Bentley S3, 1964

The Bentley S3 Continental "Chinese Eye" is a rare, coachbuilt luxury grand tourer produced between 1962 and 1965. It was built with lightweight, hand-crafted aluminium panels instead of heavy steel, and was available as a two-door fixed-head coupé, a drophead coupé (convertible), and in select saloon configurations.

This Bentley arrived with us showing a tough previous life. However, what was seen on the surface was just the beginning. The exterior panels were removed to gain access to years of poor previous attempts at repair, and serious corrosion.

New inner wheel tubs, inner and outer sill sections on both sides, and exterior quarter panels were all hand formed in house, using measurements taken from what remained of the factory pieces. All the panels were made using traditional coachbuilding methods such as the English wheel, along with many, many hours of other fabrication.

Over 1,000 hours of hand-crafted metal went into the shell and panels before they were removed from the chassis, using the chassis as the perfect body jig.

Once separated from the chassis, the shell was stripped and sent for soda blasting, ensuring every section of the body was accessed. To see a car of this size stripped to just the bare bones of its full structure shows the depth required to create the perfect foundation, a necessary requirement for a restoration of this degree.

On return, the shell was put into epoxy primer, with all panel welded edges masked off for weld-through primer. All exterior panels were then welded on and dressed, along with a new ash timber rear scuttle frame. All panels were gapped to 4mm and aligned flush, as with all our restorations. We fit all catches, seals and components, along with the weight of a completed door, during the metal and prep stages, to ensure perfect fitment once the car is finished.

The shell was then prepped and put into epoxy primer to ensure maximum corrosion protection. We then carried out a body levelling stage to ensure no ripples or imperfections were present before going into a spray filler. Underside and cockpit paint followed, after every single panel joint was hand sealed.

The body now awaits reuniting with the freshly restored chassis before final prep for paint.

A different car from the finished S3 Continental elsewhere in this record. The two are shown here before and during, side by side with the raw metalwork, at David's own request, so the depth of work involved is plain to see.