Workshop Walkabout
November 25, 2020
There’s been a lot going with week already and its only Wednesday! Take a look at what’s been going on s far. Range Rover Sport
1953 Ford Transit
Workshop Walkabout
October 23, 2020
We had a walkabout this workshop this afternoon to see what everyone’s up to. One of our classic car technicians Pete has the 1996 Nissan
Taunus is Road-Trip Ready!
October 20, 2020
Our incredibly rare 1953 Taunus Ford Transit visited our in-house paint shop this week. Her owner wants to keep her patina look and our paint
You Can’t Brake Her Spirit
September 9, 2020
After five long years of sitting idle, this fantastic 1953 Ford Transit was brought back to life by our talented engine mechanics here at Bridge
She Lives!
September 3, 2020
The 1953 Ford Transit van that arrived with us yesterday has spent the morning with our expert classic car technician Pete. After five years of
New Arrival – 1953 Ford Transit Van
September 2, 2020
An exciting delivery arrived at Bridge Classic Cars this afternoon. The team got to meet one of the first ever Ford Transit Vans, introduced originally
Workshop Walkabout
November 25, 2020
There’s been a lot going with week already and its only Wednesday! Take a look at what’s been going on s far.
Range Rover Sport 2016
One of our directors, Gordon, had his Range Rover Sport’s tyres refurbished, ready for the cold winter months ahead. Now fully refurbished, Gordon’s Range Rover is ready to take on the elements.
Jaguars New Stripes
As seen in our blog yesterday, the 1967 Jaguar E-Type Race Car has now been finished! This has been an incredibly exciting project that has been in progress since 2016. Over the last few days, the finishing touches have been added such as the pinstripes on the bonnet and fine-tuning the engine. The bonnet itself has also be re-installed to make sure it fits after the recent engine works.
Craig’s Mercedes 500SL
Our other director, Craig, is in the process of choosing the leather for the interior and the spray finish for the fuel tank. It’s deciding details like this that make classic cars so personal to their owners.
Morris Minor
One of the more notable updates on the Morris Minor 1000 is the new hood. The trim shop has done a fantastic job yet again to make the perfect custom hood, allowing this Morris Minor to be more usable throughout the changing seasons. Our technician Scott has also been trying to figure out the reason for the play in its front wheels. The mystery is yet to be solved…
The front suspension has also been tightened, the curtesy light wiring is being installed and Adam is troubleshooting the electrics.
Grey Jensen 541R
Lots of little updates for the Grey Jensen 541R such as preparing the door rim before it goes to the trim shop, stripping the bonnet ready for paint, made the curtesy light switch by hand, installed the hand brake cables and panhard rod as well as the speedo drive.
Triumph TR5
Our 1968 Triumph TR5 is awaiting its interior but it has had its heater installed!
Blue E-Type
Our blue 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 is awaiting on a new steering rack, clutch slave cylinder and bumper to be fitted. The parts have been ordered so the E-Type should be looking good as new in no time!
Ford Transit
This lovely 1953 Ford Transit is almost ready to leave us now. We’re just waiting on some new 6 volt bulbs for the headlights and then it’ll be ready to go!
Blue Jensen
We’re giving the blue Jensen a general nut and bolt service. It came in to have its clutch, exhaust and breaks replaced which have been or are in the process of being fixed.
Peony Red Jensen
The Peony Red Jensen 542S has had its seats made up. The next step is to complete the set and install them. Our trim shop never fails to impress us with their stunning interior projects.
Peugeot 504
The Peugeot 504 has now had all its interior trim completed. The last few pieces include making and fitting the hood which had to have the leather glued to the frame once made up.
Black Jensen
The black Jensen is visiting our paint shop for some touch-ups and corrections in the paintwork.
1988 Nissan 300ZX
Ady our engine specialist has taken apart both exhaust manifolds on the Nissan 300ZX.
Amphicar
The fuel pump has been rewired, two bilge pumps are set to be added, the brakes have been bled, the grease nipples re-greased and the heater has been ordered.
Range Rover TDI
A new gear stick gaiter has been made and fitted by the trim shop. Our range rover is making steady progress to be completed soon.
Black Spitfire
Although we don’t have the Black Spitfire back with us, we do have the task of replacing the half shafts. We’re hoping we can order in new pieces however we may need to take these apart instead and refurbish them ourselves.
Workshop Walkabout
October 23, 2020
We had a walkabout this workshop this afternoon to see what everyone’s up to.
One of our classic car technicians Pete has the 1996 Nissan Patrol up on the ramp. “I’m working on the front disc brakes” he explains “the inner seal on the hub has gone.”
Pete’s lined up the front-wheel-drive axel, marking out exactly where each component goes, so it can go back together the exact same way.
The seats on our 1972 MGB Roadster are back from Kath in our in-house trim shop. Tamas is now fitting the seats back into car. “I’m also removing the wheels ready to go into paint” Tamas tells us “as well as refitting the luggage rack back onto the boot”.
