Arnolt Bristol

If it moved, Stanley Harold Arnolt II had something to do with it. He built bomb racks and fuel lines for warplanes. He built heavy based ashtrays for club cars on railroad trains. He built boat trailers for Sears and the preeminent marine spotlight, the Iva-lite. Designed for use on boats, it found its way onto emergency vehicles due to its unique ability to make a 360 degree turn. He also owned a boat company, North American Marine, that imported a craft called the Amanda: a precursor to the Ski-doo, but way too far ahead of its time. 

Then there were automobiles. The Arnott MG and the Arnot Bristol.

Arnolt was born in 1907 in Chicago to a family of bookbinders. The family business was not the path Stanley wished to follow. He wanted to design cars! Off he went to the University of Wisconsin to get his B.S. in mechanical engineering. Graduating in 1930 with any kind of degree was, however, not going to open many doors—anywhere. He eked by on part-time engineering jobs in the midwest, banking experience, but not much more. 

In 1939, Arnolt took a big chance. He was able to purchase the rights to build the Sea-Mite engine from the Waukesha Engine Company of Waukesha Wisconsin. The Sea-Mite was a tiny one-liter, four cylinder marine engine. Its main purpose was as back-up when the wind didn’t blow and wealthy sailor’s yachts were becalmed. At the time, there was a lot more to worry about than sailing, so sales were almost nonexistent. A deal was made, and Mr. Arnolt had a motor.

Arnolt was also a great promoter of his products. His son Michael recalls a story that stuck in his mind. To show the durability and dependability of the Sea-Mite engine, Arnolt installed one in a 12-14 foot watercraft, and headed across lake Michigan all by himself. It might as well have been the Pacific ocean—but Arnolt made it! Stanley Arnolt quickly became known as “Wacky” Arnolt.

This time around, Arnolt found himself in the right place, at the right time, with the right product. He soon had big dollar contracts with the US government for his marine engine and spotlights. Many of these made it into the civilian marketplace. An eager Arnolt started manufacturing all manner of things: dinette sets, battery chargers, even lawn sprinklers.

 With success came millions of dollars, and the ability to pursue his real passion—automobiles. His daily driver was a 41 Lincoln Continental; but by the end of the decade, something new appeared on his radar screen: the MG TC. 

He bought one for himself; by 1950 S.H. Arnolt Inc. opened its doors in Chicago, selling all types of British cars. He’d learned of a large supply of Morris Minors in England. After some very fast talking in a Chicago bank, he obtained financing and bought them. Now the proud owner of one thousand Morris Minors stacked, practically like cord wood, under The Navy Pier in Chicago, his automobile business was off to a real start. Soon, MGs, Rolls Royces, Bristols and Aston Martins filled out the stable. Next, S.H. Arnold became the mid-Western distributor of BMC products. Other automotive parts and accessory company were steadily swallowed up by the ever-industrious Arnolt.

 1952 in Turin, Italy would take Arnolt down yet another road. All the beautiful and exotic cars of the time were there, along with all the great couch builders, showing their latest creations at the annual Auto show. Many lovely Italian cars were seen, but Arnolt passed on them. 

Suddenly, he saw a familiar vertical grill with two letters he knew well. MG. Nuccio Bertone, in a last-ditch effort to save his design firm, had created two cars using an MG chassis, running gear, and grill as a starting point. Clad in an envelope body in coupe and roadster versions, they caught the eye of “Wacky” Arnolt. A deal was made for 100 of each! The car was to carry the savior’s name “Arnolt MG,” saving the great house of Bertone from financial ruin, so they could live on to create more automotive masterpieces.

Now that the deal was done, it was time to get the British gear into the hands of the Turin builders. Arnolt headed to Abingdon-on-Thames to secure chassis for his two hundred 

namesake cars. MG was to ship the Chassis to Bertone as needed. In total only thirty-five open cars and sixty five coupes were completed. MG was transitioning from the TD to the TF and no longer made the chassis available to Bertone.

Even with a smaller number of cars to produce, it took Bertone over a year to complete the order and have the cars arrive piecemeal at their destination in Chicago.

It was an inexpensive, exotic, hand built, European GT on American soil that was as easy to service as other MGs roaming the streets at that time. The convertible had many simple luxuries that the TD was lacking, like roll up windows and a working heater; adding to all that, the coupe was an elegant little touring car. Even with an overall length greater than the original TD and a heavier body, better aerodynamics gave the Bertone body better fuel economy and a greater top end. But with no more chassis forthcoming from MG, Mr. Arnolt’s car had no future.

