3-litre Bentley, 1924

B1568
The 1924 Bentley is partly restored and features an open four-seat, four-door touring body with running boards and an angled split windscreen to reduce wind resistance. It is the standard long wheelbase "Blue Label" model featuring a 4-cylinder, in-line engine, iron cylinder block and cylinder head cast in one piece, aluminum alloy crankcase, dual ignition by magnetos and a cone type clutch with a 4-speed gearbox. The final drive is by bevel pinion, suspension by semi-elliptic springs front and rear, and the brakes are fitted to the front and rear axles.

The car is incomplete but it does run. Some non-standard parts are fitted and major components are missing including interior fittings, some of the seats, several instruments, tail-light and driver's door. Some of the non-standard parts include the modern SU carburetor and the brake operating levers. The timber body frame and metal panels are not original and are part of a restoration begun prior to purchase by the Museum in 1964. This is suggested by the fact that the front door hinge positions have not been cut into the new timber. There are also two weld lines in the metal scuttle just forward of the front door cutouts. Two boxes of spare parts in the rear of the car contain ignition switches, magneto switches, a generator and fuel lines.

Specifications
Chassis builder: Bentley Motors Ltd,
Type: 3 litre Blue Label
Years in production: 1921-1929
No of 3-litre models made: 1617
Coach builder: Unknown
Engine No: 705
Chassis No: 695
Steering Box No: 692
Gearbox: Type "B"
Front axle No: 371
Rear axle stamped ratio: 13/55 (4.23:1)
Rear axle No: 695
Engine: 4-cylinder in-line
Petrol tank capacity: 11 gallons (50 litres)
Petrol consumption: 20-22 mpg (7.4 litres/km)
Transmission: cone type clutch, 4-speed gearbox
Bore: 80 mm (3.1 in)
Stroke: 149 mm (5.9 in)
RAC Horsepower rating: 15:9
Max. speed: 80 mph (129 km/h)
Weight: 33 cwt (1.7 tonnes)
Capacity of engine sump: 2.5 gallons (11.4 litres)
Wheels: Rudge Whitworth detachable wire
Tyres: 600 x21
Wheelbase: 10 ft 10in or 130 in (3 302 mm)
Track: 4ft 8 in (1422 mm)
Original colour: Green

Description
Automobile, full size, Bentley, 3-litre, long standard tourer, Blue Label, engine No. 705, chassis No. 695, metal/rubber/wood/leather, Bentley Motors Ltd, Cricklewood, London, England, 1924

The 1924 Bentley features an open four seat, four-door touring body. It is the standard long wheelbase "Blue Label" model featuring a 4-cylinder in-line engine, iron cylinder block and cylinder head cast in one piece, aluminum alloy crankcase, dual ignition by magnetos and a cone type clutch with a 4-speed gearbox. The final drive is by bevel pinion, suspension by semi-elliptic springs front and rear, and the brakes are fitted to the front and rear axles.

The car is unrestored and incomplete but it does run. Some non-standard parts are fitted and major components are missing including interior fittings, some of the seats, several instruments, tail-light and driver's door. Some of the non-standard parts include the modern SU carburetorand the brake operating levers. The timber body frame and metal panels are not original and seem to have been part of a restoration begun prior to purchase by the Museum in 1964. This is suggested by the fact that the front door hinge positions have not been cut into the new timber. There are also two weld lines in the metal scuttle just forward of the front door cutouts. Two boxes of spare parts in the rear of the car contain ignition switches, magneto switches, a generator and fuel lines.

Specifications
Chassis builder: Bentley Motors Ltd,
Type: 3 litre Blue Label
Years in production: 1921-1929
No of 3-litre models made: 1 617
Coach builder: Unknown
Engine No: 705
Chassis No: 695
Steering Box No: 692
Gearbox: Type "B"
Front axle No: 371
Rear axle stamped ratio: 13/55 (4.23:1)
Rear axle No: 695
Nosepiece No: BM 1403
Engine: 4-cylinder in-line
Petrol tank capacity: 11 gallons (50 litres)
Petrol consumption: 20-22 mpg (7.4 litres/km)
Transmission: cone type clutch, 4-speed gearbox
Bore: 80mm (3.1 in)
Stroke: 149 mm (5.9 in)
RAC Horsepower rating: 15:9
Max. speed: 80 mph (129 km/h)
Weight: 33 cwt (1.7 tonnes)
Capacity of engine sump: 2.5 gallons (11.4 litres)
Wheels: Rudge Whitworth detachable wire
Tyres: 600 x21
Wheelbase: 10 ft 10in or 130 in (3 302 mm)
Track: 4ft 8 in (1 422 mm)
Original colour: green

The Museum's Bentley left the Bentley works in July 1924 and was consigned to Mr Stanley S. Lade of Tasmania. In 'The Technical Factors of Vintage Bentley' published by the Bentley Drivers Club of England in 1984 the car is listed as a Speed Red Label short chassis model. The listing must be incorrect as the car features all the characteristics of the long chassis Blue Label model. The records do not record the body builder.

Mr Lade was persuaded to buy a Bentley when he was with the Bentley driving team at Le Mans in 1924 when Captain John Duff drove a Bentley to victory in the famous 24-hour speed and endurance race. Lade is said to have been taught to drive his car at the Brooklands racetrack, near London, under the tuition Captain Duff. He then imported the car to Tasmania in the 1930s and drove the car 100 miles per week in Tasmania over rough roads. The strong construction of the car no doubt enabling it to withstand the poor road conditions. Lade once covered 560 miles in a day in a wager against a 12-cylinder Fiat for the first to cross the Perth Bridge from Campbletown. To overtake the Fiat he is said to have driven the Bentley at 98 mph through Epping Forest. The car had several subsequent owners, firstly with a Shell salesman but finished its days driving a saw bench near Mt Barrow not far from Launceston. It was rescued from this situation and acquired by a friend of the vendor, Dr E. Gilford, of the X-ray Department of the Repatriation General Hospital, Heidelberg West, Vic, who lived at 9 Yallambie Rd, Macleod. The car had been advertised in 'The Age,' on Saturday, 13 June, 1964, and was described as a forced sale. The Museum purchased the car from Dr Gilford in 1964 for 353 pounds together with a box containing spare parts, body fittings, wiring and a radiator cap, two spare wheels (20 inches with tyre and tube, the other a 21 inch), a 12 volt 15 plate Lucas battery and an old seat. It was transported from Melbourne to the Museum in Sydney by Brambles Ltd.

Acquisition credit line
Purchased 1964
Registration number B1568