Replacement engines for Bristol 6

[Kevin H]

I don't think I could own that car. Can you imagine telling people it has a Nissan engine...

A BMW engine maybe, but nothing else.

Sadly if the cost of restoring a 6 cyl Bristol car exceeds the value of the restored car, then the high value of Bristol engines means that more 6 cyl Bristols are likely to be bought purely for their engine and transmission, which means the cars may ultimately end up on the scrap heap.

Ironic that Bristol's supply of engines and chassis to other manufacturers should result in the destruction of Bristol cars. Maybe Bristol should have listened to Harold Aldington and made sports cars!

[geo]

Originally Posted by Kevin Howard

I don't think I could own that car. Can you imagine telling people it has a Nissan engine...

A BMW engine maybe, but nothing else.

Hang on a minute Kevin, I do not know about that engine, but quite a substantial amount of BMW kit is manufactured by their partner company, the Bermuda-registered Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. (the company with which the late Rover first hoped to jump into bed).

Brilliance might only have produced thirty-odd thousand complete BMWs in 2007, but planned to increase this to 100,000 by next year.

[Kevin H]

To be frank I simply wouldn't have a 6cyl Bristol with anything other than Bristol engine. The same goes for any other classic car. I just can't see the point.

But if you must replace the original Bristol engine in an aerodyne I'm sure an older German made 6 cyl BMW engine could be obtained quite easily.

[Ashley James]

I must say that I worry for old Bristols because they really are
neglected. My son was workshop manager at www.alpineeagle.co.uk
where they regularly rebuilt cars for more than double their value.
I don't think the owner would appreciate me telling how much it cost
to restore a Gurney Nutting PIII, but the engine alone was about £80K!

Brian May has quite a few projects that require total rebuild and for
which there is little or no interest. I think I'm one of only a
handful who've completely rebuilt a 400. It's very sad and I don't
think it is so much the cost, which is considerable, but that
collectors are virtually unaware of them. Surely a decent 400 wouldn't
look out of place at Pebble Beach, it is quite distinctive enough, but
it has never happened.

I own a Bentley MKVI and they've been neglected for years, but in the
last ten or so, people have been spending considerable sums of money
on them and their condition has improved significantly. Rich is
currently doing a total interior restoration of a 400 but before that
it was a straight run of Bentleys.

I do hope some of you will shoot of to see Brian and save a few cars
that otherwise I'd be very worried about.

Ash

[Hydroglen]

Well it depends on the meaning of "collectors are unaware of them". In
Brians' case, he keeps his cars more or less hidden. Only those of us who
have visited him, and wandered around the garden are aware of his
treasures. I don't think he advertises, or if he does, not outside of
Bristol circles.
I have never restored a car that when finished would be worth less, than the
money I had invested in it.
In my mind, the idea is to save something rare and collectible wilst
protecting your financial investment. I do much of my own work and have
good connections in areas that I can't do. This is part of the fun and keeps
costs in line with the end value.
I can see were there are many collectors ( having to use restoration shops)
who see little point in investing in a car that will be cost them
substantially more than the end market value. Why place yourself in an
"upside down" position? At the end, the only one who gained was the
restoration shop. It is often cheaper to buy a restored car that is being
sold at a price that reflects market conditions and not the actual
investment costs of a misguided owner / collector.
This is particularly true in the current economy and likey to remain so in
the forseable future.

Dorien Berteletti

[Ashley James]

Dorien
I agree with you and attempt, not always successfully, to do the same,
however many collectors do not. They can't do it themselves, they
have to pay someone else to so that they can get as near to a new cars
possible and then use them for competition, concours or rallying. This
is what pushes the value up and it hasn't happened to Bristol. It
wouldn't matter if there were more people like you and I to do
restorations, but there aren't and the cars are suffering terribly as
a result.

The 406 engines have been nicked, but they are not the valuable ones,
Sub 2L and 100D2s are what the FN, Cooper, AC etc people want.

Ash

[johndschaefer]

On the last point, anyone who buys a new car surely knows they are losing money on the purchase yet people still seem to be buying crapboxes in alarming numbers. If one buys an old car, restores it or even has it restored, then drive and enjoy it for a few years, well in my mind they got their money's worth. I love driving (and riding) old and interesting vehicles. If someone gave my a new BMW I would have no idea what to do with it, except perhaps sell it on and use the proceeds on something of real value. That said, most old cars don't depreciate much if it all, so even from a purely financial point of view they make sense. Not sure about the UK, but here in the States I can run a car valued at US$30k and insure it for about US$200 a year. My wife's modern SAAB costs almost that much to insure per month, is worth far less, and lord help me if I can even change a headlight on that thing.