Anything But Minor

November 6, 2020

Our 1963 Morris Minor has had its oil seal removed and refurbished, engine rewired, new clutch added and an engine stabilizer installed.

Custom Trim

November 6, 2020

Whether it’s a specific design or a certain fit, we can make it. All of the work done in the trim shop is made by hand and designed perfectly for your motor.

One of our clients is making the hard choice between these 4 designs for the interior of their 1982 Porsche 911.

Friday Snapshot

November 6, 2020

Its been a busy week, with once again, many cars leaving, lots making big milestones and photoshoots!

Behind the scenes on the Rolls Royce shoot

We were extremely lucky with the weather on Wednesday for our Rolls Royce Corniche shoot at Hintlesham Hall.

This stunning 16th Century Elizabethan hotel created the perfect backdrop to shoot the regal 1973 Rolls Royce Corniche with our friend Giles, who made the perfect model.

We’re currently selling the Rolls Royce, so if you’d like to look this suave, head over to our website to see more about it!

You can see our Behind The Scenes video on our Instagram Reels!

Goodbye Yellow TR6

Our ray of sunshine, the Yellow 1973 Triumph TR6 has just left the workshop!

It came in with some issues concerning the gearbox so we swiftly replaced the clutch slave cylinder and it was back up and running in no time!

It was delivered back to its owners this morning.

Peony Red 1960 Jensen 541S

We’ve recently received another Jensen to restore. Although it’s currently a dull white, it will soon blossom into a beautiful Peony Red! This is a really exciting project for us as it’s going to be an amazing transformation!

Earlier in the week it had its fiberglass body worked on, smoothing down the exterior and adding a layer of stone chip to the inside. You can see that here.

Since then, our technicians Chris and Ant have tidied the metal plate work by welding and smoothing the exterior to make it all uniform. A primer has been added and a DTM satin paint applied on top.

The chrome pieces for the Jensen have also been sourced and cleaned, ready to be applied.

The doors have been refurbished with rust and holes corrected and parts of the inner door having been refurbished.

Overview

We’ve recently bought a 1974 VW Beetle for a near future competition car! We cant wait to get started on this beautiful green vehicle!

We’ve also had a lot of work on our other cars such as new trimmings for the Grey Jensen, custom window wipers and pump for the Nissan, new wheels on the MGB, new seat belts on the purple TR6.

Safety First

November 6, 2020

The Purple 1973 Triumph TR6 has recently had seatbelts and tyres installed making by our team.

Seatbelts

New seatbelts were installed on our TR6! There may be a few pieces missing but at least it’s now a safe drive!

Teamwork

It also had its first start-up today, but to get it running perfectly, we’ll be handing it over to our engine specialist Ady.

You can trust here at Bridge Classic Cars that your car will get full attention from our team of specialist technicians, and the proof is in the pudding!

New Windscreen

A brand new windscreen has also been recently installed.

New Wheels

The owner of our TR6 specially requested for the original tyres to be fitted, so we ordered a set of original TR6 Michelin XAS tyres from Longstone Classic Tyres.

We understand that some people want their cars fitted with modern refurbishments and some prefer to keep the originality intact. Both are great options when restoring a classic car and equally have their own pros and cons, however its never too much trouble to acquire or make original custom fittings to make sure the car is just right. Its all in the finer details!

Blazing New Wheels

November 5, 2020

Our 1972 Blaze Orange MGB Roadster recently had its refurbished wheels fitted by our team of specialist classic car technicians.

Darren, our paint shop manager has recently cleaned down, re painted and refurbished the wheels as well as painting parts of the engine.

Back for more

November 5, 2020

Its always nice to get positive feedback from clients but even nicer when they send their vehicles back in for more refurbishments!

The owner asked for some extra alterations so we cracked on right away!

We created a custom made window wiper bracket for the Nissan as well as replacing a water pump.

Coming Soon

November 5, 2020

We’ve got a number of new cars gracing our workshop soon. Keep an eye out on our social media pages and website for their grand arrival.

1974 VW Beetle

We’ve got an exciting new competition vehicle coming in soon. Currently residing in Scotland, this beautiful Lime Green Beetle will be up for grabs in the near future!

Watch this space..

