[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our 1960 Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite has now arrived in our Woodbridge workshops, thanks as alwasy to KARR solutions for their brilliant transportation services. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery
A successful operation, our engine is now out of the car and ready to be recommissioned by Ady. Pete’s efforts can now be concentrated to
We are currently in the process of manufacturing a bespoke storage compartment in the rear of our Jaguar E-type roadster. The compartment will be hidden
As we expected, our MGBGT’s clutch plate has seized solid to the pressure plate. We recommended fitting a new clutch as part of the project
Established in 1991, Coopercraft very quickly earned an excellent reputation for restoring and maintaining classic cars, in particular Jaguars. In the mid 1990′s, with his
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The restoration journey of our 1977 MGBGT is now in full swing with the car being stripped of all external components as well as the
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Fresh in the UK from Canada our 1969 Pontiac Firebird is now available for sale. Join us as we walk around the car…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxQikH44_Is” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After 30 years of being dry stored and untouched we have successfully brought the engine back to life on our 1977 MG BGT. This is
We are now working on refurbishing the dash of our 1955 Austin Healey. The existing covering has been removed and the surface has been cleaned
We are progressing very well with our 1957 Jensen 541R’s Corvette engine as we dial in the camshaft. Our engine is having an up rated
Our original 1961 Francis Barnett badges are now in the hands of our good friends at Pamela David Enamels to be reproduced. Pamela David Enamels was established in
Our 1975 MG B restoration is progressing nicely with the rear axle now stripped and ready for refurbishment. The brake drums and suspension components are
Our window mechanisms are now stripped, cleaned, galvanised and ready for paint.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ady has been cutting a 45′ seat with a Mira. We have also made a new valve guide. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
The underneath and inside of our 1963 Mini is now finished in Almond Green as work continues on the full respray. The car is in
Work has now begun on the rebuild of our 1972 Jaguar E-Type. Brian is sorting through the components that will need to be media blasted,
With the iconic Jaguar E-Type bonnet making up almost half of the exterior of the car, the day we are able to fit up the
More parts removed and ready for blasting and repainting.
We are now very close to our amazing 1967 Jaguar E-Type racing project being ready for the full respray colour change. The exact colour has
We are pleased to welcome Chris Jeffreys to the Bridge Classic Cars family as of today and already he’s getting stuck in to one of
Ady is now reassembling the V8 Corvette engine to be fitted into our 1957 Jensen 541R (chassis #328). The block has been refaced, the bores
We had a visit today from a beautiful 1957 MGA. Gordon was on hand to look over the work that we are hoping to carry
Our 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 diff has now been stripped, cleaned, galvanised and repainted. This is now on the shelf ready to be re-fitted when
Our brand new fuel tank pickups have arrived this morning from Chris and the guys at Four Ashes Garage. Because of the rarity and complexity
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Arriving into our workshops very soon we have our 1963 Jaguar E-Type, in for a possible restoration. The car is a US import and whilst
Our 1972 Jaguar E-Type’s V12 engine is now fitted up to the test rig to check it’s running capabilities. It turned over first time with
A rare item to source new, this piece of metalwork is from the classic Westerly Oceanquest. We will look to strip back and re-chrome the
No rest for Brian over the Christmas period as he began work on the refurbishment of our 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 gearbox. The external components
A lot of work is required on our hood frame to get that back to an acceptable standard. We are looking to refurbish the original
We have now completed the re-upholstering of our 1936 Riley Merlin Nine front seats using the customer’s own leather hyde. The hyde that has been
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our 1960 Austin Healey Frogeye Sprite has now arrived in our Woodbridge workshops, thanks as alwasy to KARR solutions for their brilliant transportation services.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25220,25221,25222,25223,25224,25225″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Having organised all of the parts, components and boxes we now have a better understanding of just how complete the car actually is and now we can get on with the task at hand.
One of our first tasks will be to see whether the engine is free and whether we can get her running.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25193,25192,25191,25190,25189,25188,25187,25186,25185,25184,25183,25182,25181,25180,25179,25178,25177,25176,25175″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
A successful operation, our engine is now out of the car and ready to be recommissioned by Ady.
Pete’s efforts can now be concentrated to the engine bay area as he now has more space to strip, clean and improve the area, to make it look lovely once again.
We are currently in the process of manufacturing a bespoke storage compartment in the rear of our Jaguar E-type roadster.
The compartment will be hidden by a lid that will be finished in the style of the front seats.
It will be fully lined and have power facilities built in.
The manufacturing process has now begun, the lids have been made up and we are now waiting on the arrival of our leather so we can start to piece it all together.
Here are some more pictures of the car in position…
As we expected, our MGBGT’s clutch plate has seized solid to the pressure plate.
