Arnolt-Bristol Prototype

The Arnolt-Bristol Prototype: Its History and Restoration

Its History and Restoration Ed Howell and Pam Martorano

Ed Howell and Pam Martorano

The Arnolt-Bristol Prototype

The Arnolt-Bristol Prototype Its History and Restoration

Ed Howell and Pam Martorano Photography of completed car by Dave Howard Oil painting on cover by Charles Maher a.f.a.s.

Contents Introduction 5 A Brief History of Arnolt-Bristol Cars

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History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

16

Ownership History of Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000

25

Timeline of Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000

26

Research and the Quest to Find Parts

30

Mechanical Restoration

38

The Appenzeller Brothers

52

Photo Gallery of Completed Car

59

Author’s Note

69

Acknowledgements 70

Introduction As a young boy, I frustrated and disappointed my parents when they gave me mechanical toys for Christmas and birthdays.

Invariably I would take them apart soon after receiving them because I simply HAD to know how they worked. When sternly requested to reassemble them, my undeveloped mind could not comprehend the importance of that little transfer gear that flew across the room when I separated the halves of the spring motor. Seldom did the toy ever function again as it was originally designed. From that questionable beginning, my “need to know” how things worked grew even stronger.

At a ripe old age of ten I built my first “car”. This consisted of two boards nailed together with a pivoting front axle and rope steering. The “Powertrain” was an engine and clutch assembly borrowed from our reel type lawn mower. The wheels came from an old toy wagon. I bolted a chain sprocket to the left rear wheel thus providing a total of one wheel drive. A primitive board seat was added for comfort. Excitedly, I started the engine, jumped on, and engaged forward motion by sliding the clutch forward to tighten the slipping belt. I enjoyed driving this contraption for a short while until Dad got home from the office. “Edward,” he shouted, “you have exactly 30 minutes to get that motor back on the lawn mower!” So ended my early career as a go-kart builder and driver.

My fascination with cars grew with time which led to building a flat head Ford dragster when I was a high school senior.

The home built dragster turned out to be a successful endeavor.

Schoolmate Richard Gates and I teamed up to create a midengine dragster on a Model A Ford frame. This became so time consuming that I didn’t have much time for schoolwork. Our math teacher, Miss Blythe, said “Edward, unless you stop with that ‘thing’ and get busy on math, you will have the distinction of being the only student in my (long) career to fail my senior math class.” I thought she was kidding. She wasn’t! — Oh yes, about the dragster, during the summer of 1958 we won one Top Eliminator trophy, One Fast Time of the Day trophy, and seven Class B Gas Dragster trophies before we blew the flat head to smithereens. End of dragsters for me. Subsequently, a writer from one of the car magazines wrote a nice several page article on our home built machine, which he titled “Piggy Bank Power House.” Unfortunately, there were simply no more coins in the piggy bank to rebuild it.

Introduction

5

Following high school, I enrolled in a two year technical program in automotive technology at Farmingdale, New York to learn a bit more about “How Things Work.” My Associates Degree in Applied Technology, as it turned out, did not fulfill my expectations for a career beyond being a car mechanic. I needed an engineering degree.

It was June of 1962 that Carryl Bennett and I got married. Carryl and I had known each other since second grade and decided to tie the knot. And, I am proud to say, this lady was, and is, the best thing that ever happened to me. Can you imagine? A wife who loves cars, had a teaching degree, and earned enough to support us AND put me through my next endeavor in higher education. Wow! Armed with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1965, I joined International Harvester Company (IH) Truck Engineering in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There I met Frank Entwisle, a like-minded engineer with a passion for cars. We began rebuilding wrecked sports cars for fun and (not much) profit. In 1974, we bought into a company in Fort Wayne that restored collector cars. The company also included a BeckArnley imported car parts business. Now we were on our way, or so we thought. The next four years provided us with the best education in life and business that we could ever imagine. That company, Topless Carriages, led us through the restoration of several significant cars such as: two Mercedes 300SL Gullwings, 6

Introduction

a Mercedes 300SL roadster, an alloy bodied Ferrari 250 SWB California Spyder (one of three produced) and many, many others. It was during this period that I became aware of an Anglo-Italian car called the Arnolt-Bristol. I thought these were neat little cars with a limited but significant racing career at Sebring and SCCA events. Frank and I pressed on with the company trying to make it as successful as possible even though we were both fully engaged with our primary assignments at IH Engineering. We eventually sold the company in 1979 so that both of us could move on. Considering the education I got, I have absolutely no regrets.

For fun, Frank and I built an autocross special out of a donated Corvair. The special was literally designed on the frame of a storm window standing against the wall of my garage. (There wasn’t a handy pad of paper to write on.) The chassis was built from scrap 2-inch square tubing from a junk yard. We located the engine amidship by flipping it and the differential upside down from the Corvair rear engine position, then rotating the engine right side up. Note: The kinematics came out right with no need to reverse the rotation of the engine. The differential was now upside down — who cares!

We used the Corvair front suspension, added a seat and a roll bar and — voilà! — an autocross special was born. At 900 pounds with 140 horsepower, the little car was unbeatable on the autocross circuits. Frank and I won first and second fast time

Ralph on the track.

Below: Carryl getting strapped in for a ride in Ralph.

of the day at every event we attended for the next three years.

(Frank was usually first). The special was christened “A Tribute To Ralph Nader” because, as everyone knows, Corvairs are dangerous and don’t handle very well. We called it “Ralph” for short. Career moves led Frank to Clark Equipment Company in Battle Creek, Michigan and me to Euclid (Earth moving trucks) in Cleveland. (As a result of past and continuing endeavors, we have remained close friends to this day.)

Following our time in Cleveland, my next career move took our family to Chicago in 1990; once again with International Harvester, but at that time renamed as Navistar. At the Engine Division in Melrose Park, Illinois I met Mark Shuck, a brilliant mathematician and statistician in the reliability group to which I was assigned. Early on, Mark and I had a casual conversation concerning the group’s extracurricular interests. Mark mentioned that he raced midgets. Bingo, a car guy! I said my interests were less spectacular, focused on street-going sports cars. Mark said, “That’s interesting, my brother has a sports car but I can’t remember what it is except that it was made in Warsaw, Indiana.” That comment instantly brought to mind an interest I had gained back in the Topless Carriage days. I told Mark that his brother’s car had to be an Arnolt-Bristol. I further noted that it was NOT made in Warsaw, Indiana. Then immediately asked, “Do you think he would sell it?”

