crossmembers

[amazon69]

Hi there, I have asked this in the v8 forum also..Does anyone know whether it is possible to bolt a crossmember from a v8 engined car to a 406 chassis? Any pointers to diagrams etc gratefully received.

Thanks.

[Stefan]

Yes, it has been done. The chasses are very similar - may just need some detail engineering. Antony Spooners v8 dhc had this done by Brabazon motors. Of course you will lose the lovely rack and pinion steering but have the option of conventional power steering instead. Are you considering this as part of a V8 drop in??

[amazon69]

Thanks Stefan,

I am hoping to do this, yes. I have the 406, and the engine. I was thinking it may be the easiest way overall to accommodate the extra engine weight and get around the steering clearance issues. I was chatting to someone earlier who thought the later cars had the crossmember welded to the chassis. Mine is bolted. Obviously I would like to bolt a v8 crossmember to my chassis. Is anyone aware of how the v8 engined cars had their cross members fixed to the chassis? Thanks.

[GeorgeG]

Do these help?

George

[amazon69]

Yes George, they do, thanks. What car is that?

[GeorgeG]

It's a 408 Mk 2 (1965) currently in course of restoration. If there are any other views you would like to see, let me know and I'll take some more photos, although this will have to be in the New Year now.

The car is in Kimpton, near Stevenage/Welwyn, at the moment and you are welcome to come and look at it, but I see from your location that you are quite a way away!

[Geoff Dowdle]

It all seems a lot of work to fit a heavy V8 engine .
Why not look at fitting a light Rover V8 or Daimler 2.5 V8 ,
if they don't fit there would be plenty of compact V6 engines that would fit behind the original 406 front cross member .
or
Buy a V8 engined Bristol

Also think about some future owner who will want to convert it back to the original power plant and have to reverse all your mods .

Geoff

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by Geoff Dowdle

It all seems a lot of work to fit a heavy V8 engine .
Why not look at fitting a light Rover V8 or Daimler 2.5 V8 ,
if they don't fit there would be plenty of compact V6 engines that would fit behind the original 406 front cross member .

If you were going to fit a V8, would be not be best to fit the same V8 that Bristol used in the 407?

Also think about some future owner who will want to convert it back to the original power plant and have to reverse all your mods .

While I can understand your point Geoff, the original power plant (and presumably transmission) would be so expensive to acquire that it may not be economically feasible.

The reality is that most six cylinder Bristols which have been robbed of their power train are unlikely to ever be restored to their original state. But even if it were to happen eventually, what happens to the engineless cars in the mean time? Someone has to own them and have money tied up in that ownership.

[Geoff Dowdle]

Kevin ,
The idea of fitting a smaller lighter V8 or V6 engine behind the 406 cross member means that there would be no major modifications to the chassis only the engine & gearbox mounts , which could be easily reversed.
The balance/weight distribution of the car would not change much if at all.

As the values of the cars increase more of these engineless cars will be taken back to original and some of these cars previously fitted with non original engines have already been converted back .
We are only the current owners of these cars ,they will be around long after we are all gone .
Some Bristol owners don't understand how good a car a hand made Bristol is (regardless of Type) and just treat them as old clunkers .

Geoff