406 with engine change

[rover12t]

hello
I have bought a 406 without engine gearbox
I can't aford to by replacement ubnit, so I have installed a Rover 2600 with an automatic gearbox

what I need to know is with the difference in back axle ratio's and different wheel sizes, whether I need to have the back axle ratio chnaged or not

help please

Mike

[Richard Levine]

Hi Mike

Why did you choose the Rover 2600 engine and gearbox? A 406 with non-original drive-train; how bizarre is that?

Richard

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

Best advice would be just to try out what you have, and then decide if you want good acceleration or better fuel mileage. Different strokes, as they say.
No worries on changing out engines. Look at all the Vee Eight cars with Chrysler engines in later years. Original, eh?

[Hydroglen]

Measure the outer diameter of the wheel on the Rover and if is close to the Bristol one, you should be good to go.
Ratios vary and it often boils down to the kind of driving you are used to. A road test will confirm this.
Note that your speedo and tach may not work as they will have been geared for a different sending unit.
Have fun!
Dorien

[GREG]

Originally Posted by Richard Levine

Hi Mike

Why did you choose the Rover 2600 engine and gearbox? A 406 with non-original drive-train; how bizarre is that?

Richard

I agree, very bizarre !! Although I heard that a few people dropped a 313 Chrysler in their perfectly good 406's. They reckoned it almost doubled the horse power and torque and made it as powerful as other top cars of the era !

They all clubbed together and decided to call it a 407

I like the Rover 2600 engine - It powers my lawn mower beautifully

[GREG]

But seriously folks

We all know that a lot of good and restorable Bristols have had their engines robbed to keep toys running. A crime in my mind but I understand why it happens.

I think it is fantastic if the cars that have had the drive train robbed are kept running with any drive train.

After recently seeing an all new Bristol 6 cylinder engine that is being manufactured by NG racing in Nottingham, I believe that eventually the cost of these engines will be financially viable to be installed into cars that have been kept on the road with spurious drive trains. It will make the restoration back to standard a lot easier if the car has been maintained well and kept on the road with whatever engine the owner is happy with.

Good to see, and probably drives every bit as good as a 406 with the original engine.

It's a shame that Clyde didn't get to finish his similar project.

[desmolloy]

Hi Mike, very keen to follow your findings. I also have an engineless 406 and have considered a Rover 2600 repower as the engines have very little value here in NZ and are probably quite reliable and a good cheap solution in the interim while we wait for the correct engine to present itself. I can be contacted off-line on desmolloy@gmail.com if you care to compare notes etc

Des Molloy
Golden Bay
New Zealand

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

Now the conversation is getting interesting. I was thinking that a very modern, high output engine can be had from Japan. The Nissan 6 cylinder inline engine would have the advantage of light weight and terrific performance coupled with that bullet-proof reliability the Japanese products are noted for. Their manual transmissions are among the best ever produced. You may buy the front half a car with low miles for about the price of any engine you would care to name. As to a new Bristol 6, well, without extensive testing and limited resources to develop a new engine, I would think it would be a gamble at best. Surprisingly, some people are happy with any car that is able to move under it's own power, regardless of the source. As far as originality is concerned, there is nothing original about these cars, and we can thank the Germans for what little the cars have to offer.

[GREG]

[quote=R As to a new Bristol 6, well, without extensive testing and limited resources to develop a new engine, I would think it would be a gamble at best. Surprisingly, some people are happy with any car that is able to move under it's own power, regardless of the source. As far as originality is concerned, there is nothing original about these cars, and we can thank the Germans for what little the cars have to offer.[/QUOTE]

NUTTER ! Do you really think an engine would be developed by people that don't know what they are doing ? In fact it has certain improvements and everything is interchangeable with the original and is built with modern stronger metals. Mainly developed for race cars that use the Bristol engine and much stronger than the original.

To a certain extent we can thank the Germans but the Germans didn't build any Bristol cars and Bristol made a number of improvements to the point that Bristol engines are sought after by vintage BMW car owners.

