A New Strut For Our Mexico Recreation
Classic car technician Jonn has been working on our 1971 Ford Escort RS Mexico Recreation in preparation for it to be delivered to its new
Classic car technician Jonn has been working on our 1971 Ford Escort RS Mexico Recreation in preparation for it to be delivered to its new
Soon to be arriving at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is a 1967 Austin Healey. We are looking forward to its arrival so we can
Our events space, The Atelier, has continued to be improved upon with some more additions to the bar area. This time, Christian has made some
Earlier today, we delivered our 2009 Porsche Cayman S Sport to lucky winner Steven Wellard. Steven’s winning ticket number of 2496 was randomly selected during
After being painted, our 1980 MGB GT has been put back together and started the process of going through its pre-filming check, ready for it
Our Ford Transit MKII Tipper has finished its short trip to the sandblasters. The freshly blasted frame is looking much better already and can now
We very briefly welcomed a 2010 Smart Car into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. It may not have been with us for long but, after
100 years ago, the first Bentley and, in fact, the first British car, competed in the first-ever Le Mans 24-hour race. This Bentley 3-litre has
It wasn’t too long ago that our 1958 Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite entered the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after we picked it up from Scotland.
Back in 2021, our 1963 MGB Roadster was won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions. It has now come back to us to investigate some issues
We have a very special project coming up that involves our 1973 Triumph Spitfire. In preparation for this, classic car technician Jonn has been making
Even though our 1973 Reliant Scimitar is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website, that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t get cared for
Our 1962 Hillman Minx has been in the workshop being assessed by classic car technician Jonn. One of the first things Jonn noticed was that
Classic car technician Jonn has been working on our 1971 Ford Escort RS Mexico Recreation in preparation for it to be delivered to its new owner who won it through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Jonn fitted a new strut and spring assembly to both sides of our Mexico, and this takes it one step closer to leaving us and getting back out on the road with its lucky new owner.
Soon to be arriving at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is a 1967 Austin Healey.
We are looking forward to its arrival so we can get to work on resolving the issues that the owner has reported and get it back out on the road to be enjoyed as it should be.
Our events space, The Atelier, has continued to be improved upon with some more additions to the bar area.
This time, Christian has made some metal panels to cover the ends of the workspace behind the bar and, as you can see from the photos below, even this relatively small change has made the bar look even cooler than it already did.
The Atelier continues to develop and evolve and it is very quickly becoming the perfect venue for petrolhead events.
Earlier today, we delivered our 2009 Porsche Cayman S Sport to lucky winner Steven Wellard. Steven’s winning ticket number of 2496 was randomly selected during the live draw held on 23rd May 2023.
Steven has been playing with Bridge Classic Cars Competitions for several years and has a particular love for the MGs we have offered in the past. In fact, he is the Chairman of his local MG club and currently owns an MGB which, as you can see from the photos below, looks great next to his new Porsche.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars would like to congratulate Steven on his win and we hope he enjoys his Porsche Cayman S Sport as much as he does his MGB.
After being painted, our 1980 MGB GT has been put back together and started the process of going through its pre-filming check, ready for it to be filmed very soon before going live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
Classic car technician Mauro made sure the newly painted car was back in one piece and then Jonn took over and started going through his checklist of points that all competition cars have to meet.
Our Ford Transit MKII Tipper has finished its short trip to the sandblasters.
The freshly blasted frame is looking much better already and can now move on to the next stage of its restoration.
Now that its back in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, we are looking forward to seeing how this one progresses!
We very briefly welcomed a 2010 Smart Car into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
It may not have been with us for long but, after a quick check-over, it left us and went on to its new owner.
This little car looks good and drives nicely so we are sure it will make the ideal car for driving around towns and cities where a bigger car might be a bit more challenging.
100 years ago, the first Bentley and, in fact, the first British car, competed in the first-ever Le Mans 24-hour race. This Bentley 3-litre has lived a storied life since that first race and has recently been sold to a British enthusiast for more than £3 million.
The sale was brokered by Kidston SA which was founded by Simon Kidston. Simon is the nephew of Glen Kidston who actually won the 1930 Le Mans race in a Bentley. It seems fitting that someone with a connection to the brand like this was involved in the sale of this special car that represents the beginning of the Bentley legend and the tradition of ‘The Bentley Boys’.
Kidston, Clement, Duff and others like Sir Tim Birkin, Dr Dudley Benjafield or one-time Bentley Chairman Woolf Barnato would become known as ‘The Bentley Boys’ for their hard-charging racing lifestyle. When speaking about ‘The Bentley Boys’, W.O Bentley, the founder of Bentley said “The public liked to imagine them living in Mayfair flats. Drinking Champagne in nightclubs, playing the horses and the Stock Exchange, and beating furiously around the racing tracks at the weekend. Of several of them, this was not such an inaccurate picture.”
The story of this car, Chassis 141, begins with Canadian World War 1 veteran (and Bentley dealer), John Duff. He drove the car at the British Double 12-hour Race at Brooklands and ended up setting 38 international records while driving the Bentley more than 2000 miles at around 86mph. After John felt that this was a successful outing, he asked W.O. Bentley to prepare the car for the debuting 24-hour endurance race that was to launch in Le Mans, France.
W.O. Bentley thought that this was a mad idea but, nonetheless, prepared the car and sent the factory test driver, Frank Clement, to co-drive for John. It was this pairing that resulted in the successful completion of the first-ever Le Mans race with a finishing position of joint 4th, along with the lap record of 66.69mph. This was all achieved in this very special Bentley that only had rear brakes and ended up running out of fuel due to stones from the unpaved track puncturing the tank!
