The Cheapest Bentley Continental GT in the USA Goes Up in Smoke, and other project updates.

### Article Based on Video Transcription: A Car Enthusiast’s Journey with His Bentley and Other Projects

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#### Introduction

Hello there! I’ve always maintained that I am a car collector and not a car hoarder. While a collector takes care of his collection, improves it, and manages it, a hoarder simply accumulates projects without completing them, often leaving them to rot. I pride myself on being the former, but lately, I feel like I’m teetering on the edge. The number one question I receive in my comments has been about the Bentley—“What’s going on with the Bentley?” “We need a Bentley update!” I apologize for not providing enough updates, as there hasn’t been much progress to warrant a full video. However, I’m now on my way to Halstead, Kansas, to check out the Bentley and give you a full status update.

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#### The Bentley Project: A Two-Month Struggle

I’ve spent two months worrying about this basket case of a Bentley Continental GT. For those who don’t remember, I bought the cheapest one for sale in the United States—a 2004 model with supposedly 47,000 original miles—for just $27,700. When it arrived, it was barely running, and later, I discovered that it had spent ten years in Russia, where its odometer had been rolled back multiple times. It likely has around 147,000 miles now, which pretty much torpedoes any resale value. So, I’m stuck with this car forever—much like how I am with my LS swap Porsche 911.

If the Bentley ran well, none of this would matter. However, it had a significant vacuum leak, causing it to barely move under its own power. This is a common issue for these cars since their engine bays are filled with brittle plastic vacuum lines. The recommended fix involves dropping the entire W12 drivetrain and front subframe to replace all the vacuum lines. Research suggested that removing the steering rack might simplify this process, but as I soon found out, it wasn’t that simple.

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#### Challenges of Removing the Steering Rack

Removing the steering rack took nearly a day by itself. There were plenty of obstacles in the way, including several bolts that were nearly impossible to reach. Once I managed to remove the rack, it became clear that someone had already worked on the car and replaced the vacuum lines with more durable rubber ones. Using his smoke machine, the wizard (myself) checked for leaks by introducing smoke into the vacuum system. To my surprise, one of the hose clamps deep in the engine had come loose—a $1 clamp was the culprit keeping the car from running properly.

Initially, we thought the smoke might have been due to a rich-running condition caused by a faulty mass airflow sensor. However, upon further inspection using a camera down the intake, it turned out the turbo was bad. The oil on the right side of the turbo indicated that it wasn’t functioning correctly, and the vacuum system was completely inoperative, preventing the turbos from working altogether.

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#### Next Steps for the Bentley

I had hoped to help fix the car, put it back together, and take it on its first drive—a triumphant video moment where a $1 hose clamp fixes my cheapest Bentley. However, this will take longer than anticipated. A used turbo from a 25,000-mile Continental GT was affordable ($500), but installing it will be time-consuming and won’t happen until after the new year.

Meanwhile, there are other projects on my mind, such as my $300 Jeep Cherokee and the $3,000 BMW M3 I bought for my girlfriend. The Jeep’s head has returned from the machinist, ready to be reinstalled, while the BMW needs some maintenance before it can be handed over—specifically, fixing the seat adjustment so she can reach the pedals (she’s only five feet tall). Additionally, brakes and suspension work need to be completed.

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#### Updates on Other Projects

While I’m focused on the Bentley and other cars, my friend—a car enthusiast living just a few miles away—has been working on painting my car. Attached to his barn is a paint shop, and he’s repainting one of my vehicles: my pimped Prius! That’s right—the samePriusI’ve been teasing you with for years. I’m opting for an over-the-top paint job involving a big man with a stretched arm going down the side, orange paint, a giant wing, and maybe some NOs. If you recognize where I’m going with this, you’re probably as excited as I am. Either way, it’s going to be quite the sight when it’s done.

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#### Returning to Wichita: More Projects in the Pipeline

After wrapping up my time in Halstead, I’ll head back to my hometown of Wichita, Kansas. There, another project awaits: my 8 Series car, being worked on by Dana over at Luxury Repair Specialists. These are the same guys who performed my S600 V12 swap—a $4,500 engine swap for a car I bought with a bad motor. Currently sitting back there is the hold-core motor (the one from the donor vehicle) and a new set of wheels for the 8 Series—some nice-looking End Parallels from the new 7 Series. I’m really excited to put those on, as everything else on this project is close to finished.

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#### Checking In on Stored Projects

In addition to these ongoing projects, there are others waiting in storage at my “hoopty fleet headquarters” building—a barn about a mile from my house. Inside are two of my cheapest cars: the $2,100 Lexus LX 470 and my $500 1994 Subaru SVX.

