Our completely rebuilt Jaguar E-Type V12 engine has now arrived back from Rushton Engineering. The body will soon arrive back from our paint shop ready
Progress has been further made on our 1976 Maserati Merak engine bay. The plumbing in of the brakes is now complete, the water pipes and
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It has been a long time away but time very much well spent. Our 1965 Jaguar E-Type 2+2 has finally returned to the Bridge Classic
As part of the restoration of our 1984 Mercedes W123 300TD, we have two full sets of Mercedes Mexican Tophat alloy wheels to refurbish. A
All of the work is now complete on our 1978 Aston Martin AMV8. Here she is this morning looking lovely and clean waiting for owner
Tommy has now completed tacking the new rear arches to the chassis. The next stage will be to complete the welding work on the rear
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are now into the priming stages of our 1984 Mercedes W123 300 TD. The front arches have been temporarily fitted up and all lines
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Popped in to see the Ady and the guys at Scholar this afternoon to catch up on a few tasks we are working together on.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you visited The London Classic Car Show at the Excel in London a few weeks back you may have seen our beautiful engine on display.
Here we are on the final stages of our 1965 Jaguar E-Type respray. A little longer than we hoped and expected but we are delighted
Here we have the window frames from a 1960’s designed classic yacht The Twister. The Twister was designed by internationally renowned naval architect Kim Holman who was
Sources: Peter from twister.org.uk and Suffolk Yacht Harbour and Classic Boat The Original Twister Conceived by ‘Kim’ Holman in 1963 the original Twister of Mersea was designed
We are so close now to being able to remove the shell once again and paint the chassis. Tommy is very happy with the new steps,
We are now busy preparing the bodywork on our 1984 Mercedes W123 300 TD. As the car spent many years in the states the hot
We had a successful day yesterday working through our list. With the majority of the smaller tasks complete, today we tackled the possible oil leak
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Work is now complete on the full restoration of our 1968 MGBGT. She’s come a long way with us but now looking incredible! After the
Our 1967 Jaguar E-Type road race car will be fitted with a Rover SD1 5 speed gearbox. The gearbox has been stripped, cleaned and repaired.
It’s Monday morning and the first job for the team is to discuss the work for the week ahead. With a workshop full of projects,
…what more could you ask for? Source: Instagram @devinbrugman Meet Devin Brugman, co creator of @ABikiniADay & @MondaySwimwear, she’s an entrepreneur, blogger and designer with over 1.3 million
Due to our workloads, we have not been able to give our 1982 Triumph TR7 our undivided attention recently but that’s now changed as Craig
This morning we took delivery of our beautiful 1978 Aston Martin AMV8. And, of course, as you’d expect the heaven’s decide to open up just as Chris
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]More pictures from today as we continue to remove the external components of our 1984 Mercedes 300TD estate. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10379,10380,10381,10382,10383,10384,10385″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Coming in to Bridge Classic Cars next week is a 1978 Aston Martin AMV8 Mk 4 saloon. Having recently undergone a full gearbox rebuild the
This afternoon, Craig took a trip over to Essex to have a little catch up and a coffee with Lawrence at Motts Body Repair. A
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Here we have our 1967 Jaguar E-Type having been put through the first stages of primer. The first primer stage gives us a good visual to
The triple carbs are now completely refurbished and awaiting completion of the restoration of the manifold to allow the final fitting to the engine.
We’ve started to strip our 1984 Mercedes 300TD today. The front end is our main concern so this is the first sections to be removed,
Today we bid farewell to our 1966 Austin Gipsy as she makes her way over to start a new life in Belgium. Guy, the new
We’ve been debating over the issue of whether to polish and re-chrome the dash of our 1949 MGYT. There was no question on whether to
With the chassis rebuild progressing very well it is time for us to temporarily refit the body to ensure all alignments are accurate. Whilst the
Our completely rebuilt Jaguar E-Type V12 engine has now arrived back from Rushton Engineering.
