Of the 665 4½ liter cars manufactured
by Bentley Motors, only one had a body built by Thrupp
& Maberly. It is chassis number MR3390, engine number
MR3393.
The original purchaser, W. M. Wallace, Jr., then residing
at Stirling, Scotland ordered the 10 10½
chassis with 15/53 diff. and C gearbox.
It was also equipped with the Tecalamit one-shot lubrication
system fitted by the factory. The centralized lubrication
system was a highly unusual feature on a 4½ liter
chassis, it being more commonly supplied with the 8
liter chassis. The open sports tourer body created by
Thrupp & Maberly (body no. 5187) is unique to this
car. The original UK registration mark was MS34.
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Oil
on canvas by VintageBentleys.org |
It is very handsome design, originally
having two doors, a vertical windscreen, razor-edged
wings and a collapsible second windscreen for the rear-seat
passengers. The doors were to the nearside front and
the offside rear. The spare tire mount was also unique
to this car. They built no other like it. The car was
delivered on My 14, 1929 with the standard factory 5-year
guarantee effective through May 17, 1934.
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MR3390
when new From:
BDC files |
MR3390 is a car that was driven by
Mr. Wallace, and some of its successive owners, with
great enthusiasm virtually from the beginning of its
existence. There is a substantial record of an extensive
rallying history.
The factory records were kindly supplied by Alan Bodfish,
who has been so very helpful with these articles, out
of BDC archives. They show that MR3390 quickly accumulated
the miles while being driven by Mr. Wallace. By November,
1930 the car was serviced with 15,850 on the clock;
23,658 by September 1931; by December 1932, 35,584;
by May 1933, 36,667; 1934, 43,555; December 1935, 52,793;
and by May 1936, 55,436 miles were recorded in the factory
records. The 1936 service was the last with a mileage
entry.
In early 1932, there is an interesting notation in the
records. There is the statement that MR3390 had been
entered in an RAC Rally on March 1st without permission.
As consequence the factory warranty was voided.
Bentley Motors had been known to terminate the factory
guaranty on any car that was raced without factory permission.
There is no notation that any action was taken with
respect to MR3390. John Thompson, a former owner, confirmed
that the warranty was, in fact, terminated.
After finding that this car had an extensive rally history
I rang Tim Houlding to ascertain what he might have
in his personal files as the BDC records had little
rally detail. He went into his files and found some
very pertinent information about MR3390. He has kindly
provided information pertaining to MR3390s and
Mr. Wallaces rally history. These were extracted
from Tims copy of British Rally Drivers
Their Cars & Awards 1925-1939 by
Donald Cowbourne. The car was entered in the following
Rallies driven by Mr. Wallace:
1932 Royal Automobile Club Rally entry no. 368,
result 157/232
1932 Royal Scottish Automobile Club Rally entry
no. 125, result 5/87
1936 Royal Scottish Automobile Club Rally entry
no. 23, result 17/22
1938 Royal Scottish Automobile Club Rally entry
no. 208, result 18/32
BDC archives, however, contained numerous period photographs
of MR3390 being driven in various events. Upon magnification
of the photos, the events were able to be identified
coinciding with the listings identified by Cowbourne:
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MR3390
on the 1938 Royal Scottish A. C. Rally, entry no.
208 |
The maintenance of MR3390 continued
to be noted by Bentley Motors in the factory records
up to 1938 at various service facilities in Scotland.
It can only be assumed that this was while MR3390 was
still in the ownership of Mr. Wallace.
According to the history of MR3390 assembled by Wayne
Kennerley, the car remained in the ownership of Wallace
until 1945. Wayne Kennerley is amassing data on W.O.
Bentley cars that had been in service in South Africa.
He has generously made his information available to
this writer for MR3390. He had done the same for the
first two cars in this series of articles (TB2542 and
YX5106) that, by sheer coincidence, also have a South
African connection.
In addition to the ownership history, Mr. Kennerley
has also shed light on the changes to the body configuration
of MR3390. Mr. Kennerley asserts that the coachwork
was modified in 1938. The extent of the work included
the changing of the windscreen from a vertical frame,
as seen in the original photo, to one having a 2 inch
slant at the top which can be seen in the later photos.
An additional nearside rear door was added and the rear
windscreen was removed.
Much of the history was confirmed during this writers
telephone conversation with Mr. John Thompson in April
of 2007. He owned MR3390 from 1965 to 1989 in South
Africa. Mr. Thompson, I am pleased to report, is alive
and well living in Guildford, Surrey. Mr. Thompson also
added that the front seat was changed from its original
twin bucket seat configuration to a bench seat. The
wheels were changed from the original 21 inch to 19
inch. These changes remain with the car to this day.
Mr. Thompson recalls that the reason for the changes
is that Mr. Wallace had started a family thus precipitating
the modifications.
There exists a period photograph of MR3390 with a new
UK registration mark, WG8032, which indicates that either
Mr. Wallace purchased another car and had the original
registration mark (MS34) moved to the new car; or, there
was a change in ownership by the time this photograph
was taken and Wallace elected to retain MS34. The original
vertical windscreen is still evident. Consequently,
one can assume that this new registration number was
issued prior to the body work alterations c. 1938 (?).
