Recent Arrival – 1997 Fiat 20v Turbo
A recent arrival into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is this 1997 Fiat 20v Turbo. The car has come in for our fabrication team to
Photographer/Videographer
A recent arrival into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is this 1997 Fiat 20v Turbo. The car has come in for our fabrication team to
News broke in the last couple of days, that automotive pioneer and multiple land speed record holder Craig Breedlove sadly passed away aged 86. Breedlove
Over the weekend, a very special project arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ. This Cobra project has been in the works for the
It’s a divisive viewpoint in the classic car world – Do you use your classic in the snow and clean it down afterwards or keep
Founded in 1945, the letters BRM would become synonymous with flying the British flag in the early years of Formula 1 and the following decade.
After 2 decades in production and over 100,000 units having been produced, Bentley have finally announced that the production of their now legendary W12 engine
The workshop team have been carrying on with the work on our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. They have been carefully running each part of the
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on getting the plumbing fitted up in the engine bay of our 2022 Bridge C-Type
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on our 2022 C-Type Replica. This time, the team have been working to
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on wiring up our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. The harness has been routed through the
The water pump from the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica has been prepared and painted by the Bridge Classic Cars paint team ready for the car.
As part of the build-up of the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, the team have test-fit the new side exit
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have moved their attention to plumbing up the brake lines on the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. Jon, one of
The team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have begun to put the straight-six into the nose of our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. Jon worked
The front grille of our C-Type Replica is so iconic. It immediately screams classic road and race cars because of its shape and form. It’s
Brian, our lead trimmer at Bridge Classic Cars, has been making the seats for our latest project – the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. Brian has
Brian, our lead trimmer at Bridge Classic Cars, has been working on creating the seatbacks for the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. The pieces have been
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop has been working on a new set of seats for our incredible 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. Lydia and
The body for our personal project has arrived! This will form the outer skin for our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. This is a project we
If the hard work and craft of our in-house trim expert Lydia could be been summed up in one single project it would be the
Lydia in the in-house trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has hand-made this beautiful tool bag for our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. Checking the dimensions
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars are currently working on shaping and fitting several key pieces to the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. This time,
The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars are making progress on the sheet metal parts of our C-Type Replica. The C-Type Replica’s gearbox tunnel has
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working their magic on the aluminium pieces under the bonnet of the C-Type Replica. Each piece
The fabrication team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on creating several bespoke handmade pieces under the bonnet of the C-Type
The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on getting the support pieces and substructures made and installed on the C-Type Replica. The
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been making progress on our very special C-Type Replica. The fabrication and body teams have worked on getting
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars are working hard on the C-Type Replica. At this stage, the team have been fabricating the new aluminium
There’s been some amazing progress done on our C-Type Replica! Our in-house fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on making, refining and
A recent arrival into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is this 1997 Fiat 20v Turbo.
The car has come in for our fabrication team to take a look at a couple of issues with the bodywork along with some mechanical jobs being scheduled to be done in our main workshop. It’s nice to see one of these Italian sports coupes in the workshop as they are getting rarer and rarer out on the roads.
News broke in the last couple of days, that automotive pioneer and multiple land speed record holder Craig Breedlove sadly passed away aged 86.
Breedlove was part of a small alumni that would push and reset the boundaries of speed in the 1950s and 60s while living to tell the tale, in a sport that would see far too many taken far too soon.
A Southern California native, Breedlove’s obsession with speed started young. At just 13 years old, he got his hands on a 32′ Ford Coupe that he would drive around in secret, but just a few years later at 17, he would be taking an alcohol fueled 1934 Ford to 154MPH on the dry lakes of the sunshine state. This, is where the story of the fastest man in America would begin.
He began his high-speed career in what would now be seen as the start of the golden age of land speed racing. Where amateur enthusiasts could take homemade creations out on the dried salt lakes such as Bonneville and El Mirage to achieve speeds unseen or unobtainable just a few years before. To put into context, in 1927 Sir Henry Seagrave achieved a two-way average speed on 231MPH in his twin-aero engined, purpose built land speed car ‘The Slug‘. In 1957, at the age of 20, Breedlove piloted an alcohol powered ‘belly tanker’ at the Bonneville salt flats to a new record of 236MPH.
