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

[Raymond]

Oh dear. Sorry Geoff...didn't mean to get off to a bad start with the forum!

By coincidence, today I have been sanding down the bonnet of my TC project. I have been struggling with the louvres because I suffer from painful fingers.

Good to know my favourite engine will fit the car if I ever need it to. My GT6 Mk3 became like a hand in a glove. Not everyone's cup of tea of course and not very nice in the wet (especially when pushed!) but having restored it twice in my ownership I knew every nut and bolt.

It's funny what you can get used to.

[hesketh786]

yes great point Raymond, I see so many Bristols with no engines ?!

Can anyone shed light on this as to why they go missing ?

What about converting it to electric.... or am i asking for it...

[Raymond]

I don't know for sure but I think it highly likely these poor old cars have been savaged by people who go racing.

as for converting to electric; the idea scares me. My wife has a Lexus hybrid... there are "keep out" signs under the bonnet!

[Geoff Kingston]

Raymond,
You did not get off to a bad start at all on the forum, your comments about the paint on LRU and better interiors shots made me laugh but I hate adding LOL after a comment far too new a phrase for an old luddite like me, I also like to get the old wooden spoon out to stir things up so beware.
I would strongly and seriously however advise anyone considering converting any Bristol to electric to forget it, I 'll say no more on the forum but if anyone wants to know the reason behind this comment please send me a private message, suffice to say a lot of conversions like this are dangerous in more ways than just a keep out sign.

Hesketh,
The engine robbing has been going on for years, when I started running Bristol 401's they cost about £150 to £250 each a 405 more if good but with wood rot less a 406 £450 max. Engine dies then buy another car to use or rob the engine out of. Then the AC Ace factor, a lot found their way to the US, taken racing, V8's fitted, the exchange rate changed and many were bought back into the UK, where did new owners get their engines from, poor old Bristol engined AC Greyhounds which were not fashionable or Bristol 405's. Then the historic racers, 406's escaped this because the engines were not eligible for historic racing, sadly the rest were and if you had a £100k racer £10 spent on a sad old Bristol to pinch its engine was a bargain. 405's seemed to be the first victims, then the 403's and eventually the 401's when people realised that these too could be modified to race or FNS specification. I wasted almost two weeks recently assembling a parts package for a potential buyer who wanted a engine for an early Frazer Nash only for him to drop his offer because he had been "offered later engines for less money", one at a plausible price, one that a very knowledgeable friend of mine said if it was available for that figure it would be scrap, a 100D at about a quarter of current market value.
The sad reality was that to build an authentic spec engine for the Frazer Nash in question a later engine would knock a lot off the value whereas in a Bristol it won't. The guy in question I suspect may actually have had a Werner Oswald clone but an FNS spec build on a correct series engine would have been a better bet.
As I said before its a funny old world, enjoy it!
Geoff.

[hesketh786]

Raymond,
ahhh i do not like the sounds of that ! maybe ill search for a suitable engine for the 405 ! wish me luck... !

Geoff,
250 for £450 ! god that must have been amazing !
i would have bought them all !
that a very interesting what you have wrote up, do you think i should search in the US for a 405 engine ?
if i cant get a 405 engine - what is the next best engine ?

thanks both
H

[Geoff Kingston]

Hesketh,
There are original engines about and any 2 litre unit will fit a 405, the limitation to performance of the 85 series engines is reckoned to be the diameter of the crankshaft bearings but the FNS engines were based on these units so they can't be that bad. Truth is some of the engine castings were not that clever so for example cracked or porous blocks under the exhaust manifolds, this is by no means the end of the engines life, there are so many cost effective options to keep the car on the road. 85 heads can have seats re cut and enlarged to 100A spec, I am told 85 blocks can be modified to accept 100 series style cranks so a lot can still be done but at a cost.
Consider this, the late Brian May and I were discussing 85C vs 100A performance a good few years back and his view was on modern fuel and modern road conditions you wont notice the difference.
A 110 engine ex 406 would be a good upgrade if you can get one and if I am able to sell my 401's I will have at least one 85C engine, and an 85c block, crank, cam and 100B cam available, but only if the cars sell first.
Geoff.

[Raymond]

Hesketh. If I might just add to what Geoff has said about cracked blocks. You might find someone who thinks their engine is good only for spares but I have had impressive results with cast iron stitching. I went to Stitchweld in Burton On Trent with a 1926 Dodge Brothers side valve block. They not only stitched up the water jacket (easy) but also managed to stitch across a cracked valve seat and machined it back to as good as new.

The cost was very reasonable and the repair was a long term success.

If you are pushed for cash you could always repair a simple frost crack with Belzona. It's amazing stuff!

Don't forget, however, that where ever you can see a crack in cast iron there WILL be another crack or two probably hidden and running above and below (parallel) to it .