Craig Ranson

Managing Director – Bridge Classic Cars

A streak of Tigers

We’ve all been there; when you’re driving along the road and someone comes passed you driving the same car as you. Do you smile and

Read More »

New Arrival

Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is this 2000 Toyota Revius camper. The workshop technicians will be carrying out a full inspection on

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up. Have a sneak peek inside our

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up. Have a sneak peek inside our

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up. Have a sneak peek inside our

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up. Have a sneak peek inside our

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up. Have a sneak peek inside our

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up. Have a sneak peek inside our

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up. Have a sneak peek inside our

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Join us in The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars for our regular coffee and classics event. This is where, on the second Tuesday of every

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

After the success of our first Coffee & Classics morning, we once again invited everyone to The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars on Tuesday, 14th

Read More »

Coffee & Classics

Every second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am we open up the doors of our Suffolk HQ for a coffee and a catch-up. We

Read More »

Anglia Car Auctions

On the weekend of 28th and 29th January, Anglia Car Auctions will be hosting an auction in King’s Lynn and the Bridge Classic Cars team

Read More »

Possible puncture…

It’s not everyday we get a modern in but today we have a quick in and out…

Our 2016 Land Rover Sport may have a possible puncture so Jon has it up on the ramp to get the tyres and inflate where necessary.

Rover 216 Cabriolet – New Hood Time!

Lydia and Brian have welcomed in our Rover 216 Cabriolet for a new hood to be fitted. The hood comprises of an outer layer, middle section and roof lining which will all be replaced as part of the project.

So far, the front section of the hood cover and headliner have been removed, as well as the rear roof metal sections and padded inner lining.

RS Turbo Pre Delivery Inspection

Jon has carried out the Pre Delivery inspection on yesterday’s competition prize, our 1991 Ford Escort RS Turbo.

Another trip to Scotland for us; 2 Scottish winners in the 3 weeks, lucky times!

Ross will soon be accepting delivery of his new (old) car. Having owned various Fast Fords over the years, Fiestas mainly but up until now has not owned the Mk2 RS Turbo. He’s really excited and we can’t wait for him to see the car.

Ford Transit Door Cards

The old door cards had been finished to a poor standard and Lydia felt were not fit for purpose.

She has cleaned off the old door cards and removed foam that had been incorrectly and poorly stuck down. New vinyl was cut and laminated onto scrim foam. This meant that the stitched design now stood out well from the rest of the vinyl , without looking garish like the previous design.

She then applied the new vinyl to the panels and cleaned off my pencil marks.

Installing new output shaft seal

James has been working on the finishing touches to our Mk 1 Ford Transit. The gearbox has been removed, the engine sump and rear main oil seal plate have also been removed.

All parts were fully cleaned and decreased, then reassembled with new gaskets.

New oil was added and the gearbox refitted with a new output shaft seal installed correctly.

Then it was run up and checked for leaks.

All OK.

Volkswagen Beetle Quality Control

Final stages of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle restoration and Jon is giving the car a thorough assessment to make notes of all aspects of the refit that require attention.

His findings will be reported to the individual departments or he will look to carry out the work himself.

Jon has already attended to the rear opening quarter windows. He has adjusted the rubber seals to allow offside to close fully and space out nearside rubber seal to allow window to seal gap.

The lights and levels have been checked and he has confirmed the operation of the fuel gauge by adding 20ltrs petrol. The door catches have been adjusted, fitted rubber blocks to the B pillars to seal gap at the door to window edge. The bonnet catches have been adjusted.

The paint-shop have touched up chips in the paintwork.

Grommets have been fitted to all A and B pillar holes.

The operation of the washers have been checked, the exhaust heat exchange pipes and tailpipes have been tightened Jon has eliminated the slight vibration/rattle at certain resonance.

We have checked for oil leak and found a slight drip from rear main/gearbox area. Oil quite dark but engine oil is fresh and clear so we suspect a minor gearbox oil leak.

Scimitar sees a few improvements from Steve

Steve has stripped down the boot lock mechanism to get to a broken bolt. He has removed the lock clean and replaced with clean tumblers ready for refit.

