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Craig Ranson

Managing Director – Bridge Classic Cars

1976 MG V8 ready for resale

November 17, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23891,23898,23897,23896,23895,23894″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Credit, as always, to Paul Johnson Valeting for carrying out an excellent job on detailing our 1976 MG B V8. The car is now

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Ready to go home for Christmas

November 22, 2018

Our objective was to have the car up and running in time for the Christmas break. The current owner resides in Switzerland and is planning on spending the Christmas period here in the UK.

This is their chosen car for the Christmas break and I must say, what an amazing choice!

Our 1985 Mercedes 280 SL is now re-commissioned and ready to head home. We expect to see her return in the new year to start the restoration but for now, the car is mechanically sound and some minor alterations have been done to freshen up the look of the exterior.

 

Removing our 500SL’s V8 engine

November 22, 2018

The engine is now out of our 1987 Mercedes 500SL. Upon closer inspection, the timing chain is very loose and left in its current state would have further damaged the engine. We are lucky to have caught the problem when we did.

The engine will now be stripped of it’s components, cleaned up, repaired and rebuilt. Whilst Ady is busy working on the engine we can look to tidy up the engine bay so the nicely refubished engine can be homed back into a nicely refurbished engine bay.

 

Amendments have been made to both Jensen 541R chassis’

November 21, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our team have had a crazy busy few days preparing both Jensen chassis’ ready for paint. A few amendments needed to be made prior to paintwork but as well as these configurations the media blasting has uncovered a couple of unexpected imperfections in the structure which need to be addressed.

Rot has unfortunately found it’s way in to the rear of chassis 328 so these areas have had to be cut away and metalwork refitted.

As well as this we have re-applied metalwork into the rear section behind the rear seats, we’ve moved the battery tray and brackets which were initially in the wrong place and work on a couple of areas at the front which required some attention.

1957 Jensen 541R – chassis 328

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23965,23966,23967,23968,23969,23970,23971,23972,23973,23974″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]1960 Jensen 541R – chassis 493 required a little less work. Some similar areas needed to be worked on but we also had to make improvements to the rear arches which required extensions.

The welding work on both chassis’ are now complete so tomorrow we can start on the preparation and paint.

1960 Jensen 541R – chassis 493[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23975,23976,23977,23978,23979″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Cleaned and ready to go

November 21, 2018

Our 1989 Ford Granada has now successfully been completed.

Peter has given her one last clean before she heads back to Ipswich.

The sills have now been replaced, the rot has now been taken away and all other aspects of the MOT failure have been addressed.

You’ll be seeing her at shows next season…

 

Austin Healey Sound Deadening

November 21, 2018

Our 1955 Austin Healey project is a very important and special restoration for our customer. With a lot of the restoration work having already been carried out by her late husband it is especially important to not undo a lot of the hard work that he had put into it. For instance, the inside of the shell has already been completed so a lot of the work has been done for us which is fantastic. Brian has therefore concentrated his efforts on methodically applying the sound deadening to the internal shell.

Using heat, Brian has been able to manipulated the sound deadening matting to cover all areas, moulds and challenges that the shell throws at him. The sound deadening does exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a material that can be applied to the hidden areas of your car to help reduce the  noise levels from outside in.

 

Replacing the Mini’s brake piston

November 21, 2018

As part of the general check over of the car we have diagnosed that the offside rear piston is seized on our 1978 Mini Clubman. We have ordered a brand new one to replace the existing. This explains why the customer felt the car braking incorrectly, it would most likely feel like it is steering to one side.

Annual Service, MOT and general check over.

November 21, 2018

Our wonderful 1978 Mini Clubman 1100 is in our workshops today for a general check up. Having been off the road and in storage for over a year we are having a general check over of the vehicle; replacing the battery, checking the brakes, giving her a full service and new MOT.

the final task required to be carried out is to detail the engine bay. She’s looking lovely as she is but a general clean underneath has been requested.

The current owner is just the second owner from new and it has remained a local car to Suffolk it’s entire life. Covering just 48000 miles the car is available for sale at the right price (says the current owner) as it holds sentimental value to him.

 

Completing our Ford Granada MOT Project

November 20, 2018

The final work to be completed on our 1989 Ford Granada project is to prepare and under-seal the underside.

This will help to prolong the life of the car and give extra protection to the areas most exposed to the UK roads.

