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| By artist Mary P. H. Burgoyne, 1960 |
I believe that because Syd Lawrence significantly modified the chassis. He gave it
his own number, it's possible that he did others — 708 may have been the
original 3L chassis number, which has now been reinstated... With reference to my chassis HF3185,
Hay’s quote is slightly misleading. I’ve attached a copy of my article (published below) that was printed in the BDC Review, concerning chassis HF3185 and its
running gear, which went into MKN 841. This was verified in writing to me by David Chapman, who stripped the chassis in 1947 to build MKN 841, which
he is driving in the photo. This may, or may not, help clear the fog!
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Some old geezer once said something to the effect that "a rose would be a rose… by any other name", and I wonder if the same applies to our axles etc and the numbers stamped on them. Since my essay on YV 9608 was published in the August BDC Review I have received much more information about chassis number HF3185 from a previous owner, David Chapman. David bought the car in 1947 for £450 from Wing Cmdr. R Coombs, and his account makes interesting reading. David’s first-hand account is at variance with much of the "hearsay' post war history that has been passed down with the car, and I would like to thank him for clarifying the sequence of events. |
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| Original Mulliner All Weather Saloon body, around 1947 |
Having competed in the 1949 Eastbourne Rally with YV 9608, David tried, unsuccessfully, to obtain a more competitive mount. Failing to find one, he scrapped the original Mulliner body in 1949/50 and transferred all the mechanicals (except the C gearbox, which I believe is in Michael Hay’s car) into a shortened chassis, KM3089. This chassis he obtained from Syd Lawrence in exchange for chassis HF3185. These components became the basis of a competitive two seater special registered as MKN 841. Subsequently MKN 841 re-acquired its original registration of YV 9342. This car still exists and still uses the engine and running gear from chassis HF3185. At a later date, Tom Padden acquired chassis HF3185 from Syd Lawrence and built it into a "Le Mans replica" which he registered as YV 9608, the original registration for the chassis. I have no problem with any of this, as both cars are W.O.Bentleys, using genuine W.O. Bentley components, albeit ones that were originally bolted onto different chassis. While agreeing that it is very nice to see a car which has retained all its original numbered components, this does not make it any more or less a Bentley — a rare collector’s item, maybe. |
