1982 Triumph TR7 at the iconic Orwell Bridge, Ipswich

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On Wednesday 19th April we took our fully restored 1982 Triumph TR7 to the Orwell Bridge in Ipswich for our latest photo shoot.

The Orwell Bridge was a crucial part of this shoot. It was opened to road traffic in December 1982, the very same year that our Triumph TR7 was first registered on the UK roads. It seemed too good a connection to pass up the opportunity.

As always, a special thank you to Jason at Sugar and Spice Photography for the fantastic images.

To view the full restoration journey click here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”12240,12236,12235,12234,12233,12232,12231,12230,12229,12228,12227,12226,12225,12224,12223,12222,12221,12220,12219,12218,12217,12216,12215,12214,12213,12212,12211,12210,12209,12208,12207,12206,12205,12204,12203,12202,12201″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Behind the scenes of our 1982 Triumph TR7 photo shoot

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Although this incredible structure over the River Orwell is one of Suffolk’s largest landmarks, it’s surprisingly difficult to get a car photographed beside the Orwell Bridge.

We were all set for a 9am start with a fantastic location all lined up and the necessary permissions all in place to carry out our latest photo shoot. Unfortunately after the first few shots Jason from Sugar and Spice Photography wasn’t too happy with how it looked on camera. Through the lens the bridge looked too far away so we had to think fast on a Plan B.

The Orwell Bridge was a crucial part of this shoot. It was opened to road traffic in 1982 which is the very same year our Triumph TR7 was first registered on the UK roads. It seemed too good a connection to pass up the opportunity.

Our photo shoots are very well known for including some of Suffolk most iconic landmarks and we are continuing to look for more for future shoots so if you have any suggestions please feel free to email them in.

Here was have a behind the scene look whilst we eagerly await the professionals from Jason.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”11804,11805,11806,11807,11808,11809,11810,11811,11812,11813,11803″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Plan B was the very well known Orwell Bridge lay-by and our luck was in as we had the lay-by to ourselves for the morning.

We even got spotted by Gary…

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The TR7 is now complete

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With the newly refurbished radiator now fitted and functional there was just one final piece to the puzzle.

A good clean and detail to remove the last of the paint shop dust.

Rich from Suffolk Detailing came in to assist yesterday afternoon and after a few hours we are back in the workshops, covered over ready for the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk photoshoot early next week…

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Refitting the newly refurbished radiator

Our Triumph TR7 radiator has now been fully rebuilt and tested by the guys down at Ipswich based radiator specialists Sheldrake & Wells.

As always, a super fast service and prompt delivery means we were able to remove it, rebuild it and refit it in a number of days.

Refurbishing the TR7’s rotten radiator

Whilst in the paint shop an issue has arisen with the radiator.

By removing the radiator we discovered that is was suffering heavily due to rot in the core.

We have now sent the radiator away to Sheldrake and Wells for it to be fully refurbished.

Triumph TR7 in paint

Here we have our 1982 Triumph TR7 in the paint bay being resprayed.

Triumph TR7 – The body preparation continues…

With less than 2 weeks to go until our 1982 Triumph TR7 is scheduled to enter the paint bay there is still lots of work to carry out on the body shell in order to get it ready.

Although the previous owner had carried out a stunning £16,000 ‘nut and bolt’ restoration on this car, the paint had suffered from micro-blistering. In order to put things right we made the decision to strip back the car and carry out a full respray.

Craig is working on the TR7 body preparation today…

Due to our workloads, we have not been able to give our 1982 Triumph TR7 our undivided attention recently but that’s now changed as Craig has started working on the front area getting her ready for paint.

Although the previous owner had carried out an amazing £16,000 full ‘nut and bolt’ restoration, when it arrived with us we noticed small areas of micro-blistering starting to appear in the paintwork so we are now carrying out a full respray to get her looking amazing for the summer shows.

Triumph TR7 in preparation stages

Our 1982 Triumph TR7 is now in the preparation stages, the entire car must now be stripped of it’s components ready to undergo a full respray.

Unfortunately, this task was only carried out not too long ago on by a company in Scotland acting on behalf of the previous customer. Due to a lack of preparation or perhaps a good knowledge and understanding of the correct procedure, the paint had started to micro-blister which does not look very appealing.

This means that all of the hard work that was originally carried out is to now be undone so that the paint can be prepared and applied correctly, resulting in a finish that will not longer micro-blister.

We’ve had a change of heart

On Friday we made the decision NOT to colour code our Triumph TR7.

We had discussed our plans with various people and had received mixed reviews, some people thought it was best to stick to the originality where as other felt a face lift would be a great asset to this iconic classic.

Having thought about it long and hard we decided that the previous owner had done such a superb job of restoring her that we would continue with his original vision. It’s just unfortunately that the preparation in the paintwork was not previously carried out properly which resulted in the vehicle micro-blistering. She is now in our workshops being stripped and prepared ready for a full respray.

New Wheels

We just accepted delivery of our newly refurbished Triumph TR7 wheels.

As much as the 2 tone black and chrome rims did look fantastic we felt that the originals would look much better so after trawling the internet in source of some original 13 inch wheels we managed to find a set that we in desperate need of some TLC.

As always, Wheelworx did what they do best and now we have a fantastic set of perfect Triumph TR7 wheels with a brand spanking new set of tyres.

1982 Triumph TR7 Colour Coding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We recently took delivery of a fully restored Triumph TR7.

The previous owner of 16 years did a full ‘nut and bolt’ rebuild and has enjoyed just over 15,000 trouble free miles in her.

Only brought to market as he is now restoring another one.

We have a fully documented rebuild history and the car is totally rust free and runs like a Swiss Watch. Delivered to us via the Mansion House Hotel in Elgin Scotland which is one of our favourite retreats.

For some unknown reason the bodywork seems to be micro-blistering in places so we have decided to re-spray the entire car and within this we’ll treat it to a fully colour coded styling.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”5513,5512,5511,5510,5509,5508,5507,5506,5505,5504,5503,5502,5501,5500,5499,5498,5497,5496,5495,5494,5493″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A life before Bridge Classic Cars[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”5483,5481,5480,5479,5478,5477,5476,5475,5474,5473,5472,5471,5470,5469,5468,5467,5466,5465,5464,5463,5462,5461,5460,5459,5458,5457,5456,5455,5454,5453,5452,5451,5450,5449,5448,5447,5446,5445,5444,5443,5442,5441,5440,5439,5438,5437,5436,5435,5434,5433,5432,5431,5429,5428,5427,5426″][/vc_column][/vc_row]