Progress on the 1956 Jensen 541
November 4, 2024
The progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 is flying along as the car heads towards initial road tests very soon around the area of the
Interior Trim Work
Coming Toward The End
October 28, 2024
Our 1956 Jensen 541 is coming toward the end of its restoration here at Bridge Classic Cars. It has been a long process but now,
Fiat 1900A Carpets
August 29, 2024
The carpets are of our 1952 Fiat 1900A are now finished and what a transformation this has made to the car! Here is what Lydia
Devon Progress Continues
August 8, 2024
As our 1951 Austin Devon is a commercial vehicle, it has unfortunately had a tough life and the seats are certainly showing this. The driver’s
Making a New Carpet Set for our 1952 Fiat 1900A
July 26, 2024
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.
Interior repairs on the 1952 Fiat 1900A
July 19, 2024
Our trim shop can work wonders, just like with the interior of our 1952 Fiat 1900A. This incredible one-of-one Fiat has been carefully worked on
Assessing the 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 Roadster
July 16, 2024
The workshop team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on assessing the 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 Roadster which recently
Perfect Fit – Remaking the Dashpad of our 1956 Jensen 541
July 12, 2024
Our trim team are always engaged in the constant pursuit of perfection, and their most recent exploit is the dashpad of our 1956 Jensen 541.
Repairing the seats on our 1952 Fiat 1900A.
June 26, 2024
Our trim shop have been giving the task of repairing the seats on our incredible 1952 Fiat 1900A. The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars
Suspension, Glovebox, And More
April 24, 2024
Both Paul and Lydia have been working on our 1956 Jensen 541. Once Paul had changed over the rear suspension leaf springs to the correct
Refreshed Seats
April 12, 2024
Lydia has replaced the old worn-out covers on the back seats of our 1985 Citroen CX25 GTi. She used new fabric so that it matched
Seat Repair
April 11, 2024
A seat from a Renault Clio has just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Lydia is going to be working on it to make
Boot Carpet And More
April 8, 2024
Lydia has been looking at the boot carpet in our 1956 Jensen 541. She has templated and made the boot carpets, which are unique to
Recovering Interior Panels
March 28, 2024
The customer has kindly supplied all the interior panels of our 1963 Bentley S3 to us so that Lydia can recover them. He has remade
Door Cards And Floor Mats
March 27, 2024
A customer wanted a quick interior refresh on her 2006 Nissan Micra Convertible. Lydia made some custom-fitted floor mats, which fit much better than the
Riley Seat
March 11, 2024
The backrest of the our 1905 Riley 9HP seat is actually fitted on the body of the car and, as a result, could not be
Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia made an internal door card for the opening door on our 1905 Riley 9HP. She first made a template from paper to ensure the
C-Type Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia has recently been making a pretend ‘door card ‘ to balance out the interior of our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. There is only one
Spitfire Rear Carpet Piece
February 27, 2024
The piece of carpet for the rear shelf that was supplied with the kit for our 1976 Triumph Spitfire was incorrectly finished and didn’t fit.
Rover 216 is going home
February 26, 2024
Work is now complete on the hood of our Rover 216 so only one more job for Tony to complete, that’s returning the car back
Finished Hood
February 22, 2024
The hood of our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet is finished, cleaned and ready to go. Clinton made the side tension cables for Lydia, as these
Hood Going Together
February 21, 2024
Lydia has fitted the hood to our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet, as far as she can take it without some vital parts that she is
Rover 216 Cabriolet Hood
February 15, 2024
There were some areas of damage to the hood of our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet which was letting water into the car. The headlining had
Door Trims
February 13, 2024
Neil has refitted the refurbished door trims to our 1993 Bentley Turbo R.
Seat Strip Down
February 8, 2024
Lydia has been stripping the seats of our 1960 Jensen 541R ready for new covers once the fabric has been chosen.
