1986 Daimler DS420

2 Classics Go Home

Our 1986 Daimler DS420 and our 1970 Bristol 411 have left the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and are now on their way back to their owner in the Netherlands. Both cars have been completely transformed from how they looked when they first arrived with us and we are very excited to see them be reunited […]

Working On The Calipers Of Our DS420

Classic car technician Steve has been working on fitting new brake calipers to our 1986 Daimler DS420. It is quite a tricky job to get to the calipers so Steve spent quite a bit of time underneath the impressive limousine. As progress is being made on our DS420, it shouldn’t be too much longer before […]

Inside The Bridge Classic Cars Workshop – 15th February 2023

Join Molly as she takes a behind-the-scenes look at what is going on at Bridge Classic Cars.

Rebuilding And Rust Protection

Our 1986 Daimler DS420 continues to be put back together. Classic car technician Steve carried on putting the front end back together before moving on to apply rust protection in the rear arches. The rear end was also put back together. Steve made a new bush for the throttle linkage as he found that the […]

Ready For Wheels

Classic car technician Chris has been undersealing our 1986 Daimler DS420. Since making its way to us from America, our DS420 has undergone a big transformation including being painted blue instead of its original white colour. As this mammoth vehicle has been put back together, jobs like the undersealing have kept our workshop team busy. […]

Rebuild Progress

Classic car technician Scott has continued rebuilding our 1986 Daimler DS420. While rebuilding our American limo, Scott also completed some of the trim and other interior work. Alongside his rebuilding efforts, Scott stripped the brake master ready for it to be rebuilt too. Scott wasn’t the only technician working on our DS420 lately, as classic […]

Inside the Bridge Classic Cars Workshop – January 2023

Molly recently spent some time in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and took a closer look at some of our current projects.

1986 Daimler DS420 – Prep And Paint

Our 1986 Daimler DS420 has had a new coat of paint! Before its final coat could be applied though, the entire car and its components needed to have primer applied, Some of the parts of this classic car had to be removed and prepped separately from the rest of the vehicle. These were painted on […]

Panel Levelling Complete

Our 1986 Daimler DS420 has been undergoing panel levelling with classic car technician Chris. Once this was completed, the car began its prep work ready to be painted in the near future. Some panels of this large classic car have already begun to be painted. From the photos of the prepped and painted panels below, […]

Body Shaping Begins

Classic car technician Chris recently started the body shaping process on our 1986 Daimler DS420. Quite a bit of restoration work has already been completed on this classic car and things certainly aren’t slowing down as progress continues to be made.

Epoxy Primer

Chris has been working on our 1986 Daimler DS420, putting on the epoxy primer ready for further painting. He first masked the car and gave it a final rub down before applying the primer. This will create a good base for the top coat of paint to bond to. It will also prevent corrosion and […]

Front Crossmember Removal

In order to carry on getting our 1986 Daimler DS420 restored, classic car technician, Dave, has had to remove the front crossmember. This is an important component of the car as it helps maintain stability (among other things) so the repair and replacement is something only skilled technicians, like those at Bridge Classic Cars, should […]

Gaining Access To Corrosion Areas On The 1986 Daimler DS420

The team of classic car technicians at Bridge Classic Cars found some areas of corrosion on our 1986 Daimler DS420 a little while ago. In order to fully inspect all of the corrosion areas, the team have had to gain access to some tricky parts of the car. Recently, the servo was removed to give […]

New bottom section fitted

Monty and Christian are working together on our Daimler project. We are hoping that the body repairs will be completed within the next week or so. The front arch lips and rear bottom sections have now been shaped and welded into position.

