April 11, 2022

Goodwood Members Meeting 2022

This past weekend the motoring world saw the running of this year’s Goodwood Members Meeting, one of the highlights of the historic racing calendar across the world.

This year saw the usual door-to-door, wheel-to-wheel action across a dozen, if not more, categories through the West-Sussex countryside. The 79MM also was a series of firsts, the first being the public unveiling of the Gordon Murray Automotive T.33 alongside its T.50 sibling. Another first was the introduction of F1 cars from the 1960s through to the 1990s on track. Everything from small Lotus Climax to 1990s Jordan Racing machines going through Fordwater in front of the awestruck crowds.

The highlight of this year’s Members Meeting was the reunion of legends. The Group C Porsche 962’s taken out on track by some of the greatest names in the motoring world to be celebrated and adored by fans who remember them in the hands of names like Derek Bell, Hans Stuck and Jochen Mass or brand new fans of these unhinged icons.

And, for the first time in Goodwood history was the introduction of Tandem Drifting around the historic course with pro-drifters from around the world taking part in a smoke fueled display of automotive dance.

There was the usual displays in the wonderful Gerry Marshall trophy, a celebration of touring cars from years gone by. One of the only times in the world you’ll see a Morris Minor having a go up the inside of Cadillac on full lock. The Graham Hill Trophy, which sees some of the most infamous pre-’63 GT cars go head to head for the bragging rights of being the bravest driver.

This year saw the conclusion of an incredible spectacle that so many enjoyed, the S F Edge Trophy. A loud, fraught example of pre-war racing which the world so seldom sees but at somewhere like Goodwood is celebrated and revered. However, towards the end of Sunday, an incident involving an early-chain driven Frazer Nash caused the race to be put on hold whilst emergency personnel dealt with a situation on the track that required the medical services and the eventual airlift of the driver, who is thought to be receiving treatment in hospital. And, in the last hour or so, it’s been announced is recovering at a hospital in Southampton with several broken ribs and a cracked sternum. All of us at Bridge Classic Cars want to wish the driver, Paul Waines, a speedy recovery.

We look forward to every event at Goodwood and we cannot wait for the Festival of Speed and the Revival later in the summer.

To see our round-up of last year’s 2021 Goodwood Members Meeting 78MM, watch our video below:

Dry Fit – Checking the Fitment of the Dash on the 1970 Bristol 411

The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on test fitting the new dash panels of the 1970 Bristol 411 into the car as part of its left-hand-drive conversion by the team at our restoration workshops.

Brian, one of our trimmers, has been working alongside the restoration technicians on the conversion to the classic Bristol. Each piece has been test fit numerous times and refined over the previous weeks to make sure the fit and finish of the dash panels is perfect and flow seamlessly into the shape of the cabin.

Brian will make small tweaks to the bracketry and supports to make sure each individual piece (and the panel as a whole) sits right in the car and works together.

Refit and Repair – Working on the Boot and Kick Panels of the 1969 Bentley T1

The 1969 Bentley T1 which is being worked on by the Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team, have been joined by the in-house trim team to work on getting the classic Bentley back together.

The trim team worked on refitting and renewing the boot carpets onto the upper part of the deck lid. Along with the carpet, the team have installed the boot seal onto the lip of the boot opening.

With this part of the work complete, the trim team took a couple of pieces of the interior of the Bentley up to the trim shop to work on. The kick panels are in need of repairing and then will be fit back into the car.

Retrimmed – Dash Panel on the 1970 Bristol 411 Retrimmed

The dash panels of the 1970 Bristol 411 have been completely refurbished and retrimmed by the trim team at Bridge Classic Cars.

These pieces have been trimmed in black to match the original dash pad covering and to work around the new LHD conversion being carried out by the restoration workshop. With these pieces now finished, the team can begin to refit them into the car.

Assessment – The Workshop Team Inspecting the 1973 Volvo 1800ES

The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been going through and inspecting the 1973 Volvo 1800ES ahead of work beginning on the classic Volvo.

The owner of this unique and rare Volvo has asked our team to look into a series of works to update and refurbish aspects of the car along with some diagnostics work into some issues which have presented themselves.

We’re excited to show you the progress on this amazing project very soon.

Final Placement – Fitting and Fully Welding the Steering Rack Mounts for the 1970 Bristol 411

The steering rack mounts for the 1970 Bristol 411 have been final welding into the engine bay of the classic GT car.

As part of the left-hand drive conversion that our team are carrying out on the car, new steering rack mounts had to be made to move the rack from one side of the car to the other. Because of the forces put through the piece, the mounts have been welded onto thicker metal plates which have been grafted into the car to strengthen the piece.

Back Together – Fitting the New Cooling System to the 1952 MG TD

The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on fitting the new cooling system into the 1952 MG TD.

Jon, one of our technicians, has fitted up the new thermostat housing for the car to make sure the wonderful 4-cylinder engine that sits at the heart of the TD is cool. Along with the new thermostat, he made up new coolant hoses which have been routed and sized perfectly for the engine bay of the TD.

Final Finish – Painting the Doors and Quarter Panels of the 1987 Mercedes 500SL

The final panels for the 1987 Mercedes 500SL have been carefully and meticulously prepared by the paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars.

Alan, has worked on getting each panel individually prepared and then cleaned down before taking them into our in-house paint booth where they were to be finished in matching Selenit Grey to the rest of the car.

He laid down layer after layer of the deep, glossy grey to the doors and front quarter panels which marks the final major pieces of the 1987 500SL to be painted and the car will soon begin the rebuild of the car.