Inspection And Repairs
January 18, 2024
Jonn has been inspecting our 1992 Mercedes SL300 in preparation for it to be won next week through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions. His notes were:
January 18, 2024
Uniquely & Proudly British – 1972 Morgan 4/4
January 18, 2024
The Morgan 4/4 is undeniably and unapologetically British. It is one of the most timeless and nostalgic designs to grace the roads across not only
A Bold New Look – Revamping our 2010 Land Rover Defender
January 18, 2024
A few months ago our director, Craig, got a 2010 Land Rover Defender 90. Not only is it Craig’s everyday car but we’ve been using
Safe & Sound – New Vehicles Arrive at our HQ for Storage
January 18, 2024
Over the last week, we’ve welcomed two loads of cars to our Suffolk HQ to be safely put into storage with ourselves. The first batch
Raw Form – Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 Back from Blasting
January 18, 2024
Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has arrived back at our Suffolk HQ following its appointment with the media blasters. The body was carefully removed from
New Arrival – 1977 Triumph 2500TC
January 18, 2024
Along with the beautiful 1960’s Fiat, we’ve also welcomed this 1977 Triumph 2500TC to our Pettistree workshops for the team to take a look at
New Arrival – 1960 Fiat 1500
January 18, 2024
Part of our new arrivals at our Suffolk HQ is this beautiful 1960 Fiat 1500! This car has arrived to us from Europe for our
Fitting Up
January 18, 2024
Recently, Jon and John have been working on our 1987 Mercedes 500SL. Jon stripped the heater box and removed the blend flap and directional air
Looking Back
January 18, 2024
It wasn’t too long ago that we went to collect our 1963 Bentley S3 and bring it back to the workshop. Before even more progress
Work Continues
January 18, 2024
The strip down of the axle and brakes from our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe has continued with Neil recently. While he was doing
Paint And Reassembly
January 18, 2024
Our 1976 Triumph Spitfire has made a lot of progress recently. After having its body painted in Java Green, it left the Bridge Classic Cars
1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa “Pontoon Fender”
January 18, 2024
In February, a select group of individuals will be presented with a very special opportunity to become the new owner of one of Ferrari’s most
Inspection And Repairs
January 18, 2024
Jonn has been inspecting our 1992 Mercedes SL300 in preparation for it to be won next week through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
His notes were:
- Complete inspection. Remove rear wheels (wheel nuts extremely tight and hard to remove)and check, clean brakes and adjust handbrake shoes. Unable to remove front wheel studs at this stage. Knock each stud with hammer and lubricate and leave to penetrate. Attempt to remove but feel like they are going to break. Raise in air. Extend hole in brake backplate to access studs with drill. Drill the rear of each stud. Heat each stud and then lower to ground to hopefully remove.
- Repeat process for each stud. Managed to get all wheel studs out eventually without drilling into all. 1 broke upon removal. Replace 3 studs in the end that were damaged. Check and inspect front brakes and clean. Clean all,wheel studs and lubricate threads. Refit all wheels. Inflate tyres to correct pressure. Lower to ground and torque all wheel studs to 110nm. Drain radiator. Remove coolant header tank and clean out.
- Refit header tank. Change top hose, radiator overflow return to header tank. Use vacuum tool to refill cooling system with new antifreeze. Investigate offside front fog light not working. Check bulb and power supply. Bulb ok, but no power. Trace wiring up behind headlight. Remove headlight to gain access to loom. Found multiplug corroded. Clean and check light works. Ok. Reassemble headlight etc and test operation. Fit new bolts to undershield to secure. Top up automatic transmission and check, ok.
- Unwrap new pieces bought for interior. Strip both and swap required parts. Wrap sliding armrest pad. Solder repair wires to armrest storage light and fit to car. Test, ok. Remove glovebox light and fit bulb correctly. Lubricate as was sticking. Refit and test, ok. Remove internal mirror. Tighten ball socket joint to stop mirror wobbling. Remove mirror fixing and remove interior light. Investigate why nearside not working.