Lots Of Work Complete
February 7, 2024
Our 1956 Jensen 541 has made a lot of progress recently. Paul has finished the dash mounts and has started work on the wiring. After
A 100-Year-Old Seat
January 23, 2024
Lydia has upholstered the base seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP. She used a 2-inch foam for the base to provide a firm seat so
MGC GT Roof And More
January 17, 2024
Lydia has been hard at work over the last week or so on the roof of our 1969 MGC GT. First, she stripped the old
Amphicar Kick Panels
January 11, 2024
Lydia has been working on our 1964 Amphicar 7-70. Firstly, she made a template for the kick panels to ensure the correct shape and fit.
Seat And Electric Window Repairs
January 11, 2024
Our 1992 Toyota MR2 has been in the skilled hands of classic car technician Jonn. After he removed the driver’s seat for repair, Jonn disconnected
Progress on the 1956 Jensen 541
November 4, 2024
The progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 is flying along as the car heads towards initial road tests very soon around the area of the Bridge Classic Cars HQ. Before then, the team still have a bit of work to do. This time the team have been working on the inside of the classic GT car.
The team have fitted up the steering wheel, the passenger seat and the door card ends into place.
Coming Toward The End
October 28, 2024
Our 1956 Jensen 541 is coming toward the end of its restoration here at Bridge Classic Cars. It has been a long process but now, technician Paul is starting to put the last few pieces back together. Although the car will still need testing and other minor bits, it’s safe to say that it is now looking very close to its finished form.
Paul has now assembled the doors and fitted the rear bumper and rear side windows. While he was doing that, Lydia made and fit the door cards as well as the boot chain covers.
Fiat 1900A Carpets
August 29, 2024
The carpets are of our 1952 Fiat 1900A are now finished and what a transformation this has made to the car!
Here is what Lydia had to say about it:
“Before, the car was looking dark, dingy and depressing, and now it has been given a new lease of life with these stunning woollen carpets and mats. The carpet has been lovingly trimmed with a complimentary green edging.
Our 1900A will likely be the envy of Fiat owners everywhere when they lay their eyes on the pea-green masterpiece. Please take note of the fabulous custom stitched heel mat, also made from the complimentary green vinyl, adding a touch of je ne sais quoi to the vehicle.”
Steve also refurbished the hand brake shoes and refitted them as the old ones were contaminated from the leaking differential seal which has also now been replaced.
Devon Progress Continues
August 8, 2024
As our 1951 Austin Devon is a commercial vehicle, it has unfortunately had a tough life and the seats are certainly showing this. The driver’s side base has been bolstered with additional springs to try and prolong its life, but the outer frame has broken on both sides and required welding.
The same for the back, which had also broken. Lydia has covered the seat in new backing cloth, which provides a stable base for the horse hair to be put on top. Once the horsehair arrives, Lydia can continue fitting the seat covers she has made.
While Lydia was doing that, the bonnet and some of the other components were having epoxy primer applied.
Making a New Carpet Set for our 1952 Fiat 1900A
July 26, 2024
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.
Interior repairs on the 1952 Fiat 1900A
July 19, 2024
Our trim shop can work wonders, just like with the interior of our 1952 Fiat 1900A. This incredible one-of-one Fiat has been carefully worked on at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ by our trimmer Lydia, who has been generally tidying up the whole interior and repair some small parts of the headliner of the car to try and preserve the cars originality.
Assessing the 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 Roadster
July 16, 2024
The workshop team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on assessing the 1974 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 Roadster which recently arrived at Pettistree from our secure storage facility, The Hangar.
The first stage was for our trim team to take a look at the cabin of the classic sports GT car. Lydia, one of our incredible trimmers, carefully checked over every aspect of the cars interior to compile her condition report which was given to the workshop supervisor to put together with the mechanical teams check over which began as soon as Lydia was done. But, she did not there are some areas of the cabin which will require new sections such as the carpet set which in her words appears to be ‘badly moth damaged’.
The purpose of the assessment, is to gain an overall view of the condition of the car. To see whether the car is in need of a complete and total restoration or a recommission. Our technicians have decades of experience on working on classic cars and have a methodical and safety based approach to checking over the cars.
Rob, one of our restoration technicians whose background is in restoring Triumphs as well as maintaining and restoring classic formula 1 cars, was put in charge of checking over the E-Type V12 and compiling his report which has also been passed onto the workshop supervisors along with the interior assessment by Lydia.