Other problems arose with the British Motor Corporation: they wanted to merge distribution down to one location on the East coast of the U.S. This was not an acceptable option to Arnolt, being the distributor for BMC in the mid-west. 

Stanley had alternatives. He was the sole distributor of Bristol cars in the United States, and enjoyed an excellent relationship with them. Bristol had no problem working with Arnolt on his next project; in fact, they had the perfect chassis hiding under their model 404. It also had the Bristol version of the tried-and-true, pre-war BMW 328 engine under its bonnet. This was the platform given to Franco Scaglione of Bertone to design a body around. Scaglione had numerous problems to solve: a British short wheel base chassis with a very tall engine that he had to stretch a body over. A Wacky American who wanted a road car and a race car in one, so it had to be light and sleek . His Italian boss Signor Bertone, who wanted it to be bello!

The resulting machine was a lightweight, clean-lined sports car with a look all its own.

***

Franco Scaglione was a unique individual; in school, he studied to be an aeronautical engineer. At the outbreak of WWII he went into military service and was captured and interned

in a detention camp in India from 1941 till 1946.

In 1948 he left his home of Carolei and made his way to Bologna . He earned a living sketching designs for fashion designers, but his true love was auto design. He moved on to Turin

where he met Battista Pinin Farina. Scaglione’s work was much appreciated by the coach builder, but the two could not come to terms. 

That is when Scallion found his first home at Carrozzeria Bertone. During his tenure, Scaglione turned out memorable designs like the Alfa Romeo Berlinetta Aerodynamic Tecnica B.A.T. series, the Alfa Giulietta Sprint, the Ferrari-Abarth 166 MM/53 and the Arnolt Bristol.

Coach-built cars of the time used aluminum for their body work; but not Bertone. Instead, steel was employed to create the knife-edged shape of the Arnolt Bristol’s distinctive fenders, using aluminum only for the bonnet and boot. 

The metamorphosis of the Arnolt Bristol was almost instantaneous, a feat that could never be matched in today’s corporate environment. Arnolt and Bertone had only just met in 1952, and their collaboration was on the road a few short years later.

 In 1953, 142 chassis were prepared by Bristol to be married to the Bertone-created bodies.

Like the MG before, the chassis were slow in arriving in Turin again, showing up only a few at a time. The first production car was shipped from Bertone in 1954, the last one almost ten years later. 12 cars were destroyed in a fire in one of Arnolt’s Chicago Warehouses, so only 130 made it into the hands of waiting buyers. 3-6 carried an elegant coupe body, and a handful arrived in the US without engines, but in a short time they were sporting Chevy V8s.

 The praises for Wacky’s sports car were being sung by every automotive journalist who got his hands on one. Road & Track, Motor Trend, and Sports Car Illustrated were telling the world about this almost perfect machine that Wacky had created.

The next step to get the world’s attention for these unique sports cars, however, was through the crucible of racing.

In 1954, Freddie Wacker tied for first place in E-modified in has brand new Arnolt Bristol with its under-the-skin relative, a Frazer Nash Lemans Rep driven by Ted Boynton.

By 1955 enough cars had been built to satisfy the FIA and the Arnolt could compete as a limited production sports car without having to go head-to-head with true sports racers .

Now it was time to create a team!

Of course the car’s namesake would be behind the wheel, along with drivers Bob Grier, John Panks, Ernie Erickson and Bob Goldich, but what they really needed was someone 

to lead the team: someone with experience and knowledge, a fierce competitor with many racing miles behind them. They needed… a restauranteur! Of course that restauranteur was René Dreyfus. 

Arnolt used his charm and powers of persuasion to coax Dreyfus out of retirement and into one of his factory cars for the 1955 Sebring race. Under Dreyfus’ leadership they finished 1,2, and 4 in the under two liter production class.

In 1956, adieu Monsieur Dreyfus. Wacky and co-driver Bob Goldich were out early in the race, but the rest of team still made a respectable showing of 2nd and 3rd in class.

In 1957 the team’s luck took a turn for the worse. Arnolt pitted the car for a driver change, and Bob Goldich jumped behind the wheel. He was warned that the brakes were grabbing as he left the pits to re-enter the fray. Driving into the sun, Goldich braked late, lost control, and the car flipped. With no belts or roll bar, he was crushed to death.

