Fitted – Work on the 1997 Rover Mini
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on the 1997 Rover Mini for its new owner. The first job was to replace the tie-bar
September 7, 2022
The Penny Dropped – Replacing the Core Plug on the 1933 Austin 7
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been tasked with finding the source of the water leak on the 1933 Austin 7 in with us. Upon
Update – Working on the 1968 Jaguar E-Type 4.2
September 7, 2022
The 1968 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for our restoration technicians to tackle a couple of jobs on. The
Delicate Work – Metal Repairs to the 1981 MG B GT LE
September 7, 2022
The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the 1981 MG B GT LE at our Suffolk HQ. The team have been
The Details – Reassembly of the 1978 MG B GT Continues
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop team are continuing the reassembly of the 1978 MG B GT which is being restored by our in-house team. This
Going Deeper – Issues with the 1953 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane
September 7, 2022
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been going through the 1953 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane as part of its recommissioning. As part of that,
Intricacy – Further Metal Repairs on the 1986 Daimler DS420
September 7, 2022
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars have been continuing the lower metal repairs on the 1986 Daimler DS420 which is in at our Suffolk
Piece of the Puzzle – Original Wheels Sourced for the 1999 Rover BRM
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars team have sourced a key piece of the puzzle in our 1999 Rover BRM which arrived at our Suffolk HQ recently.
Fitted – Work on the 1997 Rover Mini
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on the 1997 Rover Mini for its new owner.
The first job was to replace the tie-bar bushes. The old ones had perished and begun to knock slightly so the team have gone through and replaced the old ones with brand new pieces.
The next job was to track down and fix a small coolant leak which the team tracked down to a small cut in a coolant hose which was immediately replaced and the system topped up.
The final job was to solve the slight knock from the front-end which was caused by a worn-out subframe bushing. The team have swapped that our for a brand new piece and secured down, road tested and then given the green light.
The Penny Dropped – Replacing the Core Plug on the 1933 Austin 7
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been tasked with finding the source of the water leak on the 1933 Austin 7 in with us.
Upon inspection, the team found the leak was coming from a broken core plug in the cylinder head. To remove these, the team ‘punch’ them out to shrink the head down and remove them. But, when the team went to remove the core plug they had an interesting surprise…
The team looked underneath the core plug and saw it was bronze. Normally these are silver but when the team looked closer they found a penny (stamped 1990) which had been previously put into the cylinder head to use as the core plug.
To fix this, the team have replaced them with high-quality actual core plugs and snuggly fit them into the cylinder head of the classic Austin. With that done, the team can now begin to check through the system and ensure the little 4-cylinder engine is working just as it should.
Update – Working on the 1968 Jaguar E-Type 4.2
September 7, 2022
The 1968 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for our restoration technicians to tackle a couple of jobs on.
The first task the team had was to repair part of the radiator. The joint at the top of the filler neck had broken, it had previously been glued, and was bypassing the expansion tank. So, our technician Dave cut off the original to clean up the part and resolder the piece back on.
The next step was for Dave to work on the rear brakes and handbrake of the classic E-Type. The team have gone through and manually adjusted the handbrake on the car as well as fitting a new return spring to the near side rear and having to carry out a small modification to the system in order to fit the new spring.
Whilst looking into the brakes, the team noted the light on the dash, which indicates the brake fluid being low or the handbrake was on, wasn’t working. Upon inspection, the team found the bulb was actually gone from the system but upon testing they found the circuit itself was inoperative and suspect the issue is with the internal switch located underneath the interior of the car which would need to be removed to replace.
Also, the team discovered some paint blistering under the brake fluid reservoir but after inspecting the tank actually found the system to be overfilled and the escaped excess had dripped down and disturbed the paint.
Moving onto the engine of the E-Type, the team found a leak from the back of the Cam Cover on the straight-six. Upon inspection, Dave found an O-Ring from the rev counter mechanism had begun to leak so the team removed it from the back of the camshafts and replaced the seals before fitting it back up to the engine.
Delicate Work – Metal Repairs to the 1981 MG B GT LE
September 7, 2022
The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the 1981 MG B GT LE at our Suffolk HQ.
The team have been going through some of the corrosion that we have found on the bodywork of the car. Beginning with the rear decklid.
The team found an area of corrosion in the upper part of the decklid which seems to have been in the same area as a previous repair. Once the team cut the area out, they found it filled with an old newspaper which was duly removed and a new patch piece was welded in after the whole area was rust treated.
Whilst this was happening, Chris was working on the door of the car which had corroded along its bottom edge and a small part of the bottom fascia. Each of these sections were precisely cut out of the car and all of the areas cleaned down and treated before being patched and welded in clean, new steel.
Finally, Monty has worked on the headlight buckets of the MG B GT which had corroded on the bottom edge. For this, the area was cut out of the car in order for the team to repair the rust with handmade patch panel made specifically for the car.
The Details – Reassembly of the 1978 MG B GT Continues
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop team are continuing the reassembly of the 1978 MG B GT which is being restored by our in-house team.
This time, our technician Rob, has been getting some of the bigger details installed onto the car. The first was getting the new brakes installed onto the front suspension, the brand new rotors, callipers and lines have all been put into place and checked to make sure everything fits correctly with no interference.
Then, Rob could move onto the getting the rear light assemblies installed into the car to, later on, get the wiring in place and finished up.
Then it was a case of installing the dashboard, heater box and pedal box. All of these have to be in place to also check the fitments and tolerances of each piece individually and together.
Going Deeper – Issues with the 1953 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane
September 7, 2022
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been going through the 1953 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane as part of its recommissioning.
As part of that, the team have been cleaning up the original rocker cover gasket but while off, the team have gone through adjusting the tappets to the correct tolerances before the team began to try and get the classic tourer started.
Jon, one of our amazing technicians, has recently rebuilt the carburettor to make sure everything was clean and freed up to work correctly. Then, once back on the car the team could make the adjustments and start to get it running.
Eventually, Jon got the car started. However, the team noted a problem. As the engine was running, the exhaust was spitting out raw fuel from the exhaust pipes. An issue the team haven’t come across before but are determined to get to the bottom of.
The team have noted that the car is fitted with a later SU carburettor (originally this would have been a Stromberg 55) which could be part of the running issue with the Hurricane.
After it had fired up, Jon rechecked the tappets and found the coolant was actually coming up through one of the head studs which holds the cylinder head to the engine block, both of these issues will need to be investigated further.
Intricacy – Further Metal Repairs on the 1986 Daimler DS420
September 7, 2022
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars have been continuing the lower metal repairs on the 1986 Daimler DS420 which is in at our Suffolk HQ.
Our fabricator Monty has been going through each section of the DS420 to get the metalwork in perfect condition. This time, the team have been working on repairing the front lower sill and inner arch.
Any section of corrosion has been carefully cut out and the area treated and neutralised before the handmade patch panels were put together, refined and welded into the car. The team have been working to tight tolerances and making sure that the structure and strength were put back into the areas.
Piece of the Puzzle – Original Wheels Sourced for the 1999 Rover BRM
September 7, 2022
The Bridge Classic Cars team have sourced a key piece of the puzzle in our 1999 Rover BRM which arrived at our Suffolk HQ recently.
The office team have tracked down and sourced an original set of BRM wheels for the car. The team have found these to replace the wrong aftermarket wheels which are currently fitted to the car.
The wheels will go off to our friends at Wheelworx to be completely refurbished to better than new condition.
