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Hayley at F1 Silverstone

July 9, 2018

Our good friend Hayley (owner of Halo Entertainment) enjoying the sunshine and celebrations at this year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone. You may recognise Hayley

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Reprogramming the SAM unit

July 6, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Sam unit in these Smart cars is not just a fuse box but the central control unit for all the cars electrical systems. When

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1987 Mercedes 500SL

July 4, 2018

Our newest addition is our fantastic 1987 Mercedes 500SL, this one is ours and this one is a keeper. She has been sitting locally for

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Stripping the MGB

July 3, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Work has commenced on our 1975 MG B restoration. The images are not very clear but we have photographed lots of the areas prior to

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1925 Riley Redwing

June 28, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Introduced in 1922, Riley’s ‘Redwing’ series was aimed squarely at the sporting motorist. With its distinctive polished aluminium coachwork (in either two- or four-seater

Read More »

Waiting for the new tyres

June 28, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]All mechanical aspects of our 1929 Hillman Fourteen recommissioning project are now complete. All levels have been monitored. Before we can let her back out

Read More »

More Jensen parts to chrome

June 27, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A couple of extra parts to get re-chromed, an over-rider, brackets and oil filler cap. A few weeks time we’ll have these back and ready

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Sourcing a new head gasket

July 8, 2018

Don’t be fooled by the Maserati coaster, this is not a clue as to where to find a Railton head gasket!!

In actual fact it was much simpler than first thought. Mike has been absolutely brilliant at Railton Owner’s Club. A brand new head gasket is on its way as is all of the servicing components required to get our 1935 Railton back on the road.

1935 Railton Running Issues

July 7, 2018

In our workshops today we have a beautiful 1935 Railton.

Source: Wikipedia

History
The company was started by Noel Macklin who was looking for a new car making venture after he sold his Invicta company in 1933. The name came from Reid Railton, the world speed record car designer, but his input was probably small although he did receive a royalty on each car sold.

1933 – Railton Terraplane
The first car was made by fitting a British body made by coachbuilder John Charles Ranalah to a 4010 cc, 100 bhp, 8-cylinder Hudson Terraplane chassis. Described as a pre-war Shelby Cobra, the resulting machine was at first available as a two-door tourer. Being lighter than the original, it had for the time exceptional performance, with a 0–60 mph time of 13 seconds.[2] A saloon-bodied version was soon added to the range, and the cars were priced at £499.

1935 – Railton 8

In 1935 the original Terraplane chassis was replaced by the one from the Hudson Eight, the engine grew to 4168 cc producing 113 bhp,[3] and a wider range of bodies from several coachbuilders were on offer from at least seven different vehicle coachbuilders including; Ranalah, R.E.A.L, Carbodies and Coachcraft Ltd. Two special lightweight models were made in 1935 and, with a 0–60 time of 8.8 seconds, were claimed to be the fastest production cars in the world. Altogether 1379 of the Railton 8s were made.[2]

1937 – Railton Cobham

A smaller six-cylinder car, the 16.9 was added in 1937 using a 2723 cc Hudson 6-cylinder engine and chassis, but only 81 [2] were made in saloon or drophead coupé form and priced at £399.

1938 – Railton 8

An even smaller Railton, the 10 hp, joined the range in 1938 built on a Standard Flying Nine chassis and with either saloon or drophead coupé bodywork was claimed to be “A famous name in miniature”. 51 were made selling at £299.[2] In 1938 Motor Sport tested a 28.8 h.p. Railton Cobham saloon, FPH 970, offered for sale at £698.[4]

1939 – Demise

Noel Macklin turned his attention to powerboats in 1939, and he sold the company to Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, who transferred production to their Brentford, London works. However, the outbreak of war in 1939 stopped production.

After World War II a few cars were completed using pre-war parts, and a new model was built and shown at the 1949 London Motor Show. However, at nearly £5000 the car was incredibly expensive, and it never went into production.

She has some running issues that we need to address. From first impressions the head gasket looks to be but as we delve further into the engine we may discover more of the cause. Pete has got to work removing the head, gasket and block to establish the cause of the problem.