His chosen career path, would see him work for legendary aircraft manufacturer Douglas (later McDonald Douglas) as a structural engineer. The skills and knowledge gained from this would have a lasting and impactful future on his later career, speed.
As the sun set on the 1950s, the age of jet power had truly begun to dawn over the horizon of land speed racing. In 1959, Breedlove began his first forays into this new method of propulsion and into the record books.
With a second hand J47 jet engine, Breedlove made his jet fueled way into history with the first iteration of the legendary Spirit of America.
This move into the jet powered world, would also begin one of the most exciting eras of speed the world had ever seen. The 1960s would see the land speed record set, smashed and reset multiple times over a matter of months as Breedlove entered the fray against drivers/builders such as Art Arfons and his half-brother Walt. This triangle of competition would push the boundaries of what people thought would be possible out in the emptiness of the Utah salt plains.
In his first time out with the J47 powered Spirit of America, Breedlove would run the ‘car’ at over 400MPH – clocking a 407MPH average over the two-way course. In response, Tom Green (the driver for Walt Arfons) would respond with a 413MPH record in February of 1964 only to have that record shattered by Walt’s half brother Art at the wheel of his own creation ‘The Green Monster’ with 434MPH. To respond, Breedlove came back with a 468, 500 and then 526MPH. This would spark one of the greatest rivalries in the automotive world between Arfons and Breedlove that would see them push eachother harder, faster and stronger towards what many see as the true ragged edge.
Famously, at the end of his record setting 526MPH run – both of the parachutes used to slow down Spirit of America tore to shreds and because of this, Breedlove completely burnt the brakes out trying to slow the several ton machine down. He outran the boundaries of the salt flats, rolling the ‘car’ into the lake which sat at the end of the course. His crew, fearing the worst, rushed down the course to help their driver… only to find him soaking wet and dancing on the waters edge and screaming ”and now for my next trick, I will set myself on fire!” A true reflection of a man who understood the risks but chased the rewards. His car was in tatters and he knew that someone would be along to challenge that record soon…
He wasn’t wrong, his biggest rival Art Arfons soon responded with a 536MPH record.
The only way to truly prove a point was to push the limit of what was even conceivable. Breedlove came back to Arfons’s record with a now historic 600MPH run in November of 1965. To back it up, Breedlove then pushed Spirit of America even further on the way back to get an average of 606.6MPH. The first man to run 500 and 600MPH. With the sound barrier growing closer and closer, pilots and builders had no clue when this would happen as it also depends on multiple environmental factors. Would the car simply slip past it like a plane? Or, because of the shockwave being created so close to the ground – would it instantly rip the land speeder apart as it traveled across the vast emptiness? No one knew.
The following story has passed into speed record folklore: Breedlove and Arfons were bitter rivals. Arfons being the working mans hero and Breedlove as the all-American poster boy with the backing of huge sponsors and wore a spacesuit for his record runs. One night, towards the end of those crazy few years, Breedlove and Arfons would meet on the edge of Salt Flats. No one knows the words the two contemporaries exchanged exactly, but people have said it went along the lines of one asking the other ”when does all this end?” with the other replying ”when one of us gets it wrong”.
The fear didn’t stop Breedlove from trying to push the limits harder and harder. Over the following years, Breedlove would attempt to beat his records. However, he never did manage to push that any further but neither did Arfons who trying to break a record would see him survive the fastest and most severe accident on earth at 609mph with only a headache and two black eyes.
Over those beautiful few years in the early to mid 1960s, these superhumans would expand what people thought was possible. New ways to engineer solutions to problems never before faced – tyre technology, suspension set up and construction and advanced aerodynamic theory and implementation were all aspects of the automotive world which had been moved on at a pace no one had seen before.
