Managing Director – Bridge Classic Cars
The 1973 Triumph TR6 which was built by Bridge Classic Cars for our friend Stephen has been moved into its own secure garage at home in France. Stephen recently took delivery of both the 1973 Triumph TR6 and the 1973
The seat base of the 1955 Triumph TR2 has been taken out of the classic sports car and taken upstairs to the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop to be worked on. Brian, one of our trimmers, has had the
The name Dodge conjures up an image of strong, reliable and purposeful cars from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. But, the history of the company, its models and the 2 brothers behind it is greater than the sum of its
The Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team have been working on perfecting the wheel wells of the 1956 Jensen 541. After the team had finished with the careful resin and fibreglass filler work, the team brought them into our
The 1987 Daimler Double Six has been coming back together in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ. The workshop team have been getting the classic Daimler back together in order to perform the first fire-up of
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have fired up the ‘Barn Find’ 1959 Jensen 541R for the first time in several years. The team used a small electric fuel pump to feed the carburettors, cleaned up the spark plugs
The beautiful bright-blue 1971 MG B GT which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been bought by a member of the team! Our Marketing Manager Freddie has bought the classic sports car which he’ll be using as
The paint and body team at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been out to inspect the 1958 Jensen 541R which arrived yesterday at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ from Holland. Chris and Mauro inspected the body for
The Bridge Classic Cars transport team have headed north from our Suffolk HQ to collect a very specialist Jensen 541. This Jensen 541 was a stalled restoration in Lincolnshire which the team have managed to acquire. This particular 541 is
Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Pettistree is this 1955 Triumph TR2. The sports car will be going into our workshop in order for our technicians to have a look into a couple of issues for its
This past Saturday, the 25th, was the planned Bridge Classic Cars Meet-Up and The Long Shop Museum Autojumble at Bentwaters Parks here in Suffolk. A coming together of classic cars and motorcycles with the world of vintage parts and automobilia.
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop welcomed the latest arrival to our Suffolk HQ recently, another very special Jensen. This 1958 Jensen 541R is actually one of the prototype cars produced by Jensen as a proof of concept for the automatic
Just launched over on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website is this! Our 1993 Land Rover Defender 90. After a full check over by the Bridge Classic Cars workshop who gave it a clean bill of health after fitting the
After arriving this morning at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ, the 1959 Jensen 541R has already made its way onto the ramp for the team to begin assessing and inspecting the 1950s GT car. As with all of our
It’s a rare and unique occurrence which seems to only happen here but, at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ this afternoon we have 4 individual Jensen’s in our workshop! Each of these cars are at different stages of their
As part of the checks on the reported fuel gauge issue with the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster, Jon has checked some wiring on the classic Jaguar. Jon has been in the boot of the Roadster to check the wiring for
The body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been performing some fibreglass repairs on the boot lid of the 1956 Jensen 541 in with us for restoration. Mauro has carefully reglassed certain areas of the bootlid to strengthen key places
The paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars have painted the restored fuel tank of the 1905 Riley 9HP as part of its restoration. The team cleaned down the recently restored and tested fuel tank before painting it satin black to
Our technician Jon has been looking into an oil leak at the back of the engine on the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster. After inspecting the engine once it had been run up to temperature, he found the offside rear cam
The new carpet set for the 1968 Morris Minor Van has been taken up from the workshop to the trim shop in order for the team to finish off the pieces for the car. Lydia, has taken the individual pieces
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have repaired several sections of the door cards on the 1987 Daimler Double Six which is in for restoration. Brian, one of our trimmers, carefully cut out the damaged areas to make new
The 1959 Jensen 541R which has been up for sale and stored at our secure storage facility, The Hangar, has been transferred over to our Pettistree restoration workshop to begin its journey. The classic Jensen has been commissioned to be
The Bridge Classic Cars team have been working on the Jaguar XK120 with this round of work comprising of a gearbox oil change and looking into a fuel issue. To begin with, the team began to look for a reported
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop have been working on refinishing some of the final pieces for the 1987 Daimler Double. Various brackets, panels and the fan shroud have all been stripped, cleaned and prepared before being taken into
Last night, Bridge Classic Cars Competitions found out who the lucky winner of the 1968 Morris Minor Van was and as always, we live streamed it on our Facebook page! Moments before the live stream started, the classic Morris van
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on carefully removing the original carpets from the 1970 Bristol 411 in order to template replacement pieces as part of its restorative works. Brian, one of our trimmers, has been
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have been working through the list of jobs on the 1951 Jaguar XK120 in with us. Next up for our technicians is to sort out a binding front brake. Upon inspection, Jon found one
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has had its steering wheel removed by the workshop team here at Bridge Classic Cars to be sent off for a new cleaning process specifically made for delicate or antique parts. The steering well was sent
The 1973 Triumph TR6 which was built by Bridge Classic Cars for our friend Stephen has been moved into its own secure garage at home in France.
