MG YT found in Australia

Having seen the restoration of our 1949 MG YT Robert Woods from Australia has been in touch to tell us about his right hand drive MG YT that he is currently in the process of restoring.

We are so excited to follow the progress on this and from all of us at Bridge Classic Cars we wish you all the best with your restoration journey.

Fighting off the cold over the Christmas period

One way to escape the cold weather this Christmas is with the fantastic CarCoon Airflow System. Our 1949 MGYT is now safely tucked away keeping warm and secure.

The EVO model is probably the most versatile CarCoon of all. This model comprises of a base mat and a separate top cover.

Simply drive the car onto the base mat, place the top cover over the car, connect the zipper and plug in the 12 Volt power supply.

The beauty of the EVO CarCoon is that it can be accessed from any side. This model can also be custom made to accommodate any vehicle size, including extra tall vehicles. Even reduced height units can be custom made.

Our 1949 MG YT photo shoot at Fynn Valley Golf Club

We were first introduced to our beautiful 1949 MG Y Tourer (YT) back in September 2016. She was then on a ship heading to the UK from Cyprus where she had spent the majority of her life in the hands of just one family. Daniel McDonald had dreamt of owning a MGYT, having owned a Y in his younger years but ‘not being able to afford the YT’ he came across a very rare right hand drive model available for sale.

Unfortunately she arrived looking somewhat different to what we were all expecting but even in this condition it was clear to see how stunning this little gem would become.

We even had visits from some renowned MG enthusiasts and specialists who had heard of her imminent arrival.

It was with great sadness that Daniel passed away in December 2016 but by special request from his family we were asked to continue with the restoration and give Daniel the car he always dreamed of.

And here we are…a little under a year later we are thrilled to hand over one of the most beautiful projects we have had the pleasure in building. As Daniel was a very keen golfer it was only fitting for the final photo-shoot to be held on the final hole of one of Suffolk’s most beautiful golf courses – Fynn Valley Golf Club.

Fynn Valley Golf Club is set in the rolling countryside of rural Suffolk in Witnesham, near Ipswich and is a friendly, family run Club.

A huge thank you to General Manager Ryan Parfett and the staff at Fynn Valley Golf Course, Jason at Sugar and Spice Photography and the McDonald family for their continued support.

On Friday 17th November  2017 on a crisp winter’s morning we completed our photo-shoot and here are the fantastic photos that I’m sure you’ll see for many years to come.

1949 MG YT Delivery Day

We’ve now reached the day where we have to unfortunately wave goodbye to our 1949 MG YT.

She came to us a little over a year ago, straight off the ship from Cyprus and looking in a bit of a sorry state.

Now, after a full nut and built rebuild she’s complete and ready to go home to Dagenham.

It may have been bitterly cold but at least it was dry. We arrived in good time, parked her up and covered her over at her new home just before the snow started to fall.

1949 MGYT restoration complete and ready for photo shoot

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A little over a year ago we took a call from an excited Mr McDonald who had just received confirmation that he was now the proud owner of an original, 1 owner, 1949 MG YT.

At the time, the car was living out in Cyprus but was due to board the ship any day to arrive with us in Felixstowe.

Some time later we received the call that she had arrived at the docks and would be making her way to our Ipswich workshops for what we thought would be a fairly standard recommission and health check.

As you can see from the day she arrived, this was not the case.

But after many months of hard work and a very emotional journey, here she is today, all complete and back to how she was when she left the factory back in 1949.

All that’s left to do now is the traditional completion photo shoot.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16274,16275,16276,16277,16278,16279,16280,16281,16282,16283,16284,16285,16286″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Mercedes AMG GT Coupe – WOW!

With the youngest member of the Ranson family, little Loick, now coming up to 7 months old, will he be having the same conversations that I have with my Dad in many years to come. Better still, will little Loick be having this conversation with his son or daughter, let’s hope so:

“So we’ve got a very rare Mercedes AMG GT Coupe coming in to the workshops. Found in a barn, hasn’t been run for years. Was originally silver with red leather but in need of a full a restoration.”

It’s difficult to think that this conversation could be a reality.

But for now, here is one of the most beautiful cars available in the world right now! It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the McDonald family into the Bridge Classic Cars workshops today and what a car to arrive in…the stunning Mercedes AMG GT Coupe.

Underneath our 1949 MGYT

Throughout the build, we have taken lots of pictures of the exterior of our 1949 MGYT but probably not so many of the underside.

As we have her on the ramp to check over everything now is the perfect opportunity to see a different angle.

Our 1949 MGYT nearing completion

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We have now so close to completion on our 1949 MGYT restoration project.

We are just waiting on a part to be manufactured for the side screens and then our final task is the jacking ram system. Having sourced a set of original rams we needed the assistance of a hydraulic expert to help free them up and undo years of corrosion.

Unfortunately they were unable to release the rams so the system is now back with us for plan B.

Lucky for us, the project can complete with or without the rams in place so these can be fixed into position at a later date.

Here are a selection of images taken last week, the registration plate has now been fitted as well as the brand new hub caps.

It’s the littler items of a restoration that seem to make the biggest difference.

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Colour-coding the MGYT side screen frames

When the car arrived with us, the side screen frames were still in the raw material and colour of the steel. We have decided to colour code the frame the same colour as the hood frame. Not only does it look more aesthetically pleasing but will preserve and protect the frames for longer.

Piping the MGYT Oil Dipstick Cover

From new, we believe the small piece of shaped metal and carpet which covers the MG YT oil dipstick is not piped, instead it was left as a rough piece of carpet. Hopefully the purists won’t be too offended with our decision to pipe it. We have opted for beige/biscuit piping rather than blue so it is not too glaringly obvious.

