Bentley 4 1/4 Park Ward DHC

I was delighted to be able to buy this most original Derby Bentley. It is a typical Barn Find discovered in a shed in Shropshire in 1999. The remarkabel original condition was preserved because since 1966 the car has been of the road. This is very clear when going throug the documentation, which comes with the car. The whole history is known, the subsequent owners also. The Bentley factory files concerning this chassis ( B29 HM ), and the specifications of the body by the coachbuilder Park Ward are all there. In the well known Bentley book: The Silent Sportscar by Michael Ellman-Brown the car is listed under its chassis n° B29 HM, and under its registration n° DLO 499. Very charming is an old black/white photograph which apparently was taken in the sixties showing a group of youngsters who used this Bentley as a tour vehicule for their dance group. The name of this group The Oxford Man can still be noticed on the rear n°-plate support. It is most unusual to find a car in such an original condition. The original paint is cracked, some parts have chipped off, showing the aluminium underneath, but it is so lovely. The same goes for the interior, which has a lot of charming patina, but which is totally original. The leather is heavily cracked, just a few tears, but so nice and very comfortabel. The dashboard-wood and door cappings are nice with the necessary patina. We polished the woodwork a little bit with wax to feed the wood. My colleagues in England did a wonderfull job to make the car running again. It succeeded, with after all not so much work, its MOT test. On the road the Bentley is really remarkabel. Who could think or believe that this car can drive like a new one! The engine runs extremely smooth, the oilpressure is excellent, even hot still 30 psi. on the manometer. The gearbox shifts easily, the synchro's work well. Brakes are just perfect, straight, progressive and effective. The steering is light and precise. I do like to drive this Bentley on a nice day. It is so easy to handel. All the insruments and commands are correct and work as they should. After a while when the car was in Belgium, my people in my workshop did some more work on this car. Basically not a lot of mechanical adjustements were necessary, but most of all some cleaning work to take away this years and years of dust. We also polished the old cellulose paint and repainted the wheels in black. I do not want to touch the remarkable original condition of the car any more. I think it should be left as it is as much as possible.