The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim team have upgraded the hand-made glovebox for the left-hand drive converted 1970 Bristol 411. The glovebox has had a
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working alongside the workshop team on the left-hand-drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411. In the
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on test fitting the new dash panels of the 1970 Bristol 411 into the car
The dash panels of the 1970 Bristol 411 have been completely refurbished and retrimmed by the trim team at Bridge Classic Cars. These pieces have
The steering rack mounts for the 1970 Bristol 411 have been final welding into the engine bay of the classic GT car. As part of
The dash top and panel from the 1970 Bristol 411 have been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop for the team to refinished
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on modifying and creating parts for the dash of the 1970 Bristol 411 for a
The 1970 Bristol 411, which is having a LHD conversion carried out, has had a brand new glovebox insert made by our incredible trim shop.
The left-hand drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411 is pressing ahead with the wiring harness and steering arms fitted back into the classic GT
The modified heater box of the 1970 Bristol 411 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop to be refinished. Mauro has worked
The left-hand drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411 has been moving forward in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ. Paul
The all-new steering rack for the 1970 Bristol 411 has been test fit into the car by the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop. As part
The Bristol 411 left-hand drive conversion is moving forward with new mounts and brackets being fabricated by the restoration team in the Bridge Classic Cars
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been progressing on the left-hand drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411. Paul has been working on
As part of the left-hand drive conversion on the 1970 Bristol 411 currently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, the team have had to make
The trim shop at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ in Suffolk have been working alongside the restoration workshop to convert the 1970 Bristol 411 to
As part of the left-hand drive conversion of the Bristol 411, the Bridge Classic Cars workshop technicians have had to adapt the original column and
The 1970 Bristol 411 which is in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop to be converted to left-hand drive has to have several important pieces
The 1970 Bristol 411 in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop is continuing with the modifications needed for its LHD conversion. Paul is working on
The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been hard at work continuing the process of converting the 1970 Bristol 411 to left-hand drive. Work is
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have been stripping down and modifying the firewall/bulkhead of the 1970 Bristol 411 for its conversion to left-hand drive.
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been meticulously working their way through the dashboard of the 1970 Bristol 411. Our technician Paul is going through
The 1970 Bristol 411 in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is continuing its journey on being converted to left-hand drive. Our technician Paul has been
The 1970 Bristol 411 is currently in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop for a left-hand-drive conversion. The next step in the conversion is removing
While the 1970 Bristol 411 is in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the process of its left-hand-drive conversion, the trim team have removed the
The workshop technicians at Bridge Classic Cars have begun the first steps into the left-hand drive conversion on the 1970 Bristol 411. The technicians have
This 1970 Bristol 411 which has been stored at our secure storage facility, The Hangar, has been moved to our Pettistree workshop for work to
The annual Ipswich to Felixstowe Classic Vehicle Rally is going ahead this year! Last year, due to Covid19, it had to be cancelled. But this
The Hangar welcomed its latest resident. This unique 1970 Bristol 411. This car is being stored with us at our safe, secure and private storage
Bridge Classic Cars have acquired this 1970 Bristol 411 on behalf of a customer of ours who lives in Europe. This particular car will be
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim team have upgraded the hand-made glovebox for the left-hand drive converted 1970 Bristol 411.
The glovebox has had a new lighting system installed into the car to take into account the change over in drivers sides. The team carefully cut the opening for the system to be installed flush and cleanly into the one-off Bristol 411.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working alongside the workshop team on the left-hand-drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411.
In the last update, we showed you getting the dash panel pieces test fit into the car but our trimmer Lydia took some detailed photos showing the process of hand-cutting and stitching these beautiful black leather pieces together to make the final covers.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on test fitting the new dash panels of the 1970 Bristol 411 into the car as part of its left-hand-drive conversion by the team at our restoration workshops.
Brian, one of our trimmers, has been working alongside the restoration technicians on the conversion to the classic Bristol. Each piece has been test fit numerous times and refined over the previous weeks to make sure the fit and finish of the dash panels is perfect and flow seamlessly into the shape of the cabin.
