New owner of a 408 LHD #7052

[jeff02740]

Greetings to all,
Just purchased this 1964 Bristol 408 LHD. It's by no means perfect but looks to be all there needing some sorting out. From documentation that I could gather, car was brought over in January of 1965 on the Queen Elizabeth. Originally red with white interior.
Clearly, the rarest car that I have owned.

Jeff

[Geoff Kingston]

Nice looking car, always regret parting with my 408 they were very well put together and like all the models up to the 410 had a more quality feel to them,no marina door handles like my later 411!
Mine had a 313 engine which we rebuilt not realising at the time we could have retained the heads and used a replacement 318 block.
Also remember replacing the Abarth silencers it came with using a pair listed for the mid 50's Chrysler Imperial, made it ever so relaxing and quiet to drive.
Great car hope you enjoy it.

[Fund_Man]

Congratulations. I too am a relatively new owner of a 408 and getting to know it. Enjoy.

Ian.

[Geoff Dowdle]

Jeff ,
you certainly have bought an almost unique Bristol type .

From the information I have available I can offer the following ..

Of the 67 examples of Type 408 only two were produced Left Hand Drive .
408/7018 was sold to Canada
your 408/7052 was sold to Pa USA

Of the 16 examples of Type 408 Mk11 only 408/7203 was produced LHD and sold to Los Angeles,Ca USA.

Congratulations and enjoy the ride
Geoff

[brandsman]

I have a RHD 408 here in South Africa which I am slowly bringing back to life - it is now running, selecting gears and driving, but I am yet to refit the front and rear windscreens and am battling to figure out how the top of the dashboard is held in place. It belonged to a friend of mine for many years, he even lent it to me for several months in 1984 when I was carless and impecunious. Unfortunately in about 2008 he decided to have it resprayed by a clot and, when he died after a fall in 2011, it was still semi-stripped. I bought the car from his estate. Still missing are the headlamp surrounds - if anyone knows which are the right part, I'd love to know.

[PEU186F]

The top rail of the dashboard is ingeniously held in place solely by the ashtray housings at each end, which I trust you still have. Take care to ensure that there is sufficient thin foam under the vinyl padding where the latter fits under the rail to make all it look properly fitted.

Be aware that the screen demister vents will function extremely effectively if they project into the rail and end roughly level with its top, much less so if they end below it. They can be adjusted up but you have to lie on your back underneath the dashboard armed (my memory tells me) with a long screwdriver and a 2BA Spanner to do so. A spare arm would also help but there isn't room for one. You need to do this after you fit the toprail as it won't go in or come out (with the windscreen in place) if they are in the correct position.

You might need to fit the screen before you fit the top rail, but my experience doesn't actually stretch that far.

Roger

[brandsman]

Thanks for the info Roger. I am not sure if I have the ashtrays or not, I couldn't find them last weekend, but they may still come to light.

[PEU186F]

My 410 takes Mini head lamp surrounds, but uses a clip on the headlamp housing instead of a screw to hold them in place as one can't get at the bottom of the surround on the slightly more faired in 410 (Once on they are very hard to get off, I now carry a simple tool made up from a brass strip turned over at one end to do so). I seem to remember that some of the TRs used a similar clip, but the TR profile is, I think, different.

I am not sure what the 408 used, but suggest you start of by thinking Mini, or Morris Minor come to that, and see where that gets you

Roger

[Giles]

Mini headlight rims work on my 408.

I think the ashtrays are Austin Healey.

Roger - thanks for the tip on the vents, I will try adjusting...

[PEU186F]

Yes indeed, the Ashtrays do appear to match those being offered by Moss-Europe for Austin Healey and others.

Roger

[brandsman]

Thanks very much for the heads up on the ashtrays. They are Austin Healey items as suggested and look to be right. I have bought two and they are on their way. I really appreciate the input.

[brandsman]

Post in haste, repent at leisure. Thanks also for the input on the headlight rims - I have bought a mini headlight upgrade kit as recommended elsewhere on this site and will update once they arrive (don't hold your breath - averages 6 weeks due to the SA postal system).