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How our 1965 Amphicar once looked

November 27, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Found in the archives of Beverly Hills Car Club sold inventory is our 1965 Amphicar in it’s original colour combination of white with red and white

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More images from Amphicar Strip Down

November 15, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With the engine now out of the car Dave can concentrate on removing the final remaining pieces ready for the body shop to take over.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery

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Removing the Amphicar wiring

November 10, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As we always say, it is very important to take lots of pictures when carrying out a restoration. Angles you don’t think are important and

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Let The Strip Down Commence

November 7, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Day 1 of owning our 1965 Amphicar and already we are getting stuck in to stripping her ready for a full body preparation and re-spray.

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1949 MG YT Delivery Day

November 30, 2017

We’ve now reached the day where we have to unfortunately wave goodbye to our 1949 MG YT.

She came to us a little over a year ago, straight off the ship from Cyprus and looking in a bit of a sorry state.

Now, after a full nut and built rebuild she’s complete and ready to go home to Dagenham.

It may have been bitterly cold but at least it was dry. We arrived in good time, parked her up and covered her over at her new home just before the snow started to fall.

1965 Amphicar – Paint Preparation

November 29, 2017

The major welding work is now complete on our 1965 Amphicar so we are off to the paint shop to have her stripped back and prepared ready for the full re-spray.

We are reverting back to the original white exterior and losing any traces of the red.

It is our intentions to repaint the blue and red decals that you can see on the above images so try and get her back to as close as she was when she first left the factory back in 1965.

Here are some of the last pictures you’ll see of her finished in red.

 

Bentley Special – Touching Up The Paintwork

November 28, 2017

One of the most appealing characteristics about our 1949 Bentley Special is the originality of her.

It would be a huge shame to get carried with this project and create a car that is destined for a showroom. The car has been used and enjoyed and that’s what is so great about it…and we wouldn’t want to take away from that.

As always, there are certain aspects that could be improved on and that is what our concentrations are on.

Today, she has gone though our body shop to have the underside and chassis cleaned down and re-painted. Not only will this freshen up the look but will help preserve the underside for many years to come.

Late Arrival to Bridge Classic Cars tonight

November 27, 2017

Three late arrivals to the workshops this evening as Karr Solutions completed the long journey down from Scotland.

Tackling the wind, rain and snow Ronnie arrived at 6pm to deliver our 1967 Austin A35 van (JOG183E), our 1957 Morris 1000 van (PVA 591) and our 1960 BSA scooter.

We love a bit of history with our cars and as our 1957 Morris is sign written up for A J Sutherland of Portsoy it seemed only right to search the web to see what we could find.

And it’s great to see Sutherlands of Portsoy still going strong to this day, ‘supplying the finest fish for over five generations.’

And in amongst the amazing images on the Sutherlands Of Portsoy Heritage Gallery we’ve discovered two pictures of our Morris. Having spoken to Elaine and Maurice at Gourmets Choice (Sutherlands Of Portsoy) they’ve have explained the story behind our Morris.

An image was discovered in the archives of grandfather Sutherland sitting in one of the original A J Sutherland vans.

As part of a recent re-marketing and re-branding campaign, the Sutherland family decided to replicate the original image using a classic vehicle with Maurice sitting in the driving seat.

Due to the quality of the original image, they were unable to use this in their campaign but a family friend owned a classic Morris that he kindly donated for the shoot for them to match the branding.

Elaine has kindly sent us the original image to which this campaign was all based around. We believe the vehicle to be a Vauxhall.

 

How our 1965 Amphicar once looked

November 27, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Found in the archives of Beverly Hills Car Club sold inventory is our 1965 Amphicar in it’s original colour combination of white with red and white interior.

The pictures were taken on 5th November 2015.

At this stage we are unsure whether the car left the US in white or whether it was re-sprayed to red before arriving in the UK. More research is needed…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16380,16381,16382,16383,16384,16385,16386,16387,16388,16389,16390,16391,16392,16393,16394,16395,16396,16397,16398,16399,16400,16401,16402,16403,16404,16405,16406,16407,16408,16409,16410,16411,16412,16413,16414,16415,16416,16417,16418,16419,16420,16421,16422,16423,16424,16425,16426,16427,16428,16429″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Progress on our 1967 Jaguar E-Type

November 21, 2017

We’ve reached the end of another busy day here at Bridge Classic Cars and as I switch the lights off in our workshops I have, sitting in front of me, our stunning 1967 Jaguar E-Type 2+2 Series 1 project.

It’s lovely to look back at just how far we’ve come with this car.

…and not far from being complete, here she is now.

Fitting up the E-Type heat shields

November 21, 2017

Tommy has now successfully fitted up the engine heat shields. The heat shields run all the way underneath the car from down pipes through lengths of transmission tunnel. There are 4 heat shields in total.

 

Transforming the look of the wire wheels

November 21, 2017

As part of the project to improve the overall look of our 1949 Bentley Special we decided to re-colour the wire wheels in a deep red finish. A lot of the racing cars from the era used this colour wheel and we felt that it would really lift the look and styling of the car.

Once are now waiting on the aluminium panels to return from the polishers, we have a few improvements to the exterior that we would like to make and the whole car will undergo a full detail.

