Bentley 3 Litre
Le Veterane sulle Strade dei Vini, June 2016

Sold: Aug 3, 2015

"1925 Bentley 3/4½-Litre Open Tourer
Replica Vanden Plas Coachwork by James E. Pearce
Chassis No. 922
Registration No. XW 9204

The Bentley 3/4½-Litre Vanden Plas Tourer requires little introduction and, as such, will not be receiving much of one here! Suffice to say that, whilst somewhat of a vintage hybrid, they are perhaps the ultimate vintage touring car, for they possess the stunning appearance of the 3-Litre Bentley combined the impressive power of the 4½-Litre. They are a superb looking, genuine high-speed-touring four-seat vintage car with an iconic badge on the radiator – what’s not to like?

Copies of the original Bentley factory records contained in the history file for this 1925 Bentley 3/4½-Litre Tourer state that Chassis No. 922, as offered for sale here, was originally fitted with a engine number 902 and four-seat touring coachwork by Gurney Nutting on a standard 10ft 10” wheelbase chassis. It was sold new through Wilkinson Ltd. to a Captain Butler of Saxmundum in Suffolk.

Captain Butler kept Chassis No. 922 until 1929 when it was sold to G.W. Gross who kept it until 1933 before selling it to A.D. Boddam-Whetham. ‘922’ then passed through a succession of owners until the outbreak of World War II, from which point the history is unknown. Presumably though, the car was broken up for spares after the war as Chassis No. 922 does not appear again in any records until it was purchased by Robert Getley in the 1960s from a scrapyard.

Robert Getley was a well-known member of the Bentley Drivers’ Club and like many of its member collected Bentley parts whenever they were found or became available. For many years the Bentley chassis, along with countless other parts, remained at his premises and were used to keep other cars going or kept simply as spares.

Robert Getley’s son Ewen is a mechanical engineer and has very much inherited his father’s love of Bentleys – so much so that he owns and runs Kingsbury Racing Shop, a business dedicated exclusively to the restoration and race/rally preparation of four-cylinder W.O. Bentleys, based here at Bicester Heritage.

Ewen’s brother has a similar penchant for the W.O. Bentleys but by his own admission does not have his brother’s mechanical abilities! To this end he approached Ewen in around 2005/6 with a brief for Ewen to put together a W.O. Bentley which was good looking, reliable and easy to use and it was with this in mind that this car, registered ‘XW 9204’ was restored.

Without a complete car to hand, and given a quite specific brief the decision was made to build a car around the chassis (Chassis No. 922,) that had belonged to their father’s spare parts collection. Suitable chassis repairs and alterations to speed model specification were carried out by Green Farm Racing and Ewen Getley commenced the careful assembly of the running chassis. The back axle is a genuine 3-Litre Bentley back axle with a very strong racing differential, the gearbox is a genuine Vintage Bentley C-Type box and the front axle beam is new. The engine is a 4½-Litre unit with an original sump and an overhauled original top end, with a new crankcase and new 4½-Litre block, fitted with a steel crankshaft and new connecting rods and pistons. With ease of use in mind the ignition system is run from the back of the engine to avoid the use of cross-shaft gears at the front, and rather than magnetos is fitted with twin-coil ignition with automatic advance and retard fitted behind the original bulkhead. Fuel is supplied by electric pump.

Fortuitously the Getleys also had possession of a very correct replica Vanden Plas body that had been built by James E. Pearce in 1976, to replace an original body that in those days had been deemed too far gone to economically repair. Invoices and letters pertaining to the body are in the history file offered with the car. The wings are thought to be original Vanden Plas, purchased at the same time as the body and restored by Ewen. A particularly nice feature is the Barker “double dipper” hand operated system. Also of note the full compliment of correct Smiths Bentley and AT instruments adorning the dashboard.

Chassis No. 922 was completed circa 3 years ago and has since travelled many trouble free miles to and from the owner’s house in Scotland. It is offered for sale due to a change in family circumstances and is fresh from a check over and thorough service by Ewen Getley’s Kingsbury Racing Shop. It would be an extremely suitable car for all manner of VSCC and BDC events as well as endurance rallies.

It is very much on the button, fully sorted and ready to be used – an ideal candidate for the highly anticipated forthcoming 1000-mile trail organized by the Historic Endurance Rally Organisation."

Sold: Dec 19, 2013

1925 Bentley 3/4½ Litre
"If you’re thinking of exploring the world then this 3/4½ Litre Vintage Bentley is a sensible choice for any future rallying. XW9204 is well equipped for tackling some of the world’s toughest roads with steel crank and rods, a super strong chassis, hydraulic brakes and hands free ignition control."

1925 Bentley 3/4½ litre offered for use at wedding ceremoinies by Norfolk based 'Vintage Bentley Wedding Company'.