1959 Arnolt Bristol

Classic Arnolt

SH Arnolt Inc. of Chicago and Warsaw Indiana sold four different manufacturer's cars with Bertone bodies during the period 1953 to 1968.

Stanley H. "Wacky" Arnolt was a Chicago industrialist, who began importing foreign cars in the 1950s to the United States. Though sold as American cars, the cars were true hybrids, with British mechanicals, Italian bodywork, and U.S. sales and distribution, as well as in some cases final assembly and body work. SH Arnolt Inc. was a licensed automobile manufacturer in the State of Illinois.
A fortuitous meeting with Bertone at the Turin Auto Show in 1952 resulted in four collaborative efforts between Arnolt and Bertone.
The first was the Arnolt-MG, a four seater Bertone bodied car based on the MG TD chassis and XPAG 54hp engine. The Arnolt MG was designed by Giovanni Bertone, his son Nuccio, and Giovanni Michelotti. Of a planned production of 200 cars, 103 have been documented as built between 1953 and 1954 (67 coupes and 36 convertibles). Out of this total, the whereabouts of 36 are unknown and three are known to have been scrapped (as of 1993).

The initial price was $3145. In 1954, MG informed Arnolt that it could no longer supply chassis and engines due to demand for its own complete cars (as well as the replacement of the TD by the TF), so Arnolt began looking for a larger engined car.

Arnolt Aston
An attempt to build a Bertone-bodied Aston Martin DB2/4 and sell it as an Arnolt Aston was stopped by Aston Martin after three cars were built. There were three Arnolt Astons designed by Bertone's fresh new designer - Franco Scaglione (chassis numbers LML50/502, LML 50/505 and LML 50/507). All looked very much like Scaglione's subsequent Arnolt Bristol, having sharply creased fender lines, and were open cars without hardtops. There were four additional Bertone Astons that were commissioned at Arnolt's request and went through Arnolt's hands. These four cars are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Arnolt Astons, but are not. These were 3 roadsters and 1 coupe. All of the seven Arnolt Astons still exist. One article refers to a possible eighth car, perhaps destroyed in the Chicago fire at Arnolt's factory. The cars were fitted with Aston's 125 hp, 2580 cc engine.

Arnolt Bentley
Arnolt also had Bertone design and build a Bentley, which resembles a larger version of the Arnolt MG coupe because it was also penned by Giovanni Michelotti who was working for Bertone at the time. This car was commissioned for SH Arnolt as a personal car. Bertone built the body on a 1953 R Type Continental chassis. The car was fitted with monogrammed flasks and glasses, and a special cosmetics compartment for Mrs. Arnolt. The car was originally painted gold and fitted with tan hides.

Classic Arnolt Bristol
Arnolt then negotiated with Bristol Cars Ltd in the UK for the purchase of 200 of their 404 series chassis and 1971 cc, six-cylinder 130 hp engines. According to an article by Wouter Melissen Arnolt needed to find a new chassis source to meet his obligation to Bertone, in whom he had invested heavily, after MG proved unable to fill the original order for 200 cars. The chassis Bristol supplied were sent to Carrozzeria Bertone where they received a highly aerodynamic body with a flowing design that allowed the minimal hood height to clear the cars' three single barrel Solex 32 carburetors. The bodies were designed by Bertone's new designer/aerodynamicist, Franco Scaglione (soon to be famous as the designer of the Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concept cars). The very tall Bristol engine created problems for designing a sleek-looking sports car. Franco Scaglione handled these with particular genius - first by incorporating a hood scoop to lower the surrounding sheet metal, and then by incorporating sharply creased fender lines out over the wheels to draw the eye's attention away from the unusually tall peak in the hood. A few design changes were requested by SH Arnolt.