Not much has happened with either since I last showed you parts for the Lexus. We’re still four to six weeks out on the lift kit, and finding a rear hatch that isn’t rusted is proving difficult. I might have to buy one that’s not color-matched (even though it costs $600) and repaint it, which feels like a tough pill to swallow given how much I’ve already spent ($4,000) on parts for this expedition rig.

As for the Subaru SVX, I haven’t done anything with it since my last video. It took some effort just to get it running again, as I hadn’t touched it in a month. Now, I need to fix the power steering, replace the wheel bearings, and install a transmission cooler because these transmissions are known for overheating during spirited driving. However, given that winter is approaching, rallycross events are on hold until spring. Plus, I’m not keen on camping in freezing temperatures in the Lexus.

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#### New Acquisitions: Two More Cars!

If all this weren’t enough, I’ve actually bought two more cars that you haven’t seen yet. I’ve totally lost it—this might be the point where someone suggests submitting my video to the TV show *Hoarders* for help! But regardless of how chaotic things get, I’m committed to sharing every step of my journey with you.

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#### Closing Thoughts

Thank you for watching and sticking with me through all these projects. If you think I’ve gone too far or need some advice, feel free to hit the like button and share your thoughts. As always, thanks for tuning in!

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This article captures the full extent of the car enthusiast’s journey, struggles, and passions, much like the video transcription itself.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enoh hello there now I've always maintained that I am a car collector and not a car hoarder because a collector maintains his collection he improves upon it he manages it while a hoarder will just buy any project that comes his way and just throw it in his yard with grandiose plans of completing it someday only to see it rot into the ground now I'm not that kind of guy but I feel myself teetering on the edge right now and the number one question I get in my comments for months has been what's going on with the Bentley the Bentley hey the Bentley we need a Bentley update and I'm sorry there just hasn't been enough going on with the Bentley to warrant a full dedicated video I came really close to making a video and everything just totally blew up so I'm on my way to Halstead Kansas right now to check out the Bentley and give you a full status update but here's something that I filmed last week when I thought I had finally had the thing licked for $1 a $1 clamp was going to fix my car I was really that naive in thinking that that was going to do it so check this out I've spent two months worrying about this basket case of a Bentley Continental GT behind me now for those who don't remember I bought the cheapest one for sale in the United States a 2004 was supposedly 47,000 original miles for only twenty-seven thousand seven hundred dollars it arrived barely running and I later discovered the card spent ten years in Russia where it had its odometer rolled back multiple times so it probably has something like a hundred and forty seven thousand miles on it this pretty much torpedoes any kind of resale value so I'm pretty much married to this thing forever which is kind of like how I am with my LS swap Porsche 911 this really wouldn't be a big deal if it ran right but unfortunately my Bentley had a big vacuum leak causing it to barely move under its own power this is a common issue for these cars as the engine bay is comprised of a bunch of brittle plastic vacuum lines and Malee's prescribed fixes to drop the entire w12 drivetrain and front subframe all of it and just redo all the vacuum lines now the car was er did a little research and found people are doing this job by simply removing the steering rack now I say simply but you'll shortly see why it's not that simple getting out the rack took nearly a day by itself as there was plenty of stuff to get out of the way beforehand along with a few nearly impossible to reach bolts but once the wizard did wizard his way out of it it was quickly apparent that somebody had already been in there and had her updated the vacuum lines with more durable rubber ones so the wizard hooked up his smoke machine again which since smoked through the vacuum system to see where is leaking and found one of the hose clamps had come loose literally a one-dollar hose clamp deep in the bowels of the engine was keeping this car from running properly taking a listen Purple Rain Purple Rain obviously it's not supposed to smoke that much initially it was a little bit of smoke so we thought it was just running rich because of the mass airflow sensor and it actually turned out to be a bad turbo the Wizards stuck a camera down the intake down as the turbo and there's a bunch of oil on that right side we weren't having smoke before hand because the turbos weren't working the vacuum system was totally toast and not opening up the turbos to work at all so I thought I was gonna help him put this thing back together and take it on his first drive and have a amazing triumphant video where a $1 hose clamp fixes my cheapest Bentley Continental GT in the USA but it's gonna be a little more than that the use turbo off of a 25,000 mile Continental GT was only 500 bucks but it's gonna be a pain in the butt to put in and that's going to happen after the new year there's still some other projects hanging around here like the 98 Jeep Cherokee my $300 Jeep Cherokee the head is actually back from the machinist and it's ready to go back on and also there's that $3,000 bmw m3 I bought that's got to be ready for Christmas for my girlfriend and I realized after I made the video that the seat adjustment doesn't work she's only about five feet tall and there's no way she could reach the pedals there's also a few little maintenance items like brakes and some suspension myths that need to be done before I hand it over to her so hopefully that gets done by