Stephen recently took delivery of both the 1973 Triumph TR6 and the 1973 Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster, Fern Grey. Both of these cars now live in France with their owner in their own separate garages!
The seat base of the 1955 Triumph TR2 has been taken out of the classic sports car and taken upstairs to the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop to be worked on.
Brian, one of our trimmers, has had the seat base on the bench to begin its repairs.
The first step was to unpicking the stitching on the seat base to remove it from the metal sprung base. Then, the cover could be transferred onto a new piece of calico to create a backing for the repairs to bind to. Along with this, the team recorded the piping to give it back its original shape for the beautiful dark red leather. Whilst the cover was off the metal base, Brian could repair some of the springs which over time had become frail and broken.
Next, the trim team carefully trimmed out the base pieces from the calico before glueing them down and then refit them together with a new foam centre. Finally, the team could stretch the repaired cover over the base and fixed in place with brand-new hog clips before being installed back into the car.
The name Dodge conjures up an image of strong, reliable and purposeful cars from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. But, the history of the company, its models and the 2 brothers behind it is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Dodge Brothers, John and Horace, began their empire in a small machine shop in Detroit, Michigan. Originally, the two brothers began making bicycle parts before ever getting involved in the fledgeling automotive industry springing up around the city and surrounding area.
They had worked closely with Henry Ford (in fact, the brothers for a time held high-up positions within the Ford Motor Company) by lending their manufacturing knowledge, business know-how and investment into the very early days of Ford (they also had done engineering and machining work at the early stages of the Oldsmobile company). What they learned while producing all manner of components for the unprecedented production run of the Model T, would set them on the way to creating a car company the likes of which the world had never seen.
Early automobiles of the time were notoriously fragile, dangerous and rather unrefined. The Dodge Brothers set out to change all of that. It’s remarked on that Dodge actually gave the world the word ”Dependability” because of how rugged the engineering behind their own cars was, but also because they didn’t shake their passengers into oblivion across the mostly dirt roads of early 20th century America. And, they didn’t break the bank…
Dodge would also be a pioneer in the use of 12-volt electrics as standard in cars, something that wouldn’t truly catch on industry-wide for another 50-60 years afterwards. The sheer ruggedness of the Dodge Brothers’ cars saw them scattered to the most far-flung reaches of the known world, all four corners of the earth had a Dodge somewhere.
The DA broke cover in 1929, under its official name the DA Six. The car would come 9 years after the unfortunate passing of its founding brothers but carried their legendary name and their approach to rugged yet refined engineering. One of the greatest refinements pioneered on the DA’s was the use of rubber engine mounts, which stopped the harsh vibrations from the 6-cylinder engine and 3-speed gearbox being transmitted through the frame and into the cabin of the car. Not only for comfort but to stop anything from rattling itself loose and to top it all off, the DA’s were fitted with hydraulically controlled drum brakes on all 4 corners of the car. A first for an American-built car up until that point.
