Wings & Wheels

Last weekend I went to Henham, near Southwold in Suffolk to Wings & Wheels 2010. Lots of interesting cars (although there were no other Bristols) and some spectacular flying. For much of the day a succession of light aircraft used the airfield, but the highlight of the day were the Breitling Wingwalkers - the world's only aerobatic formation wingwalking team.


They performed a breathtaking sequence of acrobatic manoeuvres and handstands whilst strapped to the top wings of Boeing Stearman biplanes. These manoeuvres included, loops, rolls, stall turns and even inverted flight! During all of this, the wingwalkers experience speeds of up to 150 mph and 'G' forces of up to 4G!

Oh I don't like to be beside the Seaside ...

Sunday was the 40th anniversary of the Ipswich to Felixstowe run. However true to form for an English Bank Holiday Weekend the weather was atrocious. Heavy rain and strong winds lashed the park in Ipswich while we waited to set off, and although the drive to Felixstowe wasn't too bad, once at Felixstowe the rain started again and the wind whipped up the sea. 2 other Bristols accompanied me (another 410 and a 411 S4) but we didn't stay long. Neil didn't even get his ice-cream.

Dodgy Dip Switch in Ipswich

Driving through Ipswich at night the urgent flashing of other drivers alerted me to a problem. When Neil pulled up behind another car he realised that my headlights were not on, only my sidelights. He checked the headlight switch and found it to be on then flashed the lights using the column stalk – only to find all 4 headlights coming on as they should and startling the driver in front. He pulled off into a retail park where a furniture store had thoughtfully built a glass-walled showroom ideal for testing one’s lights. Various switches were tried again until a press of the floor mounted dip switch restored normal functioning. 

This was of course forgotten about until he needed to use the headlights again and found the same problem. Last weekend he decided to investigate further and after studying my wiring diagram concluded that it must indeed be the floor mounted dip switch that was playing up. Armed with a screwdriver and multimeter he contorted enough to remove the switch, pressed it by hand and observed sparks emanating from the underside behind the connections. A check with the multimeter confirmed current was at least flowing to the switch, so Neil put everything back to make sure it did not get lost and went inside to look for a new one. A quick search online found a remanufactured switch on the original Lucas part number on the Holden’s site and this was ordered. 

He replaced the switch today, reconnecting the 3 wires in the correct order, and straight away normal functioning was restored. We went out for a celebratory drive, and just to make sure checked the switch on our return home.

The floor mounted dipswitch is such a useful device, freeing up the hands and giving the left foot something to do, that it's surprising that it no longer appears on new cars. Perhaps the desire to provide a proper place to rest the left foot took precedence, or perhaps the Blenheim still has one?

Bristol Owners’ Club Christmas Lunch

Neil was going to wash me on Sunday before we left for the Bristol Owners’ Club Christmas lunch near Bury St. Edmunds. However, as it was still raining he decided against this using the excuse that I would only get dirty again. By the time we got there it had stopped raining and the sun was out. We parked up next to a 404 in front of the hotel and Neil quickly disappeared inside.

Neil had told me this was going to be Nick Challacombe’s last official event as Regional Secretary but when Neil eventually came out I was surprised to learn that he had become the new Secretary. Not as surprised as Neil apparently who had been asked and had accepted before he had a chance to get to the bar.

By all accounts everyone inside enjoyed the lunch and I was happy to be in the company of 5 other Bristols in front of the Hall; a 404, a 407, another 410 and 2 603s.

Fighter T vs. Veyron

Sunday 1 November was the date of the Bristol Owners’ Club Heritage Trust Lecture. This was held at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and was presented by Toby Silverton, the Chairman of Bristol Cars.

The subject of Toby’s lecture was the development of the Fighter – Bristol’s 8 litre, V10 supercar. Launched in 2003, the Fighter was entirely developed from scratch to meet the uniquely demanding requirements of a sports car capable of well over 200 miles an hour.

The ergonomics of driving a Bristol have always been exemplary so it was interesting to learn that the process of designing the Fighter started with a full size mock-up of the driving position with the car taking shape around it. The result is a car that is supremely elegant but with a steely hint of aggression - a perfect example of the beauty that inevitably results when form exactly follows function.

During the lecture we learnt that the gull-wing doors are a practical solution to access in tight spaces, that the aerodynamics are not only shared with aircraft (as you would expect) but with submarines, and that at 1012 bhp and with a potential maximum speed of more than 270 mph the Fighter T is the most powerful and fastest production car in the world.

There were comparisons with the Bugatti Veyron, which the popular press would have you believe holds that title, which highlighted the difference in approach taken by Volkswagen when trying to design the most powerful car in the world (I don’t think Bristol set out to do this – it just happened because some of their customers simply wanted more than the standard Fighter’s 550 bhp).

When compared to the Fighter T the Veyron, at 3 times the price, is a ridiculous car; the first (and cheapest) service costs £13,645, the tyres need to be changed at only 2,500 miles at a cost of £6,325 each, the wheels themselves then need changing at every third tyre change at a total cost of £29,900, the sump swallows 42 litres of oil, and it has the drag coefficient of a brick at 0.42 (a Ford Mondeo is 0.31 and the Fighter T is only 0.25).

Many thanks to Dave Alan, Michael Barton and the trustees of the Heritage Trust for setting up the event.

Anti-wind Noise

Neil has always found wind noise an irritation even after having the anti-wind noise kit fitted by Bristol Cars in 2007. That reduced the problem slightly but there was still an incomplete seal around the doors that resulted in a roaring noise above 70mph. Perhaps things seemed better in 1967 when judged by the standards of the day, but in comparison to modern cars – well there is no comparison.

Neil has been pondering the problem on and off, trying various secondary seals without much success, but recently found self-adhesive neoprene strips which he has fitted around the tops of my door frames. The strips are 15mm wide and 5mm deep and quite effectively fill the gap between the top of the door and the door opening.

The roaring noise has now been greatly reduced but Neil still thinks further improvements can be made and will carry on experimenting, but for now high speed travel has become more comfortable. One side effect is that the noise of my engine can be more appreciated and enjoyed by those occupying the cabin.

Nelson's Revenge

Neil has gone off to Norfolk and left me behind (something about logistics) but he has sent me a brief and baffling text message probably brought on by a combination of alcohol and sunstroke; Place - Old Hunstanton, Family - in bed, Pub - The Lodge, Beer - Woodforde's Nelson's Revenge, mood - relaxed!