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| 6 cyl Bristol cars Type 400 to 406 - restoration, repair, maintenance etc |
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19-11-10, 09:04 PM
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I paid @ BCL £166.85 VAT incl ... note this price was for faulty cylinder head gasket if you remember 
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20-11-10, 01:03 PM
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Is that correct ? It seems that the price BCL charged was competitive but should have had more instructions if an amateur was fitting it. It seems they made the mistake of assuming a professional mechanic would be fitting the gasket and would notice that it needed a slight modification. Always wrong to assume. I don't mind tackling most mechanical jobs, but things like head gaskets I leave to the professionals. Mainly because it's such a ball ache to strip down and do again if it goes wrong ! I have done loads on motorcycles because they are easy to get to and deal with. Got to know your limits. Last edited by GREG; 20-11-10 at 01:05 PM. Reason: none
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20-11-10, 01:43 PM
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The fact is it needed adapting for Bristol engines. Which might be acceptible if it came from Halfords, but it didn't, it apparently came from Bristol, who say on their web site; "We crave instead integrity of purpose and an unmatched level of engineering perfection."
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20-11-10, 02:10 PM
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It is not normal that a "genial director" sells such faulty goods Why don't they sell good cylinder head gaskets ? I have been invited to purchase everything for my Arnolt-Bristol at the factory because of their experience in this particular domain The argument was "who better than us can give you the best result" That was enough to give all my confidence
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20-11-10, 01:46 PM
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Greg
Why should I agree to buy a faulty cylinder head gasket ? I ordered and paid it to a company that claim to have 65 years of experience ! Of course I have NOT been informed about the problem and more serious , they didn't know about this problem . As previously written , dozens of cars have this gasket installed and I am the only one to complaint ( as always ) In case I had been informed , I would NEVER accept to buy a faulty goods or a goods that needs to be punched for the simple reason that when you touch it , for sure the supplier will make you immediately responsible of the problem and the loss of warranty . I have never asked for faulty goods or cheap goods when .
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20-11-10, 01:55 PM
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6 cyl Gaskets (head)
Many apologies Kevin,
Us old gits are sometime a little curmudgeonly and do not realise peoples sensitivity. The first thing to go as you get older are your social graces, mine seem to have left me with that posting. I love your forum and do contribute when I feel I can help but I only have knowledge of 11 years with a 407. I bought the 407 at a time when I could not walk or drive and it has been a lifeline to me as have the Bristol Community on the Forums. I miss the ascorbic comments of some contributors who no longer appear, at least under the names they started with, keep up the good work, the postings make my day every day and I read all of them avidly. Thank you again, Nick, unlike Greg, small member!
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20-11-10, 03:07 PM
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Interestingly the gasket on ebay also has this hole missing and appears to have the same date as Eric's ie 23.5.89 so presumably a common source. I just wish there was a simple way of checking "hole or no hole"! Regards Richard
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20-11-10, 03:40 PM
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In my humble opinion , if engineers decided to add an extra hole circa the 6th cylinder ... I may reasonably think that it's because they had an overheating problem or they wanted to improve the cooling Everybody is free to accept if whether or not it's important . But I have a tendency to trust in the experience of engineers who decided to make an extra hole As for me , original gasket is supposed to be as it is in original drawings Is it normal that no recall has been made ?
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20-11-10, 04:28 PM
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6 cyl Gaskets (head)
I don't think BCL was selling a defective product. It was a gasket that
worked for BMW and one little hole may make a 10% difference in cooling. The BIG issue was the lack of a satisfactory answer to the client and by sayng he was the only one to complain, it was sort of blaming the customer. I disagree with the comments made that a professional installer would have seen the difference. Maybe.... maybe not. What all this has shown us is that there has been some "overselling" by BCL. They gets their supplies of spares were they can...same as the rest of us. Therefore shopping with BCL, B May, Spencer Lane Jones, the Australian club and others may well be all the same. Claude brought up his hub cap issue...and years later his hub cap is still "under observation" at BCL or perhaps used as an ashtray! A refund or the offer of a discount on future purchases would have been a more appropriate answer. All a matter of communication. Cheers, Dorien
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20-11-10, 04:28 PM
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6 cyl Gaskets (head)
Now Eric for once I do agree with you.
