Latest Arrivals – 1956 Jensen 541 and 2007 Porsche 911 Carrera S
The Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ is always a busy place – with classics and modern cars coming in and out of our workshops every
Photographer/Videographer
The Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ is always a busy place – with classics and modern cars coming in and out of our workshops every
Our paint and body specialist Alan has been working on getting the 1951 Austin Devon Pickup back into tip top condition. He has been working
Our amazing workshop manager, John, has been working on the 1979 Volkswagen Type 2 Bay Window which is in our workshops for a couple of
The workshop team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working their way through our classic 1979 Ferrari 400, recommissioning each system of
Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has taken a massive step forward over the past week as the Bridge Classic Cars restoration team have reunited the
The workshop team here at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ have been continuing their work on getting the 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe closer
For many of us, the petrol began to course through our veins from an early age. Whether it was a family influence, afternoons in the
We’ve had quite a few new arrivals at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ over the past week. A really diverse mix of classics in for
The team have been working on the 1991 VW T4 Transporter at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our technician Steve has been heading up the
The bespoke head gasket for our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 has arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ. This means that the team can now
Steve has been working on the driveline of the 1973 Dino 246GTS while the car is in the fabrication bay at the Bridge Classic Cars
Our body shop team have been working on the 1975 Cobra Replica which is going through its restoration journey at the Bridge Classic Cars workshops.
Jon has been working hard on the 1973 Rover P5 Coupe, this time he’s been working inside and underneath the classic 70’s coupe. ”Adjust nearside
The Bridge Classic Cars fabrication team have finished up work on the drivers side of the gorgeous 1973 Dino 246GTS. Chris has been working incredibly
Our trim team have been hard at work on the 1952 Fiat 1900A which is in the finishing workshop at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ.
Our technician Steve has been working on the 1973 Dino 246GTS at our Pettistree workshop. At this point he is beginning to strip down the
Another classic is on its way to be looked after at our secure and discrete storage facility – The Hangar. This 1967 Morris Traveller has
Jon has also been working on a few upgrades to the 1973 Rover P5 Coupe whilst its in our workshops. This time, he’s been fitting
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars are continuing to get our 1973 Porsche 914 running as good as it looks. Jon has been tuning
Our technician Jon has been working his way through the list of jobs on the 1973 Rover P5 Coupe which is in the Bridge Classic
Our paint and body team have been working their magic on the 1975 Cobra Replica currently in at the Bridge Classic Cars workshops here in
This past weekend our Managing Director Craig, an avid biker, took a trip down to a local bike meet with his Ducati Scrambler. The event
As this project comes closer to completion, earlier this week before the Bridge Classic Cars restoration team began work on the 1960 MGA Roadster I
We get to caretake and look after some incredible machines, we also share that passion for storing and preserving them to ensure they are kept
The team here at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ in Suffolk have welcomed a new addition to our classic car workshops with this 1995 Toyota
As the work inside our new finishing workshop begins to ramp up with the first series of projects being moved into the former Atelier, our
The 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe has been making some incredible progress in the last couple of weeks at the Pettistree workshops. As part
Our technician Jon has been tasked with taking a look at our this beautiful 1963 Fiat 500 which has come in with a quite the
Our Carriage Green 1956 Jensen 541 is getting closer to the end of its restoration here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ. Paul, the
The 1973 Rover P5 Coupe which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been under the careful hands of Jon and John in
The Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ is always a busy place – with classics and modern cars coming in and out of our workshops every week. Last week, we welcomed 2 more brand new arrivals. A 1956 Jensen 541 and a 2007 Porsche 911 Carrera S. Both of these stunning cars will be looked at and taken care of by our restoration technicians.
1956 Jensen 541:
2007 Porsche 911 Carrera S:
Our paint and body specialist Alan has been working on getting the 1951 Austin Devon Pickup back into tip top condition. He has been working the panels and making sure that not only are all the gaps perfect but also the cab panels are perfectly level and curved where they need to be.
