Bristol 409-7355 as found by the previous owner in 1999

This picture was taken in 1999, when 409-7355 was found in a garage where it had been stored for 18+ years following this minor accident. The car was born silver M607 and had been repainted in this 'Battleship Grey' very early in its life, maybe when the second owner purchased it around 1970

The 18 years spent under the dust in a garage showed in the poor condition of the paintwork, but the body was sound. A classic car enthusiast can only dream of a 'barn find' of this quality

The interior of 7355 looked quite bad after so many years of careless storage

The main problem of 7355 when I bought it was the poor quality of the respray. Paint was flaking in several areas and my guess is that the primer coats had not been applied correctly. It is surprising to see that it was resprayed stripping the paint but leaving the windscreen, door frames, rear screen etc in place. Seeing this pictures made me think that my 409 deserved a really thorough restoration and a proper paint job