Brian will make small tweaks to the bracketry and supports to make sure each individual piece (and the panel as a whole) sits right in the car and works together.
The dash panels of the 1970 Bristol 411 have been completely refurbished and retrimmed by the trim team at Bridge Classic Cars.
These pieces have been trimmed in black to match the original dash pad covering and to work around the new LHD conversion being carried out by the restoration workshop. With these pieces now finished, the team can begin to refit them into the car.
The steering rack mounts for the 1970 Bristol 411 have been final welding into the engine bay of the classic GT car.
As part of the left-hand drive conversion that our team are carrying out on the car, new steering rack mounts had to be made to move the rack from one side of the car to the other. Because of the forces put through the piece, the mounts have been welded onto thicker metal plates which have been grafted into the car to strengthen the piece.
The dash top and panel from the 1970 Bristol 411 have been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop for the team to refinished and retrimmed.
Brian began by carefully dismantling the piece to use the original pieces as a template and get the best fit possible for the new coverings. Any wood or foam for the dash top piece has been inspected and prepared before new material is cut and secured onto the pieces using special adhesives.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on modifying and creating parts for the dash of the 1970 Bristol 411 for a left-hand drive conversion.
The dash cover and panel have been modified and stripped in order to work with the new placement of the ignition barrel and steering column. The ignition barrel also needed several small brackets made to reattach it to the column after the change over from right to left which after this was completed, meaning the whole piece could be recovered.
The team also handmade a new glovebox insert to work around the different bracketry and supports which now lay behind it.
The 1970 Bristol 411, which is having a LHD conversion carried out, has had a brand new glovebox insert made by our incredible trim shop.
Because of the change around in placement, the original insert conflicts with several brackets behind the glovebox itself. So, Brian has made one entirely from scratch built specifically for the car by hand. He took measurements from the car in our workshop to get the best fit possible and also keep it the same volume inside as the original.
It’s a beautiful piece for this unique and special project.
The left-hand drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411 is pressing ahead with the wiring harness and steering arms fitted back into the classic GT car.
Paul has been working on getting all the pieces needed for the left-hand drive change. The first being the wiring harness has been fitted up into the dashboard of the car. The wiring harness has been extended and rerouted to work around the change-over.
Also, the steering arms are back from a local trusted specialist to be remachined for use on the car. These were precisely measured and engineered to be able to work alongside the other pieces needed for the left-hand drive conversion of the classic Bristol.
The modified heater box of the 1970 Bristol 411 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop to be refinished.
Mauro has worked on getting the heater box prepared and then thoroughly cleaned down before each individual piece was hung in the spray booth and sprayed in durable black ready to be reinstalled in the engine bay of the left-hand drive converted Bristol 411.
The left-hand drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411 has been moving forward in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ.
Paul has worked on building a new bracket that changes the angle of the steering column. This is needed for the steering column to be at the correct orientation and angle to meet up with the pinion of the new steering rack.
The wiring behind the dash has also been worked on as part of the conversion. Paul has worked on extending several key parts of the dash harness since its move in the car. These have been carefully cut, soldered and protected for future use.
The all-new steering rack for the 1970 Bristol 411 has been test fit into the car by the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop.
As part of the cars left-hand drive conversion, the technicians have specced a brand new power-steering rack. Previously, the workshop has been busy making new plates and brackets for this moment.
With the new rack in place, the technicians can take measurements and double check tolerances for any interference which may happen.
The Bristol 411 left-hand drive conversion is moving forward with new mounts and brackets being fabricated by the restoration team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Paul has made new glovebox brackets to reinforce behind the dashboard now the dash has rotated.
The biggest change has been underneath the car. Paul has made new plates that will be used to attach the all-new steering rack for the conversion. The pieces were cut to shape and then carefully refined to fit into the car.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been progressing on the left-hand drive conversion of the 1970 Bristol 411.
Paul has been working on getting several key pieces of the conversion completed. Firstly he has made all new brake lines for the car since the master cylinder and reservoir have been moved in the engine bay. Each of these was handmade and flared to the exact needs of the car.
Next up was the wiring harness for the dashboard. Each of the wires will need to be precisely lengthened with the change in position for several key components.
