"I have a question about my car. Originally it had engine no. SM3923. Can you help us to find where the original engine is, so I can make my car 'matching number' again."

1931 Bentley 4½ Liter Kompressor Gurney Nutting, Chassis SM3919 / Motor SM3923, Ex-Duke of Leinster.

1930 blown 4½-litre Bentley, chassis SM3919, with Vanden Plas (of England) two-seater body.
Owned by Mr. G. Sandford-Morgan, of Adelaide, South Australia in 1960s.

At the time, G. Sandford-Morgan also owned Chassis Nos. 1085 and RL3446

The first 25 production Supercharged 4½ Litre cars where Chassis Nos. SM3901-SM3925, all with "smooth-case" blowers. The next 25 were Chassis Nos. MS3926-MS3950 and had "rib-case" blowers.

Production Blower Bentleys had handbrake handles made from rectangular stainless steel, whereas the five 4½ litre race cars for Tim Birkin had the "H" section handle, but were drilled for lightness.

EXCERPT
From article Motoring Variety in Australia (Motor Sport, Nov 1953) by G. Sangford Morgan of Adelaide, then owner of SM3919

"In 1946 I was in Sydney, keeping my eyes open for a faster vintage machine, approaching, amongst others, John Crouch, Sydney's leading dealer in interesting cars. He had, at that time, as his personal car, a superb supercharged 4½-litre Bentley, fitted with a very pretty 2/3-seater fabric body, and was achieving a number of successes in competitions with this car. I didn't imagine for a moment that he would sell it, or that I could possibly afford it if he did, but after much discussion he finally offered it to me at a price which, though high, I could just manage. So to my great joy this magnificent car became mine, both the Lambda and the original 14/40 being rapidly disposed of to meet the cost.

The car was a 1930 standard "blower," chassis number SM 3919, the whole vehicle being in very fine order and possessed of really exciting performance. It was a brute in traffic, with its very high gearing and dislike for slow idling, but once clear of traffic it was a glorious machine. The 1,000-mile trip from Sydney to Adelaide still lives very vividly in my memory, one of the highlights being a dice with one of the then new fluid-drive Chryslers being used by the Commonwealth Government. We finally passed it, with its load of M.P.s on their way to Canberra, at a joyous 105 or so, to the fury and awe of the Parliamentary committee.

The readily available maximum, in fully equipped form, was about 105, but it could be cruised effortlessly in the late 70s all day, the fuel consumption being a monotonous 10 m.p.g. whether driven sensibly or not, with the happy result that one never really felt guilty about not driving it sensibly.

It handled on loose or firm surfaces like a small car, and would, in feet, walk away from many a good car on sheer handling alone. The weight of 37 cwt. bluffed the brakes at times, and ruled against the car for sprints and hill-climbs, but I found it a useful trials car, since its great performance made it possible to pick up time and keep to schedule where a lesser car would have to resign itself to being late. (Our Australian trials are mostly in the "Road-race-in-all-but-name" class -- though not always intentionally.) The enormous fuel bill, coupled with the necessity for travelling 40 miles to work and back each day, forced me to part with the "blower," but with the greatest possible regret. I have mourned the passing of that car more than any other I've had."