Our amazing workshop manager, John, has been working on the 1979 Volkswagen Type 2 Bay Window which is in our workshops for a couple of jobs.
This time, John has been rebuilding the carburettor of the classic aircooled Volkswagen chasing down a slight dead spot. John completely cleared out the entire carburettor including spending meticulously inspecting and cleaning out the jets. After that, John fitted up the new gasket and filter kits before getting it back on top of the flat-four engine.
The workshop team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working their way through our classic 1979 Ferrari 400, recommissioning each system of the car.
This time, Jon has been continuing his work on the underside of the Maranello masterpiece with the exhaust system. He has to make several new sections of the rear of the exhaust which involved cutting, slotting and clamping the replacement pieces to the back boxes, while also having to remake 1 of the original exhaust mounts.
Next up, Jon moved over to the offside of the classic Ferrari to get the exhaust and oil cooler sorted out. To begin with, Jon had to modify the mounts to add some extra clearance, before installing the exhaust system. With that now in place, Jon could fit up the rear anti-roll bar links before moving onto getting the gearbox oil cooler into place with some modifications to the hoses and pipework to get everything safely fit back into the car, which included sleeving some of the pipework in what could become contact areas over time as well as putting heatwrap on the pipes to protect them from the exhaust which run close by.
Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has taken a massive step forward over the past week as the Bridge Classic Cars restoration team have reunited the repaired body back onto the refurbished and refinished chassis of this classic Aston Martin.
Rob, one of our technicians, has been heading up this phase of the project – He, along with several members of the team, carefully reunited the body and the chassis inch by inch for the final time before it heads off to the body and paint team to begin its journey back into colour.
The workshop team here at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ have been continuing their work on getting the 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe closer to getting back on the road – this time quite literally!
Rob, one of our restoration technicians, has been working on building up the front suspension of the rare sports car. Focusing on the right hand side, he has built up the front uprights after they had been stripped, inspected and refinished. These will be carefully wrapped up and put into storage awaiting their time to be fitted to the chassis of the car soon. Along side that, Rob has bench built the rear brakes which also await their moment to be reunited with the rest of the running gear on the car.
For many of us, the petrol began to course through our veins from an early age. Whether it was a family influence, afternoons in the garage with your old man helping to get those little jobs done that you were told only your hands could do, or an external influence – the revered and legendary tones of people like Murray Walker dancing across the living room as you tuned into the coverage of Formula 1. Later, a car show on the BBC would change the automotive world and thus began a beautiful 2 and 4 wheeled journey for so many of us.
Within that octane fueled world, 22 years ago, a trio of presenters made up of an automotive journalist, a qualified musician and an art school graduate began their journey on our screens. Capturing so many moments behind the wheel of cars many of us could only dream of, and heading to far flung places that had you scrabbling in the loft for an atlas. It is of course, the Three Amigos – Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.
This unlikely group of friends would travel the world, sabotage each other and find themselves in some of the most truly unique and beautiful places imaginable – driving lorries in Burma, building a car and driving it across Mongolia, Racing against trains, planes and James May, it all unfolded on your television screens. This Friday, the 13th of September, it will all be coming to an end as we know it.
This Friday is the release of the final outing of that rag-tag team, with One for the Road. These 3 pals have helped to shape not only modern automotive media, but the larger automotive world with their catch phrases become part of the vernacular – for example, if we use the word ‘Jag’ as an example. Chances are that a fair few of you have expanded that middle vowel in your best ‘Clarkson’ voice…
Or ‘POWWWWWEEERRRRRRRRRRRRR!’ instead of just saying ‘accelerate’ when your hanging out with your other horsepower obsessed friends. Either way, the three of them managed to capture, stimulate and inspire entire generations of would-be hero drivers with their on-screen antics.
To pay tribute to this milestone in automotive media, we decided to get a couple of our team together and ask them one very simple question – What is their ‘One for the Road‘?