In preparation for the new steering rack for the car, the existing lock stops on the steering box had to be removed for space to fit the new system into the classic Bristol.
Finally, with everything in the correct place orientation, Paul could lengthen the wires which go to and from the brake reservoir.
As part of the left-hand drive conversion on the 1970 Bristol 411 currently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, the team have had to make a new throttle pedal for the car.
The conversion to the classic Bristol is moving along quickly, but part of the changeover is relocating the throttle pedal of the classic car. Paul has had to remanufacturer a throttle pedal to get the new set up to work correctly. Along with this, the routing of the wiring loom has also had to be changed to allow the throttle mechanism and the pedal itself free movement without risk of being caught on any part of the loom.
The trim shop at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ in Suffolk have been working alongside the restoration workshop to convert the 1970 Bristol 411 to left-hand drive.
Part of that is modifying the dashboard of the car to the correct orientation in the cabin. With everything on the dash being moved from right to left, the instrument cluster needed to be reworked to line up with the existing woodwork and supports.
Referencing the car and the original dash pieces, Brian could make the precise and crucial cuts in the cluster to not only allow the wooden panel to sit in place but so that the existing material could be fitted back into the new cut with a perfect fit.
As part of the left-hand drive conversion of the Bristol 411, the Bridge Classic Cars workshop technicians have had to adapt the original column and shrowd to the new orientation.
Whilst the majority of the bulkhead and firewall have been adapted to the new left-hand drive conversion of the car, our restoration technician Paul has turned his attention to the steering column of the car. Especially the ignition barrel.
When the car was right-hand drive, the barrel would sit out at an angle and allow the driver to easily insert the key but, after the shrowd had been moved to the other side of the column as part of the conversion, the key couldn’t be easily put into the ignition. So, Paul worked on reworking the shrowd, column and barrel to get the access to the ignition as easy as possible for the new owner.
The 1970 Bristol 411 which is in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop to be converted to left-hand drive has to have several important pieces in the engine bay modified to fit the application.
One of these pieces is the heater box of the classic Bristol. The inlets and outlets of the heater box, once it has been rotated during its relocation across the firewall, were in entirely the wrong orientation. This means that our restoration technicians have had to modify and relocate each of the individual outlets. Along with that, other openings in the heater box has had to be blanked off and reopened 180 degrees out.
The 1970 Bristol 411 in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop is continuing with the modifications needed for its LHD conversion.
Paul is working on moving each of the components over from one side of the engine bay to the other. This not only involves modifying the firewall/bulkhead but also the components themselves. A lot of the pieces needed to be adapted for left-hand drive use by being rotated and changed in order for the necessary lines and vents to line up after moving from one side of the car to another.
All of these pieces are first test fit onto the car before being welded in to complete the conversion on this unique 1970 Bristol 411.
The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been hard at work continuing the process of converting the 1970 Bristol 411 to left-hand drive.
Work is continuing to modify the firewall and bulkhead to swap all of the necessary brackets and vents over to the other side of the car. For this, original pieces were carefully cut out of the classic GT car and plated over replicating the bases from the right to the left side of the car. This is crucial as in the interior, all of the various heating vents and controls will now be on the other side of the car, in an almost mirror image so everything in the engine bay must be exactly the same to suit.
This project is unique and exciting for Bridge Classic Cars and we cannot wait to show you more progress soon on the classic Bristol 411.
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have been stripping down and modifying the firewall/bulkhead of the 1970 Bristol 411 for its conversion to left-hand drive.
Our technician Paul, has been removing all necessary bracketry and components from the car in order to change over any of the pieces from one side to the other. With pieces being moved around in the engine bay, he has welded created replacement pieces which will be welded in to plate over and then any access or holes that need to be made can be cut into the new material.
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been meticulously working their way through the dashboard of the 1970 Bristol 411.
Our technician Paul is going through each component and wire to carefully label and catalogue each piece that comes of the classic British GT before it’s removed from the car and put into storage. The wiring harness is being labelled and noted for when the left-hand drive conversion is complete and the car is reassembled. With this part of the removal, it’s crucial to be methodical and attentive to each and every component on the car.
