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1925 Bentley 3 Litre |
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Original 1925 Numbers
Chassis No. 911
Engine No. 919
Registration No. (Not available)
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This car - updated
Chassis No. 911
Engine No. 919
Registration No.
(Updated with information from RM Sotheby's. - July 2016) |
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July 2016 |
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Aug 24, 2016: Sold for $682,000 in RM/Sotheby's at Monterey
Found on RM Sotheby's website on July 27, 2016
1926 Bentley 3-4½-Litre Tourer in the style of Vanden Plas
$600,000 - $750,000
Monterey - Sam & Emily Mann: A Collection by Design - Offered on: Saturday, August 20, 2016
Specifications
Chassis No. 911 ~
Engine No. 919
- Offered from the collection of Sam and Emily Mann
- Faithfully constructed in the style of the famed 1928 Le Mans winner, “Old Mother Gun”
- An exceptional restoration; extensive sorting for rallying and touring
- Ideal for events such as the Copperstate 1000 and Bentley Drivers Club rallies
- A thrilling Bentley meant to be driven in the great “W.O.” style
100 bhp, 4,398 cc OHC inline four-cylinder engine, four-speed manual gearbox, solid front axle and live rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs, and four-wheel mechanical drum brakes. Weelbase: 117.5 in.
Developed from the brilliant 3-Litre, W.O. Bentley’s more powerful 4½-Litre made its debut in 1925 and managed the difficult feat of both improving upon the marque’s carriage-trade business and building upon the racing success of its progenitor in one masterful stroke. Of all Bentleys of its era, it is the 4½-Litre that remains most famous today, and the most famous 4½-Litre is “Old Mother Gun.” Crashed at Le Mans in 1927, it was subsequently repaired and captured Bentley’s third Le Mans title in 1928, co-driven by the “Bentley Boys” Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin. “Old Mother Gun” enjoyed an epic career and survives today as one of the most valued and historic of vintage Bentleys.
The faithful and handsome car shown here was built in the style of “Old Mother Gun” on the Bentley 3-Litre chassis number 911, originally delivered in Melbourne, Australia, with a drophead coupe body by Freestone & Webb, in January 1925. When acquired by enthusiast Brian Hussey in 2003 as a restoration project, it was running, but its original coachwork was beyond repair. Rather than attempt a full restoration to original form, the decision was made to perform an exacting conversion of the car to the Le Mans specification of “Old Mother Gun.”
The car was completely dismantled, and its chassis shortened by 2½ inches, fitted with fixed pillar struts, and its springs re-tempered, reset, and refitted with correcting mountings and full-length gaiters. The brakes were rebuilt with finned drums, and period-correct 20-inch wire wheels were installed. The engine was built upon a “Blower”-specification 4½-Litre block, acquired from the late Russ “Rusty” Turner, with the additions of a Reece camshaft, Phoenix crankshaft, performance connecting rods, high-compression pistons, needle-bearing rockers, and a high-performance oil pump. A lightened flywheel, heavy-duty clutch, and fully rebuilt gearbox drive a new balanced propshaft and a 3.53:1 differential with a new four-star crown wheel and pinion.
The coachwork in the Vanden Plas Le Mans style was expertly framed by Rod Wariner and paneled in aluminum; all of the trim details are correct, including Vanden Plas sill plates. James Pearce finished the seats in Muirhead leather, while the hood and tonneau covers, both full and half-length, were reportedly made to the correct original pattern. Accessories included both full and quick-release Brooklands-type windscreens, pre-war Lucas P100 angle-mounted headlamps with stone guards, right-angle-drive Klaxon horn and two forward Klaxonettes, and full instrumentation with a dashboard-mounted air pump.
The completed car was sold by Mr. Hussey in 2008 and was eventually acquired by a Swiss enthusiast, who reportedly invested a further £30,000 in such items as a new alternator and starter motor, the cross-shaft assembly, and the addition of new racing pistons and engine tuning for additional power. Four years later, it was acquired by Sam and Emily Mann, in whose distinguished collection it has since remained.