Ed Howell Introduction

7

A Brief History of Arnolt-Bristol Cars

Arnolt-Bristol factory team lined up at Sebring, 1956 (Tony Boynton photo)

A Brief History of Arnolt-Bristol Cars

Arnolt-Bristol Bolides on the grid at Sebring, 1960

Stanley Harold Arnolt II was an industrialist and car dealer owning a variety of businesses in Chicago, Illinois and Warsaw, Indiana. He also had a passion for cars. In 1952 he visited the Turin Automobile show in Italy where he met Nuccio Bertone, chief executive of Carrozzeria Bertone, an Italian automotive design and constructor company. Bertone had just two cars on 10

A Brief History of Arnolt-Bristol Cars

display at the show. Both were re-bodied MG TDs, one as a coupe and the other as a cabriolet. Arnolt (nicknamed “Wacky� for crossing Lake Michigan in a 13-foot boat during heavy fog and waves) commissioned Bertone, on the spot, to build 100 of each model. Production of the handmade cars began in 1953 and eventually about 100 of the Arnolt-MGs were shipped

to Chicago for sale at Arnolt’s imported car distributorship.

However, continued production of the Arnolt-MG was not possible because MG had begun production of the TF model and the TF chassis was not available to Arnolt. Wacky needed a different chassis to send to Bertone.

The Bristol Aeroplane Company, headquartered in London, England, had ceased production of military aircraft after World War II and began producing automobiles as a means of continuing in business. Bristol procured the rights to produce a variation of the pre-war BMW 327 series sedan with its 2 liter 6 cylinder engine. Wacky Arnolt negotiated with Tony Crook at Bristol to supply modified Bristol 404 chassis to Bertone for new coachbuilt bodies. Bertone assigned his chief designer, Franco Scaglione, to the task of designing a body for the new ArnoltBristol sports car. From mid-1953 until August of 1955, 142 consecutively numbered chassis, 404 X 3000 through 404 X 3141, were sent to Bertone. Scaglione’s challenge was to create an attractive body to enclose the Bristol chassis with its very tall six-cylinder engine. Note: Franco Scaglione was best known for his designs of the Alfa B.A.T. series of cars. See Automobile Quarterly, Volume 33, Number 3.

While visiting London in 2003, Carryl and I had the pleasure to meet with Tony Crook at the Bristol Car showroom in 1

“Wacky” Arnolt at his factory. Photo by Griffith Borgeson1

Kensington. Tony graciously shared information from the factory files on Arnolt-Bristol #404 x 3000 as well as related experiences with Wacky Arnolt during their negotiations for the Bristol chassis. What a treat that was!

Of the 142 Arnolt-Bristol cars built, 12 were destroyed in a Chicago warehouse fire. Of the remaining 130 cars it is estimated that about 90 are still in existence. Production models consisted of a racing version called the Bolide, the more roadfriendly version with bumpers and a folding top was called the Deluxe, and additionally, there was a coupe version, of which only three examples were made.

“Nicco, Wacky, and Me” by Griffith Borgeson. Special Interest Autos #132, November/December 1992

A Brief History of Arnolt-Bristol Cars

11

For the 1955 season, Wacky assembled a three car factory racing team to challenge the under 2 liter class at the 12 Hours of Sebring. The team drivers included Wacky, Bob Goldich, the renowned René Dryfus, Bob Grier, John Panks and Ernie Erickson. The very well prepared Arnolt team finished first, second, and fourth in class — a remarkable performance indeed, three cars started and three cars finished. In 1956, the Arnolt Team finished second and third in class and had one car out with broken steering. Sadly, the factory team was disbanded in 1957 following the tragic death of Bob Goldich, Wacky’s codriver at Sebring. Privateer Arnolt-Bristol entrants at SCCA races around the country competed into the 1960s with encouraging success in the under 2 liter class. Today, they are still vigorously raced in vintage events around the country.

During the mid-1950s, many period car magazines tested the new Arnolt-Bristol with enthusiastic praise. Griff Borgeson, writing for Sports Car Illustrated, ran a quarter mile acceleration test at 17 seconds and 90 mph. He exclaimed, “This, friends, is a car. The Arnolt-Bristol is one of the finest real high performance sports cars I’ve ever driven.” Road & Track claimed zero to sixty mph in 10.1 seconds. “The acceleration time and top speed figure are the best we’ve ever recorded for a 2 liter machine.”

Motor Trend said, “What you can do with the Arnolt-Bristol on a road course is little short of phenomenal.”

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Automobile Quarterly, Volume 15, Number 4

A Brief History of Arnolt-Bristol Cars

Advertisement for the Arnolt-Bristol Bolide Photo on right: 1954 Arnolt-Bristol Deluxe Roadster

Stanley Harold Arnolt II died the day before Christmas in 1963.

With him died everything he had built including S.H. Arnolt Inc. and the Arnolt-Bristol. Wacky was just 56 years old. Today, all that remains in Warsaw, Indiana is a derelict building with the name “Arnolt Corporation” in stainless steel block letters on one side.2

History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

Engine No: BS1 MK II is stamped “49” carried forward from the Frazer Nash engine No: 1/49. Factory records show the BS1 MK II to be No: 212

The first Arnolt-Bristol was built by Bertone in 1953 in Turin, Italy. The body, designed by Franco Scaglione, was hand formed from steel with an aluminum hood and deck lid. Steel was the material of choice because it was thought that the sharply creased fenders would not hold up well in aluminum. Once completed in late 1953, the car was shipped with a Frazer Nash engine (number FNS 1/49) to Bristol in England where it was re-fitted with the proper Bristol BS1 MK II engine (#212). The car remained in England for testing until early 1954.

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History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

Mike DiCola of Hadley, Massachusetts provided me with a copy of a page from S.H. Arnolt’s personal ledger showing that ArnoltBristol #404 X 3000 was received in New York on February 1, 1954 and subsequently delivered to Columbus Sports Cars in Columbus, Ohio on March 3, 1954. In the ledger it is identified as the prototype.

While the ledger shows the engine to be FNS 1/49, it is believed that the BS1 MK II engine was in the car when it was delivered to the U.S.A. in February, 1954.

Copy of the original page from S.H. Arnolt’s personal ledger, provided by Mike DiCola.