Whilst in our workshops we will look to fully service the car and hope to get her back on the road whilst the sun is still shining.

We’ve enlisted the help of Mike from the Railton Owner’s Club who has been a fantastic contact to source parts and hopefully help set the engine back up.

 

Congratulations to The Turks Head

July 6, 2018

Massive congratulations to our good friends at The Turks Head as Mauli has been shortlisted once again in the final 5 for Best Chef at the Great British Pub Awards

Source: The Turks Head
Our fabulous Head Chef, Mauli comes to the Turks Head with an award winning global profile. His training in his native India was in classic French cooking. He started his career under the guidance of Antonio Carluccio, becoming part of a team gaining accolades as one of the Top Ten Italian restaurants in India.

Following a move to England in the early 2000’s his career lead him to different areas of the country, gaining local knowledge and understanding of the abundance of seasonal produce in the UK. During this time, which also included a stint at the famed Old Bridge at Huntingdon, he was able to progress through the kitchen ranks to Sous Chef at the Inn at Woburn, under a former Head Chef for HM the Queen.

His most recent position was as Head Chef at the Black Lion in the ever beautiful Long Melford, gaining a well earned reputation for fantastic locally sourced dishes. This has been the perfect opportunity to immerse himself in the Suffolk countryside and the amazing local game in particular. His menus at The Turks Head will reflect his fabulous career and use the finest local ingredients.

Reprogramming the SAM unit

July 6, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Sam unit in these Smart cars is not just a fuse box but the central control unit for all the cars electrical systems. When these units fail it can be a very costly repair. Usually your only solution is to take your car to Mercedes and get them to supply and fit a new Sam unit, they then perform all the relevant coding to it to make it work. 4Smart can repair / refurbish Sam units and offer a replacement service at a fraction of the cost of a new unit.

Sam faults are normally due to the ingress of water into the electronics, a common fault on roadsters. To start with the SAM will usually only partially fail. Maybe your hazard lights, heater or electric windows will become intermittent or stop working completely. if you act quickly at the first signs of failure a repair is usually possible.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”20364,20365,20366,20360″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Whilst in the workshops we have upgraded the lights to LED. The main beams have been done and one of the running lights has been changed.

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Our naked MG B

July 6, 2018

Our 1975 MG B is now fully stripped bare and ready for the body shell issues to be addressed.

Welding work on the Mercedes 230E

July 5, 2018

The welding work continues on our 1983 Mercedes 230E as we get her ready for the re-spray. The rotten areas have now been removed from the rear arches, both inner and outer. The sills have been replaced, the front has been completely stripped so they can be painted separately. A new front cross member has also been fitted and prepared.

Running up the E-Type engine after rebuild

July 5, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are now ready to take delivery of our 1969 Jaguar E-Type engine from the guys at Scholar Engineering.

The engine arrived to us from the US as box of bits so the task at hand was to build the engine from the ground up.

The majority of the parts were included with very few needing to be sourced.

The engine is now complete and has been tested.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z_-blVbHkk” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Stripping the MGB Roadster

July 5, 2018

More images from the strip down of our 1975 MG B Roadster. As we say time and time again, it is very important to take lots of pictures which carrying out a restoration. What might seem simple to remember may not be so simple when you come to refit.

 

1987 Mercedes 500SL

July 4, 2018

Our newest addition is our fantastic 1987 Mercedes 500SL, this one is ours and this one is a keeper.

She has been sitting locally for some time and after a gentle poke we managed to get her fired up and able to drive her back to our new Woodbridge workshops.

First stop is with Mike at Shine Supply UK to have a full and thorough detail. After that we can look at the options on this one and see what work she will require.

Stripping the MGB

July 3, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Work has commenced on our 1975 MG B restoration.

The images are not very clear but we have photographed lots of the areas prior to dismantling so we have a good point of reference for when it is time to rebuild. This exercise is very important when carrying out a full restoration because it will be some time until the refit starts and what you feel you might remember now may not be the case later down the line.

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Mercedes rust gets the Tommy treatment

July 2, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Tommy has had a good, solid two days of welding on the Mercedes 230E, tackling the corrosion and affected areas.

