News

DB2/4 Stripping

Scott has been stripping down the 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark I in preparation for the rest of its restoration. This is a time consuming

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Good As New

Look at the difference in these seats before and after they’ve been cleaned! Colin, from Viper Auto Valet set out to bring out 1959 Ford

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Sill Rebuilding

Pricey has been taking apart and rebuilding the lower rear sills, entire lower sill, rear inner sill and floor as all of it were showing

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New Ford Anglia In

We’ve just welcomed this quirky barn find 1959 Ford Anglia into the Bridge Classic Car family. It’s looking rather dusty at the moment however for

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Ford Anglia Polished And Shiny

Our 1959 Ford Anglia had some slightly worn paintwork when it arrived, however after a good polish, its already looking better. The beautiful thing about this car is how original it is whilst still being in fantastic condition, meaning we aren’t changing anything about it, including the original paintwork which has survived 62 years.

SSII Boot Lid Amended And Service Completed

Scott has serviced the SS which only needed an oil change and the brakes adjusted.

As part of this 1934 (Jaguar) SSII’s checkup, we’ve started to fix the boot lid as a small gap between the lid and the boot was letting in water. Our trusty trim shop has cracked on with the task to amend this by adding a piece of flange to glue and nail around the edge to stop the water. The seal will hopefully stop the water from seeping in.

Jessica Hawkins Signed As F1 Aston Martin Driver Ambassador

W Series and Stunt driver, Jessica Hawkins has been signed as an F1 Aston Martin Driver Ambassador, announced today.

Hawkins has said about the announcement; โ€œI am incredibly excited to be joining Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team as its new driver ambassador, and I am really looking forward to working withย Lance Stroll,ย Sebastian Vettel,ย Nico Hรผlkenbergย and the rest of the team. In fact, although it will surely be a hell of a lot of hard work, it is a dream come true for me. Besides, I am definitely not afraid of hard work.

I also want to pay tribute and say thank you to W Series, which is a brilliant championship without which I would simply never have got this unbelievable chance to work within such a great Formula One team.

I would particularly like to say a big thanks to W Seriesโ€™ three most senior people, Sean Wadsworth, Catherine Bond Muir and Dave Ryan. Without their amazing efforts to put W Series on the motorsport map in such a brilliant way and in such a short time, female drivers like me would never have found our way onto the radar screens of the likes of Otmar Szafnauer, to whom I should also say a massive thank you.โ€

Jessica Hawkins stands as a fantastic representative and athlete for women in the sport as she strives to increase the diversity of the sport.

Read more here.

Rare Jaguar SSII In For Service

Our stunning 1934 Jaguar SS2 Sports has come in for a service. We are currently carrying out an assessment and will begin to address any issues that arise from the assessment. Up until two years ago, this had been the owner’s everyday car and was driven frequently until he decided to retire it to more infrequent drives.

The SS models are very early Jaguar cars before Jaguar was known as Jaguar. Originally called SS (Swallow Sidecar) , the company decided to change its name to Jaguar after World War II under fears that the SS was too close to the bone. Thus – Jaguar as we know it was born.

This model of early Jaguar is particularly rare due to its age and model so it’s a great honour to work with such an iconic motor.

New Water Pump On The Jaguar

We’ve just fitted a new water pump on our 1959 Jaguar MKI meaning it is now ready to photograph. Keep an eye out for where this iconic Jaguar will end up…

Maroon Stag’s Oil Leak

We’ve identified a long standing oil leak under our 1973 Triumph Stag that is due to faulty and damaged parts. The exhaust pipes have been rubbing on the prop shaft and show signs of a previous poor weld repair. The pipes are showing obvious signs of damage and long standing oil drips due to the build up of oil residue on the metal. The oil cooler is also damaged and in desperate need of repair.

DB2/4 Stripping

Scott has been stripping down the 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark I in preparation for the rest of its restoration. This is a time consuming but integral part of a restoration but allows the rest of the mechanical work and bodywork to be done.

