Here are photographs I took of of four of the Bentleys at the Footman James Classic Car Show at EventCity, Manchester in September 2017.
This is a 1955 Bentley R-Type, and a note attached to the car said:
'Standard Steel saloon with automatic gearbox
Engine 4.566cc, 6 cylinders in line, number B162 Z
Registration number KWM 289
Registered January 1955 and sold by Rolls-Royce agents Watson's of Liverpool to Mr A Letheren of Liverpool.
Second owner was Mr W E McLelland of Ightham Kent who bought the car on 6th August 1958.
The ownership is then unknown until 1994 when a Mr G Heinfeld in Arizona USA sold it to Mr J Lindahl of Minnesota. Mr Lindahl spent a considerable amount of money having the car restored and repainted, and although he died in 2000 his widow kept the car until August 2007 when I purchased it.
I bought the car on the internet without actually having seen it in reality, although I had dozens of emails and phone calls with the seller and many photographs sent. I have had a reasonable amount of mechanical work done to make it roadworthy for a MOT, and registered it with its original number as delivered new.'
This is a 1934 Bentley 3½ litre Sports Saloon, chassis number B42AH and registration number VG 6542. A note attached to this one said:
'This handsome car, which started life as a Mann Egerton Trials car (demonstrator) has had at least seven owners and obviously been used and enjoyed. It now has a 4¼ litre engine, reputedly factory-fitted, and still starts, stops and drives extremely well. The body style by one of the lesser known coach builders, Mann Egerton is much admired, especially by the ladies. Less commendable, the sliding roof is not exactly water tight and having to open the boot to gain access to the petrol filler is decidedly inconvenient! The passenger compartment is best described as compact, with the occupants having a generous degree of togetherness.
The current owners are currently undertaking a gentle and sympathetic "rolling restoration", whilst thoroughly enjoying the car's qualities in the meantime. It is likely that the present colour scheme and white sidewall tyres will be retained.
Club members may recall that the immediate past owner of B42AH was the internationally renowned artist, the late Peter Miller, whose skill at painting pictures of our cars was second to none and are the proud owners of his works.'
This is a 1952 Bentley R-Type with body be Freestone & Webb. A note on the car says:
'Prior to the launch of the new Bentley R-Type in 1952, the first 10 rolling chassis to be built at Crewe were sent to the top UK Coachbuilders of the day. The idea being to have a number of different bespoke "coach built" cars available on display at the 1952 Earls Court International Motor Show to complement the "standard steel" Bentley R-Type saloons at the model's launch. One of two chassis delivered to Coachbuilders Freestone and Webb of London, this chassis is fitted with flamboyant and elegant coachwork known as an "Empress".
The car is unique and was built specifically for display at the 1952 Motor Show to showcase the skills of the Company's craftsmen, taking several months to complete prior to the show. The bodywork is hand formed aluminium over an Ash (timber) frame, fitted with steel front wings and bonnet. It has all the luxury its "super rich" owner would expect, including drinks cabinet (driver's door) together with a colour coded fitted picnic set (passenger door), 4 picnic tables (complete with cup holders!), vanity mirrors, cigar lighters, heated rear window, a transistor radio, and a matching set of luggage in the boot. Making it not surprisingly, one of the most expensive cars available at the show, costing an "eye-watering" £6,500.
To put that in perspective the average working wage in 1952 was about £5 per week, or £250 a year! At the show you could have bought an Aston Martin DB2 at £2,500, together with a Jaguar XK120 at £1,200, and a Morris Minor at £600. THEN you could have gone out and bought a large detached house with the other £2,300, all for the price of this car!
It has a wonderful history, being in continuous use for the majority of its 64 year life, with 2 long term owners. The first being the West German Embassy in London (1953-1979), where on diplomatic plates 159D150 it would have been frequently seen around Whitehall, the various London Embassies, and no doubt on occasion Downing Street. The second was a Dr L Shiers (1979-2006), an eminent Orthopaedic Surgeon (who invented the artificial knee joint back in the early 1950's), and had his practice in Harley Street, London.
The car came with all its handbooks, tools, and a complete service history! It has never been restored just maintained, looked after and repaired as required, primarily by the two careful long term owners.