Our particular 1929 Dodge Brothers DA Phaeton/Tourer has spent some of its 97-year life in South Africa. The car was in the care of collector John Ryall who used this incredible patina’d pre-war tourer, it was used on rallies and tours across the country and kept stored away safely when not in use. We then acquired the car before having it loaded up inside of a shipping container and sent it all the way to us here in England. Our workshop team could not believe just how good of a condition this classic Dodge was in!
And that is how our part of the story begins with the stunning dark blue 1929 Dodge DA. We’re currently awaiting its UK registration and it is up for sale right now on our classic car sales platform, MyClassics!
If you want to read another absolutely incredible and heartfelt story of a couple’s love story with a one-family owned, 1927 Dodge then click here to read the wonderful story from Motorious which inspired us to write the history of our 1929 Dodge Brothers DA.
The Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team have been working on perfecting the wheel wells of the 1956 Jensen 541.
After the team had finished with the careful resin and fibreglass filler work, the team brought them into our in-house paint booth/oven to have their first coats of primer.
The team have carefully blended aluminium and fibreglass to remake and repair the wheel wells so the primer has covered these seamlessly blends. The wells will be now put into storage for the reassembly stage of the restoration.
The 1987 Daimler Double Six has been coming back together in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ.
The workshop team have been getting the classic Daimler back together in order to perform the first fire-up of the V12. Firstly the team have put the newly repainted and refurbished fan shroud onto the cars core support so the various leads and hoses can be routed on the front of the car. At the same time, the team have worked on refitting the chrome trim to the flanks of the Daimler as well as spraying the wheel wells with durable, hard-wearing black paint.
This is all part of the cars restoration journey, in which the team will fire up the car to check all the necessary systems which were removed from the car.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have fired up the ‘Barn Find’ 1959 Jensen 541R for the first time in several years.
The team used a small electric fuel pump to feed the carburettors, cleaned up the spark plugs and it fired up first time! The 4-litre straight-six ran absolutely perfectly with our workshop manager Jon at the wheel and our senior technician Dave handling the fuel.
Take a look at this amazing moment at our Suffolk HQ.
The beautiful bright-blue 1971 MG B GT which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been bought by a member of the team!
Our Marketing Manager Freddie has bought the classic sports car which he’ll be using as his daily commuter and also for sunny days out to use and enjoy.
Freddie has promised us that he’s going to keep us updated with the little jobs he does on the car and the trips out he makes in his amazing first classic.
The paint and body team at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been out to inspect the 1958 Jensen 541R which arrived yesterday at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ from Holland.
Chris and Mauro inspected the body for damage and areas which need repair or refinement in order to come up with a plan to get this stunning 1950s GT car into the best shape possible before heading into the booth for its paintwork.
The car will be finished in Ice Blue Metallic with a Lobelia Blue roof by the team for its owner.
The Bridge Classic Cars transport team have headed north from our Suffolk HQ to collect a very specialist Jensen 541.
This Jensen 541 was a stalled restoration in Lincolnshire which the team have managed to acquire. This particular 541 is special in the fact its identifying numbers, when checked against The Jensen Bible, show this to be the 8th production car built by Jensen in the 541 run.
The car was collected and put into our enclosed transporter to be taken to our secure storage facility, The Hangar, to await its restoration commission.
Keep a look out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates soon on this 1955 Jensen 541.
Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Pettistree is this 1955 Triumph TR2.
The sports car will be going into our workshop in order for our technicians to have a look into a couple of issues for its owner as well as having a full gearbox service for the car.
Along with that, the trim team will be taking a look at the passenger seat to see if anything can be done to it.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more on the 1955 Triumph TR2.
This past Saturday, the 25th, was the planned Bridge Classic Cars Meet-Up and The Long Shop Museum Autojumble at Bentwaters Parks here in Suffolk. A coming together of classic cars and motorcycles with the world of vintage parts and automobilia.