We recommended fitting a new clutch as part of the project and now, having found this issue, we a glad that this part of the plan.
Established in 1991, Coopercraft very quickly earned an excellent reputation for restoring and maintaining classic cars, in particular Jaguars.
In the mid 1990′s, with his life long passion and expertise for all things Jaguar, including preparing and racing his Jaguar 420 with great success, Peter Cooper was conscious that the braking performance of these classics was inadequate for modern-day use. This led to the design and development of specially manufactured uprated braking systems for Jaguars and other marques.
Coopercraft pioneered this concept and continue to be market leaders with a quality product which is endorsed worldwide.
It was Jaguar in the 1950′s who introduced the disc brake system, stealing a march on the competition at Le Mans where they enjoyed a superiority over formidable opposition to win this historic race in 1953 with the C type, following this with a hat trick of wins in 1955, ’56 and ’57. 40 years on and the link between Jaguar, disc brakes and racing proved to be the catalyst which has led to many safer Jaguars and other classics being enjoyed by their discerning owners, across the globe!
Now known as Coopercraft International the business is owned and managed by Peter and Debbie Cooper, who continue to research, develop and produce new products to add to their popular range of uprated braking products. We offer a full fitting service in conjunction with our classic maintenance and competition preparation.
This brake kit has been designed to replace the original Dunlop cylinder assemblies, easily fitted to the original carriers and retaining your original handbrake mechanism. The cylinders incorporate a modern style seal and piston and are designed to work in conjunction with our uprated front brake kits.
They are available in steel with a smart zinc plated finish and stainless steel pistons, also available as anodised billet aluminium cylinders and pistons for competition use, complete with a set of pads.
Braided stainless steel brake hoses and higher friction brake pads are also available to further increase the performance levels.
These kits will be fitted to both our 1960 and 1957 Jensen 541R projects.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The restoration journey of our 1977 MGBGT is now in full swing with the car being stripped of all external components as well as the interior.
Having been dry stored for 30 years the majority of the car is very solid so other than the obvious places there are not too many major tasks to carry out to prepare the body for paint.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25205,25206,25207,25208,25209,25210,25211,25212,25213,25214,25215,25216,25204,25203,25202,25201,25200,25199,25198,25197,25196,25195″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Fresh in the UK from Canada our 1969 Pontiac Firebird is now available for sale. Join us as we walk around the car…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxQikH44_Is” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After 30 years of being dry stored and untouched we have successfully brought the engine back to life on our 1977 MG BGT.
This is fantastic news to begin our restoration journey but we still have a long way to go. The engine can now be worked on with the knowledge that it has successfully been run up.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TlIhCDs2Tc” align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
We are now working on refurbishing the dash of our 1955 Austin Healey. The existing covering has been removed and the surface has been cleaned up.
We have now re-covered the dash in brand new vinyl and high temperature auto adhesive.
We are progressing very well with our 1957 Jensen 541R’s Corvette engine as we dial in the camshaft. Our engine is having an up rated camshaft fitted so Ady is currently working on rebuilding with the new upgraded specifications.
Here we are adjusting the valve timing.
Our original 1961 Francis Barnett badges are now in the hands of our good friends at Pamela David Enamels to be reproduced.
Pamela David Enamels was established in 1971 as family-run business. It has been the only one to specialise in the complete restoration and manufacture of one-off glass enamelled badges to original specifications using traditional glass enamels. Over our many years of unique experience they have developed working techniques which enable them to carry out every step of the involved process in-house. With satisfied clients all around the world their records show that three people from two generations of the family have restored over 15,000 badges and manufactured over 10,000 new badges as one-offs or small quantity batches. These new badges are usually to replace missing emblems which are no longer manufactured but can also be to clients’ own designs.
Our 1975 MG B restoration is progressing nicely with the rear axle now stripped and ready for refurbishment.
The brake drums and suspension components are also stripped and ready for media blasting.
The metalwork from within the rubber bumpers are also separated and ready for media blasting.
Our window mechanisms are now stripped, cleaned, galvanised and ready for paint.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ady has been cutting a 45′ seat with a Mira.
We have also made a new valve guide.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
The underneath and inside of our 1963 Mini is now finished in Almond Green as work continues on the full respray.
The car is in with us for body preparation and paint and we then hand back to the owner to be rebuilt.
Work has now begun on the rebuild of our 1972 Jaguar E-Type. Brian is sorting through the components that will need to be media blasted, painted and refurbished to get them ready and on the shelf for the refit stage.
The rear cradle is ready for blasting and the rear wishbone assembly is ready for dismantling.
With the iconic Jaguar E-Type bonnet making up almost half of the exterior of the car, the day we are able to fit up the bonnet is the day an E-Type restoration really starts to take shape.