Mr. Thompson recalls the year of the body changes to
be 1935. This is in conflict with photos of the car
participating in various rallies. These date the car
if one relies on the information provided by Cowbourne.
Consequently, a bit of a mystery still remains as to
when the alterations to MR3390s body were made.
The factory service history during Mr. Wallaces
ownership ceases with the notation of sending two 6-volt
batteries in 1938. Could there have been a change of
ownership around that time? Was the new owner, if any,
the one that ordered the changes to the body work? It
is not unknown for an existing or new owner to make,
what are essentially modernizations, to
a coach built car to suit his particular taste and requirements.
Perhaps our BDC readers can shed some light on this
bit of a mystery.
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MR3390 with second
registration mark WG8032 with original body configuration |
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There exists another period photograph
of MR3390 with the second UK registration mark showing
it participating in yet another rally, allegedly the
Eastbourne Rally. The photograph clearly shows that
it was taken subsequent to the changes to the body work
which shows the windscreen to be slanted at the time
the photograph was taken. Upon magnification of the
photograph, the entry number begins with a 5
which does not coincide with any of the entry numbers
assigned to Mr. Wallace as cited by Cowbourne.
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MR3390
(2nd car) at the Eastbourne Rally? |
Mr. Kennerleys files provide
that MR3390 was sold to G.A. Gordon-Watson in South
Africa in 1960. Following Mr. Gordon-Watsons ownership,
MR3390 was then sold on to John Thompson of Pietermaritzburg
in 1965 who owned the car for 24 years.
Mr. John White, a long-time BDC member and vintage Bentley
owner in Capetown, recalls MR3390 in the ownership of
Mr. Thompson from about 1972 on. Thompson and his brother
Ian owned a Datsun agency at Pietermaritzburg and both
were very active in rallying their cars.
As an aside, Ian Thompson owned a 28 4½
(TX3237) that John White purchased. It is still owned
and driven by Mr. White.
Mr. White was the organizer of the Port Elizabeth Rally
for 13 years and MR3390 participated regularly in that
event. John also ran the South African Veteran and Vintage
Association which is affiliated with FIVA. He further
recalls that Mr. Thompson drove MR3390 in numerous FIVA
South African rallies as well as a few South African
National Rallies. The rallying spirit of the original
owner seems to have remained with MR3390 and continued
with Mr. Thompson.
A photograph exists from 1970, taken in South Africa,
with the South African registration mark, NP31997. MR3390,
entered and driven by Mr. Thompson, was photographed
on the 1970 Bill Milligen Memorial Rally with the slanted
windscreen and the original wings but painted a dark
green by that time.
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MR3390
on the Bill Milligen Memorial Rally |
It was during this period in South Africa that the
original Thrupp & Maberly razor-edged wings were
replaced with locally fabricated Vanden Plas-style wings
which are currently on the car. According to John Thompson,
this change was necessitated by the deterioration of
the original wings after forty-plus years of spirited
driving. Fortunately, the original wings were not destroyed
but were kept and stored by Mr. Thompson. There is yet
another period photo of MR3390, still in South Africa
while on yet another rally, showing the new style wings.
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MR3390
on a rally in South Africa with the Vanden Plas
style wings |
In 1989 Mr. Thompson sold MR3390 through Stanley Mann.
The registration mark assigned to the car upon re-entry
into the UK was DS8226 and is with the car today.
The car was purchased by an American, Mr. Charles Mallory
of Connecticut, USA who imported the car into America.
The car was driven sparingly while in his ownership.
As a small footnote, MR3390 in the ownership of Mr.
Mallory, was one of the first cars this writer inspected
when I commenced my search for a vintage Bentley in
1990-1991. MR3390 was effectively the car as it appears
today when I saw it then, save for a different paint
scheme.
Mr. Mallory ultimately sold MR3390 to Dr. Lynn Boynton,
an avid vintage car enthusiast and driver, resident
in Wisconsin and Florida, USA. Lynn drove the car very
little. He is really a Silver Ghost man and is a past
chairman of the Silver Ghost Association.
Dr. Boynton, with kind assistance from Tim Houlding,
located and purchased the original Thrupp & Maberly
wings from John Thompson with the intention of having
them reunited with the original bodywork. One rear wing
still retains the South African national identity mark.
In 2004 Dr. Boynton sold MR3390 to Don Meyer of New
Jersey, USA. Mr. Meyer drove the car on two North American
Vintage Bentley Meets in 2005 and 2006. This writer
had the opportunity to photograph the car on those rallies.
The rallying spirit of Mr. Wallace continued during
Don Meyers ownership.
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MR3390 on the 2006 NAVBM |
The Myers enjoying MR3390, 2006 |
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From: author |
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In early 2007 Don sold the car to Mr. Charles Crail,
a vintage car dealer, at Santa Barbara, California.
The car has now been sold to Mr. Scott Gulley of California.
MR3390, as it now appears, with its new owner who will
hopefully continue driving MR3390 in the spirit of Mr.
Wallace.
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MR3390 May 2005 |
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From: Don Meyer
& author |
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