1953 Aston Martin DB2/4

Fuel Pickup

The new fuel pickup for our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 fits other models so has longer pipes than needed. Steve has modified it so it

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Aston Paint Work

Paintshop manager Chris has been prepping the interior and exterior of the body of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 ready for epoxy primer and paint.

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Chassis Rebuilding

Recently, we have started to refit the suspension and steering, and some brake components that have either been new parts or refurbished original parts that

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Reassembly Begins

The chassis of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 is back from powder coating so some small new parts have been refitted. The front suspension components

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Interior Panels

Brian and Lydia have continued their work on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. Using the new plywood panels that Brian had cut out for her,

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Back Together – The Body of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 Back on the Chassis

Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has taken a massive step forward over the past week as the Bridge Classic Cars restoration team have reunited the repaired body back onto the refurbished and refinished chassis of this classic Aston Martin.

Rob, one of our technicians, has been heading up this phase of the project – He, along with several members of the team, carefully reunited the body and the chassis inch by inch for the final time before it heads off to the body and paint team to begin its journey back into colour.

Brake Work on the 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4

Our restoration team have been making amazing progress on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 at our Pettistree workshops.

Our technician Steve, who is the main technician on the project, has been getting the running gear and brake system back onto the newly refinished chassis of the classic Aston Martin. He has fitted up the original hubs in order to begin work on the brake system with the drums and all hardware in place to begin to map out the intricate network of brake pipes to connect everything up when the time comes.

Brakes are on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4

Our technician Steve has been working on fitting up the brakes to our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.

The first step in the process is for Steve to make up the new metal pipework and fit the necessary flexi-hoses to the system.

DB2/4 Rear Suspension

Here are Steve’s notes relating to his work on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4:

  • Building up the rear suspension with newly refurbished or new parts
  • Most of the rear suspension is now built up.
  • Front suspension is now built up and we’re now moving on to brakes and brake lines.

Fuel Pickup

The new fuel pickup for our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 fits other models so has longer pipes than needed. Steve has modified it so it now fits the tank on our car.

Aston Paint Work

Paintshop manager Chris has been prepping the interior and exterior of the body of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 ready for epoxy primer and paint.

Chassis Rebuilding

Recently, we have started to refit the suspension and steering, and some brake components that have either been new parts or refurbished original parts that we have overhauled to our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.

Wheel Tubs

Clinton has been repairing the driver’s side rear wheel tubs on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4

Front Crossmember Overhaul

The front suspension crossmember of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has been stripped and overhauled. New bearings and seals were fitted to the main part, then the steering idler was stripped and new parts fitted. Now it has been masked up for a clear coat with the other aluminium parts, this will stop any future corrosion and protect the parts for the future.

Some parts of the suspension were also painted in black satin.

Reassembly Begins

The chassis of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 is back from powder coating so some small new parts have been refitted. The front suspension components have been painted, and new bushes, parts and bearings fitted ready for attaching. We are waiting for the rear axle to be completed, but in the mean time have been recommissioning the brake system, ready to be refitted once it has arrived. We have ordered the nearside now to enable us to build up steering/suspension and brakes to the chassis while the body repair continues.

Chris has also been making some repairs to the chassis.

DB2/4 Paint And Carbs

Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has made more progress in its restoration recently.

Chris has painted the brake drums in satin dtm and the carbs have been finished too.

More Paint And Fabricating

Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has continued its stay in the fabrication bay here at Bridge Classic Cars.

Clinton has fabricated two rear inner wings and removed the old rear inner wheel tubs and fabricated two new panels.

Chris has also painted some of the car’s components in DTM satin.

Front Hub And Suspension Strip

James has stripped the front suspension and hub parts of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 ready for painting. Some of the bolts and pins were seized and had to be drilled out to release them. Once the parts are prepped and cleaned, new bushes and bearings can be fitted ready for reassembly.

Painting And Fabricating

Parts of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 have been in the paint shop with technician Mauro where he has been painting them black.

While Mauro was doing this, Clinton was fabricating new parts and repairing the driver’s side front sill.

Chassis Prep And Dent Repairs

Classic Car Technician Neil has been prepping the chassis of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. Alongside this, Clinton has been pulling dents out of the car and repairing them.

Once the chassis was fully prepped, Tony took it to be powder coated.

Raw Form – Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 Back from Blasting

Our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has arrived back at our Suffolk HQ following its appointment with the media blasters.

The body was carefully removed from the chassis of the 1950’s GT previously by our workshop technicians and carefully transported to a local blasting company to carefully remove the Claret paint as well as exposing any areas which will need attention by the team here at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshops.

The body arrived back at our workshops earlier this week and was taken straight into our in-house fabrication shop for our expert team of fabricators to work on getting this rare and unique GT car back into better than new shape.