- Charge battery. Fit new bulb to interior light and bend tangs/connections and test, ok. Remove old drivers seat control panel. Swap switch pack to new veneered panel. Fit and test, all,ok. Repeat process for passengers seat control panel. But passengers seat doesn’t work. Investigate. Check and replace both fuses for seat control. Check for power to switches, ok. Remove and disassemble switch pack and visually inspect. Re solder all joints and test. Working now but packed up after fitting switch to panel. Remove and repeat solder but drop fresh solder onto each joint. Reassemble and fit. Disconnect roof wire and unlock roof with roof button. Lift off hard top and operate soft top. Working fine but roof tight. Manually assist in locking in rear section. Leave like this to stretch material out. Roof looks in really good condition. Just require jack to put in boot, new reg plates fitted when they arrive and a road test to finish.
Uniquely & Proudly British – 1972 Morgan 4/4
January 18, 2024
The Morgan 4/4 is undeniably and unapologetically British. It is one of the most timeless and nostalgic designs to grace the roads across not only this island, but the world at large. From its earliest days, the company’s DNA has run strong through each of the models combining a beautiful blend of craftsmanship, style, and nostalgia.
From its introduction in 1936 and onwards to the modern day, the 4/4 has been a mainstay of the Malvern master’s arsenal – Just like this one, our 1972 Morgan 4/4.
With the classic pairing of Midnight Blue paintwork alongside a black cabin, our 4/4’s beauty is highlighted by the limited use of chrome across the flowing, elegant lines of the car and its satin grey wheels. The car’s long and signature handmade bonnet, stretches out from the driver’s seat, with the tops of its rolled arches allowing you to perfectly place this sports car out on the open road, but some may have noticed that this bonnet is not like others – this one has a new intake and hints at the sportier life it has led.
Supplied new in 1972 by I & J Macdonald in County Durham, our 4/4 is fitted with the signature Ford 1600cc crossflow 4-cylinder engine and has been developed to make this nostalgic sports car feel more modern in terms of performance. With a set of twin Dell’Orto 40 carburettors working in conjunction with a sports cam and a 4-into-1 exhaust, and when set up on a rolling road in 2019 made 117bhp to the crankshaft and 91bhp to the wheels with 120 lb/ft of torque, between 30 and 50bhp more than it originally had.
Included in the vehicle’s history file, which dates back to 1978, are invoices relating to replacements of the aluminium wings and other items as well as the general maintenance of the cars 44 years.
A Bold New Look – Revamping our 2010 Land Rover Defender
January 18, 2024
A few months ago our director, Craig, got a 2010 Land Rover Defender 90. Not only is it Craig’s everyday car but we’ve been using it for our events towards the end of the summer and into the winter.
Recently, we’ve had a our signature logo put onto the sides of this 4-wheel drive workhorse to promote the work we do when we’re out and about but also to show people at events that they have indeed come to the right place!
Along with that, the Bridge Classic Cars team have been carrying out a few repairs on the car and at the same time our amazing trimmer Lydia worked on making the cabin of the truck a little bit lighter with all new door and cab cards in a lighter coloured material. With this all done, it is now time for our truck to be out and about as we roll into the warmer months as well as our packed 2024 events calendar.
Take a look at our video for our 2010 Land Rover Defender here:
Safe & Sound – New Vehicles Arrive at our HQ for Storage
January 18, 2024
Over the last week, we’ve welcomed two loads of cars to our Suffolk HQ to be safely put into storage with ourselves.
The first batch belong to longtime friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Karl. His classic sports cars, classic Jaguar and Land Rover were unloaded after being transported by EM Rogers to our workshops to await transit to our secure storage facility.
After being carefully unloaded, the cars were inspected and prepared for the next step in their storage journey.
Then a few days later, we welcomed a pair of classic cars which had made their way over to us from Europe for a customer. Again, the team at EM Rogers Transport handled the long-distance move before the cars were checked and then loaded up by the Bridge Classic Cars team for their journey to our storage facility.
The classic Triumph 2500TC as well as the beautiful patina’d Fiat 1500 will join the ranks of the other stunning and cared for classics in our storage space.
Raw Form – Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 Back from Blasting
January 18, 2024
Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has arrived back at our Suffolk HQ following its appointment with the media blasters.
The body was carefully removed from the chassis of the 1950’s GT previously by our workshop technicians and carefully transported to a local blasting company to carefully remove the Claret paint as well as exposing any areas which will need attention by the team here at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshops.
