2006 and variously bumbled, burbled and thundered up and down the mountains of the Pecos. Shortly before departing, I had discovered that some corrosion at the top edge of the passenger door had penetrated, but deferred dealing with it until our return - after all, we were unlikely to have enough rain for it to be a problem.
On our return, the car went to Fairweathers again to mend the door and thereafter back to Specialist Cars to diagnose a clonk in the suspension. This turned out to be a worn pin, which was duly replaced. Both of these procedures involved non-trivial cost, but I guess that's Bentley motoring.
As I write, it is December. First snows have almost shut down Scotland, but not Devon. More severe weather is promised. Roll on "Global Warming", say I! But where is it? Certainly not here!
As at January 2011
Edited July 2011