LE GANG

On one occasion I was with him, and we were waiting whilst some minor repairs were being made. I was about 10 or 11 at the time, and clearly bored waiting around. One of the mechanics asked if I wanted to see the ‘racing cars’. We went into a large store room, packed full of cars, including lots of Bristols, a line of Electric Cars made by Zagato which Bristol Cars were agents for, a Frazer Nash, Cooper Bristol and the aforementioned 450 Le Mans Car.

I tried both the Cooper and 450 for size (as did my father – over grown school boy). The 450 had no engine, the Cooper did. We were told the engine out of the 450 was in Mr Crook’s personal 404 (MPH 100D).

The 450 was dusty but complete. My father asked as to the fate of the others and was told they were ‘cut up’. The engines survived. I think there had been four of them. The remaining one has the G type ERA chassis. Perhaps that chassis was fitted with the least worn out bits of the others. I imagine it a lot more genuine than most old race cars though.

Back then (1979 at a guess) it looked original, with a thick coating of dust. The Cooper looked the same. That was Tony Crook’s personal car, a wide bodied one which had ‘half’ a passenger seat so it could run as a sportscar.

I later saw the 450 at a Bristol gathering in Kensington Gardens. Tony Crook showed up in it, with Trade Plates stuck on, having driven it up Kensington High Street from their Showroom. By then it had been re-painted, and an engine of some sort put in.

I understand it was sold to Simon Draper, along with a few other rarities Bristol Cars had such as a short chassis 406.

Agree that Bristol lost the way on the styling front (in my opinion after the 407), but few manufacturers had Le Mans cars lying around for their customers sons to try for size, or a Chairman with a Scalextric set in his office. Perhaps that was the attraction – they certainly looked after the customers.

Jonathan