Arnolt created a racing team for the Sebring 12-hour race, and in 1955, at their first attempt, the special lightweight cars finished first, second and fourth in the Sports 2000 class. The following year they took second and third in class. In 1957 the team withdrew after Bob Goldich's fatal accident on the first lap of his first stint in the car co-driven by Wacky Arnolt, while a privately-entered Arnolt Bristol finished fifth in class. 1960 brought a final class win, the team placing 14th, 22d and 39th overall.
The cars were available in four body styles: competition—a stripped road racer; bolide—a slightly better-appointed road racer; deluxe—a better-appointed version of the bolide (side windows and convertible top, instruments mounted in a housing in front of the driver, glove box set in the dash); and coupé, with pop-up headlights. At least one open car was subsequently fitted with a removable hardtop by S.H. Arnolt. Prices as per a 1956 factory letter were $3995 for the competition model, $4245 for the bolide, $4995 for the deluxe and $5995 for the coupe.

Factory options for the Arnolt Bristols included a front sway bar, remote shifter, 11 inch Alfin drum brakes, convertible top, bumpers, Borrani KO steel wheels (nine sets were sold, and one car was sold with Borrani wire wheels) and several different rear end gear ratios. A special racing fuel tank was installed in some of the race cars but was never offered for sale to the public. Late in 1959 and 60, the 12 inch bell shaped Bristol drum setup was offered and in 1961 Bristol front disc brakes were offered to retro fit to the Arnolt Bristol. The majority of the cars had steel bodies, with aluminum trunk and hood.

The cars came with an owner's manual, spares manual and shop workbook, as well as a spare wheel and tire and complete tool kit. Additional items such as Arnolt key fobs, neck ties, ice buckets and Arnolt logo head scarves were available from the company. A wide variety of promotional literature, including brochures and postcards, was also produced.

All of the cars were originally sold with Bristol BS1 MkII six cylinder engines; some have subsequently been fitted with other engines.

All Arnolt Bristols were built between January 14, 1953 and December 12, 1959. The majority were built in 1954 and 1959. A total of 142 cars were produced, of which 12 were written off after a factory fire. The fire-damaged cars were used as a source of spares by Arnolt in later years. The total production included six coupes, and two aluminum alloy-bodied cars. One of the cars was originally right hand drive: the rest were all left hand drive. One of the cars never received a body, and was used as a rolling chassis for auto shows. This chassis is still in the possession of the Arnolt family.

Approximately 85 of the cars are still known to be extant, in conditions that vary from needing complete restoration to concourse quality.
Despite the racing successes, the cars did not sell well.
Some of the cars did not sell until after 1960, and the last car to be sold, fitted with four headlights, remained unsold until 1968.

Common Misconceptions

A number of published sources have contained errors on the production numbers of the Arnolt Bristol. In part, this may be because some authors production or sales figures have been compared to existing copies of the SH Arnolt sales ledger. It is important to note that this ledger only records sales of the cars in the United States. As a result, European sales were not included. One result is that several sources claim only three coupes were built, when there were in fact six: one was sold in France and the other two in Spain (the chassis numbers of all of which are recorded in the Bristol Owner's Club registry.) At the Paris Auto Show in 1955, an up and coming actor, Lee Marvin, saw the Arnolt Bristol coupe and purchased it. In later years, Marvin would win the Oscar for Best Actor, and after his death, his ultra-rare Arnolt Bristol Coupe (the only Arnolt ever built with the coved front fenders that would inspire the Corvette designers) sold at auction for $451,000.

A second misconception is that the cars were originally fitted with any engines other than the Bristol six cylinder. All Arnolt Bristols were originally sold with the Bristol engine, and SH Arnolt did not fit any of the 283 Corvette engines some sources claim were sold by the factory. In later years, because of the spacious engine compartment, a variety of engines have been fitted to individual cars including Chevrolet 283, 351 and 454 engines, Pontiac 389, and Triumph V6.

A third misconception is that SH Arnolt built the cars. The Arnolt Bristol was built in Filton as a powered chassis; the body was fitted by Bertone in Italy, and only final assembly, fitting of options, prep work and (occasionally) paint and upholstery changes were done in Warsaw, Indiana.

