Second Coat – 1965 Porsche 912 Parts in Primer
February 18, 2022
Some of the panels and pieces from the 1965 Porsche 912 have been into the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint booth for their first coats
February 18, 2022
Removals – Removing the Suspension and Steering from the 1970 Bristol 411
February 18, 2022
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on getting the suspension and steering system out of the 1970 Bristol 411. Paul has removed
The Kindest of Gestures – Winner of the 1976 Mercedes 350SL Donates to Local Charity as a Thank You
February 18, 2022
We recently welcomed the winner of our 1976 Mercedes 350SL, Zhuman Zamiri, to our Suffolk workshop to show him around and take delivery of his
The Smallest Details – Repainting Parts for the 1956 Jensen 541
February 18, 2022
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have had some of the parts and pieces from the 1956 Jensen 541 in the paint booth. With
Primed and Ready – The 1987 Mercedes 500SL in Primer
February 18, 2022
The stunning 1987 Mercedes 500SL which has been in the Bridge Classic Cars body shop getting prepared for its paint job has been transferred into
Blackout – Refinishing Trim Pieces for the 1978 MGB GT
February 18, 2022
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have some of the trims and pieces from the 1978 MGB GT in the paint booth to be
Filler Work – Body Work Continues on the 1965 Porsche 912
February 18, 2022
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on getting the body of the 1965 Porsche 912 currently in with us
Final Checks – Retorquing the Cylinder Head of the 1969 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda
February 18, 2022
The engine for the 1969 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda has begun its final phase of testing at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Suffolk. As part
Behind The Scenes – Live Draw of the TAG Heuer Carrera & 1974 MGB GT
February 18, 2022
The night of the 17th of February 2022 was time for another of the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions live draws! This was the time to
Taken Apart – Removing the Radio and Sunroof on the 1986 Ford Capri
February 18, 2022
The workshop technicians at Bridge Classic Cars have been working alongside our trim team to remove some of the parts and pieces from the 1986
Second Coat – 1965 Porsche 912 Parts in Primer
February 18, 2022
Some of the panels and pieces from the 1965 Porsche 912 have been into the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint booth for their first coats of primer.
Alan has been working on getting these panels ready for the polyester primer in the previous days which has involved hours of careful sanding and reworking of the metal. Now, it was time for the panels to go in for the first round of primer for the classic Porsche.
Now with the panels currently curing in the paint shop, Alan will begin getting the other parts of the 912 ready to go into the paint booth.
Removals – Removing the Suspension and Steering from the 1970 Bristol 411
February 18, 2022
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on getting the suspension and steering system out of the 1970 Bristol 411.
Paul has removed the springs and dampers from the classic British GT ready for its left-hand-drive conversion. Along with that, he has removed the steering box out of the car. All of these pieces are being carefully inspected and put into storage to go along with the car after its conversion.
It’s exciting to see this project moving forward on such a unique but more frequently requested job.
The Kindest of Gestures – Winner of the 1976 Mercedes 350SL Donates to Local Charity as a Thank You
February 18, 2022
We recently welcomed the winner of our 1976 Mercedes 350SL, Zhuman Zamiri, to our Suffolk workshop to show him around and take delivery of his new classic.
As he toured the workshops with the Bridge Classic Cars staff, he kept remarking just how impressed he was with the wide range of cars that our team work on in-house. Then, it was finally time for us to unveil his 1976 Mercedes 350SL to him in our brand new workshop extension surrounded by the other competition cars.
Zhuman was speechless and so excited to get his hands on his first real classic. And what a perfect first classic this car really was. The team here at Bridge Classic Cars took him round the car and gave him the run through of everything to do with running and driving the car.
This week, Zhuman sent us a message to say that as a show of thanks to the team here at Bridge Classic Cars he donated to a local charity near to our hearts, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. An amazing gesture and one which will go to help a very worthy cause.
Thank you Zhuman and we wish you many happy miles of motoring with your 350SL from the whole Bridge Classic Cars team.
The Smallest Details – Repainting Parts for the 1956 Jensen 541
February 18, 2022
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have had some of the parts and pieces from the 1956 Jensen 541 in the paint booth.
With the restoration of the 1956 Jensen 541 moving ahead with the body panels and pieces being worked on by our paint and body teams, it was the turn of some of the parts to go into our in-house paint booth to be refinished in heavy-duty black and looking as good as new.
The pieces for this restoration will be going into the booth in various stages in preparation for the final assembly of the car but until then they will be wrapped up and put into storage after being catalogued.
Primed and Ready – The 1987 Mercedes 500SL in Primer
February 18, 2022
The stunning 1987 Mercedes 500SL which has been in the Bridge Classic Cars body shop getting prepared for its paint job has been transferred into the spray booth for the first layers of finish primer to be laid onto the iconic classic Mercedes.
