Blenheim Production Numbers

[AlanD]

Does anyone know the total number of Blenheim's that were produced?

Regards

AlanD
Sydney

[DaleC]

I doubt whether even Bristol themselves know for sure. Tony was so full of obfuscation, misinformation & exaggeration that any figures he espoused are likely to be spurious. And Toby became so Fighter and precarious finances fixated that I doubt he cared to double check. It took me an age tto pin down that around 25 Brigands were produced...... If you do find out, let me know. I'm writing a book.....

Regards

Dale Chappell.

[AlanD]

Dale, in the unlikely event I do come across some information I will certainly pass it on.

One possible source of information may be the vehicle licensing authority in the UK, not sure what it is called. I have seen info on other car forums where a search has been done on the internet to reveal how many of a certain type/model of car, is registered in the UK. I would not know where to start on this myself.

Regards

Alan

[Barrie]

I don't know why Bristol cars are still so coy about production numbers. Tony Crook used to consistently keep production numbers secret to understandably give the impression of a thriving business. Now these cars are no longer in production their rarity adds to value in most people's eyes so one would have thought that it was in Bristol's interest to reveal how rare they are. This is especially so as they are basically a maintenance and restoration company now.

[GREG]

When I asked Sid Lovesey which was the best Bristol ever made, he told me the Blenheim 4 ! It's certainly the best driving Bristol I have ever been in and that includes the Fighter -- actually , especially the Fighter.

Sadly there was only one Blenheim 4 ever built -- I am writing a very short book on it :-)

Looking to the future, I recently managed to obtain a leaked photograph from someone that told me it is the new hybrid electric Bristol ! It seems to be strongly influenced from the Bristol 400 but it can carry 8 people in comfort with full air con -- enjoy...

[Sam410]

Originally Posted by AlanD

Dale, in the unlikely event I do come across some information I will certainly pass it on.

One possible source of information may be the vehicle licensing authority in the UK, not sure what it is called. I have seen info on other car forums where a search has been done on the internet to reveal how many of a certain type/model of car, is registered in the UK. I would not know where to start on this myself.

Regards

Alan

You are thinking of the howmanyleft.co.uk site. Its accuracy depends on the data held by DVLA, and as many Bristols are incorrectly registered as "Bristol (BLMC)" with no model listed it is not good for Bristols. You can see all the Bristols here:
https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=✓&q=bristol

If you have a Bristol registered as "Bristol (BLMC)" it is possible to have it corrected - there are instructions on the BOC website at https://boc.net/service.php#dvla. They look outdated, but they worked about five or six years ago when I had my 410's registration corrected. The error came about when the DVLA's records were computerised in the 1980s.

[Bryn Tirion]

Originally Posted by AlanD

Dale, in the unlikely event I do come across some information I will certainly pass it on.

One possible source of information may be the vehicle licensing authority in the UK, not sure what it is called. I have seen info on other car forums where a search has been done on the internet to reveal how many of a certain type/model of car, is registered in the UK. I would not know where to start on this myself.

Regards

Alan

The howmanyleft site is merely misleading and of no use whatsoever. Two of my cars are very rare indeed, and I know of many more examples or each than are on that site, let alone the ones I don't know about. One of these cars is an early Morris Oxford estate, so no possible excuse for listing it incorrectly. Test it for a Bristol model by merely using Google Images for a search: you will count more running, UK licensed Bristol 408's in the top two lines than this site reports exist.

[AlanD]

Sam410. Thanks for posting the howmanyleft link. I suppose we can take one tiny bit of information from the site and that is that there were at least 16 Blenheim's registered at one time in the UK. This would not account for cars that were exported direct from the factory. I know of one silver colored Series 2 that was (and probably still is) in New Zealand.

Do any of the Bristol Car clubs have a register that may give further information?

Regards

Alan David
Sydney

[livermoreb]

If you have a Bristol registered as "Bristol (BLMC)" it is possible to have it corrected - there are instructions on the BOC website at https://boc.net/service.php#dvla. They look outdated, but they worked about five or six years ago when I had my 410's registration corrected. The error came about when the DVLA's records were computerised in the 1980s.[/quote]

I have just had my 410 record altered at DVLA just by writing a letter to them and sending it along with my V5.

There are nearly a thousand Bristols registered as Bristol (BLMC) for some reason so the figures in the "How many left" web sites are a long way out. Perhaps we should encourage all members to check their V5 and where BLMC is shown to get the records put right.

[Laurent B]

Hello

I recently made an inventory of all the Blenheims. I used photos published by car spotters and car dealers on the Internet. This was not very easy because many cars have had several registrations. A few were repainted and I know a Blenheim 1 wich was turned into Blenheim 3 ! However, the website Cazana.com helped me to recreate the history of all cars registered.

So, there is at least 34 Bristol Blenheims
_ 5 Blenheim 1 (one of wich turned into Blenheim 3)
_ 6 Blenheim 2
_ 22 Blenheim 3
_ 1 Blenheim 4

Among these 34 cars :
_ 5 are known by their VIN
_ 3 are genuine LHD cars. 1 was registered in France, 1 in Germany and 1 in Sweden (but it recently came back to England)
_ 1 RHD car was turned into LHD by Bristol Cars for a Swiss customer in 2013. This car is now in the Netherlands.
_ 2 cars have an Irish registration

Of course, my inventory is not completed and I am still searching new informations, but you can already have an idea of the volume of "production". Production datas claimed by Tony Crook were very optimistic !

Excuse my English, I am French !

