Our paint technician Chris has been working on getting some of the first pieces of the 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 into paint. First up on
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,
Brian and Lydia have been working on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4, specifically the centre console and rear panels. Using the existing material from the
Although it has been in a workshop for a little while now, and our restoration teams have begun the process of bringing this wonderful early
The Bridge Classic Cars interior trim team of Brian and Lydia have continued their work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. Lydia
Interior trimmer, Lydia has been working on the backrest part of the front seats of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. This was slightly more challenging
To begin with, Lydia has made a mock-up panel to test the measurements for the tuck and roll flutes. This requires precise measurement and calculation
Interior trimmer Brian has been continuing his work on the 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. He sandblasted the metal frame legs on the front seat squab
Classic car technician Brian has been busy working on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. After a lot of work went into stripping the interior of
Work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has continued as Brian and Lydia have made new boards for the kick panels, as
Classic car technician Brian has continued his work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. He removed the covers and cleaned the old
Classic car technician Brian has been continuing his work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. He has made several repairs such as
When restoring classic cars, it’s not unusual for our team of technicians to find some random items that have made their way into the vehicles
Our interior trim team of Brian and Lydia have started their work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. A lot of the
We have been given some photos of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 from earlier on in its life. Even in the black and white pictures,
A 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has recently joined our personal collection. While this is exciting enough, this car appears to be extra special, as there
We have recently added an extremely exciting classic car to the Bridge Classic Cars collection. Director, Gordon has purchased our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 and
We have recently made a new friend in Godfrey Schiele who is a local Aston Martin owner. His 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 will soon be
Our paint technician Chris has been working on getting some of the first pieces of the 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 into paint.
First up on the rack, is the rear seat pan for the classic GT car. After being meticulously stripped back to bare metal, the team hung it on one of our paint racks to refinish this rear seat piece in satin black.
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, Lydia covered them in leather at the top. The bottom part is a piece of carpet with bound edges, so she also cut and sewed this , then attached it to the panel with staples.
The wooden-shaped pieces are simply covered directly with leather, so Lydia cut the material out and glued it straight onto them.
Parts of the interior were painted black before Brian repaired the tailgate top trim panel as well as the headliner.
Lydia then covered the pre-made wooden panels in headlining fabric. Some panels required a small amount of padding, so she added some scrim foam to these before covering them in wool headlining material.
Brian and Lydia have been working on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4, specifically the centre console and rear panels.
Using the existing material from the original, Lydia remade the centre console to match the new leather choice. This involved cutting and making new piping, new top and side sections, and also covering the wooden base section. The paintwork underneath was looking a bit tatty, so Lydia cleaned this off and then re-sprayed it with a fresh coat of black.
As for the rear side panels, the old ones had all but disintegrated. Lydia cut new ones from plywood, checking the shape in the car as she went. Then she cut new fabric and binding for the cover, sewed this together, and glued the new piece to the board.
Although it has been in a workshop for a little while now, and our restoration teams have begun the process of bringing this wonderful early DB2/4 back to its former glory, we never did get to take some of usual arrival photos with the car.
On a Friday evening, our entire Suffolk HQ down tools to clean up all of our workshop and offices ready for the week ahead. This involves moving some, if not all, of our incredible restoration projects outside to safely clean our restoration workshop.
So, I took the chance to grab some photos with this stunning GT car. This is one of the cars that not only cemented the Aston Martin name into automotive history as one of the most illustrious and well-respected names, but also would bring the fabled DB name into the limelight and on wards into the future of the brand.
All of us, both in the workshop and in the team behind them, see it as an absolute pleasure and honour to be able to preserve and cherish these wonderful piece of automotive history and document their rebirth.
The Bridge Classic Cars interior trim team of Brian and Lydia have continued their work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.
Lydia carried on her previous work making the seat backs. She altered the shaping slightly to improve the fit, added piping where necessary and then attached the sides. Lydia then fitted the covers with staples, cutting out excess foam and leather where needed to ensure there was no extra bulk in corner areas.
