Bristol 411 , fractured wheel rim

[Roger Morrall]

clewin

I’m wondering whether your horrific pictures are indeed of a genuine 411 wheel.

I’ve noticed that the width of the web between the slots on your picture "fractured-wheel-rim-foto-reifen-2.jpg" appears to be narrower than the length of the slot.

When I compare your picture with one of a genuine 411 wheel (albeit one fitted to a 410 - attached) I perceive that the width of the web appears significantly wider than the slot. This is also my impression when I look at 411 wheels in Christopher Balfours excellent book "Bristol cars, a very British story". Now I know this is not germane to the bit that failed so catastrophically, but it causes me to wonder whether the wheel you picture might actually not be a Bristol wheel at all but might perhaps be a Jaguar wheel that has come to be fitted to your 411. I understand the Jaguar wheel looks very similar but is subtly different and I have heard of Jaguar wheels suffering the sort of failure you have had when they were fitted on Bristols.

Perhaps another 411 owner might be kind enough to measure and post the relevant slot & web dimensions to enable you to check out my suspicion that your wheel may not actually have been the genuine article.