News

Shine Supply UK Video of our Maserati Merak

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A huge thank you to Mike at Shine Supply UK for producing this fantastic video from our 1975 Maserati Merak photoshoot at Butley Priory. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video

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The London Classic Car Show 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]On Saturday morning whilst at home looking after the youngest member of the Bridge family, 10 month old Loick, Craig received a text from his cousin Claire…

‘Are you at classic car show in excel?’

Unfortunately we were not in attendance this year but good job cousin Claire was as she took some fantastic photos…so here they are…plus she can’t sue us for using them because she’s family!!

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17845,17846,17847,17848,17849,17850,17851,17852,17853,17854,17855,17856,17857,17858,17859,17860,17861,17862,17863,17864,17865,17866″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

1937 International and 1957 Ford F100 coming soon

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are very pleased to have secured the restoration of a very rare 1937 International and a Ford F100.

Both projects have been stored for a number of years right here in Suffolk, without any works being carried out. Once in our workshops we will assess what actions need to be taken and we’ll put together a project plan.

Due in next week to Bridge Classic Cars.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”18179,18180,18181,18182,18183,18184″ title=”1937 International”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”18185,18186,18187,18188,18189,18190,18191″ title=”Ford F100″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Coming Soon – 1969 Jaguar E-Type Roadster Series 2

From our good friends at Jagsworld, our newest addition will soon be leaving Phoenix, Arizona for the 6 week trip over to our workshops here in Suffolk for a full restoration.

A matching number 1969 Jaguar E-Type Series 2 Roadster.

1971 Mini Sports Pack Fitting Complete

Asa has now completed the task off fitting up the new sports pack and larger 13″ wheels to our 1971 Mini convertible.

Our customer Allan is now looking to complete the rest of the project himself, due for completion May 2018.

Shine Supply UK Video of our Maserati Merak

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A huge thank you to Mike at Shine Supply UK for producing this fantastic video from our 1975 Maserati Merak photoshoot at Butley Priory.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7335OFgzhjY”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]And then we have a full walk round of the car on location.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zubwYW_Ek0″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Taking the Bentley for a drive

We took a trip down Faversham with the Bentley in tow so whilst the sun’s out we thought it’s only right to take her out for a little photo opportunity.

Behind The Scenes at Butley Priory’s Maserati Photo-Shoot

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]First stop of the day was to collect the car from Mike down at Shine Supply UK. It has been with him for a couple of days now getting polished and detailed in preparation for the final photo-shoot.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17790,17791,17792,17793,17794,17795,17796,17797,17798″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The location for one of our most eagerly anticipated shoots is the beautiful setting of Butley Priory near Woodbridge, Suffolk.

We were originally introduced to Frances and Emma from Butley Priory by Sophie at Word In Woodbridge.

And we are so glad we were as the setting is truly stunning.

In addition to renting the house as a holiday getaway, Butley Priory also provides venue hire for a whole range of events and occasions. The house is an inspirational location for Yoga, Pilates and Beauty retreats, having hosted many already! The Great Hall offers a fantastic space for art/music/training courses, business meetings, poetry or song writing ‘lock ins’, birthday parties, corporate events and dinners, as well as wakes and christenings.

And of course the house is also available to rent for photographic shoots and filming, just email or call us on 01394 450 046 them for a quote.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day, especially when the weather was so poor yesterday we feared the worst but we needn’t have worried.

A huge thank you, as always to Jason from Sugar & Spice Photography, we can’t wait to see the real photos! But for now, here’s some Craig made earlier…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”17799,17800,17801,17802,17803,17804,17805,17806,17807,17808″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Cleaning up the XJR heatshield

Rather than replacing original parts unnecessarily we have spent some time cleaning up the original heat shield and refitted. It now looks as good as new.

1949 Bentley Special Mk VI in our workshops

Our Bentley Special is currently in our workshops have a clean over due to the recent works. As we haven’t many pictures of her inside our workshops now was the perfect opportunity to take a few.

Returning for paintwork

Back at the end of last year we had our 1968 Jaguar E-Type Series 1.5 in the workshops to inspect a brake binding issue. She’s now returned to have some touch up work carried out to the exterior paintwork.

The rear end will be painted and the engine bay around the bulkhead will be tidied.

 

Fitting up the bespoke leather steering wheel cover.

With the existing Bentley steering wheel being just that little bit too big to comfortably fit your legs in we decided to re-manufacture a 15″ steering wheel. Trickier than it sounds when we are having to use the original bezel.

With the steering wheel complete and in position we then had the tough task of finding a cover. Having searched the internet high and low for a 100% genuine leather steering wheel cover we were losing hope as we were unable to find something that fitted the look and style of our Bentley.

We then stumbled across KR Classics, specialists in the finest leather steering wheel covers and they were able to help.