Further sorting has been undertaken during the Mann’s ownership, with tours and rallies in mind. Blakeney Motorsport of Buntingford, Hertfordshire, performed an initial round of fettling shortly after the Manns acquired the car in 2012. More recently, in June 2016, D.L. George Historic Motorcars, the well-regarded vintage Bentley restoration facility in Cochranville, Pennsylvania, rebuilt the suspension with correct rod end springs, rebuilt and improved the brakes, installed new rear wheel hubs and spring shackle bushings, and rebuilt the alternator.
A fan of vintage Bentleys, Sam states: “This car shifts beautifully and easily, and it has the wonderful capacity of being fun to drive at speed or with a full passenger load for a more leisurely outing. It has the look of that wonderful Vanden Plas design with the flowing, ostensibly one-piece fender. I am particularly enamored with the front view, with its dual shock absorbers, low-mounted horns, headlight stone guards, and diagonal struts to reinforce the headlight stanchions – all elements which emphasize the competition character of the car.”
The car is set for a new owner to enjoy in events such as the Copperstate 1000 and Colorado Grand, as well as Bentley Drivers Club events such as the 1000-mile event one the Manns completed just last year in Upstate New York. Not just a “special,” it is a thoughtfully constructed representation of one of the most famous and valuable of vintage Bentleys and will allow its next caretaker to enjoy the remarkable driving experience of “Old Mother Gun” on modern roads. |
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Source:
RM Sotheby's
Posted: Jul 27, 2016 |
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May
2012 |
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1925 Bentley 4½-Litre
Le Mans Replica Tourer
Chassis No. 911
100 bhp, 4,398 cc OHC inline four-cylinder
engine, four-speed manual gearbox,
solid front axle and live rear axle
with semi-elliptic leaf springs, and
four-wheel mechanical drum brakes.
Wheelbase: 117.5"
- Faithful recreation of Old
Mother Gun, the famed 1928 Le
Mans winner
- Wonderful vintage racer or fast
open-road tourer; 5,500-hour restoration
- Some £30,000 invested since
acquisition by current owner in 2010
Developed from the brilliant 3-litre,
W.O. Bentleys more powerful
4½-litre débuted in
1925 and enhanced both the marques
carriage-trade business and built
upon the racing success of its progenitor
in one stroke. Of all Bentleys of
the era, however, the 4½-litre,
nicknamed Old Mother Gun,
remains the most famous today. Crashed
at Le Mans in 1927, it was repaired
and then captured Bentleys third
Le Mans title in 1928, with Woolf
Barnato and Bernard Rubin co-driving.
Mother Gun enjoyed an
epic career and survives today. This
faithful and handsome recreation is
built on chassis 911, originally a
3-litre Bentley with Freestone and
Webb drophead coupé bodywork,
which was delivered new to Melbourne,
Australia in January 1925. When eventually
acquired by the prior owner in 2003
as a restoration project, it was running,
but the original body was beyond repair.
Rather than attempt a full restoration
to original form, the decision was
made to perform an exacting conversion
to the Le Mans specification of Old
Mother Gun instead.
The car was completely dismantled
and the chassis shortened by 2½
inches. It was fitted with fixed pillar
struts, and the springs were re-tempered,
reset and refitted with correct mountings
and full-length gaiters. The brakes
were rebuilt with finned drums, and
period-correct 20-inch wire wheels
with 5.25/50 tyres were installed.
The engine was built upon a blower-specification
block from the late Russ Rusty
Turner. Added to this were a Reece
camshaft, Phoenix crankshaft, connecting
rods, high-compression pistons, needle-bearing
rockers and boxes and a high-performance
oil pump. A lightened flywheel, heavy-duty
clutch and fully-rebuilt gearbox drive
a new balanced propshaft and a 3.53:1
differential with new four-star crown
wheel and pinion. The fuel tank is
by Gavin Spencer.
