Well known dealer and restorer Stanley Mann recently quoted auto historian Clare Hay's views on this subject. Read this piece and also the opinions of our readers.

No other column written by Jay Leno generated as much controversy as the one with the "Can’t We Just Get Rid of Ethanol?" piece. He has an ethanol-fuel vehicle — the E85 Corvette — and it runs fine on ethanol. "We built it that way. It’s fast!" he says. Today’s cars with modern fuel systems run fine on ethanol-laced gasoline. But his old cars don’t and he has no choice.

Jay Leno went through the 70s, the 80s and most of the 90s without ever having read much about car fires. Now suddenly, they are happening all over the place. Here’s one reason: The ethanol in modern gasoline — about 10 percent in many states — is so corrosive, it eats through either the fuel-pump diaphragm, old rubber fuel lines or a pot metal part, then leaks out on a hot engine...

FIERBERT KENSINGTON MOIR, like so many of our motoring personalities, was at first extremely reluctant to disclose the secrets of his horrid past, but with his back to the wall, and faced with. the threat of a fictitious life story (composed with. the aid of a faulty memory and a vivid imagination) he decided that perhaps the truth was preferable, and warmed to his "confession."

It is a matter of conjecture whether Dr. J. D. Benjafield owes his popularity to his achievements in bacteriology, in which science he has done so much to relieve suffering mankind, or to his meteoric rise to fame in the ranks of the genuine amateur racing motorist. We have had the pleasure of witnessing him at work in his laboratories, where virulent organisms are obedient to his will and almost begin to suspect that he has succeeded in cultivating some potent form of Speed Virus, with which he has secretly innoculated the car he affectionately calls "Baby Bentley."

"With its focus on one of the world’s most prestigious automobile manufacturers, it’s not surprising that this book about Bentley automobiles is now in its third edition. Enthusiasts the world over have always respected all that company founder W.O. Bentley had achieved, and long admired the cars that bore his name."

"Should the oil filter and circulation system on an early 3 Litre (or any other Vintage Bentley) be maintained as original or can it, or should it be improved or replaced? There have been several attempts in the past and apparently with good results. One disadvantage is that originality is altered. In some cases, drastically. There have been several replacement filter systems suggested in the past. Going a step further are the modifications that were done to The Great American Racer, an early 3 Litre owned by Dick Burdick that has made several rally runs across the United States. The objective was to limit engine wear and increase reliability with a modern oil pump/filter system on chassis 392."

"The reader may perhaps consider this title a little dramatic but a document has come into my posession that can throw some new light over the demise of Bentley Motors. This new document, of which I will apprise the reader shortly, set my mind racing and I started to reread all the relevant Bentley literature. There is a difference between just reading through a book and reading to obtain information from a book. Innocuous statements out of context can be read in a different way when a particular theme is being pursued. In this article I write down my conclusions but ask any reader who has better knowledge to come forward and enlighten us where there is any doubt about the subject matter."

Maybe it's the word 'boys' that makes the phrase ring. We know they were men, but somehow it's the image of 'schoolboy' larks which cements the legend of the Bentley Boys. It's rooted in the time, too: the 1920s, when men with inherited wealth didn't have to work, paid racing drivers were rare and the amateur ideal was still admired. Who were these grown-up boys?

If you are a hard-core Vintage Bentley enthusiast, the first question is, "Will I learn anything new in these books or are they just a rehash of previous Bentley books?" Having read everything Bentley that I have been able to lay my hand on since my youth in the 1950s, I have good news. James Taylor notes in the introduction that he recognizes the abundance of previously printed Vintage Bentley literature over the last 80 years and the current crop of books available...

Ethanol-laced fuel was not sold when our cars were built. It rots the metal and gaskets in carburetors, and should not be used in any Bentley. An RREC Bulletin advises against the use of ethanol-laced fuel. According to a club member, "ethanol (alcohol) is a solvent and by itself can do harm to gaskets and sealant products as used in older engines." Ethanol-laced fuel is also hard on our engines because it causes them to run hotter, with even lower fuel efficiency than is now the case - and that is saying something.

Bentleys are a unique breed among classic automobiles, because you're just as, if not more, likely to see an 85-year-old Bentley being driven hard on a tour or raced on a track as you are to see one on a manicured concours lawn. And Bentley owners love to learn about their cars' individual histories and to share information with one another. There are Bentley clubs around the world that celebrate the cars, draw together owners and are storehouses for information, but the acknowledged online home of that enthusiasm is VintageBentleys. org.

Before you say, "Another Bentley racing history?", note that this one combines the W.O. Bentley racing era with the Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen built Bentley race cars and their successes. Vintage Bentley racing does overwhelmingly dominate the book and if you wish to pursue the Rolls-Royce and Volkswagen years, there are some fine books that cover those subjects more extensively that this Venebles' book. One of the strong points of this book is that it has very good coverage of the events and details with good photographic reference. More important for many Vintage Bentley enthusiasts, especially those that are new to Vintage Bentleys -- this book is relatively inexpensive compared to making the effort and spending a vast amount of money collecting all the out-of-print books covering Vintage Bentley racing.

An appeal court recently heard a case on whether a vintage car should be deemed authentic after a good number of its original components were replaced. An earlier decision to award a buyer following significant work was done on a 1930 Speed Six Bentley was considered unreliable by the appeal court.

Believe it or not! A vintage car can still be considered authentic even following a substantial rebuild where many of its original parts are replaced, an appeal court heard yesterday.

A classic car enthusiast has won £94,000 in damages after paying £430,000 for a vintage Bentley, unaware that only one small part of the car was genuine... Judge Anthony Thornton QC ruled that the car had been so heavily worked on that it "was no longer capable of being accurately described as a 1930 Bentley Speed Six".

An American lawyer is suing a Hertfordshire classic car dealer over the restored Speed Six she bought for £430,000. Mercedes Travis Brewer claims Stanley Mann wrongly told her the vehicle had been restored with original and authentic engine and components.