In the following 20 to 30 years, the land speed record would only be moved on by around 100MPH. The current record being attributed to Richard Nobles Thrust SSC, an evolution of everything learned from pioneers such as Breedlove, to 763.055MPH – breaking the sound barrier for the first time on land. Breedlove’s status in the history books are sealed, his achievements and records can never be taken away or tainted or disputed.
The wonderful story of this gladiator of motion is best summed up in a beautiful film, The Wildest Ride. Released in 1964, it follows Breedloves attempts and record run to be the first person to cross the 500MPH mark (you can watch the film for free on YouTube below).
Craig Breedlove, and the team behind Spirit of America, were true pioneers of their time. From all of the world, and all throughout the car world, he will be sorely missed. One of the final connections to those glory days of speed.
Over the weekend, a very special project arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ.
This Cobra project has been in the works for the past 30 years with its previous owner, but now the current owner has bought it to our Pettistree workshop to get the car working and fitted out before then moving onto the next phase of work.
We’re excited to get started on this Cobra and make sure you check out the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more on the Cobra project very soon.
It’s a divisive viewpoint in the classic car world – Do you use your classic in the snow and clean it down afterwards or keep it tucked away?
Well, the cold weather was closing in on our Suffolk HQ this morning. As the snow began to fall across the surrounding countryside, some of our own cars which are stored outside whilst awaiting time in the workshop got a light dusting. One of those, was our personal 1969 MGC GT.
That’s what sparked this question. In period, these cars would of course have been taken out and driven in all weathers but as their rarity and age grow so does the scarcity in which they are used in the majority of cases.
During the cold snap a few years ago, I owned a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 and proved (if only to myself) that categorically it was the greatest all-terrain vehicle of all time. With no ABS, no power steering or traction control to interfere with driving and all its mighty 36BHP heading straight to the rear wheels with the weight of its flat-four engine sitting right above it, the grip was phenomenal as I drove on my hour long commute across the wintery Suffolk countryside on back lanes and B-roads.
But, it did pay a price. I forgot to clean down the wings and front edge of the pan which began to corrode. This would ultimately spread and caused me some more issues down the line. But, I learnt from that. Just like with a modern car, the salt and moisture will begin to cause damage and corrode components if left.
It’s not as noticeable with modern cars as it is with classics, perhaps down to the wider use of plastics and composites for body panels and trims or better weather proofing in modern paints and coatings but if left long enough for long periods of time, the dreaded bubbles start to appear…
Our customer cars do not go outside in this kind of weather. At the first hints of any rain or not ideal weather, they are brought inside for safe keeping and cleaned down instantly before being put away in the shelter of our workshop.
But it’s an interesting thought, do you use them in the winter or keep them tucked away?
Founded in 1945, the letters BRM would become synonymous with flying the British flag in the early years of Formula 1 and the following decade.
British Racing Motors was founded by Raymond Mays (who was the man behind the brand ERA) and Peter Berthon – who after the war used the engineering know how from building hillclimb cars and their access to pre-war Mercedes and Auto Union designs to forge an alliance and build a brand that would literally have ”racing” in its name and enter Britain onto the world stage once more in top-flight racing.
The financing of the original plan was done through a series of industry connections and trusts. This would prove difficult in the long run for the fledgling company along with less than impressive results until one of its backers stepped up – the enigmatic Alfred Owen. Owen was the owner and chairman of the Rubery Owen Group, a group of companies responsible for manufacturing components for the automotive industry. With his expertise in organisation and management, Owen took over the running of British Racing Motors in the early 1950’s but Mays and Berthon would continue to run the team on Owen’s behalf well into the 1960s when the job was given to Owen’s brother-in-law Louis Stanley to run.
At the company’s HQ in Bourne, Lincolnshire they would created some of the greatest F1 cars of the 1960s utilising drivers such as Jo Bonnier, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Clay Regazzoni and Tony Brooks to name but a few world class wheelmen on the driving duty roster for the team through its 20 year racing history.
Going back to 1954, the team would debut the car that would set them onto the world stage not only in Formula 1 but in the world of engineering with the Type 15, a design that that been developed since 1947.
