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

[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.