We’re excited to bring you the next phase of this exciting and unique project very soon.
The 1970 Bristol 411 in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is continuing its journey on being converted to left-hand drive.
Our technician Paul has been removing the wiring and gauges from the wooden dash of the classic British GT. Along with this, is removing the metres of wiring from behind the dashboard as well. All of these have been labelled and catalogued for when the reassembly begins after the conversion to left-hand drive.
All of these parts from the dash have also been photographed, catalogued and put into storage for the car.
The 1970 Bristol 411 is currently in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop for a left-hand-drive conversion.
The next step in the conversion is removing all of the steering components on the classic Bristol. Our technician Paul has been working on methodically removing, cataloguing and storing any and all parts that have come off the car in case the car should ever want to be returned to right-hand-drive. The next piece to come out was the steering idler, which can only be removed after the steering box had come out of the car.
The steering idler will be inspected and catalogued like the other pieces from the car and put into storage.
While the 1970 Bristol 411 is in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the process of its left-hand-drive conversion, the trim team have removed the seats to perform a couple of repairs.
On the side panels of the seat, our team noted down a hole that had appeared at some point in the cars life. So, the trim team got to work repairing it. Brian, one of our trimmers, carefully removed part of the covering from the base in order to perform the repair.
Using a piece of calico and a tiny section of matching red leather, Brian managed to plug the hole perfectly and properly.
The workshop technicians at Bridge Classic Cars have begun the first steps into the left-hand drive conversion on the 1970 Bristol 411.
The technicians have been inspecting the engine bay and steering system on the classic British sports car to come up with a plan and evaluate the need for any new parts to be sourced or fabricated. Along with that, the technicians have also removed the original mechanical fuel pump from the V8 as part of its conversion.
The first step in the conversion is the removal of the original power-assisted steering system to be inspected on the workbench and researched.
This 1970 Bristol 411 which has been stored at our secure storage facility, The Hangar, has been moved to our Pettistree workshop for work to begin on this amazing project.
This car was acquired by us for a customer based in Europe who has asked to carry out a series of works on the car including a left-hand drive conversion which we are getting asked more and more by clients if we can carry out. But before any of that work can begin, our teams will check the entire car over.
The first step is to get the car running. Our workshop technician have had to a light recommission of the to get it running and make sure that all the systems work correctly such as cooling and oiling. The technicians have reported that all was okay once the V8 had been run up to temperature and sat happily at temperature. The other piece that our workshop have completed is reinstating the chrome core support guard which carries the cars build plate, this is now safely back on the car for all to see.
This is going to be a very exciting project for the Bridge Classic Cars workshop on an amazing car.
The annual Ipswich to Felixstowe Classic Vehicle Rally is going ahead this year!
Last year, due to Covid19, it had to be cancelled. But this year, the organisers have said it is going ahead.
Also, if you notice the second car in the photo? Yes, that is indeed our 1970 Bristol 411.
The Hangar welcomed its latest resident. This unique 1970 Bristol 411.
This car is being stored with us at our safe, secure and private storage facility, The Hangar, while it awaits its time at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Pettistree. This car has been acquired by ourselves for a customer who lives in Europe. This car will be taken to the workshops and some very special jobs to be carried out on this rare piece of British motoring.
The car itself is in stunning condition. The dark green paintwork is bright and even across its long elegant body. The interior is finished in vibrant red leather which has some marks that only add to its character and story. Overall, this is a stunning piece of automotive history which we are honoured to store and work on at Bridge Classic Cars.
Expect to see more very soon about the 1970 Bristol 411 on the Bridge Classic Cars news page very soon once this exciting project begins.
Bridge Classic Cars have acquired this 1970 Bristol 411 on behalf of a customer of ours who lives in Europe.
This particular car will be arriving soon into our workshop here in Suffolk for full assessment and inspection. Also, with the car being sent over to Europe we will be undertaking a very special project on this Bristol.
This car is going to be converted to Left Hand Drive for the customer to enjoy over on the continent.
Be sure to check out more on this car here on the Bridge Classic Cars blog once it arrives here with us.
