hello Gary,

i dont know about others here, but 14k sounds a good amount to me.  i know
your car is an Brit open classic, probably on 12 inch wheels, but my
sportspack on 13s eats bearings every 6k because of the weight of wheels,
and offset (and how i drive it).  what i would say is every few months jack
each wheel and check for play in bearings and ball joints.  while you are
there you should shoot some lithium grease into the nipples (3 on each front
and 1 on each back) - hope you have been doing the greasing as this prolongs
life of ball joints and thus stops premature tyre wear which is a hell of a
lot more expensive!

HTH
RS

If you drive REALLY hard then 14k may not be too unreasonable.

One thing a lot of people forget is to check the adjustment on the
bearings after the first few hundred miles - it's not uncommon for new
bearings to bed in and/or pull in the last bit after a bit of use.
This will cause a little bit of play that will drastically reduce the
bearing life.

I also like to pack a heap of grease into the new bearings before I fit
them.  Quite simple (and enjoyable if you liked playing in mud when you
were a kid).  Place a good dollip of grease in the palm of one hand and
rub the bearing through it so that the grease pushes into the housing.
Can be very supprising how much less grease you have in your hand after
a few minutes.  I never trust the small amount that is in the bearings
when you get them - I grew up on a farm where the moto was if the
machinery part didn't move then paint it, otherwise if it moved cover
it with grease - a lot expensive machinery would sit idle for most of
the year to be dragged out and used for 16hours a day for a week or so
in hot dusty conditions - and if it broke down you were in deep do do.

As Fitzy says, the hub has probably worn out too
Minispares sell the swivel hubs for round abouts the £45 mark IIRC.
Last time mine went I managed under 2000 miles before the new bearing
was shot.
They reckon on around 2 or 3 bearing replacements and you'll need to
replace the hub too.

HTH
Jim