Work begins on our new Trim Shop

Work begins on our new trim shops built within our Pettistree, Woodbridge workshops.

Donna Ross is due to join the Bridge team very soon and brings with her years of experience in this specialist field. Donne will head up the new trim shop where we will now be able to carry out all forms of trim and upholstery alterations, all in-house using our brand new and state-of-the-art equipment.

The trim shop is due to open on Tuesday 2nd July. If you have any trim and upholstery questions or concerns pick up the phone and we’ll be more than happy to assist.

Out on our travels

This week, the sun was shining so our good friend Hilary popped by with his wonderful 1955 Austin Healey 100M.

And whilst out on our travels to Bentwaters Park we were greeted at the entrance by this incredible TE7870, one of two historic buses available to hire by local firm Buckland Buses.

Buckland Coaches is a small local operator of coaches and buses in East Suffolk. A fleet of 53- and 57-seat coaches is operated on private hire and school contract work.

In addition, a number of historic buses and coaches are used. The oldest dates from 1929 and it is one of the oldest buses in the UK still licensed for carrying passengers.

The business was formed by Tony Buckland in 1989 in Staffordshire, moving to Suffolk in 1991. In the 1960’s he had worked for the former Eastern Counties Omnibus Co. before joining the Metropolitan Traffic Area Office in London with responsibility for bus and coach Road Service Licences. After a period with the Driving Test Booking Service and the Road Research Laboratory, in 1970 he joined what is now the Britannia Building Society as computer manager. In 1988 he resigned as Head of Administration and began restoration of the first vintage bus in the collection.

Suffolk County Council operated historic bus services in the early 1990’s and on summer Sundays the vintage bus was used on tourist routes. The business then expanded to include conventional vehicles. Home-to-School contracts began in 1996.

In addition to Home-to-School work, the business meets the transport needs of many schools in the Woodbridge and Ipswich areas and occasional vintage bus services in connection with events in Felixstowe and Woodbridge. The historic vehicles are used extensively during the summer months.

CarCrazedFool in Le Mans with Aston Martin Cambridge

(Craig) I was recently sitting in a coffee shop in the North Terminal of Gatwick airport ready to head out for some sunshine in Cape Verde.

I was glued to my phone as I excitedly followed the journey of the CarCrazedFool on his Instagram Feed heading out to Le Mans to collect his latest addition, the Aston Martin DBS59 from Aston Martin Cambridge.

With just one month to go until we open our doors to this year’s Bridge Classic Cars Classic & Sports Car & Bike Show and we hear that we may have one truly stunning DBS59 proudly on display.

Progress on our showroom

Work has begun on the kitchen and chill out area within our new showroom.

Being an ‘appointment only’ facility means we are removing the traditional office style environment and opting for a more relaxing approach. Although we have an upstairs, our kitchen and seating area will all be situated on the ground floor with a fully open plan feel.

Whilst viewing our collection you can sit back on our new/old Chesterfield sofa whilst enjoying a nice coffee all within arms reach.

We are now starting to populate the showroom with our fantastic collection of cars all available to buy. In the coming weeks/months we’ll also treat our sofa to a new set of seat covers.

1972 Vauxhall Victor 1800 FE

The previous owner has been kind enough to delve through the history of the car to send through some images of when the restoration work took place.

Suffolk eateries supporting the Classic Car groups

The Turks Head in Hasketon welcomed the stunning vehicles from the Colchester Classic Car Club for lunch recently.

Ufford Park Hotel welcomed the collection from the Soviet Auto Luxury Tours as they toured Suffolk last week.

“You don’t often hear the words luxury and Soviet in the same sentence but that is exactly what you get with the Soviet Auto Luxury Tour. Luxury is the four star hotel participants stay at and the Cold War period vehicles that attend provide the Soviet flavour.

In the spirit of détente our annual three day event (usually the first weekend of June) welcomes Cold War participants from both sides of the Iron Curtain but the mechanical superiority of Soviet engineering means East European vehicles dominate. Expect to see Lada, Trabant, Tatra, Skoda and many more marques representing superior Eastern Bloc engineering.

What is a SALT tour?

All SALT Tourists get a rally plaque for their vehicle.

We have fun in our Cold War era vehicles, touring scenic routes (NOT a race!), and visiting sites of Cold War interest. Every entrant gets a rally plate to affix to their vehicle and a comprehensive roadbook.

The roadbook includes comprehensive tulip maps to guide our Tourists through the best countryside our host region has to offer. Each year is different but our tours on Friday and Saturday usually start around 09.00 and can cover up to around 80 miles but we try to keep the distances down. Generally the outward trip will meander along B roads and byways whilst the return to HQ is usually more direct. We include lunch and coffee stops and the routebook lists refuelling sites en route. Sunday’s shorter run will often be under an hour to allow time for our visit and lunch.

Tourists are given a goodie back that will include the roadbook, a guide to the weekend with listings of all participants, a laminate with lanyard to you know who’s who. Past treats in the bag have included, mugs, commemorative calendars, magnetic plaques and more.”

New Arrival: 1971 Austin Healey Sprite

Collected locally this weekend we have our 1971 Austin Healey Sprite.

Previous owner Nigel bought this lovely little car in 1993 to restore for himself and family but like many a budding restorer his life and long hours working away stopped it ever progressing.

This little gem of a Sprite is requiring a full restoration but is surprisingly solid and has a great interior. It has been garage it’s entire life with Nigel.

It is a complete car with everything there but the engine has not been started for many years and may need a rebuild.

One great feature is the original HLY registration number that has a value in itself.

Check out our showroom if you are interested in taking on this fantastic restoration project.

Moving in to our new Bridge Classic Cars showroom

We are now starting to populate our brand new showroom with our fantastic collection of classic vehicles.

The floors have been mopped, the walls have been cleaned and we are ready to move in.

Just don’t expect a tea or coffee just yet because the kitchen has not been built!!!

Progess on our new showroom

Work is now well underway on the new home of our classic car showroom. The cars are starting to move in now but at present this is a slow exercise as we are waiting on the space being deep cleaned and prepared for when we fill it.

New electrics have been fitted with LED ceiling drops and wall mounted LED’s all round.

The industrial cleaners start work on the ceiling to floor brush down so all cars are being removed to make way for the cherry pickers to get to work.

One for the future: 1973 Wolseley Six

Visiting our workshops today we have a wonderful little 1973 Wolseley Six in need of some TLC inside.

The carpets need to be replaced throughout, the seats require recovering, the dash recovered and some parts of the wood needs attention.