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Working on the Austin Healey Dash and Dials

December 4, 2018

The dashboard of our 1955 Austin Healey has now been stripped so that the dials can be sent away to Speedy Cables to be fully overhauled.

Speedy Cables is an independent small company located in South Wales employing around 20 people with a variety of professional, engineering and craft skills engaged in the customisation and repair of instrumentation and the manufacture of custom control cables and custom drive cables.

Speedometer repair and restoration is a highly specialised skill and their technicians have many years experience to provide this service to a quality standard of the highest level.

They are able to manufacture replacement parts for many older speedometers which are now out of production as they have access to the original drawings and tooling of the Smiths Ranges of Instruments and a fully equipped workshop.

Their skilled instrument mechanics have the capability to re-calibrate speedometers utilising specialised equipment.

Each Speedometer needs to be individually assessed by the technicians in advance and you will be advised on the best options for restoring it to full working order.

We have decided to look at refurbishing the switches and knobs ourselves in house. These are readily available brand new but we felt it would be a nice touch to clean down and repaint the existing components to keep as close to originality as possible.

 

Further work on our 1964 Land Rover paint

December 4, 2018

We think we have now mastered the blending method we needed to use on the front panels of our 1964 Land Rover.

The key to the blending was in the thickness of the paint and also applying it with a roller.

We needed to apply a further layer of watered down oil based colour with a roller and then once set we buffed the areas to bring back the colour variation from underneath.

This gave a weathered look and works very well against the existing panels that we have not touched.

With such a variety of colours used on the body it was always going to be difficult to colour match perfectly. The bonnet to the wing is noticeable, the wing to the door blends beautifully.

 

Painting our 1964 Land Rover panels

November 30, 2018

We are not completely satisfied with the overall look and feel and this stage. It is very tricky to replicate the flaws in paintwork. It’s much easier to carry out a perfect paint job but when the car has years of battle scares that you are trying to preserve it takes time and effort to make it look and feel authentic.

The paint looks too fresh and there are too many brush strokes in it but it is a great base to work on. We are now looking to roll another thin layer on top to build up the layers and possibly then look to buff out the shine.

Different lights and different angles reveal different imperfections.

Imperfections on this project are actually seen as a positive but too fresh and too clean gives off the wrong impression.

Back to the drawing board on this one…

1947 Standard Flying 14 now in for work to commence

November 30, 2018

Currently in our workshops awaiting a full re-commission, here we have our 1947 Standard Flying 14.

Work will commence once all of the parts have been sourced from the guys at the Standard Motor Club. The Standard Motor Club are a very exclusive club with parts only being made available to members of the club and owners of the Standard collection. Lucky for us, the owner of our 1947 Standard Flying 14 is a member and is able to assist with the parts required.

Recommissioning our Jensen gearbox

November 28, 2018

Our Jensen 541S has returned to Graham Whitehouse Autos to have the gearbox set up.

The gearbox was rebuilt by Graham Whitehouse Autos earlier in the project build but now we have it fitted back into the car and with the engine running we can now set up to maximise performance.

In order to reset the gearbox the bottom bell housing is removed along with the torque set torus cover bolts. The initial setting of the throttle control valve to gearbox is then reset. Once the car is road tested they then adjust the throttle valve linkage to give correct line pressure and kick down operation. A further road test is given with adjustments being made to fluid level to correct the settings. The torus cover bolts were re-torqued and then bell housing cover is refitted.

Repairing our Jaguar E-Type rear interior panels

November 28, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Although the rear panel sections are covered in material, here at Bridge Classic Cars we insist on carrying out our work to the highest of standards.

Breakages in the plastic moulding could be easily hidden up with a quick fix solution and then covered in vinyl or leather but as we have an expert plastic welder in the form of Brian, we use his skills to carry out amazing repairs on items that could be deemed as irreparable.

Brian is used to carrying out plastic weld repairs in the motorcycle racing scene with competitors coming from far and wide to utilise his skills. These skills can be easily transferred to the world of cars so our panels, in the hands of Brian, will soon be broken no more…

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Recommissioning our 1947 Standard Flying 14

November 27, 2018

Work will now begin on recommissioning our 1947 Standard Flying 14. We also need to pay close attention to some wiring issues that have arisen. A full and thorough check over is required to get her running and sounding like she should.

 

 

our 500SL engine is now out and ready for rebuild

November 26, 2018

Ady, with a little help from Pete has successfully removed our 1987 Mercedes SL500 engine ready for the rebuild to commence. This restoration project has begun a little prematurely but with the engine not running and feeling right it was better to address the issue sooner rather than later.

Rebuilding the Austin Healey BN1 engine

November 26, 2018

With all of the parts now either restored or newly purchased Ady can get to work rebuilding the BN1 Austin Healey engine.

To start everything will be fitted up to ensure accuracy and fit before being secured into position. The nuts and bolts will all be renewed during this process to give a lovely, fresh looking engine to refit.

 

Repairing the once concealed areas

November 26, 2018

Once the areas that were once concealed by the diamond plate were repaired we then hand painted a layer of red oxide onto the body.

Please note, this is not the norm if you are looking at painting your own vehicle 🙂 This is very unique project. The car has bags of character that we do not want to lose. The whole vehicle looks to have been painted in red oxide at some stage in it’s life and has since had a layer of oil based red applied, by hand, over the top.

We are attempting to replicate this look as best we can on the areas we have now revealed. Not as easy as it sounds.

