Indicator switcch

A quick check of the parts books for the 400 to 405 confirmed that Bristol used the Lucas 031046 indicator switch shown on the bottom of the last page this is a mechanical electrical switch as opposed to the Lucas 31250 on offer through a few suppliers who say its interchangeable with the original unit, this could well be the case BUT its a vacuum operated unit so not a straight forward alternative fit, this unit is also shown in beölow.

Lucas-Lighting-Direction-Indicator-Switch

Book about Bristol racing wins “Publication of the Year” Award by Octane

Congratulations are due to Michael Barton and Simon Charlesworth as Aero Dynamic has just won the Octane Magazine historic motoring awards Publication of the Year, a well deserved result for the publisher and author for a very compelling and special book.

400 sidelights

The Bristol 400 side lamp was Lucas type 1145 and part number 52070A (chrome plated body). That was a continued use of a pre-war design of lamp (type 1145, sometimes with a black finish body), which itself was a variation on a similar but larger/longer lamp of the same style that was introduced in about 1935 (Type 1150, usually chrome plated body – used by Humber on their 12 and 18 HP models from 1935 to 37)

A similar lamp was used by Ford on their English built V8 models from about 1935 onwards. That was probably made by Butlers and is quite like Lucas 1145 at a glance but shares no parts with it (Lucas lenses are horizontally ribbed, Ford lenses have raised lumps on either side of a central groove)

Lucas 1145 was used as follows for production models (other occasional uses would probably have been seen from coachbuilders or on specials):

  • Bristol, to 1950
  • Commer, 30 cwt and 2-to-6-ton, normal control (Superpoise), 1939 to 1947 (with a likely pause in the use of that lamp during the war on the equivalent military requirement models)
  • Lea-Francis, 1948
  • Vauxhall Big Six, 1934 to 1936

(Note that the non-Lucas information has not yet been checked against documentation)

I have attached two small photos showing out of date images from eBay auction listings.

Hugh Boultbee

Bristol 400 in The Automobile magazine

In the November 2022 issue of The Automobile

NO ORDINARY BRISTOL Ordered new by the chairman of the Bristol Aeroplane Company, then driven for a decade by arch-enthusiast Christopher Balfour, then uprated and campaigned in hill climbs and sprints by its next owner, this 1948 Bristol 400 is now in the hands of a young enthusiast. Toby Bruce tells its story……..

Nice video from Jay Leno about his 403

A great sell for the 403!

Bristol Handbooks & Manuals

In order to improve accessibility we have now put all the manuals (Instruction Manuals, Spares Handbooks and Workshop Manuals) into a password-protected dedicated area in the Archive under Bristol Manuals.

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“BACK ON THE ROAD – Michael Ware visits a recently restored 1953 Bristol 403”

There is a nice report in the September issue of The Automobile on the restoration of Andy Gibbs’ 403. It is well worth reading!