Anything with an internal combustion engine, any where in the world – but it’s the last time you ever get to do it – Inspired by the 2 decades of adventures ‘our’ 3 amigos have undertaken.
Jon:
Jon, one of our amazing technicians, is through and through a Ford man – legend says that when he cuts his thumb open its actually in the shape of the blue oval. Not only that, he is also a massive rally fan – especially of the late 1980’s Group B era he remembers so vividly as a young man, and an important time in his automotive life.
Car: Ford RS200
Location: Stelvio Pass, Italy
Reason: Regarded as one of the worlds most formidable and legendary driving roads with a series of sweeping and breathtaking switch back hairpins – the perfect place for his last drive.
Craig:
Craig, our managing director, began his petrol fueled journey on two wheels with his motocross bikes in the family paddock at a young age before the world opened up behind the wheel of his beloved Citroen Saxo. Accomplished on both 2 and 4 wheels, Craig’s choice comes truly from the heart and behind the wheel of his favourite car.
Car: 2010 Land Rover Defender
Location: Scotland, UK
Reason: Using his favourite car to take his family up to Scotland is a heartfelt move. Craig, who is an amazing dad to his son Loick, would take a trip up to Scotland to show the family where his family originally come from as a last octane fueled blast.
Steve:
Steve, another one of our amazing technicians, is also a man of many talents. A true petrol head at heart, he grew up building quick Mk2 Escorts with his friends while also being an accomplished motorcycle rider – having owned dozens of motorcycles, but his choice is closer to his heart. For his ‘One for the Road’ he’s decided to go back to something he’s done several times and in his mind, it doesn’t get much better.
Bike: 2003 Honda Fireblade
Location: Roads surrounding Lyn Celyn in Wales
Reason: In Steve’s mind, the roads which snake around the picturesque lake nestled in the naked, open landscape of this area of wales don’t get any better. Towards the top of the lake, is a hairpin. A long, flowing switch back which if you ever get a chance to ask Steve about, there is a light in his eye as he describes it which you just simply can’t put into words.
Nick:
Nick, which is me – so if you don’t mind I’m going to swap to 1st person for this one… I’ve been a petrolhead since I can remember. I don’t come from an automotive family really – I only found out about their 4-wheeled interests later in life once I had gone down my own automotive path. I’ve owned several air cooled cars over the years and I grew up in the Middle East, that is where my heart will forever be – lost in the sand some say…
Car: 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 RSR
Location: Dubai, UAE to Salalah, Oman.
Reason: Having grown up in the Middle East from a very early age, the road that leads up the coast of the Gulf holds so many memories of family road trips in my mum’s Series 1 Discovery V8 to visit friends in Muscat. As you leave behind the skyscrapers, the lights and in someways the 21st century, the world becomes a much simpler place and just follow the coast and the breeze that rolls off the gulf. As you reach the peninsula, you simply just keep heading for the coast towards Salalah, which my father has described as the closest point to paradise on earth. That, is why for the final time, I’d go there.
Rob:
Rob is another one of our technicians, who is probably the worlds foremost authority on Triumph TR6 fuel pumps, but away from that was a very accomplished grass track racer back in the day while also lending his talents to stock cars/banger racing and anything which you drive off road and always with a bit of angle on near a wall – he also has an encyclopedic knowledge of vintage rallying. Formerly, Rob was one of the team at Classic Team Lotus helping to preserve and promote the fabulous collection of vintage race cars which have come out of Hethel. But, his choice goes back in time to what began that journey for him…
Car: MG Metro 6R4
Location: Brands Hatch, UK
Reason: Much like our technician Jon, Group B rallying was a pivotal era in the progression a young Rob would take with his tool box. He has a memory of being a young man and going to Brands Hatch to watch the Rallycross Grand Prix in, or around, 1988. Because of this, it has to be a 6R4 around the track for his last time out with the smell of fuel in his nostrils and nostalgia beating with full force in his heart.