History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

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Bob Fergus, the proprietor of Columbus Sports Cars in Columbus, Ohio, raced 404 X 3000 on May 2, 1954 at Andrews Air Force Base. Fergus raced the car at several Midwest sports car events prior to selling it to Richard Ross of Columbus, Ohio.

Early research on my newly acquired Arnolt-Bristol led me to a telephone conversation with Bob Schifrin, then living in Florida. Bob said that he had owned 404 X 3000, the first one made, and was the current owner of 404 X 3131, the LAST Arnolt-Bristol made3. Bob recalled that he bought #3000 from Mr. Walter Tormohlen, but had no current information on how to contact him. I tried, without success, to find any leads on Mr. Tormohlen in Ohio.

Now, let’s fast forward to February, 2013. Tom Hale, a new acquaintance and a devout car nut, and I were chatting about the Arnolt’s early history. I mentioned that I was unable to locate Mr. Tormohlen when I tried back in 1992. Tom, then just 21, said, “Mind if I try?” He whipped out his smart phone and started punching buttons. In fewer than 5 minutes Tom had found a Walter Tormohlen in a town near Cincinnati. Could that be him? “Wait” he said, “Walter Tormohlen’s last known address is in Colorado.” I then asked Tom if he had a phone number for Mr. Tormohlen. “Ed, do you want EVERYTHING?” C’mon, Tom, I know you can do it. Less than a minute later, Tom said, “Write this down.”

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Walter Tormohlen standing next to his newly purchased Arnolt-Bristol.

Opposite page: Original bill of sale showing that Walter purchased the car from Raymond Motors in 1957.

Shortly thereafter I dialed the number and was connected to voice mail. “Hello, my name is Ed Howell. You don’t know me, but I am restoring an Arnolt-Bristol that you may have owned back in the 1950s. If this is the correct number I would love to talk to you about the car. If this is not the correct Tormohlen family then I am sorry that I bothered you.” I left my number and hung up.

About an hour later the phone rang and it was Walter Tormohlen.

Following introductions, I spent a most enjoyable hour talking to Walter about his Arnolt. He had clear memories of the car and shared much of the information on the car’s early history.

He had purchased the car from Raymond Motors in Cincinnati, and was the first to register the car for road use. He even had the original bill of sale from Raymond Motors and kindly sent

The chassis were not completed and shipped in order. Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3131 was the last car completed.

History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

the original to me, keeping a copy for himself. Walter raced the Arnolt for some time with the Bristol BS1 MK II engine then removed it and installed a Rochester fuel injected 283 Chevy V8 along with a Corvette 4-speed transmission. Walt also painted the car white. He finished first in the novice race at the Louisville Fairgrounds in Kentucky. Also competing at this event was Augie Pabst in a Reventlow Scarab. After a few races, Walter moved the headlights to the fenders to increase air flow to the radiator.

In early 1965, Walter sold #404 X 3000 to Bob Schifrin who further modified the car. Bob changed the color to blue, put trim around the headlights and added driving lights and small bumpers to the grill.

Walter’s check ride for his SCCA novice license at the Louisville Fairgrounds in 1957.

Between 1968 and 1973, the Arnolt passed through several hands; however, very little documentation was found during that period of the car’s history except for the Indiana Title that came with the car. (The complete ownership history is shown on page 25.)

I learned about the car from my work colleague, Mark Shuck.

His brother, Matt, had an Arnolt-Bristol and Mark provided me with his brother’s phone number so that I could pursue the Arnolt from there. Matt confirmed that he would consider selling the car but that it was at his parents’ house in Joliet, Illinois. “May I see it?” I asked. “Yes, but it is buried in a bunch

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History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

The car as it looked after Bob Schifrin made changes.

Indiana title that came with the car shows a brief history of the various owners from 1968 - 1973.

History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

21

of stuff in a shed and I will have to go there and clear it so we can see the car.” That wasn’t a problem for me and I agreed to contact him in couple weeks to arrange a time to look at the car.

I called a few weeks later as we had agreed and was told to call back later. I called again a month later. “I haven’t had a chance to get down there. Call back later.” I called after another month had passed and I got the same response. We started this dialog in early 1990 — February, I think. In September, 1992 I called Matt and said, “This is Ed, calling one last time about the Arnolt-Bristol. Obviously you are not serious about selling it so I will not call you again.” Matt replied, “How about Saturday?”

During the previous two years I had done a little research on Arnolt-Bristols and found the mother lode in Automobile Quarterly, Volume 15, Number 4 with a story titled “Wacky and his Cars” by Rich Taylor. Now that I was going to actually see the car, I read the AQ piece again to refresh my memory.

Deep in the text was a reference to the chassis numbers sent from Bristol to Bertone. #404 X 3000 was mentioned as the prototype. Somehow, that number stuck in my head.

Saturday morning arrived and my son, Greg, and I left for Joliet, about 30 miles south of Wheaton, Illinois where we lived at the time. We met Matt at his parents’ house where he was busily moving cast off furniture, bicycles, lawn chairs, etc. from a rusting hulk in a dirt floor shed.

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History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

“Hi Matt,” I said, “this is my son, Greg. Is this the car?” He replied yes and then I inquired about the rest of it.

“It’s in the basement of the house,” he said.

“OK, let’s see if we can move it outside into the light.”

The car had been resting in the shed for about 13 years according to Matt. All four tires were flat and had sunken down about 6 inches into the soft earth over the years. I took several photos of the car in the shed and several more once we got it shoved outside. We should have walked away right then and there.

Since we were there, I wandered back into the shed and found an old curtain lying in the dirt. I tore off a piece and wandered back to the car. There must be a serial number on there somewhere. Might as well see what it is. After several minutes of searching I found what looked like a metal plate screwed to the frame on the passenger side. Rubbing vigorously with the old curtain the plate emerged and with it the serial number appeared — ex-four-oh-four-three-thousand. I ran back to our car and opened the AQ book and furiously flipped through the pages until I found the reference to the prototype number. Yep, it was #404 X 3000. “Hey, Greg, take a look at this.”

Pictured right: Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 after its resurrection from the shed in Joliet, Illinois in 1992

“Matt, if you can find the rest of the car I might be interested in buying it.” Matt dutifully went into the house several times and came back with both doors, both seats with the upholstery flopping loose, the trunk lid, and the hood.

“Is that it?” I asked.

“That’s it,” he said.

“No engine, no transmission? No windshield?”

“No,” he said, “this is all that I got when I bought it from my cousin Jerry DeSomer.”