Replica coachwork in the Vanden Plas
Le Mans style was expertly framed
by Rod Wariner and panelled in aluminium
by Vintage & Classic. All trim
details are correct, including Vanden
Plas sill plates. James Pearce furnished
the seats in Muirhead leather, and
the hood and tonneau covers, both
full and half-length, are made to
the original pattern. Accessories
include both full and aero windscreens,
as well as Air Ministry switches,
pre-war Lucas P100 angle-mounted headlamps
with stone guards, right-angle-drive
Klaxon horn and two forward Klaxonettes,
plus full instrumentation with dash-mounted
air pump.
The car is accompanied by a full photographic
record of the 5,500-hour restoration.
On its maiden outing, it was honoured
with a concours win and has continued
to delight its keepers and all onlookers.
Since acquisition by the current owner,
a further £30,000 was invested,
including such new items as the alternator
and starter motor, the cross-shaft
assembly and new windscreen, as well
as the addition of new racing pistons
and engine tuning for additional power.
A correct and painstaking representation
of the 1928 Le Mans victor, this car
is perfect for vintage racing, concours
participation or pure motoring pleasure.
Estimate:
€325.000-€445.000
Monaco, Friday, May 11, 2012 - Saturday,
May 12, 2012
Auction Results: Lot was sold
at a price of €408.800 |
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Source:
RM Auctions
Posted: Jun 29, 2012 |
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2010 |
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1925 Bentley 3/4
1/2 Litre Le Mans Replica Tourer
Number 911, a 3-Litre Bentley with
drophead coupé body by Freestone
and Webb, was delivered new to Melbourne,
Australia in January of 1925. Its
intermediate history is unknown, but
when it was purchased in 2003 as a
restoration project, it was in severely
deteriorated condition. It was running,
but the coachbuilt body was beyond
repair and the chassis and engine
were very tired. The owner decided
that rather than embark on the task
of full restoration he would make
a conversion to the Le Mans specification
of Old Mother Gun instead.
Sold for
€250,567 on October 27th 2010,
Battersea, London. |
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Source:
SuperCars
Posted: Nov 22, 2010 |
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April
2008 |
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Bentley 3 - 4½
lt Le Mans style Tourer 1925
Chassis nbr. 911; Engine nbr. RT 909;
6-cylinder 4,5 litre engine; 4-speed
gearbox; fully restored to "Old
Mother Gun" Le Mans race car
specifications; photo documentation
of restoration; eligible for all major
events world wide
3 Litre Bentley, chassis number 911
was delivered new to Melbourne, Australia
in January 1925. At which time it
carried a drop head coupe body by
Freestone and Webb. However, its modern
history is far more interesting.
The car was bought, in original but
dilapidated condition, in 2003 as
a restoration project by an enthusiast
in Sydney, Australia. At that time
it was still running, but the body
was beyond repair and the chassis
and engine described as on their
last legs. With this in mind
the decision to convert it to Le Mans
specification made complete sense.
The car was completely dismantled
and the original long chassis rebuilt
to the 9 foot 9½ inch Le Mans
specification. This entailed fitting
fixed pillar struts as on the famous
team car Old Mother Gun.
It also received a full under panel.
The springs were retempered and reset,
before refitting with the correct
mountings and full-length gaiters.
The brakes were totally rebuilt with
finned drums, and period correct 20inch
wire wheels with 5.25/50 inch tyres
were fitted.
The engine was rebuilt centred upon
a blower specification block from
the late Russ Rusty Turner.
A Reece camshaft, Phoenix crankshaft,
conrods, high compression pistons,
needle roller rockers and boxes and
a high performance oil pump were fitted.
A lightweight flywheel and high performance
clutch transmit the power to a gearbox
that has been fully rebuilt to BS
standards. The prop shaft is new and
fully balanced; the 3.53 differential
is fitted with a new 4-star crown
wheel and pinion. The fuel tank, as
on Mother Gun is by Gavin Spencer.