Gordon:
Gordon, is Craig’s dad and a massive part of the company. His knowledge and experience is unparalleled. There probably isn’t a car in the last 40 years that he hasn’t either driven or at some point owned. With such a wealth of experience to draw from, and a completely open idea put to him his choice comes once again totally from the heart. Gordon would end his driving career, where it all began…
Car: Ford Anglia 105E
Location: Glemsford to Long Melford, Suffolk
Reason: This is the exact route the Gordon began his driving life with. He bought an Anglia 105E the night he passed his test, and drove it along that very route back home to Long Melford, from that fateful evening we all pretty much find ourselves today – what a way to finish…
We’ve had quite a few new arrivals at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ over the past week. A really diverse mix of classics in for all sorts of jobs that our amazing workshop teams will be tackling to get these classics back into tip-top shape.
1970 MG C GT
1979 Volkswagen Type 2 Bay Window Camper
1970 Jaguar E-Type Series 2 2+2
1966 MG Midget
1976 MGB GT
The team have been working on the 1991 VW T4 Transporter at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our technician Steve has been heading up the work on the van. Starting with some electrical work.
After looking into an issue with the fog lights, Steve found some poor wiring which he rectified with correct, shielded connectors before reinstalling the switch back in place. After that, Steve could move onto servicing the van for its owner.
Along with a fluid change, Steve installed new filters – oil, fuel and air.
Whilst inspecting the vehicle, Steve did find a few items which were brought to the owners attention. The wiper blades had split, which were replaced by the team. The tyre, which Steve had found a screw in, was later sorted out by the owner.
The bespoke head gasket for our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 has arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ.
This means that the team can now begin getting everything back together, including its beautiful one-piece clamshell front end before it begins testing very soon and then delivered to its excited owner.
Steve has been working on the driveline of the 1973 Dino 246GTS while the car is in the fabrication bay at the Bridge Classic Cars workshops.
After pulling the calipers off the car, Steve began to inspect the units on the bench. Looking into them, he found that the piston seals had failed causing the internal pistons to corrode and become stuck in the body of the calipers. These will be sent off to be completely refurbished and looking as good as the rest of the car will along with some of the other driveline parts which have been sandblasted ahead of refinishing and refurbishment by the team.
Our body shop team have been working on the 1975 Cobra Replica which is going through its restoration journey at the Bridge Classic Cars workshops.
Whilst working on the panels gaps and line up, Mauro noticed that the relationship between the rear tyres and trailing edges of the arch was different from side to side. After checking that the axle was square in the chassis, which it was, the team found that it was an issue with the mold when the body was cast. So, Mauro had to carefully measure, cut and sections the rear part of the arch to make sure it was even on both sides of the car before fibreglassing it back into the body and then could continue his work on shaping the bodyshell.
Jon has been working hard on the 1973 Rover P5 Coupe, this time he’s been working inside and underneath the classic 70’s coupe.
”Adjust nearside chassis seam to avoid exhaust flange hitting floor. Flange is fixed in position so unable to turn.investigate headlights not working. Eventually trace to faulty switch and also main beam dip switch faulty. Continue to wire in new fans. Route wiring and tape into loom. Find ignition live feed and fit connector so able to make connections when ready. Remove air filter assemble and inspect throttle linkage etc.”
”Finish wiring fans. Mount brake fluid reservoir with bracket supplied. Investigate horn not working. Check horns for power supply, ok. Remove steering wheel centre push. Short out wiring and horns worked once or twice and now they don’t. Check continuity from horns to steering wheel, none. Start looking at tracing horn wires.”
The Bridge Classic Cars fabrication team have finished up work on the drivers side of the gorgeous 1973 Dino 246GTS. Chris has been working incredibly hard to make all of these panels from scratch to make sure they all fit perfectly on the car as well as allow him to take his time blending them into the original bodywork.
With this side now complete, Chris can move on to getting the passenger side of the car into the same condition.
