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1955 Aston Martin DB2 / 4 ‘Mark I’

Update on the Aston Martin

September 3, 2021

Here’s a big update on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4. Clinton has been continuing his work on the car and has given us the low-down on what has been done recently.

If we start at the rear of the vehicle, he’s finished putting the four corners in, the outside edge of the boot lid was corroded so this has been repaired with fabrication and welding, a new boot hinge has been created and Clinton is waiting for parts to arrive to complete the boot. One bigger change to the boot has been the removal of two large handles on the boot. When the car arrived with them on, we thought something wasn’t quite right, so we went on a visit to Stratton Motor Company because they had a DB 2/4 in their own showroom. It was there that it was confirmed that the handles should not be on the boot lid.

The front “pod” of the car on the right-hand side had to be repaired due to corrosion. The guys in the fabrication and welding bay are now waiting for the inside of the bonnet to be painted before they can fit the inner frame parts back in. The doors also need looking at as they won’t shut properly.

Paint matching the Aston Martin

September 2, 2021

Some exciting news on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4 project. After discovering the original paint colour on the back of the glovebox while it was being stripped apart back in May, the guys in the paint shop have now managed to match it up very closely. You can see in the photos the new paint sprayed onto metal next to the original paint on the back of the glovebox. We’re looking forward to seeing the car painted now! Keep your eyes peeled for progress on that…

Aston Martin gets another step closer to the paint shop

September 1, 2021

Lydia has been getting the bonnet of the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4 a step closer to the paint shop. The front inside edge had a lot of red oxide left on it so Lydia went about removing as much as she possibly could with thinners and a red scotch pad. There are some parts that aren’t budging so James will look at grinding those out.

Small update on the Aston Martin.

August 31, 2021

A small update on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4. The panel that is inside the boot, where the lock is, was corroded and had paint left on it. Lydia took it into the sandblasting in order to remove all of this.

Re-manufacturing the Aston boot hinge

August 25, 2021

A wobbly bolt! That’s not what you want on a boot hinge that’s expected to hold up a huge piece of the back of a car.

Not a part you’ll find easily, our Aston Martin DB2/4 boot hinge bracket is having to be re-manufactured to comfortable and securely take the size of the bolt required to hold up the boot itself.

Clinton specialises in metalwork. He works within the fabrication and body work department of our workshops and is gifted with his talents in the fabrication of intricate metalwork. He has re-produced, to original factory specification, the boot hinge that can now take the size of bolt that is required without any movement or ‘wobble’.

Aston Martin DB2/4 Interior Final Piece

August 23, 2021

It’s the final piece to the Aston DB2/4 carpet remanufacturing. Kath has done a sterling job re-producing the carpets to the factory specification of grey with grey piping.

The very last task on the interior is to complete the rear seat assembly but for now we can move on. Once the body shell is nearing completion we can then line up the rear seat to ensure all measurements are accurate.

Aston Martin DB2/4 Rear End Rebuild

August 20, 2021

Clinton is continuing to work his magic and do an incredible job to the rebuild and re-shaping of the rear of our 1955 Aston martin DB2/4.

At some point in its life, evidence suggests that the car was involved in a rear collision leaving lasting damage to the back area of the vehicle.

Although we can’t be sure, this could be the reason why the car arrived to us with chrome handles on the rear. These could have been used as a way of further clamping down the boot.

The initial repairs carried out were enough to help shape the rear of the car but we certainly not done to an acceptable standard in our opinion. They were also very much different from how the vehicle would have left the factory, with extra strengthening steel supporting the shape rather than the body supporting itself.

Clinton has removed all of these strengthening bars and is currently, completely rebuilding the rear aperture to once again add strength but in the way it is supposed to be.

This week, Craig and Clinton took a trip over to Stratton Motor Company to have a look at a truly stunning example they have in the showroom. Thank you to Nick and the team for letting us look over the car. We got some useful measurements and dimensions to be able to build our one back up to the way it should be.

Carpet re-fresh continues for the DB 2/4.

August 19, 2021

Kath has been continuing her work on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4’s carpet. This time, she’s re-made the left-hand footwell carpet, right-hand boot side panel, right-hand rear floor, right-hand rear under-seat, right-hand rear corner, right-hand rear sill, rear quarter panel (which needs the wood in still) and rear scuttle panel.

Aston Martin DB2/4 Carpet Work

August 16, 2021

Although the interior of our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 has been re-manufactured not that long ago, it was been carried out to the customer’s preference and not correct in correspondence to the original factory specification. The interior of our Aston is currently undergoing a complete transformation by Kath, Brian and Lydia in our trim shop and the new fit out will see the original colour return.

Right now, Kath is working on re-manufacturing the interior carpet using the existing as a template.

Starting on the Aston Martin carpets!

August 13, 2021

Kath has been starting on the carpet for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4 this week.

The list of carpet pieces she’s made includes the front tunnel carpet, the rear under-seat carpets, the carpet that goes underneath the front of the gearbox, the top gearbox carpet, the gearbox tunnel carpets, the right-hand and left-hand foot well carpets, the carpet that goes around the throttle peddle, the rear foot well carpet and the rear boot-side panel carpet.

