1937 Bentley 3½ Litre Vanden Plas Drophead Coupé
Entered from The Merlin Collection and 16,000 miles from new!

Registration No: DLO 936
Chassis No: B-135-FC
MOT: Exempt

• Comprehensive history file dating back to the original factory guarantee
• Warranted 16,000 miles from new
• The most original and best conserved Derby Bentley we have ever encountered

'The car has predominantly been in one family and its recorded mileage is some 15,000 miles. It is therefore something of a timewarp . . . It is complete in every detail as built and thus unique' (Ken Lea of the Bentley Drivers' Club reporting on 'DLO 936', November 2013)

As well as being a one-off in terms of its remarkable state of preservation, research undertaken by Neill Fraser – author of ‘Bentley Beauty, The art of the coachbuilder on the Derby Bentley 1933 – 1940’ suggests that chassis B135FC wears a bespoke prototype body (Number 3476) which Vanden Plas hoped would help it displace Park Ward as Bentley’s preferred Drophead Coupe coachwork supplier. Having taken delivery on 6^th May 1936, the London coachbuilder presumably painted and trimmed the car to the best of its abilities as well as adding various stylistic flourishes to the handsome two-door, two-light design including chrome side strakes, angled scuttle louvers and distinctive ‘centrally peaked’ wings. Inspected on 1^st September 1936, the completed car did not find a buyer for another six months which is consistent with it being evaluated by the Derby management. Supplied new to Robert S. Hayward Esq. of The Hawthorns, Galashiels – a director of the nearby R & A Sanderson Woollen Mill - he was allowed £50 in part exchange for his old W.O. Bentley 3 Litre but had to pay an additional £1,490 to secure its successor.

Used sparingly for special occasions and mothballed during World War Two due to petrol rationing, the 3½ Litre had covered a modest 11,000 miles by the time that Mr Hayward entrusted its sale to the Edinburgh Motor Engineering Co in 1954. Displayed with its bonnet open and a door ajar, the Bentley caught the attention of Boston, Massachusetts-born academic W. Randolph Angell Esq. Further showroom visits ensued as did the prospect of losing `DLO 936' to a South African collector. Suitably panicked, Mr Angell found the requisite funds and became its proud owner during May 1954.

Accompanying documentation includes correspondence between Messrs Hayward and Angell, handwritten receipts from Mr Webster of Edinburgh Motors for the purchase price (£1,350, 7^th May 1954) and tax / insurance (£32, 18^th May 1954). To have depreciated by just £140 over seventeen years indicates that Mr Angell's appreciation for 'a motor car the like of which is grace personified compared to the pressed-steel, bloated tin-can automobiles as produced by my country today' was not hyperbole. Stored at Edinburgh Motors until December 1973 when the oil crisis forced its closure, the 3½ Litre accompanied the Angell family to first Glasgow and then Kirkliston. Accompanying MOT certificates issued in May 1970 and April 1980 list recorded mileages for the Vanden Plas Drophead Coupe of 15,030 and 15,195 miles respectively. One of its few public outings being to the 'Bentley Shell 500 Golden Jubilee 1919-1969' celebrations at Oulton Park (a sticker for which remains affixed to the windscreen). Ever wary that a road traffic accident would compromise its remarkable originality, Mr Angell ensured that 'DLO 936' spent less and less time on the public highway. Reluctantly offered for sale by Mr Angell's heirs in 2013, the Bentley joined The Merlin Collection that same October via our IWM Duxford auction for £213,750.

Blown away by the Vanden Plas Drophead Coupe's exceptional originality, the vendor set about recommissioning it to an exhaustive, obsessional degree. Losing count after investing 1,500 hours of labour in the project, his efforts meant that all but one of the factory-fitted leather gaiters have been successfully reconditioned. Keen to do the best job possible, the seller enlisted the help of renowned Derby Bentley expert and the W.O. Bentley Memorial Foundation's Chairman of Trustees, Ken Lea who carried out a first-hand inspection and advised on works. Mr Lea was reportedly amazed to discover that the ash frame was so sound even down to the fillets used between the running boards and their brackets and the sawn-off ends of the scuttle hoops. A careful strip down of the original engine (number E9BC) revealed bore wear in keeping with the recorded mileage and more surprisingly that all six pistons were stamped with the engine number and individual serial numbers. After much deliberation the decision was taken to rewire the four-seater for safety reasons. The vendor also chose to install a higher final drive ratio inside the original rear axle casing and replace the hood and upgrade the fuel system. The initial final drive ratio and petrol pump come with the car as do letters between Mr Angell and Vanden Plas concerning the soft-top's deterioration. Indeed, the very few modifications made to improve drivability in today's traffic - including discrete indicators - are all easily reversible.

There really is no substitute for inspecting 'DLO 936' at first hand. Only then can one appreciate its freakish originality and state of preservation. A matchless testament to the craftsmanship of Bentley and Vanden Plas, the car is also a great credit to each of its three custodians: Robert S. Hayward (1937-1954), W. Randolph Angell (1954-2013) and The Merlin Collection (2013-present). A worthy competitor in the conservation class of any major Concours d'Elegance, this incredible ‘matching numbers' 1937 Bentley 3½ Litre Vanden Plas Drophead Coupe is accompanied by its original Bentley Motors Guarantee complete with covering letter and carboard tube (dated 11th March 1937), a continuation buff logbook, old MOTs, assorted storage bills, Bentley 3½ Litre Instruction Book (with B135FC on the inside front cover), copy RREC chassis cards, false starts to Mr Angell's handwritten memoirs (as they relate to the Bentley), sundry Bentley Drivers Club correspondence / publications, circa £20,000 worth of bills from Ristes, Will Fiennes and MWS International etc plus assorted other paperwork. Sliding behind the wheel, it is entirely appropriate that one's view forward is given a sepia tinge by the windscreen (the cellophane sandwiched between its glass layers having yellowed with age) because driving 'DLO 936' is liking stepping back in time. 'Unique' is an overused word but chassis B135FC is that and so much more. For anyone hoping to amass the definitive Bentley collection, it surely deserves a place.

For more information, please contact:
Damian Jones
damian.jones@handh.co.uk
07855 493737