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

[hesketh786]

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

Hi all,

Me here again !

so i've bought another Bristol this morning !

its a

Bristol 405
1956
405GMT
Chassis number: 4106

from ACA AUCTIONS

[Geoff Kingston]

When/If you get round to restoring this car do yourself a favour and take as much of the interior trim out as you can very carefully then the dash panels, I suspect you will find the wood frame is rotten, don't be tempted to then pull the whole thing apart but leaving the panels on as a reference point build from the inside out. It can be done get an aluminium frame fabricated to support and follow the contours of the panels then screw, bond or rivet it into place.
Without wood in the structure the 405 would have been possibly the best 2 litre car Bristol ever made but sadly not as constructed.
Geoff.

[Nick Challacombe]

This is the one I posted about, no reserve, no engine but had gear box .
Hope you get it back on the road, glad to see it went to a member.
Appropriate registration plate .
Keep us in touch with your progress. Hope you have fun with it , loads of work but all seemed to be there apart from the engine.

[Raymond]

Good morning Hesketh. Do you happen to know how much the 403 went for?

Was is very rotten?

[Excalibur]

I watched the auction online. I think the 403 went for about £15000 plus commission . Of course not seeing the car I’ve no idea of how bad it was.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

I watched the auction online. I think the 403 went for about £15000. Of course not seeing the car I’ve no idea of how bad it was.

Thanks for that. I thought it would probably go over the estimate. I think the rot can be hidden from view.

I have been bitten like that before. The MG TC I bought a couple of years ago looked nice; it had new paint and trim but the old git had painted over the rust and trimmed over rotten wood. I ended up having to replace the body,,,etc, etc,etc.

[Geoff Kingston]

Results are on line now and given at £16308 inc premium so a similar figure to a 401 sold on ebay earlier in the year except on that one the paint was not good, as the link I sent on the rebuild cost topic shows there can be quite a few rust issues to sort out on 401's and 403's unless they have been done or you are exceptionally lucky.
The first place I always check is the back corner of the main chassis in front of the wheels, the steel in this area was overlapped and not unusual for it to be rotted through or starting to bulge which means as some point sooner or later work will be needed, if its very bad its a good indicator of what the rest is likely to be like.
The area between the sills and the chassis is usually enclosed with an alloy cover so issues can be hidden but if the sills and out riggers are bad this can often be eased back to get a peak at the chassis.
Mike spent about 65 hours doing very similar structural repairs to those shown in the link to put it into context on one of my 401's.
As a starting point for a project I think this might have been a good buy, if the leather was not dried out it looked as though it may come up quite nicely and the sun blinds were there which is a bonus as they can be quite expensive.
As regards the 405 I have a few bits, not much and nothing mechanical salvaged off a very rotten 405 so if there is anything missing Hesketh let me know and I'll see if I can help. This includes the front and rear glass and some door fittings.
Geoff.