Bentley 4 1/2 Litre (1936) - Bentley Pacey-Hassan
In 1936 Bill Pacey borrowed Walter ‘Wally’ Hassan, the outstanding automotive engineer, from Bentley Boy Wolf Banarto, commissioning him to create a fast, 4 ½ litre racer to the latest specification, Hassan using his experience to create a low-slung, specially built chassis mated to a sleek, narrow body. The new racer made its debut at the Brooklands 1936 Easter meeting, lapping at 117.46mph and winning its race. This success was followed by a 1st at the Witson Meeting ‘Gold Star’ race with a best speed of 122.53mph, a speed bettered before the end of 1936 with 128.03mph! The Pacey-Hassan is the epitome of that rare, powerful breed of Bentleys that dominated Brooklands during the most fiercely contested and glamorous period of Brooklands history.

This car is for sale as of July 21, 2010

An opportunity to acquire one of the most important pre war WO Bentley racing cars ever built. This famous Brooklands race car, built by the legendary Wally Hassan O.B.E., is still exceptionally competitive and has won numerous events.

This car is for sale as of Feb 10, 2009

"It was Peter Morley that owned the Pacey. He put it back to original, not John (his brother). When Fred Morley (Peters's father) bought the car originally, it was lined up with the Barnato Hassan and Napier Railton, all for £200 pounds. Peter campaigned the Pacey very succesfully for many years before selling it to concentrate on his Bentley Napier."

These photographs were taken at the Brooklands 100th Anniversary in June 2007.

Goodwood Festival of Speed, 2007

Article: Full Bore: Pacey-Hassan

This photograph is from Motor Sport magazine, 1957.

Accompanying text reads:
E. W. W. Pacey's 4 1/2-litre Bentley-engined Pacey-Hassan-Special, which lapped at 129.03 m.p.h. during 1936. In the 1936 500 Mile Race it finished second, at 115.96 m.p.h., and is here seen in the 1937 "500", in which it finished in eighth place, lapping at 120.01 m.p.h.

Bill Pacey, a Bentley driver of some years standing (he also owned 'Old Mother Gun' 4½ Litre ST 3001 in 1931 and one of the 100 mph 3 Litres Chassis No. 1185), commissioned Wally Hassan and Wally Saunders to build him a track car using his old 4½ Litre in 1935. Rubery Owen built a new frame, an unbraked front axle was used and a pile of compression plates under the block allowing ratios ranging from around 6:1 to around 12:1! Pacey took places in all the four meetings he entered in 1936 thanks to a gradually increasing compression ratio, with laps starting at 117.46 mph and finishing at 129.03 mph. During the 1936 500 Miles Race the engine broke up and a 3 Litre block was then used on a Blower 4½ Litre bottom end (no. MS 3936 ex Chassis No. MS 3932) with a Zoller supercharger. However, the Blown 3 Litre version was no quicker than the AVi Litre, lapping at 120.01 mph in the 1937 500 Kilometres Race (the BRDC had reduced the distance to encourage more entries) in which Pacey persevered to finish 8th at 108.9 mph, despite reputedly using 8 gallons of oil!

Pacey withdrew from racing, sharing Barnato's disillusionment with the handicapping system, and the Pacey-Hassan emerged post-war, rebuilt as a road car owned by Geoffrey Kramer, registered LPA 394. It was subsequently owned and raced by John Morley who fitted a replica of the original body to restore the original lines, but now, with hydraulic brakes and fitted once again with a 4½ Litre engine, the Pacey resides in Fuad Majzub's collection.