Work continues on the metal fabrication

The metal fabrication work continues on the body of our Daimler DS420. Old, corroded metal is being cut out and replaced by brand new panels that have been meticulously produced by our skilled technicians Christian and Monty. It is vital that no corrosion is left untouched in a restoration project as any areas that have […]

Intricacy – Further Metal Repairs on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication team at Bridge Classic Cars have been continuing the lower metal repairs on the 1986 Daimler DS420 which is in at our Suffolk HQ. Our fabricator Monty has been going through each section of the DS420 to get the metalwork in perfect condition. This time, the team have been working on repairing the […]

The Other Side – Metal Repairs on the Passenger Side of the 1986 Daimler DS420

As the work is being carried out on the other side of the 1986 Daimler DS420, our fabrication team have been working on the passenger side of the car at the same time. One of our amazing fabricators, Chris, has been working on removing any corrosion from the classic limousine. Much like the other side […]

Capped – Repairing the Arches and Sills on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars have been busy carrying out further metal repairs to the sides of the classic Daimler limousine. The team are working their way through repairing the inner and outer wheel arches along with extensive repairs to the sills of the car. These have been cut back the area to […]

New Metal – Repairing the Drivers Rear Wheel Arch on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been busy working on repairing the inner and outer wheel arch on the 1986 Daimler DS420. The team have uncovered areas of heavy corrosion in the lower parts of the classic Daimler. These are being systematically cut out of the car and replaced with […]

Inch Perfect – Handmaking Rear Sills on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The 1986 Daimler DS420, which is currently in the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop, has had its rear sills and parts of the floors made from scratch. The bottom of the classic Daimler has areas of heavy corrosion which must be addressed and repaired by the team. For this, our fabricator Monty has made up […]

Underneath – Repairing the Rear Valance on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication shop at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been continuing to work on the 1986 Daimler DS420 in for restoration. This time, the team have been handmaking several patch panels to the inner structure of the rear wings which were then plug welded into the body for strength. Then, they could move […]

Going Deeper – Assessing the Rear Wings and Sills of the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication shop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk restoration HQ have begun to look deeper into the corrosion on the bottom of the 1986 Daimler DS420. The fabrication team began by cutting a section of the bottom of the Offside Rear Wing which had corroded on the bottom before removing the outer skin of […]

Repairs – Inspecting and Repairing the Arch and Sill on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The 1986 Daimler DS420 in with Bridge Classic Cars for restoration has been in with our fabrication team to have its arches and sills repaired. The team have begun the process of stripping back and removing any affected metal to a solid starting point to build out from. The first piece was replacing the wheel […]

At the Ready – Priming the Bonnet and Boot of the 1986 Daimler DS420

The boot and bonnet of the 1986 Daimler DS420 have been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop for their next round of work in the lead-up to paint. The team have carefully rubbed back all of the pannels on-top and underneath before getting the pieces into primer followed by a light coat of Polyfan. […]

Fresh Metal – Door Repairs on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The other door of the 1986 Daimler DS420 has been on the bench in the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop to have various metal repairs. The door of the classic Daimler has suffered some quite serious corrosion in places which have been carefully cut from the door for the team to begin making hand-made patches […]

Preparations – Working on the Bonnet and Boot of the 1986 Daimler DS420

The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on preparing the bonnet and boot of the 1986 Daimler DS420 for primer. Both were removed from the car, which is in our fabrication department, to be moved to the body area for the team to finesse. The panels were carefully inspected before […]

Readied – Priming the Doors of the 1986 Daimler DS420

After their metal repairs were completed by the fabrication shop, the doors for the 1986 Daimler DS420 have been taken into the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop to be primered. The doors were first thoroughly cleaned down before the team set them onto the door jigs to be sprayed. The first stage is to get […]

Inch by Inch – Repairing the Doors on the 1986 Daimler DS420

As part of the restoration of the 1986 Daimler DS420, the team have been carrying out various metal repairs to the doors of the classic limo. Our fabrication shop has made multiple patch pieces for the car which all have to be perfect fits to work around the complex compound curves which make up door […]

Starting Point – Rust Repairs Begin on the 1986 Daimler DS420

The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars have been starting on the rust repairs to the classic 1986 Daimler DS420. The team have spent some time assessing and inspecting the corrosion on the bodywork of the classic limo before beginning the intricate metal work. Work began around the rear window frames which saw quite heavy […]

Change Over – 1986 Daimler DS420 in the Fabrication Shop

The 1986 Daimler DS420 has been moved from the body preparation department into the in-house fabrication shop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk restoration workshops. After having the body stripped back to discover some areas of quite deep corrosion by the body team, it is now down to the fabrication department to get the metal […]