Whilst the supervisors and leadership team are formulating a plan for the E-Type Roadster, our transport team safely loaded up the classic sports car into our enclosed trailer and took the car back to our secure storage facility, The Hangar. There, the car was placed in its Carcoon and put back on charge.
Perfect Fit – Remaking the Dashpad of our 1956 Jensen 541
July 12, 2024
Our trim team are always engaged in the constant pursuit of perfection, and their most recent exploit is the dashpad of our 1956 Jensen 541.
Our trimmer Lydia made the dashpad for our classic Jensen a few months ago now, but the project is now at the stage of having its interior put into the car bit by bit alongside the mechanical team getting the car back into place in the new finishing workshop. During this, Lydia noticed that the dashpad of the car didn’t quite perfectly fit as she liked and also was the wrong shape in some place and obscured the view to some of the dials and also got in the way of some of the switches.
So, Lydia stripped the piece down and slimmed it down which allow it to function properly alongside making the piece aesthetically fit better into the classy and sophisticated interior of the 541.
Repairing the seats on our 1952 Fiat 1900A.
June 26, 2024
Our trim shop have been giving the task of repairing the seats on our incredible 1952 Fiat 1900A. The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars is one of our busiest departments, but our trimmer Lydia has worked her magic on fixing up the seats of the classic Italian saloon.
The stitching on both seats had popped and somewhere in the cars passed, someone had attempted to fix this with superglue… So Lydia carefully unpicked each section which had been ‘repaired’ in order to fix it correctly. Then she could carefully stretch the covers back over the foam and frames.
Suspension, Glovebox, And More
April 24, 2024
Both Paul and Lydia have been working on our 1956 Jensen 541.
Once Paul had changed over the rear suspension leaf springs to the correct ones, he carried on fitting the door trim.
Lydia then made a glove box for our classic Jensen. It’s small in size as it has to fit into the dash around an air duct and wiper motor linkage. Lydia fitted the box she had previously made, then covered the front panel with red leather.
Unfortunately, due to the unique nature of the Jensen, the passenger seat didn’t fit next to the tunnel. Because it was made so long ago before the tunnel was ever fitted, we could not envisage this problem occurring. Lydia has test-fitted the seat into the vehicle and made alterations so that it will no longer fall on the gearbox tunnel, even when it is in its most forward position.
The door surrounds were then finished and the dash and extra wiring were also fitted for the fan motor and screen washer pump.
Refreshed Seats
April 12, 2024
Lydia has replaced the old worn-out covers on the back seats of our 1985 Citroen CX25 GTi. She used new fabric so that it matched the front seats.
Seat Repair
April 11, 2024
A seat from a Renault Clio has just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Lydia is going to be working on it to make some repairs. Once she is done, the seat will look new again and will be ready to go back into the car.
Boot Carpet And More
April 8, 2024
Lydia has been looking at the boot carpet in our 1956 Jensen 541. She has templated and made the boot carpets, which are unique to each car. She has shaped and moulded the sides to fit the rear curves in the boot, and then completed it with a large over mat. She will finish glueing everything down when the wiring has been finalised.
Paul has also been working on our classic 541. He has made and fitted the earth cable, fitted the distributor vacuum pipe, cut a hole in the gearbox tunnel to make access to the speedo drive and fabricated a cover. He has also made and fitted the wiper motor mounting plate, and designed and made the seat belt mounts.
Recovering Interior Panels
March 28, 2024
The customer has kindly supplied all the interior panels of our 1963 Bentley S3 to us so that Lydia can recover them. He has remade some of the most damaged ones using the other sides as a template.
Remaking the cardboard boot pieces was the most challenging, as Lydia had to moisten the cardboard before moulding it into shape. After making it the desired shape and replacing the wood and metal pieces, she covered it in carpet.
Door Cards And Floor Mats
March 27, 2024
A customer wanted a quick interior refresh on her 2006 Nissan Micra Convertible.
