}
Bristol car
A Bristol 16/20 horsepower Type T Tourer, 1906, entirely hand-built and one of only 18 produced by the Bristol Motor Company. The company was founded by William Appleby, a cycle maker, and Arthur Johnson, his assistant who was a motoring pioneer in Bristol.
Most of the chassis was made in the company's workshop in Redcross Street and included the machining of parts for the engine, casting aluminium components, making wooden chassis parts and making the wheels. Perry & Co in Stokes Croft made the bodywork, specifically for this car. Perry & Co were coachbuilders who, like other horse-drawn vehicle makers, had branched out into making bodies for cars. The bodies were based on existing styles used on carriages - at this time a car was, after all, a 'horseless carriage'.
After 1920, it was converted into a pick-up truck and Keetch & Turner, a Bedminster engineering company, used it for a few years like this until they sold it to a farmer at Avonmouth. He needed an engine to drive his sawbench, and simply jacked the back of the car up enough to get the back wheels clear of the floor and put a drive belt round one of them. It was rediscovered in 1937 in this condition and presented to the Museum by which time The Bristol Motor Company had long ceased to make cars and was dealing in Morris cars at Ashton Gate. Fred Lester and Bob Lewis restored it to its former glory.
Most of the chassis was made in the company's workshop in Redcross Street and included the machining of parts for the engine, casting aluminium components, making wooden chassis parts and making the wheels. Perry & Co in Stokes Croft made the bodywork, specifically for this car. Perry & Co were coachbuilders who, like other horse-drawn vehicle makers, had branched out into making bodies for cars. The bodies were based on existing styles used on carriages - at this time a car was, after all, a 'horseless carriage'.
After 1920, it was converted into a pick-up truck and Keetch & Turner, a Bedminster engineering company, used it for a few years like this until they sold it to a farmer at Avonmouth. He needed an engine to drive his sawbench, and simply jacked the back of the car up enough to get the back wheels clear of the floor and put a drive belt round one of them. It was rediscovered in 1937 in this condition and presented to the Museum by which time The Bristol Motor Company had long ceased to make cars and was dealing in Morris cars at Ashton Gate. Fred Lester and Bob Lewis restored it to its former glory.