For starters we need to thank BangShifter Damond Farney for tipping us off to this awesome 1988 Bentley Turbo R that is for sale in the Detroit area. This was a pretty serious car for its day when you consider what the automotive world was like back in 1988. The engine made about 300hp and just a shade under 500 lb/ft of torque. This was the 6.75L Bentley engine that defined the brand for so many years. With a weight of about 5,300lbs and the wheelbase of a cement truck we had to smile when we heard that the R in “Turbo R” stands for “road handling” this thing isn’t exactly striking us a nimble if you know what we mean.
According to the seller, this car was owned by a rich guy who wanted a sleeper and a sleeper he sure got. There’s a supercharged 502i big block Chevy under the hood that also has a fogger nitrous system on it. For the setup the 675hp does sound a little on the weak side, but this thing was built ages ago and we’re sure the builder wanted reliability. What we’re saying is that it would be super easy to wick that motor up some and really make this fat car faster.
The interior is cool, the thing is massive enough to have its own mailing address, and when you see all the details of the build, we think that you will be into it as well. Whaddya think?!
Here’s the text of the ad in case the car sells –
Bentley 675HP like no other
1988 SUPERCHARGED
“A WOLF in SHEEP’S Clothing”
1988 Bentley Turbo R
Built for major West coast supermarket chain owner that wanted the VERY BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. . .. . ..a true sleeper, stock appearance with 675 + HP underneath the hood.
Engine: Chevy 675 horsepower, 502ci Tonowanda Big Block with square port iron heads, Paxton Centrifugal Supercharger, GM based ECM high current processor w/Fuel Injections Specialties chip (all new in June 2014)..heavy — duty custom radiator and heavy duty engine oil cooler
Exhaust: Custom inter-frame injectors, Over-axle, custom 2 ½ aluminized tubing Dynomax “shorty” hi-flow mufflers, Boral Stainless dual tip outlets. . ..
Fuel System: Bosch hi-flow fuel injectors, Mallory HP1 100F1 hi-capacity (up to 1000hp) fuel pump, #8 brand stainless fuel hoses, Fram hi-flow in-line filter assembly, twin filtration (pre & post pump)
NOS Nitrous Oxide System with progressive controller, BOTTLE IN trunk
Transmission: GM Th400 3 speed automatic w/custom auto/manual valve body. Contintal Converter 2500 rpm pro-stall converter, Gear Vender add-on Overdrive unit w/speed sensitive auto-engagment & manual overdrive, heavy duty industrial strength custom driveshaft w/HD spicer u-joints and driveshaft loop
Rear Axle and Suspension: Custom Ford 9 with Air Bag support, Custom adjustable 4-link rear suspension w/urethane bushings throughout, Nodular Iron center section with Aluminum Big Bearing pinion support, Richmond 3.70 gears, Auburn Pro-Series Post-traction, Currie Enterprises 31 spline high-alloy axles, Custom Bilstein gas rear shocks of PA
Wheels, Tires: Factory Alloys with new (June 2014) Nitto NT555 R275/40-17 HIGH PERFORMANCE RADIALS.
BRAKES: Quad-piston Twin-Caliper (per rotor) factory front brakes, Wildwood Discs and Rotors in rear. Twin diaphragm boosted master cylinder just ahead of rear axle, Braided stainless lines at every flex point
Interior: All leather, Custom fitted sheepskin seat covers ($3000 new), 1000 Watt Alpine Stereo
Paint and interior is great shape, New HD Battery, All standard Bentley Amenities, luxury and comfort to the MAX, with un-real performance. . .. . .. . …
$44,000. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .potential partial trade available. . .. . .. . .. . …
Call Keith…
Scroll down to see the photos and then check out the ad –
That’s really cool!
“Better keep up if you want some Grey Poupon!”
“Excuse me, sir, do you have any nitrous oxide?”
Thats a lot of car for the money, alot of car. Very cool.
Hell, that’s only $8.30/lb, cheaper than some cuts of steak!! lol
Wow, that is definitely something else. The red interior just pushes it over the top, aha.
Here we go again – some single-cell life-form with the imagination of a clam!
D’oh me put Chevy in car
Why not work on the original all aluminum engine – bored and stroked with twin turbos it would knock spots of this hunka Chevy crap – but then I’d have nothing to vent my spleen upon…
Nah man, this isn’t some cut-and-paste Chevy small block swap, this is a porcupine motor. This is basically on par with cramming a Mopar wedge of Ford FE in there: big, huge, torque and almost no aftermarket support.
Big block swaps really are an art form unto themselves.
While I lusted after this car, I did so when it was $25K, just a couple of months ago, in Wisconsin. E-mailed the seller a couple of times, ’cause I was serious about bringing it back to Fort Worth. Nothing. No other means of communication, either.
The old steering wheel needs to be put back. And that nitrous controller must have been easier to ‘integrate’ rather than just screw it to the passenger’s side dash, like an 8-track tape player from 1973.
Good swap. Cant go wrong there. I bet it hauls ass nice! They used th400 in these things in the 70 s I believe and the GM A6 a/c compressor. Didnt cars in Britan just start to get A/C 10 or so years ago?
I like it. A LOT. I’ve always kept a bit of an eye on Rolls Royce’s, Bentley’s , even some Jags and Mercedes…some of them can be ridiculously cheap. I saw a 2 door XJ series Jag (maybe mid 70’s?) with a 327 and 4 speed at a swap meet a year or two ago, $1,500. I’ve seem mid 70’s Rolls Royces for like 5k…always surprises me that not more of these well made good looking luxo barges dont get big power engines thrown in them….
Great question Amy. Not set snohiwg up in the organic search results is something I’ve noticed as well. From what I understand this is likely a Google-related issue or bug. I’ve heard people, who are running Adwords campaigns, running into problems attributed to faulty auto-tagging on destination URLs and gclid redirection for keywords in paid campaigns, but am still researching the issue.I welcome any other thoughts on this dilemma.