Contact and Links

To contact KDA132.com email Ashley James at ashley@kda132.com

If you have an interesting pre '65 car or parts for sale we can advertise it for you. Please contact ashley@kda132.com for details

Please note you can now contact us through Skype. Just download and install the Skype software from www.skype.com and search for KDA132 and give us a free call!

Clubs

Those who are interested in greater detail need to read some of the books that have been published on the subject and these are available from the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club www.rrec.co.uk or the Bentley Drivers Club www.bdcl.org

The RREC is a large club with sections all over the country that organise regular events. The Bentley Drivers Club is smaller and may mean travelling further, but both clubs are extremely hospitable and friendly and give so much help, it really does make sense to join.

In the US there is an RROC www.rroc.org  and there's www.p3ts.org/gallery.shtml and in Australia there is www.rroc.org.au Unlike the RREC much of their sites are open to non-members and well worth a visit.

Other Bentley Drivers Clubs, and sites of interest for Bentley owners around the world include:
U.S.A.: www.bdc-texas.org/
Switzerland: www.bdc-swiss.ch.vu/
Australia: www.bdcwa.com.au/
Australia (North West Region): http://www.bdcnsw.com.au

Australia Rolls-Royce and Bentley owner's forum: http://au.rrforums.net/
German: www.rrtc.de/
South Africa: www.kcandjen.za.net and www.dyna.co.za/rr.htm and
www.classicrollssa.za.net
Japan: www.rrbc.jp
New Zealand: http://www.nzrrbc.co.nz/

There is an unusual site called Bentley Spotting which is fun. Take a look at: www.bentleyspotting.com

Some more specific sites of interest for Rolls-Royce owners:
About S2 Continentals: http://www.bentleyclassic.com/62bentley.htm

Shadows and derivatives: www.rrsilvershadow.com
another about Shadows: www.swammelstein.nl
The Rossfeldt-pages: www.rrab.com
The 20-Ghost-Club: www.20-ghost.org
Pre-war RR, Bentley and DFP: www.boddice.co.uk
The official R Type Continental site:www.continental.org.uk
Prewarcar.com: www.prewarcar.com/
The Silver Cloud Society: www.cloudsociety.org/
France: TheGhostClub.net

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud & Silver Spur Videos by Gunnar Heinrich
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJYe7IuAxjw (Silver Cloud)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxfuy-eAZVk (Silver Spur)

Bristol car sites worth visiting:
Bristol Owners Club: www.boc.net/
Spencer Lane-Jones Limited for Maintenance & Restoration: www.spencer-lj.com
For sales of Bristols visit Andrew Blow's site at: www.amjblow.co.uk or email Andrew at sales@amjblow.co.uk
For the Bristol Cars Limited official site: www.bristolcars.co.uk

The Alvis Owner's Club can be found at: www.alvisoc.org/
If you're a Frazer Nash fan, take a look at Bob Schmitt's wonderful site at www.frazernash-usa.com

Read the Classic Driver magazine online or subscribe to their newsletter at: www.classicdriver.com

There is a wealth of information at the Cars of Australia site both classic and new: www.carsofaustralia.com.au

Spares

Rear Axle Problems 

Those of you who keep an eye on any of the club websites will have noticed that an increasing number of owners are experiencing rear wheel bearing and axle failure, both of which can cause immense damage and be very expensive to repair. The sensible thing to do is replace everything on your car before it fails; it will save a great deal of money and (if the axle is replaced) make the car surprisingly smoother. 

Norman Geeson is the expert and not only sells direct to owners but also to the major specialists, so regardless of who you ask to do the job, it is likely that Norman supplied the axle assemblies. 

Three different ratios are available from stock; the standard one that is 3.7 to 1, the late R’s and S type’s 3.4 to 1 and the Continental’s 3 to 1. Most opt for the 3.4 to 1 as it improves economy, makes for much more relaxed cruising on main roads and motorways and has no effect on the overall performance of the cars. The 4.5L cars will pull the Continental ratio but it is best to discuss it with Norman before you do it. 

