1966 CHEVELLE STEERING WHEEL

Bristols - and the men who build them

'Bristol chassis are manufactured by small identifiable teams of men in such a way that a sense of responsibility and pride in the finished product are encouraged to an extent that is rare today'

They don’t make them like that any more. This is a common enough saying nowadays, almost always conveying regret. Sometimes it is merely an expression of prejudice, but there is sometimes substance in the underlying conviction that modern design is apt to be let down by inadequate detail work and skimped assembly.

A visit to the works of Bristol Commercial Vehicles Ltd. can be recommended as a tonic to operators who wonder whether the age of enthusiasm and personal responsibility at all levels is dead. I visit many chassis-building works, but I do not know of another where more interest and pride in the quality of the product can be found. And it extends from the management to the craftsman on the sbop floor.

At first glance the machine shops at the main Bath Road works in Brislington, Bristol, look much like those of another concern of comparable size and character. Although Bristol vehicles nowadays have engines and, in the case of the LH. other mechanical units which are brought out in complete form, the tradition of being self-sufficient for many smaller parts is still very much alive. Closer examination reveals some of the little touches which can make quite a difference in service.

A good example is the thread-rolling process which not only gives a superb finish but also adds immensely to the strength of screw threads produced, as compared to cutting. All Bristol wheel studs, the ball pins used in steering linkage and such parts as the studs used in the assembly of the drop-centre rear axles in the RE and VR models all have rolled threads. As another instance of the Bristol approach, brake drums are machined inside and out, with a 50 micro-inch limit on the internal finish.

Much skill goes into gear manufacture. Complete gear boxes are no longer made, but the drop-centre axles mentioned above and the remainder of the RE and VR transmission incorporate Bristol made gearing. The gear boxes used on the RE and VR models incorporate sets of epicyclic gearing supplied by Self-Changing Gears Ltd. but use casings and transfer gears, etc., produced at Bristol.

Pack carburizing is used to give consistent standards of hardening and every tenth gear is submitted to a hardness test. Every gear is crack-detected. MAAG gear-grinding machines are used and the grinding process may take up to two hours per gear. Another MAAG unit is used to check finished gear profiles, every sixth gear being checked as long as the profiles are within the required limits. Individual checks are made if discrepencies are discovered.

A pen traces the profile magnified 500 times and this enables the tooth profile to be accurately checked — 'barrelling' or variation of the curvature must be within 0.0006 in. and the surface finish within 21 micro-inches.

Crown-and-pinion gears are lapped in pairs and are never allowed to touch each other on the floor, thus avoiding burrs which could later cause trouble.

So far as assembly is concerned, the method used at the Chatsworth Road assembly works, a mile or so from the main factory, is largely to rely on single or two-man teams. These complete a unit, sub-assembly or even the chassis assembly itself. Building 18-20 chassis per week, it is possible in this way to give each man sufficient involvement in the job to give him a sense of responsibility.

Small teams of assembly fitters in the frame shop thus build up complete frames for example. One fitter and his mate build all the differentials and another the transmission sub-assemblies. Every axle is checked for correct meshing of gears after it is completed.

A fitter and mate team is responsible for the assembly of all major units into each frame, for which they are normally allowed 12 hours. A record is kept of the serial numbers of the chassis built up by each team. My own past experience of a goods-vehicle manufacturer using this method indicates that the standard of assembly is likely to be considerably better than applies when each man repeatedly fits only a small item to the chassis.

The chassis assembly fitter is responsible for water pipe assembly but fuel and air pipes are added by a pipe fitter and an electrician carries out the wiring. Air pipes are, incidentally, of stainless steel as standard on Bristol chassis.

As the chassis takes shape it is rolled in stages towards the front of the assembly shop, although there is no moving assembly-line track in the sense associated with mass-production chassis. Finally, the stage is reached when the engine can be started and the chassis driven away.

Any items found to be not working correctly are corrected in a rectification bay. The chassis test department then takes each chassis to its test running shop. The tester tests all units that can be

Only the very early cars had an oil pressure warning light and single indicator repeater within the speedo housing. Later cars had two indicator lights.
The centre console on the Lotus was unique as the cars had a dashtop ashtray, so had no need for the usual one by the gearlever.
The column switchgear is slightly shorter than in the standard Cortinas due to different diameter of the wood-rimmed steering wheel.
A 1963-spec Lotus Cortina steering wheel had studs set into the back of it, and in good condition is worth ?2000.
The front wings’ lips on the Lotus were rolled to allow fitment of the wider wheels (5.5J steels or alloys such as BRMs). The top joint between the wings and front panel should also be blended in at the ends rather than a continuous line. We have absolutely no idea why.
The bonnet badge on pre-Aeroflows reads Consul rather than Cortina, and OE ones are worth a fortune. Also the dash script on the first Lotus cars reads ‘deluxe’, and only later changed to ‘Cortina’.
Only the early cars have a smooth-topped oil filler cap, plain ‘Tudor’ washer fluid bottle and FoMoCo caps on the fluid reservoirs. And genuine bonnet stays are chrome with a black grommet, rather than repro items with a clear one.
There are 120 different combinations for the internals of Cortina locks, so with a lot of patience you can find a set so that just one key fits all the locks and ignition.
Original A-frame kits are stamped with ‘Lotus’ on the frame, and are incredibly hard to find because they were mostly knackered (by 1964 in some cases).
Only in the first year or so of production were the Mk1 Cortina rear lamp bezels made by Ford, before their manufacture was outsources to a firm called Butlers. Very early lamps have a sharper point in the centre.