Craig Ranson

Managing Director – Bridge Classic Cars

Inner Arches

Classic car technician Al has been working on our 1956 Jensen 541 lately. Recently, he has been focused on continuing the painting of the chassis

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A New Glovebox

Classic car technician Brian has made a new glovebox for our 1992 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3. He did this by first making the patterns he

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More Progress…

Since the chassis of our 1959 Jensen 541R has been back in the workshop, classic car technician Rob has been busy rebuilding the car. He

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Chassis Painted

Since returning from the sandblasters, the chassis of our 1956 Jensen 541 has spent some time in our paint shop being painted. It’s not very

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Body Shaping Begins

Classic car technician Chris recently started the body shaping process on our 1986 Daimler DS420. Quite a bit of restoration work has already been completed

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A Classic Pinstripe

Along with its new interior, sun visors, and roof, our 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible has a new pinstripe too. Classic car technician Chris made

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Sending Our Condolences

Everyone at Bridge Classic Cars is extremely sad to hear about the unexpected passing of GenX Radio Presenter Tim Gough. Our director Craig was recently

Read More »

Prep And Paint

After recent repairs to its wheel arches and getting high build primer applied, our 1999 Vauxhall Omega went through its final preparations before receiving its

Read More »

A New Exhaust Fitted

A new stainless steel exhaust has been fitted to our 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3 by classic car technician Paul. While Paul was working

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1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT Live Draw

Bridge Classic Cars would like to invite you to our live draw on the evening of Thursday 10th November 2022 where someone will win our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT.

During the evening, our workshop will be open for people in attendance to look around and some of the team will be on hand to share information about the cars being restored. There will also be live music from local band The 3Buskateers, food from Woodbridge Mobile Pizza Company, and coffee from Carmello’s.

The main event of the evening will be our live draw at 7 pm, where one lucky person will win our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT.

You can win this classic car by entering the draw at Bridge Classic Cars Competitions

It would be amazing to have the winner in our live audience so make sure you enter the draw to be in with a chance of that person being you.

The live stream will begin at 7 pm, but everyone is welcome from 6 pm.

Come along and enjoy our musical entertainment and spend some time talking classic cars with us.

The live draw will take place at Bridge Classic Cars, The Nursery, Main Road, Pettistree, Woodbridge IP13 OHH

Enter Suffolk Plant Centre and continue up to the gates where Bridge Classic Cars can be seen on the left.

We look forward to welcoming you on Thursday 10th November 2022 at 6 pm


Reserve Your Place

Now Live – Enter To Win Our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT

So many of us here at Bridge Classic Cars have been feeling very nostalgic ever since our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT arrived.

This is a classic car that a lot of people have fond memories of thanks to how popular they were through the 70s and 80s.

If you want to experience owning a Ford Cortina all over again, then you can enter the draw to be in with a chance of winning our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT as it is now live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.

Inner Arches

Classic car technician Al has been working on our 1956 Jensen 541 lately.

Recently, he has been focused on continuing the painting of the chassis and its numerous components.

As well as painting the rear inner arches of this soon-to-be beautiful classic car, Al also painted the door frames too.

Work will continue on our 1956 Jensen 541 and it is great to see progress being made in its restoration.

A Hydrogen-Powered Car – Hyundai Nexo

As much as electric cars have gained in popularity in recent years, a key issue that has put some people off from making the switch over is their long charge times. Hyundai has come up with the next generation of more environmentally-friendly hydrogen-powered cars in the form of the new Hyundai Nexo.

Technically, the Nexo is an electric car. However, what makes it different to other electric vehicles is that it has an onboard fuel cell generating its power, rather than a big battery pack.

Using Hydrogen to feed the fuel cell means that you can completely fill the tank of the Nexo in around 5 minutes. This is substantially quicker than you can fully charge standard electric cars. What is potentially even more impressive is that, after a Hydrogen refill, you can expect a range of over 400 miles before you’ll need to top-up again.

When it comes to the Nexo’s environmental impact, you can drive knowing that you are keeping your emissions as low as possible. Hydrogen-powered cars, like the Nexo, produce emissions in the form of purified air and water. This is obviously much more environmentally friendly than petrol or diesel-powered vehicles.

