Cylinder head spanner remanufacture
 

AC Owners Club - Replica Bristol Engine Cylinder Head Spanner

over on ACOC forum-looking for people to make the order up to 10 spanners.

Graham

Bristol 6-cylinder spanner
 

I don't seem to be able to use my Bristol Forum login on the AC club posts and I do not have Mr. Blythe's e-mail address. I would like to join in on the orders for the remanufactured spanner.

bristol spanner
 

Hi,
I'm also interested in the spanner but cannot access the AC forum. Can someone post his email address or make mikne available to him. Thanks
Ignacio Vivancos
Austin, TX
ivivancos@austin.rr.com

I'll transfer your interest, gents, and direct Tony to this thread.

A special spanner? Wrench to remove what?
 

This must be very special, as I have lost count on how many English cars I have repaired/dismantled with few 'special tools' ever required. Even the complex Japanese cars from the early years were really no problem is one is improvisational enough to grasp the problem. Unless, of course, one is looking to find tools for a kit that came originally with the car. The little adjustable spanner with the marque's name, such as early Jaguars comes to mind. Any competent machine shop can reproduce most any tool.

I would be interested in one of these as well.

The very special cylinder head spanner.
 

Gentlemen: The is a box wrench, and they have been manufactured since the earliest days of automobiles. The common name is a 'start wrench' and as the name implies, it is used to reach that top-most bolt holding in so many starters. They usually come in two sizes that fits most starters. As to remanufacture, the process is called CNC machining, and once the program is written, you may pop out as many replicas as you care to produce. You may even have them engraved, blackened, hardened and the rest. One 'original' will do, and the rest is simple economics.

I have been having exact replicas made from top quality tool steel for a long time now that are fit for purpose and fit into the 400 tool box ! Everyone that has purchased them are very happy so please PM me if you want one ?

Thanks

Greg

And I'm sure that I posted pictures etc at the time they were first manufactured ! Let me know if you need pictures and please let the AC club know they don't need to spend money on tooling.

Search under head spanner on this forum and you will see my pics of the existing replica available now

Clueless to say the least ! Not a box wrench or start wrench -- it's a Bristol 6 cylinder head spanner !! Or maybe an obstruction spanner

Greg,
I have never seen your link to one for sale. Whats the price? I have seen you have bumpers etc for sale but not the spanner.

Can you post up photos of your replica and the price.

Graham

Here it is http://www.bristolcars.info/forums/6528-post21.html

EDIT: Ignore the title, it's the correct post but the "system" automatically uses the original thread title (must turn that off ...)

Thank you Kevin, as I was struggling to post more pics from the eye pad ! And thanks Ronnie for describing what it isn't :-) but at least you are an expert and very knowledgeable on what it isn't.

Just joking ! :-)

Used to see these in tool boxes, 1/2" and 9/16" with this shape. Starter or generator bolts. Ratchets took their place I bet.

Cyl head spanners
 

How do I express an interest in one of these spanners for the next batch? iM not an ACOC member so cannot reply on their forum to Anthony Blythe
Stefan

Now sorted personal message posted

All, I've now registered on this site so can pick up any expressions of interest / query. Kind Regards, Tony B

All, The first order for 10 spanners (batch 1) have now been returned from the specialist high pressure water jet cutting company and are undergoing final milling. The second batch order, again for a minimum of 10 spanners has been been finalised & this batch will go through the same processes. I am not actively pursuing a 3rd batch of 10 spanners but if sufficient interest is shown I will see what I can do.
Thank you to all who placed orders including those from across the pond (x3), South Africa & Europe. Tony B

And thank you all that have ordered the head spanners from me over the last three years that are made by a British specialist tool maker as perfect replicas from the best quality tool steel :-) and as used by professional Bristol engine builders !!

Oops , time goes by so quickly ! It was 2009 that the first batch of head spanners were announced on this forum manufactured by my contacts in the metals industry ( MD of Alcan aluminium for Northern Europe for transportation and the aircraft industry ) The water jet process is very useful and it was used a lot for making kits for ships etc -- but for hand tools !

All, I don't normally react within the public domain to comments made; but ...

Modern technology moves what can be achieved over time, via a specialist manufacturer, using the correct base material, i.e. Chrome Vanadium, now allows water cutting to achieve not only the correct profile but remarkably even the double hexagons for the cylinder head bolts. It's actually the microscopic slurry partials in the water that performs the cutting; in this instance using larger partials for the outside profile and finer ones for the two double hexagons ends which gives a smoother finish. The spanner is then bench tested to confirm correct torque suitability (45Lbf) and on an engine to confirm cylinder head bolt access. All current customers have been very pleased with the results.

