New 403 owner

[RGSchmitt]

Hal -

I can't recall whether it was this forum or the BOC one that had some
discussion of other engines suggested/fitted to a Bristol. I do
recall one owner was well into a project to put in a Volvo engine, a
4 cyl I think. A Bristol sold recently in the US had a Ford Falcon
engine installed. Unless you are very lucky, obtaining a 6 cyl
Bristol engine and transmission is likely more expensive than your
original purchase!

Bob

PS My car was in MUCH worse condition when I found it, so don't give up.

[Hydroglen]

Hi Hal,
I have not seen any pictures of your car. A modern BMW has absolutely no
connection with the original BMW based 6 cyl engine.
Others on this chat page may have done a conversion and can advise you more
accurately. It may also boil down to what is available in your area at a
cost that you are "happy" with. Remember that in an engine / gearbox
conversion, many of the original intruments such as speedo and tach will not
work and will have to be adjusted.
A body shop can give you a general cost on their work based on pictures. If
they are shy and moan that they need to "see" the car, ask them the cost of
painting the car you are driving and tell them you are wanting a color
change. Door jams and other detailing add $$. It will at least put you in
the general price area and if your Bristol is rougher than the car you are
driving...well the price just got higher!!
Your VW man should be able to, via connections in the trade, give you an
approximate engine installation charge / cost.
Presumably you will need brakes + exhaust possibly interior work. Fiddly
things like wiper motor and lights. They all add up in the red math section
of your ledger lol.
And of course the price you paid for the car, and do you REALLY want a
Bristol 403 in the first place?
Depending on what part of the world you are, in will make a BIG difference
to the cost. In Europe you will pay double what you may pay in North
America. There was a 401 or 403 for sale last year in the USA with a Ford
6cyl engine. They virtually give these away, so a relatively inexpensive
transplant. It was Hyman motors that had the car. He usually has something
for sale on EBay in the collector car section, so you could try and contact
him and see if the car sold and for how much. It will help you with your
math.
Back on Wednesday....looking forwards to exciting news.
Good luck
Dorien

[Hal]

Bob,

Thanks for your information.

Its beginning to dawn on me that there was a good reason why the car i bought did not come with an engine and gearbox, and the cost of buying these items is expensive.

Thats why i'm considering using an alternative setup that would be more readily available and a lot cheaper.

I'll try and not give up, but everyone keeps on telling me that its a hard road ahead (sigh).

[Hal]

Hi Dorien,

Ouch its sounding more and more expensive.

It was an impulse purchase, but that impulse was based upon it being such a lovely shaped car.

I want to restore it myself, and farm as little of the work out as possible.

Yes its a tall order, and perhaps i'm being stupid, as all my family and friends keep on telling me, but the car has character and if i can persevere, it would be an interesting project.

I want to keep the cost down to a sensible level, which is why a non Bristol replacement engine and gearbox sound appealing.

If anyone has any ideas of what combo's i could use, that would be most helpful.

Hal

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by RGSchmitt

Hal -
I can't recall whether it was this forum or the BOC one that had some
discussion of other engines suggested/fitted to a Bristol. I do
recall one owner was well into a project to put in a Volvo engine, a
4 cyl I think.

Bob, it was on here (Clyde aka 406Special). He talks about his car (Bristol 406) in these threads.

http://www.bristolcars.info/forums/6...istol-6-a.html

http://www.bristolcars.info/forums/6...ice-parts.html

PS My car was in MUCH worse condition when I found it, so don't give up.

Yes, but your fully restored Frazer Nash is probably worth ten times what a 403 would be worth!

Originally Posted by dave dale

Hal,
If you have got plenty of money, there is another alternative. Recently there are new heads being made for the Bristol 2-litre block.

Slight problem Dave - he doesn't have a Bristol 2-litre block to put the new heads on

Hal, just in case you are wondering why some people might say they haven't seen the photos you uploaded with your first post, it's because they are communicating with the forum by email.

I wish you luck with the car, but I really think it would be far cheaper in the long run to buy one that has already been done, or buy one that at the very least has it's original power train.

[GREG]

HAL - Put your email question on BEEF so you get more ideas / answers -Greg
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hal
Greg,

I really really like the 402 idea, especially since its a very glamerous looking design.

But is it possible and how and who could do the cabriolet conversion.

Hal
Yep , it's possible and has been done once or twice. Lots of coach trimmers could do it. It is relatively simple due to the strong chassis. Go and look at a 402 to see where to chop etc

Best if you look on the chassis list on the BOC and contact someone that has done it for advise.

Even with an imposter engine an imposter 402 would sell for good money.

I remember when I saw a 405 in about the same condition as yours. There was a spares or repair SAAB 900 convertible for sale with a good electric hood for £300 near my house -- that set my mind wondering !.

Maybe someone on the BEEF site has done it.

Greg

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by GREG

HAL - Put your email question on BEEF so you get more ideas / answers -Greg

BEEF was a mail list, which this site replaced.

However, wherever Hal asks his questions I can't really see that he will get different answers. The fact that his restoration doesn't stack up economically is inescapable.

Looking at the photos, the car clearly needs a fair bit of work. It would be astonishing if it could be just reassembled, 3rd party engine and gearbox installed and body resprayed.

At the end of the day there's only ever going to be a limited market for a Bristol with non original power train and the value would be considerably less than than an original car.

I know it's not all about value, but I also know from experience it's not a good feeling knowing that you have pumped a huge amount of money into a car that can never be recouped, even when you have no intention of selling it in the foreseeable future. To know that before you even start, but still go ahead with it is madness (IMHO).

It's not like it's the last 403 in the world

[GREG]

OOps - sorry about the BEEF thing Kevin

I agree about the economics but I was just sugesting that if it was to go ahead a convertible or roadsters would probably be easier to sell as there is less of them and the real ones fetch high prices.

The reason I didn't tackle the 405 was because of suicidal economics. It would have made a bonnie car though!

Greg

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by GREG

I agree about the economics but I was just sugesting that if it was to go ahead a convertible or roadsters would probably be easier to sell as there is less of them and the real ones fetch high prices.

To be honest, I missed the bit about the chop top until after I posted my response, but isn't cutting the roof off just bastardising it even further?

It's just making it even less original.

Anyone who's done their homework would know it isn't a rinky-dink original 402, plus it will have the wrong engine and gearbox as well (with modifications to suit). But not only that, once the roof has been chopped off you wouldn't even be able to convert it back to proper 403.

[GREG]

People have converted original 403's with original engines and I would bet that done well that they fetch more money.

Only a guess though.

Even Beetles and Morris Minors values increase massively once chopped and there is loads of them !!

Greg