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HomeMediaPre-war Bentleys join docket for Bonhams auction at Simeone museum

Pre-war Bentleys join docket for Bonhams auction at Simeone museum

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Bonhams has added a pair of special Bentleys to the docket for its preservation-oriented Collectors Motorcars and Automobilia auction, scheduled for October 2 at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. The Bentley’s are a 1924 3-Liter Speed Tourer and a 1929 4.5-liter Le Mans Replica Tourer.

They join the 1913 “London-to-Edinburgh” Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost consigned to the auction earlier.

The 1924 Speed Tourer was produced the same year Bentley began its reign at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. According to Bonhams, chassis No. 897 went to Morgan and Co. for coachwork and then was delivered to the Prince of Liechtenstein, who owned the car for four years.

’24 Bentley with the top up

At some point in the 1930s, the Morgan body was modified from its original two-seat configuration to add two more seats for tourer configuration.

Research also indicates that soon after World War II, with new vehicles not yet available, the Bentley was rebuilt on a frame of chassis No. 780, another 3-liter Speed model originally owned by Glen Kidston, one of the original Bentley Boys and a Le Mans race-winning driver. Afterward, the car was used in many Bentley Drivers Club events.

The consignor, a collector of Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, has owned the car since the early 1980s and has preserved it in what Bonhams terms “remarkable unmolested condition,” with its body still covered in the original rexine fabric and still with its original engine, steering box, transmission and rear axle.

1929 Le Mans Replica from Van Schaick collection

Offered from the estate of David L. Van Schaick is the 1929 Le Mans Replica fabric tourer with bodywork in the style of Vanden Plas. Van Schaick campaigned the car for more than 30 years, Bonhams noted.

The car originally carried more formal closed coachwork and originally was owned by whisky-maker A.W. Whyte of Scotland. The car was rebodied in 1972 and may have gotten a new period-correct 4 1/2-liter engine at the same time.

New Jersey Bentley enthusiast Frank Allocca acquired the car in 1983 and had it flown to the U.S. to use while he was awaiting the restoration of another car. That car completed, Allocca sold the Le Mans Replica to Van Schaick and participated with “bold bravado” in many Bentley Club rallies.

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Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

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