"S.K. Whiteman" <WHITEMAN@IPFWVM.bitnet> writes:
>
> From: Garry Archer <yale!hsi!archer%harvard@harvunxw.BITNET>
>
> >1953 Bristol 404 Arnott sports car:
> > 6 cyls, 66 mm bore 96 mm stroke, 1971 cc capacity, ohv valves.
> > Compression Ration 9.0, 130 bhp @ 5500 rpm. Water cooled.
> > 3 Solex carburettors.
> > Wheelbase 8' 0.25". Track 4' 6". Length 13' 8". Width 5' 3.5"
> > Suspension: Front; independent transverse leaf. Rear; torsion bar.
> > Weight 18 cwt (2016 lbs). Top Gear Ratio 3.9. Tyre Size 5.50x16.
> > Maximum Speed 110 mph.
>
> Here in lays a point of confusion; is it 1953 or 1954. I have
> seen in Hemmings 1953 A-B's for sale, I have concluded that this
> citation must be in error, even thought the dimensions are right
> and appear to come from the sales promotion literature. I have
> a copy of the promo brochure. Unless the citation considers
> the first ones built in England. As I understand it, Arnolt
> shipped the bodies from Italy and the chassis from England
> and assembled them in Chicago. BTW: any of this may be wrong.
> The Autoweek article mentions that the author is/was working
> on a biography of Arnolt. I wrote to Autoweek about two months
> ago about this and have received no reply. Sorry to be soooo
> long-winded.... But, hey, this is becomming an obsession...
Sam,
I went back to my "The Complete Catalogue of British Cars" (1974)
that I obtained my info from. The authors, David Culshaw and Peter Horrobin,
discuss each criteria in their "Explanatory Notes to Tables". Here is
what they say about "Years":
The years during which a car was available from the manufacturers
are not always clearly defined - especially in the early days of
motoring. Some cars, although available on paper for a considerable
span of time, may only have been produced in any quantity during
the first one or two years. The converse is also true. Examples
of certain models are still running today which were first
registered two or even three years after production was supposed
to have ceased! The dates given in the tables are those during
which the model was, according to contemporary sources, available
from the manufacturers. Where a single date is quoted, this is,
in almost all cases, the date of introduction of the model,
although it is possible that examples of some models were available
in the year(s) before it was listed as a production car. A single
date (especially before 1920) does not necessarily indicate that
production was limited to that year alone as cars were invariably
assembled from components for some time after the initial
production period. However, after 1920 it can be generally assumed
that models given in a single date were available only during
that year.
Hope this helps to clarify any confusion.
Cheers!
Garry Archer Esq. archer@hsi.com
3M Health Information Systems, Wallingford, Connecticut, U.S.A.
"An Englishman never enjoys himself, except for a noble purpose." - A.P.Herbert
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