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The Riley Returns

March 17, 2017

Our wonderful Riley 11/40 Sports Tourer returns! She was part of the Bridge Classic Cars family back in 2012 and we loved her. We are

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Rebuilding the MGYT engine

March 16, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Back in November 2016 our 1949 MGY Tourer arrived with us from Cyprus. As you can see, the engine wasn’t quite right upon arrival. If

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All About The Twister Class

March 9, 2017

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

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The Riley Returns

March 17, 2017

Our wonderful Riley 11/40 Sports Tourer returns!

She was part of the Bridge Classic Cars family back in 2012 and we loved her. We are very pleased to say that we own her once again. Here she is arriving this morning from Grays in Essex.

You win some you lose some…

March 17, 2017

So today I lost the battle of the big trucks.

Andreas from Vintage and Prestige arrived earlier today to show me his truck, a 2008 Ford F350…and it’s massive, so big that it’s wouldn’t fit down the road!

 

 

We bid farewell to our 1959 Austin Healey Frogeye

March 17, 2017

Today, we said goodbye to our beautiful 1949 Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite as she makes her way down to Grays in Essex to settle in the Vintage and Prestige showroom.

John had the last drive of her for now but who knows if we’ll see her again.

1959 Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite (Sebring)

Unfortunately I didn’t manage to get any photos of John getting out of the Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite which is a real pity for comedy value alone!

Here we have her being loaded onto the Vintage and Prestige ready for the trip.

Building the Volkswagen T25 Interior

March 17, 2017

With our May deadline of completion on the horizon Asa is now working on the interior of Daisy, our 1989 Volkswagen T25.

The old tired and worn grey seats have been stripped and replaced with a brand new grey and cream interior theme. The Rock n’ Roll bed has also been re-cushioned, covered and the interior structure will start to take shape next week.

All new appliances and lighting will be installed to the customer’s specification.

Rebuilding the MGYT engine

March 16, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Back in November 2016 our 1949 MGY Tourer arrived with us from Cyprus. As you can see, the engine wasn’t quite right upon arrival.

If you were to remove the sheeting and pull out the white perspex boxes off the front and back seats you’ll find a 1949 MGYT engine…

…and if you look under the bonnet you’ll also see that we seem to be missing an engine.

So one of our first tasks was to rebuild the engine. In order to do this we needed to establish what parts, if any, were missing from the white boxes.

We called upon our good friend and one of the UK’s leading MG engine builders George Edny to help source and rebuild the components on our engine.

We have now carried out a full and extensive rebuild; including work to the front pulley, ring gear, water pump, oil filters, rocker caps, plugs, bearings and brackets. The exhaust has also been blasted and sprayed, the gearbox has been totally rebuilt, along with the carbs, inlet manifold, dynamo and starter motor.

The engine is now back in our Ipswich workshops ready for work to commence once again next week.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10714,10715,10716,10717,10718,10719,10720,10721,10722,10723,10724,10725,10726″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAXJKbUFJEk” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS4sC3pMEHA” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The triple SU Carburetor are now complete

March 16, 2017

Our triple SU carburetors are now complete. Our renowned race engine builder Don Warman has carried out a fantastic job on restoring these tired looking Jaguar carbs back to their best.

We will now be able to fit them to our newly rebuilt 4.2 Jaguar engine ready for a full test run next week.

Jensen 541S chassis is now complete

March 14, 2017

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With the body shell once again removed, the final improvements to our Jensen 541S could then be completed.

The wheel arches, boot floors, bumper hangers, body retainers, closing panels all round and all floor retainers have now be re-fabricated.

We have also removed the battery casing to replace with a safer, enclosed and vented battery box.

All protruding welds have been linished to accept the body.

The chassis is now ready to go to our paint shop to be prepared and painted.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”10681,10682,10683,10684,10685,10686,10687″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Work continues on the Maserati Merak engine bay

March 14, 2017

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

Our 1965 Jaguar E-Type returns from paint shop

March 14, 2017

[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]

Refurbishing the Mercedes Mexican Tophat Wheels

March 13, 2017

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.

Ready for the summer

March 11, 2017

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.

 

Completing the rear arches

March 10, 2017

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.

Our 1984 Mercedes Touring Diesel Turbo in primer.

March 10, 2017

[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]

Building our Jaguar race-replica engine

March 9, 2017

[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]

Our rebuilt Jaguar 4.2 Engine

March 9, 2017

[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]

The final touches to our 1965 Jaguar E-Type in the paintshop

March 9, 2017

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!

 

Re-Chroming the Twister Window Frames

March 9, 2017

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.

All About The Twister Class

March 9, 2017

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!

New steps for our 1960 Jensen 541S

March 8, 2017

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.

 

Preparing the Mercedes W123 bodywork.

March 8, 2017

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.

 

Aston Martin AMV8 work at Bridge Classic Cars

March 7, 2017

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.

Our 1968 MGBGT is now complete

March 7, 2017

[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.

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Rebuilding the 5 speed gearbox

March 7, 2017

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.

Getting started on the task at hand

March 6, 2017

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.

Craig is working on the TR7 body preparation today…

March 6, 2017

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.

Aston Martin AMV8 arriving at Bridge Classic Cars

March 4, 2017

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.

1978 Aston Martin AMV8

 

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