Norman Geeson, 23 The Gannocks, Orton Waterville, Peterborough PE2 5DZ Tel: 01733 233294  norman.geeson@virgin.net


WARNING - PerTronix Electronic Ignition Failure

The extremely elegant electronic ignition conversion for the ‘46-’59 cars sold by www.Classicheads.com and others is made in the USA by PerTronix. I fitted one five years ago and it has just failed after 5,500 miles. It cost me about £240 because I bought a spare module. My company is www.avihifi.com and my business partner is a one time Defence Avionics Engineer who worked with the man that designed the Silver Shadow Electronic Ignition Unit. This was larger because it was designed decades ago, but the laws of Physics have not changed and Martin believes that the PerTronix unit is not sufficiently well cooled. The Shadow one had an Aluminium base that couple to the Distributor, so was far better in this respect.

PerTronix referred me to the Brit Distributor who gave a cell phone number via his answerphone and Frank at Classic Heads expects me to pay over £100 for another.

To make matter worse PerTronix’s price for a replacement is considerably more for the R-R one than any others they offer, so it looks like the usual rip off, so I withdraw my recommendation because the points system is excellent if maintained and will last a great deal longer.

Ashley 17 June 2009


Crewe Classic Six supply differentials for Rolls-Royce and Bentleys 1945 - 1965, and is run by Norman Geeson who is well respected with kda132.com regulars. creweclassicsix.co.uk

The International Rolls-Royce & Bentley Parts Specialists. Stockists of Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Healey Brothers & Prestige Parts. All models catered for and those needing items for '46-'55 cars should speak to Struan. www.introcar.co.uk

Flying Spares is a new website offering a comprehensive amount of spares along with a good sales section as well. Contact Ben Handford at www.flyingspares.com

Roy Judd's website is well worth a visit of you are looking, manuals or practically anything for you car. You will simply never believe how much he has for sale and most of it is difficult to find anywhere. www.geocities.com/royjudd

When it comes to re-newing your upholstery and trim from a Rolls-Royce to an Austin 7, Richard James specializes in the highest standard of craftmanship with years of experience, and giving his customers that extra personal touch. Visit his site on richardjamesupholstery.com

Flexolite make filter adaptors and hoses for most post-war British cars including the three different full flow filters used on MKVI, R Types, Silver Wraiths, Silver Dawns, S1s and Silver Clouds: www.flexolite.co.uk

Jack Barclay are the official pre '65 R-R spares distributor and this links list everything they hold. Club members get 10% discount: www.jackbarclayparts.co.uk/

Dyer's International Ltd: www.rrdyers.com/rolls-royce-bentley-parts-spares.html

3DZ for led light conversions to improve your visibility to other road users without spoiling the appearance of the car. Note that LEDs are polarity sensitive. www.3dzled.com/

Service Centre Exhausts: www.servicentresystems.co.uk/index.htm

FJ Payne and Son are one of the countries top engine reconditioning companies and that they specialise in amongst others; Rolls-Royce and Bentley Engines: www.fjpayne.com

Cerobear for small runs of exptionally high quality ball or roller bearings: www.cerobear.com

For that part you can't find anywhere, try Cameron Racing Engines who manufacture high precision parts to order mainly for JAP engines but may be able to help: www.cameronracingengines.com

Speedy Cables for instrument repairs and restoration and new speedometer and rev counter cables: www.speedycables.com

For many years
Mike Jones has kept a selection of new parts for all cars from '46 on but he loves the '46-'65 cars best and carries all sorts of new and second hand items for them. It is always worth asking. 15 Ten Acres, Alcester, Warwickshire B48 6PY  Tel: 01789 400011

Framptons for hassle free supply of all types of number plate right back to early cast aluminium ones. www.pl8s.co.uk

Keith Ardley Reflector Re-silvering Service makes and restores all the lights for our cars and many others including Bristols and his prices are very competitive. He also undertakes the restoration and the supply of parts for lucas lamps pre 1950/s. Tel: 01353 778493, Bridge House, Mepal. Email:  kieth@ardley8142.fsnet.co.uk

Vintage Motor Spares for electrical parts, fittings & accessories for Vintage and Classic vehicles visit: www.vintagemotorspares.com

