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Goodwood Festival Of Speed 2018

July 28, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The highlight of the year for Bridge Classic Cars’ Pete; his annual trip to Goodwood for the Festival Of Speed. This year’s highlight…the guys camping

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1965 Jaguar E-Type service

July 27, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Today we see the return of our beautiful 1965 Series 1 Jaguar E-Type. She’s on wedding duties next week so we have a bit of

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Refit after paint

July 26, 2018

Our 1983 Mercedes 230E has returned from the paint shop having had the welded areas blended  back in. The loose components have also returned so

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Goodwood Festival Of Speed 2018

July 28, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The highlight of the year for Bridge Classic Cars’ Pete; his annual trip to Goodwood for the Festival Of Speed.

This year’s highlight…the guys camping next door brought their own gin bar!!!

Source: goodwood.com

Festival of Speed – The Silver Jubilee

The 2018 Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard theme celebrated the event’s 25th anniversary: “Festival of Speed – The Silver Jubilee”. The first Festival, in June 1993, redefined what a car event could be, and, in the years since, it has firmly established itself as the world’s greatest celebration of motorsport and car culture.

To mark the Silver Jubilee, the Duke of Richmond selected his 25 favourite moments from the first 25 events – personal highlights which, in very different ways, have been landmarks in the Festival’s history. These moments, and the cars and drivers which created them, were cornerstones of this year’s event, alongside the usual gathering of extraordinary vehicles from the dawn of motoring to the present day and beyond.

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1965 Jaguar E-Type service

July 27, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Today we see the return of our beautiful 1965 Series 1 Jaguar E-Type. She’s on wedding duties next week so we have a bit of work to do to get her ready.

Firstly we need to carry out a full service and to check over everything. We have reports of a slight over run when moderately warm. Finally, the rev counter has an intermittent fault.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21005,21004,21003,21002,21001,21000,20999,20998,20997,20996,20995,20994,20993,20992″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Our 1957 Jensen 541R is now en-route

July 27, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We have just received confirmation of our Jensen leaving the US for the UK and photographs of it being loaded up. ]

At this stage we do not have a due date but we are very excited for the arrival.

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Deciding on the new trim colours

July 26, 2018

The green piped in yellow will soon be disappearing from the interior of our 1971 Bedford, to be replaced with a classier looking brown vinyl.

Vinyl gives the same overall appearance of leather but at a fraction of the cost this can often be the preferred option.

Replacing the alternator on our 2008 Range Rover Sport

July 26, 2018

The battery light has come on on the Range Rover so it’s in our workshops having the alternator replaced.

It’s a fiddly job on the Range Rover with some reporting that it is a full ‘body off’ task. We’ve managed to gain access without having to carry out anything too dramatic.

Refit after paint

July 26, 2018

Our 1983 Mercedes 230E has returned from the paint shop having had the welded areas blended  back in. The loose components have also returned so we are now on the final stages of fitting up. The internal arches have been stone guarded too to help fight against the debris that comes off the roads during a drive. This will help also to prolong the life of the paintwork.

 

Building up the E-Type’s front end

July 26, 2018

The front end of our E-type is almost complete with the lights and surround now in position. The front grill surround just requires tightening and it’ll be ready to be fitted.

The Jensen 541S Fuel Tank

July 26, 2018

With the new flooring now in position we are now able to re-install the fuel tank to our 1960 Jensen 541S.

Fitting up the power steering

July 26, 2018

I won’t lie to you, fitting up the power steering hasn’t been ‘EZ’ (sorry, couldn’t resist), through no fault of anyone in particular but simply due to the fact that this may be the only Jensen 541S of it’s kind to have one in.

We called upon the assistance of EZ Electric Power Steering, the market leaders in the manufacturing of classic car power steering. Luckily they had experience in the Jensen 541S having produced one before but unfortunately it turns out that the one before happened to have a manual gearbox.

Upon arrival we quickly noticed that the new system built for us was not going to fit correctly so back to Holland it went, along with the old rack for a new system to be made.

Meanwhile, whilst some of us are hard at work…

July 26, 2018

Looks like the boys are enjoying the sunshine up in Scotland. Gordon has been joined by our good friends Shaun Harkness and Greg Lister for a spot of dinner and drinks.

Shaun has brought along his latest toy, a Triumph Bobber.

And we look forward to Greg taking on the 650 mile trip to visit us here in Suffolk on Sunday 26th August 2018 for Bridge Classic Cars Classic & Sports Car Show. Open to everyone feel free to come along too.

Stripping our Audi 100 Coupe

July 25, 2018

Our Audi 100 Coupe S is well on the way to be completely stripped.

We’ve hit the ground running with this project and have managed to strip all major components from the car within a couple of days.

We have uncovered a couple of areas of rot that will need attention during the welding process and I’m sure there will be more to come as we progress with the restoration.

For now, the running gear is off and currently being blasted and refurbished and more of the interior and exterior is being removed, wrapped and stored.