The wheels have now been aligned, the MOT has been a success and now she’s good to go home to Ipswich…

TVR Grantura: the start of a full restoration

November 20, 2018

Early 2019 we’ll be able to introduce a new project to the workshops, a classic TVR Grantura. It is coming in as a stalled restoration with the previous company no longer trading and leaving the customer with an unfinished project.

For now we have the engine in for a full rebuild with the body shell and components appearing early in the new year.

Classic Car Transportation

November 20, 2018

Today, we collected this wonderful little 1961 Austin 7 from Stanway in Essex and brought her back to her new home just down the road from us in Woodbridge, Suffolk.

The current owner is in the process of relocating himself so we assisted with the movement of his classic car.

A wonderful little car, welcome to your new home!

Fitting the E-Type parcel shelves

November 19, 2018

The long awaited arrival of the E-type parcel shelves. Over the years we have accumulated a lot of Jaguar contacts and we felt we had exhausted the majority of these when we searched for replacements for our parcel shelves.

We finally received a new pair and have been able to fit them up into the car.

Land Rover: removing the diamond plate from the front and rear

November 18, 2018

In our workshops ready for the beginning of the week we have our 1964 Land Rover. This amazingly quirky car is somewhat of a challenge for Tommy as we look to remove the diamond plate (checker plate) from the top of the front wings and bottom of the rear wings.

The car has been hand painted using a variation of reds but it’s this random feature which makes this car very unique. Our objective is to remove the plate, hide the signs of where the plate once was but try to keep the amazing characteristics of the car.

 

1976 MG V8 ready for resale

November 17, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23891,23898,23897,23896,23895,23894″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Credit, as always, to Paul Johnson Valeting for carrying out an excellent job on detailing our 1976 MG B V8.

The car is now ready for re-sale.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23899,23910,23909,23908,23907,23906,23905,23904,23903,23902,23901,23900″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A few more images before she moves over to our showroom.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”24106,24107,24109,24110,24111,24112,24113,24114,24115,24116,24117,24118″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Coming Soon: 1974 Maserati Merak 3.0 US LHD

November 17, 2018

Not yet confirmed but a possible future project will be our 1974 Maserati Merak. The car was imported to the UK a few years ago and was essentially a good running car when it arrived. believed to be 99% complete the current owner just wanted it to be checked over mechanically, for any works to be completed that needed to be and to ensure all was well. Unfortunately more work was carried out than expected which has resulted in the car now not being complete and stuck in Scotland.

Due to unforeseen circumstances the car is in need to completion so we may seen her in our workshops in the new year for some assistance.

 

Polishing the bright-work on our Austin 10

November 14, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Brian has been busy polishing the faded bright work on our 1934 Austin 10. A little elbow grease and TLC and it’s come up lovely, a complete transformation.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”24046,24047,24048,24049,24050,24051,24052,24053,24054,24055″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Completing the work on our Granada sills

November 13, 2018

Work is almost complete on the refit and welding of our 1989 Ford Granada sills.

The sills are brand new and have been a fantastic purchase for us. Buying pre-made sills has saved Tommy a huge amount of time and effort. Without them, he would have had to re-shape the metalwork to replicate the Granada’s sills. This would have taken time and money.

It is often a worthwhile exercise to spend some time looking for parts that you may help you with your projects, things that will essentially ‘make life easier’ for you.

Lowering the seats on our 1971 Jaguar E-Type

November 13, 2018

Dave has successfully re-manufactured the strengthening bars that hold the driver and passenger’s seat into position.

Our objective was to lower the seat as much as we could to allow for more head room and hopefully a more comfortable driving position.

The new structure has resulted in the seats being able to be lowered almost 1.5 inches but maintaining everything that will be required to keep the them safe and secure. the new bars have been colour coded to be in keeping with the Golden Sands finish.

 

Removing our Packard’s head

November 13, 2018

We needed to remove the enormous head of our 1939 Packard to reveal the gasket and as expected unfortunately this is what is causing the running issues.

A new gasket has been order from the US and the head is currently being machined to remove all imperfections.

We can now confirm that the head is misshapen by approximately 3/4mm which explains a lot of the difficulties we’ve been facing. Once we’ve machined and skimmed the head the new gasket can be applied.

The new heat shields are now in position

November 13, 2018

There are fores and againsts’ with the Jaguar E-Type V12 engine; the fores are that it is a truly stunning engine that looks and sounds incredible…the againsts is that it is so big and tight that it is difficult to take close up pictures of things 🙂

Here we have the new heat shields now in position. As always, Dave has worked methodically on getting these into position and we are very happy with the results.

