406 with engine change

[Michael English]

This is a forum for helpful conversation about the cars which intrigue us, lets be pleasant!

My original 401 (80C ?) engine is presently giving me a little grief, but being new to them I take everyone's word that when going well they are a joy & I look forward to experiencing this.

People will clearly rob a scruffy Bristol for its powertrain if their preference is to sort out something more desirable or valuable, perhaps an AC Aceca. Arguably this is less of a crime than robbing a Rover 3500 V8 SD Vitesse manual and shoe-horning it into a Ford Escort or some such.

Who knows why Mike has obtained a 'gutless' Bristol, it happens. I totally agree that it is far better to have a Bristol running about with, for now, something 'wrong' under the bonnet. I saw an Aston Martin DB4 at auction with a Jag straight 6 under the bonnet, and it looked perfect. I am sure the Bristol will drive fine with Rover bits and as Mike seems to have a Rover affinity, its perhaps the right choice for him. If it was me, I think I'd look for a Jag engine, the most economical straight 6 I could find, as I think it would be better suited & would also look pretty good when the bonnet is open.

The Nissan 3 litre straight 6 is pretty much direct theft from the very similar engine used in the Austin Healey 3 litre ... it will also look great under the bonnet as long as any Nissan badging is removed !!!!!!!!!!!!!

May I plead for friendly & constructive criticism only, it makes the forum a joy to visit.

PS, its wonderful that a 'new' Bristol 6 engine is available again .... I rather dread to hear how dear it will have to be, but perhaps no more than a full-on rebuild of a tired engine. Can anyone steer me toward an engine guru in Somerset (ideally Yeovil/Taunton area) as mine is blowing smoke

[john]

Here is a highly tuned original Bristol engine that would make the 406 go pretty well. Its not a 2.2, so it might lack some low down.The price is spectacular!

AC Bristol sports/racing 100D engine | eBay

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

Spectacular price is a very good description. Spectacular in what they are asking for it. It might be interesting to find out what their intentions are for a replacement in their car. One could purchase a car for that amount of money. We see the same thing in the States when people try to sell a racing engine that was purpose-built to run at high RPM to make that much power. For the street,one would have to re-do the engine, lose the high compression,the wild camshaft and all the rest. But, there are people out there who would not take any of that into consideration. The real estate people love to use the phrase, "There is one in every bush".

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by Ronald G. Stephenson

Spectacular price is a very good description. Spectacular in what they are asking for it.

The price is relative to the market value of the car it came out of - an AC Ace, which is where such an engine belongs, or perhaps in a Cooper Bristol.

It is after all described as a racing engine so I doubt very much that the owner is expecting it to be purchased to go into a Bristol saloon!

I notice he has another one for sale at £18,500 that just needs assembly.

The sad reality is that of all the cars such engines were originally used in, the Bristol is generally worth the least, perhaps with one or two particular exceptions. That is why tatty 6 cyl Bristols are bought for their power trains, to be rebuilt and installed in much more valuable cars.

[John Simmons]

Originally Posted by john

Here is a highly tuned original Bristol engine that would make the 406 go pretty well. Its not a 2.2, so it might lack some low down.The price is spectacular!

AC Bristol sports/racing 100D engine | eBay

I see that this exact same engine is for sale again on ebay at the exact same price. Seems it was a bit too much the first time around, so they will continue trying. Would love to have it myself, but I just can't convince myself that it's worth that much.