Chris, one of our paint technicians, has taken the R107 into the booth and thanks to the hours of preparation on the body by our body team, flawlessly laid down the first in a long process of getting the car into its final colour of Selenit Grau.
Chris treats every coat of primer like it is a final layer of colour or clear and all the paintwork that comes out of the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop is held to the same exacting standards.
We’re excited to show you the next step in the restoration of the 1987 Mercedes 500SL very soon here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
Blackout – Refinishing Trim Pieces for the 1978 MGB GT
February 18, 2022
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have some of the trims and pieces from the 1978 MGB GT in the paint booth to be refinished.
Whilst the body of the MGB is having its metalwork completed, the paint team took the opportunity to refinish several of the trims and fixings in a new heavy-duty black finish for the classic sports car. This not only is aesthetic but also will help protect the pieces, which were taken back to bare metal, while they’re in storage until reassembly begins.
Filler Work – Body Work Continues on the 1965 Porsche 912
February 18, 2022
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on getting the body of the 1965 Porsche 912 currently in with us absolutely perfect before it goes into the paint booth.
Alan has been working on getting each and every panel just right with hours of sanding and manipulating each piece. One of the front wings had shown evidence of repairs in the past which had changed the shape of the panel quite drastically, so Alan removed this from the car and went through the process of shrinking the metal in very specific places along the panel to get it to fall back into the correct shape.
With that process completed, he could then begin refining the filler work needed to smooth out any surfaces on the classic Porsche.
Final Checks – Retorquing the Cylinder Head of the 1969 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda
February 18, 2022
The engine for the 1969 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda has begun its final phase of testing at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Suffolk.
As part of the process, after the engine has been run up to temperature and left to cool several times, the cylinder head on the 2.8-litre straight-six. This is retorqued in the correct sequences and settings to make sure that the newly rebuilt cylinder head is sitting flat and even to the top of the engine block and the gasket is fitting correctly.
With that done and rechecked, the testing of the 1969 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda can continue.
Behind The Scenes – Live Draw of the TAG Heuer Carrera & 1974 MGB GT
February 18, 2022
The night of the 17th of February 2022 was time for another of the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions live draws! This was the time to find out who the new winner of the TAG Heuer Carrera Watch and 1974 MGB GT.
As with our last few live draws, we invited several members for the East Coast Retros car club down to watch the draw from our brand new showroom facility at our Suffolk HQ along with a very special friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Karina (AKA Bike Like a Mum). As Hayley and Craig made their way around the selection of cars inside the new building and showed our live audience both in the building on the live stream around each of them.
After that, it was a quick walk through our restoration workshop to show some of the new projects currently being worked on by the Bridge Classic Cars technicians. Included in that was a look at our new paint and body preparation area and the move of our trim shop from downstairs to upstairs at our Pettistree workshop.
Then, it was back into the new building. Hayley and Craig managed to grab a couple of minutes with Karina to talk about her experiences going through the process of getting her motorcycle license and her history and connection to motorbikes which all lead up to the reveal that we will be doing some very exciting projects with Karina in the near future.
It was now time to find out the new owners for the TAG Heuer Carrera and the 1974 MGB GT. The MGB had sold out ahead of the draw with only a few tickets remaining on the watch. With the entry lists published ahead of time before the draw for everyone to have access to, Hayley and Craig went over to the laptop where all the pages were on stand-by. First up was the TAG, as Hayley input the numbers 1 and 2999 for the number generator to choose from – then with one click, the number 1146 appeared on the screen. Consulting the entry list, that ticket belonged to Ron Miele. The new owner of the brand new TAG Heuer Carrera.
Now, we could find out just who was about to get a phone call to let them know they had won the 1974 MGB GT. With the number generator reset. Hayley put the criteria of between 1 and 2999 before wishing everyone good luck. As the numbers whirred past, they landed on 1480. That particular ticket had been bought by Ian Calder. So, we decided to give him a ring and let him know the news. He was thrilled! So, the classic sports car will very soon be loaded into our enclosed transporter and be making its way to Ian for him to enjoy and drive.
Taken Apart – Removing the Radio and Sunroof on the 1986 Ford Capri
February 18, 2022
The workshop technicians at Bridge Classic Cars have been working alongside our trim team to remove some of the parts and pieces from the 1986 Ford Capri to be refurbished.
The team began by working on removing the sunroof out of the classic Ford sports car. The technicians had noted that the mechanism seemed to bind and not lay into the roof evenly or flat. Once removed and inspected, it was found that one of the arms which controls the tilt of the sunroof was broken and because of the piece not going into the roof straight, was scratching the piece. This has all been removed to be refurbished along with several pieces from the engine bay.
After this, our technicians turned their attention to the radio and wiring in the Capri. The technicians noted some issues with both the radio and the wiring so after cleaning up some of the previous changes done to the car, everything worked perfectly.
