John.....you have reminded me of a mystery that has puzzled me for many
years! I saw Jumbo's car in the Donnington museum many years ago and was
fascinated to see the license plate, HT 9029 (reason why to follow).
Then, in November 1977, Road & Track magazine ran a feature on the car and
made the following statement: "Jumbo Goddard bought what became his
record-breaking Bentley in 1928. It was then a fairly routine 4-year old
3-litre tourer." Later in the article, it says "In 1946 he had found an
8-litre Bentley personnel truck lying in a junkyard in
Salisbury............in 1954, he decided to make a proper job of old HT
9029 by fitting the 8-litre engine...."
Why this puzzles me is that I have in my possession three photographs of
what is clearly an 8-litre Bentley with the license plate HT 9029. These
photos were taken before the war. The body is a cycle fendered 2-seater,
with the seats at the very back of what is an enormously long car, much
bigger than any 1924 3-litre would ever have been and with a much later
grille shell than the tall one fitted in 1924. It is a very different body
from that on Jumbo's "special" as it now appears, and I am puzzled as to
how there could have been a 1924 3-litre, a pre-war 8-litre 2-seater, and a
special made from a 3-litre chassis with an 8-litre engine from a
"personnel truck", all bearing the same registration - HT 9029.
Anyone have any thoughts? I can probably have my pre-war photos scanned
into a file and e-mail them to anyone who thinks they can shed some real
light on this problem.
Lawrie Alexander
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> From: JOHN HARDY
> Date: Wednesday, October 29, 1997 3:13 AM
>
> Fellow Correspondents,
>
> A lucky find at what was probably one of the last Jumbles of the year in
> England was a pile of old "Automobile" magazines and a few "Motor
Sports".
> I chanced upon an article by Bill Boddy on the Turbo charged Bentley of
> Jumbo Goddard. I remember that this monster was in the entrance foyer of
> the Donington racing car museum when it first opened. Where is it now, I
> wonder? I hope Mr Boddy does not mind my reproduction of his article.
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