Arnolt Bristol, Mille Miglia (year of manufacture)

[Kenneth Andrén]

Hello,

Altough an Arnolt Bristol never ran in the Mille Miglia in the 50's they are all eligible to participate today and the entries are always accepted.
No matter if it is a Standard (Bolide), DeLuxe, Competition or Coupe as long as it is titled as 1957 or earlier. I checked with the organizers as I plan to participate with my Arnolt Coupe in 2015.
No Arnolt ever raced i Europe in period apart from the solo flat out "race" up and down the Filton runway testing the aero dynamics.

I have been following the Mille Miglia over the years and about 10 Arnolt Bristols have been entered so far.
At the start last year in Brescia two Arnolts were at the ramp and I also watched them passing Verona later in the evening. Don't know if they finished.

If you check out the organizers website they have listed all eligible cars and models.

Regarding the year of manufacture all the Arnolts were built in batches by Bertone. The last batch in 1959.
For years I have been trying to find out if all the chassis were sent out in batches from Filton in 1953 and 1954, apart from the prototypes, or not.

I have asked people employed at Filton at that time but no one can tell.
Probably they were all sent out as soon as they were completed (as they were already paid for FOB Filton) to be stored somewhere in Torino awaiting orders from Arnolt for Bertone to complete the cars.

I have one photo showing five chassis being prepared for shipping by Bristol and you can clearly see 3138 and probably my Coupe 3137 alongside. The last but five chassis built but finished as complete cars already in 1956.

My Coupe was finished in October 1956 and sent from Genua to Madrid in Spain via Barcelona.
And titled 1956 by the Spanish authorities as an Arnold (!) Bristol Coupe although the chassis plate says Roadster....So either my car was intended to be a roadster or Bertone had no coupe plates left. Or didn't bother... The answer is probably that they were built at random.

Same situation with the engines fitted to certain chassis. Normally the numbers are not that far away from the chassis numbers. Strange that the Car Division of the Bristol Aeroplane Co fitted the engines at random, but they did.

My 3086 has engine 286, again at random, but nice to have. My 3137 has engine no 339.

Kenneth,
Mobile +46 708 639401

[Geoff Dowdle]

Kenneth ,
As you possibly know the Prototype Arnolt was fitted with engine FNS1/49 and all others with BS1 Mk11 starting at #201
So your 3086 with engine 2086 is basically in sequence , other Arnolts are reasonably cost to sequence ,

Your 3137 with engine number 339 is only two numbers out .

Geoff