rebuild costs

[Geoff Kingston]

Raymond,
Time was I would have stayed up all night, logged it to bid and tried to get the 403 if I get up in time I may still have a go but from what I can see in the photographs there could be some serious rot in the main chassis, without being able to view assume the worst, you could end up with a car fit only for spares and if you have the time to sell parts off worth far more than you may pay for it.
Why do the engines cost so much to repair? Start with the condition of the Cylinder head and Block, how much work to make serviceable? This could run from hundreds to thousands depending on what needs doing or do they need replacing, everything else follows there is no real mystery about these engines, they are not a work of art and in some ways they are flawed, they also have the added disadvantage or being rather old a bit like me.
An awful lot can be repaired and salvaged and that can be a very cost effective way to put or keep a car on the road, I know of one issue for example that if you are lucky can be solved for a few hundred pounds if that, if bad perhaps £1500/£2000 but some owners scrap the component in question and spend 20 times that on a new part.
These engines do not respond well to sitting around for months on end and can be a source of continual grief but set up used and maintained on a regular basis can be a total joy, if you are contemplating a rebuild and can manage the process yourself there is no magic to it, it could still be expensive but a lot less than you might expect.
If you fancy a 401 with a Bristol Cars rebuilt engine which has done less than 100 miles since installation send me a private message.
Geoff