RE: PH Carpool: Bristol 410

[I WISH]

Wonderfully British! A true gentleman's carriage.
When assembling the lottery garage it would be a close call between a nice Bristol and an Alvis TD21.
When I was a lad I thought the coolest thing about these lovely cars was the fact that the front wings were long enough to store the spare wheel behind a hinged panel that formed the lower part of the wing just behind the wheelarch.
There must have been occasions when someone has been searching the car for the spare wheel and driving themselves mad with frustration!

[NGK210]

Splendid!

[tog]

Wow, thanks for all the positive comments! I'll dig out some interior shots and put them up this evening, but in answer to some other questions:

The Don of Croy said:

At first glance I thought the pic was of A. Worrall-Thompson (TV chef-cum-shoplifter)...

Nice motor.

Thanks, but I've met him, and he's but about 2 feet shorter than me!

hornetrider said:

Fabulous

And what a great picture.

Thanks, that's in northern Spain at the Castillo de Loarre. The car is shiny as we washed it with water from a stream about 2km before that picture was taken!

big_boz said:

I love the picture of it with the TVR and the Viper

Here's the full scene, taken at a little PH meet near Marlborough:



4,6,8,and 10 cylinders in one shot

blindswelledrat said:

I love these and good to hear from someone who was brave enough to buy one.
I'd be interested to know more detail about the running costs and reliability. You were quite sketchy in that part.
Also parts availability

Have to be sketchy as you never know if my wife might read this one day! I'll look some stuff up when I've got some more time. Parts availability is good, a few trim parts you might struggle with, but most can be made. Left hand exhaust manifold are pretty hard to find.

Zircon said:

Did I see you just outside of Aldbourne, Wiltshire yesterday about lunchtime?

If it wasn't you then it was another identical Bristol!

Yes that was me (unless it was another identical Bristol of course!). Outside club events, I've only once ever seen another Bristol while driving my own Bristol. I think they go around in a mutually exclusive bubble (like how police cars drive around in a law-abiding bubble).

Volvov70 said:

I remember having a business meeting with an accountant in Bath once.. (bear with me)

Somehow the conversation turned to cars and he told me about his Bristol 400 series in a lock up nearby..

Upshot was that he insisted on taking me for a drive from the centre of Bath up Lansdown hill and the A46 to the M4 junction and back again...

He was DEFINATELY proving he could "keep up" with modern traffic!!!

That's generally how 400s are driven in my experience - you wouldn't think they are all over 60 years old now.

sunsurfer said:

I don't object to Liam Gallagher owning a Bristol - good for him.
He's gone up in my estimation in taking a left-field choice like this rather than a black Range Rover Sport or any number of identikit black Mercs.

Allegedly it was a gift from Patsy Kensit and he couldn't even drive at the time. I've never met him, I don't think he comes to club meets...

chongwong said:

Is that first picture on the isle of Lewis? I can't remember the name of that beach, but in sure I went down that way in the micra.

Tiree

C8H18Head said:

Superb, thank you. Joint first on my list together with a Tatra 613-5.

Mine was a 613-4, but I'd highly recommend a late 613 of any type. Get a good one though! There's a couple of RHD cars around from the failed attempt to sell them here.

I WISH said:

When assembling the lottery garage it would be a close call between a nice Bristol and an Alvis TD21.

I might be biased (just maybe), and I've never driven the Alvis, but most joint tests say the Alvis is distinctly agricultural to drive compared to the Bristol.

DonkeyApple said:

squirdle said:

"My Dad has always been obsessed with Bristol's and i rubbed off a little on me"

Can't see for tears of schoolboy mirth now.

Glad I'm not the only immature punter.

I had to try very hard to avoid getting the phrase "I'd really like a pair of Bristols" into the last answer...



I'll try to find some interior shots tonight. Any other questions, just ask!

Edited by tog on Monday 12th November 15:25

[Lax Power]

These guys will build you one from scratch: http://www.brabazonmotors.co.uk/index.php

[soxboy]

I often thought these were a bit too quirky for my tastes untilI stumbled upon the owners club meeting at Greenwich Naval College last year, it was great seeing all the cars lined up outside the old buildings.

On paper they are still a fantastic prospect (big lazy V8, handbuilt aluminium body, good proportions, small volume production), my only gripe is that they stopped being styled in the mid 1970s and ended up looking a bit of a joke towards the end with Senator rear lights.

I need to get my photoshop skills up to speed to design a new one. If I did the Euromillions and ever won it this would be the car that I design and build.

ETA The OP's car looks magnificent, as does the one above.

[C8H18Head]

tog said:

C8H18Head said:

Superb, thank you. Joint first on my list together with a Tatra 613-5.

Mine was a 613-4, but I'd highly recommend a late 613 of any type. Get a good one though! There's a couple of RHD cars around from the failed attempt to sell them here.]

Right, so you own the Bristol 410 and used to have a 613-4. Keep living the dream, Sir.

[vixen1700]

Three pages of a Bristol thread and no disagreement or talk of not getting them, that's a first.

[marksmith59]

Great article these cars are wonderful, quirky and built by auto artisans.
spare wheel in front wing! Older ones had a foot pedal to grease the suspension joints, somewhere to rest your pipe when driving .
LJK Setright did a good book covering the early history, lets hope they re-emerge .

[rswift]

Excellent taste in cars sir ... Bristol, Bristol & Tatra .. no-one will ever accuse you of being mainstream.

Keep up the good work.

[ukmike2000]

A very classy vehicle.

