1945 400 & 1966 Bristol Bullet!

[405dh]

Hi All,

Latest issue (Oct!) page 19 of Classic Cars has 2 extraordinary photos and text that are really getting me scratch my head in bemusement.

Firstly the "abandoned test car dating from around 1966".
It looks like a Speedster version of a 405 DH (and from the picture looks fabulous).
The article states "We found this speedster sitting in the corner of one of the factory buildings under a raggedy tarpaulin".
How on earth has this car not come to light before now? Surely it would have appeared on an inventory of assets when they were going into Liquidation, or been seen by people going around the factory at that time? What engine is in it I wonder - V8 or 2 litre?

Secondly, a photo of a black 400 "this 1945 example was built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, rather than Bristol Cars because the separate car division
hadn't yet been formally founded". "This car marks the meeting point between Bristol, BMW and Frazer Nash." "This 400 was bought new by a Dutch family who kept it for three generations and the last owner left it to Bristol Cars in his will."

This "flies in the face" of all that is so far published about the 400. It is not in the 400 register, so far as I can see. Surely it could not have been produced in 1945? The blueprints for the engine were only "borrowed" from BMW at the end of the war i.e. some time after August 1945 (or was it fitted with a FN328 BMW engine?). And surely the very first car produced would not have been "bought new by a Dutch family"?.

Does anyone know any more about these 2 apparently amazing revelations?

Btw, is this the main operational forum now? The Club one seems very little used and the Yahoo one seems to have virtually nothing on it. I rather drifted away from the forums as did not understand the relationship between the 4 forums that seem to exist!

Kind regards to all,
Chris.

ps took a good look at the new Bullet last Sunday at the Concours and thought it looks absolutely fabulous, but puzzled why they didn't produce a Coupe version first.

[MTH 411]

As far I understand the Bullett was developed in the 50's as a replacement for the Arnolt when the link with Wacky Arnolt was folding. As Bristol were looking to move up to a more luxurious end of the market, I am told it was felt the cost of development was not felt to be viable. The story I have been told is that it later became a workhorse, testing reconditioned engines and gearboxes over a number of years and was indeed left at the back of the workshop. The car was re-commissioned when Toby Silverton was in charge and he used in events in the States, hence the Colorado registration. I arranged for Toby to allow us to have it on the Bristol stand at the NEC some years ago which was great except one of the dual fuel tanks developed a leak and 20 gallons of fuel had to be emptied on a Friday evening! The car had a tuned 383 V8 with a 4 speed manual. I had the privilege of driving it home from the NEC late at night on a November Sunday evening. There was no hood and I was grateful for Toby's flying hat. It was certainly potent. The story that the current owners found it under a sheet in the factory is good PR but untrue. Indeed, I understand there was some debate as to whether the car belonged to Toby or the Company after the buy out. It is sad as the existence of the Speedster, which was derived from the Bullett once Toby had found the original, makes their claims rather ridiculous.

Mike

[Geoff Kingston]

Mike,
Well done for setting the record straight, the existence of this car was well documented in the classic car press when Toby Silverton owned the company, being mentioned in connection with the development of the speedster.
The notion in a company as small as Bristol that it could have sat forgotten under a dust sheet in the corner of the factory, including through the insolvency process is fanciful in the extreme.
Sidelined because it was no longer of any use or thought not to be a saleable proposition is far more likely.
Sad to say another monthly has repeated the same claim despite the fact that they previously carried the storey of Toby Silverton deciding to do something with the original car and launch the speedster.
As for what appears to be claimed for the 400, the magazine should know better, in the past they have run far more accurate articles, the early history of the company is well documented, the first Bristol engines were run in BMW's and the idea that in 1945 a Bristol 400 had been completed and was sold to Dutch Owners is complete and utter nonsense. This would have pre dated not only the first known 400 but also the first example sold to the public.
Geoff.

[Geoff Dowdle]

Chris,
Could you please scan a copy of the photos or the whole article and place on the Forum ,as we won't get the Oct issue down under for a few months .
I have thousands of photos of Bristols filed by chassis number and might recognise the Black 400 from the Netherlands.

It all sounds dubious as to the accuracy of the article.

One question ,we as Bristol enthusiasts should ask , is what would the current owners of BCL know about the early history of the Bristol Car ???

They have probably read the same ill-informed magazine articles ,with the same mistakes reproduced time after time that they are now bordering on the truth.
Even Oxley and Setright to a lesser extent had some glaring mistakes in their various books. But these books were certainly welcome at the time.

Geoff

[Nick Challacombe]

I can see that the record has been set straight, I had wondered how the "Speedster" had come into Kamcorp hands but it must have been owned by the company and bought along with all other assets from the receiver. Glad it is still around though. The Bullet makes me very pleased to own a 407 whose front and rear look very like the Bullet. I bought the 407 in 1999 because I wanted a Bristol which looked like a 2 litre, I could not have a 2 litre as missing one leg I needed an auto. Well done readers for setting the record straught.

[405dh]

Copy attempted to attach herewith. Only a low resolution though as refused to accept high res.

[405dh]

The registration of the 400 looks to be GSF 424, which is Chassis no: 400/1/513 - a 1949 car. The history of that car does not tally with the article so there appear to be some "wires crossed" somewhere.