January 27, 2017

Enjoying the sites of Madeira

Currently in Madeira, Gordon and Eva went to a fantastic restaurant called Chris’s place. The food and service were superb and the wine flowed. When the bill came it they couldn’t believe the price. They asked for a taxi and was informed that there was a courtesy car. They just kept giving!

On the way back we decided to try the sister restaurant Chris’s which we did on the Thursday night.

The taxi driver took us to the back entrance through a car park and their stood a beautiful 280se Mercedes Coupe and I couldn’t resist a couple of photos.

The meal was lovely and yet again the wine flowed and to my surprise again the bill was low.

I asked for a taxi and low and behold we could return to the hotel in the courtesy car.

We were shown out and imagine my delight…the courtesy car was the very same beautiful Mercedes.

As the car wafted up the road our driver Tony treated us to a drive round and information on the cars owners Madeira Garage who not only offer the courtesy aspect but also Classic Car hire.

Staying at the Royal Savoy in Madeira is an experience we should share. Lovely rooms. Breathtaking views. Superb staff and copious amounts of restaurants in walking distance of the hotel.

It’s our first time in Madeira  but it certainly won’t be the last.

1967 Jaguar E-Type, the huge bodywork preparation task

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]In recent months we’ve been reporting lots on the Bridge Classic Cars team working on bodywork preparation.

With four separate Jaguar E-Type projects in their various stages of undress, the Jensen prototype and the MG-YT all requiring lots of bodywork attention it has been non stop in our workshops, and it’s been harder for us to keep on top of the workshop cleanliness.

For anyone who has been to our workshops on Deben Road in Ipswich you’ll see just how particular the team are on keeping the workshops spotless. With porcelain tiles and glass walls every spec of dirt and grime can be seen and we try to irradiate that as best we can! Having said that, when you have a workshop full of cars with metal being cut out, lots of welding being done and panels being replaced all over the shop it’s inevitable that it can not stay as spotless as we would like.

But more important than that is progress, we love progress…

The bodywork of our 1967 Jaguar E-Type was undoubtedly one of our biggest tasks to undertake but things are really starting to take shape. Here you can see the car when it arrived to us.

That’s not a pretty yellow ribbon by the way!

Here we have John starting to remove the Chevy engine ready for the big task to begin.

But here we are, a few months on. The body is really starting to take shape. The body has undergone some serious surgery but now we have a completely transformed car.

As you can see, we are not finished yet but you can already see a vast improvement. All of the rotten areas have now been completely removed and replaced with new. Now that the panels have been fitted we have been able to fully access what panels been to be replaced. Various panels have now been fabricated and we are in the process of fitting up once again.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”9720,9721,9722,9723,9724,9725,9726,9727,9728,9729,9730,9731,9732,9733,9734,9735,9736,9737,9738,9739,9740,9741,9742,9743,9744,9745,9746,9747,9748,9749,9750,9751,9752,9753,9754,9755,9756,9757,9758,9759″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

More repair work to the Jaguar E-Type bonnet

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Laura is still working through removing the rotten areas of the bonnet and replacing with new steel.

As our Jaguar E-Type is being built to race the styling, in places, will be a little unconventional. The external aesthetics of the body will be much smoother than the original design.

The beautiful lines of the iconic E-Type will be even more emphasised due to the lack of chrome.

The brief for Laura is an unusual one but her priority at the moment is to get the bonnet corrected and to remove the imperfections.

Here we have images of the new steel that has been moulded and reshaped to replace the concerning areas.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”9631,9632,9633,9634″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We’ve now removed the nasty issues from inside the bonnet area. All of the horrible bits have now been removed so we’ll soon be ready for the refit.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”9635,9636,9637,9638″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

MGYT Update: Body on Chassis, Engine Almost Ready, Parts Ready For Refit

Today’s the day our newly refurbished chassis reunites with the freshly painted ‘Clipper blue’ body shell of our 1949 MG YT.

We’ll now loosely fit the body panels and start to rebuild. Once we are in a position where we are happy to tighten the panels we’ll proceed to do so.

We’ve had just received confirmation from George Edny, internationally renowned MG engine specialist, that our engine will be complete and back with us for the end of February which is great news as it means will are on time for our schedule.

Lauren has been busy behind the scenes sorting through, cleaning and refurbishing all of the components ready for the refit. We like to be ahead of the game when it comes to sorting and refurbishing. It’s very easy to sit back and think that you have plenty of time but the sooner it can get done the better. Not only can you wrap everything up reassured that the job has been done but it gives you time to repair and replace any components that need doing.

We have even decided to sympathetically refurbish the bumper badges. Ordinarily these owuld be kept original but with such a drastic change to the overal appearance of our MGYT we felt it was best to fresh up the badges. Here we have the freshly painted AA badge, in original AA Yellow.

A huge difference to how it came to us.

Our Jaguar E-Type roadster, now with new arches

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our 1971 Jaguar E-Type V12 roadster is really starting to take shape now as we enter the final stages of bodywork preparation.

The new arches have been shaped and fitted and the new boot lid has been laid into position.

A huge difference from when it arrived with us, with it’s huge ‘cut out’ arches and gigantic exhaust.

We refer a lot to bringing a classic back to life and this project is a true example of that. And what a car it will be…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”9606,9607,9608,9609,9610,9611,9612,9613,9614″][/vc_column][/vc_row]