I'm the Julian that brought the Bentley to James. I had no qualms at all about letting James loose on it as his respect and care for the cars he drives shine through his various videos. And anyone who can drive those flaky Italian jobs he likes should have no trouble with a real car 🙂 The gear change. It isn't as simple as just double de-clutching which I think James was doing throughout. It's also a matter of getting used to the interval between the two uses of the clutch which has to be timed just right with the throttle blip. It differs between ratios. There's no rev counter and so we have to do it by engine sound and educated guesswork. Also I think those who pointed out about the 'alloy camshaft' being an error are right. I don't like to correct the Maestro but I think maybe he meant 'alloy cam cover'. It's right that the camshaft housing and bearings are an aluminium casting and the crankshaft and sump are aluminium too. Early cars had steel valve rockers but later duralumin was used - so there is a lot of alloy used.

"Then in 1914 Germans suddenly became very unpopular" Not gonna lie that got me good

"In 1914 Germans became very unpopular" delivered with the kind of understatement only a Brit like Jay can pull off well.

Probably the most frightening experience was going out in my uncles Bentley , which looked almost identical in finish. I am sure his had more gauges on the dash on his. I remember trying to slide my legs under the dash to try and find somewhere to fit something modern people have, which is legs. My son was on the bench seat behind, which had a 6 inch 'ledge' from stopping him from sliding out the side on a corner and being road kill. The brakes on his were utterly scary and the use of the handbrake was in liberal use , as he lives in Cornwall and took us up and down some scary hills , as steep up and down as 1 on 6. It coughed and splutttered and made hardly any speed. 40 mph was just making me religious with prayers to open Purley Gates for its latest arrivals about to leave planet earth. I dont remember my uncle fighting the gearbox in the same way, but sure he used to match revs to gears to help 'syncro' in the gear. He has sold it a few years ago and checking the reg, isnt the one you are in , which initially i thought it might have been. Had a self lubricating system aka oil leaks that kept the garage floor black. He was trying to buy Donald Campbells blower version last year , which was coming up for sale, but one of Campbells daughters wasnt happy with the sale and pulled the plug, I believe. Scary, scary machine but was a highlight to one of the last pre-covid holidays with him. He now rattles around in a silver Ghost ........

This is by far one of your best. Utterly compelling, wonderfully descriptive, generous historical facts. Loved every minute. Your videos have become my absolute go to and I'm on your uploads as quick as i can. Happy New year Jay, and looking forward to your content next year.

Very weirdly, when I was at Goodwood a few years ago, there was a Bentley Blower on a stand, and a McLaren P1 next to it behind some ropes. No touching the P1, but the chap with the Bentley was encouraging folk to hop in and take pictures behind the wheel. Worth something like £2m. Mind blowing how chilled some folk are with their cars and having people share just a little bit if the experience. Top man handing it over to share with the world.

That looked really difficult to drive and well done for having the courage to do it on a £300000 car as most wouldn’t

Even 20 mph looks terrifying.

Actually you did pretty well for first time out, I have done about 60000 miles in mine and I still miss gears sometimes

JayEmm at this point, easily has surpassed all other KZfaq car channels I’m aware of

In 1957 I purchased a 1924 Bentley 3 liter for the sum of 100 pounds sterling. The used car dealer who specialized in ex military vehicles, was so glad to get rid of it. It had a boat tailed body by Mulliner, (I believe), and was in well used condition: just another old car from pre-war days with the fuel consumption of a Spitfire. I never did perfect the gear changing but did improve on the timbre of the crash! I kept it for a while, using one half of my weekly wages and Suez era petrol ration cards to get an hour or two of motoring out of it. My pals and I would fund a weekend but she was one thirsty horse. Once mastering the driving technique it proved to be a nice old car to drive. To speed? My courage ran out at 60 mph. I sold it for 200 pounds and wonder where it is today..

Haven't even started watching the video and it's already made my day. What a lovely car.

RE: shifting down. This reminds me of a friend of mine who i let drive my Riley One point Five, back in the 80's. We had both not long past our tests but i had learned in the Riley, he in a very forgiving and (at the time very modern) Honda Civic. He could not change down in the Riley (despite synchro on all but first gear. I told him double de-clutching got a smoother change but it was not a technique he had learned) and he had to come to a halt and start again every time! I still double de-clutch in modern vehicles from time to time and also drive a long way back from the car in front a habit i got because of the Riley's all round drum brakes. I would love to try a Bentley to just to see if i could get the gear change right!

