NEW CAR AGAIN.... 1956 Bristol 405 CHASSIS - 4106. 405GMT

[hesketh786]

@AndrewA thankfully everyone involved are all okay, thank you for asking.

Unfortunately the Porsche will have to undergo major bodywork surgery but again main thing is that no one was seriously injured.

Absolutely yes back onto the 405 !

Hope you and the cars are all keeping well ?

Best
H

[hesketh786]

a quick jubilee update !

hope everyone is having a lovely weekend !

best,

h

[hesketh786]

quick update !

can see the light at the end of the tunnel

[AndrewA]

Is it moving away from you or towards you !!
Wow - it's moved on a lot - hopefully not too many unexpected surprises.

Best
A

[hesketh786]

Thank you Andrew !

Hahhaha yes which one of the two ?!

Yes - been slaving away at it with every spare second I get !

I polished the front nose this evening - take a look at the results, i cannot wait for the whole car to look like that !

How are you Andrew, you and the motors keeping well ?

Best
h

[Raymond]

That looks smart!

If you have the courage to do it, then polish the whole car.! It will look more expensive than it is!

[hesketh786]

Hiya Raymond !

Hope you are keeping well.

Thank you very much ! I will be doing the whole car !
And my other 3 Bristols to match !

best
h

[Raymond]

You have four Bristols?

No wonder they are getting rare...you have them all!!

(No worries...Bristols should always come in pairs!)

[hesketh786]

indeed sir !

405,407,408 and a 411s3 !

I got bitten by the bug !

best
h

[AndrewA]

Car looks great and polished section excellent .
All quiet with my cars - just occasional drives. Am doing up a house and that's consuming almost all my time at the moment.
Best wishes
Andrew

[hesketh786]

Thanks so much Andrew ! Really appreciate it !

Oh thats nice to hear - hows the Bristol running ?

Yes i can imagine so ! House renovation is very time consuming, hopefully you
will be over it all soon.

Take care sir,

best
h

[AndrewA]

Bristol in good health but not getting as much use as it deserves at the moment but will hopefully that will improve.
From the photos of your car you don't appear to have uncovered any historical bodgery/excessive use of filler or accident damage - which is always a relief.
Best
Andrew

[hesketh786]

Evening Andrew,

Always great to hear she is in good health !
Try and get her out for a blast in this glorious weather !

Indeed - the car hasn't had much filler at all, or any major dings !

Managed to get the front bumper off and also finished the drivers door !

[Geoff Dowdle]

"H" ,
I noticed in your recent photos you placed a number plate "7SHM" on the dash.
Is that the last registered number or "405GMT" ??

Have you used paint stripper to remove the majority of paint before using sandpaper?

The alloy body looks very straight .
Will you fit a Bristol engine & gearbox/overdrive ?

Geoff

[hesketh786]

Hiya Geoff,

Thanks for the message.

I may put "7SHM" on the 405 once finished but your correct at the moment 405GMT is currently registered to the car.

I did try paint stripper on a few panels - but i found it clogged up my sanding discs when i came to sand.

So 90% i just sanded without any stripper.

Yes the car is very straight which i'm so happy about !

And maybe yes - i'm in talks with R Hackett as he has found me an engine & gearbox

all the best

H

p.s - both bumpers are now off !

[Geoff Dowdle]

"H",
I have stripped the paint off many Bristol's over the years and found paint stripper and scraper works the best . Sometimes it needs three applications and the final one needs to be finished with various grades of wet and dry sandpaper with plenty of water.
Your method sounds quite slow and therefore time consuming .
But you have most of it off the external body skin now .
Are you planning the strip the paint off the door , boot and bonnet openings/frames? If so this will have to be done with paint stripper , scraper and wet and dry sandpaper.

There are plenty of Bristol engines and gearboxes available but prices vary a lot depending on type and condition. I have heard the family of the late Brian May could have at least ten engines and fifteen gearboxes that would all be for sale .
Condition of any Bristol 6 cylinder motor or gearbox is most important as the rebuild cost could be more than the purchase price.
What is the saying "Buyer beware"

Regards
Geoff

[hesketh786]

Evening Geoff,

Ahhh i see, i only applied one heavy layer then covered it in industrial cling-film, ill give it another shot and yes all the places you mentioned i will also strip the paint. Thanks for the tip !

Oh really - thats great news ill call his daughter Fiona sometime soon and ask her whats available.

And absolutely agree, its all about the condition that matters most hence why i've not bought anything straight away without assessing all the ones available !

best,
h

[David C]

I'm curious to know if anyone has recently found a paint stripper that works. I did half a job with an old can of Nitromors that I had on the shelf and then bought a new can of a modern replacement. It really didn't work very well.
The active ingredient in the older stuff has been outlawed and there doesn't seem to be a very effective replacement yet.

[Raymond]

I have found quite good results can be achieved by careful use of an electric hot air gun. Just remember to keep the heat away from rubber parts.

I say careful, because too much heat could cause distortion of aluminium... but you would need to be pretty brutal to do any damage.!!

Assuming the paint is nitro cellulose, quite a good way to remove what is left after scraping it would be to wipe it over with thinners.

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by Raymond

Assuming the paint is nitro cellulose, quite a good way to remove what is left after scraping it would be to wipe it over with thinners.

Nitrocellulose? I hope not!