“Matt, do you have a title for it?”

“Yes, it’s someplace at home.”

“OK, what is your asking price?”

“I dunno, make me an offer.” To which I replied, “How about $5000 if you can produce the title?”

“OK, I’m sure I can find the title.”

Done! I hired a roll back wrecker to haul this sorry mess back to Wheaton. The looming problem was: What was I going to tell Carryl when she saw it?

Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 as found in Joliet, Illinois in 1992

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History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

Ownership History of Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 Name

Date Acquired

Location

Provenance

Columbus Sports Cars Bob Fergus, proprietor

March 3, 1954

Columbus, Ohio

Wacky Arnolt’s ledger

Richard Ross 1954 Columbus, OH

Bristol Factory records plus Independent testimonial

Raymond Motors Ltd. Chuck Hassen, proprietor

Unknown

Cincinnati, OH

Original Bill of Sale, see next entry

Walter Tormohlen

Jan. 11,1957

Lawrenceburg, IN

Original Bill of Sale

Robert A. Schifrin

Prior to March 1965

Norwood, OH

Schifrin correspondence

Jon L. Dipert

February 13,1968

Leesburg, IN

Indiana Title #X490227

Leesburg Motors

April 11, 1973

Leesburg, IN

Indiana Title #X490227

Jerry B. DeSomer

April 25, 1973

Milford, IN

Indiana Title #X490227

Matthew Schuck

Circa 1979

Des Plaines, IL

Visual inspection of car

Edward H. Howell

September 10, 1992

Wheaton, IL

Current owner

History of Arnolt-Bristol Number 404 X 3000

25

Timeline of Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 1954

1957

Walter Tormohlen purchases the car from Raymond Motors Ltd. in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 11, 1957.

Walt races the car for several years and paints it white.

Columbus Sports Cars in Columbus, Ohio receives Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 on March 3, 1954.

Richard Ross purchases the car from Columbus Sports Cars in late 1954.

1965

1968

Jon Dipert buys the car on February 13, 1968.

Robert Schifrin purchases the car from Walter Tormohlen in early 1965.

During his ownership, Robert paints the car blue and enhances the trim.

1973

1979

Matthew Schuck purchases the car in 1979.

Jerry DeSomer purchases the car from Leesburg Motors on April 25, 1973.

1992

1994

Ed sends the car to Restorations Unlimited in Cary, Illinois for body work.

Edward Howell purchases the car on September 10, 1992. It was buried underneath various items in a shed.

2004

2012 2013

Engine rebuild completed and it runs!

Ed sends the car to the Appenzeller brothers for final bodywork and paint.

Restoration of ArnoltBristol #404 X 3000 is finally complete!

Car arrives in Lexington, Kentucky from Restorations Unlimited. Ed works on rebuilding the engine and all mechanical components.

Research and the Quest to Find Parts

Research and the Quest to Find Parts

The wrecker driver unceremoniously dumped the mess in the driveway at our Wheaton house and said, “That’ll be $165.”

“Here you are, and thank you very much. Greg, let’s pump up the tires and try to push it into the garage.” Carryl appeared on the scene and said, “You think you can restore that?”

“Sure,” I said. “A couple of years of work and it should be as good as new.”

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Research and the Quest to Find Parts

She accepted it much better than I thought she would. In retrospect, we should have placed an ad in Hemming’s and sold what was left of it — as is — as soon as possible.

No, no, no! This car is a treasure. It just needs a little work.

The first order of business was to clean it up, take inventory of what was there, and begin a list (a very long list) of what was needed to make a complete car. The fun began by referring

to a 1992 issue of Hemming’s Motor News for leads on ArnoltBristol parts. As luck would have it, there was an ad for A-B parts offered by Tom Trotman in Amherst, Massachusetts. I was on the phone immediately. Once connected, I told Tom what I had just purchased and his reply was, “You need to talk to Mike DiCola, here’s his phone number.”

The Mike DiCola Era The Patron Saint and Savior of Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 was Mr. Mike DiCola from Hadley, Massachusetts. Mike, as it turned out, was the current historian on Arnolt cars. His knowledge and records are, to this day, beyond belief. So it was after following Tom Trotman’s lead that I dialed up Mr. DiCola. The conversation went something like this: “Hello, Mike? My name is Ed Howell and I got your name from Tom Trotman who said I should call you about a recent purchase I made. I bought a decrepit Arnolt-Bristol in Joliet, Illinois with the serial number 404 X 3000.”

Mike replied, “You bought 3000? We have been looking for that car for years. We knew it was in the Midwest but lost track with a Jon Dipert whom we could never track down.” Mike followed with a myriad of questions about the car, which, of course, I couldn’t answer.

Mike said, “Send me pictures and copies of whatever you have

on the car.” I sent Mike the photos I had taken in Joliet plus a few bits of information that I had at the time.

Following numerous phone calls and trading information I learned that Mike had most of the parts I needed or had access to them. Tom Trotman apparently had a parts car that would provide me with most of the large items I needed such as an engine, transmission, rear axle and suspension, etc. I called Tom and confirmed that he would sell the parts car. It was time for a visit to Hadley, Massachusetts.

I flew from Chicago to Hartford, Connecticut then drove to Hadley where I met Tom Trotman. Tom immediately took me to meet Mike DiCola at his home and business, Valley Vintage Cars. Arrangements were made to purchase Tom’s parts car, Arnolt-Bristol number 404 X 3132. The condition of the parts car was worse than 404 X 3000, but at least it came with most of what I needed. The engine came to me as a collection of parts from many different engines, but Mike assured me we would work together to insure that I got all parts necessary to build a complete engine. The transmission was complete, but from yet another car.

Over the next several months, Mike was instrumental in finding and supplying the parts I needed including sourcing them from England if necessary. Without Mike’s assistance, it is unlikely that I would have been able to rebuild the car.

Research and the Quest to Find Parts

31

Now that I had the parts issue resolved, or so I thought, I could move forward with work on the car. The first step was to get the whole car blasted to clean it up. This process uses plastic media to completely remove all old paint, most of the rust and leaves the body and frame as clean bare metal.

I began doing some of the body work myself, but soon learned that I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Time to call in the experts.

Carryl and I had met Ralph Morey at a car show in Chicago in the Fall of 1992. Mr. Morey was the proprietor of Restorations Unlimited in Cary, Illinois. We invited Ralph to come look at the Arnolt to see if it would be a project he could take on.

