1956 Bentley S1 ‘Lightweight’ Saloon by H. J. Mulliner

1956 Bentley S1 ‘Lightweight’ Saloon by H. J. Mulliner

Registration No: 936 YUM
Chassis No: B156BA

One of twelve Bentley S1 chassis bodied by H. J. Mulliner in Aluminium ‘Lightweight’ Saloon specification. The forerunner of the exquisite Continental chassis Flying Spur design.

Perhaps the finest example in existence, having been subject to far in excess of £100,000 worth of restorative work.  Mechanical work performed by marque specialists Padgett Motor Engineers.

Full interior and boot space retrim carried out by Simtrim of Spalding. A former concours entrant that wil surely cause a stir in future RREC and BDC events

The Bentley S1 was unveiled in April, 1955. A very different car from its predecessors, it was longer and wider and based on a much stiffer chassis. Though the traditional body-on-chassis construction facilitated the manufacture of special-bodied versions, most were delivered with the standard offering produced by Pressed Steel Ltd, featuring alloy doors, bonnet and boot lid. Powered by the final iteration of the company’s venerable 4.9-litre straight six engine featuring revised cylinder-head porting, power was quoted at 178bhp. As standard, the unit drove through a four-speed automatic gearbox with steering column control. Suspension was independent at the front by wishbones and coil springs and employed a leaf-spring mounted live axle at the rear. Braking was by drums all round. A total of 3,107 examples were produced between 1955 and 1959.

This elegant S-type Bentley is one of very few to have received H. J. Mulliner’s ‘Lightweight’ aluminium saloon coachwork, with distinctive styling cues including suicide doors and sharply defined rear wings. Originally registered ‘UXK 362’ and painted Black with a Tan interior, chassis B156BA was supplied with special features including a Radiomobile 200X radio, GB letters above the rear number plate, and “a tin of polish, clothes brush and mirror.” The build sheets record a power steering conversion being performed by the factory. Delivered to H. R. Owen on March 6th, 1958, B156BA was sold new to Laycock Engineering Ltd. at the Victoria Works in Sheffield, for the use of its managing director Sydney Walker, who kept a large house on the fringe of Blacka Moor. Laycock Engineering, of course, was well-known in the 20th century for its automobile transmission components, especially the Laycock de Normanville overdrive.

The Bentley entered the last ownership in 2012, and has received extensive attention in this tenure, with restorative works at different stages totalling far in excess of £100,000. Now painted a very dark Green, as per the owner’s custom for all his cars, it has been well received at several concours events and has been described as “potentially one of the finest surviving examples.”

Across 2012 and 2013, over £18,000 was spent on interior renovations. In August, 2013, work totalling £19,800 was completed by Padgett Motor Engineers, including repairs to the floor and boot, with some replacement inner boot panels fabricated. A new fuel tank was fabricated and installed, a new stainless steel tailpipe was made, and new front brake shoes were fitted. Further expenditure with Padgett during 2014 exceeded £9,500, predominantly concerning mechanical upkeep and maintenance, but the car also received new coach lining that year from Jon Leeson, at a cost of £250.

The pace of work slowed for a few years, until 2020, when the vendor embarked upon a more comprehensive overhaul of the interior, with the work entrusted to DTM Coachtrim and Simtrim. The complete reupholstering of the front and rear seats with period-style Connolly leather was completed in 2021, costing £20,000. Work continued into 2022, with DTM invoicing £7,710 for rebuilding and retrimming the front door armrests, renewing some internal timbers, installing new foam squabs in the front and rear seats, and “Designing, making and fitting a driver’s door lock including modifications to allow the original key to fit all locks.” Any leather not replaced was redyed to match the new material.

The Bentley returned to Padgett in 2024 for a programme of mechanical and bodywork repairs which were completed in 2025, at a combined cost of almost £18,000. A thorough service in 2024 involved the fitment of a new battery, a carburettor tune-up, new spark plugs, and a fluid change. The front anti-roll bar mounting and vertical bushes were renewed, the shock absorbers were reset, the front springs were changed and the rear anti-roll bar was adjusted. The bodywork repairs involved welding the floors, B-pillars, one front body mounting, new sill sections, and a new right-hand-front rear wing section. Padgett went one step beyond the factory and “made a closing panel that it never had to run front to back of the RH sill edge [to] prevent the sill filling up with water.”

The result of these labours is plain to see. The Bentley presents in beautiful order throughout, and will no doubt be greatly admired at RREC and BDC events. It is supplied with copies of the factory build sheets, assorted invoices, and some MOT history.  

The car drives as well as it looks with taut yet supple suspension & seamless impercetible gear changes.  Indeed when driving it one can eaily imagine the time to be 70 years ago & the car to be brand new.