9 upgrades a 1936 Bugatti needs to drive 3,600 miles cross country
Fritz Burkard made headlines when he drove his recently restored 1936 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante 3,600 miles across the United States to reach Pebble Beach, California, and enter it in the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. While the Audrain Motor Museum provided a chase vehicle and mechanic for the actual road trip, Scott Sargent (owner of Sargent Metalworks) spent 10 months restoring the Type 57 from a bare shell. Sargent took a few minutes between spraying coats of paint on his current project to explain what it takes to restore a Bugatti Type 57 to Concours d’Elegance level and ensure it can sustain 11 days of driving on a modern highway in the heat of summer.
- Overdrive transmission gear
- Electric radiator fan
- Coolant overflow tank
- Backup electric fuel pump
- Clear bra paint protection
- Custom headlight covers
- Adjustable seat
- Safety upgrades
- Trunkful of unique tools and spare parts
1. Overdrive transmission gear
Sargent Metalworks took delivery of Burkard’s Type 57 in September 2024. It was a bare metal shell and boxes of original parts. Sargent and his team of restoration specialists had their work cut out prepping the car for Pebble Beach in 10 months. In early March, Burkard called to say he was “hatching a new plan and wanted to drive the car to Pebble Beach.”
Sargent’s response: “I get your vision. I like your vision. However, I have to prepare your car differently for such a long trip.” And one feature was non-negotiable. “I have to do an overdrive.”
The Type 57 wasn’t a race car. Bugatti had designed it as a luxury coupe capable of road-tripping all over Europe: a grand tourer. It had a four-speed manual transmission geared for a top cruising speed around 60 mph. That was fine for 1936 roads. But not modern U.S. highways? Not so much. Burkard was in danger of redlining his engine the entire way across the country just to keep up with traffic. That is a recipe for overheating. What’s more, redlining a newly rebuilt engine during its break-in period can prevent the piston rings from ever seating properly.
Scott says, “I immediately sent the transmission to Tim Dutton in the U.K.” The specialist installed a Laycock overdrive gear to the end of the stock transmission. The longer unit required a new driveshaft, but that allowed Sargent to upgrade to modern universal joints instead of the stock “rag joints.”
The result? Burkard was reportedly able to cruise down the highway at 68 to 72 mph while keeping the rpm under 3,000.
2. Electric radiator fan
Sargent admits that “my biggest fear” for the summer road trip was an unexpected construction zone. He explains, “That little car would have a problem sitting and idling.”
The Type 57 left Bugatti’s factory with a four-blade cast aluminum fan spun by its eight-cylinder engine. Like many classic cars, idling in traffic on a hot highway could spell disaster. So Sargent removed the stock fan to make room, then attached an aftermarket electric fan to the backside of the iconic horseshoe-shaped radiator.
“When he could see the temperature creeping up, he would just hit that switch. And certainly if you’re in traffic or stopped, you need to hit that switch and put it on.” It worked like a charm, and the engine temp gauge reportedly never climbed above 85 degrees Celsius (185 Fahrenheit).
Thanks to the electric radiator fan, the Type 57 made it to California without overheating. Once Sargent was prepping the car for the Concours d’Elegance, he pulled the aftermarket fan out and reinstalled the original.
3. Coolant overflow tank
On the topic of overheating, Bugatti began building cars before modern antifreeze was even invented. In the 1920s, water circulated through the water jacket of your car’s engine and your radiator. On freezing cold nights, you’d need to drain it and refill it in the morning. And radiators had an overflow tube. As you drove, “The water coolant expands in the radiator, and then it comes out the overflow tube.”
In the era of modern antifreeze, it’s not a great idea to drain your coolant on the highway. But in addition, your coolant level could fall pretty low during a 300-mile day. So whenever Sargent restores a car, he suggests running the stock overflow tube to “a quart container up as high as we can on the firewall.”
The resulting setup is just like a modern system. “As the coolant is being pushed out of the radiator, it condenses in the line and cools and then after you shut the car off, it actually goes back into the radiator.”
4. Backup electric fuel pump
Sargent has spent countless days as a chase mechanic or ride-along mechanic in Bugattis and other classics on vintage car rallies. He says when you see one broken down during a long drive, “most of the time it’s a lack of proper fuel delivery.” He adds, “If you have a weak fuel pump, you may have vapor locking, which is basically low fuel pressure.”
