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1922 Bentley 3 Litre |
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Original 1922 Numbers
Chassis No. 197
Engine No. 197
Registration No. DK 2408
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This car - updated
Chassis No. 197
Engine No. -
Registration No. -
(Updated with information from Rod Hanson, December 2012. Current owner / former owners, please come forward with further updates. - October 2016) |
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December
2012 |
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"Have not long
purchased this car from Peter Cox
in Adelaide.
Peter has owned this car since the
early 80's
At that time he undertook a total
restoration of mechanicals and the
body was almost entirely replaced
with fabric over wood in the Vanden
Plas style, with an aluminium louvered
bonnet.
The car now has 4-wheel brakes and
twin SU carbies.
Based on earlier photos the windscreen
and lights look to be original.
The engine number is a little later
which would indicate replacement fairly
early.
It is going well and we are on the
point of replacing the magnetos..." |
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Source:
Rod Hanson (Owner)
Posted: Dec 15, 2012 |
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2012 |
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This car was purchased
by Rod Hanson in 2012. |
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Source:
Rod Hanson (Owner)
Posted: Dec 15, 2012 |
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August
2012 |
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"I am submitting
this on behalf of my mother-in-law.
Her father was Frank Peter Ashton
(Major). He owned (1948 to 1952) the
car in Uxbridge Middlesex England.
My mother-in-law Tina has some pictures
and would love to share with the owner." |
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Source:
David Taylor
Posted: Aug 22, 2012 |
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2006 |
In
Australia in 2006 / Owned by a BDC member |
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Click
on thumbnail for larger view |
The polished aluminium bonnet and maroon
fabric
body and black guards are a pleasing
combination. |
Instrument layout displays everything
clearly |
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Peter Cox 3 Litre:
one of the earliest in the country
by Peter Cox
Chassis No 197 with engine 197 was
purchased by PWHeaton in December
1922 and registered DK2408 on the
22nd of that year. It carried a four
seater touring body by Queens as shown
in the old photo.
Malcolm Abbott of Cornwall told me
that his wife learnt to drive in this
car and I include a photo taken in
the early fifties. Note no running
boards and different mudguards. I
do not know who the owner was at this
time.
The next thing I know about this car
is that it was purchased by Mr Peter
Shipside and at some time was fitted
with a VDP replica body. Mr Shipside
later brought the far to South Australia
and resided in the Auburn area north
of Adelaide. Later Mr E Suttel bought
he car from whom I purchased it in
1990.
By now the car was very run down with
the mudguards and running boards being
a disgrace to the Bentley name. It
was complete but needed a lot of TLC
(and money) spent on it. To finance
this purchase and the inevitable restoration
I sold three cars in a space of two
weeks. I very much doubt that I could
do that today and get top dollar at
the same time. I sold a 1935 Hooper
bodied Rolls Royce 20/25 ( now regrettably
in Germany), a 1951 Silver Dawn and
a 14/40 Vauxhall tourer.
What I thought was going to be twelve
month project of course took four
years. The first thing that I did
was to get VM Engineering to check
the motor, which they did, giving
it a valve grind and suggested the
bottom end was okay. I then took the
car home, lifted out the motor and
gearbox and dismantled everything
down to the last bolt and nail.
During that time I had a colleague
overhaul the gearbox. I then took
the bare chassis up to Des Higgins
at Salisbury where he straightened
it, welded up all the excess holes
and painted it to look better than
new. The springs were reset, the gaiters
refitted and the lot was put back
on the upside down chassis.
The front axle was then refitted after
replacing the kingpins. Incidentally
it was a genuine front wheel brake
axle of genuine Bentley origin. Originally
the early 3 litre cars only had rear
wheel brakes. This was one bit of
good luck.
I fitted new bearings in everything.
I reassembled the diff and fitted
it to the chassis, now the right side
up, put the wheels back on and dropped
in the motor, gearbox and new clutch
discs. Now all I had to do was to
rewire the car, have a new aluminium
bonnet made, fashion new running boards
and have new guards made.
The tail shaft was no good, so a new
one was made with modern universal
joints. But don't forget the body
was still a heap of sticks. I reassembled
the framework making new bits where
necessary and ensuring all the joint
were correctly fitted. I then covered
the whole of the frame with marine
ply. Previously the only parts covered
(except by fabric) was the rear of
the body behind the back seat and
across the top in front of the windscreen.
I had been advised that the fabric
on the body when purchased by me was
as near to the original as modern
fabrics would allow. My upholsterer
warned me that he would not fit the
fabric to the body work unless he
was satisfied with my carpentry and
jointing. I passed. He thus covered
the body, then repaired and replaced
some of the interior upholstery. A
pair of aero-screens was added to
the windscreen.
Now after a number of minor adjustments
things seemed to the okay. The wheels
were stripped, repainted and new tyres
and tubes fitted.
However, returning from a National
Rally in Victoria after competing
in the Gymkhana on a very wet and
slippery surface a con rod broke near
the gudgeon pin. This I later learnt
was a common problem with old original
rods. Again though I was lucky. It
did not go through the side of the
block. I had a beautiful set of rods
made in Adelaide and these were fitted
to the motor with new pistons and
rings. At this stage I was still within
my budget.
Later probably due to over zealous
machining, the camshaft delaminated
and spoilt things. The bores were
honed and a new shaft, also made in
Adelaide, was fitted. A Victorian
member assisted me by lending me his
camshaft profile from which a new
one could be made.
Strange as it may seem I have never
had major problems like these two
in any of the nearly hundred cars
that I have owned. I expected too
much of an old motor and paid the
price. WO was not to blame! I should
have fully reconditioned the motor
the first time around. I love this
car but will soon have to find a more
youthful owner. It's not the car for
an 80+ year old and his loving and
long suffering wife.
PS Just after I had bought No.197,
Peter Graham, one of our then members
in Adelaide, provided me with a copy
of a huge amount of the then recorded
information on all of WO's models
and their chassis drawings. Whilst
it was most interesting general knowledge,
it was also of great assistance in
making, or having made, fitment to
the chassis, eg running board brackets.
Peter is now a member in WA. |
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Source:
The Bentley Drivers Club of Australia
(BDCA), Summer Newsletter 2011
Posted: Apr 01, 2013 |
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1948
- 1952 |
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This car was owned
by Frank Peter Ashton (Major) from
1948 to 1952. |
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Source:
David Taylor
Posted: Aug 22, 2012 |
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EARLIEST
RECORD OF HISTORICAL FACTS & INFORMATION |
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Chassis No. |
197 |
Engine No. |
197 |
Registration
No. |
DK 2408 |
Date of Delivery: |
Dec 1922 |
Type of Body: |
4-seater |
Coachbuilder: |
Queens |
Type of Car: |
No info |
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First Owner: |
P. W. Heaton |
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Posted: Sep 20, 2006 |
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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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