The team have begun to get the body onto the framing jig to get it ready for the delicate and highly-skilled work of repairing the areas affected by 71 years of being used and stored.

DB2/4 Refurbishment Of Parts

Christian has had our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 in the fabrication bay as he has been making some repairs on the chassis.

While he was doing this, many of the parts are now being stripped, cleaned and checked ready for painting. New bushes and other small parts have been ordered, and when the parts have been painted, the sub assemblies can then be rebuilt ready to be fitted to the chassis and body.

Running Gear Strip Down

Last week, James started to strip the running gear down of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 for refurbishment. The axles have been broken down into component parts ready for blasting/cleaning and then painting, any worn or damaged parts have been located and will be replaced on re-assembly. The brake and clutch pedal unit has also been stripped and will be refurbished ready for when the chassis is back so the rebuild can start.

Final Stripping of DB2/4

The last sections of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 have been removed, the radiators and other engine ancillaries, the engine and gearbox removed, then the chassis and bulkhead were completely stripped of suspension, steering and brake components, along with wiring loom and pipes/fittings.

The chassis can now go off to be stripped and checked before painting and reassembly in the new year.

More Parts Removed From DB 2/4

The floors and interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 were completely stripped, along with the front end and bonnet. Then the body fixings were removed and the body was carefully taken off for blasting/paint removal.

DB 2/4 Doors and Windows Stripping

After removing the body of our Aston Martin DB2/4 yesterday, classic car technician James has continued his work on the strip down of this classic Aston.

The front doors and windows have now been stripped out ready for refurbishment, all parts will be cleaned, sorted, painted or replaced where necessary before refitting the newly painted doors and body, when they are ready.

The Strip Down Makes Big Progress

The mechanical strip out of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has started at the rear of the car. The tailgate, lights, spare wheel carrier and fuel tank have all been removed. Classic car technician James actually found some of the original black paint on the car too!

The dashboard and clocks have also been stripped out ready for refurbishment. James made sure that the wiring was labelled for reference and pictures were taken to aid in reassembly later on.

Brian and Lydia have also been working on the interior of our rare Aston. They removed the old covers from the front seats before going on to remove the foam and runners as well. The seats from this vehicle were in fairly bad condition and did not want to come apart easily. Lydia ended up grinding away a lot of the screw heads to be able to remove the seat back from the base. She then cleaned up the interior dash cubby boxes and the door pockets too.

Brian removed the metal runners from the base of the seats, and the base foams. He then removed the carpet from the back of the squab seat, removed the old cover & foams, removed all side wood sections, removed frames, and cut out new side wood sections & new backboards.

Perhaps the most obvious change to our DB2/4 is that the body has now been removed. This is a big step in the strip down and the whole team is excited to see this beautiful car continue to make progress.

Double Aston Martin Day For Brian

…and they say men can’t multitask! Brian’s day has been spent on 1953 Aston Martin’s today. He started off sorting out all interior parts, labelling up, bagging up all of the small parts of the Aston martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe.

Swiftly followed by work on our other 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. He’s a little further forward with the interior of this one as he fits new clips to the door panels, cutting out foam, gluing the foam to boards, trimming the foam to size, cutting and gluing the leather to the door panels, gluing and trimming onto the back of the boards as well as turning the leather around the pocket holes.

Aston Martin DB2/4 Seat Bases Rebuild

Yesterday and today, Lydia has been working on the rear seat of the Aston Martin DB2/4.

‘Chris has kindly painted the seat tray black for me, and stone chipped the underside, as this part actually forms the bottom of the car and is exposed to all the elements the road can throw at it. Firstly , I re-attached the foam that we removed, and this needed some remedial repairs as the top surface was uneven. Should I have left this, it would have shown through the new leather cover, and it would also have been possible to feel the imperfections beneath. I filled in the deepest dents with some thing scrim foam and then laid a complete piece on top before adding a layer of polyester wadding to ensure that the seats remained soft and comfortable. This also works well at hiding any last imperfections that may remain! Then, I applied the new leather piece which forms the part that the passengers sit on.’

The next part to complete was the backrests, which were a little more tricky. These have to have the fabric half fitted, then they get riveted to the seat tray, then the rest of the fabric is stretched up and over and glued to the seat tray.

Brian has already repaired the foam on these so Lydia added a layer of wadding to make them softer. The leather was cut in 2 parts and sewn together, then fitted to the seat with contact adhesive.

Using heat really helped to soften the leather and made it a lot easier to fit the covers on these.

The final piece is the board that rests on top. This is a simple piece of cardboard, with a thin layer of foam on , then covered in leather. Finally, a piece of piping is applied to the edge to close the gap between the board and the seat underneath.