[Geoff Dowdle]

Laurent B,
it is interesting that you have collected this Blenheim information.

The information I have about the Blenheim production is that they were all produced RHD .
Blenheim 1 6 cars
Blenheim 2 10 cars
Blenheim 3 17 cars ( one was completed RHD & converted to LHD before delivery)
Blenheim 3S 1 car

Note there is no record of a Blenheim 4 unless an earlier car was later updated.
Some of the cars above could have been returned to BCL for conversion to LHD.

Geoff

[Laurent B]

So the "Blenheim 4" is in fact a second hand car updated, isn't it ? Although I found a lot of pictures of this car, I don't know much about it. The original specifications, the VIN or the date of update are unknown.

Several Blenheim 3 have "S" wheels, so it's difficult to say which one is a real S or not. However, the specifications and technical datas of the S are not exactly known.

I know at least 2 Blenheim 3G and one of them have "S" wheels. So is it a "3SG" or not ?

[AlanD]

Great work Laurent and Geoff!!

Very interesting information. Does the total for the series 2 include the silver coloured example that when to New Zealand, I have seen this car when I was in NZ. I am not sure if it was purchased second hand in the UK and then exported or went direct from the factory. When I met Tony Crook in the Kensington showroom he mentioned there was one there, which I subsequently saw in Auckland.

Regards

Alan David
Sydney

[Geoff Dowdle]

Alan,
The Blenheim in NZ as far as I can find out is a Blenheim 3 .
Chassis TTBL399168874
Silver with Black trim
Exported in Feb 2000 , but I don't know if it was direct to New Zealand .

Registered in NZ June 2001 "ACU206"

I have not seen the car , do you have a photo of it that you can post on the forum??

Geoff Dowdle
Sydney Australia

PS
you should join the BOC of Australia on one of our events or meetings which are held regularly in Sydney .
But you won't see a Blenheim , they are mostly early 6 cylinder cars.
You would be most welcome.

[Geoff Kingston]

The numbers for the Blenheim 3 don't stack up as far as the 'knowledgable' trade in the UK are saying, their view is eight or nine cars so where are the other 8 nor 9 coming from?

[AlanD]

Originally Posted by Geoff Kingston

The numbers for the Blenheim 3 don't stack up as far as the 'knowledgable' trade in the UK are saying, their view is eight or nine cars so where are the other 8 nor 9 coming from?

I do not believe for a second that the figure of eight or nine Blenheim's being produced is correct. Just recently one UK classic car dealer had 4 different Blenheim's for sale at one time.

Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of the silver Blenheim I saw in downtown Auckland. I was about 20 meters away from it so had a good look, but this was in the days before smart phones with cameras. I must have seen the car a year or two after it arrived in NZ.

As to its series number I can only tell you that Mr Crook told me it was a Series 2, I do remember that quite clearly, perhaps it was the last of the series 2 cars, or Mr Crook was in error?

I am glad this thread has been revived.

Regards

Alan David
Sydney

[Geoff Dowdle]

The figures I mentioned earlier are from the BOC and other sources .
All with chassis numbers recorded .
My revised counts are
B1 6
B2 8
B3 24
B3S 1
B Special 1
B4S 1

It just show how " knowledgeable " the knowledgeable trade is !!!

Geoff D

[Richard Levine]

Hello Geoff and Laurent

I have just seen your mention of the Blenheim 4.

It was made from new as a "one off" car, at my request, after Toby Silverton informed me that his development of the Blenheim 4 was partly done and then abandoned. Upon seeing the new body's photos, a deal was struck on price and specification, along with a written guarantee that it would be a unique car, never to be repeated. Completion took 14 months, and I collected the car in March 2009.

After the factory closed, I received written confirmation from the former factory manager (Jeff Marsh) that it was the last new V8 made there.

Do email me if you need any further info.

Richard Levine

levine3456@gmail.com

[Geoff Kingston]

Alan,
I can only go on what I was told by one of the owners and what I have seen mentioned as production figures by some of the dealers or brokers who have had Blenheim 3's for sale over the last twelve months, this is where the figure of 8 or 9 cars came from. One at least has had a number change between sales and while it would be nice to think they were more about I find it hard to accept that there was suddenly a three fold leap in production for the last model especially as they seemed to have stopped building them a few years before the company failed but if Geoff's sources are good then that is good news for anyone looking to buy one, I nearly did earlier in the year but decided to renovate my 411 series 3 instead.
The car made a very interesting comparison with my 603 and performance wise seemed to sit mid way between that and the 411, might still take the plunge one day.
Geoff.

Having just looked at the BOC data base for the Blenheim they currently have 23 listed in total made up of
B1 3
B2 7
B3 8
B3S 3
B3SP 1
B4 1

The car I looked at incidently was a 3 but one of the 'knowledgeable' dealers had suggested it might have been an S due to the specification, it is still among the 8 B3's listed with the BOC but not with it current owner.

[irienz]

[quote=Geoff Dowdle;8940]
The Blenheim in NZ as far as I can find out is a Blenheim 3 .
Chassis TTBL399168874
Silver with Black trim
Exported in Feb 2000, but I don't know if it was direct to New Zealand.

Registered in NZ June 2001 "ACU206"

The Blenheim 3 may still be in New Zealand. I have not seen it or its owner for some time but the owner did not live here permanently (although the car did). At one point the owner and i lived in the same apartment building in Auckland and my 411 and the Blenheim used to park within a few metres of each other. I do not know whether it was exported directly or the owner took delivery in England and then privately exported it, but Bristol Cars gave the impression when referring to it, that it had been exported.