The body will soon arrive back from our paint shop ready for the full concours rebuild.
Progress has been further made on our 1976 Maserati Merak engine bay. The plumbing in of the brakes is now complete, the water pipes and vacuum pipes have also been connected up. We’ve replaced all of the pipes on the return system for the brakes. The fuel hoses have been fitted.
John has also successfully installed the Alternator, Brake Pump and Air Conditioning Compressor.
Still a bit of a way to go on this very challenging project but we are certainly getting through it. John has been working tirelessly on this project and it certainly hasn’t come without it’s frustrations. It’s when you step back and look at the pure beauty of this machine do you realise that all the hard work and hours are absolutely worth it.
We are now on the look out
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It has been a long time away but time very much well spent. Our 1965 Jaguar E-Type 2+2 has finally returned to the Bridge Classic Cars workshops in Ipswich for finishing off, completely rust and rot free and looking amazing!
The new windscreen has been fitted but the existing rubber is not looking at it’s best so we’ve decided to replace with brand new. Along with fitting the new number plates to the front and rear this will be the final task to carry out on the car before she can return to Felixstowe and enjoy a full summer of shows.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10653,10652,10651,10650,10649,10648,10647,10646,10645,10644,10643,10642″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10657,10658,10659,10660,10661,10653″ title=”The view from our tea break this afternoon…”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
As part of the restoration of our 1984 Mercedes W123 300TD, we have two full sets of Mercedes Mexican Tophat alloy wheels to refurbish.
A very desirable wheel indeed.
It wasn’t until we removed the set from the vehicle that we realised the car was actually fitted with odd wheels. It was sitting on three 6 inch wheels and one 6.5 inch wheel. This was most strange until we pulled out the second set of wheels to refurbish to find three 6.5 inch wheels and one 6 inch wheel.
Very difficult to see on the image above the the wheel closest to us is slightly lower than the rest.
Either way, the wheel refurbishment is now completed, 2 full sets and a spare all ready and looking amazing.
All of the work is now complete on our 1978 Aston Martin AMV8.
Here she is this morning looking lovely and clean waiting for owner Chris to arrive.
Tommy has now completed tacking the new rear arches to the chassis. The next stage will be to complete the welding work on the rear arches before the chassis can go off for paint preparation.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are now into the priming stages of our 1984 Mercedes W123 300 TD.
The front arches have been temporarily fitted up and all lines have been checked to ensure a neat fit and finish.
They have now been removed and primed separately along with the bonnet.
Trevor will be concentrating this morning on correcting the damage to the front quarter. We believe the vehicle was involved in an accident early in it’s life whilst in California.
Once this area is corrected the next stage will be to respray the body.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”10607,10606,10605,10604,10603,10602,10601,10600,10599,10598,10597″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Popped in to see the Ady and the guys at Scholar this afternoon to catch up on a few tasks we are working together on.
Whilst I was there I managed to get a few pictures of our 1967 Jaguar E-Type race-replica engine being worked on and looking incredible.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10592,10591,10590,10589,10588,10587,10586,10585,10584,10583,10582,10581,10580,10579″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]If you visited The London Classic Car Show at the Excel in London a few weeks back you may have seen our beautiful engine on display.
Our now complete Jaguar 4.2 engine which has been completely rebuilt to exceptional standards and sympathetically upgraded to our customers specification.
The beautiful Weber carbs, polished manifold, linkages and trumpets are only installed on the engine to allow testing, whilst the original triple SU carburettor setup is being completed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10569,10576,10575,10574,10573,10572,10571,10570″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Weber carbs shown above will be married to our 1967 Jaguar E-Type race replica engine which is currently being rebuilt to the same exacting standards. Then we will be fitting to a rebuilt 5 speed gearbox, whilst this engine will be fitted with the original 4 speed Jaguar E-Type set-up.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Here we are on the final stages of our 1965 Jaguar E-Type respray. A little longer than we hoped and expected but we are delighted to have uncovered the rotten areas and tackled all of the issues before they got any worse.