To finish off the seat backs, Lydia stapled the piping on, shaped and bound the carpet, and then used small tacks to secure this on. Before binding the carpet, she skived the piece of leather she was using to ensure there was no extra bulk, and that the carpet would sit flat. Lydia had to move the position of the piping a few times to make sure that it sat close to the edge of the carpet, and that no staples were showing. The seats are now ready to fit into the car when it’s ready!
Brian repaired the damaged wood rail, cutting new leather & covering the rail.
Interior trimmer, Lydia has been working on the backrest part of the front seats of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4. This was slightly more challenging than expected as they are much larger than the bases, and the flutes run all the way up the faces.
Lydia used her pattern from the bases for the flutes so that they all line up when put together. The hardest part of this was giving enough allowance for the leather to be able to turn under to cover the hinges, so she had to add a separate flute to allow for this. Once Lydia had worked this out, she sewed up the faces and then checked the shape on the seats.
To begin with, Lydia has made a mock-up panel to test the measurements for the tuck and roll flutes. This requires precise measurement and calculation to ensure that the flutes end up at the correct width. If they do not, then the panel will not fit! Tuck and roll requires the correct measurements on both a cotton underlayer and the leather upper layer. Each flute is then filled with foam after it has been sewn up, thus encapsulating the foam into the channel. Lydia has not tried this method of tuck and roll before, but found it to be quite effective, and it ensures that the seat retains its original look. Next was the shaping of the panel to make it fit the seat. She used a combination of the original pieces and her judgement to determine the size and shaping of the panel, then cut it down to size. As we are working with the original foam, which is in fairly good condition, it didn’t require much deviation from the original pattern piece. Lydia then worked her way through laminating all of the other pieces onto scrim foam, adding her point marks, and sewing them on. After many attempts at trying the covers on and altering them, Lydia is happy with the fit, so she begun to staple them and glue the flies to the foam.
Interior trimmer Brian has been continuing his work on the 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.
He sandblasted the metal frame legs on the front seat squab frames. He then glued 10mm of foam on top of the original front seat back foam before trimming it to size. The old covers from the rear seat base panels were removed and new foam was added on top of the original.
Brian then removed the centre console cover and sandblasted it before adding more foam to it. The tool tray was also cleaned up.
Classic car technician Brian has been busy working on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.
After a lot of work went into stripping the interior of this rare classic, things continue to progress in its restoration journey in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Brian removed the boot boards from the car so he could clean up the metal strips. Once this was done, he cleaned up the metal trims and the rubber strips. These will be used later on in the restoration process.
A new dash tray backboard was made too and the interior light panel was cleaned up. Lydia also cleaned up the base of the seat with a heat gun and then thinners and a scotch brite pad were used to remove the black underseal.
Work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has continued as Brian and Lydia have made new boards for the kick panels, as well as removing the seat frames and the old covers from the dash top panels and dashboard trays.
Our DB2/4 is a very special car so it is great to see things progressing very well on it already.
Classic car technician Brian has continued his work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.
He removed the covers and cleaned the old glue off the door pockets before removing the old leather from the rear side cappings.
The cover was then taken off the door panel and Brian made new sunvisor boards using the originals as patterns. The metal door panel locators were removed so they could be cleaned and used on the new panels.
Classic car technician Brian has been continuing his work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.
He has made several repairs such as the front window surround panels and the front side window surround panels.
Brian also made new boot side panels by using the originals as patterns before he removed the sides of the door pockets so the old material could be removed.
When restoring classic cars, it’s not unusual for our team of technicians to find some random items that have made their way into the vehicles over the years. However, from time to time, something a bit special catches their eye.
Lydia and Brian have been busy stripping the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 and, while doing so, they discovered part of a newspaper under the footwell carpet mats.
While the newspaper was not really in readable condition (it had moulded itself into the mats), there were still some parts that gave us a glimpse into the world at the time. Based on the stories and the parts we can read, we believe the newspaper Brian and Lydia found is from around May 20th 1957.
