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

[hesketh786]

Geoff,

you mean any 2L Bristol engine ? or any 2L of similar age in other British cars ?
i would be interested in one of your engines if i haven't found one by the time you have sold your Bristols, could i put an auto gear box on
these type engines ?
Only reason I ask is that I want my father to drive this Bristol and he finds auto gboxs a hell of alot easier !

Raymond,
Thanks so much for the company i have added them to my favourites as they may come extremely useful ! Your so right, there will always be one or 2 more hiding around the corner !

Best
H

[David C]

BMW 6 cylinder engine from the 1970s Twin carb. 2.8 litres
One on Ebay that may be recoverable for about £500. Item 265406626599
These were canted over in the BMW but should work upright with a re-worked sump and oil pump pickup. I imagine there was an auto 'box for them.

[Geoff Kingston]

Hesketh,
I do mean any 2 Litre Bristol engine and the 2.2 litre 406 unit, the changes in mountings on the engines and gearbox ( both Bristol ) came about when the overdrive units were introduce so if you want to fit a 406 engine and overdrive gearbox into say a 401 then the crossmember behind the gearbox has to be modified. If you want to fit a later overdrive conversion using a smaller overdrive it does not.
To date no one that I am aware of has succeeded in fitting an automatic gearbox to a Bristol 2 litre engine and indeed after Toby Silverton lost control of Bristol Cars the new owners found themselves at the wrong end of a very expensive legal action when they said they could but failed to deliver such a beast.
I don't recall any discussions on this but I wonder if any BMW 328's have ever been fitted with pre selector gearboxes if they have and you can find a gearbox it may be possible to fit such a unit to a Bristol plus assisted operation of the clutch, you could well be entering uncharted territory but it may be fun!
Geoff.

[hesketh786]

David C,

I wouldn't mind that BMW E9 engine in the 405 !
Sounds very interesting fitting that in the 405, but i'm just worried about fitment in the engine bay ? It may be a little to large i am thinking ?

Geoff Kingston,

Okay ill scrap the auto box on this one ! He can drive the others lol !
The thing is finding the 2L Bristol engine is quite hard and if i do see one they are very expensive !
Ive seen this 405 with a 2.5L Triumph TR6 TC engine and O/ drive gearbox
And it looks like it's a good fitment for the engine bay.

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1373039

I may look for one of these and stick it in the 405 for now until I find a 2L engine thats in my price range.

Best,
H

[hesketh786]

evening all,

how hard would it be to install a 2.5L Triumph TR6 TC engine and O/ drive gearbox for now until i get a Bristol engine ?

like this 405 ?

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1373039

thanks
H

[Raymond]

It all depends on what you consider to be "difficult". It has been done before (as you know) so could be done again. I would expect there will be a certain amount of "fettling". Whether this involves welding in new engine mountings or not I don't know but you would probably need a different length prop shaft.

All I can say is that - unlike with the XK engine - there shouldn't need to be that much in the way of surgery.

One thing...stick with the TC option. The last thing you want is a 2.5pi with it's associated problems.

[AndrewA]

Not trying to be funny but might be worth ringing the gent who has his for sale and ask him.....

[hesketh786]

Raymond,

Indeed ive seen a few cars with Triumph engines, so it may be the easiest engine swap of the time. Oh yes never thought about the PShaft, there a few places around cheshire who make custom ones so hopefully i'll be covered.
Yes so true i'm trying to keep it as basic as possible so no modern car problems.

AndrewA,

Great shout buddy, i'll drop him a message now and i'll call him tomorrow, hopefully he can shed some light on it.

Thank you,

H