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During the late 60s and early 70s, many considered creating
attractive new touring bodies as opposed to investing in the
restoration of a standard steel sports saloon which made more
financial and practical sense. Derry F. Mallalieu decided to build
his first Bentley Special whilst living in Conneticut, USA and
based on a Bentley Mk. VI, before moving operations back to the UK.
Adopting the leisurely, unhurried methods of traditional coach
building, work proceeded at his base in Wootton near Abingdon. The
handcrafted body was a composition of carefully formed panels; a
beautifully finished product which was then married to the chassis
of a Bentley Mk. VI whose original coachwork had simply been
scrapped. Frame and engine as well as gearbox, rear axle and
suspension were carefully checked before applying the standard
Mallalieu formula. This involved lowering the chassis with an
underslung rear end and setting the generally unmodified engine
back in the chassis. His 'tour de force' was undoubtedly the
coachwork design that first consigned the original, more formal Mk.
VI or R-Type coachwork to the scrapyard. The lowered radiator of
Mallalieu's cars was compensated for by an enlarged header tank,
thus not compromising the cooling on these fast road cars. Although
Mallalieu cars were bespoke and detailed to the buyers'
requirements, the open roadsters were, by far, the most
popular.
The availability of the almost full range of spare parts met
certain customers' desire to alter cars from righthand drive to
lefthand drive using original Bentley parts. Regarding the
interior, only the finest materials were accepted and thanks to the
relatively light bodywork, the cars offered impressive
acceleration.
The vendor, in 1979, read an article in the Financial Times by
Stuart Marshal about Mallalieu Motors and his appetite was
whetted for further investigation. He then made a visit to the
factory in Abingdon where the Bentley cars were totally refurbished
and rebuilt and this resulted in an order being placed in June of
that year. The donor car was purchased in July and the open tourer
car was made over the ensuing year, becoming number 38 in
Mallalieu's build programme.
The rebuild started with a new chassis being made, incorporating
part of the old Bentley structure. When this was completed, it was
sand-blasted, galvanised and painted with red iron oxide. It was
then finished with a final coat of black bituminous paint; the
whole structure being usable for a period that would stretch at
least into the next century or as Stuart wrote in the FT, "good for
another generation's service".
The body was built through making a steel structure and then
covering this in hand-crafted aluminium panels. Paint choice could
be any colour used by the major manufacturers during the preceding
ten years and Saab Cream was chosen to enhance the 1930s body style
with a chocolate and cream Connolly leather interior and Wilton
carpets.
Beneath the body, the car's stopping capability has been
significantly improved by the change to vacuum brake servos,
feeding Range Rover discs at the front with Ford Capri final drive
assembly and drum brakes. As part of the build programme, the
engine was also completely stripped and rebuilt.
The car's appearance has been enhanced by the choice of full
running boards, two additional (detatchable) trunks on the folding
luggage shelf at the rear, P100 headlamps combined with foglights
and spotlights and large horns in front of the radiator; a good
choice, it would seem, as Pauline Mallalieu said when she presented
the vendor with the keys of the car on taking delivery in 1980, "I
like to see our cars well dressed".
A short period of time after the car had been delivered, the
Mallalieu Company went into liquidation. The company's senior
managers searched for backers to keep the company going, even
approaching previous car purchasers, although this did not uncover
any enthusiastic backers.
The vendor of this particular one, however, delighted by the style
and interest in his new acquisition, decided to secure the future
of the workforce by acquiring the majority of the company, making a
cash loan and in true Mallalieu style, grew the company back into
prosperity.
A true Victor Kiam entrepreneurial acquisition.
Interested parties should note that the private
number-plate is being retained and a new age-related one issued in
its stead.
Reference Number 363052
as of 8/31/2015
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