About Robert: My interest in Bentleys began in the mid-1950s while enthusiastically collecting books, magazines and sales literature about all types and all years of automobiles. Although only a teenager, I concluded that when I grew up I would own the perfect car – a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. After college and working my way through an assortment of interesting antique and sports cars, I made two vacation trips to England. The Ghost became less exciting after hearing the Bentley “burble” at British vintage race meets and learning about Bentleys’ racing heritage. I bought my three litre in 1980.

The Bentley was a very original car, and in overall good condition, owned by a BDC member who typically concentrated more on the mechanical aspects than on the cosmetics. After all, it is the Bentley Drivers Club and not a group of concourse enthusiasts. I had a restorer in England put in new carpets and give it a new paint job, but later found that I was only masking severe wood frame problems. The frame was held together by the aluminum body – not the joints!

It arrived from England in 1981 and I applied for membership in the Rolls-Royce Owners Club and the Bentley Drivers Club. Activities in Texas then, as now, were more extensive in the RROC than in the BDC. I attended several Texas events from 1982 through 1984 and spent many enjoyable weekends on the back roads between Houston and Austin. Everett Pauls, a Texas Bentley/R-R enthusiast “supreme”, frequently advised me and accompanied me on my adventures. In 1987 I became the chairman of the South (Texas) Region of the BDC.

About 1985 I decided the time had come for a total and proper restoration. I completely disassembled the car and the following year began reassembly. The body was shipped to England and restored by Jim Pearce who accompanied it on its return in 1988. By 1990 the Bentley was about three quarters completed when I was hospitalized with Legionnaire’s disease which temporarily left me deaf, dumb and blind. After three years of recovering from the illness I concentrated on my business, leaving the Bentley to collect dust.

Now that business is good, I am reinvigorated with the desire to complete the restoration and once again hear that Bentley burble.