1925 Bentley 3/4.5 Litre Le Mans

For many years in the Vintage Bentley world enthusiats have agreed on the exceptional virtues of the 3/4.5 litre conversion. Take an original 3 Litre Speed Model with the short 9ft 9½” wheelbase and either upgrade the engine (more easily engineered on the later 3 Litres) or install an original 4.5 Litre engine (not easy to find). You end up with a fast sports car with handling that is superior to anything else from the Vintage era. Some Bugatti and Alfa Romeo owners may disagree, but there is little doubt the Bentley is less fussy, more robust,  and considerably cheaper that either of those! The actual 4.5 Litre chassis is the same as the 3 Litre Standard chassis (10'10 inches) anyway, so have the closest car to a real short chassis 4.5 Litre of which only 11 were made and they are worth a good deal more! Having done your mechanical conversion you might as well finish the job by fitting a Le Mans style body with blade wings and a big fuel tank to look like one of the factory team cars. You then have the perfect Vintage Bentley for rallies, tours, or even circuit racing.

This car Chassis No 784, is a very good example of just such a car. It has an interesting history. It started life as an original 3 Litre Speed Model fitted with a saloon body by James Young.  The original engine no recorded on  factory service sheet was 791. But later  in the document (in 1927)  the factory service sheet records the fitting of engine no DE1201. Earlier  the document also records the fitting of "hourglass" racing pistons, so presumably the first owner was keen on spirited driving! This factory fitted engine is still in the car today, but it has now had a full converion to 4.5 Litres using uprated conrods, rockers, and shell bearings (as opposed to the original white metal). It also benefits from having  full flow oil filtering with a modern oil filter.

In the 1930's the car recieved its second body, a stylish 2 door FHC by Shapecraft. It was also fitted with an ENV pre-selector gearbox, making gear changes fast and comfortable. There is even an article on the car in "The Autocar" magazine in 1937 which uses  the car as an example of how to "modernise" your Vintage Bentley. The original manual gearbox is with the car. 


The car retained the 2 door Shapecraft body until about 2005, when in conjuction with the conversion to 4.5 Litres a new full Le Mans style body was fitted. It has blade wings  and  the big Le Mans style petrol tank. It is modelled on the early 3 Litre Factory Le Mans Team cars.

So to sum up here is an original 3 Litre Speed Model that retains its 1927 factory fitted engine uprated to 4.5 Litres. It has a very full history. The body is to Le Mans spec, and the condition is excellent. A car that is is perfect for all the many competative events open to owners of Vintage Cars
, and is one of the best 3/4.5 Litre cars we have seen.