1933 Aston Martin BME 119, chassis D3/252/L
Sold new to Mrs Armstrong of Hethpool in Northumberland as a 4 seat 12/50, BME 119 covered well over 300 miles from the Aston Martin factory in Feltham to its first home. As was often the case with early Aston Martins, Mrs Armstrong had the car modified from standard before delivery; in this case to take extra passengers in the rear by extending the bodywork, fitting an outside hood and also a special 6:1 final drive ratio. The Works record card shows that ownership later passed to Mr Dixon of Pal Mall in London. Although no date for this is recorded, it must have been before 1950 which is the last entry by the Works on the record card.
AMOC records show that the chassis was shortened to Le Mans specification in the mid-1950s and a MKII engine was fitted. By 1965, Mr Dunne of Manchester owned the car with the intention of fitting a Le Mans body to it. However, this was not achieved until it was bought in 1986 by Andy Bell of Ecurie Bertelli and his father Preston Bell. During Preston’s ownership the car was converted to fully correct Le Mans specification although it retained the MKII engine and some subtle Ecurie Bertelli upgrades. Campaigned tirelessly by Preston, Andy and a variety of guest drivers in concours, sprints, hill climbs, races and rallies and continuously maintained in-house by Ecurie Bertelli ever since, including the very recent fitting of a new MKII engine, little more than run in.
The number of events completed by this car are too numerous to name here. It also featured on the front cover of the iconic book about pre-war Aston-Martins by Inman Hunter. Having held FIA HTP papers, FIVA card and the VSCC Buff form, this car is eligible for a wide variety of events and is completely ready to race, rally or go touring. It is fitted with a Brantz rally meter, additional driving lights, plus race catch tanks etc.
Available to inspect and drive, please contact Robert Blakemore about this iconic car.