Christmas but it's gonna be a while before you see anything new with the Bentley and I'm sorry I know you guys are complaining about it a lot but the wizard has other jobs to do like this he's kind of gone Hollywood on us too I had to show you these meaty tires that are going on the LX 470 I'm going to have to erase the suspension quite a bit so we'll be eliminating the hydraulic suspension even though it's working perfectly but we got to get that height there's also some bumpers and other things on the way for it so get ready for that one of the car Wizards friends live just a few miles away and he has a paint chop attached to his barn and I'm having a car painted and of all the cars that I've decided to have repainted you're not gonna believe what I picked you may not recognize it but this is actually my pimped Prius I'm going a little overboard as you can tell and opting for an entire paint job that should happen sometime between now in new years now I have a theme in mind and it involves a big man with a stretched arm going down the side and orange paint and a giant wing and maybe some nos and if you know where I'm going with that then yeah you're probably excited but yes pimp my Prius is continuing and it's going to be quite a sight when it's done I'm not sure if it's gonna be cool but it's it's gonna be a sight so that's it for the Halstead projects for what else I have going on I actually have to head back to my hometown of Wichita Kansas and I'm stopping by another shop yes my eighth series is being touched by someone else actually Dana over at luxury repair specialists in Wichita these are the same guys that actually did my s600 v12 swap that $4,500 s600 that I bought with a bad motor is actually sitting back there my hold core motor also back there is a new set of wheels for this eight series I got some nice looking end parallels out the new seven series so I'm really excited to put those on and everything else is pretty much close to finished I have to figure out what's going on they have to figure out was that going there and I do have other projects waiting the wings I'm sure you're aware of which are currently in storage at my hoopty fleet headquarters building so we'll go and check those out now and some awkward transition lists jump to where I'm just standing out there with the cars like boom yes rotting away in my hoopty fleet headquarters a barn that I rented about a mile from my house are two of my cheapest cars this $2,100 Lexus LX 470 and my $500 1994 Subaru SVX really not much has happened I showed you some of the parts that I have coming in for the Lexus but we're still four to six weeks out on the lift kit and I'm having a really hard time finding a rear hatch for it that isn't rusted I might have to break down and buy one that isn't color matched even though it's $600 and have to paint it to match which is kind of a tough pill to swallow especially since I'm already spending $4,000 on parts to make this thing into an expedition rig also my Subaru SVX I really haven't done a thing it actually took quite a bit of effort to get this thing running as I hadn't touched it since I made the video about a month ago and really I do need to fix the power steering put some wheel bearings on it and probably a transmission cooler because these transmissions are known for overheating and exploding on any kind of spirited driving before I do any kind of rallycross event but we're going into winter and I really can't do much during the winter as the rallycross season here kind of shuts down in the snow and I'm not gonna go camping when it's zero degrees outside in the Lexus so I'm not too motivated I have the other cars like you've seen earlier that are bigger priorities and if I didn't already have enough current projects and upcoming projects I've actually bought two more cars that you haven't even seen yet I've totally lost it and if you think I should submit this video to the TV show hoarders and maybe get some help hit that like button and as always thank you for watchingoh hello there now I've always maintained that I am a car collector and not a car hoarder because a collector maintains his collection he improves upon it he manages it while a hoarder will just buy any project that comes his way and just throw it in his yard with grandiose plans of completing it someday only to see it rot into the ground now I'm not that kind of guy but I feel myself teetering on the edge right now and the number one question I get in my comments for months has been what's going on with the Bentley the Bentley hey the Bentley we need a Bentley update and I'm sorry there just hasn't been enough going on with the Bentley to warrant a full dedicated video I came really close to making a video and everything just totally blew up so I'm on my way to Halstead Kansas right now to check out the Bentley and give you a full status update but here's something that I filmed last week when I thought I had finally had the thing licked for $1 a $1 clamp was going to fix my car I was really that naive in thinking that that was going to do it so check this out I've spent two months worrying about this basket case of a Bentley Continental GT behind me now for those who don't remember I bought the cheapest one for sale in the United States a 2004 was supposedly 47,000 original miles for only twenty-seven thousand seven hundred dollars it arrived barely running and I later discovered the card spent ten years in Russia where it had its odometer rolled back multiple times so it probably has something like a hundred and forty seven thousand miles on it this pretty much torpedoes any kind of resale value so I'm pretty much married to this thing forever which is kind of like how I am with my LS swap Porsche 911 this really wouldn't be a big deal if it ran right but unfortunately my Bentley had a big vacuum leak causing it to barely move under its own power this is a common issue for these cars as the engine bay is comprised of a bunch of brittle plastic vacuum lines and Malee's prescribed fixes to drop the entire w12 drivetrain and front subframe all of it and just redo all the vacuum lines now the car was er did a little research and found people are doing this job by simply