The oil filler cap is a work of art.

Give it a bit more time between gears going up and 'feel' it into gear. Going down, use a bigger blip on the throttle while double declutching and don't put the clutch all the way down, otherwise you incur the clutch brake.

Double de-clutch instructions: (all cars made before about 1970) 1. Press the clutch pedal. 2. Change into neutral gear 3. Let the clutch out again 4. Press the throttle 5. Press the clutch in again 6. Select gear. 7. Press the throttle 8. Let the clutch out. Fortunately I never had to actually do this, as my generations old bangers were all made after 1970, though I tried it on a dodgy Morris Marina I had once, thinking the syncromesh had busted on it.

I honestly don't think I'd have the bottle to drive a lot of the cars you feature on here (this and the XJ220 are 2 examples off the top of my head) It's a helluva lot easier if you have the luxury of a private stretch of road or test track that a lot of TV shows and KZfaq channels rely on. But it is SO much more interesting seeing these weird and incredibly wonderful machines on normal roads, especially if they're a struggle to drive (better you than me haha!) Love the channel, you are a natural both presenting and showing your love for a very wide spread of cars.

I think you definitely win Car KZfaqr Top Trumps with this one Jay, I can't see there being a sudden slew of other channels making videos on something like this! What a machine it is, the stuff of watercolor paintings, Matchbox cars and model kits for decades, and rightly so. Even at a time when car design was very much in its infancy and "everything looked the same", the Bentley 3 Litre stands out as something a bit special. Credit to its owner as well 👍

Absolutely fabulous video, and great to see a little of the history of this historic marque. I am fond of modern Bentley's (and Rolls) but these old cars have a certain something generally lacking in modern cars, although the recently discontinued Mulsanne certainly has presence... The one thing that hasn't changed over the years is the quirkiness of these cars. Even a modern day Bentley/Rolls has to be studied before you drive them. No 'in and go'. Cracking car, thoroughly enjoyed the video.

The ability to manually control mixture and timing from the cockpit is simply awesome.

"The fastest lorry in the world" As Ettore Bugatti said.

Well done Jay, crash gearboxes are hard to master-and the older they are the worst they get. I was part of the Shuttleworth team with our 1898 Panhard Levassier on the London to Brighton run-2nd time I have done it-gears are still an absolute pig. The Bentley is very modern in comparison-we have several cars in the collection of a similar age and central throttle pedals were very common-as are crash gears, grabby clutches, and non existent brakes…….. You should try to get over at some time-our Race Day in October is very popular with the vintage crowd-we run both cars and bikes down the (grass) airstrip.

W.O. Bentleys are absolutely the best....so incredibly beautiful and the fact that most Bentley owners drive their cars is wonderful....I understand all the parts are still available.....thank you for a great vlog

It's definitely the last car review i watch in 2021, and left me with a smile... so satisfying seeing a modern era car journalist having so much trouble with a real car! The thing is it actually reminded me when i first tried to drive a non synchronized gearbox in truck... try to do that with 16 gears, not 4! There is definitely a skill to it (as long as the gearbox is not broken) and when you find the "tempo", you feel like you're dancing with the machine. Wonderful feeling! Try it and you'll understand... happy new year, everybody (except if you're an undertaker, no hard feelings!!!)

That was exactly how a vintage auto test drive should be done... knowledge, fun, opinion, accolades and real life...well done

James?? I am sure you were doing your best, we understand about the camera shake and are not bothered by that, beautiful old Bentley i hope the old gear box is made of tough stuff 🤣not many of us get the previlege of driving such cars!!

Not sure what I enjoyed more - the constant crunch of gears, the sincere and heartfelt swearing , the concern for the precariously mounted cameras or just the staggered story behind the car . All in all a bloody good show old bean!

James, you did really well for a first time! I would regularly drive my late fathers 1936 Rolls 25/30 and there certainly was an art to the gears. To be honest going up I would skip 2nd and go straight from 1st to 3rd. And it was a quick lesson on double de-clutching! Of course, I'm likely to be wrong but with such short doors, they wouldn't have been suitable for a saloon and so I wonder if the whole of the rear body was swapped when converted from saloon to open tourer? PS Great video, certainly my second favourite one you've done! (I might be slightly biased with my most favourite!)