1983 Ford Capri 2.8 Injection – Restoration Complete

November 24, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Today’s the day we hand the keys of our 1983 Ford Capri back to the customer ready for many many years of amazing drives and no doubt hundreds of lovely comments.

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Equalising the combustion chambers of our 1939 Packard

November 22, 2018

Ady is currently equalising the combustion chambers on our 1939 Packard 120. This process can be time consuming depending on how far out the readings are originally. Equalising the combustion chambers is a way of levelling the readings of the cylinder capacity (CC). If the cylinders are reading differently from each other then his can cause the engine to run badly or not at all in some instances.

Ready to go home for Christmas

November 22, 2018

Our objective was to have the car up and running in time for the Christmas break. The current owner resides in Switzerland and is planning on spending the Christmas period here in the UK.

This is their chosen car for the Christmas break and I must say, what an amazing choice!

Our 1985 Mercedes 280 SL is now re-commissioned and ready to head home. We expect to see her return in the new year to start the restoration but for now, the car is mechanically sound and some minor alterations have been done to freshen up the look of the exterior.

 

Removing our 500SL’s V8 engine

November 22, 2018

The engine is now out of our 1987 Mercedes 500SL. Upon closer inspection, the timing chain is very loose and left in its current state would have further damaged the engine. We are lucky to have caught the problem when we did.

The engine will now be stripped of it’s components, cleaned up, repaired and rebuilt. Whilst Ady is busy working on the engine we can look to tidy up the engine bay so the nicely refubished engine can be homed back into a nicely refurbished engine bay.

 

Amendments have been made to both Jensen 541R chassis’

November 21, 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our team have had a crazy busy few days preparing both Jensen chassis’ ready for paint. A few amendments needed to be made prior to paintwork but as well as these configurations the media blasting has uncovered a couple of unexpected imperfections in the structure which need to be addressed.

Rot has unfortunately found it’s way in to the rear of chassis 328 so these areas have had to be cut away and metalwork refitted.

As well as this we have re-applied metalwork into the rear section behind the rear seats, we’ve moved the battery tray and brackets which were initially in the wrong place and work on a couple of areas at the front which required some attention.

1957 Jensen 541R – chassis 328

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23965,23966,23967,23968,23969,23970,23971,23972,23973,23974″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]1960 Jensen 541R – chassis 493 required a little less work. Some similar areas needed to be worked on but we also had to make improvements to the rear arches which required extensions.

The welding work on both chassis’ are now complete so tomorrow we can start on the preparation and paint.

1960 Jensen 541R – chassis 493[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”23975,23976,23977,23978,23979″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Cleaned and ready to go

November 21, 2018

Our 1989 Ford Granada has now successfully been completed.

Peter has given her one last clean before she heads back to Ipswich.

The sills have now been replaced, the rot has now been taken away and all other aspects of the MOT failure have been addressed.

You’ll be seeing her at shows next season…

 

Austin Healey Sound Deadening

November 21, 2018

Our 1955 Austin Healey project is a very important and special restoration for our customer. With a lot of the restoration work having already been carried out by her late husband it is especially important to not undo a lot of the hard work that he had put into it. For instance, the inside of the shell has already been completed so a lot of the work has been done for us which is fantastic. Brian has therefore concentrated his efforts on methodically applying the sound deadening to the internal shell.

Using heat, Brian has been able to manipulated the sound deadening matting to cover all areas, moulds and challenges that the shell throws at him. The sound deadening does exactly what it says on the tin, it’s a material that can be applied to the hidden areas of your car to help reduce the  noise levels from outside in.

 

Replacing the Mini’s brake piston

November 21, 2018

As part of the general check over of the car we have diagnosed that the offside rear piston is seized on our 1978 Mini Clubman. We have ordered a brand new one to replace the existing. This explains why the customer felt the car braking incorrectly, it would most likely feel like it is steering to one side.

Annual Service, MOT and general check over.

November 21, 2018

Our wonderful 1978 Mini Clubman 1100 is in our workshops today for a general check up. Having been off the road and in storage for over a year we are having a general check over of the vehicle; replacing the battery, checking the brakes, giving her a full service and new MOT.

the final task required to be carried out is to detail the engine bay. She’s looking lovely as she is but a general clean underneath has been requested.

The current owner is just the second owner from new and it has remained a local car to Suffolk it’s entire life. Covering just 48000 miles the car is available for sale at the right price (says the current owner) as it holds sentimental value to him.

 

Completing our Ford Granada MOT Project

November 20, 2018

The final work to be completed on our 1989 Ford Granada project is to prepare and under-seal the underside.

This will help to prolong the life of the car and give extra protection to the areas most exposed to the UK roads.

The wheels have now been aligned, the MOT has been a success and now she’s good to go home to Ipswich…

TVR Grantura: the start of a full restoration

November 20, 2018

Early 2019 we’ll be able to introduce a new project to the workshops, a classic TVR Grantura. It is coming in as a stalled restoration with the previous company no longer trading and leaving the customer with an unfinished project.

For now we have the engine in for a full rebuild with the body shell and components appearing early in the new year.

Fitting the E-Type parcel shelves

November 19, 2018

The long awaited arrival of the E-type parcel shelves. Over the years we have accumulated a lot of Jaguar contacts and we felt we had exhausted the majority of these when we searched for replacements for our parcel shelves.

We finally received a new pair and have been able to fit them up into the car.

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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