Suffolk eateries supporting the Classic Car groups

The Turks Head in Hasketon welcomed the stunning vehicles from the Colchester Classic Car Club for lunch recently.

Ufford Park Hotel welcomed the collection from the Soviet Auto Luxury Tours as they toured Suffolk last week.

“You don’t often hear the words luxury and Soviet in the same sentence but that is exactly what you get with the Soviet Auto Luxury Tour. Luxury is the four star hotel participants stay at and the Cold War period vehicles that attend provide the Soviet flavour.

In the spirit of détente our annual three day event (usually the first weekend of June) welcomes Cold War participants from both sides of the Iron Curtain but the mechanical superiority of Soviet engineering means East European vehicles dominate. Expect to see Lada, Trabant, Tatra, Skoda and many more marques representing superior Eastern Bloc engineering.

What is a SALT tour?

All SALT Tourists get a rally plaque for their vehicle.

We have fun in our Cold War era vehicles, touring scenic routes (NOT a race!), and visiting sites of Cold War interest. Every entrant gets a rally plate to affix to their vehicle and a comprehensive roadbook.

The roadbook includes comprehensive tulip maps to guide our Tourists through the best countryside our host region has to offer. Each year is different but our tours on Friday and Saturday usually start around 09.00 and can cover up to around 80 miles but we try to keep the distances down. Generally the outward trip will meander along B roads and byways whilst the return to HQ is usually more direct. We include lunch and coffee stops and the routebook lists refuelling sites en route. Sunday’s shorter run will often be under an hour to allow time for our visit and lunch.

Tourists are given a goodie back that will include the roadbook, a guide to the weekend with listings of all participants, a laminate with lanyard to you know who’s who. Past treats in the bag have included, mugs, commemorative calendars, magnetic plaques and more.”

New Arrival: 1971 Austin Healey Sprite

Collected locally this weekend we have our 1971 Austin Healey Sprite.

Previous owner Nigel bought this lovely little car in 1993 to restore for himself and family but like many a budding restorer his life and long hours working away stopped it ever progressing.

This little gem of a Sprite is requiring a full restoration but is surprisingly solid and has a great interior. It has been garage it’s entire life with Nigel.

It is a complete car with everything there but the engine has not been started for many years and may need a rebuild.

One great feature is the original HLY registration number that has a value in itself.

Check out our showroom if you are interested in taking on this fantastic restoration project.

Moving in to our new Bridge Classic Cars showroom

We are now starting to populate our brand new showroom with our fantastic collection of classic vehicles.

The floors have been mopped, the walls have been cleaned and we are ready to move in.

Just don’t expect a tea or coffee just yet because the kitchen has not been built!!!

Progess on our new showroom

Work is now well underway on the new home of our classic car showroom. The cars are starting to move in now but at present this is a slow exercise as we are waiting on the space being deep cleaned and prepared for when we fill it.

New electrics have been fitted with LED ceiling drops and wall mounted LED’s all round.

The industrial cleaners start work on the ceiling to floor brush down so all cars are being removed to make way for the cherry pickers to get to work.

One for the future: 1973 Wolseley Six

Visiting our workshops today we have a wonderful little 1973 Wolseley Six in need of some TLC inside.

The carpets need to be replaced throughout, the seats require recovering, the dash recovered and some parts of the wood needs attention.

Coming Soon: 1991 BMW 318i E30 Cabriolet

Coming soon, we will have available our 1991 BMW 318i E30 convertible.

A limited edition, believed with be one of only two hundred built in Neon Blue and only twenty of them being an automatic. Makes this classic quite a rare car.

The current owner has owned the car for over 20 years with it only being used on bright and sunny days. On the dark and rainy days the car has been dry stored and away from the elements.

We hope to have the car with us within the next two weeks where we will prepare and be able to offer more photographs and information.

In the meantime, if you have any questions or to book a future appointment. Finance can be arranged by a third party. Office hours are Monday to Friday (Saturdays and Sundays can be arranged) 8am to 5pm. To arrange a viewing please call Craig on 01473 742038 or email info@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk

Lieke – Angels Inc – BGT

Recently seen on this year’s Britain’s Got Talant, these 5 classy, trendy, power women are full of fierceness and Magic.

They started their career by winning the battle on the Dutch TV show ‘Circus Gerschtanowitz’.

After that they performed at the TV show ‘Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde’ in France, ‘The Winter Trial’ in Austria, ‘Masters of Magic’ in Italy and many more.

Here’s Lieke from the group, travelling the world and capturing a few classics on her travels…

Visiting our workshops this week: Morgan, Volvo and Bentley

Outside our Woodbridge workshops last week we had a couple of absolute beauties.

First up, we have the 2014 Morgan Plus Four. The sun was out and we saw this stunner visiting our neighbours at Suffolk Plant Centre.

We also welcomed the gorgeous 1966 Volvo Amazon 132 to our workshops. The car has been beautifully maintained throughout it’s life. Owned by the one family for over 20 years. Previously, the bumpers have been re-chromed, engine converted to unleaded, electric fan, re-conditioned carburettors, uprated springs and Belstein shocks, new rubber mats, leather seats with adjustable head rests and door cards, retro radio, new rear suspension arms and bushes, twin rear exhaust and heated rear screen.

The car visited today along with our 1957 MGA which is in for a respray.  

Lastly we have our Bentley Brooklands, visiting to discuss possible paint work. The customer also owns a classic DAF which is in need of a full renovation.

4 New Arrivals: Jaguar XJ6, Daimler XJ6, Jaguar XJR Supercharged, MGRV8

New in to the Bridge Classic Cars showroom this week we have four wonderful British classics. Firstly we have our truly stunning, award winning 1990 Jaguar XJ6.

We also have our 1989 Daimler XJ6.

Next up, we have our 1998 Jaguar XJR Supercharged.

And finally, the very rare, British model, RHD, head turner that is the 1994 MG R V8.

Full information and new photographs will follow shortly but if you can’t wait til then and you’d like more information please call the office on 01473 742038 or drop us an email.