The doors for the 1951 Riley RMB are currently at local joinery specialists Ashbocking Joinery to have the wooden sections of the doors assessed and replaced. As you can see from the photos, the doors aren’t in the best condition, but Darren and the team at Ashbocking Joinery are working their way through each of […]
Our master fabricator here at Bridge Classic Cars, Clinton, has sent through some close-up and detailed photos of the wings of the 1951 Riley RMB to illustrate the state of the panels before our teams begin working on them. The level of corrosion and warpage on the original pieces is clear to see in the […]
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house fabrication shop is working on the wings for the 1951 Riley RMB that we have in for restoration by our amazing teams. The car is currently with our incredible fabricator Clinton, who has been working on repairing the wings for the classic Riley. He has carefully removed rusty or corroded […]
Since finishing the repairs on the chassis of the 1951 Riley RMB by our fabrication team, the whole chassis has been loaded up to head off to a local specialist to be media blasted in preparation for the whole frame being powerdercoated. The frame is being media blasted to remove any surface rust that has […]
Some of the coachwork for the 1951 Riley RMB that is in with Bridge Classic Cars for restoration has been sent off to a local joinery specialist to be remade in brand new timber. The wooden components of the Riley were in a bad way. Thankfully, Bridge Classic Cars have many local specialists around us. […]
James has been continuing with the bodywork of the 1951 Riley RMB that is in at Bridge Classic Cars for restoration. Our in-house fabrication team have had the rear wing of the Riley on the workbench to carry on with replacing the areas that needed attention. Many of the flanges and construction have issues, whether […]
Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we have some of the best fabricators in the business we believe. One of the best showcases of this is the incredible work that our in-house fabricator, James, has done on the 1951 Riley RMB. James has tried to use as much original material as possible during the restoration of […]
The frame for the 1951 Riley RMB that is being restored at Bridge Classic Cars has just arrived back from its appointment with an acid bath. The chassis had been stripped back in-house but was recommended to be chemically treated by a specialist so that our in-house fabrication team could look into the true condition […]
Metalwork on classic cars is a craft. A skill that takes years to master and dedication to conquer. Our in-house bodywork experts at Bridge Classic Cars have those skills, experience and dedication. Work is continuing on the windscreen/scuttle for the 1951 Riley RMB by our in-house expert James. Last time he worked on the top […]
As you might have seen in our previous post on the 1951 Riley RMB here at Bridge Classic Cars, James has been hard at work getting the wings into the best shape possible. James, our expert in-house fabricator, has been working on the Riley for quite some time. A lot of the panels needed extensive […]
The doors on the 1951 Riley RMB have got some beautiful wooden trims inset around the window openings. Sometimes it’s best to leave things like carpentry to the specialists who know and understand the material they’re working with more than anyone else. So, the doors have been sent off to local joiners Ashbocking Joinery to […]
Our master fabricator James has been busy in the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop carefully and methodically recreating the windshield surround on the 1951 Riley RMB. Using traditional shaping methods, James has recreated the original tops of the cowl/windshield surround. The shape is complex with many compound curves and edges but that is no trouble […]
With a car as intricate and flowing as the 1951 Riley RMB, it’s important that our in-house metalwork craftsmen at Bridge Classic Cars apply all their skills and knowledge to ensure each flow, curve and line are exactly right on the car. Highlighted in this post is the extensive work our fabricator James has done […]
Our amazing technician Lydia has been hard at work removing the rust build-up on the wings of the 1951 Riley RMB with us here at Bridge Classic Cars for restoration. Lydia carefully removed any rust from the material using both power and hand tools where necessary to avoid putting any extra heat or force into […]
Since we have sent the Riley’s frame away to be dipped, we started work on the body. We have begun to go far deeper into the 1951 Riley RMB that we have in with us here at Bridge Classic Cars. Our in-house technicians knew that the car was in very rough shape to begin with […]
To achieve the best results with a restoration, every component must be given the same outstanding care and attention. It is vital that for great things to be built, the foundations must be strong. This rings true with the 1951 Riley RMB we are painstakingly restoring in-house here at Bridge Classic Cars. As much attention […]
James is hard at work in our Fabrication shop, working on our 1951 Riley RMB. As part of the front wing fabrication James has built a custom tool to create front wing support/stay. These beautiful hand-crafted vehicles require such skill and precision to achieve the perfect finish. Superb work, James.
Lydia has been helping with the progress of the 1951 Riley RMB. There was surface corrosion on the inside of one of the original wings round the edges of the spot welds done by James. Lydia did this with various-sized grinding attachments on a drill. A small step in the process, but a vital one, […]
Unfortunately our Riley RMB chassis is suffering badly with internal rust and corrosion building up. On the surface it looks to be in a relatively solid state but when tipped up on one end large clumps of rust falls out. This is a bit unexpected but most certainly needs to be addressed. Having discussed the […]
After coming back from the sandblasters, the chassis of the 1951 yellow Riley RMB is looking a little corroded so James is going to have to repair these sections. Lydia has begun the process by making cardboard templates of these parts, cutting where necessary to get the shaping right. These templates will be used by […]
James has been continuing his work on the yellow 1951 Riley. The air vent for the second panel was sandblasted last week, so could be welded into its new surrounding. James then used the finished one to determine how much metal to trim off the end. Back in July, he had to do some welding […]
Here’s an update on the 1951 Riley RMB for you. It was found that there was hidden corrosion in between the layers of metal on one of the air vents. In order to get to this, James drilled through the spot welds and eased the metal apart. Lydia then went about sandblasting the main piece […]
James has been doing some more work on one of the wings of our 1951 yellow Riley RMB. He’s been finishing by welding in the wire rolled edge of the left-hand wing and repairing a section at the front.
James has been repairing the left-hand front wing on our 1951 yellow Riley. There were sections of corrosion, so he fabricated new sections where these were present. It was more efficient for James to replace large sections than lots of small sections. He’ll be doing exactly the same method for the right-hand front wing next.
James has been getting on with making a pair of new air vent panels for the 1951 Riley! The original ones were heavily corroded, so it was easier and more efficient for him to make brand new ones… They provide fresh air into the car, before air conditioning was around! The new air vent panels […]
We’ve just received the chassis to our yellow 1951 Riley back from the sandblasters. With all the rust off, we can now start to build it back up.
James has been working to dismantle our yellow 1951 Riley and fabricate a new vent panel.
Today we had a visit from John Pettifer who used to own our yellow 1951 Riley RMB currently in restoration. John bought her from his wife’s uncle Peter Kearns who was the town sergeant in the police force in Steyning Sussex who had owned the Riley since 1960. 40 years later and in the year […]
Currently, we’re doing a lot of research into our 1951 Riley as the restoration of it will need a lot of multi-trade skills from woodwork to metalwork. Lydia has been cleaning off the glue and paint from the panels. Once we’ve got the detail blueprints back, we can start to measure up the new parts […]
Pricey has been burning off leftover under-sealer and old paint before it goes to sandblasting. He then scrapes it off so that as little is left as possible.