This car was purchased by Paul Spencer in 2003.

Bentley 3 Litre Speed Model
Chassis LT1589
Engine PH1474
Registration YR2876

YR was completed on 6 November 1926 and received its guarantee the following month. It was built as a Speed Model with a BS gearbox and a Carbodies saloon body, although the engine appears to have been replaced by a Supersports engine during its build. The car was delivered to Henleys in Great Portland Street for its first owner, Mr J Weston of Newmarket. The magazine The Motor Owner published a photograph of the car in its March 1927 edition, describing "an exceptionally attractive sports saloon body". The body was painted in "two shades of red, with upholstery to match".

YR next made the press in May 1930, when it had a full page review in The Autocar as a used car being sold by Mann Egerton for an asking price of £595. At this point, it was still wearing its saloon body and was described as "a real pleasure to drive".

In 1931, having covered 35511 miles, YR was involved in a accident. The factory checked the chassis and axle centres and replaced various parts. The car suffered another accident in 1932, which involved further replacements. WO Bentley Memorial Foundation records indicate that the body was replaced with the current Vanden Plas tourer body in 1931.

By 1938, the chassis record indicates that YR was on its fourth owner (Dr R I Shier) and had covered 89,454 miles, or around 7500 miles a year from new. It is not possible to know the current mileage, but if this annual mileage continued, the total would be over 670,000 by now.

By 1963, the body was being described by its owner Roger Radford as "in very poor condition ... nearly falling to pieces, however restoration is well under way". Roger kept the car around ten years. It seems that his restoration was successful, as YR was later used as a course car for the Bentley Drivers Club Silverstone meeting, where it was described as "a very nice but oil-incontinent 3 Litre".

Maintenance records of the car are fairly complete from the early 1980s. Work in the 80s included repainting, a new windscreen and high compression pistons. The 90s saw McKenzie-Guppy carry out a full inspection of the car, which resulted in a large amount of required work being identified. This included major engine work, including the fitting of a Phoenix crank and rods. This left very little work to do in the 2000s, the main item being the fitting of an overdrive to make touring more relaxed. This has proved to be an excellent match for the low (4.23:1) ratio back axle and has been fitted using mounts that do not involve drilling the chassis, making the installation entirely reversible. Recent years have seen the differential rebuilt with all new bearings.

I have owned the car since 2003, during which time YR has been used extensively for UK events and for touring. 2006 saw our first major outing, when we toured New Zealand with the BDC in perfect weather. Later that year, several people from that tour agreed to meet up in Switzerland for the Klausenrennen, leading to three of our cars making the cover of the BDC Review in December 2006. My wife and I decided not to drive straight to Switzerland, but to drive via the French Riviera and over the Alps. This led to another cover photo, this time for Carriagecraft, the journal of the Vanden Plas Owners Club. We also visited the Circuit des Ramparts in Angouleme in 2009 before our next big trip - the BDC tour of South Africa in 2012. Since then, we have stayed within Europe, with a BDC Mid-West trip to Ireland in 2013, a visit to Italy, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia in 2014 and Octane magazine's trip to La Châtre sur le Loir in 2015. We have also taken part in nine BDC Welsh Weekends, during one of which YR acquired the nickname "Con Brio". Perhaps more a reflection on my driving than the car, although the low gearing helps.

What next for YR 2876? The car was last painted thirty years ago, and the paint is very worn and has become porous. It has been booked into to be repainted for some time, but circumstances have stopped this happening. I hope it will be done this year before we have more tours planned for 2017.

Paul Spencer
17 March 2016

Sources:
Bentley Motors Chassis Record
Bentley the Vintage Years (3rd Edition) by Dr Clare Hay
WO Bentley Memorial Foundation Archives
Bentley Drivers Club records
Personal records including invoices for work done