Our trim team have been hard at work on the 1952 Fiat 1900A which is in the finishing workshop at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ. Our trimmer Lydia has been making a whole new carpet set from scratch for this unique classic Fiat to fit perfectly inside the cabin and to replace the original which was very heavily worn and damaged.
Our technician Steve has been working on the 1973 Dino 246GTS at our Pettistree workshop. At this point he is beginning to strip down the suspension of the car to be inspected, so with that he has taken many reference photos for the car when it goes into the finish room for reassembly.
Another classic is on its way to be looked after at our secure and discrete storage facility – The Hangar. This 1967 Morris Traveller has been at the Bridge Classic Cars workshops in Pettistree to have a few jobs done by our classic car restoration technicians in the past couple of weeks but this morning the car was handed over to our transport team for them to take it over to The Hangar.
The car will be stored alongside the rows of other beautiful classic cars and motorcycles in our weather sealed facility – Looking for somewhere to store your classic/collectible car? There are still a few places remaining!
Jon has also been working on a few upgrades to the 1973 Rover P5 Coupe whilst its in our workshops.
This time, he’s been fitting electric pull through fans to the radiator of the car to help with cooling that glorious 3.5-litre V8. Jon built up the new fans onto the cage to make sure that they fit correctly and there was no obstructions for wiring or the fans themselves. Then, he carefully removed the radiator which had previously been drained, with the hoses already being on the job sheet to be replaced he still took his time to make sure that everything was checked and inspected at every stage.
Whilst the radiator was out of the car, it also gave Jon access to look into why the horn on the car wasn’t working. Power to the unit was correct so Jon traced it back to an earthing issue on the steering wheel, which he fixed. Then, he mounted the new fan cage to the radiator before carefully putting the whole assembly back into the nose of the classic Rover. He soldered and secured the connectors for the fans in place before mounting the relay into the inner wing for easy access.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars are continuing to get our 1973 Porsche 914 running as good as it looks. Jon has been tuning the car through multiple road tests to get it to behave correctly in all different conditions – after making some adjustments, he noticed the car had a slight misfire. He traced this back to cylinder 2 which was giving off a weak spark and narrowed it down further to a fouled plug. So, a whole new set has been ordered for the aircooled flat-four.
Our technician Jon has been working his way through the list of jobs on the 1973 Rover P5 Coupe which is in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Pettistree site.
Here’s what Jon has been up to, ”Start repairs. Customer reported one rear door doesn’t lock. I found NSR door button doesn’t go down very far when locked but door is actually locked. Lift button and door opens, so leave for now. Lube all locks and handles. Adjust drivers door striker but door pins worn and door dropped slightly. Lights: Strip rear number plate and test bulbs. Replace 1 bulb. Check power supply ok and earth good. Clean contacts and test, ok, reassemble. Our indicator not working. Strip light and test bulb, ok. Trace wiring inside boot and found loom taped up and wires pulled out of connection. Strip loom. Reconnect indicator wire and swap side repeater wire from side light to indicator power and test both, ok. Reassemble. Repeat same process for NSR repeater. Swap wire from stop light feed and swap to indicator feed and test. Tape up looms. Investigate fuel gauge and temp gauges not working. Check fuel sender, short wiring and gauge still doesn’t work. Remove gauge and test, ok. Both gauges run through voltage stabiliser. Drain coolant and remove radiator.”
Our paint and body team have been working their magic on the 1975 Cobra Replica currently in at the Bridge Classic Cars workshops here in Suffolk.
Our technician Mauro has been on this project and at this stage, he’s been working on getting the panels onto the car (bonnet, boot and doors) in order to check and adjust to make sure the body lines are correct and all the panel gaps are exactly how we like them to be.
This past weekend our Managing Director Craig, an avid biker, took a trip down to a local bike meet with his Ducati Scrambler. The event took place in Whatfield and was being held by the Hadleigh & District Classic Motorcycle Club and was raising money for East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Craig went along with his close friend, Luke from LRH Cars, who just passed his test to check out the bikes on show and join in to support.
