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Few owners can have shown such loyalty to a car as the late MichaelBanfield, who bought this 3/4½-litre Bentley in 1959 when he was just23 and kept it for the rest of his life – a total of 54 years in the sameownership. It was also the very first vehicle in his collection, whichat his death in 2013 totalled some 60 veteran and vintage cars andcommercial vehicles. The Bentley also established the high standard offinish which characterised the vehicles in the Banfield Collection.The much-prized 3/4½-litre conversion, which combines the bestelements from both models, had its origins in “W.O.” days with aselect group – just nine – 4½-litre “Shorties” built on the 9ft 9½ inchwheelbase (rather than the standard 10ft 10in chassis of the remaining656 4½-litre cars) for some very discerning customers. These includedCaptain Kevill Davis (whose car would later be owned by KestonPelmore, founding father of the Bentley Drivers Club), E.R. Foden(whose yearning for the “bloody thump” of the 3-litre had inspired thecreation of the 4½-litre) and sporting motor dealer Drysdale Kilburn,best known as an exponent of the 30-98 Vauxhall.These “Shorties” proved to be wonderfully swift and agile, and thispotent formula was taken up by W.O. Bentley’s brother Horace in the1930s. His company, H.M. Bentley & Partners, specialised in rebuildingtired second-hand 3-litre and 4½-litre cars, and in the years precedingWorld war two he created a limited number of what were referred to as“hybrid Bentleys”, one of which was owned by J.G. Fry, builder of theFreikaiserwagen “Shelsley Special” hill-climber.Writing in 1943, Joe Fry extolled the virtues of his “Bentley with aDifference”: “Recipe: take a good 3-litre Red Label Bentley chassis,mix in a good 4½-litre engine... add a light two-seater body withaccessories to taste. The result is a motor car which, while stillpossessing a good vintage flavour, possesses a performance equalledby few other machines, even of the most modern and expensive type.”Postwar, enthusiastic Bentley owners began to follow the 3/4½-litrepath to enhanced performance, among them Thomas OliverDonaldson Craig, the managing director of a plating works inTeddington, Middlesex, who acquired WN 204 in 1954 from RonaldClement Smith of Hove, Sussex. The car was then a standard 3-litreSpeed Model with the desirable C-type gearbox, which had been soldin July 1927 to one D.D. Williams; it was originally fitted with engineLM1350 and a maroon two-seater Vanden Plas body (No 1311), whichhad been ordered in September 1926.Mr Craig kept the car in standard form for a couple of years, then inMay 1957 he bought a 4½-litre engine from fellow Bentley Drivers Clubmember C.M. Carpenter of Birkenhead. Mr Carpenter declared thatthe engine, XF3503, which had come from 4½-litre Maythorn saloonXF3502, had only done 30,000 miles from new; it was also completelydismantled. This engine was, said Mr Craig, in perfect condition andwas duly reassembled without any further work being carried out,apart from the fitting of two new magnetos. The 3-litre engine originallyinstalled in LM 1341 was apparently transferred to chassis 914.Motor Cars | 99