The chrome is now re-fitted but unfortunately due to the broken badge bar being too expensive to repair we are just awaiting the arrival of the new one.
All that is left to do now is refit the new windscreen and rubber, give her a good clean and polish and she’ll be ready for the summer shows!
Here we have the window frames from a 1960’s designed classic yacht The Twister. The Twister was designed by internationally renowned naval architect Kim Holman who was one of the founding members of Suffolk Yacht Harbour.
Peter has come in to us with a request slightly out of the ordinary for us but certainly something that we can do.
These are the surrounds from the windows of this beautiful yacht. To get her ready for the summer we have been asked to re-chrome and polish.
Sources: Peter from twister.org.uk and Suffolk Yacht Harbour and Classic Boat
The Original Twister
Conceived by ‘Kim’ Holman in 1963 the original Twister of Mersea was designed to optimise the rating rules of the time. Based on his experience with the Stella Kim designed the Twister to have more draft, carry more sail and yet ‘rate’ the same …. and he got it right!
In her first season Twister of Mersea virtually carried all before her, an achievement she was to repeat for the next few years. It was not long before other owners commissioned Twisters in order to get a slice of the action.
Kim Holman
In February 1967, right here in Ipswich, Suffolk Yacht Harbour Limited was founded by a team of local businessmen. Founding members Michael Spear, Charles Stennett and local boatbuilder Eric Wright were supported by Chris Jonas (chartered surveyor and engineer), Kim Holman (naval architect), John Adams (architect), and Geoff Hubbard (financial advisor).
Read all about the life and designs of Kim Holman at Classic Boat
Early Twisters
In all about 30 wooden Twisters were built by a variety of builders. GRP was then in it’s early days and it soon became apparent that there would be a market for series production of the Twister as a GRP Cruiser/Racer.
The design was modified slightly to suit the moulding process. The length was increased by 6”, the draft reduced by 3” and the bow section was made slightly fuller.
The first composite GRP Twister hulls.
The first GRP hull was moulded in 1964. The Hull and Deck were GRP mouldings by Tyler’s whilst the cockpit and coachroof were of traditional timber construction.
This was a very attractive combination though obviously labour intensive and the debut of the first all GRP version in 1969 was inevitable. For a while both versions were available but it was not long before the Composite was dropped in favour of the cheaper to build all GRP version.
Tylers produce GRP moulded Twisters
Whilst the majority of Twisters were built in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s Tyler’s continued to produce mouldings through into the late ‘90’s when the business ceased trading.
The moulds were by then in a poor state of repair and beyond further use. In the early days Uphams completed nearly all the boats but in later years other builders fitted out many and a significant number of mouldings were sold for amateur completion.
Traditional design that can still outperform more modern ones
All Holman’s designs were good looking and the Twister is arguably the prettiest. By today’s standards she is a heavy yacht with a large wetted area and a relatively small sail area. One you might expect only to go well in a blow.
Surprisingly the Twister still outperforms many much lighter ‘modern’ designs in light airs too and always with impeccable manners and a ‘finger-light’ helm.
When asked ‘why does the Twister sail so well?’ Kim’s reply of ‘I don’t know …. I just got it right’, surely sums up his modest genius better than a page of explanations. If you have a Twister you will know exactly what we mean. If you haven’t and you are thinking of buying one of these true modern classics you won’t be disappointed!
We are so close now to being able to remove the shell once again and paint the chassis.
Tommy is very happy with the new steps, the doors line up as they should, the measurements are mm perfect so Tommy can now move on to the next stage.
We are now busy preparing the bodywork on our 1984 Mercedes W123 300 TD. As the car spent many years in the states the hot climate has been a huge help keeping the underneath in fantastic condition.