Shortly thereafter, the car was transported to Cary along with the donor car to begin its professional body restoration. Ralph had the car acid dipped to identify all areas of the body that would require replacement. This process clearly showed more rusted panels than were evident after the media blasting. The most significant issue with the body was that it appeared to be grossly out of line along the rocker panel on the driver’s side.

A racing incident perhaps? Ralph and his brother, Ray, carefully disassembled the left rocker panel for inspection to find the problem.

Pictured left: Donor car, Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3132

We never determined the exact cause, but Ray spent the next week or so straightening the entire left side of the car to even things out. From there, panel replacement could proceed. The Restorations Unlimited shop became quite busy and work on the Arnolt slowed to an “as time permitted basis.” Systematically, rusted panels were replaced one by one and doors were fitted with exact precision. Reconstruction of the Arnolt body took several years, but the work was exemplary.

Eventually we moved the car to our new home in Nicholasville, Kentucky so that I could rebuild and install all of the mechanical components.

Body of Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 (after bodywork done at Restorations Unlimited) sits on top of the donor car frame in April 2004.

Research and the Quest to Find Parts

33

Pictured on this page and opposite page: Body work done at Restorations Unlimited shop. Images taken in March 1999.

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Research and the Quest to Find Parts

Research and the Quest to Find Parts

35

Mechanical Restoration

Mechanical Restoration While the car was at Restorations Unlimited, I continued searching for all of the bits and pieces I would need to rebuild all of the mechanical components. This meant taking careful inventory of what I had then labeling and storing each piece so it could be found again. I compared my list to the ArnoltBristol parts manual to identify missing pieces. Once again, Mike DiCola and the Bristol factory in England supplied much, but not all, of what I needed. By chance, Gerry Sutterfield from Palm Beach Gardens in Florida had parts of a Bristol engine that he thought I might be able to use. He said, “I’ll trade you the parts for a ride and drive in the Arnolt when you get it finished.”

DEAL! As it turned out, the block, cylinder head and crankshaft from Gerry’s engine were in better condition than those that came with the donor car. It was now possible to get started on the engine.

The Engine New pistons, rings, cylinder sleeves and crankshaft main bearings came from California. Connecting rod bearings were the same as an early Alfa Romeo and were supplied by Mike DiCola. The cylinder block work, replacing the sleeves and honing to fit each piston, was performed by a race engine shop near Frankfort, Kentucky. That shop also ground the valves and

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assembled them in the cylinder head. They weighed each piston and connecting rod, made bob weights for the crank pins and balanced the crankshaft. All that for just $650.00! There are still bargains to be found in Kentucky.

The assembly of the engine was tedious but fun. Fortunately, the Arnolt-Bristol service manual was published with infinite detail. There is an addendum to each section that has detailed drawings of all special tools required to work on the components. (I made many of these tools in my shop to facilitate the assembly of the various components.) My focus for each of the major components of the car was to keep it as original as possible, including the use of all original fasteners (Whitworth4, of course). Part of the fun was converting the manuals from English (British) to English (American). Surely, everyone knows what a “tommy bar” is. Hint: It has nothing to do with the purveyance of alcoholic beverages5.

Fitting the crankshaft with its new bearings was fairly straight forward, or so I thought. I had managed to find a strip of “Plastigage” of the proper size to confirm the bearing clearance. The new thrust bearings dropped readily into place and I thought all was well, piece of cake! I test fitted the front cover only to discover that it had no front seal. The original was a rope seal

Whitworth refers to British screw thread standards which were set up to use the same bolt head and nut hexagonal sizes.

A tommy bar is a short bar used as a lever to provide torque for tightening a box spanner or key.

Mechanical Restoration

impregnated with graphite. They leak! They either leak now, or leak later (but not much later). I needed a modern lip seal to replace the rope seal. Studying the front cover revealed that re-machining it to accept a lip seal was not possible without destroying the originality of the cover which would have been visible from the outside. I found a nitrile rubber Quad seal in an industrial supply catalog that was nearly a perfect fit in the original cover. I bought ten of these (about a buck apiece, in case I screwed some up) and carefully trimmed it to fit in a fixture I made on my metal lathe. That solved, I discovered that I was missing the oil slinger that goes inside the front cover. It was back to my drawing program to design the slinger and the tools to make it. And so it went with engine assembly.

Once the crankshaft was all snuggled into the crankcase and buttoned up, I discovered that the piston and rod assemblies didn’t load from the top like every other modern engine on the planet. The big end of the rod was wider than the cylinder bore.

They load from the bottom! Now the crankshaft had to come out to make room to load the pistons from the bottom. With everything reassembled in the block, I rotated the engine right side up to continue assembly and the lower thrust bearing fell out on the floor. To keep the thrust bearing in place, one must keep forward force on the crankshaft at all times so it won’t fall out. Back to the basement to make a special fixture to keep the crankshaft pressed forward. God bless British engineering.

Front oil slinger

FFB

Gasket

0.054" 1.700" 1.350" 1.632" 3.019"

Oil Slinger

Oil Seal Hub

0.212"

Drawing of the seal and oil slinger

Mechanical Restoration

39

Fabrication of a new cylinder head gasket out of copper

40

Mechanical Restoration

The factory-new camshaft (with a mild racing grind) would not fit into the cam bearings so each cam bearing had to be very carefully reamed to fit the new camshaft. The short block, finally assembled, was ready for installation of the cylinder head. Mike had provided me with a new composite head gasket that was 0.046� thick (normal). I test fit the new gasket and developed a procedure to accurately measure the engine compression ratio. It was supposed to be 9 to 1. It was actually 10 to 1 which was too high for this 1950s engine. So I went to work to make a thicker head gasket from solid copper. The new gasket produced a compression ratio of 9.2 to 1. Close enough. And so it went with engine assembly.

From there, the rest of the engine assembly was fairly straight forward until I got to the carburetor linkage. I had rebuilt each of the three Solex carburetors so that was no problem, but the linkage required three brass Amal ball joints for the linkage to be completely original. I had but one of the originals. None were found in the States, none were found in England. Someone had to have these. Nope! I bought a length of free machining brass rod from my industrial supply house and went to work. And so it went with engine assembly.

Once the engine was completely assembled I needed to run it. The next step was to build a “run stand� with all necessary functions to operate the engine. These included: battery and electrical system, instruments from the Arnolt car (to see which

Original brass ball end along with the three replicas I made are pictured above.