I am starting to realise that you know very little about cars, especially Bristols

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

That may be true, in that development can improve upon a design that goes back a number of years. Take the Porsche engine, please! An excellent example of the bumblebee approach to making a potent machine. Others have succeeded in making silk purses out of a sow's ear, but that does not make it a good approach. The Mazda/Wankle is another sterling example of what stubborness can do. If you want to see a brilliant six cylinder design, you need look no further than any BMW so equiped, and there are thousands of examples that hardly ever self-destruct. Tried and true is not a bad concept. Having had more than one man's share of what is out there, I believe I have a fairly good idea of what's what when it comes to cars.

[GREG]

If that is true - and I doubt it, I don't think you have convinced anyone on this forum with your pointless ramblings.

How can you compare Porsche continuing to develop the Boxer engine with people making a recreation of an engine that was retired in the early 60's to enable historic race cars to keep racing ? Wrong again !

Bored now

[Michael English]

This is a forum for helpful conversation about the cars which intrigue us, lets be pleasant!

My original 401 (80C ?) engine is presently giving me a little grief, but being new to them I take everyone's word that when going well they are a joy & I look forward to experiencing this.

People will clearly rob a scruffy Bristol for its powertrain if their preference is to sort out something more desirable or valuable, perhaps an AC Aceca. Arguably this is less of a crime than robbing a Rover 3500 V8 SD Vitesse manual and shoe-horning it into a Ford Escort or some such.

Who knows why Mike has obtained a 'gutless' Bristol, it happens. I totally agree that it is far better to have a Bristol running about with, for now, something 'wrong' under the bonnet. I saw an Aston Martin DB4 at auction with a Jag straight 6 under the bonnet, and it looked perfect. I am sure the Bristol will drive fine with Rover bits and as Mike seems to have a Rover affinity, its perhaps the right choice for him. If it was me, I think I'd look for a Jag engine, the most economical straight 6 I could find, as I think it would be better suited & would also look pretty good when the bonnet is open.

The Nissan 3 litre straight 6 is pretty much direct theft from the very similar engine used in the Austin Healey 3 litre ... it will also look great under the bonnet as long as any Nissan badging is removed !!!!!!!!!!!!!

May I plead for friendly & constructive criticism only, it makes the forum a joy to visit.

PS, its wonderful that a 'new' Bristol 6 engine is available again .... I rather dread to hear how dear it will have to be, but perhaps no more than a full-on rebuild of a tired engine. Can anyone steer me toward an engine guru in Somerset (ideally Yeovil/Taunton area) as mine is blowing smoke

[john]

Here is a highly tuned original Bristol engine that would make the 406 go pretty well. Its not a 2.2, so it might lack some low down.The price is spectacular!

AC Bristol sports/racing 100D engine | eBay

[Ronald G. Stephenson]

Spectacular price is a very good description. Spectacular in what they are asking for it. It might be interesting to find out what their intentions are for a replacement in their car. One could purchase a car for that amount of money. We see the same thing in the States when people try to sell a racing engine that was purpose-built to run at high RPM to make that much power. For the street,one would have to re-do the engine, lose the high compression,the wild camshaft and all the rest. But, there are people out there who would not take any of that into consideration. The real estate people love to use the phrase, "There is one in every bush".

[Kevin H]

Originally Posted by Ronald G. Stephenson

Spectacular price is a very good description. Spectacular in what they are asking for it.

The price is relative to the market value of the car it came out of - an AC Ace, which is where such an engine belongs, or perhaps in a Cooper Bristol.

It is after all described as a racing engine so I doubt very much that the owner is expecting it to be purchased to go into a Bristol saloon!

I notice he has another one for sale at £18,500 that just needs assembly.

The sad reality is that of all the cars such engines were originally used in, the Bristol is generally worth the least, perhaps with one or two particular exceptions. That is why tatty 6 cyl Bristols are bought for their power trains, to be rebuilt and installed in much more valuable cars.

[John Simmons]

Originally Posted by john

Here is a highly tuned original Bristol engine that would make the 406 go pretty well. Its not a 2.2, so it might lack some low down.The price is spectacular!

AC Bristol sports/racing 100D engine | eBay

I see that this exact same engine is for sale again on ebay at the exact same price. Seems it was a bit too much the first time around, so they will continue trying. Would love to have it myself, but I just can't convince myself that it's worth that much.