Photos of BODA BRDC Lunch Meeting on 27 May
On the Events page there are many photos and a short video from the BRDC Lunch at Silverstone on 27 May.
Derek Hughes Obituary
I met Derek around 2000 at one of his club evenings and another member found my 411 for me. Derek bought his 400 around 1970 but was doing more important things such as bringing up his family with Heather and working very hard for the great North East company Head Wrightson as an electrical engineer.
His best job was in New Zealand building a steel works. The family was there a long time so he learned to sail, which he continued in Yorkshire and typically helped to run the club.
Derek retired early with ill health. This meant he dived in to Bristol matters. Derek never did anything by half. He ran a strong North East section organising meetings, lunches, outings etc. There is a very big car show at Newby Hall near Ripon. He ran a Bristol display for years, one year he persuaded nearly 20 Bristol car owners to show their cars.
Derek wrote many articles for Bristol owners and sourced many difficult to find parts some of which he had made at his own expense. He is best known for his overdrive conversion for early Bristol cars. He was the first to do it spending long periods working out the shape of the casting so the conversion could be fitted with hardly any alteration to the car. He had to organise patterns, castings and machining then doing any extra work himself. He did of course make all the electrical bits himself at home. He made over 110 conversions.
Derek helped so many owners but liked things doing his way.
He was a true friend and is sadly missed.
Bill Lawson. 16th March 2023
Regional and Local Events
The BODA Forum contains a Topic under Upcoming Events where members and Regional Coordinators can enter local events in their area. Click here to access this.
Currently we have Coordinators for East of England, Ireland South West and North West. Please let us know if you would like to be a Coordinator for one of the other regions.
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.
Fighter Article in Evo Magazine
There is a 10 page article (including photographs) on the development of the Bristol Fighter in the latest issue of Evo magazine. The article has been written by Peter Tomalin with clear input from Toby Silverton and SLJHackett in respect of the continuation cars currently being built. Silverton gives his account and account of the demise of Bristol Cars in 2011.
Jensen C-V8 Alternative Parts list
I just came across it and although it is for the Jensen CV8 some parts common to Bristol are mentioned and the other alternatives are interesting as they are listed in the groups that mention Bristol.
However do not assume that all parts in the list fit our Bristol cars!
Geoff Kingston
http://jensencv8.weebly.com/c-v8-alternative-parts-list.html
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……..
BODA Regional Co-ordinators
We want to develop better links across the membership. In the UK we are setting up regions based on geographical areas. We now have coordinators for the South West, South East and Ireland Regions but we need volunteers for the rest of the country.
It is hoped that the co-ordinator would look to arrange gatherings of the members within their area and perhaps working with other co-ordinators to link members across areas for gatherings or events.
Please click on the following link for more information.
Pegasus Parts News
The Pegasus team felt an update on recent and current projects might be of interest to members. Recently, the supplier we had secured for windscreen rubbers decided to retire and his equipment was sold to a supplier who relocated to Poland and so our source was lost. I am glad to say Bill Lawson has secured a supplier who can manufacture to the correct Shure hardness which is important for the seal to secure both the window and trim and avoid cracks at the radius. This seal fits all the cars from the 406 onwards, so well done Bill. A more detailed communication is due imminently on this.
Trevor Wilks has identified suppliers for most of the front screen and a number of the rear screens and this information has been reported in BODAcious. Over recent months, Pegasus has funded him to look at rear screens for some of the cars where a supplier was not identified. It appears the same rear screen fits the 406 to 410. Pilkington have agreed to develop a mould to produce a supply of screens, the cost of which will be built in to the cost of the screens. At present 14 of the potential 100+ members with suitable cars have expressed an interest in obtaining a screen and it appears Pilkington will do a first run. The product will have heater elements so those with older cars who would prefer a heated screen with all it benefits should contact Pegasus promptly to secure one. Future batches are likely to require a minimum of 25 items.
Andy Gibbs has secured the supply of door pulls for the early 400 cars and has sold the first batch of castings. In addition, we have been approached to consider whether it would be practical to re-make the Pegasus wing badges for the 406. The costs of this development were prohibitive for numbers which people were seeking so it was not a project which the team could support.
The Pegasus team have also evaluated the development of brake discs as it was suggested that there was no commercial supplier for a number of models. After careful consideration, due to the safety significant nature of the product, it was felt the complex quality assurance demands of production, the potential risks to owners and others should the QA not be appropriate and the associated indemnity risks were such that the project was abandoned. Pegasus has made a decision not to engage in the production or marketing of brake discs. As it transpires, further investigation showed the initial concerns were unfounded and the team has identified commercial suppliers for brake discs for our cars. The Team can provide members with the details of those companies who are able to provide quality assured products.
Finally, if members require any of the above or have concerns over access to parts for their car, do flag these up to the team and they will review our information to identify possible sources and suppliers. It is from this work that future Pegasus projects develop. All you have to do is fill out our Parts Enquiry form with your requirements. This form can be found under Pegasus Parts on the website but is available to members only.
Keep safe
Mike Hallissey
“Munich Masterpiece”
For the historically interested amongst us, there is an interesting article in June 2021 issue of The Automobile magazine. Delwyn Mallett relates the story behind the development of the BMW 328 including its remarkable engine which of course eventually went on the power the Bristol 2-litre cars. The author eventually fulfils his dream of getting to drive a 1939 example.
Well worth reading!