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Craig Ranson

Managing Director – Bridge Classic Cars

First Visit For Spud985

July 28, 2021

Familiar face appeared on the First. Coffee Shop + Lifestyle social feed, @ashleyharvey985 (formerly Spud985) went for a coffee in his 1973 Triumph TR6.

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Bentley dash panels get a new lease of life!

July 30, 2021

Brian has been re-covering more panels for the 1963 Bentley S3 Chinese Continental.

This time, he’s done the panels that go underneath the dash, the dash rail panel, corner panel, the metal plate that goes with it, padded dash panels, and front-seat support wood.

He stripped the original leather off all of them, and any old foam that was underneath. Then sanded off the old glue. Most of the metal panels had 3mm foam glued onto them first, before adding the new leather on top and glueing underneath. The rest of the panels just had the new leather glued directly onto them.

More stages of the prep work for the Honda Integra!

July 30, 2021

Lydia has been helping Chris in the paint shop with the 1998 Honda Integra Type R panels.

Chris has been priming them, and then Lydia has been coating them in black guide coat, which shows the imperfections in the primer surface when sanded down. She sanded each panel down until no guide coat could be seen anymore. This was done with a mixture of blocking, using a DA and sanding by hand. Lydia then went over each panel with a grey scotch pad lightly and cleaned off any sanding dust with pre-clean.

New stereo box for the 1954 Jaguar!

July 30, 2021

Tamas has fabricated and welded together a new stereo box for the white 1954 Jaguar Mk VII. Kath has then covered it in dark red leather, ready to go in the car!

The start of the Aston Martin seat fitting!

July 30, 2021

Kath has been starting to fit the front squab seats and their carpet backs to the frames.

She began by stapling the sides of the front squab to the wooden part of the frame. She then trimmed back the foam on the flutes, to lay nice and flat on the back. Then she stapled the front of the squab to the wood of the seat frame, making sure it fitted nicely. Piping was then stapled around the back edge. The carpet back was placed on top of this, just inside the piping.

The first front squab is now ready! Exactly the same process will be carried out for the second one.

Headlining work continues for the Vanden Plas!

July 30, 2021

Brian has been finishing the restoration of the headlining for our 1981 Rover 3500 SD1 Vanden Plas.

Once he’d finished getting all the old foam and glue off the board, he cut a piece of nylon foam headlining to the required size and proceeded to glue it onto the board. Brian had to do this in sections because the glue went off too quickly.

Brian has had to glue new headlining fabric to the sunroof section as well. This didn’t have a board, it was just glued straight on. He’s just got to fit the headlining board in the car now!

Don’t forget, you can win this car! Just head to our website by clicking on the following link, which will give you more information about the car and tell you how to enter the competition! https://www.bridgeclassiccarscompetitions.co.uk/product/1981-rover-sd1/

Re-freshing our Range Rover CSK

July 30, 2021

The transformation is now underway as Colin from Viper Auto Valeting has been working his magic on our Range Rover.

The exterior and interior has been given the once over to get rid of all the nasties that have been living and growing in and around the car.

When we get a space in our workshops the next step will be to carry out a full assessment to see what is required for the recommission.

Jensen finishing touches

July 30, 2021

John has now fitted the new steering wheels

…and has been adjusting the throttle linkage and gear change linkage.

Over-heating issues continue on HMC

July 30, 2021

It appears that changing the thermostat has not resolved the issue of over heating. Having carried out various tests upon fitting the new thermostat we thought we had overcome the problem but no. The HMC is now back with us for further checks.

We will do some further investigations but this may be more serious than first thought. We will see…

Come and say hi this Sunday at Helmingham!

July 29, 2021

This Sunday, 1st of August, will be the annual Festival of Classic and Sports Cars at Helmingham Hall in Suffolk! Having had a year off due to the pandemic, it will be fantastic to see the vast array of cars again that so many enthusiasts and owners bring.

We’ll be there of course, along with all of our current competition cars, including our maroon 1959 Jaguar MK I. This will be won on the day and the draw for it will be live from the show at 4:00 pm.

So if you’re a Jaguar fan or simply want to add to your collection of cars, come and grab a ticket on our website this very minute, for your chance to win! If we haven’t sold out online, tickets will also be available on the day, on our stand, up until 3:00 pm. So why not come and say hi to us!

Here’s a link to the competition page on our website, which gives you all the information you should need about the car and how to purchase tickets. https://www.bridgeclassiccarscompetitions.co.uk/product/mk1-jag/

Here’s a link to the Helmingham Hall website page about the day, and how to buy tickets to the show. https://www.helmingham.com/events/the-festival-of-classic-sports-cars/

Bristol gets a service!