Without the piping it looked like someone had made an error in the manufacturing plant and tried to patch it up with a bit of carpet but now it looks beautiful. It still serves the same purpose of being a cover but now does it with a bit of style and elegance.

MG YT – fitting up the front seats

Today, we’ve been able to truly feel what it will be like to drive this beautiful machine.

Last week we could experience being a back seat passenger but now we have the front seat securely in position. It has made us realise just how short we must’ve all been in 1949 as our heads touch the roof but having said that it feels wonderful.

Tomorrow we’ll work on fitting up the passenger’s seat but as another day closes we are only moments away from completion and the now famous completion photo shoot. Our 1949 MG YT will soon be reunited with it’s owners.

2016 Morgan

Source: The Morgan Motor Company

“The Morgan Motor Company Ltd was established in 1909 by H.F.S. Morgan with the design of the Morgan three-wheeler. A four-wheeled model began production in 1936, and Morgan cars have long become famous the world over for their unique blend of charisma, quality materials, craftsmanship and performance.

The ethos at Morgan remains unchanged: all our cars are coach built and subjected to continual development in order to meet current standards of safety and to offer the responsive thoroughbred performance with which our name is associated. The development of our model-range has taken the marque into the 21st Century, and today Morgan builds in excess of 1300 cars per year. The Aero 8, a major achievement for a small Company, was launched in 2000, and continual evolution of the Aero Range has seen the 8 joined by the dramatic Aero SuperSports and its fixed-head sibling, the Aero Coupe. In 2011 we re-launched the Morgan 3 Wheeler, a modern interpretation of H.F.S. Morgan’s classic design. Our ‘Classic’ range continues to be our flagship vehicle – with models including the 4/4, the world’s longest-running production vehicle, and engine sizes ranging from 1600cc to 4800cc, these famous icons are the models perhaps most associated with Morgan.”

Today, we had a visit from Mike, owner of MG Specialists NTG and he arrived in style as the passenger of this 2016 Morgan. He came to visit us to take a look at the progress of our 1949 MG YT as completion draws ever closer.

MGYT Carpets, Seats, Door Cards

The stunning carpets are now laid into position. At this stage they are only fitted to size everything up and make sure our measurements are accurate.

The door cards are also now in position, we just need to finish off the hidem banding with chrome finishing caps and fully secure the door cards into position.

And finally, the seats are laid into position to ensure a snug fit.

Final stages of completion

We are now on the final push of our 1949 MG YT restoration project. The journey has been been fantastic and we have had lots of lovely comments on the car. Everyone from the MG enthusiast to the general public walking on by and looked in and admired it’s styling and unique design.

She is now in the assembly room of our Ipswich workshops and by the end of this week we should be nearing completion.

Fitting up the new interior

Early next week we’ll complete the final few items of our brand new MG YT but the rear seats are now complete and ready to be fitted.

We’ve used the original seats but have remade with new base cushions and re-introduced the lighter interior. The blue piping has been added to blend the interior in with the clipper blue exterior.

Some new additions to our MGYT project

With the old badge bar beyond repair we have now sourced a brand new one, refurbished the original AA badge but kept the owner’s club as it arrived and now the entire unit is fitted back on to the car.

The brand new roof has also been built up and fitted. We are yet to fully fit and tighten where required but as you can see, the general shape and design fits perfectly to the frame.

Perfecting the MGYT interior

Our 1949 MG YT interior  remake is almost complete, here is the first images of the seats and door cards. We have re-manufactured the entire interior set up using the original components where possible but now with the new colour combination.

As you can see, the leather is yet to be tightened in places but certainly within the next few days we’ll have the full interior complete and ready to fit.

We have re-made the door card templates as these are almost impossible to find.

The styling remains the same as the original although we have introduced a couple of alterations to them to ensure they last longer than the originals would ever have been able to. The pockets are now slightly cushioned and the pocket fixing are much tighter than the originals were.

Keeping to the original is always our aim (unless instructed otherwise) but as technologies change it is certainly worthwhile assessing the situation in order to get the best results…and this is a great example of a little extra effort going a long way.

MGYT outside for the day

We are just waiting on the interior to be completed but as it’s a lovely day we thought it would be nice for our 1949 MGYT to enjoy the sunshine.

MGYT Interior almost complete

We are now in the final stages of building the new interior for our 1949 MGYT.

The brand new camel carpet has also arrived with us ready to be shaped and edged.

Running up the MGYT Engine

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When our 1949 MG YT arrived at our Ipswich workshops back in November 2016, she was missing a lot of her character:

A very different car to what we expected but never-the-less, a car that from day one showed so much promis.

One of the major tasks was to rebuild the engine. With the majority of it being on the leather interior, and in a number of boxes it was a huge task sourcing the missing components. Now, after a full engine rebuild, the time has come for the newly built engine to be refitted into the car once again and for it to be run up for the very first time.

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Fitting the new stainless exhaust system

We are very fortunate to have one of the world’s leading MG parts suppliers right here on our doorstep. NTG have provided us with a brand new stainless steel exhaust for our MG YT restoration project.

Although she arrived with us looking very sorry for herself, she did come equipped with her exhaust system. However, after years of neglect the exhaust was showing signs of wear in many places.

Repairs could be made to the existing exhaust but taking into account the hours of labour involved in repairing an old unit is was far better to replace with a brand new stainless addition.

New Dash Complete With Dials

With the dials back from Speedograph, having been completely overhauled, rebuilt and re-polished, we have now been able to securely fit them in our newly refurbished dash.

We are now on to the final stretch of the rebuild, with the interior arriving back from Kim very soon having been completely remade. We have re manufactured the new door cards as brand new door cards for the MG YT seem to be non-existant…

…until now that is!