All of the rot has been cut away, metalwork is now being re-fabricated back into the body before being treated. We estimate another couple of days on the bodywork before we let her loose with our paint guys to make her pretty once again.

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Coming Soon: For Sale: 1972 MG BGT

July 2, 2018

Arriving to Bridge Classic Cars in mid-August we have a lovely 1972 MG B GT available for sale.

Having recently purchased a Morris Minor the current owners of our MG are happy for her to go to a new home where she will be used and enjoyed.

A full description and plenty more images will follow shortly after the arrival.

 

Getting ready for the new arches

July 1, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s been a long time coming and this date has been in our diary for many months. Our 1983 Mercedes 230E is now in our workshops ready to have the first sign of corrosion addressed and the new arches secured into position.

Monday morning we will get on it right away as we have a fair bit of welding to undertake before we look to get the bodywork into paint preparation.

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Fitting up the E-Type pipework

June 28, 2018

Week 1 in our new Pettistree workshops and no slowing down for us as we continue to make good progress on our current projects.

Dave has been busy fitting up the new pipework and hoses to the engine bay of our 1971 Jaguar E-Type as we look to finish off the engine ready for the bonnet to be refitted.

With the bonnet taking up almost half of the entire car, when fitted, this will completely transform the look of the car and is always a sign of just how close we are to completion.

1925 Riley Redwing

June 28, 2018

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Introduced in 1922, Riley’s ‘Redwing’ series was aimed squarely at the sporting motorist.

With its distinctive polished aluminium coachwork (in either two- or four-seater form). Cardinal red wings, chassis, wheels and upholstery.

The Redwing (or Red Winger) was one of the most desirable light cars of its period.

The 1,496cc 10.8hp side valve engine had an aluminium crankcase with a detachable cast iron block and detachable head with a three-bearing crank.

This was mated to a four-speed non-synchro gearbox in a cast aluminium housing which transferred power to the spiral bevel drive rear axle via an open nickel chrome tubular steel propshaft.

Suspension was by semi-elliptic springs all round with Hertford friction dampers, attached to a shortened 9ft version of the excellent Riley touring chassis.

Steering was of the worm and full wheel pattern with front brakes only, although from 1925 four-wheel brakes were offered along with Marles-type steering. Wire wheels were standard, shod with 710 x 90 cord tyres.

Guaranteed to be capable of 70mph at 3,500rpm on level ground, the Redwing could safely rev to 4,200rpm so up to 90mph was attainable, especially downhill or with a following wind.

A born competition car, the Redwing became a favourite at MCC trials events and also did well at Brooklands with Victor Gillow winning the Light Car Handicap in 1924 at 77.5mph and achieving 81.63mph at the August Bank Holiday Meeting in the same year.

RW 4326 (Redwing) was registered on the 14/09/1925.

Going back as far as we can, this gorgeous rare car was owned by David Givertz of Leyton in 1946, Harold Moran of Richmond also in 1946, Robert West of Harwell near Didcot in 1948 and then into the family that owned her till now which was my friend Peters father, Douglas (Brian) Smith of Wantage. Douglas who was better known as Brian to all who knew him sadly died and it passed to his son Peter in 2006. Due to other family commitments we were recently lucky enough to acquire her.

Brian loved the car and it shows. His ethos was originality. Not over restored as you will see by the pictures.

The dilemma is that even in the second buff log book the aluminium body and wings were hand painted blue and Brian himself freshened up the paint in the same colour.

Here at Bridge we think that although everything else is definitely redwing, the body itself should be stripped and polished to match the bonnet and the wings repainted in its original cardinal red.

“We will see”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”20154,20155,20160,20161,20156,20159,20162,20163,20157,20165,20166,20167,20146,20150,20151,20152,20153,20164,20168,20169,20148,20149,20158,20140,20141,20142,20143,20144,20145,20147″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Waiting for the new tyres

June 28, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]All mechanical aspects of our 1929 Hillman Fourteen recommissioning project are now complete. All levels have been monitored. Before we can let her back out on the roads we’ve called upon our friends at Vintage Tyres for a new set of front tyres.

Graeme will soon be here from We Fit Any Tyres to fit them up and after one final test drive we can give her the all clear.