The Type 15 would take advantage of the post-war rule change for engine sizes. The rule change stated that a car could have an engine size not in excess of 4.5-litres naturally aspirated but for any sort of forced induction the engine size would have to be 1.5 litres. Taking the latter approach, BRM created a masterpiece of technical skill and know-how. The team of Peter Berthon, Harry Mundy, Eric Richter and Frank May would take two 750cc V8’s and make a 1.5-litre V16… To get the power up to where the bigger naturally aspirated engines were BRM turned to the experts at Rolls Royce to build and develop a twin-stage centrifugal supercharger for the car. During its testing with Rolls Royce, to calibrate the superchargers, the small scale monster would rev out to over 12,000RPM with Rolls Royce engineers commenting that it still had more room to go if needed. During this, legendary engineer Tony Rudd would be brought into BRM from Rolls Royce to help with future engine development and eventually lead him to working with both BRM and Lotus after his aero-engine career.
This engineering tour de force would put the BRM name in-front of the automotive world. However, it proved to not be that reliable. In 1954, the regulations would change once more and essentially outlaw this beautiful engine.
Next, the team would develop the car which gave them their winning name and reputation. The Type 25.
The Type 25 would meet the new 2.5-litre regulations that came into effect in the mid-1950s. This would prove to be the beginning of BRM’s most successful period thanks to help from outside sources as well as a determined and highly talented team. The car was a slow and trying development for the team, but with the help of people such as Colin Chapman from Lotus along with drivers like Stirling Moss backed by the infamous Rob Walker (who combined the BRM engine into a Cooper Climax chassis to create a Cooper-BRM) to test out the strong and weak points of the design, the Type 25 (which would then be developed into the rear-engined P48) was developed and refined into formidable racing machines.
In 1962, BRM would win their first Formula 1 world championship with Graham Hill driving the formidable P57. To help pay for the racing programme, BRM would also become an engine supplier for privateer teams with the in-house designed and built V8. This would mark the beginning of the teams 2nd resurgence in F1 and its wild technical world.
In the mid-1960s, the team would embark on some of the grandest engineering projects to be undertaken by a British racing team, alongside the development of its own F1 projects like the fabled V12 and the doomed H16. In 1963, talks were in progress between the automotive might of Rover and the now well established BRM team to work together on a project outside of F1.
The meeting came about because of BRM’s owner, Alfred Owen. Owen was still the owner of Rubery Owen. The firm had been supplying Rover with automotive parts for decades at this point and with his connection in the BRM team, the board at Rover (mainly William Martin-Hurst, MD at Rover) decided it would be the perfect partnership to push both brands further into the motorsports world with a very unconventional engine and they would need the help of an established and well run team to be able to pull of this task.
Rover had been developing an engine since the end of the 2nd World War that even today, in 2023, is still seen as exotic and futuristic in a car. It was of course, the jet turbine. Rover initially debuted its revolutionary engine in the famous ‘Jet 1’ car in 1949/1950 but it didn’t end there. The team would go on to develop the T1, T2, T3 and T4. The T4 would actually be displayed at the 1962 24 hours of Le Mans before the race to do exhibition laps and prove the viability of this engineering project.
With the reception and experience gained in this publicity stunt, Rover decided it would enter a turbine powered car into the race the following year to prove the competitive nature of the turbine technology but also its endurance. So, Rover began the talks with BRM.
BRM would handle the development of the chassis and suspension for the car under the supervision and control of Tony Rudd. Using the damaged chassis from Richie Ginther’s 1962 Monaco Grand Prix F1 car, the team set about converting it into an open-top prototype for the team to develop the relevant systems and the set up of the car. The car was fitted with a single-speed transaxle (much like a modern electric car) and taken to the MIRA test track in April of 1963 to begin testing in the more than capable hands of Graham Hill. At the end of testing, Hill would describe the experience as ”Youโre sitting in this thing that you might call a motor car and the next minute it sounds as if youโve got a 707 just behind you, about to suck you up and devour you like an enormous monster.” One can only imagine the sounds and experience of the 150BHP jet turbine when it approached its top-speed during testing of just over 140mph.
