HMC- Mr Chowdhury’s Mercedes

[NorthernMonkey]

6 minutes ago, HMC said:

I might tap into the @LightBulbFun knowledge to see about getting the hfg reg back (it’s well documented in the history)

I wouldn’t swear to it but I think that if you pay £80 to put the existing private reg on retention, it may well end up being reallocated it’s original number?

 

Edit: scratch that, it’s already wearing an age related number so chances are that’s been allocated to it at sometime in the past as a non transferable number following a previous cherished plate being retained

[LightBulbFun]

3 hours ago, HMC said:

I might tap into the @LightBulbFun knowledge to see about getting the hfg reg back (it’s well documented in the history)

looks like whoever took the last private registration mark off did not tick the "return original reg" box (or at least Im pretty thats an option from what I have heard)

so it was just issued an age related B suffix mark in 2012 (its not a private reg per say)

the original period mark B543HFG is still on "retention" last on this Bentley, so should entirely be possible to return it to the vehicle  

 

in THEORY all you might need to do is just transfer the current mark off the vehicle, however I would talk to the DVLA about this first (over the phone or such)

just so you dont end up getting given yet another age related mark  and end up pissing £80 up the wall (because I have seen/heard it go both ways)

 

by explaining your case, if you dont care about the current age related mark/dont wish to keep it, you might even be able to avoid the £80 fee, if there friendly with you they might just plop the original registration mark back on and thats that  

 

and if push comes to shove since you have plenty of evidence by the sounds of things, theres always the V765

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-to-register-a-vehicle-under-its-original-registration-number

its generally meant for much older vehicles but you might be able to play it in your favour here

but I would only go down this route as a last resort or unless your instructed to by the DVLA

[Boycie]

If care could talk , I imagine there's been some stimulating and interesting conversation in this car, prob involving Mr John's and a musician or 2 over the years he had it 

[Ohdearme]

Moderately related, noted a Bentley of similar vintage on the motorway, as I pulled alongside noticed it was the incredibly rare breed Turbo RT, I hovered alongside long enough gain the drivers attention and we shared an approving  nod and large grins.

Fantastic that there are idiots  heroes out there driving them at £1.60 a litre..

[Boycie]

Trust me I drove a Tesla for the first time last week ......enjoy it while we can ....the future is a battery connected to a computer ....soulless 

[Dan_ZTT]

Last 30 seconds of this actually (very briefly) references this car, he found a forgotten Beatles mix in the boot… presumably nothing quite so valuable left in it these days 

[RayMK]

13 minutes ago, Boycie said:

Trust me I drive a Tesla for the first time last week ......enjoy it while we can ....the future is a battery connected to a computer ....soulless 

Yesterday I saw a Tesla S being towed on a breakdown truck's 4 wheeled wide track dolly.  The dolly had gone a bit bandy legged carrying the front end of a 2000kg (nom.) car. No doubt a Mulsanne would also have the same effect but the Bentley is larger and it would not look quite as surprising.

[anonymous user]

Well done for being braver than me. I briefly considered one several years ago, but came to my senses and bought a Range Rover 4.2 LSE instead.  ( which was its own disaster, but that's another story)

[Tubbo]

Does this mean we have an impending for sale ad for a TT? 🙏

[GeordieInExile]

How much are tickets going to be for the Bentley when the time comes...?

[brownnova]

That Bentley is epic! I like… a lot! 

[dome]

Epic.

3 randoms please.

[Fabergé Greggs]

Incredible! Are these even a big car any more though? Need to see one next to a mid range Kia to be sure. 

[High Jetter]

TBF, the T2 Shadow was oft thought to be a smart barg if you get the right one at the right price. 

[mitsisigma01]

Drove past there earlier today, nice little gaff 

[Zelandeth]

13 hours ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

Incredible! Are these even a big car any more though? Need to see one next to a mid range Kia to be sure. 

Width is probably comparable to a lot of moderns, but they are five metres plus change long.  Long enough that you *really* don't want to be trying to do a 3 point turn on a narrow road or get boxed in in a car park.

Traffic wardens in Aberdeen will also ticket you if you've parked in the end on spaces on Bon-Accord Square because you're "not parked fully within a marked bay" because they are only 5 metres long...

I'm curious to see what you get in terms of real world economy from this purely to see if it's better or worse than my Jag was.

[Datsuncog]

Epic. Just... epic.

The fact it's Glyn Johns' old motor just pushes it into the next level.