The following year, Bentley and ‘The Bentley Boys’ returned to Le Mans but, this time, they won the 24-hour race. Bentley went on to win four successive times from 1927 to 1930 which created one of the most dominant runs in the history of the race. None of that would have happened if it hadn’t been for Chassis 141 proving to W.O. Bentley that his cars were very much capable of winning endurance races like this.
Chassis 141 and John Duff can be credited as playing a huge part in the long-term success of Bentley. If you follow the story of the brand’s success, it pretty much begins with Chassis 141!
After the excitement of its racing life, Chassis 141 lived a slower life being used as a towing vehicle, an undertaker’s car, and it was even used to transport St.Bernard dogs to shows throughout the 1940s. It then disappeared until the 1980s when the owner of Donington Car Museum received a call from a 97-year-old lady saying she had 2 old cars in her barn if he wanted them.
The museum owner purchased both cars, not knowing just how special the Bentley was, so the car sat as a project for a while. It wasn’t until a motoring journalist identified it as the long-lost first Bentley to race at Le Mans that it became apparent the massively important piece of motoring history was in his possession. Eventually, Chassis 141 was sent to an Australian collector, Peter Briggs, who restored the car before making it the centrepiece of the Briggs’ York Motor Museum near Perth.
Now that it is back in Britain after a British collector became its new owner, the story of Chassis 141 has come full circle and it has come home to where it all began.
Simon Kidston said:
“This week the most famous motor race in the world celebrates its 100th birthday and its pioneering early competitors remain as intriguing as ever. This Bentley isn’t just an old car, it’s a turning point in motor racing history and a cornerstone of the Bentley legend. And personally, having inherited a family passion for cars which was accelerated by my ‘Bentley Boy’ uncle, helping to bring this Bentley home feels really satisfying. It won’t be leading a quiet life: it’ll be lining up on the grid of the Le Mans 100th anniversary race for vintage cars next month. I hope its original drivers will be looking down and smiling.”
It’s not very often that a car with as much history and as much importance to motor racing history and, indeed, to motoring history, in general, is sold. It may have come with a whopping price tag of more than £3 million but, at last, Chassis 141, will return to Le Mans and get the recognition it deserves as a true legend of motoring.
It wasn’t too long ago that our 1958 Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite entered the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after we picked it up from Scotland. This classic Sprite actually belonged to William Gordon, who won the 1958 ‘Frogeye’ we had as a competition car through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
When he received his prize, he decided that his old car (the one we now have) could move on to new owners. Now that it has been assessed and inspected, work has begun to prepare it to be a competition car in the near future.
It has recently been in the paint shop with classic car technician Alan who has been stripping the car ready for painting, so it looks great for whoever is lucky enough to win it when it goes live.
Back in 2021, our 1963 MGB Roadster was won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
It has now come back to us to investigate some issues that the owner has been experiencing. The main issue involved the car not starting properly. To resolve this, Workshop Manager John replaced the solenoid but found the car still wasn’t quite right.
The starter is now being looked at while some interior work is also being completed in the form of new seatbelts being installed.
We always love seeing competition cars again and this one is still as beautiful and as cool as ever.
We have a very special project coming up that involves our 1973 Triumph Spitfire. In preparation for this, classic car technician Jonn has been making sure it is ready to go and in full working order.
Jonn began his assessment by checking the lights and fluid levels before jacking the car up to check its tyres and brakes. All of these areas passed Jonn’s assessment. Grease was applied to any areas that needed it, and a small jubilee clip was fitted on the fuel hose to the carburettor.
The offside wing mirror was secured as Jonn noticed it was a bit loose. He also noticed that the nearside mirror had been bonded on previously. This was heated up to break the bond before the broken base plate could be looked at for repair.
Jonn also began investigating why the stereo powered on but does not appear to be functioning.
Even though our 1973 Reliant Scimitar is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website, that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t get cared for before its new owner is eventually found next week. A prime example of this is classic car technician Jonn has been making some repairs to our latest competition car to make sure it is completely ready to be won.
Jonn gave the car a full check over and topped up the engine coolant. He noticed that the washer pipe wasn’t connected properly, so he reconnected this under the bonnet and tested the washers. The lights, fluid levels, wheel nuts, and tyre pressures were all checked, and Jonn was satisfied that these were as he expected them to be.
The car then went up on the ramp so Jonn could conduct a deeper inspection. The chassis and components were checked and the front suspension and propshaft were greased.
Jonn went on to strip the driver’s door and removed the panel to investigate why the electric window was not working. It was found that the window had come off the regulator. This was resolved by refitting the regulator and, as you can see in the video below, the window now works perfectly.
After repairing the window, Jonn removed the front wheels and replaced the top inner bolt on the upper ball joint and fitted a lockwire to secure the rubber boot.
A new oil filter was also fitted before a satisfactory road test was carried out and our 1973 Reliant Scimitar was given the green light to be won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Our 1962 Hillman Minx has been in the workshop being assessed by classic car technician Jonn.
One of the first things Jonn noticed was that the letter I needed to be reattached to the bonnet. This was done before Jonn continued his inspection and assessment of this beautiful classic car.
During his assessment, Jonn also fitted new points (after stripping the old ones) and also replaced the condenser. A new distributor cap and rotor arm were also fitted before our Hillman Minx was taken out on a road test.
Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.
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