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1969 Sunbeam Rapier

Jet Wash – Fitting the Washer System to the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

July 21, 2022

The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have finished up the final job on the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier ahead of the journey to its new home.

The washer system for the car has been completely cleaned through and tested before being refitted to the car. With this job finished, the transport team will soon load the classic Sunbeam into our enclosed trailer to head of to its new owner.

As It Should – Repairs on the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

July 20, 2022

The 1969 Sunbeam Rapier Fastback has been on the ramp at Bridge Classic Cars to have the last few jobs finished on the car before it heads off to its new owner.

The workshop have been working through the car to rescue one of the seat mounts on the interior which is now fixed down firmly in place before moving on to the handbrake.

The workshop have fitted new handbrake cables to the underside of the classic Sunbeam as well as replacing all the rubber joints in the front suspension of the car.

In Place – New Universal Joint & Gearbox/Crossmember Bushes on the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

July 19, 2022

The 1969 Sunbeam Rapier has been up on the ramp at the Bridge Classic Cars for its final inspection and to have the final jobs finished on the car.

On inspection, the team have replaced the universal joint to the front of the driveshaft on the classic Sunbeam Fastback. Jon replaced the joint before refitting it back into the car ready for its new owner.

Whilst the driveshaft was out of the car, the workshop took the opportunity to renew the gearbox and cross-member bushes/mounts with brand new replacements for the car.

With the final bits of work done on the car, it will soon be heading off to its new home.

Behind the Scenes – Live Draw of the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

July 15, 2022

Last night, the Bridge Classic Cars team found out who the lucky new owner of our stunning 1969 Sunbeam Rapier was! Let’s take a look behind the scenes with Craig, Freddie and Nick.

The Sunbeam Rapier Fastback is one of the best-kept secrets in the classic car world. Gorgeous styling, good performance paired with sturdy and reliable engineering. Our beautiful vibrant Red Rapier Fastback proved to be hugely popular, by the time the competition ended at 7:10 PM last night, only 900 of the 7750 tickets remained. And, it was our lowest ticket price ever at just £3! But it was a lot of car for a very small outlay.

As the team went live on our Facebook page at 7PM, everyone began to join in with the comments section coming alive with greetings and messages of luck to each other.

After the introduction, Craig handed over to Nick for a quick tour with Freddie around the workshop to take a look at some of the work the Bridge Classic Cars workshop team have been doing over the last week. Then, at 10 past 7, the entries closed.

Whilst the team waited for the final entry list to be posted up online (which is done with all of our competitions) they took along around some of the other cars in the competitions building, some of which you will see more of very soon…

Then, it was time for the live draw. As always, we used a Google Random Number Generator to choose a winner from everyone who entered randomly. After a quick test to make sure the number generator was working correctly and messages of ”all clear” flashed away on the live stream, Craig input the numbers to be chosen between. 1 and 7750.

One final word of good luck from the team, and with a single click the future of the Rapier Fastback was confirmed. It would be heading to its new home with Chris. Who’s winning ticket of 5993 was selected by the random number generator.

As always the team give the winner a call. After a few rings, Chris answered. Although having your dinner interrupted isn’t always ideal, when Craig told him he was now the proud new owner of our 1969 Sunbeam Rapier, you could hear the excitement in his voice.

Behind the Scenes – Shooting the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

July 7, 2022

The Bridge Classic Cars Competitions team have just launched this! Our 1969 Sunbeam Rapier.

The team took the fully inspected Rapier fastback to our filming location to begin getting the necessary photos and videos to bring you the latest competition car.

The bright red coupe looked incredible in the summer sun. Its paintwork is only complemented further by the exceptional black interior and black/silver wheels.

The 1.7-litre 4-cylinder engine pulled strong as it made its way across the ex-airfield. The twin Weber carburettors gave their signature snarl with every blip of the throttle much to the delight of the team. It was a perfect machine for the best time of year. A low-slung and sleek fastback. A micro-muscle car with strong, chiselled looks but on a delicate and nimble scale.

And now, all of this could be yours. Bridge Classic Cars Competitions wants you to win this 1969 Sunbeam Rapier! Head over to the website and get your tickets now!

Or, to check out the official gallery and video, see below:

Behind the Scenes – Live Draw of the 1993 Land Rover Defender 90

July 6, 2022

Slightly out of synch with the usual competition calendar this week. The Bridge Classic Cars team are bringing you two live draws! This Thursday the 1957 MG A Roadster and 1997 Rover Mini will be won at 7pm on our Facebook page. But last night, we found out who the lucky new owner of our 1993 Land Rover Defender was.

At 7pm exactly, the team went live across the internet. In the hour previously, it almost looked like the Mini was going to be drawn too! But, while we waited to see if this was going to happen Hayley and Freddie took all our amazing followers on a look around the stable of stunning classics which are kept safe and dry in our new competition building. Some of these are customers’ cars which have either been finished by our restoration workshops or are in storage while parts are on their way to our Suffolk HQ.

But, a few of them may or may not be upcoming competition cars…

After going around the eclectic mix of incredible machines, it was time for the team to find out the future of the 1993 Land Rover Defender 90. The competition had actually sold out early that day, so just like all of our competitions the entry lists are published on our website with every ticket number that had been bought with the corresponding name.

To find out who would be getting this stunning Corris Grey off-roader delivered directly to their door, the team use Google Random Number Generator. So, after testing that everything was working correctly with numbers outside the criteria. Hayley entered for the programme to choose between 1 and 3499. With a single click of the button, we had a winner.