Here is our 1929 Hillman standing outside our new Woodbridge workshops in the sunshine waiting for the new tyres to arrive.

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Commissioning a new set of door handle gaskets

June 27, 2018

A big thank you to the guys at GP Products in West Sussex for producing a brand new set of Jaguar XJR door handle gaskets for us. Amazingly, these gaskets are almost impossible to find as spares (like a lot of spares for the XJR) so our only option was to commission a new set using a bespoke template.

Source: GP Products

Softcut

Our production plants produce ‘soft-cut’ gaskets from every conceivable type of flexible gasket material. Utilising the most modern methods of production we are able to supply special one-off and short run work on a variety of presses, including conventional hydraulic presses, CNC operated Milling cutters, Laser-Jet, Water-Jet cutting machines and just as importantly, from our hand-fabrication department. Using automatic presses, we also produce parts in multi-millions from all types of tooling. These parts can include simple washers for plumbing installation or insulators used in electrical switches. Larger components produced in bulk tend to go to industries such as Automotive or Domestic Appliance, where demands for today’s laboursaving devices are forever increasing. Soft-cut is a general term for gaskets produced in any material that is flexible – ranging from inexpensive gasket papers, through to Corks, Rubbers, Fibre based materials, Felts, Foams, Plastics etc., – all of the materials in our stock range are converted. Production is not limited to straightforward flat cut parts, we can also form parts into shapes. Material such as Leather is still used to produce cup washers for valves for instance and electrical insulation materials are often produced with bends and creases to give a continuous electrical resistant barrier inside many pieces of equipment.

Spiralwound

Spiral Wound gaskets are supplied world-wide to reliably seal flanges which are subject to arduous pressure and temperature conditions. This type of gasket is able to accommodate pressures from high vacuum to over 700 bar (10000 psi) and seal at temperatures from cryogenic to 1650°C. They are available in all metals and fillers, either to International standards, (ANSI B16.5, BS1560, BS10, BS4504,MSS SP44, DIN and AP1605) or custom made to individual sizes.

Flange

Tooling to produce pipe-flange gaskets for every conceivable table including BST, ANSI, JIS and ASA is used to make flat gaskets for industries including Petrochemical, Water, Gas and Sewage! With standard sized gaskets certain series are kept on the shelf for ex-stock deliveries, although many of our products are in stock materials that can be produced immediately for dispatch, often on the same day!

Metalic

Corrugated gaskets: Corrugated gaskets are ideal for irregular shapes and low pressure applications. They are available in a wide range of thin sheet materials. The gaskets can be faced with many different sealing materials such as PTFE, Non-Asbestos, Graphite, Rubber etc, to enhance their performance. Laminated with mineral boards and encased in a PTFE envelope they provide the standard sealing system for glass lined vessel flanges.

Metal clad gaskets: Metal clad gaskets can be manufactured in any specified combination of metal and filler material. Complex shapes are no problem. Heat Exchanger gaskets can be made in a one-piece construction or with welded-in pass bars to suit the application. Various different styles of gasket are available, the metal cladding around the softer core giving great strength and versatility to the gasket. With Rubber, Woven Ceramic, Non-Asbestos millboard, PTFE and Graphite available as fillers inside outer cladding made from Soft Iron, Soft Steel, Copper, Monel, Brass, Stainless Steel, Chrome Aluminium, Incoloy, Titanium, Inconel or Nickel a huge selection of sealing conditions can be met.

Solid metal gaskets: All types of solid and expanded metal gasket materials are used to produce items from simple flat washers and shims to specialised lens rings and grooved profiles. These can also be supplied with flexible sealing materials bonded or vulcanised to the surface where required to give more sealable surfaces (especially useful on damaged flange faces). Special expanded rubber faced metals are produced (mostly for automotive applications) that exhibit high sealing properties at extended temperatures. These materials are particularly suited to high temperature operating conditions where parts need to meet exacting tolerances and guaranteed working lives.