With the bonnet off and the full engine on display the car looks relatively incomplete but now you can see just how beautiful she looks and how striking the Golden Sands with red interior combination is.
More parts removed and ready for blasting and repainting.
We are now very close to our amazing 1967 Jaguar E-Type racing project being ready for the full respray colour change. The exact colour has now been chosen but will be kept under wraps for the big reveal.
The body preparation, to this stage, has been carried out by the guys at Simon Morris in Ipswich. We have agreed to take back control once the car is ready for paint for our own paint shop to carry out the respray.
We are pleased to welcome Chris Jeffreys to the Bridge Classic Cars family as of today and already he’s getting stuck in to one of our many paint projects that we have.
Our 1961 Jaguar XK150S will be one of the first cars into our paint booth this year for a full respray. At present, Chris is busy removing the existing paint which had micro-blistered . In order to tackle this issue it is best to strip the paintwork back to metal and re-apply the paint using the correct procedures at each stage.
We are progressing very well so far but a long way still to go.
Ady is now reassembling the V8 Corvette engine to be fitted into our 1957 Jensen 541R (chassis #328).
The block has been refaced, the bores have been honed and we have fitted new pistons with piston rings. Now the engine has been painted we can continue on with the re-assembly.
We had a visit today from a beautiful 1957 MGA. Gordon was on hand to look over the work that we are hoping to carry out. This will be a possible re-paint in 2019 to get on top of a couple of imperfections that are starting to appear.
Our 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 diff has now been stripped, cleaned, galvanised and repainted. This is now on the shelf ready to be re-fitted when the time comes.
Our brand new fuel tank pickups have arrived this morning from Chris and the guys at Four Ashes Garage. Because of the rarity and complexity in the fuel tank pickups, our old units have been returned to Chris for a future rebuild.
Who are Four Ashes Garage
They are a family owned leading independent Aston Martin Specialist with a combined experience of over 100 years on Aston Martins, based near Stratford-upon-Avon in the Heart of England, the Company has been owned by Jean Moss and Chris Adams since January 2003.
Jean is the daughter in law of Four Ashes Founder Jack Moss and widow of Michael Moss, Jack’s son who died in 1982, Chris Adams was a family friend of Jack and family before working at Four Ashes from the early 1970’s when he joined as an apprentice technician, a proper technician with 5 years extensive training (5 years at college on day release & evenings, hard work!! ) on engines, gearboxes, suspension, brakes, axles, bodywork & vehicle refinishing.
Chris is also long term partner now husband of Jean, Chris helped with vehicle repairs from an early age (6!) with his father’s haulage business before working at Four Ashes and has run his own workshop in between Four Ashes stints, specialising in high performance cars including many Aston’s, racing of classic cars and rallying, eventually involving Works type Opel Manta 400’s in the Republic of Ireland.
Chris rebuilt his 1st Aston cylinder head when just turned 17, by 18 he was rebuilding 40% of the Aston engines that came through Four Ashes hands, including all of the race engines for MYT 625, the Racing DB2 that the garage owned, which is now owned by Chris and Jean.
They have been servicing, rebuilding, restoring and racing Aston Martin cars for well over 40 years, Chris has nearly 44 years experience with the marque.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Arriving into our workshops very soon we have our 1963 Jaguar E-Type, in for a possible restoration.
The car is a US import and whilst in the states had undergone various modifications and alterations, including a V8 engine.
Our objective is to restore the car back to original condition with a few sympathetic upgrades.
Firstly we need to look for an original E-Type engine.
The car is due in to us around the end of January 2019 but work will not commence immediately.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”25287,25288,25289,25290,25291,25292,25293,25294,25295,25296,25297,25298,25299,25300,25301,25302″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Our 1972 Jaguar E-Type’s V12 engine is now fitted up to the test rig to check it’s running capabilities. It turned over first time with very little effort which is great news so Ady now knows what he needs to work on to refurbish and prepare the engine for refit.
A rare item to source new, this piece of metalwork is from the classic Westerly Oceanquest. We will look to strip back and re-chrome the existing piece.
No rest for Brian over the Christmas period as he began work on the refurbishment of our 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 gearbox.
The external components have now been stripped where necessary, blasted, cleaned and repainted.
With the individual parts complete and repainted we have now reassembled the gearbox and is ready for refit.
A lot of work is required on our hood frame to get that back to an acceptable standard. We are looking to refurbish the original hood frame and once stripped and blasted the task should be relatively straight forward, albeit quite time consuming.
The end result, however, has turned out excellent and now that it is galvanised we can look to prepare and repaint.
We have now completed the re-upholstering of our 1936 Riley Merlin Nine front seats using the customer’s own leather hyde.
The hyde that has been supplied to us is very similar in colour to the original and has come to us with sentimental reasons so we were more than happy to assist with this project.
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.
