Beatrice was one of nine S3s sold new in Canada. Her first owner was Dr. J. T. B Quayle in New Westminster, BC, with a guarantee date of 4 October 1964. On 19 August 1967, she was bought by Mr. H. A. Martin of Vancouver. Henry Howard, a professor at UBC and former President of the BC Region of the RROC, bought her in February, 1971. Henry and Gloria named her Beatrice. Henry died in 1986 but Gloria kept the car until she was no longer able to drive. Then the car sat outside in the rain until the son of a neighbour bought her in January 1989. He enjoyed the car for a few months and made some cosmetic improvements. An RROC member bought her in November 1989 and moved her to Calgary. A month later, when the new owner realised the poor condition of the car, he called me and said “It is too much for me.” I bought Beatrice and began to bring her into better condition. The first task was to service the braking system: 2 master cylinders, 6 slave cylinders, and 8 shoe linings. The car and parts went to EuroCana motors in Edmonton. We were all very surprised to learn that only two of the front brake shoes had been operating! Six of the shoe linings had negligible wear. I still have six new shoes and their rivets that were not needed. After some work on the steering and having the transmission rebuilt, we attended some Can-Am Prairie Region events. On one excellent trip, Beatrice took us to a meet in the mountains. She proved to be fast and comfortable.
We moved to the Seattle area in 1993. Getting across the border proved to be an unexpected pleasure. We were in convoy of three unusual cars: Lady Elizabeth, Beatrice, and our 1973 MGB GT. In addition to Frances & me, the drivers included our son, Rob, one of Rob’s friends, and RROC member Wendy Oryniak. The Silver Dawn and the S3 were loaded to the windows with our personal effects including two rifles, a shotgun, about a dozen bottles of wine, and about a dozen open bottles of scotch.
We had budgeted 2 hours for paperwork at the border. Frances & I pulled up to the US customs window in Lady Elizabeth. The other two cars were right behind us. We explained that we were moving down to Seattle because my employer had transferred me. The cheery customs officer welcomed us to the USA and asked a few questions about the three cars and the people in them. Then, to our amazement, he waved all three cars through! This was not according to plan. I pulled into the first gas station we came to, the other two cars joined us, and we all wondered what had just happened. Collecting our wits, we carried on south. Some weeks later, Frances had to go to the airport to report all three cars to the US customs office. They gave her all the necessary papers without even looking at the cars. I guess they figured that no one would be foolish enough to play fast and loose with such cars. Although we kept Beatrice licensed and insured in Washington State, we did not use her much.
For reasons that escape me, we had the rear brake drums powder coated. Maybe that was because we were having parts of the Silver Dawn powder coated and we had to make up a minimum order. One memorable day, Beatrice was used as a prop in a video being made by a high-school English class at a neighbour’s house. The students were making a video of a scene from Romeo & Juliet placed in the 1960s. They needed a 1960s version of a rich person’s carriage. Beatrice was perfect for that role! Here’s a photo of Christa giving Beatrice some TLC.
We returned to Canada in 1998 and lived at Malahat Farm, about 8 miles west of Sooke. There, I had a great shop: 24’ x 36’ with an 11.5’ ceiling. Ignoring Beatrice, I spent a few years restoring Lady Elizabeth. On moving closer to Victoria in 2006, we finally got serious about Beatrice. The first step was to remove the wings and various small panels to have them blasted clean. Here are some photos of Beatrice partly disrobed.
It was clear that Beatrice’s body was beyond cosmetic repair: many of the panels needed to be replaced. After some months of research, we bought a whole suite of panels from Introcar, which recently merged with Healey Bros. We had used Healey Bros. panels for LSBA86 and found the quality and fit to be excellent. Here are a couple of photos of Beatrice’s new clothes. There will be a prize for anyone who can correctly identify all the panels!
Beatrice’s new clothes have been fitted and several other patches were made using appropriate steel. The panel beater, the late OECC member Peter Lee, had a good reputation for work on MGs, Singers, and assorted English cars. This was his first Bentley and he enjoyed the challenge. Well, he enjoyed most of it!
While Peter was doing his work, I removed the grille, the anti-sway bar, the power-steering ram, the radiator, the heater from under the right front wing, the fresh-air tube from under the left front wing, both side panels from the engine compartment, all the fittings on those panels, the coil, the water pump, and the fittings from the firewall. All the fasteners and fittings went to be plated with silver cadmium while engine panels, fender mounts, fan shroud, etc. went to be powder coated in black. This cosmetic work was enjoyable and looks terrific.
I abandoned poor Beatrice for the 5 years 2010-2014 while engaged in Rotary responsibilities. Recent work has included some new brake lines, a new exhaust system, new front springs, significant repairs to the front suspension, and the usual cleaning and painting of the filthy chassis.
We expect to have the car driveable in 2017 and then it will be off to the painter and the coach trimmer. You can expect to see Beatrice at club functions in the summer of 2018.