Another MG also in the workshop, is our stunning 1960 MGA. Keen to modify the car, her owner is opting for heating to be installed. Some classics would have these modern ‘essentials’ as optional extras back in the day.
“We had to order the heater box from America” our expert Paul explains. “We’re also doing some minor improvements on the gearbox and pistons.” Paul’s also added another mirror that the customer’s asked for. Along with changing the rubber trim around the boot and bonnet from grey to black.
Classic car technician Scott’s continued fitting various bits and pieces onto our 1957 grey Jensen 541R. “I’ve been making the cable ends for the grill flap mechanism” he tells us. The front grill on the 541R opens to act as a cooling aid for the engine. The driver controls this mechanism from the front seat.
Scott’s also fitted the new windscreen washer system this week. Including new washer bottle, pipework and washer jet system.
Our impressive 1967 Jaguar E-Type Race Car has reached a milestone moment today! Our Director Gordon and workshop manager John got her engine roaring and even got flames firing out the exhausts!
This is a very exciting moment here at Bridge. After quite an exhaustive restoration, it’s a beautiful thing to finally have a car up and running again.
Gordon even managed a quick test drive round the car park!
In the trim shop our interior experts Kath and Brian are making great progress on our 1960 Black Jensen 541R. The back seats, front seats and centre console all now in position.
Rosie the dog even came to say hello!
Our car electrician Adam has been working on the 1965 Amphicar’s wiring. “I’ve been tidying up the engine bay wiring” Adam explains. “All the engine accessories and wiring wasn’t waterproof. Which for an Amphicar- is pretty important!”
Interestingly, the Amphicar’s engine is in the boot, much like boat engines are. Whereas under the bonnet, is where the fuel tank and storage space is.
Our engine expert Ady’s is getting ready to put the engine back in our 1972 Peugeot 504.
He’s also done some engine work on the 1953 Ford Taunus Transit Van. “It was running a bit rough. So, I’ve done a few engine tweaks and am hoping to do an oil and filter change next.”
Last but certainly not least, our body shop expert Anthony has been working on our 1987 Mercedes 500SL. “We need to get the underseal off the metal shell” explains Anthony. “It’s really tough to remove so we use a method of literally burning it off, it’s almost like melting it.”
Phew! What a busy week we’re having here at the workshop. As we fast approach the weekend I think everyone earned a well deserved break. Well done Bridge Class Cars team!
Taunus is Road-Trip Ready!
October 20, 2020
Our incredibly rare 1953 Taunus Ford Transit visited our in-house paint shop this week. Her owner wants to keep her patina look and our paint expert Darren knows just what to do.
“We’ve done a pre-clean and a gentle scotch sanding” he explains. “I’ve then used a direct-to-metal binder to act as a corrosive protector.”
This trusty Taunus might look tarnished, but it’s now ‘all elements’-proof and ready for it’s next any-weather adventure!
You Can’t Brake Her Spirit
September 9, 2020
After five long years of sitting idle, this fantastic 1953 Ford Transit was brought back to life by our talented engine mechanics here at Bridge Classic Cars.
This week, she’s has a full refurbishment of her wheels and brakes. The brakes kept sticking, so now the engine is running smoothly, it was time to get her wheels and brakes doing the same.
No one can break this little vans spirit now!
She Lives!
September 3, 2020
The 1953 Ford Transit van that arrived with us yesterday has spent the morning with our expert classic car technician Pete.
After five years of back and forth trips to mechanics, this unique Taunus Transit still wouldn’t fire up.
But, after a thorough diagnosis and via process of elimination, the talented team here at Bridge have solved the mystery.
“The magic eye was not fitted correctly on the distributor,” explained Pete. “It needed pushing down further so the rotor arm could be fitted correctly. The firing order was also wrong, so we’ve sorted that”.
Pete and Tamas have since done several workshop tests, including taking her out for a test run and she’s now driving well. There’s only a few more final checks to make before we can give her the all clear, but what a amazing turnaround – great work team!
New Arrival – 1953 Ford Transit Van
September 2, 2020
An exciting delivery arrived at Bridge Classic Cars this afternoon. The team got to meet one of the first ever Ford Transit Vans, introduced originally in 1953 as an FK 1000 but later as a Taunus Transit from 1961.
It’s one of only three others in the world, one of which is at the Ford Heritage Centre in Essex. This one is particularly special because of it’s window surrounds, the only one of it’s type. It may remind you of the VW Transporter, which it was designed to rival.
It’s owner has tried everything from new carburettors to new coils, but it still just doesn’t run. “We’re going to take a closer look and find out what’s going on” explains our workshop manager John. “I predict the fault may be electrical.”
We’re hopeful that the Bridge Classic Car’s magic touch will have this special van on some great British road trips again very soon!
