Bristol Engines

[Hal]

This will probably sound daft, but here goes anyway.

I was told that many 6 cyl Bristol's have had their engines removed, and these were then installed in AC's or FN's, some of which which are then raced.

Some engines must surely get destroyed during racing, and what happens to these destroyed engines and does anyone know who may have one available.

Thanks Hal

[Kevin H]

Hal, that's probably why there are fewer engines than cars nowadays, but I wouldn't think that many get blown up now, because the ACs and FNs are becoming too valuable to race hard. But if they are blown up today they are probably repaired/rebuilt, because the engines have become so expensive.

Although I suspect the cannibalisation of 6 cyl Bristols is not over yet.

Andrew Blow would probably have a good handle on the market for the engines.

Kevin

[Peter.Kent]

I am a recovering Clyde`s 406 to my own house tomorrow. Alpine Eagle have re-engineered the engine bay ready for the four-cylinder Volvo motor and gearbox to be dropped in. Given the unavailability of the original engine and its expense, this certainly begins to make sense. Further, the reason Bristol abandoned the long serving in line 6 was that it was no longer powerful enough. (Incidentally, there is some very useful stuff about the Star/ Sapphire engine project and the attempts to make a new motor in Christopher Balfour's new book.) These Volvo motors are so readily available. Clyde got his out of a scrapper for very little. They are hugely tough and reliable and turbocharging gives the power boost that is needed. Add to that the fact that you can keep the weight distribution unaffected and Clyde`s project makes a great deal of sense. I can prepare some photos of the engine bay if there is interest. Peter

[Hal]

Guys, What i was thinking, was to get hold of a knackered engine, and then take it to some of my casting contacts and have copies made and see if i could have the block and other bits cast in the original alloy or maybe some newer alloy.

It was just an idea of the top as a means of sourcing new engines.

Regards, Hal

[Hal]

Guys, What i was thinking, was to get hold of a knackered engine, and then take it to some of my casting contacts and have copies made and see if i could have the block and other bits cast in the original alloy or maybe some newer alloy.

It was just an idea of the top as a means of sourcing new engines.

Regards, Hal

[Geoff Kingston]

Hal,
I was thinking along similar lines and had preliminary discussions with a firm in the UK who had already produced a cylinder head of similar complexity to the Bristol head. The major cost is in the pattern making, rough guide to produce the fist head around £20/25k after that castings could be turned out, they thought, at about £450 to £600 each on top of which you would have all the machining costs. This puts into perspective the £7500 being currently quoted by someone who has taken the plunge and is producing small batches of new heads. Cylinder blocks are or will shortly be available from another source I am told for around the same price. Sadly the current value of the majority of the early cars simply does not I suspect for most of us justify that kind of expenditure .
This is probably why when I recently advertised two complete 401's and two complete 403's for sale for £35k the lot the majority of calls were from people wanting to buy the engines and gearboxes. The AC's and Frazer Nash's are far more valuable and the figures stack up. The other problem is that you will need at lest one scrap head to start with to be cut open for the pattern maker to copy the internal as well as external features, plus a good one for reference, I suspect the same applies to blocks. I had thought about going out of the UK. to get heads made as I have family connections in China but now production is actually starting in the UK I don't think it is a gamble I want to take anymore. I would rather join other owners to see if a larger order or commitment to buy in greater volume could bring the unit cost down.
To go the other route different engine and box I would be very interested in thoughts on ways of converting the earlier cars to disc brakes without sacrificing any more 406's'. Whichever way you go with your project I think the effort will be worth it.
Geoff.

[Geoff Dowdle]

TT Workshops are offering brand new reproduction 100D2 engines for
GBP40,000 delivery 12 months from order.

I assume the 12 months is needed for the poor enthusiast to save/earn the
necessary cash!!!!! or do we need 36 months.

Geoff

[technicaltom]

Hi As a very new to this forum"observer" but a lifelong fan of all things mechanical especially English made cars,A thought crossed my mind when reading this posting, Could these complex Bristol 6 cylinder heads not be simplefied ,What im suggesting is that the head be made of two castings which would far easier to manufacture and machine,yes i know they would not be original as also would a volvo engine and gearbox in a Bristol not be original.
The "modular" head im visualising could even have the option of OHC.
I best stop now as i may be branded a heretic and sent to join a honda forum or similar,
By the way I have found the forums very interesting .Regards Tom

[Claude]

Originally Posted by Geoff Kingston

Hal,
I was thinking along similar lines and had preliminary discussions with a firm in the UK who had already produced a cylinder head of similar complexity to the Bristol head. The major cost is in the pattern making, rough guide to produce the fist head around £20/25k after that castings could be turned out, they thought, at about £450 to £600 each on top of which you would have all the machining costs. .

Gentlemen,

To further this along, I have created a survey on the web that asks how much you would pay for a newly manufactured Bristol 6 (long block), made to Bristol standards using their blueprints?

I am looking for critical mass, where we get X buyers prepared to buy their engine for UKP-XXXX. Then I intend to float this number so engineering firms can determine it is worth their while to bid. Actually, since I do not own a Bristol 6, I intend to pass this on to another enthusiast who does, once the survey creates the numbers. Volunteers please!

If you like this approach, please pass the survey link on to the other clubs that use Bristol engines.

If you can't find the survey on the web click here or copy and paste into your browser the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GCZQ3TJ

Claude