It might even have been me that mentioned the BMW 328 but simply as a guess, and because the packaging was written in german, wasn't it? Doesn't someone know both engines, who could resolve this? What did Bristol say? Or did you not ask? Ian.
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20-11-10, 05:14 PM
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BMW 328 seems to be different
I found this web site in Czech Republic http://www.bmw328.net/downloads/ersatzteilliste.pdf
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20-11-10, 09:08 PM
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British Peculiarities
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This is a direct outcome of the Norman Conquest where the winners confiscated all the wealth of the nation, and then allocated just enough to the losers for them to survive and keep the economy running. Over the generations, the losers (Anglo Saxons, Celts and other pre-Normans) began to integrate this scarcity mentality into their belief system. When money took over from land as the core definition of wealth, this scarcity mentality was so deeply embedded in the genetic make-up, that it continued even as the losers became wealthy. By wealth I mean all the food and clothing one can imagine, a warm home that one can own, education, suffrage, freedom and means to travel more than 10 miles from ones birthplace, an infinite choice in entertainment, etc. This embedded national psychic damage can be baffling as well as maddening for any non-Brit when they go to buy something from an Englishman. The American attitude is lowest price, best product, best relationship with customer and give something away for free. The British attitude is highest price the market will bear, provided of course we are paying attention to price, eccentric product, relationship? what's that have to do with business?, and even if it was free to us, we'll charge you for it. Gradually this attitude is going away as GB plays in the global market and learns the new rules. So our friend Eric is first of all encountering a cultural roadblock. He just doesn't get it. Next distinction has to do with size. In a company the size of BMW, one has thousands of engineers and business types all working like a bee hive to make sure that everything works with precision. In a company the size of Bristol, we are remarkably reliant on the knowledge carried around inside the skulls of a few gentlemen. Not only that, but instead of just focusing on the last 10 years of their product (which is all that is required by law), they maintain a knowledge base that expands each year, going all the way back to 1944. Clearly this is not a business. These gentlemen do this because they are British. It's like cricket. On the one hand, this is both charming and delightful, as well as useful. When one needs to know something, first-hand knowledge is there. On the other hand, it can result in the sort of problems Eric encountered. While it is easy to puff about how this is bad form or incompetence, in fact, it is a natural outcome of the structure of a small company. It is why small companies do not survive in the car industry. Bristol survives only because their price tag is not governed by competition, they have a niche. In the end, Eric is applying the wrong standard. He should accept that in owning a Bristol based product he is working with a small group of enthusiastic men who have chosen to work to keep an eccentric, distinctly British icon alive, and as such, the problems he has comes with the territory. He can prod them to do better, and no doubt that will help in the specific case of the missing hole, but overall, these sorts of things will happen because of the inherent nature of small businesses that do their own engineering (if you doubt this, try buying software from a small company). I do note that Eric has not complained much about the Arnolt Motor Company which is where he should be focusing his ire. After all, they commissioned and sold the products, Bristol was merely a wholesale supplier. Of course the reason he does not complain about Arnolt is death... both the owner and the company died. And that is the point. He is targeting Bristol because they are still in business, and he throws their own aspirational words back at them when they fail to attain. Eric, my advice to you is to sell up, move on, and select a marque that has no survivor. Bond with a vintage restoration place that will make from scratch whatever you need and have more fun and less angst with your hobby. After all, vintage cars are not a necessity of life. We play with them to have fun, to enjoy the company of other collectors, be it racing, or the more genteel jaunt across the countryside enjoying bucolic vistas whilst stopping in a country inn for a meal and glass that brings great joy. Claude
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20-11-10, 07:43 PM
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Greg
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20-11-10, 09:08 PM
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Why should I write ( or tell you ) what was proposed ? As I am a complete nutter , my problems are de facto fake ! It's easier to say I am threatening As I wrote , I have the right to shut up . That's all In my opinion , I thought that a Bristol forum is a place where it is possible to find advices or accurate information about Bristol Cars I couldn't imagine that is a place where I will be treated as jihadist  I couldn't imagine that this forum was monitored and that some of the forumers have no openness .
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