1972 - 2012 -- CELEBRATING 40 YEARS - Rroc-sandiego.org

shareThe American history of Steve & Nancy Hall’s1945 Bentley Mark VI Freestone & Webb Top HatSaloon, named “Cousin B”.Steve had long wished to have a garage mate toour 1934 Rolls Royce, “Aunty Agatha”. We againcontacted our used car dealer in England, and hesent pictures of what he thought we might be interested in. One particular car took our fancy, and wethen contacted a friend in the RREC to have a look at it and report back to us. After a very short wait, wereceived a letter telling us that she was a “good kit of parts”. The price was right, and the deal was done.7She arrived at the Port of New York in the summer of 1968 as deck cargo. Covered with goop, she wasnot impressive. All her small and loose parts had been shipped separately to ensure that the mascot andwheel covers would not go astray during her transit. Steve drove her home to Connecticut, and uponclose examination, we found that she had a severe case of wood rot; all her running boards and the bootneeded to be repaired. She had engine problems, particularly involving overheating. She, being used to theEnglish climes, found New England a little too warm.After spending years in a shop in Guilford, we got her back just in time for our move to Julian, California.During our drive west, we found she still had serious overheating issues, and the fl oor boards had turnedinto puff pastry. The manufacturer had not used marine plywood, and the years of English rain had donea real job on them; you could see daylight underneath! We managed to get her to Julian, although it was ahot and miserable trip. She sat in the garage until 1989, when I mentioned to Steve that the National RollsRoyce Pebble Beach meet was going to be in 1991 and we should get her on the road, and go.Now, a ground-up restoration takes a lot of time, and being the novices that we were, we hopped-to.Body off and stored in the loft, it was my job to strip her down to bare metal. Steve set to work onthe engine, found the overheating problem was due to a load of core sand in the block, which almostsolved that problem. We found a terrifi c auto body shop in Borrego that would help us paint and puther back together, and we volunteered to betheir helpers. Colors were decided on: RollsRoyce Magnolia and Honey. We found a leathercalled Butterscotch. Interior work includednew fl oorboards, headliner, new wood veneers,insulation to the fi rewall, frame powder coated,all new upholstery complete with down stuffi ng,and all her chrome dipped and polished. Basically,she was a new car on the inside and out.She was lovely, and a dream to drive.She is a blonde, and they DO have more fun!share your story -- “Cousin B”1972 - 2012 -- CELEBRATING 40 YEARSJanuary - February 2012Volume 40 Issue 1