With the proof of concept there for both BRM and Rover, the team could begin on the work for preparing the car for Le Mans in 1963.
The Rover-BRM would arrive at Le Mans in the summer of 1963 with Graham Hill and Richie Ginther given control of the car. The sanctioning body decided to allow the car twice the fuel of a conventional car and it ran with the designation of ’00’ to show it was experimental. The goal for the 1963 race was to develop and learn about the turbines use for extended periods and to take advantage of a prize for the first jet turbine to complete 2,600 miles in 24 hours while also achieving an average speed of 93mph, the car would go onto crush that challenge with hours to spare in the race. With the car being placed in the experimental class, it would not be given a technical finishing place. But, if it were conventionally powered the car would have placed 8th overall – a positive start to the Rover and BRM partnership.
Using everything they had learned in the 1963 race, the turbine engine went back to the Rover engineers for internal modifications to help with the efficiency in the form of a pair of ceramic rotary regenerators. These would be used as both heat exchangers for the car but also as a way of pre-heating the intake air temperatures. This would ultimately take away from the cars power for the race, but help its reported ferocious fuel consumption. Along with its mechanical update based on the ’63 race, the bodywork was redesigned by Rover engineer William Towns to be a closed cockpit style racer – helping with the cars aerodynamics. However on the way back from the pre-race tests early in the summer, the car was damaged and withdrawn from the race and the team busied themselves to build up the ultimate configuration for 1965.
For 1965, after proving itself as competitive and durable enough in 1963, the Rover-BRM would be allowed to run at full anger in competition against other cars in its 2-litre class. Because of this, the governing body said that the team would only be allowed the same fuel allowance as a normal piston driven car, making those ceramic rotary regenerators even more crucial to the teams success as it was now about efficiency rather than out and out speed for Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart charged with piloting the now enclosed prototype.
The story of that race goes that after running wide in a turn with Hill behind the wheel, the cars intakes inhaled dirt/sand which was sent directly into the turbine blades. Sand at that pressure and speed is highly-abrasive which had led to damage on the fan blades and ultimately the engine beginning to overheat – this would be near enough constantly monitored and nursed throughout the race by the BRM team. Later in the race, Jackie Stewart was inserted into the red corduroy lined cockpit of the car where the drama really began. Some say that due to the damage that began with the car inhaling the sand on the excursion off the track with Hill earlier in the race, a large piece of a fan blade fractured and was sent hurtling into the turbine and severely damaging one of the ceramic regenerators, noted by Stewart as a ”massive explosion” but thankfully and also mercifully, the turbine continued to run…
At the end of the 1965 running of the Le Mans 24 hours, the Rover-BRM partnership would cross the line 10th place overall and earn itself 2nd in class for the 2-litre formula. A very respectable position for any car let alone something that 2 years before had simply been an experiment between an automotive giant and a racing legend.
In 1974, the car was completely retired from any active service and has spent the last 49 years going between museums and static displays except in 2014, when for old times sake the turbine was fired up and the car taken around the legendary Circuit de le Sarthe to show it could still stun crowds.
After the 1965 race however, the Rover-BRM partnership would come to an end. Rover deciding that the turbine road car idea was still a distant dream with a lot of development work still required. BRM concentrated its efforts back onto Formula 1 (as well as other automotive projects) where it would remain, in its original guise or another, until 1977/1978 when the team effectively completely withdrew from top flight motorsport (until their recent resurgence under the leadership of Alfred Owen’s grandson, Simon). Rover however, would continue building passenger cars until 1967 when it was bought out by British Leyland. The Rover name as we would know it would continue on until 2005 with the closure of British Leyland.
In 1997, to commemorate this herculean project between the two companies, the Rover and BRM name would reappear on a limited edition hot hatch. The Rover 200 BRM. This was built to celebrate significant aspects of both companies heritage and their joint project of the mid-1960s. The Brooklands Green paintwork, the striking and contrasting orange front grille surround and the brushed aluminium accents that adorn this underrated 1990s hot-hatch.