The Bridge Classic Cars team arrived early at our storage facility, The Hangar. As we moved the cars from under the car covers, The Long Shop team began to arrive shortly before the first vendors got on site.
As the sun began to warm up the Suffolk air, the first classics came into sight. The plan was that Bridge Classic Cars would hold a free meet-up and the £5 Autojumble entry to The Long Shop Museum would go to help fund their restoration of a 1937 Buick at their Leiston workshops. As the sides of the airfield began to fill up with classics and modern cars alike, the steady flow of people back and forth from the Autojumble and into our Hangar grew.
We had put all of our projects and storage cars on display for everyone to see inside the hangar along with a host of our latest competition cars just outside, joining in with the growing crowd of vintage metal. The 1957 MG A Roadster and 1993 Land Rover Defender were in pride of place and were joined by a previous winner! The 1975 Ford Escort RS Mexico Recreation, which was won by Chris in November last year made its first outing of the year to come and meet up with us and everyone else.
The Autojumble was a mixture of parts and automobilia. From vintage garage signs to new shiny hardware, new motorcycle fairings to Victorian woodworking tools and everything in between. From one end to another, people trade parts for pieces and bought those rare gems that only come about with something like an Autojumble. Families came out to see, the older generation of petrolhead passing down the knowledge to those just beginning their journey into a bygone era.
The stream of cars into the classic meet-up was steady, with some leaving and immediately something was there to take its place. From classic Bentleys to a 1980s Nissan Micra. The wonderful part about all of this is the variety that you see and something like an open meet-up.
As the clock approached mid-day, the crowds began to thin. Other shows, other plans and other commitments saw the gatherings of classics disperse and it was time for the Bridge team to begin putting all of our project and storage cars back inside under their covers.
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop welcomed the latest arrival to our Suffolk HQ recently, another very special Jensen.
This 1958 Jensen 541R is actually one of the prototype cars produced by Jensen as a proof of concept for the automatic gearbox option. It is also believed one of its original owners was part of the Lever family, which went on to become the global company behind Unilever.
It also features a custom, handmade grille which was made by the owner for the car that the team will incorporate into the reassembly for its owner but our team will be delivered to the customer with its signature radiator flap, a key element of the 541R.
This 1958 Jensen 541R has come to us from the Netherlands for our body and trim teams to work their craft on the classic GT car. The car will be fully assessed for any repairs that need to be made before it is refined and worked on by the body team while the trim shop begins work on the interior of the classic 541R.
The car will be finished in Ice Blue Metallic with a Lobelia Blue roof by the paint team with a complimenting dark blue interior and grey piping.
We’re always excited to welcome another 541 into the Bridge Classic Cars family and can’t wait to show you the progress very soon on this special 1958 Jensen 541R.
Have a look at the gallery below of the 1958 Jensen 541R as it arrived on its trailer from Holland!
Just launched over on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website is this! Our 1993 Land Rover Defender 90.
After a full check over by the Bridge Classic Cars workshop who gave it a clean bill of health after fitting the battery cut-off switch ahead of its date in front of the camera.
Recently the team took it out around our filming location near our Pettistree workshop to do the full video and photoshoot for the off-roader.
The beauty of the Defender was clear when as soon as we pulled off the beaten track, the truck felt at home. Uneven ground, changing surfaces and slow, steady progress across any type of terrain is the best place for a classic Land Rover. But then, as soon you put it back onto solid ground it became a pleasant cruiser. The updates done by the previous owner made the car far more civilised than one would imagine.
The quilted seats and upholstered armrests made driving the car an absolute delight on the road and made sure you had some comfort while the 4-wheel drive system did its work underneath you in the rough stuff. Although built in 1993, the truck was updated last year to a much more modern specification to use around town as a rugged, reliable daily driver or the perfect set-up for a weekend away in the country.
And now, it could be yours! Head over to the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website right now and get your tickets to win our 1993 Land Rover Defender 90.