July 29, 2021

Mauro has been finishing his work on the 1971 Bristol 411. He’s given it a full service, put new break pads on and the contact points got changed. It’s been for a test drive and is looking good!

Finishing the wing on the Riley!

July 29, 2021

James has been doing some more work on one of the wings of our 1951 yellow Riley RMB.

He’s been finishing by welding in the wire rolled edge of the left-hand wing and repairing a section at the front.

Carpet backs for the Aston!

July 29, 2021

Kath has been continuing her work on the front squab seats for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2 4 Mark I. Now the fronts of them have been re-made, she’s moved onto the backs. These are made out of carpet!

So Kath started by cutting a piece of the new grey carpet roughly to the size she needed, using the seat frame as a template. She then laid this piece of carpet out and marked around the original front squab back with tailor’s chalk. She checked the fit of it against the seat frame. Kath then measured out a strip of the dark grey leather and cut out. The leather was sewn around the edge of the carpet and then folded under, and sewn again to create a bound edge, which completed the front squab backs!

Repair work continues on the Honda!

July 29, 2021

Pricey has been continuing his repair work on the white 1998 Honda Integra Type R.

The original floor edge was very thin, so he welded a new one in. He also welded in a new section on the nearside rear wheel housing. The quarter panel was corroded so Pricey fabricated a new one and welded it in and made it fit to the wheel housing. The nearside outer wheel arch lip needed work as well so he cut out and welded a new one.

Prep work on the E-Type continues!

July 29, 2021

Chris and Matt have been doing more paint prep work on the 1973 Series 3 Jaguar E-Type.

They put the body of the car in the paint booth and masked it up ready for polyester primer. Once primed, it was covered in guide coat and blocked and finished in 180 sanding paper. The underside of the car body was prepped in 180 and any damage that was found was repaired and primed. All metal joints around the car were sealed, like where the metal had been welded together.

Headlining panels for the Aston.

July 29, 2021

Lydia has been re-covering the headlining panels for the Aston Martin DB 2/4 Mark I.

She started by peeling off the original fabric from each of the different panels and sanding down the old glue and giving the wood and metal a clean up.

The original fabric pieces were used as patterns on the new headlining fabric, and Lydia drew around them using a fabric pencil. They were all cut out and then one by one, wrapped around tightly onto the panels and glued into place. These panels will go around the sides, front, back and middle of the headlining in the car.

Vanden Plas make-over!

July 29, 2021

Brian has been busy in the trim shop with our gold 1981 Rover SD1 Vanden Plas. The original headlining was ill-fitting, and the previous owner had placed studs into it, to create a quilted effect, which wasn’t true to the design. So Brian started by removing the headlining board, took the original fabric off, along with the aforementioned studs, and rubbed all the old foam and glue off that was underneath.

The headlining board itself was repaired with fibreboard, where it had broken at the front. This is now all ready for new headlining fabric to be glued onto it!

Don’t forget, you can enter our competition to win this very car! Here’s a link to our website page with all the information on how to do so! https://www.bridgeclassiccarscompetitions.co.uk/product/1981-rover-sd1/

Range Rover CSK – in for recommission

July 28, 2021

Our 1990 Range Rover CSK is in for storage at The Hangar with the intention of a possible full recommission.

It’s also going to get a thorough clean, which you can see is much needed from the photos. There’s also a video of Craig doing a walk-around, for your viewing pleasure.

2021 Bridge Classic Cars Show

July 28, 2021

What a day! It was so lovely to welcome you back to our workshops for the 2021 Bridge Classic Cars show. After having to cancel both our 2020 Summer show and 2021 January show, we were well in need of a good catch up. The day started at our Bentwateras Hangar, before a convoy of roughly 150 cars made the journey through Woodbridge to our Woskhops in Pettistree.

Thank you to Matt Woods Photography for the imagery below.

Meet head of security, Rosie

July 28, 2021

Without a belly-rub or a dog treat, nobody makes it past ✋

Kath, one of our talented Interior Trim Specialists has made Rosie her very own Bridge neckerchief.

Classic Car Display at Woodbridge Methodist Church

July 28, 2021

East Anglian Practical Classics are helping Woodbridge Methodist Church celebrate its 150th anniversary. This is particularly apt as, in the same year that the was founded, Dr John Wesley Carhart, an American Methodist Minister, began constructing a steam-powered cart that laid the foundations of early mechanised personal transport. His machine, named ‘The Spark’, was so successful it earned its inventor the title ‘Father of the Automobile’.

