My Bristol

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

I will have to whole heartedly second that suggestion, and I went so far as to suggest that to the young lad very early on. Properly handled, that sale would provide quite a few dollars toward an education, or anything else he had in mind, like a much more modest car as a project. I fear that the car will continue to be devalued as the work progresses. It does not look good. Sentimental value aside, good decisions are not being made.

[KI4UJO]

I know I am new here, and do not own a Bristol, but calm down. When it comes down to it, there was no way to free up the drums, as it was wedged between a 20ft drop and a shed. It never started or turned over. (Never got a good ground anywhere) As for the gear selector, don't worry about that either. The engine and trans are being replaced (may rebuild 318), and the trans is going to be a manual. (Yes, we know it did not come like that) He does not want to sell it, but would like to restore it. As for everything else, it can be done. Myself, I will be starting the restoration of a 1965 Dodge D100 that my Great-Grandfather owned, which has sat in a field for around 30 years. As for the work I have done : My 318i Thread - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum . No, we should not have laid tools on the fenders, but when you are going to do a frame off anyway, you just don't think about it. I do not want to offend anyone here, I just want to say that we are capable. I know I am going to get a lot of angry comments, but I think we lose the whole point of forums with stuff like this. Aren't we supposed to be here so that we can help each other out to restore our cars, instead of fight about our personal opinions? He never knew his dad, and this and a 1988 Ford Festiva are the only real links beside a house that he has to him. If I really tick anyone off, feel free to ban me. I'm just trying to help out a friend.

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

I am glad to hear that you are trying your best to help your friend out with his car, and hope you get it up and running soon. You mentioned 'frame off' and that is a big undertaking, not to mention expense. Some of us have tried to make some helpful suggestsions, and not to discourage your efforts. We have also spent a lot of time on these things and have learned a lot along the way, and all we were attempting to do was to give some advice. So, in that spirit, I wish you all the best in your efforts. I do, however, stand by my opinions on the car in question; that it is valuable and needs to be treated as such.

[GREG]

K14UJO - you are obviously a great friend and nobody wanted to insult you.

Personally I would keep the car standard, because it's rare and because the sell on value will be much much higher. Saying that, we can all do what we want to our own cars !

If you want to go the mod route, you could always go for a 440 V8 or anything that will fit.

You could also fit some nice alloys as the 408 has the same wheel bolt pattern as Merc's and some Audi's

Happy to help and interested whatever you decide - but remember the after sales price, as it will be the difference between a money pit and a money maker !

Have fun

PS Nice job on the Beemer - good idea dying the upholstery

[KJ4YXY]

Originally Posted by GREG

K14UJO - you are obviously a great friend and nobody wanted to insult you.

Personally I would keep the car standard, because it's rare and because the sell on value will be much much higher. Saying that, we can all do what we want to our own cars !

If you want to go the mod route, you could always go for a 440 V8 or anything that will fit.

You could also fit some nice alloys as the 408 has the same wheel bolt pattern as Merc's and some Audi's

Happy to help and interested whatever you decide - but remember the after sales price, as it will be the difference between a money pit and a money maker !

Have fun

PS Nice job on the Beemer - good idea dying the upholstery

Hey:

Ive been noticing all the comments and here is what i have to say. iv talked to my mom and she says the it WILL stay the same. this is why (i don't agree, because i like customizing) "when you look at something that is a work of art/rare, you need to preserve it, like your fathers art, (my father was an artist) when you take something that people aspire to want (you guys want this car) and it is rare, then you see someone that has exactly what you want then they start messing with it and beating it, it would break your heart."

So therefore in conclusion i will probably not go that custom (not my choice) and will postpone most of the project till i get more money.

thanks i will still upload videos once i do more work
Thanks

[GREG]

Your mom is very wise, but there are compromises to be had. You can do a lot of mod stuff like custom wheels and vinyl wrap (chrome wrap available now ! ) over the paint job. 408's look good with the bumpers/fenders removed. There are also loads of chrome engine dress up kits you can get for the 313 /318 engine and of course you could get any colour film to go over the glass.

All of the above mods can be easily put back to standard very quickly if needed.

As far as budget goes , there is lots that can be done for very little money, such as preparing the bodywork and taking components apart to clean, paint and rebuild and sorting any welding out. Sorting the brakes out is also a good job to tackle.

I know quite a few people that have taken 20 years restoring a car. Just be patient and enjoy it.

Martin Barnes at ACCS in England imports a lot of Mopar parts for Bristols in the UK, so could probably help you out with where to get what you need over there.

[KJ4YXY]

Well, I see all of your concerns, but what i really want to do in customization is mainly a 6 speed manual and some leather black racing seats.