Bristol's Chrysler Engines

[jimfoz]

I remember seeing a 410 being auctioned at Sothebys in the late 80's or early 90's with a 440. It was well maintained and well used and had a estimate of £10,000. It was also on a set of minilites. It was described as the 'perhaps the fastest road going Bristol' (faster than the turbocharged models?). Haven't seen it in the BOC listings and wonder if it is still on the road???

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by jimfoz

I remember seeing a 410 being auctioned at Sothebys in the late 80's or early 90's with a 440. It was well maintained and well used and had a estimate of £10,000. It was also on a set of minilites. It was described as the 'perhaps the fastest road going Bristol' (faster than the turbocharged models?). Haven't seen it in the BOC listings and wonder if it is still on the road???

Interesting. Do you remember if it had a modified bonnet?
The 440 was/is an "RB" engine, which some say stands for "Raised Block". Which means it's a bit taller than the 363 and 400 engines used in the 411 and 412. The air cleaner on my 411 with a 400 engine is a pretty snug fit under the bonnet, so much so that it leaves an impression in the under bonnet sound insulation. So unless the 410 had a bit more room it wouldn't be possible to fit a 440 in there with a standard air cleaner.

I was going to say I doubt very much if it was faster than the turbocharged Bristols. For some reason Bristol didn't release power figures in that era, but a Jensen SIII with a 440 engine and would do 0-60 mph in 7.7 seconds. The turbocharged Beaufighter weighed a 1 cwt more than the Jensen, both had 15" wheels and a 3.07 rear axle ratio, but the Beaufighter did 0-60 in 6.7 seconds!

BUT, the 410 was 3.5 cwt (or 10%) lighter than the Beaufighter. Would that 392 lbs (Imp.) make the difference of more than 1 second 0-60 time?

It would be a very close thing!

[jimfoz]

I don't think it did. I say it was a 440, but it was described as a 7.2 which is probably the same thing? Not sure if it was merely an overbored 5.2. I notice Bristol offer an enlarged 7.2 upgrade for the older pre 603 V8's

I will try and retrieve the original catalogue and scan in the picture of the car. It was a well used example so I imagine if the owner has not done much to it since it will be looking very scruffy!

[Sam410]

I seem to recall reading in an old Bulletin about a 412 with a 440 fitted. Does anyone know anything about that? IIRC it had a louvred bonnet to keep it cool.

I have definitely read that Bristol did experiment with using the 440, but decided turbocharging was a better performance / economy compromise.

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by jimfoz

I don't think it did. I say it was a 440, but it was described as a 7.2 which is probably the same thing? Not sure if it was merely an overbored 5.2. I notice Bristol offer an enlarged 7.2 upgrade for the older pre 603 V8's

440 cubic inch is 7.2 litres, but those small block engines used in the 603 are a thinwall casting and I believe the maximum they can be bored out to is about 365 cid (if my sums are correct). You might be able to get a bit more by 'stroking' it but it wouldn't get anywhere near 440 cid.

However, uprated 440 crate engines are readily available from the US for about USD10k and given that Bristol altered the chassis to accommodate the taller turbocharged engine in the Brigand I'm sure it's not a big deal for them to do the same for any of the earlier V8 cars.