A Visitor From Germany

Our friend and client has had both of his Jensen’s with us for the last 3 years as we’ve been tackling the mighty project of their full restorations. He flew over with his son to finally see his finished beauties; a 1957 Jensen 541 RS and a 1960 Jensen 541R. We’re delighted at how happy he was when he saw them. After a thorough inspection and a test drive of each, we got the verdict and the small list of one or two minor tweaks. Once complete, they can be shipped over to Germany to start a new life overseas.

Both of these Jensen’s have been made with a keen eye for detail and the owner has had a strong involvement over getting both original and bespoke parts for these two classics, which will be added to his ever-growing Jensen collection.

Our client has a large collection of Jensen’s including this Interceptor which is undergoing restoration elsewhere.

Maroon Stag Carburettors

Our 1973 Maroon Triumph Stag has been sat stationary for a while which often causes issues with the functioning of the mechanics. Paul has stripped the carburettors and cleaned them out, which revealed the debris in the second photo and freed up the float needles.

Jaguar Etype Bonnet Shaping

James has been shrinking the bonnet skin of our 1973 Jaguar E-type Series 3 Roadster to make profile match on both sides. Once he finished converting the left hand front bumper from USA to UK spec he fitted it with rubber and re-shaping it to give an even gap on the body. This is so that the runner is not pinched or deformed once assembled.

Jaguar XK8 Painted

Our 1997 Jaguar XK8 has been prepped and readied for primer and then followed up with its final paint stage.

Matt also masked up for stone chip on the sill and arch lips before applying the final paint. Matt explained that “we check for colour coverage by turning the booth lights off and using a special torch to make sure base coat has covered”. This allows the team to ensure that the paint is sat as it should do. Once the base coat had been applied, Matt could then add the clear coat and finish the car.

It now looks good as new – you’d never know the rear quarter had been taken apart!

MG B GT Finished

We have finished our 1968 MG B GT which needed the brakes taken apart, cleaned, adjusted and bled, as well as setting up the pointers gap and timing for the carburettors, which were also stripped cleaned and adjusted. We also addressed the scraping noise which turned out to be the drum hitting the back plate.

MG Midget Finished

Our 1971 MG Midget has been completed and sent back off. We replaced the faulty distributer cap and set up the timing for the carburettors and points gap. We then road tested it and found it ran perfectly.

Land Rover Series 3 Assessment

This Land Rover Series 3 has been assessed for body work and engine work however we are unsure to our next steps with it. It may come in in the future and we hope to see it again soon.

Deus Ex Machina x Parc Ferme: Video

We’re delighted to recieve this fantastic video from Matt Wild, videographer, who shot alongside Lydia Harper a few weeks ago for a project with Lydia’s creative agency Parc Ferme and Deus Ex Machina.

With Hannah Coe as the model and Alice Harper as the assistant, the team created these stunning visuals with the help of Bridge Classic Car’s selection of motors.

Check out the video on YouTube below:

If you didn’t see them in our previous MGB blog, check them out again here:

Classic Car Weekly – May 2021

We were recently featured in Classic Car Weekly after journalist, Paul Guinness got in touch wanting to write an article about our Ford Model T recommissioning.

Ford Capri Bumps And Scratches Healed

Our 1971 Ford Capri has been into the paint book where, in the capable hands of our painter Chris, its paint chips and scratches have been corrected.

Chris begun by apply primer and filler which he smoothed and flattened before masking it up and painting over.

Now finished, you’d never have known there were scratches and chips on the rear quarter panel.

Rare Aston Martin Restoration Begins

We have now officially begun the exciting restoration process of our rare 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 which is being restored back to original in preparation for its entry into the Mille Miglia. The original race took place between 1927 and 1957 and ran its course across 1000 miles over Italy. There are strict rules over who can enter and which cars can be driven in the modern reenactment of the race however one thing is for certain, cars must be in original spec.

You can read more about the history of the iconic Italian race here.

Scott and Brian have made the first impression into this project by stripping the chrome and removing the interior so that the body is ready to be repainted.