The original 3-Litre engine comes
crated with the car.
The replica Vanden Plas Le Mans style
coachwork features a frame by marque
expert Rod Wariner, with aluminium
panelling by Vintage & Classic.
All trim details are correct and in
period, including Vanden Plas sill
plates. The Team Car seats
by James Pearce are upholstered in
Muirhead leather. Full and half-length
Le Mans style tonneau covers and hood
are to original pattern.
The windscreen and aero screens as
well as all the minor trim details
are to the same exacting specifications
as Mother Gun. These include Air ministry
switches, fuel tank and headlight
stone guards, pre-war Lucas P100 angle
mounted headlights, full instrumentation,
right angle drive Klaxon and two front
Klaxonettes and dash board air pump.
A full photographic record of this
work, some 5,500 hours, comes with
the car.
The quality of the restoration can
best be judged by the fact that the
car won a Concours dElegance
on its maiden outing. In fact there
could be no better way to enjoy the
Eifel Klassik, the Mille Miglia or
any similar vintage event, than from
the seats of this superbly detailed,
fast and fully useable vintage Bentley. |
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Source:
Graber Sportgarage AG
Posted: Apr 28, 2008 |
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2006 |
In
Australia in 2006 / Owned by a BDC member |
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Chassis No: 911
Engine No: RT 909
Reg: Club reg (Vic) (N.T.)
W. O. Bentley proudly debuted the
new 3-litre car bearing his name on
Stand 126 at the 1919 Olympia Motor
Exhibition, the prototype engine having
fired up for the first time just a
few weeks earlier. In only mildly
developed form, this was the model
which was to become a legend in motor
racing history and which, with its
leather-strapped bonnet, classical
radiator design and British Racing
Green livery has become the archetypal
vintage sportscar. Early success in
the 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy,
when Bentleys finished second, fourth
and fifth to take the Team Prize,
led to the introduction of the TT
Replica (later known as the Speed
Model). However, by the middle of
the decade the 3-Litre's competitiveness
was on the wane and this, together
with the fact that too many customers
had been tempted to fit unsuitably
heavy coachwork to the excellent 3-Litre
chassis rather than accept the expense
and complexity of Bentley's 6½-litre
'Silent Six', led to the introduction
of the '4½'.
The new 4½-Litre model effectively
employed the chassis, transmission
and brakes of the 3-Litre, combined
with an engine that was in essence
two-thirds of the six-cylinder 6½-litre
unit. Thus the new four-cylinder motor
retained the six's 100x140mm bore/stroke
and Bentley's familiar four-valves
per-cylinder fixed-'head architecture,
but reverted to the front-end vertical
camshaft drive of the 3-Litre. Bentley
Motors lost no time in race-proving
its new car. It is believed that the
first prototype engine went into the
3-Litre chassis of the 1927 Le Mans
practice car. Subsequently this same
engine was fitted to the first production
4½-Litre chassis for that year's
Grand Prix d'Endurance at the Sarthe
circuit.
The original 4½-Litre car,
nicknamed by the team 'Old Mother
Gun' and driven by Frank Clement and
Leslie Callingham, promptly set the
fastest race lap of 73.41mph before
being eliminated in the infamous White
House Crash' multiple pile-up. Driven
by Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin,
'Old Mother Gun' (race number '4')
won the famous French endurance classic
the following year and finished 2nd
in 1929 carrying race number '9',
its drivers on that occasion being
Glen Kidston and Clive 'Jack' Dunfee.
The 4½-Litre was produced for
four years, all but nine of the 665
cars made being built on the 3-Litre's
'Long Standard', 10' 10"-wheelbase
chassis. Purchasers of the 4½-Litre
model were, in common with those of
all vintage-period Bentleys, free
to specify their preferences from
a very considerable range of mechanical
and electrical equipment, in addition
to whatever body style and coachbuilder
might be required. Records indicate
that 3-Litre chassis number '911'
was delivered new in Melbourne, Australia
in January 1925, although it is not
known who its first owner was. The
car was built on the long wheelbase
chassis and fitted with drophead coupé
coachwork by Freestone & Webb
of North London, one of the finest
of all British coachbuilders and a
firm associated with quality marques
from its earliest days, particularly
Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Benz.
