Technical Consultant
Bentley
&
Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars
The SS Charles Lykes, the ship that brought Bentley B451SP to the U.S.
docked at North C Dock. Mobile, Alabama April 1970.
It must have been in the 1940's that I first
heard the name Rolls-Royce.
The name had little meaning to me at that time. It was in the
1950's that I first
began to study everything available to me about Rolls-Royce Ltd.,
including their
contributions to the aircraft field.
No thought of owning one of their cars
existed until 1969, when I learned that an
interesting car was available in Southport, England. In 1969
things were not as
easily found as they are today. After much correspondence and
inspections, the car
was purchased. Several weeks later the car was shipped from
Liverpool on the
SS Charles Lykes.
The route took it through the Bermuda
Triangle, a place that people thought
mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft occurred. After
about six days,
I was notified by a friend that was a maritime attorney, having offices
onvery high
floors of a tall building in the port of Mobile, that he had observed
the SS Charles Lykes
laying off in the Gulf, awaiting docking instructions.
After getting the car cleared through
customs, plant quarantine, and obtaining fuel,
I headed north to Tuscaloosa. After that, the real learning began.
Over the years,
almost every item on the car has been rebuilt, including the
installation of high
speed gearing.
For more than 35 years, I have made parts of almost every description,
including
punch and die sets, castings for rubber and plastics, as well as
machined and
electrical.
Several years ago I began making and
repairing components for others that require
first rate work.
B451SP has taken many trophies, including a national third in concourse
class.
M. Wayne Stanton
Technical Consultant
4305 McGee Road
Tuscaloosa, AL 35405
office:
205-737-7175
(c) 1-205-394-2866
U.S.A.