So Asa has been busy this morning hand stitching the cover to close up around the wheel.

Building up the XJR Axle

We are now on the final stages of building up the axle of our 1996 Jaguar XJR Supercharged. It has taken us a little longer than expected due to parts coming in from Jaguar but now we have them Pete has been able to crack on with the project.

We are hoping within the next few days we’ll have the car back in and fitted up ready for body preparation and paint.

Repairing sections of our 1971 Ford Capri

Lots of areas of our 1971 Ford Capri have suffered from corrosion so Trevor and the team are working hard to fabricate some of the components required to correct the areas worst affected.

Diagnosing the Willys running issues

Having stripped our 1944 Ford GPW Willys head Peter has discovered a valve that is stuck open.

Parts have been ordered in from Sweden and once they arrive we can start working on getting her back on the road.

Fitting up the sills and bonnet

The bonnet has been primed and ready for the final paint.

All panels now prepped and painted John and Tommy have been fitting up the sills and bonnet ready for transportation back to the Bridge HQ.

We are now on to the final phase which is the full fit up before we can officially sign off the car and let her go back to her owner ready for the summer shows.

Call the Midwife, Rock and Chips, Only Fools and Horses, Sixty Six, Endeavour, Father Brown, The Hour

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]One of our good friends Hugh Cormack from Buckie in Bonny Scotland has just landed himself an absolute gem.

A Mk8 Hillman Minx deluxe.

Not just any old Hillman Minx but a TV start to boot.

“Call the Midwife” Christmas special 2014 and several other episodes “Rock and Chips” the Prequel to Only Fools and Horses The film, “Sixty Six” as a back ground car “Endeavour” TV series “Father Brown” latest series “The Hour” a BBC series about the fifties The film, “Once upon a time in London” released in 2018. The car was used in a post office hold up.

The car now is destined for many shows in the beautiful Morayshire countryside. And Hugh is always available for Autographs.

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Jaguar E-Type Roadster Colour Sampling

Off to China our samples go as we work alongside our 1971 Jaguar E-Type Roadster’s customer in decided the final colours for the hood, leather and vinyl.

It’s off to chrome we go…

The majority of our chroming work has already been carried out by Tony and the guys at Wyatt Polishing in Thetford but having found a couple of extras on both the Jensen 541S and Jaguar V12 E-Type it’s another trip over to get these started.

1971 Mini Wheel Arch Improvements

The doors were open all weekend at Bridge Classic Cars as Asa started work on fitting up the sports-pack wheel arch kit to our 1971 Mini.

He made fantastic progress on the fit and managed to complete the task over the weekend. The arches are now in our paint shop and we should be expecting them back some time very soon.

1971 Mini

 

Repairing our Jensen bonnet for paint

All repair and preparation work has now been completed on our 1960 Jensen 541S bonnet. Next step will be to spray the bonnet in pearl grey to match the bodywork before returning it back to our workshops for re-fit.

Repairing the Jensen’s fuel tank

Having blasted the exterior of our 1960 Jensen fuel tank ready for paint it revealed a couple of tiny pin holes that go unnoticed to the eye but a pressure test reveals that something is not quite right. These holes need correcting prior to paint.

We have called upon the skills of our colleagues at Sheldrake & Wells, Ipswich to repair the original tank. A brand new tank is available but for a slightly lesser price we can strip and completely overhaul the existing fuel tank. The treatment required is very specialist and needs to be carried out by a company who knows how to complete the works properly because once repaired and coated both internally and externally this treatment will come with a long guarantee.

It may be easier to purchase a new tank but more often than not it’s best to keep original.

We are expecting to see the tank returned to us in 2 weeks time so I will update you with more pictures of it looking shiny and new.

Removing the seats for refurbishing

We’ve removed the front and rear seats in preparation for the colour feed treatment.

The seats will be cleaned up and carefully fed with new colour before being imprinted with the leather pattern. This process is a fantastic way to freshen up the look of the interior without having to strip and re-cover.

Behind the scenes of our 1980 MG Midget photoshoot

We picked a great day for our first indoor photo shoot (forgetting our 4am 1966 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 shoot as that was done in our workshops), it was pretty nippy but at least it was dry.

Our shoot took place early morning inside the newly built barn within the Suffolk Plant Centre complex in Pettistree.

William allowed us access into his building whilst it was empty so we had lots of space to play around to get some great shots.

As always, the main images will soon be arriving from Jason at Sugar and Spice Photography but for now I (Craig) took some ‘behind the scenes’ images for you to see.

Building up the Jensen 541S dashboard

John’s continuing to progress very well on ‘Project Prototype’ as he fits up the Jensen 541S dashboard. The top has now been re-covered, the newly refurbished dials are now back in to position and the interior mirror is securely fitted up.