BRISTOL 403 #1404, MARCH 2013
 

25 March 2013: the 403 is stripped to assess her condition

Before we look at the details of the unrestored '403-1404', please let me say that I am very pleased with her. When searching for classic cars or turntables, motorcycles etc, I always prefer to purchase 'complete' items with all their original parts even if in bad shape. Then I like to go on with a 'rolling restoration' so I can check personally every step of the process. This might be more tricky and surely more expensive than buying a very good item to begin with, but then, where's the pleasure of working on a classic thoroughbred to make it as good as new once again?

The chap who sold me this 403, an esteemed B.O.C. member, was very honest about her condition and didn't hide any of her problems. In fact, he did help rectifying some of them before having the car shipped to Italy, so the 403 arrived here in complete and driveable condition, though a fair bit of cleaning and some body work will definitely improve on her. The price was fair and I'm very happy to be now the owner of one of the best 2-Litre Bristols; according to G.C. Oxley-Sidey, famed President of the BOC for so many years, the 403 is "...a 401 with all its bugs taken out." (scroll down to read the article on the BOC Bulletin where mr Oxley-Sidey explains his thoughts.)

The headlining is collapsing

This view from the inside of the boot is unusual

Filler....

ENOTS tank

One of the more 'troubled' parts of the body is the frame around the rear screen. The original paint is rough here

It seems that I'm in the market for a pair of Lucas L464 rear stop/reverse lamps (complete set, not the lens alone.) The twin-lamp L464 is apparently quite rare

Somehow, the original and splendidly quirky ENOTS lubricating system lost some tubes. They will be connected again...

The tubes in the front, supporting the aluminum 'nose',  are rusted and the wooden supports for the door cards are not much better. No big deal, here

The goal would to preserve as much of the original car as possible to have an 'Oily Rag' 403. We'll see if it will be worth the effort.... For example, the original leather is quite worn out but I'm trying to preserve it anyway

Dr Marco Makaus, the organizer of the 2013 and 2014 Mille Miglia, famed Rolls-Royce connoisseur and collector, seems genuinely puzzled and wonders why I am so happy of diving deep in this adventure....

 The button to start the engine under the hood is one of the details that really sets a car like this apart from so many other good sports cars of that era

A simple round of sandblasting makes a huge difference.... the grilles had been painted black but once cleaned they return to their original aluminum and they're pretty

THE BRISTOL HISTORY - CHAPTER II

(From Bulletin No. 50, summer 1979)

BY G.C. OXLEY-SIDEY

The Type 403 — or the Big Step Forward

By 1953 the Type 401 Bristol had been in production almost four years. During that time it had gradually been improved and was now in many respects a handier and more responsive vehicle than in its original form. There still seemed to be a healthy demand, so that it came as something of a shock in June, 1953, to read that "Old Faithful" had been replaced by the Type 403. It should be explained that the designation of 402 had been given to the convertible version of the 401, but only twenty-five examples were made.

In general appearance the 403 differed very little from the model it replaced. From a cursory examination of externals, about all that might have been noticed was that the Bristol roundels (or ‘medallions’ to quote the spares manual) were red instead of yellow, and that the radiator grill had received a special silvered finish. The numerals '403' appeared on each side of the bonnet, and again on the boot. And that was about all— on the surface.

Actually there were a number of worth-while improvements, making the car faster and simpler to drive and, quite as important, much easier to stop. So far as the engine was concerned there was a new unit designated the 100A, replacing the tried and true 85C, though externally there was little difference. As its number suggested, no less than one hundred brake horse power was developed, compared with the 85 bhp produced by the old unit, and this at only 500 rpm more  — i.e. at 5,000 rpm instead of the 85C's 4,500. This considerable improvement was due to a new overlap camshaft, plus a new cylinder head with larger inlet valves. As some unfortunate 401 owners found to their cost, the quality of aluminium in some of the earlier cars varied, so that galvanic corrosion occurred in both the cylinder head and front and rear bumpers. Steps had been taken with the 403 to alter material specifications to avoid this danger. In addition the crankshaft was sturdier; there was a bigger oil sump and an oil pump of larger capacity was fitted. The compression ratio remained at 7.5/1 on the early 403s, but this was changed to 8.5/1 for later examples.

Perhaps it was in the delicacy of handling that there was the biggest difference between 401 and 403 cars, and this was due partly to an alteration to the dampers, but much more so from the fitting of an anti-roll bar to the front suspension. The result was a car that was a sheer joy to drive under almost any road conditions, with understeer the main characteristic, though an experienced driver, if he wished, could provoke oversteer as well. Living standards were rising, and the opportunity had been taken to improve the heating and ventilating system, so that the driver might choose between fresh or recirculated air within the ‘cabin’ as the factory still called the interior of the car.

Late model 401s had been fitted with a new Borg-Warner gearbox, and this with the same ratios, 3.9, 5.04, 7.12 and 14.08, was used on the 403. The ratios on the early 401s had been 3.9, 5.51, 8.48 and 16.77, which may explain the story told by the Club's first Honorary Treasurer, the late Cecil Miller. He had had experience of the 401s with the low bottom gear, and when he bought his 403 had no hesitation, while on holiday near Minehead, Somerset, in stopping for a picnic at the foot of a very steep hill. When he tried to drive up, the bottom gear of the 403 proved too high, and in the end he made a slow progress to the summit in reverse....

Gears were still changed by the long wand-like lever known amongst factory staff as ‘the porridge stirrer’, but properly set up, gears could be selected with speed and absolute certainty, and this method remained in use until almost the end of the 403, when some of the last examples were fitted with the neat little control, first seen on the Type 404, but also used on the 405 and 406 cars.

While no-one could have called the brakes on the earlier 401s inefficient, the fact remained that abnormally high foot pressure was sometimes required to make a crash stop under emergency conditions — indeed I recall once, in France, one such incident when the car stopped all right, but all the stitching in the driver's seatback was burst, as I shoved my brake foot down as hard as I could to avoid a small child who had just fallen off her birthday bicycle. While actual changes to the leverage had been made, probably the main reason for the 403's better braking stemmed from the fitting of the Alfin brake drums. Early cars had four of these, one at each ‘corner’, but later examples had them on the front wheels only. It is said that some 401 owners tempted the early 403 drivers to sell their rear wheel Alfins for very attractive sums....

Among several minor improvements might be mentioned the very simple method for taking up wear in the rack and pinion steering, and the internal arrangements made to prevent the fuel tank blowing back on filling. In the boot a light was fitted, making late arrival at an hotel almost a pleasure, while the trickle charger plug was repositioned to permit easier access. Anti-splash plates were put into the engine compartment and the wiper motor was moved to a quieter position. 

Some 401 owners who had changed to the new model complained that the bulkhead and floor panels were not made of the resin-bonded textile materials used on the earlier cars. But while one might regret the passing of a link with the Bristol aircraft from which these were derived, the fact remained that foam rubber and plastics were now readily available that were just as good acoustically and much cheaper.

Despite the higher performance available, there was little change in fuel consumption, 24 mpg being quoted at a steady 60 mph instead of 26 mpg for the 401. Production of the Type 403 continued until 1955, by which time three hundred had been made so that it is one of the rarer Bristol models. The very last few examples can be easily distinguished by the tiny parking lights mounted above the front wings, and some half dozen were fitted, to special order, not only with the 404 type remote gear lever, but with overdrive as well.

With their perfect weight distribution, powerful engines, good brakes, excellent road-holding and general refinement, it is no wonder that owners tend to retain their 403s, cherishing them as the definitive fast-back Bristol.