'Who's Next' remains my benchmark album to calibrate new stereo hardware. He did a fine job on that one.

[Split_Pin]

Holy.

 

Mary.

 

Mother.

 

Of.

 

God.

 

That is exceptional.

[HMC]

[davehedgehog31]

Cap well and truly doffed. 

[somewhatfoolish]

Extra AS points for it being a Mulsanne, bonus cow bell but still handles like a well-sprung chesterfield.

[richardmorris]

Impressive purchase, especially with fuel prices as they are. 

[HMC]

These town  country horns are something else. The higher pitched one is a FIAMM air horn and is hilariously LOUD. Unsure if standard. 
 

Also history is repeating itself(the face off stereo isnt with the car)  as our record producer had his car radio nicked in 1985 as there is an invoice following a break in. £500 for the stereo in 1985 sounds salty!
 

Went to the tip in it over the weekend

[HMC]

 

Hard to capture the paint job. It’s pretty crappy- orange peel / half flatted and runs. It looks lovely from 10 feet. I might give it a t cut and polish. To be honest this is why it was cheap and also why I’m quite happy to use it and not be afraid of eg supermarket car parks. Faded grandeur is not a high maintenance look.

A hint at its past is an old photo on the web that shows possibly paint stripper/ vandal damage? 
 

 

[gadgetgricey]

29 minutes ago, HMC said:

If ever there was an AS calendar shot

 

[Zelandeth]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

 

Hard to capture the paint job. It’s pretty crappy- orange peel / half flatted and runs. It looks lovely from 10 feet. I might give it a t cut and polish. To be honest this is why it was cheap and also why I’m quite happy to use it and not be afraid of eg supermarket car parks. Faded grandeur is not a high maintenance look.

A hint at its past is an old photo on the web that shows possibly paint stripper/ vandal damage? 
 

 

Sadly not unlikely, these cars do seem to attract that sort of nonsense.  Sad for the keeper at the time, but as you say that's not necessarily a terrible thing for you as it makes you less afraid of the odd car park ding.

[gadgetgricey]

3 hours ago, HMC said:

Also history is repeating itself(the face off stereo isnt with the car)  as our record producer had his car radio nicked in 1985 as there is an invoice following a break in. £500 for the stereo in 1985 sounds salty!

Did a search as sure I remembered someone else having Bentley radio problems. Sorry to possibly be bearer of bad news.

Cant figure out how to quote from thread 1 to thread 2, so just in bold as below.

Had the original stereo re-built after wasting loads of cash getting a replacement Alpine head unit - same as my old one, but totally different! All the connections and amps were unique to Rolls Royce and it was cheaper to get the old one re-done than have the car re-wired to accept a modern unit! No, there are no simple fixes...   xtriple said 01/09/2016 04:56pm

Might be easier to see if you can source a like for like stereo or just the face. If not then just add one of those anker bluetooth speakers on rear shelf.

Car looks fantastic.

 

[Crackers]

3 hours ago, HMC said:

A hint at its past is an old photo on the web that shows possibly paint stripper/ vandal damage? 

I've possibly missed it upthread, but has it always been green? Your first set of pics lead me to think it might have been white at some point in its life (or it's had some panels off a white car, resprayed):

There definitely looks to be a fair bit of white under that chrome finisher, and the TURBO badge has that odd peeling/cracking effect going on around it that I wouldn't expect to see on a factory finished panel, regardless of age - and that also looks to be cracking to reveal white underneath. 

[The_Equalizer]

Really good to see it has kept its original square headlights instead of falling foul of the upgraded* to twin round ones. Love these early cars.

Trouble being, once you've been in one everything else feels a bit low rent.

[SiC]

1 hour ago, gadgetgricey said:

Did a search as sure I remembered someone else having Bentley radio problems. Sorry to possibly be bearer of bad news.

Cant figure out how to quote from thread 1 to thread 2, so just in bold as below.

Had the original stereo re-built after wasting loads of cash getting a replacement Alpine head unit - same as my old one, but totally different! All the connections and amps were unique to Rolls Royce and it was cheaper to get the old one re-done than have the car re-wired to accept a modern unit! No, there are no simple fixes...   xtriple said 01/09/2016 04:56pm

Might be easier to see if you can source a like for like stereo or just the face. If not then just add one of those anker bluetooth speakers on rear shelf.

Car looks fantastic.

 

I can't imagine it would be that hard to chop in an aftermarket unit into the wiring. Probably not a CAN bus equipped car or optical based audio.