And now, Bridge Classic Cars is giving you the chance to win one of these rare and unique cars that celebrate the union between an automotive powerhouse and a racing legend. Click here to to get your tickets and be in with a chance of winning our 1999 Rover 200 BRM.
After 2 decades in production and over 100,000 units having been produced, Bentley have finally announced that the production of their now legendary W12 engine will stop in April of 2024.
This engine came to define so much of the high-tech/high-performance character of modern Bentley’s of the 2000’s. The wonderfully balanced and soulful 6-litre power plant was originally only fitted to the high-speed Continental GT’s and Flying Spur’s but formed the basis of nearly every range topping Bentley from there after.
This endless source of momentum we knew could not last forever. With tougher emissions and Bentley’s (which is owned by the Volkswagen Group) aim of becoming more reliant of EV technology with its Beyond100 plan, the majestic twin-turbo 12 cylinder must be consigned to the history books when the last behemoth leaves Crewe early next year.
The automotive world were first introduced to the engine back in 2003 in the then brand new Continental GT. Now, unlike the infamous 6.75 litre Bentley/Rolls Royce V8 which has also has only recently cease to exist, the W12 was in constant development. By Bentley’s own admission, the 6-litre right now would make around 54% more torque than 20 years ago and around 25% less emissions thanks to turbo technology and more sophisticated engine management software becoming available and more widely developed.
The next phase of the Bentley engine line-up will be the further development of their twin-turbocharged V8 and all-new V6 technology while combining it with the advanced hybrid systems from their parent company Volkswagen. Bentley have said that the decision to end production was ”Our progressive journey towards sustainable luxury mobility means making changes to every area of Bentley Motors.” So to keep their share of the luxury car market, which is now a global and very lucrative market, they must adopt and adapt.
Although we will all mourn the loss of this engine and its endless wave of power, Bentley will be sending it off in true Bentley fashion with the limited-edition Batur. A 750BHP swan song to send the old girl off in style. As Bentley themselves put it in a press-release, ”20 years and more than 100,000 W12s later, the time has come to retire this now-iconic powertrain as we take strides towards electrification โ but not without giving it the best send-off possible, with the most powerful version of the engine ever created”
So, on this day and on that fateful day in April of next year – let us celebrate the time we had and mourn the moments we will never experience with this legendary modern engine but look forward to a world it helped to create.
The workshop team have been carrying on with the work on our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
They have been carefully running each part of the custom wiring harness for the car and making sure all of its routing is precise and orderly throughout the car and under the dashboard and around the steering column.
At the same time, the team have been putting together the dashboard and instrument cluster to go into the car and be completely wired up.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on getting the plumbing fitted up in the engine bay of our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
The first job was to route and fit up the radiator hoses around the engine, making sure to safely run them around any belts or pulleys. The team have also set up the hoses to bypass the heater at the back of the inlet manifold.
Finally with the hoses sorted out, the team could make, route and secured the brake servo pipework. Another crucial set of jobs completed on our C-Type Replica.
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on our 2022 C-Type Replica.
This time, the team have been working to get the sills of the classic Le Mans racer into both epoxy and high-build primer.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on wiring up our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
The harness has been routed through the body and frame of the car to be trimmed and connected where needed.
The team have also fit the spotlight which will sit behind the grille of the classic racer.
The water pump from the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica has been prepared and painted by the Bridge Classic Cars paint team ready for the car.
The team carefully prepped the classic Jaguar pump on the bench before it was then hung in the paint shop to first be finished in a hard, durable primer and then finished in a tough-wearing black ready to go back on the car.
As part of the build-up of the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, the team have test-fit the new side exit exhausts.
After fitting up the manifold through to the downpipe, the workshop team had to carefully and accurately open up the recess in the body for the new exhaust to fit through. The exhaust on the C-Type Replica runs along the side and is tucked up inside of a recess on the passenger side of the car. This took several stages, each time making the hole slightly wider to fit the exhaust through safely and within the original spec of the car.