We’ll now start to look at the interior fit…

Repairing and re-chroming the Jaguar E-Type bumper

November 12, 2018

Our rear off side bumper required some repair work due to it being ill-fitting. A replacement bumper was becoming difficult to source so we opted for repair work instead.

Dave carried out the repair work in-house to ensure a perfect fit. Once completed the bumper went away to Wyatt Polishing to be re-chromed and polished ready to be fitted back up.

Work on now complete on our 1968 Jaguar E-Type Accident Repair

November 12, 2018

The repair work on our 1968 Jaguar E-Type is now complete.

The chrome work and fittings were removed, we have repaired and re-shaped the door, wing panel and lower bonnet. The body has been prepared and painted, blending in the quarter and scuttle.

Organising the parts ready for chroming

November 12, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our 1957 Jensen 541R (chassis 328) metalwork has now been sorted ready for the trip to Wyatt Polishing in Thetford. Tony and the team at Wyatt will now strip and prepare the metalwork ready for the re-chroming process to begin.

This process can take around 8-10 weeks but as we are not in an immediate rush for these parts we are somewhat ahead of ourselves on this part of the restoration project.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”24058,24059,24060,24061,24062,24063,24064,24065,24066,24067,24068,24069,24070″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Rebuilding the rocker shaft

November 11, 2018

As part of the full engine rebuild within our engine shop, Ady has successfully completed the rebuild of our 1955 Austin Healey’s rocker shaft and fingers.

Now this is complete we can wrap up and store safely until such time as we are ready to refit.

Classic Motor Show 2018 – Birmingham NEC

November 10, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Some would say the biggest and best Classic Car Show in the UK!


This weekend, the whole team at Bridge Classic Cars attended the The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the Birmingham NEC.

We are regulars to the day having attended for a number of years consecutively but we’ve never visited as an ‘almost’ full team which made the day very special.

John and Ady were unable to make it to the day but the rest of us: Brian, Craig, Dave, Gordon, Tommy, Peter and OJ were all there flying the Bridge Classic Cars flag.

Source: The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show 

Joining together classic car enthusiasts from all over the UK and beyond, the 2018 classic car show once again graced the halls of Birmingham’s NEC. Covering over one million square feet – that’s about 18 football pitches – more than 3,000 iconic classic and vintage cars plus motorbikes were showcased this year!

The Classic Motor Show brings together the UK’s leading classic car dealers offering a wealth of marques to suit all needs and pockets.

300 classic car clubs and classic motor bike clubs present a diverse mix of marques, discovering rare and loved motors spanning more than 100 years shared with us by their dedicated members.

Celebrating ‘the best of the best’ from the UK classic car club scene with the grand final of the Meguiar’s Club Showcase. Not only could you find an unrivalled collection of vintage vehicles, you could also visit the UK’s biggest indoor Autojumble – a haven of car parts and spares for anyone working on their vehicle, as well as 500 specialist automotive exhibitors and traders offering a mix of products and services.

Be immersed in stunning classics, fantastic features, one of the most high-profile classic car auctions with Silverstone Auctions, all in the presence of motoring celebrities including The Wheeler Dealers and many more. This truly magnificent season finale of the motoring calendar will welcomed 72,000 passionate motoring enthusiasts and if you have not been yourself, it is well worth a visit next year.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23682,23683,23684,23685,23686,23687,23688,23689,23690,23691,23692,23693,23694,23695,23696,23697,23698,23699,23700,23701,23702,23703,23704,23705,23706,23707,23708,23709,23710,23711,23712,23713,23714,23715,23716,23717,23718,23719,23721,23722,23723,23724,23726,23728,23729,23730,23731,23732,23733,23734,23735,23736,23737,23738,23739,23740,23741,23742,23743,23744,23745,23747,23748,23749,23750,23751,23752,23753,23754,23755,23756,23757,23758,23759,23760,23761,23762,23763,23764,23765,23766,23767,23768,23769,23770,23771,23772,23773,23774,23775,23776,23681,23680,23679″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Chromework, Pedal Box, Air Filter.

November 9, 2018

Sorting through the chrome work of our 1960 Jensen 541R

1960 Jensen 541R – chassis 493

Brian has also successfully stripped, cleaned and repainted both the pedal boxes and heater boxes from both our Jensens.

 

 

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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