Whilst working on the Scimitar Steve has gone ahead and fitted a new fuel filter too.

Strap in, our Series 1 is off!

Today’s the day we say goodbye to our Land Rover Series 1 for it’s new adventures in the Highlands of Scotland with competition winner Colin.

One final adjustment to the project is for Brian to make up the new door straps in colour matching leather.

Bridge Classic Cars visit Wales Capital

The Times voted it ‘One of the top UK city breaks’ and we at Bridge Classic Cars 100% agree.

This weekend, I ventured out with the family to spend a long weekend in the incredible city of Cardiff.

Admittedly there weren’t many classic cars to see, nor were there any unusual cars either but the scenery and character certainly didn’t disappoint.

I didn’t know really what to expect from a weekend in Cardiff but it left me wanting more.

Incredible places to visit, eat, shop and explore…the streets were a hive of activity all day and all night.

We took a trip to Techniquest for an afternoon. ‘Set on the waterfront in the heart of Cardiff Bay, Techniquest has over 100 hands-on exhibits that let you experience science, technology, engineering and maths in a fun and exciting way.’

Thank you Cardiff for a wonderful weekend and we will most certainly be seeing you again. We just need a few classic cars to see too!

A streak of Tigers

We’ve all been there; when you’re driving along the road and someone comes passed you driving the same car as you. Do you smile and acknowledge the fact it’s the same car or do you pretend you haven’t seen it?

Well imagine pulling up at the hotel for the night in your Sunbeam Tiger and you’re greeted with an ambush of them.

Sadly, what you don’t see in the photo is parked the opposite side is two more. If only the SLK had been given the memo not to park there.

Taken outside Ufford Park Hotel and Spa, Woodbridge the morning after Drive It Day 2023. This looks to be one of the Sunbeam driver’s clubs enjoying a good catch up.

Dodge DA – summer ready

With the amazing news that the DVLA have finally registered our 1929 Dodge DA, we have transported the car from The Hangar back to the workshops ready for the new plates to be fitted and the full recommission to commence.

We already have a diary packed full of amazing summer shows so we look forward to taking our very special Dodge out and about very soon.

Biking into the sunset…

Last weekend felt like the first weekend of summer. The sun was shining, the roads were dry and everywhere I went I saw the groups of bikers out enjoying some fresh air.

So I took the opportunity for my first solo ride out of 2023 to one of my favourite destinations.

Here is my Ltd Edition 2017 Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer. A bike I have owned for a couple of years now.

It was a Saturday evening, around 6pm and the sun was starting to fall over the stunning Bawdsey coastline. Other than a couple that had pitched up for the night with their VW camper I was all alone…it was simply beautiful.

I am very lucky to call Suffolk my home…

The DB9 returns…

Just before Christmas 2022, Molly made a call to Nick Jones with the amazing news that he was now the very proud owner of our 2005 Aston Martin DB9 with ticket number 1643.

In front of a live studio audience the Bridge Classic Cars Christmas party saw us give away not only my personal (Craig) Aston Martin but our 1985 Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet.

Soon after Nick was handed the keys to his Aston he became a fully-fledged member of the Aston Martin owner’s club and had a special set of bespoke Aston Martin colour-coded luggage commissioned too.

Unfortunately due to personal reasons, Nick contacted us with the sad news that he would need to let the car go but had thoroughly enjoyed his time with her. Originally planned to head to an online classic car auction Nick notified us out of courtesy to let us know of these plans. I gave it some thought (not for too long) and decided to make him an offer to have the car back.

The car is now back with me and I’m looking forward to another summer full of shows with my DB9 back!

A New Home for Our Defender

Our 2015 Land Rover Defender, formerly owned by TV Adventurer Ed Stafford, has been safely delivered to its new home with its excited new owner Jamie.

We wish Jamie many happy miles (on and offroad) with his new Defender!

New Arrival

Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is this 2000 Toyota Revius camper.

The workshop technicians will be carrying out a full inspection on the camper as with all of our new arrivals here at our Suffolk HQ.

Take a look at this awesome campervan:

March Mini Madness – Behind the Scenes of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini 850 Live Draw

Last night, we invited all of our Mini friends to come over to our Pettistree workshops for the live draw of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini in our Atelier building.