I'm also offering 'support' to other club members in their venture down a forged route, but its very early days and they are leading on this.

Neither approach is intended to give feedback to what is already out there in the market place or offer an opinion on which gives the 'best result' / value for money.

Lol - I'm delighted for you

I only made the comment to point out that using the search button on this forum or most other Bristol forums will often give you the answer you are looking for -- whether it's looking for parts or how to fix something.

I know companies like ..

In Racing
Mike Robinson
ACCS
SLJ
BCL
Brabazon
Boda
Ashley Hinton
Etc etc - all invest a lot of time and money in parts production for what is a very small turnover market place. It would be a shame if they lost the incentive to do this by replicating what is already available -- so probably best to find out what is available first ? I think the above list of companies have most things covered.

Greg-I think you miss the point. Anthony has an original spanner & he was making them for people that could not find an original one reasonably priced on the market.

I would also dispute that there is a ready supply of spanners available at a fair price on the open market,or if there is perhaps it should be better advertised by those who supply them.

People also have posted here looking for such items and no one has suggested to contact your list of potential suppliers. I have asked 2 of the companies on the list and they both laughed at me.

The fact that Anthony has been able to fill 2 order books and is on his third suggests difficulty in finding the spanner for all those who subscribed.

I think its great that Anthony has gone to the trouble of making such spanners and what clubs and club membership is about.

Graham

The middle one is an actual Bristol head spanner laid on top of a replica to show exact dimensions -- fits lovely in 400 tool box :-)

Actually Graham, I think it's you that missed the point -- I was only mentioning that the spanners were first mentioned as available ( with pictures ) back in 2009 and would have been found with a simple search on this forum and a couple of others ! The list I put together are some of the other companies / people that have had parts made for Bristol Cars.

So I guess it's great that both Anthony and I went to the trouble of having them made.

As I had never really had any interest in AC cars, I hadn't thought to offer them in that direction, however they were announced on all three Bristol forums of the time.

To be clear, I didn't advertise them as such ( only mentioned on Bristol forums ) or put them on eBay as I'm just a Bristol owner that happens to have the knowledge and the contacts to get things like this produced -- I'm certainly not concerned about any commercial reward and wish Tony all the best with his spanner sales, although as mentioned before, it seems silly to get the same thing re manufactured more than once in such a small market, and I agree the clubs should do more to make members aware of where parts are available at the best possible quality. -- for sure, people in the clubs do know !

Are there any pictures anywhere of the 5 axis water jet cut spanners ?

Background of how I picked the head spanner manufacturer !

First of all I asked my contacts in aerospace / F1,where they had small run bespoke spanners / tools made -- They HAD to be British ! ( near Blackpool )

And then I noticed the picture of the owner and thought , yes, perfect for Bristols !! :-))

Deltec Impact Sockets - Deltec Industries

Obviously they are more expensive than a Far East stack 'em high shop but it will be around forever and is absolutely top quality ! I think they were amazed that I rejected the first two or three attempts for being too pretty ! All that shiny chrome look just didn't look right. -- and yes, they work perfectly.

P.S. They only sell these through me as they need a batch quantity to make it worthwhile -- although if the new alternative available is better received I will cease production.

Everyone. Just to make everything clear. I'm a member of the AC Owners' Club, not any of the Bristol associations and had no previous knowledge or interest of how I could access specific information regarding Bristols. Infact my AC Ace doesn't have a Bristol engine in it (unfortunately) and hence I was totally unaware that any replica cylinder head spanners were already in the market place. The replica cylinder head spanners that I am managing the production of look identical to the original & it would appear identical to those replicas that have been previously post on this website. Unfortunately I don't have any photos currently as all batch 1s have been posted and batch 2s are in the final stages of machining; but as I said they look and perform the same.
When I use the word perform the first prototypes were offered up to a Bristol engine to prove accessability to the cylinder bolt heads and tested to 45LBf in a rig off the engine. Lets not swoop any negativity here please - thanks. Tony B

Absolutely no negativity to be swooped whatsoever !

I was only pointing out that we need to be careful in such small clubs that we do not trip over each other. -- I guess I should have mentioned it to the Arnolt / A.C. Club members 5 years ago and all this maybe wouldn't have happened.

I chose a long established English professional hand tool manufacturer with all the appropriate hand tool manufacturing safety accreditation's so I wouldn't need to worry about " fit for purpose " testing.

End of Line
 

All,

After I've completed the 3rd batch of these replica spanners I'm 'calling it a day'. I only started this venture to initially help out some local AC owners that didn't have one of these rare spanners in their tool tray. There are now 30+ collectors items out there across the globe.

Thank you again for all the interest that has been shown and the positive feedback received from those that placed an order for one. Tony B