Lydia made some custom-fitted floor mats, which fit much better than the generic shop-bought ones. She also added some extra-strong velcro so they don’t slip from their intended position.
Next, Lydia replaced the material which had become tatty and was starting to pull off the door cards. This was tricky because she couldn’t remove the panel, as it is attached with plastic rivets and a special tool. She managed to overcome this with the help of a soldering iron and some careful melting! The new panel is now covered in a smart black suede material and looks factory-fresh again.
Riley Seat
March 11, 2024
The backrest of the our 1905 Riley 9HP seat is actually fitted on the body of the car and, as a result, could not be fitted until the vehicle returned from paint. Lydia placed the seat in and began to line up the pleats so that they were straight. She had to stuff the seat with additional coconut fiber to give them extra puffiness and to cover any lumps and bumps in the wooden bodywork. The most difficult part of this was deciding how to get a tidy finish on the front curve of the seat, as she couldn’t staple this to the bodywork.
After Lydia finished stapling the seat to the body, she cut away the excess and then applied piping to the back edge. The raw edges of the fabric will then be covered with a beautiful brass beading that we have bought to replicate the original.
Lydia also made some straps to replicate the original ones, which hold the roof bars at the correct distance apart. The hood has also been made with great care taken to ensure it looks as close to the original as possible.
Various components have been in the paintshop being painted in dtm black.
Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia made an internal door card for the opening door on our 1905 Riley 9HP.
She first made a template from paper to ensure the correct shape, and then she cut this out from card. She then made her own design based on the pinstriping on the paintwork of the vehicle. She will affix this door card to the door when she has finished staining the wood, and the door handle has been altered and fixed on.
C-Type Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia has recently been making a pretend ‘door card ‘ to balance out the interior of our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. There is only one door, with a very small area that Lydia has made a covering for, so she had to work out something that would look good on the other side too. She first made a template from paper and checked this for size. She then used this to make the card shape and cut it out from leather. Then she marked the diamond pattern to mirror the other side and sewed this. The door card was finished with a piping edge to give it a nice finish.
Spitfire Rear Carpet Piece
February 27, 2024
The piece of carpet for the rear shelf that was supplied with the kit for our 1976 Triumph Spitfire was incorrectly finished and didn’t fit. It required a complete remake to make it sit in the vehicle as it should. Lydia cut out the new piece of carpet and shaped it in the vehicle, before adding pleats to improve fit. She then glued this to the car and secured the new edging under the carpet piece which sits on top.
Rover 216 is going home
February 26, 2024
Work is now complete on the hood of our Rover 216 so only one more job for Tony to complete, that’s returning the car back home looking lovely in our covered transporter.
Finished Hood
February 22, 2024
The hood of our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet is finished, cleaned and ready to go. Clinton made the side tension cables for Lydia, as these could not be sourced online and appear to not exist! As soon as the tension cables were fitted, Lydia could commence with finishing off the hood installation.
Hood Going Together
February 21, 2024
Lydia has fitted the hood to our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet, as far as she can take it without some vital parts that she is waiting for.
A set of tension cables was sent, but although the correct ones were ordered, we received a set for a MK5 Ford Escort!
Christian from the body shop is going to help Lydia fabricate something that will fit, and hopefully be better than what we could have ordered.
Rover 216 Cabriolet Hood
February 15, 2024
There were some areas of damage to the hood of our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet which was letting water into the car. The headlining had also started to sag and wrinkle up in places, which could be due to the damp setting in.
Lydia has been working on the hood. She found that the hood was in a bad state the further she stripped the material off. Unfortunately, this is often the case with convertible vehicles, as the plastic waterproof outer fabric holds water close to the body, making it prone to rust and then rot. This car was no exception.
Most of it can be cleaned back and coated with paint, the parts that can be taken off are being sandblasted and then will be repaired. Whilst waiting for various parts to be repaired and returned to her, Lydia fitted as much of the hood as she could without impeding her ability to install the rest of the soft top.
Paint technician Chris has been painting some of the repaired parts of our 216 in dtm satin black.
Door Trims
February 13, 2024
Neil has refitted the refurbished door trims to our 1993 Bentley Turbo R.
