Car collection of the 17yr old Craig
Probably to most people, this wouldn’t be considered the garage of dreams but to me, this is the start of exactly that. At the age
Probably to most people, this wouldn’t be considered the garage of dreams but to me, this is the start of exactly that. At the age
Our 1998 Lotus Elise S1 has been in the skilled hands of classic car technician John to investigate a couple of issues that the car
On Sunday 23rd April, Bridge Classic Cars hosted Drive It Day. Starting at The Hangar, at Bentwaters Parks, around 150 cars arrived and were put
There are always classic vehicles coming into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. However, every now and again, multiple vehicles all show up at the same
A very special Lotus Elise has recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our 1998 Lotus Elise S1 comes from only one previous owner
Probably to most people, this wouldn’t be considered the garage of dreams but to me, this is the start of exactly that.
At the age of 17 I passed my test, in just under 4 weeks. I had booked my theory for my birthday itself and then went on to book my practical for the next available time. That time was 4 weeks and as Ipswich was booked up well beyond 4 weeks the closest slot I could get was Clacton. With the help of my amazing instructor I passed my test 1st time.
Aside from the little Mini I had to drive around the fields in as a kid I bought my first actual car 6 months prior to my 17th birthday and although it never moved I would often spend my weekends pushing it in and out of the garage to give it a clean. That car was my 1998 Citroen Saxo VTR.
Fast forward now to 2021 and I took a call from my friend Luke who just so happened to see an advert for a matching Citroen Saxo VTR, same colour, same interior…even the same year! I took a trip up north to view this 20,000 mile, totally original example and it brought back so many amazing memories. Even smelt like my old car. There began the start of my small but sentimental car collection.
Then came the purchase of my 1998 Lotus Elise, the car that many 17 year olds dreamt of owning but extortionate insurance costs put a stop to that ever happening! I found my Lotus in H&H Auctions for sale as part of the race driver Jeff Ward collection.
Having covered just 11,000 miles from new and still boasting a 100% factory specification this little Lotus was just too good to be true.
Finally, well I should I say ‘next up’ because hopefully this won’t be the final car is my 2000 Peugeot 306 Cabriolet.
Believe it or not, as a 17yr old the Peugeot 306 Cabriolet was the car I wanted to own but again, due to insurance and the cost of the car at the time, this was beyond my reach. 22 years on I see this incredible 13,000 mile example go through CCA (Classic Car Auctions) in Warwick and as we planned on a trip there for the auction I thought I’d give it a go and guess what…I won!
So now I’m the proud owner of 3 cars from my past and hopefully I’ll continue to find good examples of the cars I wished I’d have owned.
Thanks to our good friend Alan Kenny, the incredibly talented man behind the majority of the Silverstone, Iconic, CCA photographs for letting me have a copy of all of his images.
Our 1998 Lotus Elise S1 has been in the skilled hands of classic car technician John to investigate a couple of issues that the car has been having.
The first issue to be resolved was the bonnet hinge bolts. John secured these in place before investigating why the gears were proving hard to engage during driving. He found that this was due to bushes in the cable ends being completely gone. New bushes have been ordered and will be installed once they arrive at the workshop.
On Sunday 23rd April, Bridge Classic Cars hosted Drive It Day.
Starting at The Hangar, at Bentwaters Parks, around 150 cars arrived and were put on display. Tea and coffee were available and there was plenty of time to admire the wide variety of vehicles in attendance.
At midday, we all travelled, in convoy, to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, in Pettistree – a journey of approximately 7 miles. Once here, there was musical entertainment from The Buskateers, food from Suffolk Fried Chicken and Otis Breading, and The Atelier bar was open too.
The whole day was a lot of fun and it was great to see so many classic car enthusiasts turn out and spend some time with us (despite the poor weather at times!). However, it wasn’t all about fun and cars – Drive It Day helps raise much-needed funds for the NSPCC, specifically Childline.
Our Drive It Day was a great success and more than £2000 was raised over the course of the day.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars would like to thank everyone who came along and we hope to see even more of you at our future events.
There are always classic vehicles coming into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. However, every now and again, multiple vehicles all show up at the same time.
After a successful day at auction recently, we received a delivery of several vehicles that we were very excited to welcome into the workshop. In the back of the car transporter was our 1958 Austin Healey Sprite, our 1969 Morgan 4/4 1600, and our 1998 Lotus Elise S1.
We are looking forward to sharing more information on these beautiful classic cars very soon!
A very special Lotus Elise has recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our 1998 Lotus Elise S1 comes from only one previous owner and has covered a little over 11,000 miles in its life.
If one previous owner wasn’t special enough, the one person who has owned this stunning car was Jeff Ward. Jeff was a longstanding member of the 750 Motor Club and was involved in motor racing for many years. He started racing in an Austin 7 before moving on to a 750 formula car (that he built himself) and then on to a Chevron.
Jeff was a founder of the London Special Builders Group and author of The Special Builders Guide and helped many racers progress up the motorsport ladder. Jeff ran a business making trailer lighting boards which were used by the AA and RAC – this certainly helped fund his car and bike collection.
Following Jeff’s sad passing in 2022, we are fortunate enough to take ownership of our 1998 Lotus Elise S1. It looks to be in great condition and we are very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this special Elise.
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.
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