1925 Bentley 3 Litre Four Seater Tourer

Bentley's domination at Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. On Stand 126 at the 1919 Olympia Motor Exhibition, W.O. Bentley proudly unveiled his new 3-liter car bearing his name. The prototype engine had been fired up just a few weeks earlier. Bentley's four-cylinder 'fixed head' engine incorporated a single overhead camshaft, four-valves per cylinder and a bore/stroke of 80x149mm. Twin ML magnetos provided the ignition and power was transmitted via a four-speed gearbox with right-hand change. The pressed-steel chassis started off with a wheelbase of 9' 9½' (the 'short standard') then adopted dimensions of 10' 10' ('standard long') in 1923, the shorter frame being reserved for the TT Replica and subsequent Speed Model. Rear wheel brakes only were employed up to 1924 when four-wheel Perrot-type brakes were introduced.

This particular example, chassis number 777, was delivered in August of 1924 to Lt. Col Brooke. It wore coachwork by Harrington thought the style was unspecified. In 1933, it received new four-seater sports tourer coachwork by Bays with slab tank, twin spares and cycle fenders.

In the early 1960s, the car found its way to the United Sates when a Chicago based orthopedic surgeon imported it. Having not informed his wife that he had purchased a vintage Bentley from England, he was promptly forced to sell it to his friend Dr. Glover of Canton, Missouri.

Dr. Glover retained the car for the next forty years until his death. Purchased out of the estate of Dr. Glover in August of 2004 by its current caretaker, the car was found to be in good mechanical order but in need of a comprehensive cosmetic restoration. The crude Bays four-seat tourer coachwork was in poor condition and being non-original the decision was made to replace this with a new body in the style of Jarvis.

The resulting coachwork was finished in dark green in honor of Bentleys racing heritage. After the work was completed, it was shown at Amelia Islnd where it won its class.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2017