Top Gear Is Cancelled
November 22, 2023
Top Gear is cancelled! At least for the ‘foreseeable future’ anyway. The decision to pause production of one of the top money makers and most
November 22, 2023
Riley 9 Restoration Progress
November 22, 2023
The restoration of our one-of-a-kind 1905 Rilep 9HP has been something of a labour of love and dedication. With very little reference material to work
A Fresh Coat Of Paint
November 22, 2023
Chris has been working on our 2005 Honda S2000 in the Bridge Classic Cars Paint Shop. After prepping it for paint, he then gave the
Mr Silver – Suffolk
November 22, 2023
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gordon and your team for the swift resuscitation of my dead Volvo! Great to know there
Cambelt Damage
November 22, 2023
Steve is showing here our old cambelt with damaged teeth causing the belt to slip. He has now fitted a new belt, tensioner and spring.
Top Gear Is Cancelled
November 22, 2023
Top Gear is cancelled! At least for the ‘foreseeable future’ anyway.
The decision to pause production of one of the top money makers and most watched shows for the BBC, comes following a crash involving presenter Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, during filming last December.
Back in the days of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, Top Gear was extraordinarily successful for the BBC and became a true worldwide TV sensation. However, this current cancellation isn’t the first time Top Gear has been shelved. After Clarkson’s contract wasn’t renewed in 2015 due to an off-screen incident, the BBC went through several hosts before settling on Paddy McGuinness, Freddie Flintoff, and Chris Harris in 2019. They were in the middle of shooting the 34th series when Flintoff had his accident last year, and there haven’t been any new episodes since then.
Bridge Classic Cars Director, Craig worked on Top Gear several years ago and he has fond memories of the show. He said “Working on Top Gear was such a great experience for me. The people were friendly, the atmosphere was very positive, and it was so much fun being around fellow petrolheads during filming. It’s a bit sad to hear that Top Gear is no more but, hopefully, we will see a revival in the years to come.”
The Official BBC Statement On Top Gear
“Given the exceptional circumstances, the BBC has decided to rest the UK show for the foreseeable future. The BBC remains committed to Freddie, Chris and Paddy who have been at the heart of the show’s renaissance since 2019, and we’re excited about new projects being developed with each of them. We will have more to say in the near future on this. We know resting the show will be disappointing news for fans, but it is the right thing to do.”
“All other Top Gear activity remains unaffected by this hiatus including international formats, digital, magazines and licensing.”
Riley 9 Restoration Progress
November 22, 2023
The restoration of our one-of-a-kind 1905 Rilep 9HP has been something of a labour of love and dedication. With very little reference material to work from, bringing this piece of automotive history back to life has been challenging, to say the least. However, the project has made even more progress recently, as its wooden body has been trial-fitted to the 118-year-old chassis.
Our 1905 Rilep 9HP is a great example of the craftsmanship and innovation of early automobile engineering. Its uniqueness lies not only in its design but also in its rarity as a prototype for the first car to ever have fully removable wheels. The workshop team has worked extremely hard to find any kind of record of how this one-off car should be put back together to honour its legacy throughout the restoration process.
After the wooden body recently returned to the workshop, following its time with Ashbocking Joinery, classic car technician Steve temporarily put the body back onto the chassis in a trial fit to make sure everything goes together as he would like it to. As well as the body going back on the chassis, the impressive radiator has also taken its place on the front end of this incredible classic car.
The Restoration Of Our Riley 9 Isn’t Done Yet
While our Riley 9HP may look much more car-like than it has since it first arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, it will still need to be stripped down again once Steve is happy that the trial-fitting has been a success. Once stripped, it will then be painted before going back together for the final time. The next big milestone to reach though is getting the car to start. Although we have seen that it can start (we fired up the engine for a very short period of time last year), it has never been run without assistance and in its current configuration.
If all goes to plan, our 1905 Riley 9 restoration will be complete and the finished car will drive out of the workshop in the early part of 2024. Until then though, we are very excited to see it continue to make great progress in its restoration.
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A Fresh Coat Of Paint
November 22, 2023
Chris has been working on our 2005 Honda S2000 in the Bridge Classic Cars Paint Shop.
After prepping it for paint, he then gave the car a fresh coat of colour, along with various components that will eventually be put back onto the vehicle.
Mr Silver – Suffolk
November 22, 2023
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gordon and your team for the swift resuscitation of my dead Volvo! Great to know there are skilled technicians who can fix the older car.
Cambelt Damage
November 22, 2023
Steve is showing here our old cambelt with damaged teeth causing the belt to slip. He has now fitted a new belt, tensioner and spring.
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