The heart of the Bristol road cars was the old, but sturdy BMW 328 six cylinder engine. This engine was first used in England in the Frazer Nash badged 328s before the War and would be used into the 1960s. Bristol tuned the engine to produce over 130bhp, which was a power increase of 50bhp over the original unit. For this sporty chassis Arnolt had Bertone's Franco Scaglione pen a new roadster body. At the 1953 London Motor Show the new Arnolt Bristol was unveiled and received universal acclaim. There were three different versions available; the stripped down 'Bolide' racer, the luxurious 'Deluxe' road car and a coupe. Only a handful of the coupes were built, a fraction of the 142 car production run. It is believed that most of the cars were assembled in 1954 and 1955 with production pretty much ending in 1958, but one car kept for spares was sold to its first owner as late as 1968. In a fire at the Chicago headquarters at least 12 cars were destroyed, but around half of the remaining examples are estimated to have survived. Whereas the Deluxe Roadster was equipped with Connolly leather upholstery, a proper windscreen and full weather production, the stripped down Bolide was as bare as it got. Mechanically these two were virtually identical and the Bolide's racing successes throughout North America showcased the road car's potential. The deluxe can be distinguished by a different instrument layout and are equally sought after for competition purposes.

This Arnolt-Bristol was restored in 1969 by two friends and business partners from Baltimore, Joe Farace and Ron Snow whereupon they entered it into the 1970 Baltimore Auto Show. It was then sold in 1971 to a gentleman who drove it to work for a while and then sold it to George Towner of Annapolis, Maryland in 1973. He also owned another Arnolt-Bristol and, after moving to North Carolina, he drove both Arnolts down. It was then bought from the estate in 1984 and shipped to Maryland to began preparation for vintage racing. Mike Dicola, a specialist in vintage sportscars, did 90% of the work with other smaller works undertaken as and when. It was always reliable with the oil changed after each race as well as lubrication and sparkplugs. The last race was in 2002, its competition history proving, to date, its reliability and performance. When George Towner purchased the Arnolt as the 4th owner, it had just 27,487 miles on the odometer at inspection. When the vendor prior purchased the Arnolt, it had 32, 764 recorded. When it was sold most recently, it had 35,777 miles. That's 3,000 miles in 20 years.
Imported into the UK by the current owner in December 2004 and thoroughly checked over and prepared for the UK MoT test. All EU taxes were paid and it now carries the period UK registration, 758 UXL. Works done include sourcing and fitting a new engine sump to replace the cracked and repaired item; cleaning and setting up carburettors; rewiring car with new loom; stripping and replacing/refurbishing as necessary all brake components, new drum brake linings all round. Five new tyres fitted to re-painted correct Bristol wheels. Current MoT test certificate acquired on 15th February 2008 with a mileage showing of 36,353. It is likely, but cannot be proved, that this is the total mileage from new. Since coming to the UK, it has done fewer than 1,000 miles but has been kept on the road and exercised regularly. It is also worth noting that this car was featured in Classic and Sportscar magazine in August 2006 in an article celebrating the 60th anniversary of Bristol Cars.

For American vintage racing, it was fitted with a safety rollbar and 4 point harnesses, remote ignition cut-off and a new safety fuel cell in the boot. The original petrol tank is also supplied with the car. In all other respects, it is to original "deluxe" specification with windscreen wipers, full height glass windscreen, side screens in Perspex, original folding hood, correct seats, front small bumpers, full width rear bumper, chromed finishers for the front and rear side-light openings, small racing screen in Perspex (new) with correct small windscreen pillars and centre support. Also supplied with the car are photocopies of the Arnolt-Bristol owner's handbook and spares list.
A history file including numerous photographs of the car and owner competing in the United States plus a photograph showing Rene Dreyfus, the famous ex-Bugatti racing driver that "Wacky" Arnolt persuaded to act as Team Manager for the Sebring races in which Arnolt-Bristol's competed between 1953 to 1961 and driving this car in 1985.
There are probably only 80 cars remaining and this still in its original paint from 1969, it is rare to find such an enthusiastic competitor for historic road and track events such as this but with its history and pedigree, this comprehensively prepared example certainly deserves further inspection.