Each piece of carpet has got binding around some or all of the edges. This is made from the dark grey leather that was chosen, and is sewn on, right-side to right-side of the leather and carpet. It’s first stitched along the edge, and then the leather gets folded over to the under-side of the carpet and gets sewn again. The new carpet is grey to match the leather binding, whereas it was green and white carpet originally, with green binding.

Front bases now finished for the Aston!

August 6, 2021

Kath has been fitting the second front base seat cover to its foam and frame for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4. It’s exactly the same process as the other front base, which you can read about here.

New sun visors for the Aston!

August 6, 2021

Brian has been re-covering a few more pieces for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4’s interior.

The rear seat top panels have been done. He took the original leather off the wood and cleaned off any old glue that remained. He used the original leather covering as a pattern on the new leather to draw around and then cut out. Brian then simply had to glue the new leather onto the original wood, wrapping the leather around the edges and sealing underneath to provide neat edges. This panel will sit on top of the rear seat once in the car, which just provides a cover so there isn’t a gap. If you think of a modern car and its parcel shelf, that’s the position this will be in.

The sun visors have also been recovered. Brian started the process by taking the original material off the boards that formed the sun visors. He then used these boards to work out the measurements of new fabric he needed to cut out. He cut out new boards and then glued the new headlining fabric to one side and wrapped around the edges, sealing in place. Brian trimmed down the flange down one side on lengths of piping and glued it to the inside edge of one board. He then attached the other side of covered board to finish the sun visors.

Hand-sewn straps for the DB 2/4!

August 5, 2021

Another little update on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4 coming your way!

In the trim shop, Kath has been re-covering the door straps. She began the process by taking the original leather off one of them and using it as a pattern for both of them on the new leather. Once cut out, she sewed the new leather piece onto each one, by hand. The way that it was sewn couldn’t have been done by machine.

DB 2/4 seats coming along.

August 5, 2021

Kath has been doing more seat work for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4. This time around she’s been fitting the front base seat covers onto their foams and frames. She’s already sewn up the new front bases, which you can read about here.

The process started with Kath adding sections of new foam to the original, where it had deteriorated, and blending it in. She then cleaned off old glue from the wood around the straps and re-painted it. She also tightened up the straps after becoming loose from age. Kath took the original strip of wood from the gap in the foam, cleaned it up and attached it to the end of the calico piece that was sewn into the new front base seat. This piece of wood gets attached to the underneath of the foam and straps frame and helps keep the middle piped section down into place. Kath glued a piece of black calico to the wooden frame, to give a neat finish behind the straps. The front base seat could then finally be stapled onto the wooden frame. After that was done, the metal seat sliders were fixed onto the underneath of the seat and the matching front squab was attached to it on top.

Kath is now in the process of fitting up the other front base, so stay tuned!

Uncovering questionable repairs on Aston Martin DB2/4

August 5, 2021

Up to now, our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 was not uncovering too many hidden issues. Naturally, we had a lot of repairs and re-shaping to do but nothing too scary.

Having carried out a full bare metal strip down of the car Clinton has uncovered some very questionable repairs that have been done at some stage in its life. The entire rear opening is completely out of shape due to previous damage. Most of the opening is being held in by reinforced steel attached to the aluminium body to strengthen and hold the shape.

This is absolutely not correct and must be addressed. Not a small job to carry out but one that is essential if we are to complete this project to the exacting standards that it should be. Clinton will need to cut out sections at a time, remove the steel work and re-shape the aluminium back to what it should.

The video shows the entire area and how extra metalwork is fitted to help strengthen the aperture.

Clinton Continues DB2/4 Fabrication

August 4, 2021

We check in to our DB2/4 restoration as Clinton is finalising the bonnet fabrication. Clinton has fabricated brand new hinges and completely reshaped the lower bumper moulding, letting in fresh metal when neccaasary. ‘The car can warp over time, so what may be a very small warpage has a knock-on effect and can result in panels sitting out of alignment across the entire car’ Clinton explains. The only way to ensure we achieve the best possible restoration is by going to the extent Clinton has with the fabrication and preparation of the bodywork.

The next step will be to make sure all of the panels are correctly aligned, ensuring the gaps are all uniform and tidy.

Dash tray work on the Aston.

August 4, 2021

Brian has been continuing the interior trim work for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4.

This time, he’s been working on a pair of dash trays and a pair of under dash panels. For the dash trays, Brian started the process by taking off the rubber lip that went around the hole, then took off the original fabric pieces. He cleaned off as much original glue from the metal frame of the under dash panels. He then lay out the new headlining fabric chosen for the car, and placed the original fabric pieces on top of it, using them as patterns. Once marked out around, Brian cut out the new fabric and the first piece to glue onto the metal was the centrepiece. Glue was applied to the back of the fabric and to the metal and then Brian slowly attached the fabric to it, after the glue had gone tacky, making neat cuts around the hole so the material sat nicely. The inside sides were also covered in headlining fabric. Brian then cut out grey leather for the outside of the under dash panels. These pieces were glued on, then the finishing touch was to place the rubber lip back on.