What’s Different About The Hyundai Nexo?

There have been hydrogen-powered systems before but Hyundai has engineered the one used in the Nexo to make sure interior space isn’t sacrificed for the sake of powering the car. It does seem that the brand has been pretty successful in this too. The boot of the Nexo isn’t too far away from that of a petrol or diesel-powered SUV and there is a decent amount of space for passengers in the back of the car as well.

As the fuel cell and everything that goes with it have been so efficiently built into the Nexo, it has enough space to be used as a practical family car which is important considering its price.

The Price

Hyundai is expecting to sell the Nexo in large quantities. While this seems like an obvious thing to say, the price tag of a little under £70 000 might be too much for the vast majority of motorists to afford.

Is This The Future Of Motoring?

The Nexo certainly seems to have the potential for laying the foundations for the future of the motor industry. A practical car that drives well, has plenty of space and produces zero emissions does tick a lot of boxes of what a future-proof car looks like.

However, the cost, the low number of hydrogen filling stations, and the current popularity of electric cars could make it a challenge for hydrogen-powered cars like this to completely take over.

New On MyClassics.co.uk – 1970 Land Rover Series IIA

Newly listed on MyClassics.co.uk is a 1970 Land Rover Series IIA. It is in need of some restoration work but it will no doubt be up and running again with a little bit of attention given to it.

This iconic classic vehicle runs although the current engine is somewhat smokey. A spare engine comes with the Land Rover though which has been seen running in another vehicle.

Full details can be seen here.

The Land Rover is also listed on eBay.

Work Continues On Our 1975 Jensen Interceptor MK3

Classic car technicians Monty and Christian have been spending quite a bit of time with our 1975 Jensen Interceptor MK3 lately.

From removing the front wings to working on the new body panels that arrived at the workshop, they have been busy making good progress on this special classic car.

As you can see from the photos below, things are progressing well and work continues as our Interceptor moves further along its restoration journey.

A New Glovebox

Classic car technician Brian has made a new glovebox for our 1992 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3.

He did this by first making the patterns he needed from cardboard. He then used these to cut the shapes out of mill board and using scoring boards to put creases in the appropriate places.

All the parts were fitted together outside of the car to make sure everything fit perfectly together.

Once everything had been made, checked, and finalised, Brian fit the new glovebox into the dashboard of our special little Mini.

More Progress…

Since the chassis of our 1959 Jensen 541R has been back in the workshop, classic car technician Rob has been busy rebuilding the car.

He has already bolted the front wheel arches and the mounting frames into place and he has also started work on fitting the body and the roof back together again.

The car already looks very different than it did when it first arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and it will continue to change as it moves along its restoration journey.

Delivering Our 1970 Jaguar XJ6 Series 1

We recently delivered our 1970 Jaguar XJ6 Series 1 to the very lucky new owner – Martin Tyte.

Martin won this impressive classic car through Bridge Classic Car Competitions in our live draw on 20th October 2022, with ticket number 18.

Everyone here is very pleased to hear that Martin loves his new car and we wish him many happy years (and miles) in his stunning new Jaguar.

Chassis Painted

Since returning from the sandblasters, the chassis of our 1956 Jensen 541 has spent some time in our paint shop being painted.

It’s not very often that you see the chassis of a car in this state so it’s always interesting to see this stage of restoration work.

A Leak Found And Fixed

Classic car technician Jon has been investigating a leak on our 1972 Rover 4500S. The leak was found to be coming from a hose to the radiator.

Jon tightened all the hoses and checked the pressure in them too. While he was working on this eye-catching classic car, he also looked at the intake pipes. The ends of these were cut off and refitted to the air filter.

No leaks are coming from our special Rover now so it seems to be ready to get back out on the road very soon.

The End Of The Ford Fiesta

Rumours have been circulating over the past couple of days that the Ford Fiesta will be removed from production soon. Ford has now confirmed that these rumours are, in fact, true and the Fiesta will be no more as of June 2023.

Since its introduction in 1976, the Fiesta has become a common sight on UK roads and consistently featured in the list of most popular cars in the country.

