1929 Bentley 6½-Litre
- Engine
- 6.5L overhead-cam inline-six, four valves per cylinder, ~147 bhp
- Colour
- Black fabric paneling
Chassis WT2272 is a 1929 Bentley 6½-Litre, one of the great W.O.-era tourers, delivered new through London dealer Gaffikin Wilkinson in February 1929. After several early owners and wartime obscurity, it received a shooting brake body around 1945 before being fitted with an Oxford Carriage Company Vanden Plas-style fabric-panelled tourer. Owned by Jim Boland for approximately 55 years, the car participated in numerous rallies under his stewardship and retains what appears to be its original chassis frame.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold £275,000 (≈ $344K)
- 1929-02-01 → 1930Factory deliveryGraham K Coxpartial documentation
Acquired new via London dealer Gaffikin Wilkinson in early 1929.
- 1930 → 1931Acquisition unknownReginald Strakerpartial documentation
- 1931 →Acquisition unknownD C Morrisonpartial documentation
Wartime ownership history is unrecorded.
- → 1966Acquisition unknownEdward Henry Glaisyerpartial documentation
Based in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire; during or prior to this ownership the original saloon body was replaced with a shooting brake body around 1945.
- 1966 → 1970Acquisition unknownAllens Autos Ltdpartial documentation
Cheltenham-based dealer operated by a Mr B Allen.
- 1970 →Private saleJim Bolandpartial documentation
Kept the car for roughly 55 years and used it extensively in rallies; during his tenure the body was replaced with a Vanden Plas-style fabric-panelled tourer built by the Oxford Carriage Company.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1945Bodywork
The original Gurney Nutting saloon coachwork was removed and replaced with a shooting brake body.
The car in this shooting brake configuration is illustrated in Clare Hay's published work on vintage Bentleys.
- —BodyworkOxford Carriage Company
A Vanden Plas-style fabric-panelled open tourer body was fitted by the Oxford Carriage Company, finished in black with a red leather interior.
Fitted at an unspecified date after the shooting brake period.
- —Engine rebuild
The engine was rebuilt incorporating certain components from another unit numbered KF2377; original engine number stamps remain in some locations but the most prominent bearing shows the donor unit's number.
Date of rebuild undetermined; original engine number still present in secondary locations.
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