Ticket number 2525 – The lucky number allocated to David. As always, we do try to contact the winners live on the Facebook stream but we had to leave David a voicemail to let him know the amazing news.

Remember! You could win a dream classic again this week. Although the 1997 Rover Mini completely sold out overnight, there is still incredible odds on the 1957 MG A Roadster – Enter now and you could be the new owner of this beautiful piece of sports car history.

Or, to rewatch the live draw, check out the video below:

Behind the Scenes – Live Draw of the 1985 Jaguar Sovereign V12

June 17, 2022

First of all, congratulations to David! He won the 1985 Jaguar Sovereign V12 during last night’s draw with ticket number 2631 but, along with the live draw the team gave all of our audience a look around some of the other cars stored in our new building.

The Jaguar Sovereign V12 was the main event of the evening but it was surrounded by either current or possible future competition cars and some amazing restoration/customer cars we keep on site. Hayley and Freddie went all through the classic Jaguar showing everyone watching along on the live stream the fine details and modern luxuries which came as standard when the Sovereign V12 was new.

Then, Hayley handed it over to Nick who went through a little bit about our new online classic sales platform MyClassics. An overview of how, why, what and where it exactly is and that it sits with the enthusiasts at heart, whether that be buying or selling a classic it was designed just for them.

A quick look around the fantastic and eclectic mix of classics stored in our new building from a customers 1932 Lagonda Tourer in for our incredible trim team to work on all the way to a modern Triumph Street Twin motorcycle.

But, everyone watching along wanted to know the answer to the ultimate question which hung in the air. Who did the 1985 Sovereign V12 belong to? We also wanted to find out. Heading over to the screen, the team began that process.

Using our pre-published entry lists (these are generated after ticket sales close or the competition sells out) the team verified that the tickets were within the range of between 1 and 3333. Then, it was over to the Google Random Number Generator to let lady luck take control. Hayley set the criteria and as the screen became awash with whirring numbers, the anticipation rose.

Finally, it landed on a number. 2631.

Consulting the entry list, that particular ticket number had been purchased by David Graham. The new owner of the 1985 Jaguar Sovereign V12. So, as we do with all our live draws we gave him a ring to give him the good news.

When David answered, he was thrilled. He had entered for the Sovereign after always wanting a classic to join in with his friends who restore and enjoy classics up in Scotland and now he has his Jaguar V12 to get involved in the fun!

You can rewatch the live draw on the video below:

Behind The Scenes – Live Draw of the 1973 Triumph TR6

June 1, 2022

With the competition selling out just before the draw time of 7PM, the Bridge Classic Cars team got together to find out who the lucky new owner of our 1973 Triumph TR6 was.

The gorgeous Saffron Yellow TR6 was front and centre in the new Bridge Classic Cars building, surrounded by upcoming and some previous competition cars while a few of our personal collection are dotted throughout.

After having a look around and letting you all know about some very exciting competitions which have just gone live (the first ever driving experience of the Lotus Emira at the legendary Hethel test track) it was time to move on to what everyone was here for, finding out who had won the TR6.

As the team fired up the random number generator, and the entry list (published ahead of time due to the competition selling out early) up on the screen. It was time for the magical click, as the numbers whirred passed on the screen the last few messages of luck flashed up on the live comments. And there it was, 3999. A ticket number which was allocated to Valerie Bale. The new owner of the 1973 Triumph TR6.

Afterwards, during our live stream we tried to ring Valerie but couldn’t get through so left a message but she did ring back later and is over the moon with her new dream classic!

Fit and Finish – Finishing the Interior of the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

March 31, 2022

Our in-house trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has finished the interior overhaul on the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier that arrived from South Africa a couple of months ago.

We believe the interior to have been redone at some point in its life but there were a few details on the car which the team just weren’t happy with so the plan was hatched to redo them. The trim team have been working on both the dash and the centre console to get the perfect fit for the car.

Along with that, Brian has made a new glovebox liner entirely from scratch to fit perfectly into the existing dashboard.

Remove and Repair – Repairing the Dash and Centre Console of the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

March 25, 2022

The dashboard and centre console of the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier have been removed from the car and taken up the Bridge Classic Cars trim shop for repairs to begin on the pieces.

Brian carefully dismantled the pieces to perform the repairs needed. A lot of these issues were to do with the fitment and finish of the panels or inserts so mostly small adjustments or retrimming was needed but in other places, entire panels had to be remade and then retrimmed.

He entirely remade the centre console to take into the newly fitted USB socket for the classic Sunbeam. This was retrimmed in matching black vinyl to match the rest of the car.

Up and Running – Getting the 1969 Sunbeam Rapier Started

March 22, 2022

The restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have got the engine running on our 1969 Sunbeam Rapier since it arrived in with us from South Africa recently.

With some fresh fuel, top-up of levels, a jump start from our director’s car and a check over the little 4-cylinder sprang into life, happily idling in our storage facility, The Hangar. So, we decided to take it out for a drive up and down the runway to make sure everything worked just as it should.

This Just In – 1969 Sunbeam Rapier

March 21, 2022

This gorgeous 1969 Sunbeam Rapier is fresh off the boat from South Africa and has made its way to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop inside of our Pettistree HQ.

This classic sports car will be heading into the workshops to be inspected and assessed by the restoration teams and report back on the car.

Expect to see more very soon on this beautiful 1969 Sunbeam Rapier here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.

First run up of Sunbeam Rapier engine

March 17, 2022

Having travelled over from South Africa in a container, our 1969 Sunbeam Rapier has been run up and driven for the first time in a long time.

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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