Classic Wings Limited is based in Northampton, England and they manufacture (by hand) body repair panels for classic cars and in particular Rolls-Royce and Bentley postwar models. Visit www.classicwingsonline.co.uk and contact Steve Waddington or Rick Beasley

Stafford Vehicle Components or SVC specialise in Lights, Switches, Mirrors, Looms and fans for Classic and Kit Cars. Visit their website at: www.s-v-c.co.uk/

Take a look at Past Parts who supply all parts for old brakes and that they re-sleeve irreplaceable cylinders and servo units at: www.pastparts.co.uk

For the largest collection of carburettors and spares in the world, take a look at The Carburettor Hospital at: http://www.carburettorhospital.co.uk

Missing a badge on your car? Try Atlantis Classics for a fantastic range of high quality classic car badges and other motoring merchandise. atlantisclassics.co.uk

Morgan Spares may be able to find that missing part for you as they also deal in Bentley Spares. They mainly deal on eBay and you can view their profile here. Click on the Items for Sale link under the outline of a person to see their current range.

Restorers

Check out Gene Epstein's wonderful site www.mydrivingpassion.com for loads of information and an amazing collection of photos.

Alpine Eagle for one of the finest restorers of Rolls-Royces and Bentleys in the UK visit www.alpineeagle.co.uk and ask for John Hodson.

Hillier Hill, specialist Rolls Royce and Bentley dealer/restorer: www.hillierhill.com

Sales

Take a look at ClassicCarsForSale.co.uk for an excellent selection of all kinds of cars to fit your budget from pre-war to modern classics: www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk

Looking for a Classic Car? Classic Driver is one of the best international sites to find the car of your dreams is www.classicdriver.com

There is a wealth of information about classic cars generally at OldClassic Cars.co.uk www.oldclassiccar.co.uk  which is well worth a visit, and if you go to the Free Ads section www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/freeads/freeads.htm  and scroll down to the links to the Bentley pages, there are items for sale, information and links to eBay sales.

Literature

Some other sites that are worth visiting:

Couture dressmaking from Alison Pordum. The Queen’s former in-house dressmaker is now able to offer a bespoke couture dressmaking service.Take a look at www.alisonpordum.co.uk

Gimell Records and the Tallis Scholars have devoted their careers to bringing a highly characterised ensemble 'sound' to the public through the greatest unaccompanied choral music. Visit their site at: http://gimell.com/

For and amazing collection of images from the motoring past, take a look at the Bodleian Library/Toyota City Imaging Project at this link: www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/toyota/openpage.html

Why not get the excellent Cars for the Connoisseur Monthly Newsletter at: www.carsfortheconnoisseur.com/
Editor Charles Harbord will send a free issue of the Newsletter to those interested and quite a few of you might be as a couple of recent ones dealt with the recollections of ex Jack Barclay people. JB are the official outlet for all pre '55 R-R spares. There is also a chance to download a free sample issue in PDF format.

For those interested in really high quality sound reproduction visit www.avihifi.com

For a more interesting type of watch try www.pilotswatches.co.uk

Fancy a holiday with a difference in Malaysia? Why not contact Andrew Lee at www.scubadiving-malaysia.com and learn to scuba dive while visiting this beautiful country.

For Art collectors, Jon Noott's Galleries in the outstandingly beautiful town of Broadway Worcestershire offer a very wide selection of paintings of truly outstanding quality" so try visiting www.john-noott.com

For beautiful paintings of historical cars, portraits and English scenes, it's well worth a look at the webpage of Johnny Jonas at: www.johnnyjonas.com Why not commission a painting of your car!

Take a look Terance Coventry's fascinating sculpture and drawing at: http://www.terencecoventry.com/

For fascinating designs in ceramics have a look at Alison Wiffen's work at http://www.awceramics.co.uk

Alexander Creswell is a brilliant watercolourist and a keen Rolls-Royce and Bentley fan. Visit his website at www.alexandercreswell

The club for British motorcycles made locally (Gloucester): www.cotton-motorcycles.net

For portraits of your favourite pets and animals take a look at the excellent work of Catherine Sharpley at: www.wpru.net/cs/gallery.htm