Great video, and it's nice to see David Brent from the office making his appearance in the car! 😂😂

I can t believe you actually stopped in front of the driveway of the house I lived in a couple of years back @15:16 ..small world! Well done for this challenging drive, glad the weather was good on that day.

8:54 The reflections in the windscreen give a movie style 'flashback memory' as if you were being reminded of some kind of traumatic event. :)

Hahahaha love it.. Just casually crunching through the gears on a 99 year old £300,000 Bentley!

Thanks J, was great to see & hear this wonderful car out & about! Easy to forget how difficult the early cars were to drive, & the engineering involved!

This is one of your best videos ever, not just that it's a very special car but love your raw comentry, so intresting and entertaining. Please do more.

Have a very Happy New Year 2022! Thank you for all your videos. Looking forward to the new content next year.

Great variety love your stuff

Agreed! Loved this video. As usual, honest, engaging and entertaining. Thanks James.

I absolutely love vintage cars and you Jay are one lucky gentleman to be given a chance to drive a fantastic looking car like this from times gone by 👌👌👌

Thanks you very much Sir JayEmm, that was a pretty enjoyable 20 mins you just gave us ! Greetings from East french Canada and please don't change James, you're so refreshing in that sea of automotive KZfaqrs clones... Keep on rolling ! 💚

A fantastic video, how generous of Julian to lend you his beautiful car. I once drove a coach without synchromesh gears it’s a difficult thing to master as it’s all in the timing, it also can be quite painful on the wrist if misjudged 😣 What a beautiful car and such an interesting insight into Bentleys history too. Happy new year Jay, more please!!?

This was fun to watch Jay, thanks, I never knew that cars of this vintage are somewhat difficult to drive like cars ftom tye 80's and 90's drive. 80's are the oldest I've experienced so far.

That was vey special! Thank you James, and thank you Julian! You are very kind to make clear that changing gears is far from simple. Even though I have been enjoying every of James' videos, this one was very, very special and enjoyable. Thank you!

Absolutely loved this video. Deffo one of your best - simply because of how you were bringing us along with you whilst fully experiencing the good and bad of the car, instead of presenting us a highly polished but albeit more boring video. Brilliant!

Brilliant James! One of your best. Crash boxes are always difficult so don’t beat yourself up too much with that. Loved it.

James…Welcome to the World of Vintage motoring!! I have belonged to the VSCC for over 35 years and so along with many others, appreciate that what looks nice, is most often throughly horrible to drive! I recommend that your next Vintage test is in a Riley with pre selector gearbox…still a mind exercise but no crunches!…just lots of thinking ahead and planning that you soon get used to. As for changing gear, well double declutching helps as does rev matching but both need experience and practice. So yes…when I see one of those “fast lorries” for sale at £300-800,000, I tend to be rather pleased that I can’t afford that much aggravation!! Well done…you were close to a Clarkson moment there…next you’ll be opening a farm!! Stay safe😎😎😎😎😎

Oh James, you really do have to learn to double de-clutch. The car is awesome, I had a 1925 Red Label for a while many years ago. I learned on a 1938 Triumph Gloria with a "crash" gearbox, so the Bentley was second nature. Wonderful video, the best yet.

what a lovely video. What a lovely car. Thanks Julian and Jay for making my day.

I am envious and sympathetic at the same time. Those vintage Bentleys are glorious cars but their gear boxes are notoriously difficult. I learned to drive when double declutching was a normal part of the skill set. However after about 20 years lack of practice I found changing gear on a 60s Jaguar Mark 2

What a fantastic video.. you must have had massive fun..Thanks for taking us along for the ride.. Nice one James.. 👍👍

Fabulous,video of a fabulous old car. So entertaining and so well done. Thank you so much for doing this video James.

This is one of the most exciting videos you have done! Excellent stuff 👍

Brilliant man. That had to have been one of the most fun days ever. Very cool of the owner to give you the opportunity to take it out for a spin. Don't feel too bad about not getting the down shift, I am pretty sure most of us would have had similar issues.

Magnificent, exquisite, wonderful. Just perfect Jay, what a beautiful way to round out 2021.