The 1972 Chevron B20

We’re proud to represent a 1972 Chevron B20 Formula 2 race car. Although this, unfortunately, won’t be a giveaway car, it will be up for sale sometime in the near future on our website!

This beautiful vintage vehicle was originally designed as a single-seat racer for Formula 2.

We can’t wait to have such a unique vehicle in our workshop.

The Jensen fan

November 5, 2020

New fan brackets have been added to the 1957 Grey Jenson 541R

Our engineer Paul has hand crafted a pair of brackets to bolt onto the Jensen’s fan. These have been made from a sheet of metal which Paul has measured, shaped, drilled and painted, ready to be bolted onto the final product.

Craftmanship like this means that all our projects are bespoke and personal and fit the car which enables a perfect match.

Before

After

The brackets and fan were then later fixed together. This will now be inserted into the engine.

Not long after, the fan had been fitted into the Jensen’s engine and was ready to purr.

The Tail End Of The E-Type Jaguar

November 5, 2020

Our 1967 Black E-type Jaguar had its final re-wiring before we sent it off purring back to its owners yesterday.

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, this E-Type came in way back in 2016 for a full restoration. We’ve worked on her over the past 4 years for regular maintenance and repairs.

She’s come a long way from the total rebuild we received in 2016! It’s always a pleasure to have such an iconic vehicle in the workshop.

The Girl In Red

November 5, 2020

You’d be right in saying that this isn’t a red 1960 Jensen 541S. But with a bit of imagination and a lot of hard work from our specialist technicians, this car soon will be a beautiful Peony Red.

However, that’s a few stages away. It’s currently with our technician Chris who is carefully working on the fiberglass body.

With fixings added, holes filled and a black stone-chip applied on the inside of the body, this Jensen is getting closer to its new colour makeover. These alterations are made to make sure the body of the car is aesthetically uniform and ready for the next stage of works.

The next stages will entail grinding out any imperfections and cracks so it can be prepared for the paint-shop.

The Peugeot Has A New Heart

November 5, 2020

The 1972 Peugeot 504 has hit a ground-breaking moment in its restoration: it now has an engine!

Our engine specialist has replaced all serviceable parts such as spark plugs and belts, replaced any worn hoses and plummed the engine back into its rightful place.

The beating heart of this car is back in place after a successful engine surgery.

The Jensen’s Headlining Act

November 5, 2020

Much like any good festival, our Grey 1957 Jensen 541R also needed a headliner.

In car terms, this just means the fabric fitting that coats the ceiling and gives it that finished look.

Our trim shop experts Kath and Brian have recently applied the headliner. First off they installed metal beams and padding to alleviate any rattling inside the vehicle. After this was fitted, the headlining fabric was installed, pulled tight, heated, and glued in place leaving holes for the interior lights.

The Jensen has also had foam padding added to the parcel shelf, vinyl glued into the front A posts, vinyl added to the dashboard, and holes left for the air vents.

Mr Bone – Norfolk

November 4, 2020

“They’re good folk, a friend had his MGA restored there this year. The race E-Type and Jensens are splendid!”

The future’s bright, the future’s…

November 4, 2020

We’ll start with the exciting news that our Orange race E-Type is nearing completion…

As the UK enters a new national lockdown this evening, here at Bridge Classic Cars we remain open for business as per our recent statement. The new measures come in to force on Thursday 5th November and expected to last until Wednesday 2 December.

This morning, we are introducing you to and looking forward to some exciting new projects hoping to be heading our way in the new year.

Here is a brief over view of some recent discussions we’ve been having and some exciting projects that we are hoping to be involved with very soon.

Our 1973 Triumph Stag has sadly been a stalled restoration for some years. Having been prepared and painted a few years ago the car has been sitting still ever since. The owner has now made the decision that the car must be completed and back on the Suffolk roads so we are hoping to be of assistance with this one very soon.

Next up we have our 1948 Triumph Roadster 2000. Again, a stalled restoration project that may possibly be in our workshops early 2021 to be completed and returned to the UK roads.

As you know, we love a Jensen 541. Here is an ongoing restoration being carried out by the current owner and a key player in the Jensen 541 world. The car is now ready for body preparation and paint so we are hoping to see her with us in the paint shop early to middle of 2021.

