The story of Paul Gibbs Pancheri's 3 litre Bentley
Contributed by Michael Pancheri (Former owner)
This car was built in 1927 and purchased by my father Paul Gibbs Pancheri in 1946. It was shipped to Singapore where my father was employed. She was raced and hill-climbed in Singapore and used as his every day car, taking me to school and back when I was very young.
This photograph was probably taken at the first Bentley Drivers Club meeting which the car attended under my father's ownership. The child on the bonnet is me, just a month short of my 2nd birthday, The lady beside the car is my mother, and she is talking to the great Alick Pitts who was the owner of the 'practice' Birkin/Dorothy Padgett team blower, i.e the 5th car in the stable. (Pitts later became one of the BMC works rally drivers, driving their famous Mini Coopers.) In the background, the elderly couple are my grandparents, Celestino and Florence Pancheri.
In 1952 she was rebuilt on a 1925 3 litre chassis (995) and fitted with an external exhaust which was cooler for the engine in a very hot tropical climate, and cooler for my mother in the passenger seat.
My father continued to race her in Malaya and Singapore, also in UK when on leave. In 1960 she was rebuilt again on and fitted with a a lighter, lower aluminium body and 25 gallon fuel tank. She was raced by my father until 1962 when he and my mother retired from Asia.
She was our family every day car and in 1968 I was given a half-share as my 21st birthday present. I first raced her in April 1969 but later that year suffered a broken piston ring, which led to me undertaking another full rebuild which was completed in 1972. I raced her 1973 to 1975, a further rebuild followed in 1987 by which time I had 3 young children. She was raced by Donald Day until she was sold in 1995.
The effort to turn her into yet another 4½ litre 'Le Mans' replica
An attempt has been made to turn her into yet another 4½ litre 'Le Mans' replica, but it was a hopeless effort as she was too short and too low. Furthermore she was fitted with a heavy steel fuel tank instead of the light aluminium one, and trendy 'racing' gauges instead of the beautiful original ones, and in my view totally missing the point of her creation by my father. However, I hope she is being loved and enjoyed as much as she was in my ownership, and if the present owner needs any information he is welcome to contact me.
There are a few early photographs of the car on page, taken in Singapore and Malaya, as well as more recent ones before I sold her (in 1995), before she was made into some kind of Le Mans replica. People seem to think all Bentleys were equipped with big racing gauges and cumbersome 'go-slow' heavy fuel tanks, and painted green! The strange registration numbers SC 5583 and SB 65 are her registrations in Singapore and then Malaya, but she is still the same car.
Paul Gibbs Pancheri was the Executive Director of the Bentley Drivers Club from 1973 to 1984.
Do you happen to know where the car is now? I can't find any record of her in the Bentley Drivers Club lists. I would be most interested to know who has her now. (Please e-mail info@vintagebentleys.org)