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41

ones worked), fuel tank and lines, radiator and coolant hoses, exhaust system, engine throttle and a lot of other parts.

Will it actually run? Historically, when confronted with a significant car event like a first time start up, Frank Entwisle and I team up for the event. We have been doing this for years as it is comforting to have a very knowledgeable person in attendance to assist. I called Frank and he said, “I wouldn’t miss it, I’ll be right there.” Frank brought his camera that has a built in movie feature to record the event. Since I had spent several hundred hours carefully building the engine I was fairly confident that it would start and run.

We did a walk around to be sure nothing obvious was amiss. I primed the fuel system and turned the key switch to “start.” The engine cranked for a few seconds, then, when the fuel mixture was right, it burst to life and ran beautifully. “Frank,” I said, “It’s time for a beer.” We ran it a few more times then discovered a coolant leak; we shut it down, fixed the leak and called it a day — a very good day indeed. The engine was run many times after that, mainly as demonstrations for friends. It accumulated about two hours of run time before I took it off the stand in preparation for installation in the car. (A DVD that documents the first startup of the engine from Frank’s camera is included with this book.)

Pictured on both pages: Engine set up on run stand for initial start up.

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Mechanical Restoration

The Transmission The next project was the transmission that Mike said came from one of the cars burned in the Chicago warehouse fire. That meant it was brand new. Subsequent inspection revealed that if it wasn’t new, it was very close to it. Mike had supplied a remote gearshift assembly that was likely used on the ArnoltBristol Bolide as a racing accessory. It was most definitely going on my car. There was one minor piece missing, the rubber shift lever boot. The solution was simple. Make a mold and pour in the three part mix of urethane synthetic rubber.

The rubber molding process was used many times throughout the restoration to make various rubber parts for the car. The new remote shifter, when installed on the transmission resulted in minor binding of the 3rd to 4th gear shift rail. Installation of a slightly thicker gasket for the top cover fixed it. I love it when it’s simple. A new clutch disk and pressure plate were readily available from Fort Wayne Clutch — another simple one.

44

Rubber molding process: 1. Turn the pattern from PVC plastic on lathe.

2. Inner core and outer pattern ready to make molds

3. Make molds using plaster of Paris.

4. Separated mold ready for making rubber parts.

5. Pour in three part mix of urethane synthetic rubber and let it set.

6. New shift lever boot ready to be installed.

Mechanical Restoration

The Rear Axle The rear axle assembly was removed from the donor car then cleaned to bare metal prior to disassembly to prevent dirt contamination from entering the internal differential gears and bearings. Once apart and cleaned, the ring, pinion, spider and side gears appeared to be as new. The exception was the front pinion bearing that was completely destroyed. Hmmm, how can everything be as new except for one bearing? Further investigation revealed the inside of the rear axle housing to be loaded with weld spatter when it was assembled at the factory.

Weld spatter consists of molten steel balls that come from the welding process and stick to whatever is near the electric arc.

These balls can range in size from a BB to smaller than the head of a straight pin. During operation of the car, as long as they stay put, there is no problem. It is when they break free that they contaminate the lube oil in the differential and raise havoc with bearings and other close fitting parts. In this case, one or more of these balls entered the front pinion roller bearing and stalled the rollers (just like a pebble under the wheel of a shopping cart). When this happens the life expectancy of the roller bearing is just a few seconds.

The bearing looked like it may have been specially made for the Bristol rear axle. I hadn’t seen one like it before. I called a local bearing supplier in Lexington and read the number to the parts guy. Several minutes later, the salesman came back on

Rear axle ready to be installed

and said, as I expected, that bearing hasn’t been available for thirty years. Good luck. So, I called another bearing supplier in a nearby town for the heck of it. Following a brief delay, the lady said, “Sure, how many do you need? We have to order it but it should be here tomorrow. The price is $26.50 plus tax.” She called the next day and said, “Your bearing is in.”

I went to pick it up believing it would not be correct. It was correct! I rushed home to try a test fit — it was perfect. The next several hours were spent removing all of the weld spatter from the differential housing. I then coated the inside of the housing with a generous layer of red Glyptol paint. Glyptol is used to seal porosity in castings that will contain oil, gear cases and engine blocks, for example. I hoped it would also anchor any tiny balls of spatter that I may have missed. With its new bearing in place, the differential assembly went together with no further problems. The axle assembly was then painted with chassis black and installed in #404 X 3000.

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45

Front Steering and Suspension The front steering components, kingpin and bushings, wheel hubs and bearings, spring pins and shackles from the donor car were in slightly better condition than those from 3000 so I used the donor parts for the front end assembly. The tie rod ends had rubber sleeves to keep dirt out. The fifty year old ones crumbled and fell away so it was necessary to design and fabricate a mold to make new ones from Urethane rubber.

Brakes The rebuilding of the brake system for the Arnolt was completed with the assistance of Scott Bethke of Brake Materials and Parts in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Scott is a dear friend and colleague in the old car restoration hobby. Scott managed to find a New, Old Stock (NOS) master cylinder for the Arnolt. The braking system was made by Lockheed so there was some commonality with other makes of cars. Each of the hydraulic wheel cylinders was carefully rebuilt with new rubber seals from Scott then installed on refinished backing plates. Relined brake shoes were installed with NOS cast iron brake drums at the rear. Mike DiCola provided a pair of NOS Alfin aluminum drums for the front.

These were an available option from Bristol and were likely used on Arnolts that were raced. They were definitely going on my car.

Above: Brake assembly.

Below: Alfin aluminum drums

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Mechanical Restoration

Shock Absorbers The original Bristol shock absorbers were made by two different companies — Girling and Armstrong — and were used interchangeably. 404 X 3000 had two of each brand, which had long ago stopped functioning. There were aftermarket shocks out there that would fit the Arnolt, but there was no sport in using them. Koni had been making adjustable telescopic shock absorbers for cars since 1945 and it is likely that Konis were used on racing Arnolt-Bristols by the mid-1950s.