The body arrived back at our workshops earlier this week and was taken straight into our in-house fabrication shop for our expert team of fabricators to work on getting this rare and unique GT car back into better than new shape.
The team have begun to get the body onto the framing jig to get it ready for the delicate and highly-skilled work of repairing the areas affected by 71 years of being used and stored.
New Arrival – 1977 Triumph 2500TC
January 18, 2024
Along with the beautiful 1960’s Fiat, we’ve also welcomed this 1977 Triumph 2500TC to our Pettistree workshops for the team to take a look at for the same owner!
Like the Fiat, this will be assessed by the restoration teams shortly.
New Arrival – 1960 Fiat 1500
January 18, 2024
Part of our new arrivals at our Suffolk HQ is this beautiful 1960 Fiat 1500!
This car has arrived to us from Europe for our team to have a look and assess very soon – keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
Fitting Up
January 18, 2024
Recently, Jon and John have been working on our 1987 Mercedes 500SL.
Jon stripped the heater box and removed the blend flap and directional air flap from one side. He left the other side as it was so he could use this as a guide for reassembly.
John trial-fitted the power steering pipes and servo before moving on to fit the indicators and side trim. The throttle linkage was also cleaned.
Looking Back
January 18, 2024
It wasn’t too long ago that we went to collect our 1963 Bentley S3 and bring it back to the workshop.
Before even more progress is made on its restoration, it seems like a good time to take a quick look back at when we collected it and loaded it up onto our trailer.
Work Continues
January 18, 2024
The strip down of the axle and brakes from our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe has continued with Neil recently.
While he was doing this, Tony collected the chassis from the sandblasters. Progress continues to be made so it shouldn’t be too long before things start to come back together.
Paint And Reassembly
January 18, 2024
Our 1976 Triumph Spitfire has made a lot of progress recently. After having its body painted in Java Green, it left the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop and went back to Rob in the main workshop.
Rob has now begun the process of reassembling the car. After reassembling the rear brakes with new and reconditioned parts, the bodyshell was refitted and bolted down.
The new and reconditioned parts have also started to be fitted as the restoration of our classic Spitfire continues.
1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa “Pontoon Fender”
January 18, 2024
In February, a select group of individuals will be presented with a very special opportunity to become the new owner of one of Ferrari’s most iconic and desired models, a 1958 Ferrari 250 “Pontoon Fender” Testa Rossa. Celebrated for the beauty of its design alongside its now legendary racing legacy, this automotive icon will be a once-in-a-lifetime addition to someone’s collection.
The auction, hosted by RM Sotheby’s, will take place in Blenheim, Canada. Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful automotive creations of all time, the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa comes with a staggering valuation of $34,000,000 to $38,000,000 (approximately £27,000,000 – £30,000,000).
This particular example, Chassis no. 0738 TR, is one of only 19 crafted by the renowned Italian coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti. As well as being a stunning car to look at, 0738 TR has an impressive record on the track too. With nearly 20 period races and four overall victories, it was in active competition for over a decade. Recently restored in 2013, at Ferrari Classiche, it was awarded full Red Book Certification and is one of the very few TRs that retains its matching engine and gearbox
The importance and desirability of this special classic will obviously draw attention. With this in mind, the auction will be hosted through Sotheby’s Sealed, providing potential buyers with the opportunity to competitively bid in a private setting.
Shelby Myers, Global Head of Private Sales at RM Sotheby’s said “I have always believed that the 250 Testa Rossa should be the most desirable automobile in the world, especially in the context of Ferrari. When compared to the most revered prancing horse model, the 250 GTO, the TR far outpaces the GTO’s competition record. It revolutionised the World Sportscar Championship and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans an unprecedented four times; it is also much rarer in terms of the total number of cars produced. Its rarity, open-top experience, and iconic ‘pontoon fender’ design, present in only 19 cars, elevate it to the level of Michelangelo and Bernini’s art. No world-class collection is complete without the masterpiece that is the Ferrari 250 TR, the epitome of rolling art. These opportunities rarely come up, and it is fittingly offered through Sotheby’s Sealed, our most exclusive acquisition method,”
