1939 Bentley 4¼ Litre Overdrive Park Ward Sports Saloon

A very fine example of the desirable and sought-after ‘M series’ cars, which has been prepared and maintained at great expense over the period 2016 to 2022. In total, £117,000 has been spent over that time, and as a result the car is running and driving extremely well. It has been used for long distance touring, performing very well indeed and is in ideal condition to continue use of this kind, being mechanically excellent, very sound structurally, and cosmetically at just the right level to use and enjoy, being smart but not so pristine that you are afraid to drive it! The paintwork is generally good, but in places is losing adhesion and cracking. The leather is in good condition, the seats are nice and plump, but the pale colour is fading and looks grubby. Perhaps a gentle colour of an appropriate type would be a good idea. What’s ‘under the skin’ matters most in a car that is to be actively used, and this one really is in that category. The engine is smooth and quiet, with a willing, ‘pulling at the leash’ quality, being very lively. Couple this with the high ratio gearing, and you have a very usable car, ready to enjoy. All the aforementioned work is documented, with invoices and photos, in a file which also includes copies of the old logbook, various other papers and a VSCC eligibility certificate. The ‘time trial’ meters fitted to the dashboard are included with the car, but we would be happy to remove them if preferred without. Serviced & MoT tested.

Price £ 88,000

Snippets: OCS, RAF & JDL

Alan Dudley Goodliffe took delivery of B67MX just months before the outbreak of WWII with the address given as C/o Chartered Bank of India, Australia & China – this bank was founded in 1853 & had been granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria. By 1940 Alan Goodliffe had joined the RAF and by 1942 he had been posted to No. 34 OTU in Pennfield Ridge, Canada to be in charge of the Accounts Section. He ended the war having attained the rank of Squadron Leader – No. 34 OTU was actually a unit of 2 Group of the RAF 2nd Tactical Air Force. Complete crews were trained at Pennfield on the Lockheed, or Vega Ventura, which was then in use by the RAF in England as a daylight tactical bomber by medium bomber squadrons of 2 Group. Little is known as to what Alan did after WWII but he certainly travelled with records of him visiting Manila, Canada, USA & Hong Kong. Alan was a direct descendant of F. W. Goodliffe (1875/1947) who started the family cleaning firm in 1900 and in 1930 his 3 sons formed the sub-division of OCS Ltd which is still a family concern albeit an international one with some 89,000 employees in 50 countries! The chassis cards of B67MX show that from 1952 / 1970 the car was with the engineering firm of John Dale Ltd which was initially established as Carr & Son in 1837 by John Smith Carr as a manufacturer of blacking. By 1890 his grandsons, John Dale Carr & Ralph Charles Carr had, set up John Dale Ltd to make tin containers & this developed into a separate business supplying tins, collapsible tubes and later aluminium castings. In 1972 Robert Carr was Home Secretary under the Conservative Government of Edward Heath. From 1973 until 2016 B67MX had 3 Italian owners of Italian – Pasquale Bertinetti (1973/88) who lived in Dorset but was from Turin then Roberto Rosso Snr (1988/2006) and upon his death the car was inherited by his son also Roberto Rosso.