What a fabulous car, and a great video. Thank you to both you and to Julian for the chance to ride along with you on this special occasion.

Up there as one of your best, James. Purely for witnessing your driving experience. The 1914 German comment- excellent. A friend has and builds these things and to see what is involved is jaw dropping. These are pure works of art.

I grew up with a Lada, and every time I hear the sound of a REALLY old car from interior it freaks me out how similar it is to the lada built in 90 s

Downshifting a crash box is a skill that is so satisfying to master. Rev matching mastery is essential. Clutch in, neutral, clutch out, throttle blip, clutch in and slot it into gear!

What a fantastic video James, this is what it’s all about, variety is the spice of life as they say. One of our next video’s is going to be on a pre war Bentley too 😃 all the best and see you soon.

Easily my favourite video so far, that thing sounds mad and well done for not killing yourself or it. pedals would mess with my head. Fabulous content

Foot operated dip switch, reminds me of my Morris 1000 pick-up, happy days! Great video, definitely one of your best.

Love it, especially questioning the parentage of the gearbox! You’re a brave man, brilliant, well done!

You are knocking it out the park with such force at the moment that the ball is rebounding off the International Space Station! Stunning work, very unique and coming so soon after your superb Steve Nichols piece. You’ve talked about 90’s Top Gear being an inspiration, I think you’re there but with your own unique style. Well done!

Great Video - Very informative on the history of Bentley. Well done 👍 you👍👍

Saw one of these (maybe the same one) on the motorway near London a few years ago. We both stopped at a rest area and I had a chance to get a good look at it. Awesome!

I have watched loads of your videos, James, and this is my favorite one. I have your playlist going as I drive my American lorry, and I’ve laughed out loud a few times on this one.

Outstanding video, thank you. Thoroughly decent of the owner to let us all enjoy this. Utterly brilliant. I'm hooked.

That was great. I used to love driving my uncles Austin Chumy but luckily I had learnt to double de clutch on my lttle Fiats with crash gear boxes. Fantastic fun, real driving!

Now we are talking. I'm 37 the oldest car I owned was a Wolseley 14/56 semi crash box I loved that car. Lever arm dampers and leafspings that were astonishingly compliant. Dream car to drive is a Bently 3ltr or 1926 a Vauxhall 30 98 a car as superior to the Bently or Rolls-Royce Desmond Llewelyn (Q) bought the very 1st Bently that still exists. At last a car I know loads about. All this modern stuff 😀 please do a 30 98 Vauxhall 😊 The guys at the garage called me a right old Edgar and the nick name stuck. Because I love old veteran and vintage stuff. Even my lecturer said I was from another time.

Great James made my day what a car glad you had a chance to drive it

This is one of the best videos you've done! I love this kind of car and always pine to one day own a pre war cars and never get to know much about them. The driving experience you've had is just so authentic and compelling! Well done. Happy New year.

Absolutely loved this vid! What a amazing vintage machine. Julian is extremely lucky!

I found completely double de-clutching and giving the internal mechanicals plenty of time, going up or down was the only way to avoid those unpleasant sounds. Practice, enables better speed matching which is critical to smooth, quiet transition. Of course, once you master this on the road, it all goes to waste when you get on track!

Fantastic - thank you James for a great episode. 👍

"Right turn Clyde". Loved it. Use that myself all the time. Great video again.

This video is absolutely brilliant, a joy to watch. Thanks so much! 😀👌💪👍

What a brilliant and refreshingly honest video showing how difficult these cars can be to drive. I bought a P2 about 5 years ago, not quite one of the great Bentley but still a 1930s crash gearbox with a very powerful engine. There are plenty of videos on youtube of these type of car being driven perfectly by experienced drivers but nothing showing just how difficult it is to get the knack of. I really didn't enjoy driving it for the first 500 miles and it was very stressful, there are no driving schools for these beasts, I wish there were, you just have to jump in and get on with it but it takes a long time before gear changing (especially down) is anything but not traumatic. Thank you for showing that it's only human getting it wrong when learning.

Although - for a camera geek as yourself - the footage was a bit “shaky” from time to time 😊, what a wonderful car accompanied by interesting info on the early days of this magnificent brand! One of your best videos I watched over the past 3 years, hope to see more of this on your channel.

