NEW CAR AGAIN.... 1956 Bristol 405 CHASSIS - 4106. 405GMT

[AndrewA]

Car looks great and polished section excellent .
All quiet with my cars - just occasional drives. Am doing up a house and that's consuming almost all my time at the moment.
Best wishes
Andrew

[hesketh786]

Thanks so much Andrew ! Really appreciate it !

Oh thats nice to hear - hows the Bristol running ?

Yes i can imagine so ! House renovation is very time consuming, hopefully you
will be over it all soon.

Take care sir,

best
h

[AndrewA]

Bristol in good health but not getting as much use as it deserves at the moment but will hopefully that will improve.
From the photos of your car you don't appear to have uncovered any historical bodgery/excessive use of filler or accident damage - which is always a relief.
Best
Andrew

[hesketh786]

Evening Andrew,

Always great to hear she is in good health !
Try and get her out for a blast in this glorious weather !

Indeed - the car hasn't had much filler at all, or any major dings !

Managed to get the front bumper off and also finished the drivers door !

[Geoff Dowdle]

"H" ,
I noticed in your recent photos you placed a number plate "7SHM" on the dash.
Is that the last registered number or "405GMT" ??

Have you used paint stripper to remove the majority of paint before using sandpaper?

The alloy body looks very straight .
Will you fit a Bristol engine & gearbox/overdrive ?

Geoff

[hesketh786]

Hiya Geoff,

Thanks for the message.

I may put "7SHM" on the 405 once finished but your correct at the moment 405GMT is currently registered to the car.

I did try paint stripper on a few panels - but i found it clogged up my sanding discs when i came to sand.

So 90% i just sanded without any stripper.

Yes the car is very straight which i'm so happy about !

And maybe yes - i'm in talks with R Hackett as he has found me an engine & gearbox

all the best

H

p.s - both bumpers are now off !

[Geoff Dowdle]

"H",
I have stripped the paint off many Bristol's over the years and found paint stripper and scraper works the best . Sometimes it needs three applications and the final one needs to be finished with various grades of wet and dry sandpaper with plenty of water.
Your method sounds quite slow and therefore time consuming .
But you have most of it off the external body skin now .
Are you planning the strip the paint off the door , boot and bonnet openings/frames? If so this will have to be done with paint stripper , scraper and wet and dry sandpaper.

There are plenty of Bristol engines and gearboxes available but prices vary a lot depending on type and condition. I have heard the family of the late Brian May could have at least ten engines and fifteen gearboxes that would all be for sale .
Condition of any Bristol 6 cylinder motor or gearbox is most important as the rebuild cost could be more than the purchase price.
What is the saying "Buyer beware"

Regards
Geoff