BRISTOL 403 #1404, MARCH-APRIL 2013
29 March 2013: first cleaning,
repair
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 Mille Miglia and famed Rolls-Royce connoisseur and collector, seems genuinely puzzled and wonders why I am so happy of diving deep in this mess....
The button to start the engine under the hood is something 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
3-5 April 2013: a short test and more stripping
A short test drive (only a few hundres yards) conformed what I expected. The good points:
- Superb engine, good oil pressure, easy to start;
-Great gearbox, slick and light;
-Good clutch;
-Light steering.
Now the bad ones:
-Almost no brakes;
-Crunching noises coming from the front wheels;
-Half of the instruments and lights not working;
-Interiorevidently falling apart.
Repair must begin somewhere, in #1404 it begun with fixing the support of the boot lid
Alfin drums looks nice once sandblasted
Front bumper and air scoop removed, a bit more rust. Surprisingly both the radiator and engine blocks look 'dry'; no leaks
It's all working fairly well, though cosmetically it's not so attractive....
When you look closely at a 403, you see lots of wonderful details. The 'Aerodynes' are smooth, superbly conceived, built to an equisite standard and every detail on them is clearly the result of a 'different' school of design, one that comes directly from aeroplane projects.
This is not just another obvious, abused convention about 2-litre Bristols, you really understand this design quality when you look at the detail work on these cars. No external handles, flush door buttons, very small roof gutters, bumpers and lights nicely integrated in the overall shape make the 403 a true aero icon.
This design integrity can be understood only by a handful of well-trained connoisseurs, and this probably explains why the classic-cars brigade (more like an Armada nowadays) doesn't yet understand the subtle elegance of design of these 2-litre wonders.