Through a mutual friend I met Lee Grimes, a sales engineer at Koni. Lee did some research and found no specific listing for Konis for Bristol or Arnolt-Bristol, but offered to try to make a set if possible. I sent Lee detailed drawings, photos, and calibration specifications (from the Arnolt-Bristol service manual.) Koni engineering found a set that would fit the rear in Sweden from a fifties Volvo and parts were still available to make them in Sweden, but engineering would have to release the shocks in the USA system. Front shock parts were found in the USA system but would have to be assembled. A few months later I received a call from Lee who said that the shocks were ready to be shipped. The price, after all that work, was unbelievably reasonable. And, Lee provided Koni “Classic” decals for the shocks that have the word KONI with wings — just like the old shocks from the fifties.

KONI shocks installed on car

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47

Before the car could be sent to the body shop for final body prep and painting, it was necessary to complete as much of the remaining mechanical work as possible. Things like the clutch linkage had to be fabricated. Enter Mr. David Hans, a longtime owner of a beautifully restored Arnolt-Bristol Bolide (SN #404 X 3055), who graciously worked with me to supply photos, dimensions, and details of his car so that 404 X 3000 could once again become a complete car.

By Spring of 2012, the Arnolt was far enough along mechanically to send it out for final body work and painting. Our good friend, Scott Bethke, introduced us to the Appenzeller brothers, Pat and Jan. The Appenzellers have a restoration shop in Milford, Indiana where they have toiled for more than thirty years in the old car business. During that time, they acquired no small amount of experience restoring museum quality cars like Auburns, Hudsons (many Hudsons), Lincolns, Packards, several Jaguars, Healeys, and many, many more. These gentlemen were my kind of guys, so we commissioned them to do the finish work on the Arnolt.

This page and opposite page: David Hans beautifully restored Arnolt Bristol.

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Mechanical Restoration

The Appenzeller Brothers

The Appenzeller Brothers Pat and Jan Appenzeller were, by far, the most significant players in the restoration of Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000. They skillfully brought the car to completion through back breaking work and unending determination.

Pat has the “magic touch” for sheet metal surfacing like the Italian craftsmen at Bertone who created the artful bodies of the 142 “production” Arnolt-Bristols in the first place. Pat spent untold hours getting it right, down to the last detail.

Jan was the mechanical genius on the project who carefully disassembled all, I mean ALL, of the components from the car down to the last Whitworth nut and bolt. From there, Jan

Bodywork, July through September 2012

52

The Appenzeller Brothers

created the floor boards from a laminated aluminum product called Alumiclad, which was almost an identical product to that used by Bertone except the laminate core used by Bertone was Luan wood; whereas, the core used in Alumiclad was plastic — a minor and modern variation from the original.

Jan then fabricated the transmission tunnel from 20 gauge sheet steel. They teamed up to make the top bows fit and work correctly. To do so, they made a fiberglass replica of the windshield to preserve the fragile glass original from possible harm. With the top bows and windshield posts in place, Jan stepped aside to work on other projects while Pat concentrated on surfacing and painting.

Getting the top bows and windshield posts in place

Fabricating the transmission tunnel

Car mounted on a rotisserie to work on the undercarriage, before and after

The Appenzeller Brothers

53

Surfacing and painting, October 2012 through January 2013

54

The Appenzeller Brothers

Seeing the car after painting is completed, March 2013

The first test drive after putting the car back together, April 2013

Once the car was mounted on a rotisserie (graciously provided

by Frank Entwisle, who forwarded his handiwork from his Sunbeam Alpine restoration project to my Arnolt project), Pat began the tedious prep work on the frame, underside floor and wheel wells. He then focused on painting the body bright red, which was the original color of the car. When the paint dried, Pat said “OK, Jan, put ‘er together, and don’t scratch it.”

Jan carefully reassembled all of the mechanical components, often making parts that were missing. I had provided Jan with a new wiring harness from Rhode Island Wiring. According to Jan it was remarkably accurate and went together with just a

few “adjustments.” Subsequently, I learned that Rhode Island Wiring had created the Arnolt-Bristol harness from an original harness from David Hans’ Arnolt — it was used to make the new harnesses for his car. The Arnolt-Bristol community of car guys is a very small world indeed.

Once the car was back together and up on its wheels, Jan drove it around the block while sitting on a box where the driver’s seat would eventually be located.

The next step was the interior, which was to be trimmed in tan leather. The original upholstery was listed as “Pine Beige,”

The Appenzeller Brothers

55

remnants of which were found on the seats when stripped for restoration. Pine beige is not the most flattering of colors and I simply could not bring myself to do the interior of the car in that color, original or not, no way! So there is a significant variation from the original, but I think most will agree that my choice of color for the interior is more appropriate.

During any restoration process there are circumstances that simply have to be dealt with. For example, I could not find an original Arnolt-Bristol trunk latch so I rolled up my sleeves and went to work. The first step was to impose on my friend Dave Hans to get several photos and dimensions of the trunk latch on his car. From there I could fabricate a close facsimile from mild steel. Best of all, it keeps the trunk closed.

Another road block was to find correct hub cap emblems. These were specially made for the Arnolt-Bristol cars. Once again, my young friend, Thomas Hale, came to the rescue by applying his incredible web surfing skills. He actually found an ancient website in England that referenced remanufacturing of cloisonnĂŠ emblems for old cars. With nothing to lose, Tom sent them an inquiry regarding availability of hub cap emblems for an Arnolt.

We said we would both be surprised if the company was still in business. If they were, what are the odds that they would have hub cap emblems for an Arnolt.

Above: Original “Pine Beige� interior leather Below: Finished interior with new beige color

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The Appenzeller Brothers

The very next day, I received a telephone call from the emblem company — Pamela David Enamels. Mr. Derron Taylor advised that they did, in fact, have patterns for the Arnolt hub cap emblem and the cost was about 100 British Pounds apiece.

Pricey but worth it. Derron asked me to send photos of a hub cap with all dimensions so they could get the stud locations just right. This conversation took place in the Fall of 2012. Derron advised that the four emblems would be finished in September of 2013, about a year away. And in late September of 2013, I received an e-mail from Derron requesting payment as the emblems were ready. They are gorgeous! They are perfect in every detail, and worth every penny of the cost.

Pat Appenzeller had a similar experience regarding the steering wheel. We had two steering wheels, one from 404 X 3000 and the other from the donor car. The original, from 3000, was in horrific condition with chunks of the rim missing and all of the metal parts rusted beyond recognition. The bad news was the one from the donor car was even worse. Pat said with confidence, “The original one can be restored.” Then, while surfing the web for steering wheel restoration companies, he ran across a site in England that was reproducing steering wheels for old British cars. They had the exact wheel available, reproduced in polished stainless steel so it won’t rust again.