After a few years away the team came back without Wacky behind the wheel. In 1960 teammates Max Goldman and Ralph Durbin came in 14th overall and first in the 2 liter GT class. In 22nd place, and fourth in the two liter class, were co-drivers Johnston, Seaverns and Bradley. 39th place and 6th in class were Tom Payne and Bob Garry. The final team assault on Sebring would be in 1961 with a 1-2-3 in GT 2.0

The death of Bob Goldich back in 1957 soured racing for Stanley Arnolt. In his son’s mind, it was the beginning of the end of racing and automobile production for Arnolt. His heart was no longer in it. All the remaining cars were finally sold, but there were no plans to create the next machine.

With Stanley Arnolt’s death on December 24th 1963 came the final chapter of S.H. Arnolt Inc.

and the racing Arnolt Bristols. Yet his wonderful little sports cars have carried on his name, with over 90 cars still in existence.

So let’s talk about #404X3038, one of the Sebring competitors from back in 1960 and ‘61.

Racer Brooke Doran bought 3038 from Arnolt and raced it privately in the Mid-West for a few years before moving into larger displacement racers.

Doran sold the Arnolt to Carl Lucars; then the 1968 Arnolt registry showed Stephen Gross as the owner. After that it wound up at Chinetti Motors in Greenwich, CT. From there, it was purchased by Paul Cavalier and moved across the ocean to travel the roads of France. Cavalier owned the Arnolt for a number of years wanting to put it back to its former glory, but he never got around to it. 

In 1995, the next caretaker was Christian Palot . At that point the Arnolt was just a tired race car, so after a few years Palot embarked on a full ground-up, nuts-and-bolts restoration of the little sports car. Then he went about enjoying himself and the car on a number of European rallies.

Enter Matt deGarmo, a collector and highly respected private broker of classic and exotic cars.

During one rally, Matt can’t keep his eyes off another entrant’s Arnolt; he decides he simply has to have one for himself. 

The search begins. First he sees one advertised in the back of a vintage automobile magazine. This is not the usual place that theses rare cars are offered. He goes and sees the car; it needs work. Is it the car for him? He asks the advice of a friend, who mentions a brief comment on a Bristol blog regarding an Arnolt. Matt follows up and discovers 3038. The car is available... he has it checked out… and soon the little sports car is on its way back to the US.

When it arrives, it is better than described: the restoration of 20+ years ago has held up amazingly. With a few hundred test miles and a full going-over by his mechanic, the two head for the California Mille. 

Nothing ever stops the robust little car; even on a 23 degree morning in Lake Tahoe that leaves other exotics dead in the water, the Arnolt fires right up.

Moving around the Arnolt Bristol, you immediately appreciate the genius in the Scaglione designed body. Every obstacle put in front of him is solved with amazing elegance and simplicity. The shape is one that was way ahead of its time and would definitely be an influence on automobiles that would follow it its wake. The flowing shape of the fender into the peaked hood to cover the tall, will-not-go-gentle engine is the perfect example of form following function, but it just seems so effortless, as does the way the whole body envelopes the chassis, giving the car a low-to-the-ground look. Then—to finish—the wonderfully sharp edged rear fenders sweep sensuously into a simple and clean tail, with only a small set of brake lights and a reverse light over the license.

Once in the car, you’re looking at a no frills dash that’s a continuation of the cowl and is topped with the rearview mirror. The collection of Smiths gauges are in a simple layout in front of you: speedometer on the left, tachometer with clock on the right, and a multi-gauge for fuel, oil pressure and amps to the right of that. Water and oil temperature gauges are just above the column for the three-spoked wheel. The leather covered racing seats do a good job of keeping you in place and feel like that will keep you comfortable for many a mile. And the view over hood and fenders? One of the best in the business.

The turn of a key, the press of a button, and the Arnolt awakens with a superb guttural growl that becomes more vicious as you add the RPMs, giving you a hint of its racing history and pedigree. The steering is nimble and very precise, letting you put the car just where you want it.

 Adding great throttle response and an upgrade to front disc brakes, you always feel in control. And moving through the gears is a pleasure with clean, short throws.

Michael Arnolt told me “You feel like part of the road, very connected. It’s a truly exhilarating car to drive.” I would have to agree. 

There is by no means a huge amount of power, or handfuls of torque, but the free revving inline six does a good job of motivating you down the road. It was never the giant killer in a multi class race, but it was always in the mix with cars in its class—and that spark has not diminished to this day. The Arnolt Bristol is a robust and thrilling road car—rally car—race car. To experience a car with this kind of performance and handling that is 50+ years old and is being powered by a engine that was created before WWII is to experience a machine that defies its era.

For its low production and limited time on the racing world stage, the Arnolt Bristol is not a well known automobile, but to a certain number of enthusiasts, the legend of “Wacky” Arnolt, and his sports car will not go gentle into that good night.