The damage to the arch is now being rectified and the existing paint is now being flattened ready for primer.
We had a successful day yesterday working through our list. With the majority of the smaller tasks complete, today we tackled the possible oil leak and oil change.
The boot lock is now repaired, the windscreen wiper blades are now working as they should, the wiring problem that was preventing the aerial from working properly has now been fixed and we’ve even tidied up the boot area.
We also discovered a couple of unexpected issues that we have also rectified; the washer pump was not working at all, the washer jets were out of alignment and all vacuum pipes were either split or collapsed. This was due to incorrect vacuum pipes being used previously.
Unfortunately it has not all been as simple as it may seem. We were asked to investigate a possible leak underneath at the front of the engine. Upon closer inspection the leak is coming from the main oil seal gasket not working efficiently.
Until this issue is resolved, we will not carry out the oil change. The oil change will commence once the seal has been replaced.
We’ve also discovered a slight leak to the radiator. At first glance it looks as though someone has tightened too tightly which has created a pocket for fluid to escape. Unfortunately, it is not a simple case of releasing the tension slightly, there could be more to this so the radiator is best being removed. This task will have to happen anyway to get to the oil seal so this task can be carried out at the same time.
Moving on from this, the brakes have now been bled and the nipples are all freshly re-greased.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Work is now complete on the full restoration of our 1968 MGBGT.
She’s come a long way with us but now looking incredible!
After the initial discussions of carrying out some remedial repair work to the sills, we soon discovered that the body and chassis we suffering with age so a decision needed to be made.
I’m sure you’ll agree, the right decision was definitely made…
The car will now be stored away ready for the better weather and upcoming summer shows.
The next stage for us is to decide on a suitable location ready for Jason at Sugar and Spice Photography to carry out yet another fantastic photo shoot.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10458,10457,10456,10455,10454,10453″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Our 1967 Jaguar E-Type road race car will be fitted with a Rover SD1 5 speed gearbox.
The gearbox has been stripped, cleaned and repaired. We have sandblasted the steel casings and aqua blasted the alloy casings. The full set of bearings have been replaced as well as the bulk rings and selector forks.
The gearbox has been completely re-shimmed, rebuilt and all gaskets and seals have been replaced.
It’s Monday morning and the first job for the team is to discuss the work for the week ahead.
With a workshop full of projects, all in various stages, the whole team are busy working separately across the projects.
Asa has taken control of the work to be carried out on the Aston Martin AMV8.
One of the tasks is to change the oil. We’ll be using a specialist oil which comes highly recommended across a lot of the Aston Martin forums.
Penrite HPR 15W-60 is recommended for use in modern 4, 6 & 8+ cylinder multi-cam, multi-valve (Including VVT), naturally aspirated, supercharged and turbocharged engines. It is recommended for use in petrol, light duty diesel engines (Non DPF) and LPG/Dual fuel systems.
HPR 15 exceeds the latest European ACEA A3/B4 and API SN/CF requirements, as well as many manufacturers’ specifications. API SN grade oils have 40% less wear, 40% less sludge and 30% less piston deposits than the previous SM grade oils. It can be used where ACEA A3/B3 is recommended and can also be used where previous API specifications SM (2004-10), SL (2001-04) and SJ are recommended.
HPR 15 features the Penrite EXTRA TEN in the oil’s SAE rating. This technology helps protect your engine by using a normal start up viscosity with an oil that has a higher operating temperature viscosity. This improves engine oil film strength, lowering frictional heat whilst providing an extra layer of anti wear protection over standard SAE grade oils, reducing engine wear in all driving conditions.
…what more could you ask for?
Source: Instagram @devinbrugman
Meet Devin Brugman, co creator of @ABikiniADay & @MondaySwimwear, she’s an entrepreneur, blogger and designer with over 1.3 million followers on Instagram.