From there, the team could fit up the exhaust hangers to the body and put everything together for its final test fit!
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have moved their attention to plumbing up the brake lines on the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
Jon, one of our workshop technicians, has handmade all the various brake hard lines needed for the classic Le Mans racer. Each of these lines was measured, cut and bent to work around the various pieces of the frame and other systems within the engine bay of the car.
From the master cylinder out to the fittings, each pieces was made by hand and test fit into the car before the inner wings are to be removed and readied for their first stages of paint.
The team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have begun to put the straight-six into the nose of our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. Jon worked alongside Josh, during his work experience, to install the gearbox onto the engine before hooking it up to our engine hoist to begin the process of getting the whole assembly into the car.
The team masked up and covered over any freshly painted pieces to avoid damaging them while also making sure anything needed to be removed for the installation was taken off the engine or the car before-hand. During the lowering process, the team discovered the oil pump would need to be changed to the alternative ”bowl” style in order to clear the frame. So, the engine came back out once more for the team to make the changes and try again.
After the oil pump was changed, the team could begin the process again of getting the engine into its final place. Inch by inch, the engine and gearbox were brought forwards toward the engine bay. Jon made the slightest of adjustments to the chains that suspended it above the delicate frame.
After the gearbox had slipped past the firewall, the team got together to slowly lower the engine block down into place. In order to get enough angle for the engine to sit perfectly in place, Jon had removed the gearbox mounts in the cockpit of the classic Le Mans car. The team then had to remove one engine mount in order to slip behind the steering column and then rebolt and tighten the bracket into place.
Finally, the help of a few sets of hands and some careful pushing and pulling, the glorious heart of our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica was firmly in place.
With the engine now firmly in place on the C-Type Replica, our workshop and fabricators could begin work on getting the brakes and electrical system into the car for a test fit. But, it wouldn’t be complete without trying the beautiful new manifolds on the engine just to get a feel for what the engine bay of this incredible project will look like when finished.
We can’t wait to bring you more very soon on the build of our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica!
The front grille of our C-Type Replica is so iconic. It immediately screams classic road and race cars because of its shape and form. It’s almost like a piece of sculpture on its own.
This will be sent off to a local specialist to be finished in dazzling chrome, befitting the care and passion being put into this very special car. The flowing nature of this particular piece of the car is just beautiful to look at and hold.
We’ve had this component specially made for us for the project using the original, traditional methods. And it’s the perfect jewel in the crown of C-Type Replica.
Brian, our lead trimmer at Bridge Classic Cars, has been making the seats for our latest project – the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
Brian has been on trying to make the seats fit exactly as they would have on the original car it is based on. Handmaking each of the pieces that will make up the seats for our C-Type Replica is what truly makes our in-house trim shop, what we believe, the best in the business.
As the project moves forward, we’re excited to see the car take shape.
Brian, our lead trimmer at Bridge Classic Cars, has been working on creating the seatbacks for the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
The pieces have been made by Brian and are being entirely trimmed and fitted by hand to the very highest specification for this very special project. The padding for the bolsters on the C-Type Replica is trimmed, shaped and folded onto the seats to perfectly fit under the new covers which are also being worked on.
Just wait until you see the covers…
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop has been working on a new set of seats for our incredible 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
Lydia and Brian, our in-house trim experts, have worked their magic on creating these replica buckets to exact specifications and shape for an early racing bucket seat. Finished in bright, vivid red, these seats will form the centrepiece of the cabin of the C-Type Replica and really show off just how good our trim shop really is.
There’s going to be a lot more on the C-Type Replica very soon here at Bridge Classic Cars.
The body for our personal project has arrived! This will form the outer skin for our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
This is a project we are going to be working on for ourselves. Allowing each member of the team here at Bridge to work on the car towards a single goal.