In 2019 Chris started the restoration of his father’s 1959 MGA Twin Cam. Now in the very safe hands of ex-TVR head technicians, the car is looking wonderful and taking shape nicely. We are hoping to take on the responsibility for the car, once completed. The current owner resides overseas and wants to find a good home for the car. It has been in the family for many many years and it would be lovely for it to find a new home with another family for many many years to come.

A project for Kath and Brian for early 2021 will be our South African 1980 Porsche 928 from our friends at Horizon Classics. The Porsche has recently undergone a full engine rebuild and body work improvements. Steve is currently awaiting the brand new, original Porsche material at which time the car will make it’s way over to our Trim Shop in Suffolk for a interior refit.

Finally, we look forward to welcoming our 1974 Volkswagen Super Beetle 1303 to the Bridge Classic Cars family. We are hoping to collect this incredible car from the north of Scotland very soon, hopefully when we have the opportunity to get out on the road. We will update you very soon on this one!!

Sink Or Swim?

November 3, 2020

We had Colin from Wherry boatyard on behalf of CC Marine and Industrial Supply come in to survey our 1965 Amphicar. As a BSS (Boat Safety Scheme) Examiner, its Colins job to tell us what is needed to make the Amphicar water worthy.

It’s a bit like an MOT but for boats and it’ll allow our Amphicar to be one step closer to getting its tires wet.

The amends includes relocating the battery cut-off switch changing the fuel entry removal system from a bottom to a top entry, replacing rubber hoses with copper pipes to allow a 2 hour 100 degrees safety bracket, installing a fire extinguisher, modify the main battery wiring, replacing the fuel arrester to the fuel tank, general labeling, adding an override switch to the dashboard and installing a modern Bilge pump and float switch.

TR6 Strikes A New Gear

November 3, 2020

Our Triumph TR6 was struggling to change gear when it came in, but there’s no job too small or fiddly for us here at Bridge Classic Cars. We’ll get it back to its old chirpy self in no time.

Our technician Pete managed to replace the clutch slave cylinder so the TR6 should now run smoothly!

Local Businesses Support Ed Sheeran Auction

November 3, 2020

Local charity, GeeWizz has partnered up with Ed Sheeran’s parents, John and Imogen to host the Ed Sheeran ‘Made In Suffolk’ Legacy auction. It aims to raise funds for children and young adults from Suffolk and Norfolk who suffer from life-threatening conditions, disabilities, or Cancer

The money raised from the auction will help fund the children’s equipment, care and education as well as providing important support for the families.

The auction includes ‘money can’t buy’ prizes from local businesses. A day of recording or mixing for a band at Decoy Studio, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars VIP Tour with lunch for 4 people, and a VIP visit to Classic Team Lotus in Norfolk are among the prizes.

You can visit the website to learn more here.

Among the sponsors is local business Tru7. CEO Guy Nicholls has pledged his company to be the main sponsor. Guy is passionate about East Anglia and helping local children.

You can see his pledge video below.

Windows and Doors for the Peugeot 504

November 3, 2020

Scott and Brian have been tending to the Peugeot for its new trimmings and chrome installments.

Scott has been working on the window and door mechanisms. He’s fitted new rubber for the window seal, tested and installed new window winder mechanisms as well as repairing and cleaning the window winder motors.

As well as new window winder motors, the doors have also had some TLC to make sure they lock and shut nicely.

Scott has fitted new door handles to accompany the new door locks, striker plates and door check straps. All of which have been cleaned, repaired, re-greased, and fitted.

The new striker plates allow for the doors to align and shut efficiently.

Brian has been tending to the latest interior instalments for the Peugeot.

The leather for the door panel arm rest has been glued to the metal section, trimmed and turned over to give a neat finish. The door handle slots had also been cut and measured.

The leather has been glued to the foam backing for the back seats and is ready for sewing. Lines have been marked on each piece to indicate where the stitching will sit.

The front door panels have been cut out of hardboard, holes drilled into them for the armrest and door handles.

When ready, the leather is applied and the edges are pulled around the side of each piece to ensure a neat finish. The leather is hog ringed to the frame as this guarantees that the leather will be held in place and allows for a tight application.

Below you can see the armrest door panel and part of the back seats being fitted together.