The solution is simple: “An electric fuel pump on a toggle switch cures all that immediately.” But installing one was a bit more complex.
“You have to have a filter before the fuel pump,” and then in the case of the car destined for the Concours d’Elegance, Sargent decided to plumb the assembly into the fuel line that ran along the frame but “buried” the aftermarket setup out of sight. Then he hid a toggle switch for the pump under the dashboard.
The addition turned out to be critical to the road trip’s success. “As he got out of New England and into the heat, he had to leave it on like all the time.”
5. Clear bra paint protection
On the topic of keeping the freshly restored car ready for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Sargent had another challenge. “This car has a very flat frontal area below the headlights.” It was a recipe for rock chips and other damage.
“We had somebody put a thin film of clear bra on the front fenders and out at Pebble Beach, we got a steamer. You have to carefully steam that film off.”
6. Custom headlight covers
The paint wasn’t the only aspect of the car Sargent worried about damaging. The Type 57 had especially rare pod headlights. Scott admits that if something had happened to them on the drive, “I would have not been able to get another lens for the car” before the show.
So when he sent the car away for new leather upholstery, he made a special request. “I had the trimmer make up these covers for the headlights. It was just like a Naugahyde or leather cover that you peeled and you put on right over the headlight, and it had a piece of lewon plywood sewn in. And during the day he put them on.” In the end, the car arrived at Pebble Beach with pristine headlight lenses.
7. Adjustable seat
Headlight covers weren’t the only unique request Sargent asked the leather trimmer for. “I said, ‘Why don’t you, you know, leave like a slit in the seat on the side, Velcro it, you know, and so we can open it up and I can slip something in there for his lumbar.'”
The trimmer’s response: “No, no, I can do one better. We’ve got these lumbar supports. It’s made specifically for this.”
Sargent says the result was perfect. “There’s a hand-held like squeeze ball to pump it up. And you just pull it out from behind the seat. You can let it off, you can pump it up, you can pump it up more or less or whatever.”
Burkard’s take on the classic upgraded with a lumbar support feature is reportedly, “That’s really amazing.”
8. Safety upgrades
In addition to special road trip-focused upgrades, Sargent outfitted the restored Type 57 with his usual safety features. This includes “A battery disconnect switch in the driver compartment that the driver can reach.” He also always installs “a fire extinguisher in the passenger cockpit.” Finally, he offers seatbelts because 1930s cars have “very firm dashes.”
Luckily, these additions are allowed on show cars. “That’s a safety thing, so they don’t take off for it at Pebble Beach.”
9. A trunkful of unique tools and spare parts
When the restored Type 57 Atalante returned from the trimmer, Sargent took it out for 80 miles of road testing. This allowed him to adjust the suspension, brakes, and other systems as everything “settled in.” Finally, he began gathering spare parts and tools to send with the car on its road trip.
The trunk held, “Oil, filter and maybe two gallons of coolant. A set of spark plugs.” He also included a spare magneto because that’s the first suspect if an old Bugatti loses spark.
Next, there was “A set of tools. A Type 57 [factory] jack. A lead hammer to take the knockoffs off.” That’s right. With the knock-off center hubs, you can’t change a spare tire with a regular tire wrench. And a standard hammer will scratch up the hubs. So a vintage Bugatti’s tire change kit includes a soft lead hammer.
The Bugatti Type 57’s next road trip
Sargent has restored multiple Bugattis destined for Pebble Beach, including the 1-of-3 Bugatti Atlantic, which won Best of Show in 2003. He also restores and maintains vintage Bugattis for owners planning to rally all over the world. He says he’d love to prep another car for a cross-country road trip but would want a bit more lead-in time. Eighty miles of break-in driving is rarely enough to address every potential problem on a freshly-restored car. Sargent admits that next time, “I would want to have a minimum of 500 miles.”
After its cross-country drive and the Concours d’Elegance, Burkard’s 1936 Bugatti Type 57 is back at Sargent Metalworks. The team there is completing the car’s 4,000-mile break-in, which includes adjusting the valves, adjusting the brakes, and addressing any problems, such as a leaky oil line fitting. But soon it will be ready for its next grand tour.