If the hard work and craft of our in-house trim expert Lydia could be been summed up in one single project it would be the seats for the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
These seats were templated and handmade from the original seats we borrowed from a good friend of Bridge Classic Cars. These pieces, finished in striking vibrant red look absolutely sensational just sat on the trim shop bench let alone in the cockpit of this incredible car.
Lydia in the in-house trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has hand-made this beautiful tool bag for our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
Checking the dimensions of the specialist tools and pieces that may be needed on the car when it is out on the road, Lydia created this one-off tool bag to go along with the car on its adventures.
A beautiful thing to have but hopefully, we may never have to use it!
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars are currently working on shaping and fitting several key pieces to the 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.
This time, Clinton has been hand-forming and shaping the gearbox tunnel for our classic sports racer. Each individual piece aligns to a certain point on the tunnel so they have to be carefully manipulated not only for their own fit but for the fitment of all the panels which come afterwards.
Each curve and bend needs to flow perfectly into the next to give it the complete uniform shape and the fit and finish that we are aiming for with such a special project as our C-Type Replica.
The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars are making progress on the sheet metal parts of our C-Type Replica.
The C-Type Replica’s gearbox tunnel has had its final shape finished and set, so with that Clinton could then line up each piece and drill the carefully measured holes ready for all of the pieces to be riveted together.
Along with this key piece, he has begun working on securing the inner rear wings to the rear tub of the C-Type Replica. These have to be laid accurately into the rear tub to then have the rear tub line up perfectly with the spaceframe chassis it lays on top of.
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working their magic on the aluminium pieces under the bonnet of the C-Type Replica.
Each piece has been handled by our fabricator Clinton, who has carefully reworked and shaped the metal panels to fit and work together on the classic Le Mans car. This has required multiple test fits of pieces with revisions being made by the 10ths of an inch to get everything working and looking exactly as it should do.
The fabrication team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on creating several bespoke handmade pieces under the bonnet of the C-Type Replica.
Clinton, one of our fabricators, has hand-formed each of these splash guards to make sure they have a tight and flush fit under the bonnet. These pieces were then test fit into the car with pull clips during mockup to make sure none of the other pieces currently underway will interfere with the guards.
The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on getting the support pieces and substructures made and installed on the C-Type Replica.
The team began by fixing the aluminium edge supports into the tub which makes up the bonnet of the car. These are used to strengthen the piece as well as help it locate into the bonnet catches and edge.
Once these pieces had been test fit and held in place, the fabrication shop could work on the other aluminium pieces and braces into the classic Le Mans car.
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been making progress on our very special C-Type Replica.
The fabrication and body teams have worked on getting the front clamshell onto the nose of the classic racer. This was just a rough fitting of the piece onto the car along with the fitting of the newly finished wire wheels onto the hubs of the car. The team fit these up after the nose was put on the car to check clearances and the steering system for any binding or interference.
Then, the classic Le Mans racer was pushed out of the fabrication bay and moved on its wheels for the first time in the project. It was then taken around to our restoration workshops to be fitted with its custom made placement jig. This is being used to perfectly align the large front clamshell to the rest of the body during its adjustments.
The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars are working hard on the C-Type Replica.
At this stage, the team have been fabricating the new aluminium spare wheel well/carrier. This piece has been entirely made and formed by hand to be the perfect fit for the classic race car. Our fabricator Clinton has spent many hours making sure each radius and curve flow identically to the original while also being sure that it is 100% fit for purpose in holding a full-sized spare for the C-Type Replica.
There’s been some amazing progress done on our C-Type Replica! Our in-house fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on making, refining and installing the various pieces of aluminium panelwork which work around the various pieces of the spaceframe.
The Bridge C-Type Replica is a personal project for the team here at Bridge Classic Cars and we’re excited to see it moving forward. Each of the aluminium panels has been worked on by the team in the fabrication shop who have bead rolled, worked through and edged to get each piece to beautifully fit into the car.
And, another amazing part of the project has returned to our workshop. The wire centre-lock wheels have come back from being refinished! They’ve been refinished in a stunning vibrant red to be the accent piece of the project.
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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