One of the most intriguing stories that we can see in the newspaper was about the visit of Soviet Union President, Nikita Khrushchev, to Indonesia. In the midst of the Cold War, such a visit was undoubtedly a significant diplomatic event. Khrushchev, a key figure in Soviet politics, had led the Soviet Union since the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. His visit to Indonesia was part of the broader geopolitical struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union for influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
The newspaper detailed Khrushchev’s arrival in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, where he was welcomed by President Sukarno. The visit marked an attempt to strengthen ties between the Soviet Union and Indonesia, both of which had recently gained independence from colonial powers.
Aside from the Khrushchev visit, the newspaper contained various other stories and advertisements that provided insight into this bygone era. It was a time of societal change, with the dawn of the Space Age and the rapid expansion of consumer culture.
Although a few pages of an old newspaper may not sound like much, I think it is a perfect example of how classic cars are more than just machines. They can be home to moments in time that have existed nowhere else other than inside the car itself for decades.
Finds like this add to the story of the car being restored. When we restore classic cars, it’s not just about making them look good and drive well, it’s about preserving history, keeping memories alive, and reminding ourselves how things are constantly changing.
Since this newspaper was purchased, the Soviet Union has gone, man has walked on the moon, we’ve cured previously incurable diseases, and technology has advanced beyond what anyone from the time could likely imagine.
Work on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 continues and is making good progress. We are very much looking forward to seeing this car come back to life and eventually drive out of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and make its way back out onto the road.
In the meantime, we will keep our eyes open for any other interesting historical finds!
Our interior trim team of Brian and Lydia have started their work on the interior of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.
A lot of the work that has been completed recently has been stripping down this impressive classic. Once the front seats were removed, Brian and Lydia removed the front floor carpets, the driver’s side dash tray, the kick panels, the cover from the headliner centre panel, and the old covers from the tailgate window trim panels were also removed.
While stripping the interior, there were a lot of rusty and solid screws and bolts that took a long time to remove. To remove the rear seat tray, Brian and Lydia had to cut the bolts out as they were stuck in and rounded off, making it impossible to get a socket on them to undo.
The side window trim panel was repaired ready for more interior work to get underway soon.
We have been given some photos of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 from earlier on in its life.
Even in the black and white pictures, it’s clear to see that this is (and has always been) a beautiful car that perfectly displays the style, elegance, and luxury that Aston Martin has long been known for.
It is going to be an extremely exciting process to see our DB2/4 return to its former glory over the coming months.
A 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has recently joined our personal collection. While this is exciting enough, this car appears to be extra special, as there are strong indications that this could actually be the 10th example ever built by the renowned British automotive brand.
The 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 holds a significant place in automotive history, embodying the spirit of craftsmanship and innovation that has defined Aston Martin for generations. This rare car showcases the evolution of automotive engineering in the 1950s, with its distinctive design and pioneering features.
Classic car technician Tom has been taking a closer look at this special DB2/4 to begin the investigation into what plan can be created for its future.
We have recently added an extremely exciting classic car to the Bridge Classic Cars collection. Director, Gordon has purchased our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 and it is beautiful.
There has been a DB2/4 in the workshop for a while as we have been restoring it for a customer. However, this new addition is currently in our personal collection. First impressions show that the car is in great condition, although there is obviously some work to be done.
As a full inspection of the car is underway, we look forward to seeing what the future holds for our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4.
We have recently made a new friend in Godfrey Schiele who is a local Aston Martin owner.
His 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 will soon be coming into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for an assessment to see what work will need to be completed to recommission the car in the future.
We already have a 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 in the workshop which is undergoing a full restoration, so we know how beautiful these cars can be. The one currently owned by Godfrey though has an interesting story behind it.
When Godfrey purchased his DB2/4 from Stradbroke, it had around 70,000 miles on the clock and he has owned it ever since, meaning this incredible classic has only ever had 2 owners from new.
In 1979, work commitments meant that Godfrey had to spend some time in France. As a result, his DB2/4 was put away and has stayed there pretty much ever since. Godfrey was kind enough to send us some photos of his car and we are very much looking forward to seeing it in person in the near future.
Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.