In recognition of this ‘double event’, East Anglian Practical Classics will be displaying a selection of heritage vehicles that would have common in 1971 at the Church, marking 100 years since the beginnings of both the Woodbridge Methodist Church in 1871 and the car as we know it today.

This unique display will take place on Bank Holiday Monday, 30th August, on the forecourt of the church in St John’s Street, Woodbridge.

On display, we hope to include two extremely rare cars, a 1966 Gordon Keeble (no. 94 of the 99 made) and a 1950’s Paramount, one of only 72 examples originally made, of which less that half a dozen still exist.

There will also be a Toyota Carin, which was a brand new in 1971, a 1950’s Vauxhall Cresta, to show off the time periods fashion for fins, and, from the 1930’s, there is a venerable Austin Seven Ruby, which were still being used daily in 1971.

A visit from a gold Mercedes!

July 28, 2021

We had the pleasure of looking at this 1981 gold Mercedes-Benz 230 CE yesterday. It came to us for an insurance assessment for vehicle valuation. If you’re in need of this service, please do get in contact with us and we’d be happy to help!

Flutes galore on the Aston Martin!

July 28, 2021

Kath has been continuing her interior work on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2 4 Mark I’s seats. This time she has moved onto the front squabs.

She started by marking notches and important places to remember when sewing, with a pen on the original covers, before taking them apart carefully. She didn’t unpick the flutes, but instead, measured them to work out how to create the new flutes on the new leather. Once calculated, Kath measured and marked out flute lines on the back of the new leather and a piece of scrim foam, cut to size. This acts as a backing and will create the same effect as the original, whereas they had used calico as a backing and stuffed the flutes with lengths of foam instead.

Once the flutes were all sewn, Kath used the original fluted face as a pattern to mark the edges. Pieces of leather cut to shape were sewn onto the sides of the fluted face. The sidebands were then cut out and piped in the dark grey leather around the curved edge. These sidebands were sewn onto the plain leather sides that were just attached.

Preparing for auction!

July 27, 2021

Are you new to the world of classic car auctions? We can take care of this for you. Here at Bridge Classic Cars we offer a complete auction preparation service. Today we have been preparing our gold 1973 Rolls Royce Corniche for auction!

The Rolls Royce will be at The Classic Sale at Silverstone, this Sunday, the 1st of August. Bids can be placed in the auction room, by phone, online or via commission.

Spare wheel cover for the Corniche.

July 27, 2021

Kath has been busy in the trim shop making a cover for the spare tyre for our gold 1973 Rolls Royce Corniche.

She started by cutting out black carpet in a circular shape for the top, and a long piece for the sides. Strips of black vinyl were then measured and cut. Kath sewed one of the vinyl strips around the outside edge of the circle of carpet. The vinyl was then folded under and sewn again along the edge of the carpet. This created a bound edge. She then created a bound edge on the long piece of black carpet, along one of the long edges and both the short ends. This long piece of carpet was then sewn onto the round piece of carpet, along the unbound edge, overlapping the two short ends. Pieces of velcro were sewn onto the underneath of the short ends, to make sure it stays together while wrapped around the tyre.

This car is being sold via The Classic sale at Silverstone 2021, by auction. Here’s a link to our website page with all the information needed. https://bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/product/1973-rolls-royce-corniche/ And her’s a link to the auction website page! https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/sa076-lot-16586-1973-rolls-royce-corniche-coupe?el=16586&pn=1&pp=100 You can choose to bid in various ways, either in the actual auction room, over the phone, live online or via commission!

Work on the blaze orange MG Midget.

July 27, 2021

A classic car wouldn’t be a classic car without a story! Last night we announced the winner of our 1979 MG Midget, congratulations to Coby Morton with ticket number 241.

Today, having put her on the ramp to carry out the necessary checks and pre delivery inspection we were greeted by a couple of small areas of corrosion that’ll need to be cut out and weld repairs carried out.

Paul and Scott have been working on repairing some corroded areas on our blaze orange 1979 MG Midget. The areas that needed attention were both the front inner arches, the nearside middle inner arch and the offside outer rear sill.

Paul also had to re-position and re-adjust the rear brake shoes and put a new rubber gaiter on the track rod end.

New owner for our 1960 Jensen 541S!

July 27, 2021

We have recently sold our 1960 Jensen 541S. It was being sold with the option of either; the buyer could buy the car as-is, or buy the car and have us restore it to its former glory or customise to their heart’s content. The buyer decided to buy it as-is and will be restoring it themselves! Here’s a website link to the original showroom page on our website, which gives you more information and photos.

https://bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/product/1960-jensen-541s/

And if you want to see what else we have for sale, click here

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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