Brilliant video and what a magnificent beast of a car. There is a similar one round here in a dark blue and it always manages to make people stop and stare....👍👍

Great video! My friend has a 1924 Bentley and a couple of years ago we drove it from Alderley Edge to Oulton Park, which had a classic and vintage car show on. I say "we" but after watching my friend struggle changing gears etc, it looked totally exhausting, so, when asked if I wanted to drive back home, I politely declined. Plus, the fact that the accelerator pedal is where the brake pedal usually is, did concern me a tad. My friend laughed and said "you only go for the wrong pedal once!" Then laughed! Watching this video had me in stitches, watching you change gears, as I know just how hard it is! Good job, sir. He's also got a beautiful XK140 and had an D-Type Replica he had built a few years ago. Absolutely stunning! Keep up the good work. I love your videos.

Insanely enjoyable to watch. Wouldn’t worry about the history we can always read it on the tintenet. Don’t crash!!!

One of your best eps mate. Cheers

This was much more interesting than I expected. Thanks J!

It’s amazing to see how difficult and savvy it was to drive one of these machines. Especially compared to nowadays. You really had to be a great driver with focus and experience to know how to drive one of these. I have a 2013 Ford Fiesta five speed manual. I gave a gal a ride, and she was really confused why I kept moving this stick thing… that was 7 years ago. Time is gracious and telling to human ingenuity.

Wouldn't normally never watch a review of car like this but when your videos I try to watch every single one I can

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one having very little interest in this era of cars. Total surprise. Absolutely brilliant!

Another great video jay and loved that bit babe f history at the end 😉👍🏼

Excellent video. It's a fun car, but it should be obvious that driving one of these is very different from driving a modern car. I love that it when it pulls away from a stop you hardly hear the revs go up but it just goes. Must have amazing torque.

If it makes you feel any better i pulled all the same faces you did on the down shifts 😬 they were some cars back then and how the raced them is beyond me! Good on ya for making the vlog with all the harsh bits included 👌

That was amazing. Keep up the good work.

A very well timed video. Tonight driving home on a country road in the dark I passed what at first I assumed to be one of those large touring bikes with extra lights approaching, but they were a little dim. Barely level with it (twisty, wooded, dark) 'nah, that's a Bentley'. Turned round at the first opportunity (not immediate) and managed to catch up with it not helped by lights at a narrow railway bridge. It was a 4½ litre, in fact from googling the plate later, one I'd read about before. Followed down a rural hill and they were doing a decent speed, with periodic light backfiring audible and visible out of the pipe. They turned round at, let's say the pub green, and I came back after going round the subsequent mini roundabout. I gambled they'd turned up the narrow hill, and lost them. Must have gone back up the main hill or been local right where I last saw them. Coming down the first hill the sound of the 1.1 litre cylinders was quite nice.

Wonderful video and the days when every journey was a sense of occasion. Think you demonstrated, that Bentley had two ammeters😁. Home James.....

Superb video ! Try and find an early Rolls Royce Ghost for total bafflement on the controls front - trembler coils and magneto with a pneumatic pump for the fuel....But once mastered it was amazing, much more refined than the Bentleys I drove. Anyhoo, keep up the good work!

Hi Jay, this is how I drive my modern BMW which I've owned and daily driven since 2017. I'm slightly low on talent but high on enthusiasm baby

Splendid. Rorty engine, singing gearbox, along with the intangibles - the smell of hot oil, fuel, and old leather. Thank you, this was wonderful!

What an absolutely beautiful car - Julian is an absolute star for letting you drive her - i once drove a 1930 Ford Model A and that was not easy ! At 9 years younger than the Bentley she is modern in comparison- Well done James another great video !!

I went to a classic and vintage vehicle show a couple of years back, and was chatting with a Bentley owner who had a pre-war model (I honestly don’t know which), he said that driving them is an art form, and even after years, you’ll find a way of doing it better, or in his ways “Making a complete hash of it and looking something of a fool”. I think you did a good job for a first time! Happy New Year, and huge shout out to Julian for letting you drive his car.

This gives you perspective Great video !

Loved it funniest drive yet 😂even a swear word or two. Happy New Year all the best for 2022.

Brilliant stuff and I'd love to get a chance to take the downshift challenge!

Bouncy camera = helping show the true experience of driving this historic Bentley. Really adds to your video!👍