For the under dash panels, Brian simply took the original headlining fabric off them, sanded down the excess old glue, used the original fabric pieces as patterns on the new headlining fabric, cut out, and glued the new material onto them.

Progress on Aston Martin panels!

August 3, 2021

Brian has been re-covering more panels for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4.

This time it’s been the lower A posts, the dash side panels, the rear seat front rail and the boot side panels. He took the original leather off all of them and cleaned off any old glue that was left behind. He then used the original leather pieces as patterns on the new leather, marked out around them and cut them out. The new leather pieces were then glued onto their associated panels, and any foam was added where need be.

Bridge Classic Cars at the 2021 Helmingham Hall Festival of Classic and Sports Cars

August 2, 2021

What a weekend! Now we’re back at base, it’s time for a re-cap of another classic car-fueled weekend. After a canceled 2020 show, Helmingham hall played backdrop for a wonderful show. Charlotte and the Bridge team were all at the show to present our restoration projects and current competition lineup. We even closed out the show by drawing the winner of our 1959 Jaguar MK1 which was Shaun Clarke, with ticket number 1486.

Here are a few snaps we took at the show.

Were you at the show? It was lovely to meet so many of you yesterday.

The start of the Aston Martin seat fitting!

July 30, 2021

Kath has been starting to fit the front squab seats and their carpet backs to the frames.

She began by stapling the sides of the front squab to the wooden part of the frame. She then trimmed back the foam on the flutes, to lay nice and flat on the back. Then she stapled the front of the squab to the wood of the seat frame, making sure it fitted nicely. Piping was then stapled around the back edge. The carpet back was placed on top of this, just inside the piping.

The first front squab is now ready! Exactly the same process will be carried out for the second one.

Carpet backs for the Aston!

July 29, 2021

Kath has been continuing her work on the front squab seats for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2 4 Mark I. Now the fronts of them have been re-made, she’s moved onto the backs. These are made out of carpet!

So Kath started by cutting a piece of the new grey carpet roughly to the size she needed, using the seat frame as a template. She then laid this piece of carpet out and marked around the original front squab back with tailor’s chalk. She checked the fit of it against the seat frame. Kath then measured out a strip of the dark grey leather and cut out. The leather was sewn around the edge of the carpet and then folded under, and sewn again to create a bound edge, which completed the front squab backs!

Headlining panels for the Aston.

July 29, 2021

Lydia has been re-covering the headlining panels for the Aston Martin DB 2/4 Mark I.

She started by peeling off the original fabric from each of the different panels and sanding down the old glue and giving the wood and metal a clean up.

The original fabric pieces were used as patterns on the new headlining fabric, and Lydia drew around them using a fabric pencil. They were all cut out and then one by one, wrapped around tightly onto the panels and glued into place. These panels will go around the sides, front, back and middle of the headlining in the car.

Flutes galore on the Aston Martin!

July 28, 2021

Kath has been continuing her interior work on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2 4 Mark I’s seats. This time she has moved onto the front squabs.

She started by marking notches and important places to remember when sewing, with a pen on the original covers, before taking them apart carefully. She didn’t unpick the flutes, but instead, measured them to work out how to create the new flutes on the new leather. Once calculated, Kath measured and marked out flute lines on the back of the new leather and a piece of scrim foam, cut to size. This acts as a backing and will create the same effect as the original, whereas they had used calico as a backing and stuffed the flutes with lengths of foam instead.

Once the flutes were all sewn, Kath used the original fluted face as a pattern to mark the edges. Pieces of leather cut to shape were sewn onto the sides of the fluted face. The sidebands were then cut out and piped in the dark grey leather around the curved edge. These sidebands were sewn onto the plain leather sides that were just attached.

Aston Martin goes greyer!

July 22, 2021

Brian has been continuing his work on the Aston Martin DB2/4 interior.

He’s finished re-covering the pockets for the doors, the top parts for the dashboard and the cover for the rear hatch hinge. The door cards have been re-covered in new foam, then the new dark red leather, with a line of dark grey piping down one side. The pockets fix onto the doors first, and then the door cards go over the tops of these, so you just see the dark grey leather through a rectangle-shaped cut-out.

Brian has also been busy covering the rear door cappings, front window surrounds, rear side window surrounds and front side windows in the new dark grey leather.

Small interior changes happening for the Aston!

July 22, 2021

Brian has been covering the top parts of the dashboard and the cover for the rear hatch hinge in the chosen new dark grey leather, for the Aston Martin DB2/4. He took the original leather off each of the pieces and cleaned off any old glue, before applying the new leather.

Sand Blasting for the Aston Martin!

July 20, 2021

Lydia has been sand blasting the internal bonnet and hinge assemblies for the Aston Martin DB2/4 in order to get rid of any substances such as old paint that have been left behind.

Bonnet work for the Aston Martin!

July 20, 2021

Clinton has been busy fabricating for the bonnet of the Aston Martin DB 2 / 4.

He’s fabricated new hinge supports for the front, repaired various cracks with welding, fabricated a new part onto the wheel arch, straightened out the front because it was all bent in, and pulled a dent out of one of the wings!

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