Off-road Bristol!

No, not a new SUV, but news (belatedly!) that my 411 has been off the road for some weeks over the last of the summer due to a perished hose emptying the system of coolant! Fortunately I managed to stop before too much harm was done, in spite of it happening on a stretch of motorway. However, some weeks have passed since the occasion as I have searched for time and the parts to fix the problem.

In short, the mount of the lower pipe from the radiator to the engine block, where it meets the block, had started to give in. There had been some signs of impending doom as on a few occasions I had found the car releasing steam in spite of the fact that the temperature guage, which I consider reliable, had not found its way into the danger zone. I kept topping the car up though and the problem remained intermittent.

Until, that is, one morning whilst returning to Windsor from Marlow when slowing down in heavy traffic gave the steam opportunity to engulf the front of the car! I stopped soon after.

My thanks go to those on the Bristol Enthusiasts Email Forum who offered advice on locating replacement hoses. After spotting that the upper hose had different diameter ends, I decided to visit some motor factors for a match rather than risk a bad fit from something ordered over the net. Problem is, most factors hold many pieces of hose and seemed unable to produce an obvious match easily (this may be different if you found one that stocked original Mopar parts, but they are few and far between in Blighty). So I gave Mr Morelli at Bristol Car Services a call and he supplied a silicone Blenheim hose for a reasonable £45. It is a different length - the Blenheim looks to have the radiator mounted closer to the engine, as the piece is shorter - but this doesn't matter as I'll just hack it and use either end on the metal tube that bridges the two rubber hoses on the 411. Job done! Or at least it will be if the rain stops for Sunday.

I know I have been remiss with updates, but as soon as the car gets back on the road I'll post more details, including all costs to date which I have to say are pretty unsignificant (hose, oil and a new radio aerial!).