![Concours wins have been well earned for this classic Bristol 410 Classic & Sports Car – Your classic: Bristol 410](/sites/default/files/styles/article/public/2023-04/Classic%20%26%20Sports%20Car%20%E2%80%93%20Your%20classic%20%E2%80%93%20Bristol%20410%20%E2%80%93%2006.png?itok=xoJX3dUp)
After owning a 1977 Chevrolet Corvette for more than 20 years, I was getting to an age whereby the ‘rolling out’ of the car – as opposed to the more elegant ‘stepping out’ – was proving rather embarrassing in pub car parks.
It was time to find a replacement, then, but it had to be a right-hand-drive classic with a V8, an automatic gearbox and power steering.
After looking at various Gordon-Keebles and Jensens I decided on the Bristol 410.
![Corrosion on the classic Bristol 410’s aluminium wheelarches Classic & Sports Car – Your classic: Bristol 410](/sites/default/files/2023-04/Classic%20%26%20Sports%20Car%20%E2%80%93%20Your%20classic%20%E2%80%93%20Bristol%20410%20%E2%80%93%2001.png)
Owner Harry Crowther wanted to get rid of the corrosion – and the dark-green paint
It has a 5.2-litre Chrysler V8 and met my other criteria, too. When my wife, Pat (whose Sunbeam Tiger has also featured in Your classic), saw it she said it was “an old man’s car”, to which I said: “I am an old man!”
My Bristol was purchased from a chap in Kent. The trip home, between snowstorms and along A-roads, was troublesome in that the automatic ceased to engage when trying to exit a lay-by on the A303 (according to the supplied invoices, the car had received a rebuilt ’box six months earlier).
The RAC resolved the problem within 10 minutes: a split-pin at the base of the gearlever hadn’t been replaced correctly and was lying atop the gearbox.
![This Bristol 410 classic car during its one-year restoration Classic & Sports Car – Your classic: Bristol 410](/sites/default/files/2023-04/Classic%20%26%20Sports%20Car%20%E2%80%93%20Your%20classic%20%E2%80%93%20Bristol%20410%20%E2%80%93%2002.png)
The Bristol enjoyed a lengthy – and very thorough – restoration of its bodywork