The Ford Fiesta has become something of an icon over the years and it is a highly recognisable car. With so many people having owned a Fiesta, been driven around in a Fiesta, or fallen in love with a Fiesta, this news will likely bring a sense of sadness. Fond memories of this little car will be commonplace and it’s hard to not feel that this is the end of an era.

Ford has said that the reason for the discontinuation of the Fiesta is linked to their “planned transition to an electric future.”

The statement from Ford states:

“As we get ready to transition to an electric future, we will discontinue production of S-MAX and Galaxy in Valencia, Spain in April 2023 and discontinue Fiesta production in Cologne, Germany by end of June 2023….We will introduce three new exciting electric passenger vehicles and four new electric commercial vehicles in Europe by 2024. We plan to sell more than 600,000 electric vehicles in the region by 2026, and the electric passenger vehicle production at the Cologne Electrification Centre will reach 1.2 million vehicles over a six-year timeframe.”

This statement also confirms the end of the Ford S-Max and the Ford Galaxy to make way for a new range of electric Ford vehicles over the next few years.

Whatever the reason, the Ford Fiesta is coming to an end so it’s time to say goodbye to the little Ford that made a big impact on the motoring world.

Investigating Running Issues

Our 1977 Triumph Spitfire came into the workshop for the team to investigate some running issues it was experiencing. Classic car technician Jon has begun looking into these issues and already found and rectified some of them.

The first thing Jon did was to charge the flat battery. He then removed and regapped the spark plugs. While doing this he found that the gap on 2 of the spark plugs was closed completely which could be a cause of some of the running issues.

Jon went on to remove and check the carb too.

The video below shows Jon making sure the static timing is aligned and that the rotary arm is pointing to cylinder 1 as it should. The video also shows the advance moving in the distributor when the vacuum is applied.

Putting Things Back Together

Now that the chassis of our 1959 Jensen 541R is back in the workshop, classic car technician Rob has started the process of putting everything back together again.

This will obviously take some time and it will require a huge amount of patience and skill. Fortunately, our classic car technicians have both of these so good progress is being made.

As you can see from the photos below, Rob has fitted the sills back onto the car and he has refitted and welded the bulkhead onto it too.

New Hardboard Panels And Badges Refurbished

The interior trim of our 1978 MGB GT has had new hardboard panels made. The finish of the new panels goes a long way in making this classic car look refined and very appealing.

The badges of the car have also been undergoing refurbishment.

Seemingly small tasks like this do a great job of bringing a restored classic car back to its original state so they are very important.

Our 1978 MGB GT continues to make good progress and we are very excited to see it back out on the road in the near future.

A Special Car Returns

A little over a year ago, we said goodbye to our 1972 Chevron B20. Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars loved this formula 2 car and, although we were happy it was going to a new owner, there was still quite a bit of sadness to see this very special car leave us.

However, today we are all very happy to see it back in our workshop!

Yesterday, we collected the car and transported it back to the workshop here in Suffolk. We were excited just seeing the B20 on our trailer making its journey to us, so you can imagine how excited we have been to actually have it back with us in person.

It has come back to us to be prepared for export as its adventure is set to continue overseas. Our classic car technicians will soon get to work on this very special car and we will certainly enjoy looking after it until the time comes for it to move on once more.

Body Shaping Begins

Classic car technician Chris recently started the body shaping process on our 1986 Daimler DS420.

Quite a bit of restoration work has already been completed on this classic car and things certainly aren’t slowing down as progress continues to be made.

A Day In The Life Of A Classic Car Technician

The classic car technicians here at Bridge Classic Cars spend their days working on a wide range of classic vehicles.

As quite a few of the classic cars that find themselves in the workshop are very rare, it’s not surprising that the technicians have to be creative, experienced, and highly skilled in what they do to make things come together as planned.

A classic car technician is able to look at a classic car in a seemingly ruined state and see beyond what is in front of them. They know how beautiful the shell of a vehicle once was and they know that they can return it to that condition again.

Working on such a range of classic cars provides a lot of challenges. From preparing a Jensen 541R for a repaint to trying to rebuild an ultra-rare 1905 Riley 9HP from pictures, each day provides new challenges, requires new skills, and a whole lot of passion for classic cars.

We are very lucky to have such experienced classic car technicians in our workshop. It’s only through years of experience that the team is able to restore some of the most beautiful, most challenging, and some extremely rare classic cars.

