Lot details
Registration No: XKK 945
Chassis No: B283AP
Mot Expiry: June 2014

The demand for original Bentley S-series Drophead Coupes is such that the very best examples now command £500,000 or more, while there are plenty of specialist restorers on both sides of the Atlantic who will happily rebody a Standard Steel Saloon for a six-figure sum. A genuine coachbuilt car - indeed one of just three or four that James Young clothed to its B20 design - chassis B283AP was supplied new to S.W. Lewis Esq of the Farnborough Engineering Co Ltd (makers of Tranco performance valves) for the princely sum of £6,956 1s 5d. A handsome Two-Door Saloon Coupe crafted from 16swg aluminium, the Bentley was maintained by James Young for the first ten years of its life. It is not known when the four-seater was converted into a Drophead Coupe. One of the copy James Young invoices on file (dated 8.6.59) contains the intriguing instruction `refix hood cloth', while a conversation between a former keeper and an ex-Alpine Eagle employee `revealed' that the latter's father had carried out the reconfiguration during the late 1960s / early 1970s. Finally, MacKenzie Coachworks of Wembley have been credited with the transformation (though, it is possible that they were only responsible for adding power assistance to the hood and installing electric window motors). Whoever was responsible for the work they did a fine and sympathetic job retaining such distinctive features as the facia-mounted James Young grab handle, fold-down picnic tables and subtly be-finned rear wings etc.

Understood to have had its original 4.9-litre straight-six engine (number BA391) overhauled during the late 1980s, more recent work has seen chassis B283AP treated to a new flywheel/ring gear assembly, modernised HMV Model 200X radio, replacement distributor / HT leads, fresh three-core radiator, new fuel pump, Kenlowe fan, overhauled starter motor and engine flush (2009-2010). Forming part of a coachbuilt Bentley collection for the past two years, the four-seater was despatched to renowned R-Type/S1 specialists Padgett Motor Engineers in June 2012 where it received attention to its coolant gauge/hoses, exhaust, dynamo, brake system (master cylinder/wheel cylinders/brake shoes), fuel pump, n/s/r leaf spring, front/rear shock absorbers, engine tappets/side plates/gaskets and automatic gearbox linkage bushes/kickdown linkage not to mention a decent service/greasing and sundry boot repairs. In total the work cost some £10,800 but the Bentley passed its last MOT test on 26th June 2013 with just a single advisory relating to a windscreen defect.

Finished in Regal Red with red-piped Magnolia leather upholstery and a Black mohair hood, the Drophead Coupe remains highly presentable. Pleasingly retaining its original registration number `XKK 945', this undeniably handsome coachbuilt Bentley S1 is offered for sale at less than some Standard Steel Saloon-based conversions. Worth celebrating for what it is rather than what it was (who in today's market would have the courage to alter so rare a beast?), chassis B283AP is offered for sale with copy James Young paperwork (1956-1966), assorted parts invoices, Padgett Motor Engineers bill and V5C Registration Document.