A Bristol is a sign of a true discerning gentleman and I doff my cap in your direction, with a fair degree of envy :-)

[Captain Cadillac]

robinessex said:

You can't mention Bristols without mentioning LJK Setright

Ahhhhh... Setright. His writings in Car magazine taught me about Bristols as a youngster growing up here in New Jersey where Bristols were previously unheard of.

Beautiful car and even better to see one being used.

[Black S2K]

tog said:

Wow, thanks for all the positive comments! I'll dig out some interior shots and put them up this evening, but in answer to some other questions:

The Don of Croy said:

At first glance I thought the pic was of A. Worrall-Thompson (TV chef-cum-shoplifter)...

Nice motor.

Thanks, but I've met him, and he's but about 2 feet shorter than me!

hornetrider said:

Fabulous

And what a great picture.

Thanks, that's in northern Spain at the Castillo de Loarre. The car is shiny as we washed it with water from a stream about 2km before that picture was taken!

big_boz said:

I love the picture of it with the TVR and the Viper

Here's the full scene, taken at a little PH meet near Marlborough:



4,6,8,and 10 cylinders in one shot

blindswelledrat said:

I love these and good to hear from someone who was brave enough to buy one.
I'd be interested to know more detail about the running costs and reliability. You were quite sketchy in that part.
Also parts availability

Have to be sketchy as you never know if my wife might read this one day! I'll look some stuff up when I've got some more time. Parts availability is good, a few trim parts you might struggle with, but most can be made. Left hand exhaust manifold are pretty hard to find.

Zircon said:

Did I see you just outside of Aldbourne, Wiltshire yesterday about lunchtime?

If it wasn't you then it was another identical Bristol!

Yes that was me (unless it was another identical Bristol of course!). Outside club events, I've only once ever seen another Bristol while driving my own Bristol. I think they go around in a mutually exclusive bubble (like how police cars drive around in a law-abiding bubble).

Volvov70 said:

I remember having a business meeting with an accountant in Bath once.. (bear with me)

Somehow the conversation turned to cars and he told me about his Bristol 400 series in a lock up nearby..

Upshot was that he insisted on taking me for a drive from the centre of Bath up Lansdown hill and the A46 to the M4 junction and back again...

He was DEFINATELY proving he could "keep up" with modern traffic!!!

That's generally how 400s are driven in my experience - you wouldn't think they are all over 60 years old now.

sunsurfer said:

I don't object to Liam Gallagher owning a Bristol - good for him.
He's gone up in my estimation in taking a left-field choice like this rather than a black Range Rover Sport or any number of identikit black Mercs.

Allegedly it was a gift from Patsy Kensit and he couldn't even drive at the time. I've never met him, I don't think he comes to club meets...

chongwong said:

Is that first picture on the isle of Lewis? I can't remember the name of that beach, but in sure I went down that way in the micra.

Tiree

C8H18Head said:

Superb, thank you. Joint first on my list together with a Tatra 613-5.

Mine was a 613-4, but I'd highly recommend a late 613 of any type. Get a good one though! There's a couple of RHD cars around from the failed attempt to sell them here.

I WISH said:

When assembling the lottery garage it would be a close call between a nice Bristol and an Alvis TD21.

I might be biased (just maybe), and I've never driven the Alvis, but most joint tests say the Alvis is distinctly agricultural to drive compared to the Bristol.

DonkeyApple said:

squirdle said:

"My Dad has always been obsessed with Bristol's and i rubbed off a little on me"

Can't see for tears of schoolboy mirth now.

Glad I'm not the only immature punter.

I had to try very hard to avoid getting the phrase "I'd really like a pair of Bristols" into the last answer...



I'll try to find some interior shots tonight. Any other questions, just ask!

Edited by tog on Monday 12th November 15:25

That photo is true class - I fully approve.

The Viper also dedicates its driveline to another Bristol that tends to irritate my mind a lot - aside from the idea of a 410 with a few sympathetic factory upgrades...

[Kevp]

I never had a problem with the front leg room in mine & Im 6'2". So unsure of that comment, but if youd driven it 50,000 miles then I wont argue the point.

I can remeber driving mine (409) to the Bristol service department once. Only to buy some spares, and all the mechanics came out to look at it!! I really felt I was more than just an owner...

[Bucketeer]

The Bristol and a P6! Proper British wood and leather lined waftiness. Huge admiration/jealousy from this corner.

[kiteless]

Great feature, and one lovely car

I remember Classic Cars magazine ran a feature a couple of years ago on Bristols through the decades, and the blue 410 they drove was my pick of the bunch. Effortlessly cool.

[SilverStar]

A supremely cool car, and as others have said the ultimate Gentlemans express.

Glad to see you've been using it properly aswell!

[tog]

Here's the inside:



It's not the best angle as you can't see the line of toggle switches across the centre. Original, but non-standard, features are the door arm-rests, electric windows and aircon. The T-key on the right hand side is for the famous wing bay doors, which always amaze anyone who hasn't seen them before (and often people who have as well).

soxboy said:

I need to get my photoshop skills up to speed to design a new one.

There's a teaser profile of the next one on Bristol Cars' website. It will be a four wheel drive electric car, with a motor for each wheel and a wankel rotary petrol engine as a range extender / generator.

[squirdle]

"I had to try very hard to avoid getting the phrase "I'd really like a pair of Bristols" into the last answer.."




Just say what you see...

[Pothole]

I WISH said:

When assembling the lottery garage it would be a close call between a nice Bristol and an Alvis TD21.

Why not both?

[Rumblestripe]

Lovely, just lovely