To see the full gallery and video, see below:
After arriving this morning at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ, the 1959 Jensen 541R has already made its way onto the ramp for the team to begin assessing and inspecting the 1950s GT car.
As with all of our restorations and projects, the car will go through a full inspection and assessment by the various departments (both aesthetic and mechanical) to compile a report and come up with a plan for the restoration of the unique British grand tourer.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page very soon for more updates on the 1959 Jensen 541R.
It’s a rare and unique occurrence which seems to only happen here but, at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ this afternoon we have 4 individual Jensen’s in our workshop!
Each of these cars are at different stages of their restorations. Some just starting such as the 1959 541R, and some are completely stripped and ready for rebuild like the chassis of a 1956 541 at the back in the centre while our finished 1962 Jensen 541S Peony Red which is on the ramp for the team to check a few things over for its owner.
It’s a rare sight even for us!
As part of the checks on the reported fuel gauge issue with the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster, Jon has checked some wiring on the classic Jaguar.
Jon has been in the boot of the Roadster to check the wiring for the fuel tank sender which also controls the fuel gauge. He checked the overall condition of the connections as well as performing a continuity test on the circuit.
All came back completely clear and showing a good ground.
The body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been performing some fibreglass repairs on the boot lid of the 1956 Jensen 541 in with us for restoration.
Mauro has carefully reglassed certain areas of the bootlid to strengthen key places as well as refit the stripped-back boot latch. All of these were then built up over several layers before the resin was left to harden and cure.
The paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars have painted the restored fuel tank of the 1905 Riley 9HP as part of its restoration.
The team cleaned down the recently restored and tested fuel tank before painting it satin black to go back on the car.
Our technician Jon has been looking into an oil leak at the back of the engine on the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster.
After inspecting the engine once it had been run up to temperature, he found the offside rear cam cover was weeping past its seal. After removing it, he found the seal was not the correct arrangement for the back cover on the cylinder head. Comparing it to the resource materials we have for these engines as well as several other freshly built Jaguar straight-sixes from the era we have in our workshop, Jon could come up with a solution to fix the oil leak once the cover was reinstalled.
After the test, there was no longer an oil leak from the back of the cylinder head. However, the rear mains eal in the engine does leak and out the bottom of the bell-housing of the gearbox.
The new carpet set for the 1968 Morris Minor Van has been taken up from the workshop to the trim shop in order for the team to finish off the pieces for the car.
Lydia, has taken the individual pieces which were made Brian to create the neat hand-bound edges which run all the way rough each carpet panel that make up the entire set. Now with these finished, they can go back down into the workshop to be installed into the car.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have repaired several sections of the door cards on the 1987 Daimler Double Six which is in for restoration.
Brian, one of our trimmers, carefully cut out the damaged areas to make new paper templates from and then graft them into the panels permanently.
The 1959 Jensen 541R which has been up for sale and stored at our secure storage facility, The Hangar, has been transferred over to our Pettistree restoration workshop to begin its journey.
The classic Jensen has been commissioned to be built by our workshop from the ground up for its new owner.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates very soon on the 1959 Jensen 541R.
The Bridge Classic Cars team have been working on the Jaguar XK120 with this round of work comprising of a gearbox oil change and looking into a fuel issue.
To begin with, the team began to look for a reported fuel leak at the rear of the car. Jon inspected all pipework to and from the tank, with no evidence of a leak anywhere to be found with all fittings tight and secure. Next, he looked into the issue of the fuel gauge not reading correctly, however for the team here the gauge worked correctly on test.
Moving on with the work we had been asked to carry out was a gearbox service on the classic Jaguar. For this, the team had to remove the gearbox drain and allow the entire casing to empty completely (the team also inspected the oil for any debris) before moving into the cabin of the XK120. Carefully they moved the carpets back and cover them. Then they could remove the inspection plate which allows the team to fill the gearbox from the top of the transmission. After that, the plate was put back on and secured, and carpets fitted back into place and hoovered throughout by the team.
