"zipfuel" (zipfuel)
09/29/2016 at 03:30 • Filed to: None
2
11|
"zipfuel" (zipfuel)
09/29/2016 at 03:30 • Filed to: None | 2
| 11 |
When I was a tiny kid my dad owned a Bristol 405: I randomly did a google search for one this week and this derelict popped up - and now against all sensible logic I wish I could have it
This one is a 406 which is the model after my dad’s, differences are; only 2 doors, a bigger grille, better suspension and few engine tweaks but underneath pretty similar.
Its listed for sale on Saturday 8th October at the “Fine Antique and Interior sale” of an auctioneer which primarily sells cattle in the middle of the Cheshire countryside.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C791618
The auction estimate is £2,000 pounds which is nothing considering that Hagerty lists the average value of a good one at $35,600 dollars and the only other ones on this classic car site are running closer to £40,000-£60,000 pounds.
Of course the fact that its sat in a garage for 25 years could have something to do with that: the Bristol owners Club reckons the current selling price for a decent straight-six Bristol is roughly equal to the cost of an engine rebuild and an interior retrim! Find a decent specimen and the rest of the car is effectively free.
Does spiderweb count as patina or character?
I love that the guy who ran the company for years was literally named Crook
There are 3 photos attached to the ad and now you’ve seen them all, Its not encouraging.
To give you an idea of how unobtanium parts and service are for one of these coach-built things, there were only 174 Bristol 406s ever made. By comparison Aston Martin cranked out 1,204 DB4s in around the same time frame. Its predecessors the 404 and 405 only totaled 360 units combined.
I also quite dislike finicky, rusty, shitty, old British cars: I think those tinkerers with an MG who spend their weekends chasing endless gremlins for an occasional flat-capped ride with the top down until the carbs go out of tune again are masochists.
I appreciate smart engineering, not parts you have to fettle yourself, frames that rust if you look at them funny and engines that won’t start above 5% humidity.
So why the hell do i want this one?? Well its probably tied into the factors that made me a gearhead in the first place.
This red 405 in suitably classy surroundings is the spitting image of my dad’s. Decades after he sold it we still had 4 of those hubcaps and some carpet coloured fur-flex (british electrics at their finest) stashed in our basement.
My dad had to sell his Bristol when I was very young (late 80's); apparently one unusually cold night something froze on the engine and it was never the same again. It was his daily driver and when he was spending more of his time trying to make sure it started the next morning than on the family it had to go.
I have very early memories of it sitting in the garage and riding to school in the red leather backseat. My mum always said it reduced all other vehicles to mere transportation.
Assuming the auction ends up around the estimate this silver one is at an admission price I could legitimately afford.
I like to daydream that I’d be able to get it back in running condition without paying more than the thing is worth to a mechanic named Nigel: swap the whole ancient drive-train for a late-model straight 6 (the original engine has 18 pushrods), junkyard disc brakes (not like you can see them), maybe a complete chassis transplant if its rotted, the body is Aluminium and will be fine.
I definitely have way more technical resources than my dad ever had; with an engineering background, CAD design skills plus the internet for information and parts. Heck with 3d scanning and printing I could probably replicate discontinued parts if needed.
Sadly however I’ll never be able to justify it since I am now in the same situation as my dad was when he had to sell his; with a young family and daycare payments that would cover the lease on a new Bentley Continental!
Oh and I also no longer live in the UK, so there’s that too.
Here’s what a nice clean one should look like, if anybody is looking for Christmas present ideas.
Birddog
> zipfuel
09/29/2016 at 04:00 |
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I get it. My Dad was a “Car Guy” all the way up to 1976.
That is identical to the car he had as a DD until 1976. It’s also the first car I remember in my lifetime. I remember it’s last ride. The battery died with Climax Blues Band’s Couldn’t Get It Right on the radio. (Riding shotgun with no Child seat. And according to Dad we were leaving a Bar after collecting a Pool debt.) It was in rough shape by 76 from what I’m told. It sold for enough to put a downstroke on a 76 LTD sedan.
Sorry.. I’m rambling.
I’ve blown so much on other cars over the years it’s not funny. That’s one car I never tried for. Don’t know why.
V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me!
> zipfuel
09/29/2016 at 07:11 |
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1967 Cadillac Coupe deVille convertible
My father’s was brown with a brown top and interior. I saw a dead ringer for it for sale last summer. Immaculate condition. $18k. Almost sold the Mustang and scooped it up.
I can’t remember why he got rid of it, but I remember many a trip in it; especially the songs on the radio. Elvis, Springsteen, Kenny Rogers....
The first time I heard the Nat King Cole version of Little Drummer boy was in this car. Probably one of the only Christmas songs I like....
Tje only car I remember where the wiper arms faced different directions.....
My father is approaching 70. I’d love to find him another one.
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zipfuel
> Birddog
09/29/2016 at 07:44 |
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Red one of these cut across the road in front of me yesterday morning, highlight of my commute.
smobgirl
> zipfuel
09/29/2016 at 08:09 |
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See, I’m lucky. Almost every neat car my dad had when I was a kid is still in his garage somewhere, along with all of the parts he bought to fix it. It’s mostly helpful because it pushes all of them permanently off my radar.
Noodles
> zipfuel
09/29/2016 at 08:26 |
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I’m a huge fan of the boomerang steering wheel.
If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
> zipfuel
09/29/2016 at 09:58 |
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My Dad is this weird combination of mechanically of mechanically competent and completely uninterested in cars. As such he can change a cylinder head in an afternoon in his garage yet he doesn’t give a shit what he drives as long as it’s in good knick.
The most memorable cars he’s had have been the 2G Escort that he took to 400k miles and a Previa All-Trac (non SC, sorry).
He had an OG 2WD Tacoma that was the family workhorse for the better part of a decade before the notorious frame rot got too bad. He somehow persuaded a dealer to buy it back for well above book value.
davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
> zipfuel
09/29/2016 at 10:35 |
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I know these feels. When my oldest brother was a tiny kid, my dad owned a Porsche 356 B Super 90.
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smobgirl
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
09/29/2016 at 11:05 |
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I was actually pondering this in the car yesterday - how people can be actual mechanics and not be particularly interested in cars. It doesn’t make sense to me.
yamahog
> smobgirl
09/29/2016 at 11:15 |
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Happens a lot on the engineering side too.
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zipfuel
> If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
09/29/2016 at 11:40 |
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I’ve frequently seen mechanics driving old dull piece of crap cars that they got for next to nothing and fixed up.
I guess it’s hard to beat the feeling of driving for free
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zipfuel
> Noodles
09/29/2016 at 11:47 |
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I think the wood and metal one on the special Zagato version is even nicer - albeit a bit more conventional