Mercedes 500SL – The very first clean

July 25, 2018

So before arriving to us here at Bridge Classic Cars our 1987 Mercedes 500SL had been stored for some time under a tree.

With her now up and running and all levels checked our first trip was to drop her off with Mike down at Shine Supply UK to give her a good clean and find out to what extent the restoration may or may not be.

Removing our Audi interior

July 24, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The strip down of our 1974 Audi 100 Coupe S is now in full swing. Andy has been set the task of removing our the interior today ready for the trimmer to take control.

At the minute, it has still not been decided on whether the colour change will be red with black interior or silver with red interior.

With the seats still to strip and the frame work to be refurbish we still have a little time until a decision needs to be made but for now, the work must commence as we have lots to do.

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Lada Riva running issues

July 23, 2018

In our workshops this week we have a 1987 Lada Riva with some running issues. The car looked and felt to be starving of fuel so we needed to look into what could have been the cause.

Firstly, the air filter is severely clogged up so a replacement air filter was ordered.

With the top removed we also noticed that the recently fitted carb had a perished gasket so whilst everything was out of the space we looked at rebuilding the carb with new gaskets.

She’s running much better but still has a flat spot when pulling away so more work is needed to diagnose the underlying problem.

The Bedford radiator is now refurbished

July 23, 2018

Our 1971 Bedford J Series truck arrived in with us in desperate need of a radiator overhaul. Thanks to the guys at Sheldrake & Wells in Ipswich the radiator is now fully refurbished, looking lovely, working as it should and now back on the car.

Repairing the loose runners on the TF seats

July 23, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We had an issue to resolve on our 1954 MGTF, the seat was permanently stuck in position and would not move forward or back.

Upon closer inspection the runners were actually loose but this gave the opposite affect when weight was on the seat. The runners had positioned themselves like skies, pointing in different directions so the seat was essentially seized.

Having removed the seats and securing the runners back into position we are now able to move freely forwards and back.

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Fitting up the new Capri brakes

July 23, 2018

The new brakes have arrived today for the Capri so we are one step closer to having her back on the road looking gorgeous.

 

Railton is suffering from a leaky sump

July 20, 2018

Just as we were ready to return this beauty back to her owner we discovered a slight weep from the sump. The gasket has deteriorated and needs replacing.

Mike from Railton Owner’s Club has one on the shelf which is on its way to us as we speak.

Fo now, she’ll stay put looking pretty.

Fitting up the Jensen interior

July 20, 2018

Just waiting on the door cards to be completed but we have made a really good start with the refit of the Jensen interior. We have had very little to do with the interior as it came to us look beautiful. A few minor alterations and a couple of areas needed some TLC but we mostly removed, preserved and refitted. The carpets are in now in position as are the rear seats.

We have made up a  new parcel shelf and cut in the speak holes.

 

Fitting a new cylinder head gasket

July 20, 2018

Source: Railton Owner’s Club

Always fit a new cylinder head gasket, and make sure all the holes line up properly. Smear a film of non-setting type gasket cement on both sides and carefully lower the gasket over the studs, taking care not to bend it. Lower the head over the studs and fit the nuts with plain washers, screwing them down finger tight.

The following procedures are to be used for tightening the nuts:

8 cylinder, plan of nuts:

1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28

2 5 8 11 14 17 20 23 26 29

3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30

(i) pull down the following nuts to 15lb.ft. torque in sequence:

14 11 8 5 2 17 20 23 26 29

(ii) Go back to 14 and pull down to 30lb.ft. torque sequence:

14 13 15 11 10 12 8 9 7 5

4 6 2 3 1 17 18 16 20 19

21 23 22 24 36 27 25 29 30 28

(iii) Pull down nuts tight to 45lb.ft. in the same order as (ii)

Refurbishing the brakes

July 19, 2018

We took a trip up the A14 to Bury St Edmunds today to see our friends at Past Parts as we look to see about getting our 1971 Bedford’s Master Cylinder, Servo and Brake Cylinders overhauled.

As we expected, it doesn’t seem to be a problem for the guys down at Past Parts, it’s what they do!

Past Parts specialise in the supply and re-manufacture of braking and clutch parts for a range of older vehicles including older and classic cars, classic motorcycles, commercial and agricultural vehicles, and industrial plant machinery. They recreate moving history with use of their own high quality sleeving technology, which successfully re-manufactures all types of hydraulic brake and sleeve cylinders up to 2-1/2″ bore, as well as brake servos and brake calipers.

 

Engine work on our 1935 Railton

July 19, 2018

The parts have now arrived in from Mike at the Railton Owner’s Club so Pete has gotten straight on to the task of refitting the head gasket and machined head.

The car is also in for a full service so a new service kit was also provided.

 

Removing our Bedford bed

July 18, 2018

We have successfully removed the bed or buck from our 1971 Bedford truck. We are looking to extend the chassis to the legal limit to gain any much needed floor space in the new kitchen area that will be built above.

The bed was removed relatively easily so we can now concentrate our efforts on tidying the chassis and inspecting for any further works that may be required.

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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