Suited And Booted

November 2, 2020

Our 1960 Jensen 541R has had another round of interior fittings measured up, made, and installed by our talented team in the Trim Shop. This time it’s the Jensens boot that’s been fitted.

Each piece of the boot carpet has been measured by hand, stitched, and fitted in a bespoke pattern. No trim is ever the same.

Primed And Ready

November 2, 2020

Our 1987 Mercedes 500SL has had its primer and flattening completed by our technicians Ant and Chris.

This stage allows the bodywork to be perfected and smoothened and allows the next layer of paint to stick.

This is the last stage before the colour paintwork begins.

COVID-19 Update

November 2, 2020

As of November 5th, 2020, England is entering another 4 week lockdown.

We’d like to reassure our clients that we are still open and working on our cars however we are not accepting members of the public into our workshop.

If you have a car already with us, the restorations will continue as usual.

We are operating under COVID secure conditions as it is our first priority to ensure the safety of our clients and employees. This includes social distancing and daily body temperature checks for anyone entering our site.

We are still contactable via our phone line, email and social media accounts.

If you’d like to read the new guidelines, you can visit the GOV.UK page here.

The Jensen Has Power

November 2, 2020

The Jensen 541S has recently returned from Holland where it was visiting some power steering conversion specialists.

Now back in the UK with the correct parts, the Jensen is ready to have its power steering installed by John and Tamas.

Due to the age of the car, it never originally had power steering. This new modification will make the Jensen an even more luxurious drive with easier steering.

Arion S2 Track Day

November 2, 2020

Having recently had the engine fitted, Paul has enjoyed his first track day in the Arion S2.

Something Old, Something New

November 2, 2020

Our TR3 takes its first drive with its new owner Karl for a special event.

We always love to see our competition winners enjoying their new cars but the update from our TR3 winner Karl Reilly was even more special.

Last Thursday Karl drove his sister Claire to her wedding at Brasted’s lodge in Framlingham Pigot. Our TR3 makes for the perfect ‘Something Old’ and ‘Something New’!

“It was such a shame it rained all day, Karl tells us. “But it was still great fun to drive with the roof up.”

“My sister loved it, it really made her day! The owners of Brasted’s Lodge loved it too, it received a lot of attention!”

As it turns out, Karl had won the car a day after his 50th birthday. After a challenging year, our TR3 was the perfect birthday present for Karl and the perfect ride to Claire’s wedding.

Congratulations to the happy couple, Claire and Andy!

Meet The Team: John

November 2, 2020

In our second installment of Meet The Team Mondays, we talk to our Workshop Manager, John.

John has been working with cars his entire career, starting as soon as he left school. This interest blossomed from working alongside his father who also took a fascination with cars and frequently visited race car meets with each other.

Following his childhood with cars, John’s career led him to work with Vauxhall for 29 years. After a sufficient amount of time working as a technician there, John moved on to making sports car replicas with Suffolk Sports. John then came to Bridge Classic Cars where he’s been ever since, making him one of our longest working members.

John is our Workshop Manager, meaning his role is to oversee and troubleshoot any projects going on at Bridge Classic Cars. We know that projects are always in safe hands with John as his time with us is coming up to 10 years.

Back at home, John has a number of motorbikes as well as his dream car, a Ford Escort RS 2000 MKI. John tells us that he’s always been into having his own cars and restoring them, “I’ve always had two or three motorbikes and cars at home to tinker with”.

Fun fact: The car that was most popular in the year of Johns birth was the Nissan Datsun 240Z

Another Whirlwind Week Here At Bridge Classic Cars

October 30, 2020

From new projects and photoshoots to finished restorations, the workshop has been bustling this week.

This week we’ve had lots going on in and out of the workshop. Most notibly, our 1996 Nissan Patrol has been completed. We have worked on the full restoration from start to finish, we cannot wait for it’s owner to see her looking her very best once more.

Before

After

We’ve had a 1977 Triumph Spitfire come in from our friend Lee at Auto shack that’s in need of a new hood. There’s no task too big or small for our classic car technicians. This Spitfire will enter the Trim Shop next week to have it’s new hood fitted.

We’ve also had two requests to value cars, one of which being a 1969 Mercedes 280SL and another being a 1986 Toyota Celica GT. We offer valuation services to inform customers on what their car is worth, be that for personal or insurance reasons.