When the new wheel arrived at Appenzellers, it was a perfect match to the original and the cost was less than the four hub cap emblems! Restoring old cars is such great fun.

Remanufactured hub cab emblem (above) and steering wheel (below)

The Appenzeller Brothers

57

Now we needed to get the completed restoration of 404 X 3000 transported from Milford, Indiana to Nicholasville, Kentucky.

After all the years of work to get the old girl back into one gorgeous and drivable assembly, it should be no big deal to get it shipped, right? I enquired several sources for suggestions for reliable car carriers. Most (all) of the prominent transporters were either too busy or ridiculously expensive. Enter Johnny Carson (no, not the Tonight Show host), who had previously transported another car that I sold. Johnny said, “No problem, I would be glad to bring your car down from Indiana. I have a couple of cars to move in Pennsylvania, then I’ll get your Arnolt.

I’ll call you.”

Call me he did. He sounded terrible, worst case of bronchitis or pneumonia he had ever experienced. “I’ll call you,” he strained to say. Ten days later he called. “Ed, I’m feeling better but I’m way behind now. I still have to go to Pennsylvania and I have a car to bring down from New York. I’ll call you.”

A week or so later he called. “Ed, I blew the engine in my truck.

It ran 311,000 miles towing — that’s pretty good, don’t you think? I have a re-manned engine coming from Texas to replace it. I’ll call you when the new motor is installed, then I can get your Arnolt-Bristol for you.”

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The Appenzeller Brothers

On Friday, a week later, Johnny called, “My truck will be ready this afternoon. Bill and I plan to leave Georgia around 2:00 a.m. tonight and be in Milford, Indiana by mid-afternoon Saturday to pick up the car.” They actually did it! I got a call from Johnny later Saturday evening, “We are close to Cincinnati and we expect to be at your house around midnight. We will park out front and sleep in the truck until morning, then unload the car and be on our way back to Georgia.” That is exactly what happened, but with some minor variations. As they approached Lexington, they ran through a vicious weather front that was knocking down trees and power lines all across the Bluegrass.

Visibility was near zero in the driving rain with wind gusts up to 70 mph. They pressed on, got through it and arrived at our house around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. Luckily, the morning dawned clear with no more rain. I invited them inside for a warm breakfast of eggs, English muffins (slightly burned, because I think I pushed the toaster down twice) and coffee.

They survived it.

After breakfast, we rolled the car out of the trailer and Johnny started the engine and drove it into the garage. Carryl wrote a check to Johnny with a generous tip and we sent them on their way. Finally done!

Author’s Note The final pages of this book are a photo gallery of the completed Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000. A special thank you goes to Dave Howard, photographer extraordinaire.

I hope that you have enjoyed learning about the history and restoration of the Arnolt-Bristol prototype. The DVD included with the book contains a few videos of the restoration project including the initial engine start up on a stand, transporting the newly restored engine to the Appenzellers’ shop, my first ride in the completed car and a video of Walter Tormohlen’s reaction to seeing the fully renovated car nearly 50 years after he sold it.

Ed Howell

69

Acknowledgements I am quite humbled when I think of the multitude of people who have helped me bring Arnolt-Bristol #404 X 3000 from a rusted lump found in a shed to the glorious vehicle it is today.

The following are those who I am most indebted to for all of their hard work and support; who have been such an integral part of the restoration that it would have never been completed without them.

First and foremost, I am deeply grateful to Carryl Bennett Howell, my dear wife, who has supported and endured the Arnolt project from its discovery in 1992 to its completion in 2013. You have been the source of endless encouragement and understanding through the years of progress — and the years of apparent non-progress. Your most memorable form of motivation was simply, “I want to ride in it before I die.” Thank you, my dear, for sticking with me through this seemingly never-ending project.

To Mike DiCola from Hadley, Massachusetts, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your hard work, dedication, and encouragement through the years to help me to bring 3000 back to life as a complete car. Without you, it could have never happened. Thank you again.

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Acknowledgements

To Ralph and Ray Morey of Restorations Unlimited in Cary, Illinois who were key to the structural and rust repair of the Arnolt-Bristol from its “as found” condition to a solid and correct foundation that could then be built into a finished car.

Thank you, gentlemen, for the vital work performed on my basket case Arnolt.

My knowledge of the early history of 404 X 3000 would never have come about without the help of Walter Tormohlen from Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Thank you, Walter, for all of your valuable contributions, which have been crucial to the preparation of this book. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of our phone conversations.

To Gerry Sutterfield from Palm Beach, Florida for providing major engine parts including a cylinder block, cylinder head, crankshaft and boxes of additional engine parts. These components and parts allowed me to complete the engine to nearly new specifications. Thank you, Gerry.

David Hans from Barrington, Illinois generously provided me with photos and measurements from his nearly perfect ArnoltBristol Bolide. Dave’s car provided a full scale 3D blueprint that was invaluable toward getting the details correct on 404 X 3000.

Dave, I can’t thank you enough for all of your help with my car.

A heartfelt thank you to my good friend and colleague of 50 years, Frank Entwisle from Lexington, Kentucky, who has been an integral part of all of my automotive endeavors including the Arnolt-Bristol. Thank you, Frank, for your continual assistance and encouragement.

Thank you Scott Bethke from Brake Materials and Parts in Fort Wayne, Indiana for all of your help with the Arnolt and all my various car projects. And thank you again for introducing me to the Appenzeller brothers.

To Jan and Pat Appenzeller of Milford, Indiana for your remarkable skill and experience in the art of automotive and boat restorations. Your timeliness to complete the body work, painting and final assembly of the Arnolt in a professional manner was much appreciated. And your attention to detail and originality was exemplary. Thank you, Jan and Pat.

Finally, sitting in the completed car. Thank you all!!

To Lee Grimes from Koni North America, I can’t thank you enough for all of the effort you and Koni put into making shocks for my humble little Arnolt-Bristol.

And finally to my daughter, Pam Martorano, at Kaliko Design in Naperville, Illinois for the endless hours of design, layout and editing to create this book. Thank you, Pam, from the bottom of my heart.

Acknowledgements

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Š2014 Edward Howell All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-0-692-28708-8 Printed in the United States of America

The Arnolt-Bristol Prototype: Its History and Restoration

Its History and Restoration Ed Howell and Pam Martorano

Ed Howell and Pam Martorano

The Arnolt-Bristol Prototype