Webasto roofed 401īs

[Anthony]

Does anybody know anything about Webasto roofed 401īs prepared by the factory?

We were told there were two, not very good, conversions done and UML is possibly one of them.

posted on behalf of Anthony by Kevin while doing some housekeeping

[Geoff Kingston]

From what I remember being told by Tom Craig when I bought UML many years ago that it was the second of two cars converted, it was Tom told me done as a favour for* a supplier of leather to Antony Crook but because of the problems of dealing with the structural tubes in the roof no more were done. I think Tom bought the car directly from Bristol Cars so I always assumed that this information had come from Mr Crook himself. Certainly for the brief time I used the car the arrangement worked well , when closed it was always water tight and when open and the windows down in the summer it was a joy to drive, the finish of the headlining left a bit to be desired though. If I remember rightly Tom told me,but I never checked that the installation required an extra steel frame to link the tubes that had been cut. Good luck with the hunt for parts.
Geoff
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[Anthony]

Hello Geof,
We met briefly in Wales a couple of years ago, we were driving our "new" doner car to restore UML but "Henry" has proved to good to scrap!

I was with my wife Sarah, Mike Gibsons daughter, who, I believe purchased the car from you. Do you remember when you sold the car?

We have begun to strip down the car (whats left of it after the robbery) and have found that the structural tubes of the roof were cut using s blunt hacksaw, squashed flat, bent over and thew screwed to the webasto frame!
There does not appear to be a metalic sub structure to hold all it together. This is not al bad news since the webasto frame was very rigid and clearly strong enough for the job (although it is now a home for wood worm).

Other odities are:
1. the complete absence of the rear sun screen. In many other bristols this feature has disapeared but some relic of it persists. In this case there is nothing and add to the theory that it was a factory "original".
2. The replacement of the central light with two side lights of a different design with what appears to be original wiring.

We are going to restore it (Sarahīs farther would have wanted that) but we are also keen to salvage a part of the Bristol history and put back on the road such a rare version of the 401, if in fact it was a factory fit.

Is Anthony Crook or anybody at the factory in a position to supply more information about the webasto cars?


Sorry about all the questios but I can see that the forum devides into two, those who know and those who need to!
We are sadly of the second group, but with time, we may be of use to the Bristol comunity some day!

Anthony

[Geoff Kingston]

Hello Anthony,
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I sold the car twice, the first time was to Mike Isles who still lives in Fishguard
he undertook some bodywork repairs fixed the usual crack in the block with a special filler used in the oil industry and from memory* didn't do much else to it.
I took it back in a deal on a Vanden Plas 4Ltr R ! Mike bought the car from me around 1978/79 and I remember we moved UML to Bath and OAE to Bristol(which I still have) as part of**one or two day exercise which resulted in me missing a Kate Bush concert!
I was interested in what you said* about the way the frame had been cut as I have seen other Webasto conversions which simply rely on the strength of the wood frame and have read that was the normal way they were installed.
Mr Crook has parted company with Bristol cars and may or may not have been the only person still around who remembers these conversions, I think it would be worth you contacting Brian at the service depot in London to see if he can supply you with any information about the car. Even if the work was not actually done at the Factory if Tom was right and only 2 were done it is still very rare, may be the only survivor. The other possibility is that it may have been done for Anthony Crook when he was a dealer and before he took* a controlling interest in the company, remember that he was the driving force behind the Zagato and Viotti cars at the time of the 406/407.
At the time I sold Sarah's father the car he could have had a choice of*three*401's I had and the sunroof defiantly was a factor in his choice of UML so do restore it, but If you change your mind I would be more than happy to buy it back!
Geoff.*
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[Anthony]

hi Geoff
this is Sarah, Its good to hear from you. From what you said about the trip to Bath I feel I owe you a kate bush concert ticket (if she should ever return tothe stage- let me know! )
I remember being told that the trip wasnt easy. Did you tow it with a 2.5 litre Daimler Jag that my dad had at the time? It wasnt very powerful, at least not enough for hilly Wales with a Bristol on its back!
The car is'nt a pretty sight at the moment having been thorughly ransacked while in its garage. But I hope that, bit by bit, we'll get it back on the road, just dont hold your breath. (I'd send you photos of it as it is now (how do I attach them on the forum?) - but dont get too depressed!

Do you have pictures or documents of the car in happier times? We are trying to retrace its history, when did you first come accross the car and what colour was it?

I think Anthony has compiled an enormous list of parts needed which no doubt he'll send on to you in case you can help locate any of them.

Regards Sarah

Ps - If we get disheartened and give up on the restoration you'll be the first person I will contact!

[Geoff Kingston]

Hi Sarah
Yes it was the Daimler that your farther used for the trip and now you mention it I think things did go a little slower than planned. The car was Grey, I think Dove Grey I don't know if it was original but*I do remember that where it was undamaged it was to a very high standard of finish. I changed the seats when I sold the car to your father for an untorn but recoloured set as the originals had suffered from the attention of Tom's goat and were quite badly torn, I still have them somewhere.
I came across the car when I was still in school when Tom came to teach there as a teenager keen on old cars the 401 was out of this world and only the second one I had ever seen and it set me on the path of finding one for myself which sadly came to a bad end but provided the seats to go into your car. By the time I bought UML from Tom I had already bought OAE which your father later took to Bristol for me for my friend John to rebuild the chassis. Its odd but the restoration stalled on that one as well and on Johns first 405 which I think also has a webasto roof I must check if that is right or the old brain cells are playing tricks again. I don't think I have any photographs of the car at the time Mike Isles may*I will have to ask him I do have some old membership lists dating from the time Tom joined the club i will try and look them out and copy them for you.
Regards,
Geoff.

[matt c]

hi Sarah I have sent you an email and telephone no for contact but Tom Craig is still alive and although has had a stroke may be able to answer some questions i know he bought the car from bristol cars after it underwent a factory refit possibly when the roof was fitted some pictures would be great if possible and i will look for some think i have one of the car with goats (mary-anne and toodles)