It's a wonderful old car to own, that wears its patina and age with pride!'
This Bentley didn't display any information, and I've not been able to find out much about it, only that it's a 1935 car. It seems to be one of the Derby-built 3½ litre cars and apparently once belonged to the celebrated railway photographer Ivo Peters..
'Standard Steel saloon with automatic gearbox
Engine 4.566cc, 6 cylinders in line, number B162 Z
Registration number KWM 289
Registered January 1955 and sold by Rolls-Royce agents Watson's of Liverpool to Mr A Letheren of Liverpool.
Second owner was Mr W E McLelland of Ightham Kent who bought the car on 6th August 1958.
The ownership is then unknown until 1994 when a Mr G Heinfeld in Arizona USA sold it to Mr J Lindahl of Minnesota. Mr Lindahl spent a considerable amount of money having the car restored and repainted, and although he died in 2000 his widow kept the car until August 2007 when I purchased it.
I bought the car on the internet without actually having seen it in reality, although I had dozens of emails and phone calls with the seller and many photographs sent. I have had a reasonable amount of mechanical work done to make it roadworthy for a MOT, and registered it with its original number as delivered new.'
'This handsome car, which started life as a Mann Egerton Trials car (demonstrator) has had at least seven owners and obviously been used and enjoyed. It now has a 4¼ litre engine, reputedly factory-fitted, and still starts, stops and drives extremely well. The body style by one of the lesser known coach builders, Mann Egerton is much admired, especially by the ladies. Less commendable, the sliding roof is not exactly water tight and having to open the boot to gain access to the petrol filler is decidedly inconvenient! The passenger compartment is best described as compact, with the occupants having a generous degree of togetherness.
The current owners are currently undertaking a gentle and sympathetic "rolling restoration", whilst thoroughly enjoying the car's qualities in the meantime. It is likely that the present colour scheme and white sidewall tyres will be retained.
Club members may recall that the immediate past owner of B42AH was the internationally renowned artist, the late Peter Miller, whose skill at painting pictures of our cars was second to none and are the proud owners of his works.'
'Prior to the launch of the new Bentley R-Type in 1952, the first 10 rolling chassis to be built at Crewe were sent to the top UK Coachbuilders of the day. The idea being to have a number of different bespoke "coach built" cars available on display at the 1952 Earls Court International Motor Show to complement the "standard steel" Bentley R-Type saloons at the model's launch. One of two chassis delivered to Coachbuilders Freestone and Webb of London, this chassis is fitted with flamboyant and elegant coachwork known as an "Empress".
The car is unique and was built specifically for display at the 1952 Motor Show to showcase the skills of the Company's craftsmen, taking several months to complete prior to the show. The bodywork is hand formed aluminium over an Ash (timber) frame, fitted with steel front wings and bonnet. It has all the luxury its "super rich" owner would expect, including drinks cabinet (driver's door) together with a colour coded fitted picnic set (passenger door), 4 picnic tables (complete with cup holders!), vanity mirrors, cigar lighters, heated rear window, a transistor radio, and a matching set of luggage in the boot. Making it not surprisingly, one of the most expensive cars available at the show, costing an "eye-watering" £6,500.
To put that in perspective the average working wage in 1952 was about £5 per week, or £250 a year! At the show you could have bought an Aston Martin DB2 at £2,500, together with a Jaguar XK120 at £1,200, and a Morris Minor at £600. THEN you could have gone out and bought a large detached house with the other £2,300, all for the price of this car!
It has a wonderful history, being in continuous use for the majority of its 64 year life, with 2 long term owners. The first being the West German Embassy in London (1953-1979), where on diplomatic plates 159D150 it would have been frequently seen around Whitehall, the various London Embassies, and no doubt on occasion Downing Street. The second was a Dr L Shiers (1979-2006), an eminent Orthopaedic Surgeon (who invented the artificial knee joint back in the early 1950's), and had his practice in Harley Street, London.
The car came with all its handbooks, tools, and a complete service history! It has never been restored just maintained, looked after and repaired as required, primarily by the two careful long term owners.
It's a wonderful old car to own, that wears its patina and age with pride!'
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