Broken Engine ....

[pasini s]

Dear BOC friends,

this is more or less the tale of a developing catastrophe.

I started last Tuesday from Bologna with Anna on our 409 to deliver it as planned to Bristol Cars Services Friday Aug. 19th; the idea was to leave the car to mr Marelli for some repairs/adjustments, fly back to Italy until September 17th and pick it up to join the Bristols-to-Bristol Run.

We stopped in Sankt Moritz (where we picked up close friend and the only other BOC member in Italy, dr Marco Makaus) and Illhaeusern, the car running perfectly. Thursday morning we started from Alsace for the last leg of the trip to London; sadly, the oil pressure began to fall after Basel and even feathering the throttle, the needle fell slowly to 45, 40, 35 psi, without any worrying noise.

Disaster struck as we were entering the Meuse Department, the car suddenly slowing down with the oil pressure abruptly falling to zero and the temperature rocketing to 120°C (it had been 85° all the time), the engine stopping abruptly. We waited a few minutes, but when I restarted it the V8 made a loud clonking noise; main bearings gone for sure, I'm afraid.

The recovery truck carried was mercifully quick and carried the 409 to a nearby depot where it would have to be recovered this afternoon or tomorrow and transported back to Italy for what seems an unavoidable, complete engine rebuild. What makes me sad is that we will not be able to join the Run, after we had so carefully planned the whole thing months in advance....

I'll keep you posted about what Marco Gordini will find when he pulls out the sump of the V8. Lots and lots of tiny metal shards and the perspective of a HUGE bill, I'm sure.

Cheers from Italy,

Stefano

P.S.: how come I do not receive any more messages from the BOC in my mail folder?

--
Dr Stefano Pasini
Bologna
Italy
Stefano Pasini's Homepage