Bristol 401 coming up for auction

[DODD]

If anyone is looking for a project to see them through the winter months and probably a bit longer!

There is a 1950 Bristol 401 going under the hammer on November 18th, without reserve. Major project no doubt but probably very valuable for spares, if it’s too far gone to salvage.

Just in case the link below doesn’t work and anyone is interested, the Auctioneers are:-
Morris Leslie Vehicle Auctions Ltd
Errol Airfield
Errol
Perth PH2 7TB. (Scotland UK)

https://emea01.safelinks.protection....%3D&reserved=0

Brian

[Geoff Kingston]

What a shame, it looks like a stalled project as its on the Club data base along with photographs when it was painted blue before the paint was stripped, it was also described as in running order though I doubt that is the case now. It might be a viable project if someone can do the bulk of the work themselves, it probably depends on how much the rust has got at the main chassis.
I have two 401's which might be available if someone wanted to finish a project needing far less work.
Geoff.

[DODD]

Geoff,
The car is still listed on the DVLA website, under its registration number KYU791
The last V5C was issued by the DVLA on June 1st 2010. As you know, that in itself doesn’t mean a lot as in could be when the current owner acquired the car or he may have moved to a new home but as you said, the colour is noted as Blue.
Doing a quick google last night I found a couple of photos and took screenshots of both but decided not to post them, just in case there was some form of copyright on the photos!
However, the description attached to one of the photos noted it was sold on eBay for £4851.00. At that time it certainly looked a very viable project.
That said, the car was listed on another website:- ukbarnfinds.com around September this year, noting it’s coming up for auction. The photos on their website indicate it hasn’t been treated very well over the last few years.
I hope someone buys the car at a sensible price and manages to restore the car to its former glory. Good luck to the prospective buyer.
Brian

[Geoff Kingston]

Brian,
If it was closer I would go and have a look , I wondered if the back bumpers had been unbolted or the chassis extensions under the boot had collapsed , if the latter was the case then the main chassis would need a careful check.
If the back seat is missing I am sure someone in one of the clubs will have one, Graeme Payne at CBCPC and BODA will be able to supply parts as will some of the Specialists like SLJ and IN Racing, If I had sold one of my cars without buying a 603 to replace it I might well have been tempted myself.
There will also be plenty of advice available to a prospective buyer from owners who have rescued a 401 or 403.
Geoff.

[Des]

That is my old car, sold around 20 years ago and I recall seeing it for sale again some years later. I'm taken back at the current state, looks like it's been outside for a decade or so. When it left me it was tatty but in good running order, absolutely useable and very reliable other than having to replace the starter motor when it failed the day before the buyer travelled down from Scotland. I'd carried out much work, visited Mr. May often and used it a lot, constantly in good weather. It drove well, the structure was very sound, paint was poor but panelwork quite reasonable. I see it still bears a row of relays on the bulkhead which added discrete flashing indicators to complement the semaphores.
I think I still have the old starter somewhere, with its shorted armature windings, and I had sourced a pair of extortionately priced lamps for the rear bumper intending to undo the incorrect round ones but they disappeared before I could fit them, they turned up recently when I moved house, under stairs meter cupboard.

[Geoff Kingston]

It is sad that this happens all too often and looking at the photographs on the auctioneers website I suspect the rear bumper has been damaged in the process of moving the car so its likely the chassis extensions under the boot to which the bumper is mounted may have given way. On one of my 401's they required localised repairs, but on the other one acquired mid way through that project it looked as though they had either been replaced or if not substantially rebuilt. The good thing is the car looks substantially complete and being one of the early body styles which you do not see very often now it may encourage someone to restore it rather than buy it for spares.

[Des]

If I remember correctly, the bumpers were rubber mounted, so that rear may well have been torn off during retrieval rather than dropped off due to rot. Here's a pic of the underside back when petrol was sub £/litre, wonder how it looks now. It's a rare car being a ridgebottom, if it's too far gone to put right economically, maybe it could be rebuilt as a convertible, its reg is only a digit away from one of the originals.

[William401]

I was in the area and called at the auction house for a quick look at the 401.
The body is in pretty good condition however the chassis has succumbed to being outside for many years. The rear of the main chassis is badly rusted and holed at the rear corners. Most of the outriggers are holed. Much of the interior seems to be missing and there is a small plate on the engine block in the usual place where it cracks. I've attached photos of the right hand rear corner of the main chassis and the left hand corner looking forward as well as a view of what I could see of the rear left hand end of the chassis where the bumper would mount. Unfortunately I was in clean clothes for a meeting and sans boiler suit so didn't crawl about much. I still got grubby tho.