With the weather holding off, we opened the doors for everyone to come in with incredible woodfired pizzas from Picollo Pizza Box and the Atelier Bar serving everything from our Rijo42 Coffee to the always popular Adnams 0.5% range – Our friends had something in hand to listen to the amazing set by Annika Rands.

As the clock struck 7PM and the sun began to dip lower across the Suffolk countryside, it was time for us to find out who the lucky winner of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini was! Would it be someone in the room…

Molly and Freddie took our virtual friends are the Atelier through our Facebook live stream, going through some of the upcoming competition cars as well as some other exciting news about a very special Jaguar which you’ll find out more about very soon.

At 10 past 7, as always, the competition closes. This marks the point where fate and luck collide as we find a new home for a dream classic somewhere in the UK. With only a couple of hundred tickets remaining, Molly gathered everyone in the room a little closer and beckoned those behind a screen to edge forward on their seats.

As with every live draw, we wait until everyone (both in the room and on the web) can clearly see our screen loaded up with the Google Random Number Generator. After a quick test outside of the 1-4999 tickets, everything was in place to find the classic Mini a new home.

Molly carefully and precisely put the numbers in, 1 and 4999 for the generator to search through. With a drum roll and a countdown by everyone in the audience, Molly clicked the fateful button which has led to over 130 people winning through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.

4027.

Those were the exact numbers that showed up bold and resolute on the screen.

That particular ticket had been part of a handful of tickets bought by Anthony Wardley – The new owner of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini 850.

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up.

Have a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects this week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up.

Have a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects this week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up.

Have a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects this week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up.

Have a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects this week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up.

Have a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects this week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up.

Have a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects this week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

Coffee & Classics

Come join us on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am for a coffee and a catch-up.

Have a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects this week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

Coffee & Classics

Join us in The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars for our regular coffee and classics event. This is where, on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am, we open our doors and enjoy a coffee and a catch-up with fellow classic car enthusiasts.

Our coffee and classics events are always good fun with interesting conversations, delicious coffee, tasty snacks, and a whole load of classic cars.

While you’re here, you can also go on a guided tour of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop where you can get a closer look at some of our current projects.

We have hosted several of these events and we always look forward to welcoming all of our friends, both old and new, to Bridge Classic Cars.

To see the highlights of our previous coffee and classics, take a look here and here.

Coffee & Classics

After the success of our first Coffee & Classics morning, we once again invited everyone to The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars on Tuesday, 14th March 2023.

Coffee & Classics takes place on the second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am and it is where you can join us for a coffee and a catch-up as well as a tour of the workshop. During the tour, you can see some of the current projects our team of classic car technicians are working on, and there is always something exciting to see.

As well as spending a couple of hours surrounded by classic cars, you can also enjoy cakes and pastries from The Bakehouse Woodbridge and there will be coffee and other refreshments available from The Atelier Bar.

Our Coffee & Classics mornings are always fun and we love spending time with other enthusiasts who love classic cars as much as we do.

These events are completely free to attend but please RSVP below to let us know if you will be attending so we can make sure we have enough cake for everyone!

Coffee & Classics

Every second Tuesday of every month 9.30 am-11.30 am we open up the doors of our Suffolk HQ for a coffee and a catch-up.

We gave a sneak peek inside our workshop to see our projects that week, bring your classic along and meet with like-minded individuals. The Atelier bar will be open for refreshments.

You can see the highlights of this event here.

And a highlights gallery here:

Anglia Car Auctions

On the weekend of 28th and 29th January, Anglia Car Auctions will be hosting an auction in King’s Lynn and the Bridge Classic Cars team will be in attendance.

Our 2 very special Daimlers will be part of the auction and it will be great to see them both find new homes.

We have been to several Anglia Car Auctions before and they have always been very successful days out.

If you are interested in any of the cars being sold at the auction, viewing is offered on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th January from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The auction opens at 9:00 am each day – admission is free, but catalogues can be purchased for £5. 

If you are thinking of going to the auction, some of our previous visits can be seen here and here.