Arnolt Bristol

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dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Friday 7th May 2004
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The uninitiated sometimes mistake this car for a 427 Cobra, but the Arnolt Bristol is not a kit car or replica. Who would believe that an authentic, 45-year-old competition car is prowling the streets of the neighborhood?

Introduced to the public at the London Motor Show in the fall of '53, the first Arnolt Bristols arrived in the U.S. early in 1954. A total of 142 cars were built over the next few years, among them 3 Coupés, a few all-aluminum bodied cars, and even a few that were powered by Chevrolet V-8s.

More
www.californiaclassix.com/archive/54_Arnolt_Bristol_c25.html

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Saturday 8th May 2004
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"A giant heart lurks beneath the front-hinged, aluminum hood. This Arnolt Bristol is powered by 454 cubic inches of CHEVROLET's rawest muscle on steroids. Being of 1970 vintage, the power plant puts out 345 horses in stock form and is only lightly tweaked. An EDELBROCK Street Dominator aluminum intake manifold, topped with a HOLLEY 650 cfm Spread Bore Double Pumper, enhance the engine's performance. Add an ISKY cam and cylinder heads that have been cleaned up by Valley Head Service, along with custom headers by Doug, and total output should be in the 400+ hp range. Polished aluminum, finned valve covers complete the picture. Power is fed to a stout MUNCIE 4-speed manual top loader transmission.
Considering the low weight (about 2,200 lbs) of the Arnolt Bristol, its power-to-weight ratio is an astonishing 2.5 kg/hp. This definitely is 427 Cobra territory!"
..........................
Check the url guys, specs are all over. And some nice piccies.

No two Arnolt Bristols look the same. Standard they came with a 2 litre. This red has a 454 cid V8, must go like hell. Check these tires . . .

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Sunday 9th May 2004
quotequote all
What on earth is wrong with the upgrade of a car . . . Some ABs are original and some are modified along evolutions way . . . Original 60s examples with v8s are there.
When someone wants to drop a race v8 in a 944 the review and the reaction to it shouts: what a great idea and brilliant work. These Bristols are made to work on, all the time, to make em faster and all that. This may be a typical east coast cruise 'n drag racer but it is done with taste. A Cord with the flames on is different league aka bad taste . Or am I missing something?
This red muscle stands next to a Cobra, Cheetah and, here in Europe, Ginnetta kinda cars . . .

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Monday 10th May 2004
quotequote all
A Bristol is a Bristol is a Bristol, er: not . . .
www.fast-autos.net/bristol/bristolspeedster.html

www.rover-club-fr.org/pages/Bristol.htm

www.boc.net/history.html
"All later production Bristols were to be fitted with Chrysler V8 engines of various capacities from 5,130cc upwards, together with the Torqueflite automatic gearbox. Over the past half century, production has not been huge. Small as it is, the company has survived because it fills a niche for those connoisseurs who value a superb car above mere price. The Chrysler-engined models began with the Type 407 in 1961, which apart from the engine and gearbox, looks very similar to the 406."

www.motorcities.com/contents/01H0M463018089.html
"One of the most famous contenders for the street/strip crown, however, was "Wacky" Arnolt's brainchild, the Arnolt Bristol Bolide. "Wacky's" first claim to fame was ordering 200 special-bodied MG TDs from Nuccio Bertone in Italy, thus single-handedly saving the venerable coachbuilder from certain bankruptcy. The Arnolt-MGs were beautiful to behold, if somewhat slow. Every single one of them sold, and "Wacky" began to think big. He linked forces with the British Bristol Aeroplane Works, which--in addition to RAF fighter planes--offered a very exclusive, hand built, high performance Coupé, roughly from the same mold as the Aston Martin or Jensen. Complete, driving chassis were purchased from Bristol and delivered to Bertone's Turin factory, where they were clad with a voluptuous roadster body. This design masterpiece was penned by Franco Scaglione, who at the time also was working on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint and, more importantly, on the famous aerodynamic B.A.T. show cars.
Introduced to the public at the London Motor Show in the fall of '53, the first Arnolt Bristols arrived in the U.S. early in 1954. A total of 142 cars were built over the next few years, among them 3 Coupés, a few all-aluminum bodied cars, and even a few that were powered by Chevrolet V-8s.
Based on a shortened Bristol model 404 chassis, the car had a 96-inch wheelbase and measured about 14 ft. in overall length. Its hand-formed steel body featured aluminum-skinned hoods, and was sparsely equipped. A full windshield, wipers, bumpers, top, or roll bar were extra-cost options on the Bolide. Chassis No. 3010 apparently is the 10th Arnolt Bristol manufactured. Built probably as early as 1954, the Certificate of Title states 1957 as the year it was first sold.
The Arnolt Company operated its own racing team, winning its class at Sebring in 1955, '56, and '60. Privately owned Arnolt Bristols were the scourge of SCCA E-Production classes for years and collected innumerable racing successes. Now fully VSCCA eligible for vintage events, quite a few of these fast cars are still actively raced. According to its former owner, the car for auction here has a rich competition history; among other tracks, it has been raced at Road America, SIR, Watkins Glen, and Bridgehampton, well into the 1980s.
Rich Taylor writes in his book "Modern Classics": "Compared to most other limited-production sports cars available at the time, the Arnolt Bristol was extremely well put together, incredibly robust, beautiful . . . and it went like hell. All in all, it was a peculiarly happy design, well balanced, a delight to drive, and more than equal to similarly sized Ferraris and Maseratis." Today, the Arnolt Bristol is recognized as a Milestone Car by the MCS of America."

www.bramclassauto.com/nophotoads.php
1957 Arnolt Bristol  SOLD Ad Number 28rare roadster, extensive race documentation, Chev V8 with original Bristol engine available, Blue/Orange, streetable
$59,500 CDN (or $39,500 USD)

Mr. "Wacky" picked up a Bristol to modify. I think Robby Williams Crossblade is looked at differently than the regular out of the shop models OR a pumped up turboed Pantera is looked at differently than an original and well kept car . . . Every car has its place. well, I'm driftin' off here . . .

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Thursday 13th May 2004
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1959 Arnolt Bristol Roadster

Yep, this looks different . . . and more original. but it's another car for sure.
www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=102&i=6036
New ones are not so nice looking . . .

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Friday 14th May 2004
quotequote all
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~kosco/arnolt.html

www.classicdriver.com/uk/find/4100_results.asp?&dealerid=10448&lCarID=1694026

www.astonmartins.com/feltham/db2_4_bertone.htm

Ex-Sidney Harold 'Wacky' Arnolt
1954 ASTON MARTIN DB2/4 MK I SPYDER
Coachwork by Bertone
Estimate: $360,000-380,000

This got to be the best looker . . .

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Wednesday 19th May 2004
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www.alvisoc.org/Site%20Files/Alvis%20Cars/Competition%20History.htm

Beautifull stuff . . .

www.alvisoc.org/Site%20Files/Alvis%20Cars/Post-War/TD%2021.htm

"The result was the TD 21 introduced late in 1958."

"Nearly 1,100 TD 21s of both series left the works."

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Tuesday 25th May 2004
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"1954 Arnolt-Bristol Bolide with driver Wayne Hanson (left) and 1955 Cooper T-39with driver Jim Brown. "

dinkel

Original Poster:

26,953 posts

258 months

Tuesday 1st June 2004
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Riki said:

gnomesmith said:


stewy68 said:

Alvis TD rip-off methinks. Beautiful all the same.


And he managed to rip it off before the Alvis TD existed too!


Truly amazing stewy.Wrong again!!!!


Tell it to me the right way then!