A file of ownership history will accompany
the car at time of auction.
The current owner purchased the car
in Sydney, Australia in 2003 and commenced
the process of conversion/restoration
almost immediately. The decision to
convert '911' to Le Mans Team
Car' specification, rather than merely
restore it, was made on the basis
that, although it ran, the car was
on its last legs and the body decayed
beyond repair.
The heart of any car is its engine,
and that of '911' has been built around
a 4.5-litre block remanufactured by
the late Russ 'Rusty' Turner to Blower'
block specification. The engine incorporates
a Phoenix crankshaft and conrods;
high compression pistons; Reece camshaft;
new Phoenix needle-roller rockers
and boxes; and high performance oil
pump. Power is transmitted via a special
lightweight flywheel and high performance
clutch to the gearbox - fully rebuilt
to 'BS' specification - and thence
via a new, fully balanced prop shaft
to a 3.53:1 differential fitted with
a new '4 star' crown wheel & pinion.
The chassis has been rebuilt to 9'
9.5" wheelbase, with full fixed
pillar struts as per Mother
Gun' and the Blower' cars, and
is fitted with a full underpanel.
Protected by the correct full gaiters,
the road springs have been reset,
and the brakes rebuilt and fitted
with new finned drums. The chassis
rolls on 20"-diameter wheels
shod with 5.25/50" tyres. Framed
by Rod Warriner and panelled in aluminium
by Vintage & Classic, the body
is to Vanden Plas Le Mans' specification,
while the attention to detail - Vanden
Plas sill plates and correct trim,
for example - is most impressive.
The interior is trimmed in Muirhead
hide, with Team Car' seats by
James Pearce, full and half tonneau
covers and hood to Le Mans specification.
The fuel tank is as per Mother
Gun' by Gavin Spencer.
All fittings, such as the windscreen
detail; Aero screens; fuel tank with
stone guards; quick-release filler
caps; outside oil filler, battery
and tool boxes; racing numbers; pre-war
Lucas P100 headlamps (mounted at angle)
complete with stone guards and stays;
instrumentation including galvanometer
and Air Ministry switches; right-angle
drive Klaxon; two front Klaxonettes
and dashboard air pump, conform to
the specification of Old Mother
Gun'. A photographic record of the
restoration will be offered with the
car when sold, together with the original
3-Litre engine that is boxed up. Completed
circa three months ago having consumed
a Herculean 5,500 man-hours of effort,
911' exhibits quite breathtaking
attention to detail and authenticity.
The car is unused since completion
apart from a solitary Concours d'Elegance
competition which it won outright
There simply could not be a better
example. |
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Source:
Bonhams and Goodman
Posted: Apr 11, 2007 |
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EARLIEST
RECORD OF HISTORICAL FACTS & INFORMATION |
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Chassis No. |
911 |
Engine No. |
919 |
Registration
No. |
(Australia) |
Date of Delivery: |
Jan 1925 |
Type of Body: |
4-seater |
Coachbuilder: |
Freestone &
Webb |
Type of Car: |
ST |
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First Owner: |
No info |
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Posted: Mar 01, 2007 |
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Submit
more information on this car |
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BACK |
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Sep 30, 2020 - Info and photograph received from Simon Hunt for Chassis No. RL3439 |
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Sep 30, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Dick Clay for Chassis No. 147 |
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Sep 29, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Ernst Jan Krudop for his Chassis No. AX1651 |
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Sep 28, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Lars Hedborg
for his Chassis No. KL3590 |
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Sep 25, 2020 - Info and photograph added for Registration No. XV 3207 |
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Sep 24, 2020 - Info and photograph added for Registration No. YM 7165 |
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