Seat Strip Down
February 8, 2024
Lydia has been stripping the seats of our 1960 Jensen 541R ready for new covers once the fabric has been chosen.
Lots Of Work Complete
February 7, 2024
Our 1956 Jensen 541 has made a lot of progress recently.
Paul has finished the dash mounts and has started work on the wiring. After fitting the loom, he began work wiring some of the electrical components into it.
The headlining has been fitted on our 541 too. Lydia made it from a cream vinyl with an embossed pattern. New holes for the roof bars had to be drilled as the previous holes had been repaired and filled in. Lydia then heated the vinyl and pulled it into place, making sure to remove all the creases as she went. She trimmed the excess away and tidied up the edges to make sure that the rubber for the front and back windscreens fit as they should.
Lydia then moved on to the side panels. She first covered the panels in a layer of scrim foam as the fibreglass was very bumpy. This helps to smooth out the thin headlining material. She then covered them in headlining material.
Christian got involved in the recent work too by fabricating a steering column spacer.
A 100-Year-Old Seat
January 23, 2024
Lydia has upholstered the base seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP.
She used a 2-inch foam for the base to provide a firm seat so that the driver doesn’t slip out of the seat. She then placed a layer of horse hair on top to give it the correct finished look and feel. This is a tightly woven material which has been needled into hessian sheets.
After this, Lydia cut the face fabric and piping and sewed these together. She used a period-correct paper piping. Then was the border which was made in 2 pieces, and sewed onto the seat face.
Lydia chose to do a border all around so that the seat would have a plump look.
MGC GT Roof And More
January 17, 2024
Lydia has been hard at work over the last week or so on the roof of our 1969 MGC GT. First, she stripped the old headlining from the roof. As with a lot of materials from the 60s and 70s, the foam had disintegrated, leaving a sticky mess.
Taking the roof apart was challenging as it was not immediately apparent how the headlining part came off the exterior of the roof. Two hidden screws finally showed themselves after a thorough inspection. Lydia used the old headlining as a pattern and made the new one from a brushed nylon fabric. As you can see, it looks a lot fresher and plumped up as it should be compared to the old one. Whilst doing this, she also took time to renew the cover on the rear crash bar, which goes over the boot hinges. This needed a completely new foam underlayer and then new brushed nylon on top. She refitted the rear interior light back to this as well.
Next were all the parts on the actual car body. Lydia first cleaned off the old foam and used a scotch brite pad to prepare the surface. Then, she applied new foam to the sides to offer some sound deadening and a base for the headlining to go on top. After this, she had to put the frame and the outer skin of the roof on, and tighten the nuts to hold this on.
Afterwards, Lydia cut the headlining to size on the job, then sewed it where necessary, and glued it to the car. The edges were glued to the metal frame and finished with some top on edging. The front piece of headlining was looking somewhat bumpy, so she cut a piece of cardboard to size and placed this underneath. It helped to smooth out the bumps and give it a much better finish. Then Lydia replaced all of the items attached to the roof, wind deflector, rear view mirror and sun visor clips.
The doors and the bonnet of our MGC were painted before the car was flatted and polished.
Amphicar Kick Panels
January 11, 2024
Lydia has been working on our 1964 Amphicar 7-70. Firstly, she made a template for the kick panels to ensure the correct shape and fit. Then she cut the panels out of plywood and cut a hole on the passenger side to allow airflow out of the vent tube.
Lydia then applied a thin layer of scrim foam and used grey vinyl to match the seats and door cards. She then fixed them into the car and used a screw and cup washer to ensure they didn’t fall out whilst driving.
Seat And Electric Window Repairs
January 11, 2024
Our 1992 Toyota MR2 has been in the skilled hands of classic car technician Jonn. After he removed the driver’s seat for repair, Jonn disconnected the wiring under the seat before hoovering the space out ready for the seat to go back in once the repair is complete.
A new plastic weather shield was made for the door before the door panel was refitted. New screws were used at the bottom edge as the old ones were missing when the car arrived. Once the switch pack was reconnected, the window was tested and found to be working fine.