We love a good classic car shot and here is Devin looking beautiful in front of a classic Chevrolet in Palm Springs, California
Due to our workloads, we have not been able to give our 1982 Triumph TR7 our undivided attention recently but that’s now changed as Craig has started working on the front area getting her ready for paint.
Although the previous owner had carried out an amazing £16,000 full ‘nut and bolt’ restoration, when it arrived with us we noticed small areas of micro-blistering starting to appear in the paintwork so we are now carrying out a full respray to get her looking amazing for the summer shows.
This morning we took delivery of our beautiful 1978 Aston Martin AMV8. And, of course, as you’d expect the heaven’s decide to open up just as Chris set off from the other side of Ipswich to bring her to us.
A few remedial jobs to do on the car to get her ready for the summer.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]More pictures from today as we continue to remove the external components of our 1984 Mercedes 300TD estate.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10379,10380,10381,10382,10383,10384,10385″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Coming in to Bridge Classic Cars next week is a 1978 Aston Martin AMV8 Mk 4 saloon.
Having recently undergone a full gearbox rebuild the customer would like a number of remedial jobs to be carried out to get her ready for the Spring/Summer show season.
Looking stunning at Ipswich waterfront…
This afternoon, Craig took a trip over to Essex to have a little catch up and a coffee with Lawrence at Motts Body Repair.
A very nice surprise greeted us as we walked into the workshops, two Jaguar E-Types.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Here we have our 1967 Jaguar E-Type having been put through the first stages of primer. The first primer stage gives us a good visual to work to when finding the areas we now need to address.
Stage one of primer highlights certain areas that need extra work.
Once our thorough assessment takes place we then tidy up the areas in question before stripping back and reapplying a second coat of prime.
At this stage we like to think we are confident that the areas in question would have been corrected to an acceptable standard and only then will we consider applying the first coat of paint.
As you can see from the alignment images, the doors are spaced to an even 4mm around every edge and the bonnet is aligned to 5mm.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10300,10301,10302,10303,10304,10305,10306,10307,10308,10309,10310,10311,10312,10313,10314,10315,10316,10317,10318,10319,10320,10321,10322,10323,10324,10325,10326,10327,10328,10329,10330,10331,10332,10333,10334″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
The triple carbs are now completely refurbished and awaiting completion of the restoration of the manifold to allow the final fitting to the engine.
We’ve started to strip our 1984 Mercedes 300TD today. The front end is our main concern so this is the first sections to be removed, that way we can fully assess the damage that will need to be addressed to the offside front caused by an accident on the Californian roads.
Today we bid farewell to our 1966 Austin Gipsy as she makes her way over to start a new life in Belgium.
Guy, the new owner, spends the majority of his time in the middle east for work but he intends to have the Gipsy fully restored locally to his home in Belgium.
Hopefully we’ll see some pictures of the progress but for now, this is the last time you’ll see this incredibly rare car on the Suffolk roads.
We’ve been debating over the issue of whether to polish and re-chrome the dash of our 1949 MGYT. There was no question on whether to recover the leather as this was very much needed but the metalwork was debatable. It looked tired but were we about to open doors to more issues if we start to re-chrome the intricate shapes.
The centre piece has been painted brown at some time in it’s life so this could have been tidied up simply by re-painting.
We made the decision to remove the metalwork from the dash and do the job right. This means the edging strips and centre plate will now be re-chromed and polished so they can be fitted looking just as beautiful as the rest of the car.
Not all occasions require the chrome to be re-polished but we felt this was one occasion that deserved the treatment.
With the chassis rebuild progressing very well it is time for us to temporarily refit the body to ensure all alignments are accurate. Whilst the body shell is in place Tommy will continue to work on the areas of the chassis that still require welding work but needed the body to be in position.
The new inner wheel arches will be measured and shaped whilst at this stage.
Once Tommy is 100% happy with the work carried out and he has ensured it all lines up, the body will then be removed once again.
At this stage, the chassis will then go on to our paint shop to be prepared and painted.
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