1937 Bentley 4 ¼ Litre VdP Tourer B179JY

An unusual and very interesting, attractive, practical four door open cabriolet configuration make this a particularly desirable Derby Bentley, being easy to access through large doors, and ‘wide-bodied’, giving increased spaciousness and elbow room, and nicely weather resistant, with well-constructed hood, wind up windows, tonneau cover, etc, ideal for tours, rallies and more, particularly as it is fitted with overdrive, thereby relaxing the cruising experience for long distance runs. Following an extremely thorough, high quality, chassis frame upwards restoration in the 1990s, the car is in excellent condition, with superbly re-framed and restored coachwork by Steve Penny, much mechanical work by McKenzie Guppy. The engine has sensibly been fitted with 'MX style' thermostat and oil filter conversions. Very nicely painted, upholstered, etc, and comes with a large file of history, which includes confirmation of a great deal of restoration expenditure, the invoices amounting to nearly £150, 000. Also included are a photographic record, magazine articles, a logbook from 1968, etc, etc. A lovely, smart, sharp, very well cared-for car of sought-after design in wonderful order, very useable, offered newly MoT tested and ready to enjoy.

Chassis No. B179JY Reg. No. DXM 229

Snippets: Doris Skinner

B179JY was bought by Sir Sydney Martyn Skinner (Chairman of John Barker & Co.) as a gift for his eldest daughter Doris Irene Skinner (1903/ 95). Doris never married and became an astute business lady – by 1931 she had several commercial properties registered in her name – 152, 152A & 154 Rye Lane plus Nrs 1 to 6 of The Market, Choumert Road, Peckham. In May 1927 Doris was involved in a collision with a motor cyclist Mr. Maurice Verrall of Crowborough– there is no mention of what she was driving at the time! Her brother, Percy Martyn Skinner (1906/ 93) was not only a pig farmer but also a poet of some relevance with his most noted being “Letters to Malaya” and “The Return of Arthur. It is understood that during WWII Doris gave B179JY to Percy for use on his pig farm, in order to take advantage of war-time petrol rationing he converted B179JY to an Estate Car! Her business acumen was such that when she died, she left an estate in excess of £950, 000 and she still lived in the same village as she did 1927. Her younger sister, Constance Muriel, married Henry John Kingerlee, a scion of the Oxford construction firm whose roots can be traced back to the mid1800s with Thomas Kingerlee a plumber & glazier. Today the company is very much a family concern and is in the hands of the fifth generation of Kingerlees. Family members who didn’t join the firm became drapers, chemists, film printers & a private secretary to Lord Nuffield. Later owners of B179JY included a garden specialist (Bostock), a clock maker (de Save), Benetton Formula 1 technician and Rally enthusiast (Grant) and Granger Telecom Director (Verth).