There’s an exciting opportunity coming up with an Alfa Romeo Montreal that we’ve been asked to restore. Keep an eye out for updates on that when it comes in!

We’ve also got a 1980 MGB GT coming in soon. We took a look at it recently and replaced the adjusted the distributor as it was getting too hot but it seems to need some more TLC which we’re looking forward to doing!

Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we’re all about family and community. That’s why Gordan and Craig’s 2008 Range Rover Sport has been bought and passed onto our technician Pete. He took it out for its first spin earlier in the week to Milsoms in Ipswich. We’re glad to see it still lives on in the Bridge family.

We’ve had a gentleman enquire about us restoring his 1947 Norton motorbike which has been 50% built but just needs finishing. We don’t get many bikes in but its a real treat when we do!

This morning we went to our hanger at Bentwaters to do some filming. Our marketing team Freddie and Ellie shot some content which you will see going up on our website soon! In the meantime, take a look at some behinds the scenes shots below.

You can see the rest of the works done this week on our Triumph, Jensen, and Jaguar, here.

Next up on the Nissan

October 30, 2020

Fresh paintwork and new tires are on the agenda for the Nissan.

The 1996 Nissan Patrol arrived at Bridge Classic Cars needing a thorough once over to restore its adventurous spirit.

Last week it had its primer completed, allowing the next stages of paintwork to commence. The Nissan has now had its DH6 Safari Nissan Green and Volkswagen Zing Grey paint applied as well as having its chrome bumpers completed.

The front and rear disks and pads required checking when the Nissan arrived. These have since been replaced.

During its restoration, the gears had been removed to allow for a full check-up. As detailed here, Pete added red paint to the pieces which allowed him to carefully assemble and realign the gears, making for a perfect and careful re-installation.

The Nissan has also had its tires refurbished, making it one stage closer to being road ready.

The next step in this Nissan’s journey is to receive its trim work for new carpets.

One of a kind Jensen

October 30, 2020

The Jensen 541R receives new interior trimmings in its latest restoration step.

The Jensen 541R’s next pitstop in its renovation journey has been in the trim shop where it had the full works done.

The makeover included fitting the side window panel, rear seats, rear quarter and side panels installed, side scuttle panel, ashtray in the rear side panel, chrome panel trim, center panel, leather into the rear pockets, and the parcel tray leather fitted.

Kath and Brian, our interior trim specialists took time to modify each piece of leather interior, measuring it up by hand to fitting each bespoke trimming. Aside from the centre panel, which retained the original design, everything else had to specially designed for this Jensen, making it one of a kind!

With new trimmings now fully installed, the Jensen is starting to resemble the beautiful car it used to be.

Competition winners

October 29, 2020

This week we announced the two lucky winners of our competition.

Karl Reilly from Essex won the 1968 Triumph TR3 with his lucky ticket number 4174. Karl is a triumph lover, already owning a yellow Triumph GT6 so we know our TR3 will be in good company.

Today Karl drove a close relative to their wedding in his new Triumph and we can’t think of a better way to experience your first drive in a new car!

Our second winner was Lee Polley from Hull who won the beautiful 1991 Mini Rover with his lucky ticket 410.

We’ve been so overwhelmed with positive comments from other competition entrees and supporters congratulating the winners.

If you fancy your chances at winning a classic car, you can enter our current draws on our 1962 Triumph TR4 or a suave 1999 Mercedes 280SL.

Click here to enter.

A workshop Triumph

October 29, 2020

Although it has a long road ahead of it, we’re already pleased by the progress the TR5 is making.

Our Triumph TR5 is set to have the full works here at Bridge Classic Cars. As a long-standing restoration project, we have some big plans for this car.

So far in its journey, it has had all the bodywork done by our classic car technician Mauro, the electrics done by Adam, and the engine work carried out by our engine specialist Ady.

The body has been mounted to the chassis in what Mauro tells us was the most challenging part.

“You have to allow room between the chassis and the body to enable the perfect fit. It’s hard to get it all to line up perfectly.”

With the doors having been added to the body, the TR5 is starting to take shape. It’s a meticulous and time consuming process, but is a crucial stage in this car’s restoration.

Mauro has just finished up our Triumph TR6 restoration project, meaning he’s becoming quite the specialist in working with Triumphs.