BentleyArnage
Member
Hey everyone! I'm really enjoying the forum. I own 3 of these critters and love them all. The '99 ** I just acquired has the most comfortable driver's seat ever! I just lay it down for a quick road nap and no stiff joints. What a rig! Hauled a Nissan Xterra up the Siskyous at ludicrous speed! Ran the Grapevine, it was 118 degrees at the bottom, hauling my 2300lb car hauler with a 60 Chevy pickup. 335k on this thing and no oil consumption to be concerned with. Never misfires. Runs 75-80 mph all day long.
I'm not going to trick this one out for a while. Just keep the maintenance going and fixing the little bugs.
What I'm going to tell you about is my beloved '98 Suburban. I lost the motor just east of Evanston Wyoming a few months back. Rented a Uhaul and loaded her on the car hauler to head home. Had to drop the ol gal in Oregon for a couple of days, as I had a beautiful 56 T-Bird in Salmon to haul over to Gig Harbor.
Turned in the Uhaul and ran the old 94 Ford F150 back to Oregon and picked baby up and took her home. RIP old Ford. Executed by a lightning strike in South Dakota, she made 3 LA runs before finally laying down. Never failed to get me home.
But now, on to Big Blue!
Upon teardown, discovered 2 injector clips broken and the injectors out of their ports, spraying fuel all over the plenum area. Once the lower manifold was pulled, the cause of death was quite apparent. Usually these things piss out oil and antifreeze from the corners. Not this one. It was leaking internally. It just started to use a little coolant about a week earlier. We replaced several hoses, including one for the rear heater. Figuring that was the leak, off I went to Denver. Bad idea. Should have driven for a day or two around town. But once antifreeze hits the bearings, shit's done!
Been thinking about doing a 383 Stroker. Torque is my friend. And a long stroke not only gives good torque, it improves fuel economy. Not a real pricey upgrade, but I'm still into something that could potentially go bad in a few years.
Thought about a big block. Nah. Shit gas mileage and not all that much more torque for the cost. Big blocks are hard to find and quite pricey. So where do I go? LS swaps are cool, but still, not what I'm looking for in the way of torque. (I'm spoiled)
I'm sitting out in the truck, looking at the lawn ornament. Soon, I'll have the hydraulic parts needed to resurrect the suspension/steering/brake system. Nice to have the girl back on the road. I'm going to sell her. But then I get this wild idea. The lawn ornament has over 1000ftlb torque. 400 advertised HP, and a 4L80E transmission. Since this is a VW built car, it has problems the prior cars did not. So I start my search. The lawn ornament is a 2001 Bentley Arnage Red Label in a similar dark blue to the Sub. I can get good money for the car as well.
So my search is for a later 90's Bentley TurboR. Hard hit in the rear. Two mods come to mind in order to make this swap work. One is the oil pan and pickup. The second is swapping the tailshaft and output shaft to a 4x4 shaft. Easy for a trans guy. I would most likely want to freshen it up anyway with a shift kit and new clutches.
So I found one. 26,000 certified miles! Very cheap, but it's a long way away. But I have a car hauler. If I get a run from the west coast to Florida, I've paid for half of my trip! And then the ideas start coming in.
The Zytec fuel and ignition system is fully programmable. Boost is at 9psi and the rev limiter at 4500 rpm. Install some decent valve springs and some roller rocker shafts, program the redline at say 6000, and the HP will get closer to the torque numbers. Pop the boost from 9 to 13, and the insanity begins. I built one of these 25 years ago with 21 lbs and a 6 speed manual. You can't blow them up. I was getting 1800 ftlbs on a dyno at Freightliner. 245mph top speed. In a 6500lb sedan. Weight is consistent with the donor car. So, how fast will the Sub be? I don't care! It's not about speed, it's about towing heavy stuff. It's about going over Vail Pass at the speed limit fully loaded. Supplemental O2 will be aboard for the passengers.
And then I started thinking about the wiring. Why not swap in the Dash? Full Circasian Burl Walnut! Wilton wool carpets and Connolly leather! Sport seats! Matching Burl wood console. So this Sub will be a Bentley TurboR under the bonnet and inside! My 45 years of repair and restoration of these cars gives me the experience to pull this off. Don't try this at home kids. You'll need me to finish it and I'm not cheap. But I'm easy.