Brian has been tackling the interior strip as he has removed the seats, carpet, pedal box, interior panels and the window trim. He has also removed the rear squab and base seats however these were tricky to remove as there were interior beams holding them in place. He has also removed seat pockets, door capping chrome trim, end plates, door cards and straps as well as the door pockets

Good As New

Look at the difference in these seats before and after they’ve been cleaned! Colin, from Viper Auto Valet set out to bring out 1959 Ford Anglia back to life. After sitting in a barn for a while, this poor little Ford was riddle with cobwebs and dust. Yet despite this, the car is still in fantastic condition and there’s nothing a little clean can’t help with! After Colin had spent a few hours cleaning up our Ford, its now looking sparkling clean and brand new!

Next step – photoshoot.

Land Rover Owner International – May 2021

We’ve been featured in Land Rover Owner International. Theo, editor, rang us up and had a chat with Ellie, about our beloved Land Rover and the competitions. After sending over visuals and some more information, we saw out feature on the website and absolutely love it.

“Series Land Rovers are sadly growing out of reach for an increasing number of us, as the costs of buying and restoring them are much higher than they used to be.ย Bridge Classic Carsย has adopted a novel approach to selling vehicles, and one that could allow competition entrants to snap up this 1964 Series IIA for only ยฃ9.50″

You can read the article here.

Jaguar XK8 Ready For Paint

Our 1997 Jaguar XK8 has been prepped for primer and paint. Matt has feathered out the block marks from the filler, sanded down the door and wing and removed any flaky paint.

The next step will be to apply filler primer, rub that down and then apply the final paint.

Amphicar’s Spillage

Our 1965 Amphicar has had a sudden issue with a carb fuel leak so we’ve taken it apart, cleaned it and rebuilt it, adding in some fresh sealant. We hope that it can now go for an MOT and then have its first water test.

MGB’s New Distributer

Our 1963 MGB GT is in need of a new distributer as the old one was broken and causing serious issues. We’ve ordered a new one (see below) which is ready to fit.

White Jaguar E-Type Inner Parts Painted

More inner components have been painted for the 1973 White jaguar E-Type Series 3 Roadster. Parts have been had air box primer applied and then painted silver. Other parts have been painted black.

Back To The Farm

Our 1996 Toyota Hilux has been finished and sent back to the farm for its owners to finish themselves. Our task was only to correct and replace the doors and side panels as this is set to mostly be a home restoration. Hilux’s are often a favoured agriculture vehicle thanks to their reliability and classic indestructibility.

Sound Deadening The Peony Jensen

Kath has been laying sound deadening in the Peony Red 1960 Jensen 541S which is starting to look more and more complete.

Kath began by covering the section of floor she was working on, with leather and then started to lay the sound deadening, being careful to check how each piece fitted and glue them securely in place. She then went over the sills and added the carpet under the rear seats and bound the ends. Then Kath started laying the carpet in the passenger footwell, around the side of the centre tunnel and bound the edges.

Sill Rebuilding

Pricey has been taking apart and rebuilding the lower rear sills, entire lower sill, rear inner sill and floor as all of it were showing series signs of corrosion as the structural integrity was challenged.

The process includes correcting previous fixes and a lifetime of rust and wear. Pricey has been fabricating new sections and welding them in so that the lower sills are ready to be repainted.

Pricey has been addressing the poor alignment issues and previous corrections. He has stripped parts back to good metal to be able to fabricate new parts.

New Ford Anglia In

We’ve just welcomed this quirky barn find 1959 Ford Anglia into the Bridge Classic Car family. It’s looking rather dusty at the moment however for a car that hasn’t been driven in years, it’s looking amazing. Many of the original details are still intact such as the interior which is pristine for a 62 year old car that has been used well throughout its life. The previous owner never liked over-restoring cars and instead preferred to leave his Ford as untouched as he could but kept up well enough to be frequently used.

We’ve got some body work and tidy ups to do with this vehicle before we can photograph it, but stay tuned to see where this Ford ends up….