408 Production Numbers
 

Hi. I'm looking for the production numbers of the 408. I saw the number 73 on a website recently. Does that sound accurate?

Also, I recently spotted a left hand drive 408. The owner indicated it was the only LHD 408 in the US. Does that sound likely?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thank you.

Brian ,
The BOC Register (possibly not up to date ) shows the following 408s

408 Mk1 67 known Chassis 7001 - 7067
including 3 LHD (7018 in Canada)
(7052 in USA)
(7055 in Beirut)
408 Mk2 16 known Chassis 7201 - 7216
including 1 LHD (7203 in USA)

of these 83 chassis , 12 are listed as being in USA .
There could be other LHD & RHD 408 produced and not on the BOC Register

408 chassis 7001 is/was for sale in Peth Australia for Aust $ 58,000

408 chassis 7043 sold recently for A$10,000 in Perth / Australia , but needed major restoration

Do you know the chassis number of the LHD 408 your refer to ?

Geoff

Geoff thank you very much for your informative response.

I do not know the chassis number of the vehicle I saw. However, I do have the owner's phone number. He wasn't the most outgoing or even welcoming individual but I could call him and ask about the chassis number if you think it is a worthwhile thing to do.

What do you think, Jeff?

By the way, I used this car as the subject of my very first blog post. Here is the link if you would like to see some pictures:

CarNation

Thank again Geoff!

brian

Brian ,

The only 408 Mk2 known to the BOC is chassis 7203
In the late 90's it was advertised in Hemmings and last known owner was
Yevgeny Pshenichny .
Is he the current owner??

If it is not 7203 it would be good to find details of the car and owner to help complete the BOC Register

Thanks
Geoff

408=411
 

anyone know where my old cars have ended up?
408 reg B730 FPF ? 411 s5 reg Q42GBG ??thanks hope they are still ok

mjolner, ??

Your old 408 FPF730B is chassis 408/7040 Dark Blue
No further details known

No details of 411 S5 GBG42Q, is it a 1976 or 1977 ??

When did you own them ?
What Colours were they ?
What is your name & location ?
Do you have any photos of the cars you can post on the forum

Geoff

Geoff the current owner's name is Bob, don't know his last name. I'll give him a call. He told me he is owner #3. He also said owner #1 was Phil Spector, the music producer. I'll see if I can get the chassis number. Thanks.

I think I know who it is. Is the car in Oregon?

No Kevin. It's in Southern California. (At least it was as of about a month ago.) The owner told me he bought it from a bloke here in Southern California also. And of course, there is the alleged link to Phil Spector. See here for some photos of the car:

CarNation: The Bristol 408

408 gear selector
 

Interestingly, the penultimate photo of the mystery 408 Mk 2 shown in Brian's CarNation post shows a floor-mounted auto gear shift lever, whereas the original Mk 2 had rectangular "piano key" selector buttons (changed from round buttons on the original 408), and these were subsequently also used in the 409. In the RHD versions the buttons are between the steering wheel and the driver's door (on the right hand side of the dash below the ignition key) so I assume that in the LHD version they would have been on the opposite side of the dash.

So it looks as though the restoration changed one of the quirky bits of the original. The floor-mounted auto gear shift lever was not adopted by Bristol until the 410.

I love threads like this, perhaps because I am in the middle of restoring my 408 Mk 2 - still in the destructive phase....

George

Update on Bristol 408 Production Numbers
 

Hi,...I received the following response from Bristol Cars this morning. (The intro "Further to your enquiry" suggests this message to be a follow-up but it is the only one I have received from them.):

_____________________
Good morning Mr Moore,

Further to your enquiry, we have checked our records and found there were only 16 408 Series 2’s built with only one on left hand drive. This vehicle is currently owned by Mr ________, California, USA.

Kind regards

Bristol Cars Services
_____________________

Note,...I've removed the owner's name.

That's amazing. There's no way you would have got that information in Tony Crook's day, not even the production details, let alone the current owners name! (in fact I'm not sure they should have given it to you really).

For what it's worth, there is (or at least was) another 408 in Oregon, owned by another cantankerous Bob ;)

Kevin thanks for the message. I too thought it seemed a little odd that they should give me the current owner's name, so on 2nd thought I decided to remove it from the post.

Final (?) Update on the LHD 408 Mark II in California
 

Hi,...I queried Bristol Cars again and they responded to me overnight. For what it is worth to the forum members, below is the message they sent me confirming the chassis number and provenance of the vehicle.

@Geoff Dowdie: Chassis number is confirmed to be the one you know of.

Forum members Geoff Dowdie, Kevin H and GeorgeG: Thank you for your assistance on my little research project.

Email from Bristol Cars:
________________

Good afternoon Mr Moore,

Thank you for sending us the link to view the 408 S2, we’ve enjoyed looking at them. I believe our Parts Division has supplied a few items for this vehicle but it’s generally nice to be able to see the vehicle and good to know it is being enjoyed and appreciated by car enthusiasts and owner alike.

In reply to your further questions, the chassis number is 408/7203 and the original colour is ‘Midnight Blue’. The owner is correct with his information and Mr Spector was indeed the first owner of this vehicle.

Kind regards,

Bristol Cars Services Limited

________________

Wow again! It's very encouraging to see Bristol being so open and helpful after the secrecy of the Crook era.

I have just bought - 408 FPF730B is chassis 408/7040 this evening !