My Bristol 400 before and after. And a little advise

Just a week ago we received  two photos from Peter Stalwag in Germany. Click the main one for a few years fast forward... We would love to start a series of Before & After stories, provided that you send them to us. So you're most welcome!

Here's Peter's report:
"My Bristol, of the secound series, was finished at Filton works, on 24. April 1950, in heather grey, and delivered to Universal Motors, on 16. May 1950. First Owner was a Mr. F. Warren, from Barnsley, Yorkshire.

A Mr. Paul Wilson found the car under a tree in about 1992 and sold it to Ian Thomson, who restored it. Just very shortly before finishing, he had to sell it.

That was the short story before my Bristol time.

My grandfather had a BMW 327/28, which he bought in 1940. The car was rescued in the 80s by a man near Berlin. He got in contact with my father because of some questions during the restoration. This gave the initial idea of looking for a  similar car for me. This was in 2002 and it appeared that pre-war BMWs were too expensive for me. Luckily I found a book at Techno Klassika in Essen - more exact at the BMW exibition stand - about the famous 328. The last chapter of the book explains how all went on after the war. This was the very first time I heard from Bristol cars!

I decided that this was a great car for half the price of a BMW, with the famous 328 engine.
After looking for some month's arround in the relevant magazine's, I decided to contact a british specialist and asked him to look for me for a nice Bristol 400.

Now I did what people always say never to do.  I bought unseen, only from pictures. So I sent over 19800,- English pounds shortly before christmas 2002 and then waited for an answer. Everything went fine and on 10th of Jannuary I saw my Bristol the first time in real at  Dover.

It looked really nice and ran fine, besides a little smell of petrol, which became more critical, when we left the ferry at Calais.

As the oil preasure was a little bit low and idling with a hot engine was a bit smokie, I decided two years later, to rework the engine and also renewed the front axel's king pins bushes.

Well since then, I enjoy my Bristol very much and have no more problems, still doing everything needed, by myself, which is part of that fantastic passion.

Unfortunately I can not add a actuell picture as I have only analog paper pictures. The only two picture, I can add are from Ian Thomson, before and after the restoration, which is very interesting. Now the car is in dark green cellulose paint, and is in condition 2-, as the cellulose paint is aging faster, with small cracks."

Editor: well Peter, you may have done a not so very wise thing with buying unseen, yet you have been extremely lucky with relatively little problems. I think if we would invite a few more people who bought cars unseen that horror stories would pile up in no time. People please be careful!

READ this (click here)   Please !
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then please read at least the not so long paragraph 2 (click here)

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