removing the steering rack now I say simply but you'll shortly see why it's not that simple getting out the rack took nearly a day by itself as there was plenty of stuff to get out of the way beforehand along with a few nearly impossible to reach bolts but once the wizard did wizard his way out of it it was quickly apparent that somebody had already been in there and had her updated the vacuum lines with more durable rubber ones so the wizard hooked up his smoke machine again which since smoked through the vacuum system to see where is leaking and found one of the hose clamps had come loose literally a one-dollar hose clamp deep in the bowels of the engine was keeping this car from running properly taking a listen Purple Rain Purple Rain obviously it's not supposed to smoke that much initially it was a little bit of smoke so we thought it was just running rich because of the mass airflow sensor and it actually turned out to be a bad turbo the Wizards stuck a camera down the intake down as the turbo and there's a bunch of oil on that right side we weren't having smoke before hand because the turbos weren't working the vacuum system was totally toast and not opening up the turbos to work at all so I thought I was gonna help him put this thing back together and take it on his first drive and have a amazing triumphant video where a $1 hose clamp fixes my cheapest Bentley Continental GT in the USA but it's gonna be a little more than that the use turbo off of a 25,000 mile Continental GT was only 500 bucks but it's gonna be a pain in the butt to put in and that's going to happen after the new year there's still some other projects hanging around here like the 98 Jeep Cherokee my $300 Jeep Cherokee the head is actually back from the machinist and it's ready to go back on and also there's that $3,000 bmw m3 I bought that's got to be ready for Christmas for my girlfriend and I realized after I made the video that the seat adjustment doesn't work she's only about five feet tall and there's no way she could reach the pedals there's also a few little maintenance items like brakes and some suspension myths that need to be done before I hand it over to her so hopefully that gets done by Christmas but it's gonna be a while before you see anything new with the Bentley and I'm sorry I know you guys are complaining about it a lot but the wizard has other jobs to do like this he's kind of gone Hollywood on us too I had to show you these meaty tires that are going on the LX 470 I'm going to have to erase the suspension quite a bit so we'll be eliminating the hydraulic suspension even though it's working perfectly but we got to get that height there's also some bumpers and other things on the way for it so get ready for that one of the car Wizards friends live just a few miles away and he has a paint chop attached to his barn and I'm having a car painted and of all the cars that I've decided to have repainted you're not gonna believe what I picked you may not recognize it but this is actually my pimped Prius I'm going a little overboard as you can tell and opting for an entire paint job that should happen sometime between now in new years now I have a theme in mind and it involves a big man with a stretched arm going down the side and orange paint and a giant wing and maybe some nos and if you know where I'm going with that then yeah you're probably excited but yes pimp my Prius is continuing and it's going to be quite a sight when it's done I'm not sure if it's gonna be cool but it's it's gonna be a sight so that's it for the Halstead projects for what else I have going on I actually have to head back to my hometown of Wichita Kansas and I'm stopping by another shop yes my eighth series is being touched by someone else actually Dana over at luxury repair specialists in Wichita these are the same guys that actually did my s600 v12 swap that $4,500 s600 that I bought with a bad motor is actually sitting back there my hold core motor also back there is a new set of wheels for this eight series I got some nice looking end parallels out the new seven series so I'm really excited to put those on and everything else is pretty much close to finished I have to figure out what's going on they have to figure out was that going there and I do have other projects waiting the wings I'm sure you're aware of which are currently in storage at my hoopty fleet headquarters building so we'll go and check those out now and some awkward transition lists jump to where I'm just standing out there with the cars like boom yes rotting away in my hoopty fleet headquarters a barn that I rented about a mile from my house are two of my cheapest cars this $2,100 Lexus LX 470 and my $500 1994 Subaru SVX really not much has happened I showed you some of the parts that I have coming in for the Lexus but we're still four to six weeks out on the lift kit and I'm having a really hard time finding a rear hatch for it that isn't rusted I might have to break down and buy one that isn't color matched even though it's $600 and have to paint it to match which is kind of a tough pill to swallow especially since I'm already spending $4,000 on parts to make this thing into an expedition rig also my Subaru SVX I really haven't done a thing it actually took quite a bit of effort to get this thing running as I hadn't touched it since I made the video about a month ago and really I do need to fix the power steering put some wheel bearings on it and probably a transmission cooler because these transmissions are known for overheating and exploding on any kind of spirited driving before I do any kind of rallycross event but we're going into winter and I really can't do much during the winter as the rallycross season here kind of shuts down in the snow and I'm not gonna go camping when it's zero degrees outside in the Lexus so I'm not too motivated I have the other cars like you've seen earlier that are bigger priorities and if I didn't already have enough current projects and upcoming projects I've actually bought two more cars that you haven't even seen yet I've totally lost it and if you think I should submit this video to the TV show hoarders and maybe get some help hit that like button and as always thank you for watching\n"