The Bridge Classic Cars workshop tends to be a pretty noisy place to be. Whether it’s the technicians sharing a joke, the body of a classic vehicle being worked on, or the sound of heated discussions about the best way of resolving one of the many problems that have to be faced every day. Whatever the cause of the noise, you can be sure it’s classic car related and that the classic car technicians are hard at work restoring a classic vehicle back to its former glory.

If you’ve never seen a classic car technician in action before, the below photos give just a little insight into what a “normal day” looks like for them.

Entry Is Open – Win Our 1992 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3

If you’ve ever wanted to own a classic mini, you have the chance to do just that over at Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.

Entry is now open to win our 1992 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3.

With a higher compression engine of 10.1:1 and striking red paintwork, this is one classic mini that will not only get you to where you need to go, but will look good while doing it too.

All the information you need can be found here.

A Classic Pinstripe

Along with its new interior, sun visors, and roof, our 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible has a new pinstripe too.

Classic car technician Chris made sure the car was properly prepped before painting on the pinstripe.

The pinstripe may seem like a relatively small thing but, as you can see from the photos below, it makes a huge difference to the overall look of the car.

Sending Our Condolences

Everyone at Bridge Classic Cars is extremely sad to hear about the unexpected passing of GenX Radio Presenter Tim Gough.

Our director Craig was recently interviewed on GenX and found the team there to be a friendly and professional group of people. We would like to send our condolences to everyone at the radio station as well as to Tim’s friends, family, and listeners.

More details about Tim and his work can be seen on the GenX Radio website.

New On MyClassics.co.uk – 1969 Mercedes 300 SEL

If you like classic Mercedes, then the newly listed 1969 Mercedes 300 SEL might be a great car for you.

With lots of restoration work completed on this classic car, it has only done 1000 miles since the work on the engine and gearbox has been finished.

The car seems to be in great condition and, with a little bit of time and care, it could be back on the road before you know it.

Full details can be seen at MyClassics.co.uk

Prep And Paint

After recent repairs to its wheel arches and getting high build primer applied, our 1999 Vauxhall Omega went through its final preparations before receiving its top coat of paint.

During the prep work, all joints were sealed and the car was appropriately covered to ensure the paintwork looked as good as new.

As you can see from the photos below, the rust issues the car was suffering from are now resolved and our Omega is another step closer to driving out of the workshop and back to its owner.

Chassis Back In The Workshop

The chassis of our 1959 Jensen 541R has arrived back at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. It has been moved from our storage facility, The Hangar, ready to begin the next stage of the restoration process.

Now it is back with us, our classic car technicians will carry out a thorough inspection of it before more parts of the main body are put back together.

The doors of this classic car have also been stripped down and sent off for sandblasting.

Just Arrived – 1977 Triumph Spitfire

There’s nothing quite like an eye-catching classic car arriving at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our 1977 Triumph Spitfire certainly fits the bill to be an attention-grabbing vehicle.

Not only does it stand out in its yellow colour, but it’s also a beautiful-looking classic car.

It has come in for our classic car technicians to investigate some running issues so hopefully, it won’t be too long before it is back out on the road where it belongs.

A New Exhaust Fitted

A new stainless steel exhaust has been fitted to our 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3 by classic car technician Paul.

While Paul was working on this classic car, he also removed the centre console to gain access to the gear selection illumination. He needed to do this in order to fit a new bulb which was required.

Looking Back On A Long Journey

It hasn’t been long since we saw the arrival of our 1976 Aston Martin AMV8. Now that it’s been in the workshop for a few days, we have been looking back on its long journey from America to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Suffolk.

The photos below show its arrival at Felixstowe docks ready to begin the last leg of its journey to us.

Even sitting at the docks like this, you can see how nice this classic car is and we are very excited to see it once its been through its restoration journey.

More Progress On Our 1905 Riley 9HP

Classic car technician Dave has been continuing work on our 1905 Riley 9HP.

He has recently added the wheel hub nuts and the nut locking ring. As work continues on this truly classic car, it has already come a long way since it first arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.

With quite a bit of work still to do though, the whole team here are excited to see this car back in its original state and ready to head outside for its first drive in a long time.