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop have been working on refinishing some of the final pieces for the 1987 Daimler Double.
Various brackets, panels and the fan shroud have all been stripped, cleaned and prepared before being taken into our paint booth/oven to be finished in Satin Black for the project.
Once these have completely cured, the workshop team can begin getting them fit back onto the classic Daimler in with us for restoration.
Last night, Bridge Classic Cars Competitions found out who the lucky winner of the 1968 Morris Minor Van was and as always, we live streamed it on our Facebook page!
Moments before the live stream started, the classic Morris van sold out completely!
The night began with a walkaround of our new competitions building with Hayley and Freddie showing everyone watching along what we’ve got coming up and what is currently live on our Competitions website.
Then, Hayley handed over to our director Craig for a brief tour around our restoration workshop to show you a very special moment where we had 3 Jensen 541’s in for work, all in different stages of their build. From a bare chassis back from sandblasting to a full rebuilt frame and then a finished and complete 541R.
But, it was time to give the audience what they had been waiting for. Finding out just who had won the classic Morris Minor Van. So, using our random number generator and pre-published entry list the team began the process.
As Hayley input the numbers between 1 and 4199 in the number generator the anticipation built. Messages of luck were shared between total strangers on the internet wishing each other well. Then with one click of a button, the new owner had been found.
Robert Cargill had been allocated ticket 1124 – The number that had appeared on the random number generator and checked against our entry list.
After finding his details, Hayley gave him a ring live on the Facebook stream with possible the best reaction we have ever had to a competition. Robert and his wife were absolutely ecstatic with their new classic Morris Minor!
Remember, you could be getting that phone call too! There are always new dream classics going up on our Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website for you to enter, head over there now and get your tickets!
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on carefully removing the original carpets from the 1970 Bristol 411 in order to template replacement pieces as part of its restorative works.
Brian, one of our trimmers, has been removing the pieces from the classic GT in order to separate them into their basic parts for pattern making and to work out the plan of how they all lay into the cockpit of the car.
Once out, the original pieces are laid onto new carpeting and carefully cut, test fit and then bound before being put back into the car over the top of the replacement sound deadening material.
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have been working through the list of jobs on the 1951 Jaguar XK120 in with us.
Next up for our technicians is to sort out a binding front brake. Upon inspection, Jon found one of the wheel cylinders was in need of a rebuild, and looking closer discovered an issue with a brake hose. The cylinder was completely stripped down and thoroughly cleaned before reassembly. Then, once in place, Jon could remove the brake hose and replace it with a brand new piece before cleaning up the rest of the brake system and bleeding the brakes.
Next up was for Jon to sort out an oil leak from the sump. Assessing the sump area he found the inspection cover gasket had begun to weep so it was replaced with a brand new gasket before he turned his attention to the sump plug. Removing the sump bung, Jon found an issue with the threads which weren’t allowing the bung to be tightened down correctly and seal. So, the team carefully remove the threads and installed a Helicoil in its place for the sump bung to thread into and tighten down correctly.
Then, the engine could be refilled with oil and level checked.
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has had its steering wheel removed by the workshop team here at Bridge Classic Cars to be sent off for a new cleaning process specifically made for delicate or antique parts. The steering well was sent to Re-Go Auto Parts in Kent where the team could carry out the process.
The original steering wheel shows 117 years of ageing across the wooden and metal surfaces of the piece. With a new process of Laser cleaning, the team could be extremely precise with just where and how strong the laser was. They cleaned up the main spokes of the steering wheel with a relative high-powered pass to clean off the steel but made sure that the power was turned down when passing over any softer materials like the aluminium.
The wood wasn’t touched by the laser. This was hand-cleaned by the team at Re-Go to bring it back to as close to the original as possible.
It looks absolutely incredible and we cannot wait to get it back to our Pettistree workshop to have a proper look at it.