Now if only the front clip would fit on the Sub.
Pictures and follow up soon!
I'm not going to trick this one out for a while. Just keep the maintenance going and fixing the little bugs.
What I'm going to tell you about is my beloved '98 Suburban. I lost the motor just east of Evanston Wyoming a few months back. Rented a Uhaul and loaded her on the car hauler to head home. Had to drop the ol gal in Oregon for a couple of days, as I had a beautiful 56 T-Bird in Salmon to haul over to Gig Harbor.
Turned in the Uhaul and ran the old 94 Ford F150 back to Oregon and picked baby up and took her home. RIP old Ford. Executed by a lightning strike in South Dakota, she made 3 LA runs before finally laying down. Never failed to get me home.
But now, on to Big Blue!
Upon teardown, discovered 2 injector clips broken and the injectors out of their ports, spraying fuel all over the plenum area. Once the lower manifold was pulled, the cause of death was quite apparent. Usually these things piss out oil and antifreeze from the corners. Not this one. It was leaking internally. It just started to use a little coolant about a week earlier. We replaced several hoses, including one for the rear heater. Figuring that was the leak, off I went to Denver. Bad idea. Should have driven for a day or two around town. But once antifreeze hits the bearings, shit's done!
Been thinking about doing a 383 Stroker. Torque is my friend. And a long stroke not only gives good torque, it improves fuel economy. Not a real pricey upgrade, but I'm still into something that could potentially go bad in a few years.
Thought about a big block. Nah. Shit gas mileage and not all that much more torque for the cost. Big blocks are hard to find and quite pricey. So where do I go? LS swaps are cool, but still, not what I'm looking for in the way of torque. (I'm spoiled)
I'm sitting out in the truck, looking at the lawn ornament. Soon, I'll have the hydraulic parts needed to resurrect the suspension/steering/brake system. Nice to have the girl back on the road. I'm going to sell her. But then I get this wild idea. The lawn ornament has over 1000ftlb torque. 400 advertised HP, and a 4L80E transmission. Since this is a VW built car, it has problems the prior cars did not. So I start my search. The lawn ornament is a 2001 Bentley Arnage Red Label in a similar dark blue to the Sub. I can get good money for the car as well.
So my search is for a later 90's Bentley TurboR. Hard hit in the rear. Two mods come to mind in order to make this swap work. One is the oil pan and pickup. The second is swapping the tailshaft and output shaft to a 4x4 shaft. Easy for a trans guy. I would most likely want to freshen it up anyway with a shift kit and new clutches.
So I found one. 26,000 certified miles! Very cheap, but it's a long way away. But I have a car hauler. If I get a run from the west coast to Florida, I've paid for half of my trip! And then the ideas start coming in.
The Zytec fuel and ignition system is fully programmable. Boost is at 9psi and the rev limiter at 4500 rpm. Install some decent valve springs and some roller rocker shafts, program the redline at say 6000, and the HP will get closer to the torque numbers. Pop the boost from 9 to 13, and the insanity begins. I built one of these 25 years ago with 21 lbs and a 6 speed manual. You can't blow them up. I was getting 1800 ftlbs on a dyno at Freightliner. 245mph top speed. In a 6500lb sedan. Weight is consistent with the donor car. So, how fast will the Sub be? I don't care! It's not about speed, it's about towing heavy stuff. It's about going over Vail Pass at the speed limit fully loaded. Supplemental O2 will be aboard for the passengers.
And then I started thinking about the wiring. Why not swap in the Dash? Full Circasian Burl Walnut! Wilton wool carpets and Connolly leather! Sport seats! Matching Burl wood console. So this Sub will be a Bentley TurboR under the bonnet and inside! My 45 years of repair and restoration of these cars gives me the experience to pull this off. Don't try this at home kids. You'll need me to finish it and I'm not cheap. But I'm easy.
Now if only the front clip would fit on the Sub.
Pictures and follow up soon!