Pretty much the entire history of motorcycles was represented at Whatfield Community Centre on a glorious summers day. Take a look here:
As this project comes closer to completion, earlier this week before the Bridge Classic Cars restoration team began work on the 1960 MGA Roadster I got a few quiet minutes to photograph this truly stunning classic sports car.
The paint and body team have worked incredibly hard to perfect the fit and finish of this wonderfully nostalgic machine. So, I had to take this opportunity before they take the car back into our paint and body department to finish off and finesse the last few bits and pieces.
We get to caretake and look after some incredible machines, we also share that passion for storing and preserving them to ensure they are kept perfectly for their owners. Much like one of our recent arrivals, a 2013 Harley-Davidson Breakout.
One of just a handful of these sensational cruisers known to be in the UK, its owner has asked to care for the bike in our safe, secure and discrete storage facility – The Hangar. There we can make sure it is kept at a consistent temperature and safe from the elements in our specific motorcycle room which is purely built for holding two-wheeled beauties in hibernation.
If you have a motorcycle or a classic/collectible car that you want protected and preserved, get in touch with the team today.
The team here at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ in Suffolk have welcomed a new addition to our classic car workshops with this 1995 Toyota Celica GT-Four.
This 4-wheel-drive, 2-door coupe will be checked over by the team here to make sure everything works as good as this thing looks!
As the work inside our new finishing workshop begins to ramp up with the first series of projects being moved into the former Atelier, our technician Steve has been working on reinforcing the new workbenches to accept the new vices and allow them to be more robust as one of the most used workshops items in our restorations, we want to make sure that they are safely and securely bolted onto the new workbenches.
The 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe has been making some incredible progress in the last couple of weeks at the Pettistree workshops. As part of the restoration of this vintage Aston Martin, our technician Rob (who is the technician in charge of the project) has been working on building up some of the suspension and steering components.
This time, he has been working on the idler arm for the steering of the car. With some new fittings and pieces, Rob has been fitting them back into the newly refurbished original housing.
Our technician Jon has been tasked with taking a look at our this beautiful 1963 Fiat 500 which has come in with a quite the noise according to its owner. Here is Jon’s report:
”Raise car on ramp and go through customers list of issues. Fit small circlip to offside wiper linkage beneath scuttle panel and test. Investigate starter issues. Check start pull cable. Cable moves but doesn’t engage starter. Inspect starter and found 1 bolt missing and starter motor insecure in Bell housing. Disconnect battery and remove starter. Found starter gear badly worn and requires replacement. Find new bolt that fits bellhousing when new starter arrives. Whilst in the air inspect underneath. Found gearbox/engine mount is loose and nut fallen off offside mount.”
With that, Jon has begun to carry out more inspections with the tyres and running gear along with some small repairs such as fitting a new bolt to secure the gearbox mount and the checking and topping up gearbox oil to the correct level. He also reshuffled some of the fuel lines around so as to not have it kink while in the car.
Our Carriage Green 1956 Jensen 541 is getting closer to the end of its restoration here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ. Paul, the technician heading up the project, has been making amazing progress in the past couple of weeks.
Today he’s been fitting up the washer jets into the car before plumbing them into the pump. Then he moved onto fitting the air filter to the airbox for the triple carburettor set up currently fitted onto the 541 and finishing it off with the fabricating the front grill vents to finish off the look of this incredible 1950’s GT car.
The 1973 Rover P5 Coupe which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been under the careful hands of Jon and John in our Pettistree workshops.
At this stage, Jon has performed a compression test on the car as part of the checks he’s been asked to do. For this, Jon removed all spark plugs from the legendary 3.5-litre V8 to check and gap them, whilst also removing the relay for the new electronic fuel pump. Then, he began to perform the compression test which was reported as ‘all ok’ meaning everything was within specification.
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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