Is Mystery Tourer another Crewe Bentley? UPDATE: It is

Confirmation that this car started life as a Bentley Mk VI fitted with the 4257cc engine. It first broke public cover at the 3rd International “Custom Car” magazine Custom Show, held over the weekend of 17th & 18th February 1973 at the Crystal Palace National Sports Recreation centre, in South East London. This event was attended over 25,000 visitors including myself.

Images of this car under construction were published as a single page feature in a 1972 bookazine entitled “Custom Car - World of Wild Wheels”. From that article I can offer the following details. The owner/builder of this car was John “Dicky” Bird, who worked as a motor trader selling Daf cars from a dealership based in the UK south coast town of Portsmouth, Hampshire.

Bird wanted a car as unique and individual as his personality. Having built his first one off car, and all the attention it garnered, he set about construction of his second car - this Bentley. He had his own ideas about the body style he wanted, irrespective of the fact that it was not aligned with accepted public opinion. Described as a “talented amateur”, he was not of the school of the English wheel or double curvature. Most of the bodywork was hand bent using one and one eighth angle iron clothed with 20 gauge alloy. The original steel bonnet (hood) was simply re-skinned in alloy. The bodywork was polished and lacquered to retain its shine.

The mudguards (fenders) were fashioned from scrap copper heating tanks, cut up, laid flat and shaped accordingly. The exhaust system was made of six flexy pipes, going through and under the left running board, then exiting over the fuel tank with the six pipes ending in to a large chromed Brooklands fish tail. The headlamps were Lucas P100 items bought from a scrap dealer.

As two thirds of the MkVI production had factory steel bodies fitted that were rust prone, chances are that this car would have been too expensive to restore - hence it being a prime contender for Mr Bird’s intensions. UK records show that this Bentley still exists, its Historical taxation class was renewed for a year a few months ago. Its year of manufacture is recorded as 1953, and was first registered in May of the same year.

The vehicle colour is currently listed as being “Red”, but it is unknown if this was the original 1953 body colour, or if the car has been restored back to full MkVI spec with another body. With todays values, the car would be worth more put back to the original build.

John Bird’s first venture in self car body styling appeared on a 1956 Rover 90 P4, a scan of which I’m happy to submit.