Amelia Island Concours dElegance, June 2018

Azores Vintage Rally, July 2017

Amelia Island Concours d'elegance, March 2016

"Hello Robert, I was at the Amelia concours a few weeks ago and I spotted this beautiful 1924 Bentley that reminded me of yours. Hopefully next year I will see yours there."

Jan 30, 2015
"A quick update on Chassis no. 564. My father, Henry Petronis, is the current owner, and I am the daughter for whom he purchased this lovely car. It has been fitted with a 4½ engine, as we all like to drive fast. Plus, I'm small so the 3 litre chassis is a good size for me. It is on the water to the US right now, and I look forward to getting it on the road in a week or so. I'm a tourer, not a shower, and I look forward to seeing you all on the asphalt (or surface of your choice!)."

Feb 2, 2015
"The car is not a bitsa. It has the original crank case and transmission housing — the rest just beefed up a bit."

I am still trying to find out what has happened to CX 6624. Contacted the person who bought the car from Dave Brownell then shipped it back here.

He has a contact with the person who purchased it. I asked him if he could find out for me the whereabouts of the car, so far no luck, perhaps she is back in the States Idont know?. But if and when I hear any thing from him I will let you know...

Richard Procter purchased CX 6624 from Dave Brownell in 2011 and sold it the same year. Update on present location of Chassis 564 from Roy Ginn:

"Car is still in UK having some work done to the Engine? Hood Frame is done and going back to the Trimmers. A bit of painting may be required to body. All I can find out is that when finished the location will be on the East Coast of US."

Two new owners since June 2011
This car was advertised as being for sale in June 2011 for the asking price of £137.500. Roy Ginn, our invaluable contributor and former owner of this car was able to track the new owner Richard Proctor who had bought this car from Dave Brownell and his wife in the U.S. The car went to its new home in Cheshire/Derbyshire border (south Manchester).

Richard Proctor informed Roy Ginn in December 2011 that he had sold the car to someone in the U.S. who wanted it for his daughter — "He is having a hood frame made and weather equipment is being fitted at this time."

"Here is a shot I took on the 2008 Vintage Bentley Tour in Vermont as Dave Brownell brought the car."

Birmingham Vermont Tour, 2008

In USA in 2006 / Owned by a BDC member

Photographs were taken during 2004 Mt. Equinox Hillclimb in Manchester, Vermont.

I bought it in 1984 from Henry Austin Clark, Jr., who had it at his Long Island Auto Museum. Mr. Clark got it in trade from Robert Sutherland of Colorado who obtained Austie's 1915 Duesenberg race car for it.

Mr Sutherland got it from Robert Seiffert, also of Colorado, who bought it in the early '70s from Frank Dale & Stepsons in London. It was then restored by Hoffman & Mountfort of Henley upon Thames and brought to America by Mr Seiffert in the mid-1970s when he returned from a stint in the UK.

This car was owned by Robert Seiffert from 1971 to 1982.

"I bought the car from Frank Dale in 1971. It needed a lot. Hoffman and Mountfort did the mechanicals and Jack Loveday of Stratton St. Margaret did the trimming. During my ownership I drove the car from Colorado to Briggs Cunningham's museum in Costa Mesa, California. for the '50 years on the run' celebration. The mag drive gears failed on the return voyage and were redone by Dyoll Engineering in Los Angeles. It was a super car to drive. Bags of power. I swapped it to Bob Sutherland (for a Lola Mk 1)."

The following text is an account of the purchase of CX 6624 and the reconditioning and rebuild up to the time of selling on, in Roy Ginn's words:
The year is somewhere in the mid-1960s. Firstly, I was in the process of trying to purchase an SS 100 Jaguar, also in bits and pieces. I was denied this by someone else getting to it first. So I thought, "What the hell." We had as a customer a Michael Grigsby who was at that time associated with the Rolls-Royce Club here in the U.K. He was the instigator in me obtaining CX 6624. He had a contact, a Forman Landscape gardener working for the Essex County Council. This contact told Michael that he had found a veteran car in a shed, in a village in Essex and told him how to locate it. Mick, being that sort of person, was there in a flash. The car Mick was looking at wasn't a 'veteran'! It was a Vintage Bentley, namely CX 6624. To cut a long story short, he asked the owner, Major Douglas Forrester Muir. retired ex-Army, how much he wanted if he was selling it. The answer was, "If I thought of selling it, about £1000, but I'm not. It can stay where it is. Michael went on to explain that his interest was veteran cars, but that he did know of someone who would buy his car at a reasonable price.

The next day Michael appeared outside Dad's Workshop and proceeded to tell me about the car, what sort of condition it was in and so on. An appointment was made to view. I proceeded to the village of Great Totham located between Maldon and Colchester. Was shown car. Seemed to be complete (i.e.) Engine, Gearbox, Rear Axel. Lamps were there, but in a box. Looked for and found instruments. Looking good... had discussion with owner and haggled quite a bit. The deal was finally 'done' at £700. CX 6624 was loaded on to my trailer and I was off home.

Arrival home in Shoeburyness
The first thing my father said was, "What the b***dy hell load of junk have you gone and brought now?" After going mad he said, "Does it go?" "Don't know", I said. Well after cleaning two sets of plugs, getting top of Autovac off and filling it up with petrol tried to start it up.

Had a few explosions, cleaned plugs again and again, and in the end she started up. Had reasonable oil pressure. Stopped engine. Had a look around water. It was pissing out of everywhere. You name it and it was leaking. Had evening meal, proceeded to run engine. Starter motor fell apart bits everywhere. Turned car around and proceeded to move it to a corner for the time being.

I first did some kind of inventory as to what was of any use to the rebuild. What remained of a body came off the chassis. Basically the only parts were the left hand front door. The bonnet was complete and in not bad condition. The body frame timbers between the fire wall and the steering wheel were kept. The rest of the body was unusable, resembling a shed. These were discarded. The entire overhaul was carried out by my father and me in-house.

Above are new photos of Reg. CX 6624 received from Roy Ginn.

"The car is obviously still here in UK, must be leaving the coachbuilders soon for USA. Let me know if you find out who spent a fortune doing a radical change on this car..."

"Here are 3 shots of the car Austin Clark had many years ago. I was a good friend of Austin's and I remember when he sold the car to Dave Brownell who still has it as he had it on the 2008 NAVBM meet."