Metal reinforced gaskets: Various materials and configurations are utilised to manufacture flat gaskets used for many different applications. Using reinforcement layers made from wire strand, thin sheet, tanged (metal sheet pierced with a special hole design and configuration) and expanded metals the British Gaskets Group manufacture gaskets using material bases from Non-Asbestos to Graphite and Mica.

Removing our Stag’s Engine

June 27, 2018

We love to see our classic cars return to the workshops but we’d always prefer to see them for their annual service and maintenance schedules. Unfortunately on this occasion we welcome back our 1978 Triumph Stag, one of the amazing collection from Big Sky Classic Car Hire with a potentially big issue. Having been out on a recent rental the car developed a smoking and over heating issue.

We have managed to look over the engine with it still in situ and discovered some hoses being perished. There are also signs that these perished hoses may then have gone on to develop a larger issue of essentially ‘cooking’ the engine.

To truly diagnose the problem and hopefully rectify we have decided to remove the engine from the car and it looks to be a possible engine rebuild.

We will know more once the engine is out and we have full access to it.

As you may well know, the Triumph Stag engine is notoriously difficult to remove but with a little elbow grease and hard work we have managed to successfully remove ready for diagnosis.

1971 Bedford J Type work will soon commence

June 27, 2018

A late finish tonight at Bridge HQ as we finally met the owner f this wonderful Bedford J Type.

Since being here in Pettistree we have stirred up a huge amount of interest with the truck without actually undertaking any serious work.

Having a good look over the truck we had a good idea of the necessary tasks that would have to be carried out (refurbishing the radiator, over-hauling the brakes) but we needed to get a better understanding of the final objectives and now we have that information we have a good foundation to start the process.

At this stage, we will not divulge the final intentions for the truck but let’s just say we are all very excited to be able to have a big part in bringing her back to life.

…and no, she’s not for sale!!!!! haha

More Jensen parts to chrome

June 27, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A couple of extra parts to get re-chromed, an over-rider, brackets and oil filler cap. A few weeks time we’ll have these back and ready to be fitted.

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Jensen 541S: fitting up the new power steering

June 26, 2018

We are currently in the process of fitting up power steering to our 1960 Jensen 541S. Obviously not an original install when rolled out of the factory in 1960 but an excellent addition to the restoration.

EZ Power Steering specialise in power steering for classic vehicles. Their main offices are in Holland where they manufacture the items but they have represntation here in the UK in

An EZ Electric Power Steering system is completely hidden underneath the dashboard. The existing steering rack or box remains unchanged and thus retains the standard steering ratio and setup. The amount of assistance is fully adjustable and is sensitive to speed and load. They use CNC laser cut bespoke brackets designed to fit the original mounting points of your car. As no holes are drilled, with no cutting or welding to the chassis or body, the car can always be converted back to its original steering column. Under the bonnet there are no changes, everything remains as original. The advantages of an electrical system opposed to a hydraulic system are numerous. The electric motor only uses power when steering assistance is necessary whilst a hydraulic pump is continuously operating when the engine is running. A hydraulic setup generally uses around 4 bhp and therefore consumes extra fuel, even when driving straight ahead.

Because the electric power steering system is truly speed sensitive, it will steer light at low speeds and not become lighter at high speed. The amount of assistance can be selected by turning a potentiometer, so that the driver can select the desired feel (i.e. more assistance with wider tires and/or a smaller sports steering wheel’. With a classic hydraulic system there is usually little feel and no possibility to adjust this at all.

In the unlikely event that the electric power steering system has a defect, the car would steer exactly like it did prior to power steering conversion. If a car fitted with an hydraulic system would have a fault the car would steer extremely heavy.

The EZ Electric Power Steering works without making a sound. It can not leak and is completely maintenance-free.

EZ Power Steering are no strangers to the Jensen 541S but ours happens to be a unique one. Unbeknown to everyone, when the new power steering system arrived is wouldn’t fit eaxctly where it needed to which left both us and them a little confused.

It turns out that the automatic transmission makes a difference to the install and only having experienced a manual Jensen they are having to rebuild the system. This means the old column and new column have been returned to Holland and we await its arrival.

 

© Bridge Classic Cars Holdings Ltd, T/ as Bridge Classic Cars. Registered in England and Wales with company number 5047706.