10 months on and things are looking good, the underside anyway. Workshop is to go imminently and I'm now well into borrowed time.
I've spent the last 3 weeks telling my clients that I'm fully booked when I've really been spannering, this deceit seems likely to continue. I did think 2 weeks would suffice to get to the MOT-able stage but spent a whole week derusting and treating the floor and chassis alone. A horrid job. I carried this out with the car on its side, after many hours contemplation I've decided these cars are closer in design to that of a modern monocoque than a traditional chassis, the members which span front to rear are large and of a thin gauge, far more similar to sill members than any archaic conventional frame, and with the body permanently attached, well kind of indirectly sort of. Most car design jumped straight from chassis to mono many years ago, the Bristol looks a missing link from that evolutionary leap.
My dilemma now is if I should MOT, exempt from November but meantime it needs to be moved around, and will inhabit garage in a location impossible to reach by tow truck or trailer so has to travel under its own steam, legally would be a bonus now that our movements seem closely monitored. I have no fear of the MOT, but, while I've always known this car has been off the road since before I was born, have just realised that it was laid up before it would have been due for its first MOT, which would have been the 10 year test of the earliest MOTs.
The thing has never seen the inside of a testing bay, never been bounced across gritty brake rollers nor had to twirl front wheels on filthy greasy swivel plates, and if I can hang on for 4 Months it will never have to, as a bonus I wouldn't have to stress over where to place reflectors or drill holes for washer jets, ( I actually shall, but will be my choice).
It's a shame I didn't get around to the bodywork, and while I'm not too fussed that it looks a state I would have enjoyed painting it.
Here are some pics of the progress, much of the rust from the first pic is now in my lungs.
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