More Amphicar images for reference…

November 20, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We are taking lots and lots of images whilst stripping down our 1965 Amphicar.

It is critical on all restoration projects to take as many pictures as you can as these may come in very useful when rebuilding the car.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16453,16454,16455,16456,16457,16458,16459,16460,16461,16462,16463,16464,16465,16466,16467,16468,16469″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Coming In Soon: 1967 Austin A35 Van, 1957 Morris 1000 Van, 1960 BSA Scooter

November 20, 2017

Due in soon are three new additions to the Bridge Classic Cars family. Currently residing in the north of Scotland, all in the one private garage we have a 1967 Austin A35, 1957 Morris 1000 Van, 1960 BSA. We originally visited to view the 1960 BSA scooter but no way could we resist these cracking little vans.

First up we have a 1967 Austin A35 Van – it looks to be originally used as the works vehicle for Ian Stephens of Walsall, Painters and Decorators.

Next up we have a Sutherlands of Portsoy sign written van. Our beautiful 1957 Morris 1000 van comes with the signage still visible and having carried out a little research (Googled the name!) we can confirm that Sutherland’s still runs very successfully to this day. Sutherlands of Portsoy is based in the small fishing village of Portsoy in the North- East of Scotland, they produce the finest Smoked Salmon for discerning customers around the world. The story of the van and it’s origins can be found here:

And finally, the reason for our initial visit; our very rare 1960 BSA scooter with matching brand new helmet!

 

Jensen FF Bodywork Progress

November 20, 2017

We are making good progress on our 1969 Jensen FF bodywork preparation.

Unfortunately age has gotten the better of the offside door so what we thought would be a relatively easy part of the project to correct a slight paint issue has turned into something slightly more alarming. Work is required to correct the area in question and to prevent it from reaching any further.

Nothing we can’t put right with a little more time.

1949 MGYT restoration complete and ready for photo shoot

November 17, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A little over a year ago we took a call from an excited Mr McDonald who had just received confirmation that he was now the proud owner of an original, 1 owner, 1949 MG YT.

At the time, the car was living out in Cyprus but was due to board the ship any day to arrive with us in Felixstowe.

Some time later we received the call that she had arrived at the docks and would be making her way to our Ipswich workshops for what we thought would be a fairly standard recommission and health check.

As you can see from the day she arrived, this was not the case.

But after many months of hard work and a very emotional journey, here she is today, all complete and back to how she was when she left the factory back in 1949.

All that’s left to do now is the traditional completion photo shoot.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16274,16275,16276,16277,16278,16279,16280,16281,16282,16283,16284,16285,16286″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

First run of the Datsun 240Z engine

November 16, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s been a while but we were assured by the previous owner that the engine did run so we thought we’d spend a bit of time this morning seeing if that was indeed was the case…[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JWf64_6mFM”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]…and with a little drop of fuel and a battery connection away she goes!

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Mercedes AMG GT Coupe – WOW!

November 16, 2017

With the youngest member of the Ranson family, little Loick, now coming up to 7 months old, will he be having the same conversations that I have with my Dad in many years to come. Better still, will little Loick be having this conversation with his son or daughter, let’s hope so:

“So we’ve got a very rare Mercedes AMG GT Coupe coming in to the workshops. Found in a barn, hasn’t been run for years. Was originally silver with red leather but in need of a full a restoration.”

It’s difficult to think that this conversation could be a reality.

But for now, here is one of the most beautiful cars available in the world right now! It was an absolute pleasure to welcome the McDonald family into the Bridge Classic Cars workshops today and what a car to arrive in…the stunning Mercedes AMG GT Coupe.

More images from Amphicar Strip Down

November 15, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With the engine now out of the car Dave can concentrate on removing the final remaining pieces ready for the body shop to take over.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16236,16237,16238,16239,16240,16241,16242,16243,16244,16245,16246,16247,16248,16249,16250,16251,16252,16253,16254,16256,16257,16259,16260″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Underneath our 1949 MGYT

November 15, 2017

Throughout the build, we have taken lots of pictures of the exterior of our 1949 MGYT but probably not so many of the underside.

As we have her on the ramp to check over everything now is the perfect opportunity to see a different angle.

Amphicar: Testing the Engine and Propellers

November 10, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After years in storage we are now underway with the restoration of our 1965 Amphicar. Today we are running up and testing our the engine and propeller system to ensure it functions as it should.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0Bb2a6J4Wo”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOdTWQZIl64″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Stripping back our Jensen FF

November 10, 2017

Work is well underway now on our 1969 Jensen Interceptor FF. She’s in for some paintwork issues that need our attention on the front, in particular the bonnet and off side wing.

This work involves stripping back and respraying the bonnet and as you can see from the pictures, a lot of filler has been used previous which we will need to address.

 

Stripping the Amphicar ready for paint

November 10, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dave is now well on with stripping back our 1965 Amphicar ready for paint. We have since discovered that the original colour was white and not red as we first thought so we will be reverting back to the original specification in the paint shop.

We are taking lots of images as we progress with the re-build to ensure we have a good selection to reference if we need to.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16129,16130,16131,16132,16133,16134,16135,16136,16137,16138,16139,16141,16142,16143,16144,16145,16146,16147,16148,16149,16150,16151,16152,16153,16154,16155,16156,16157,16158,16159,16160,16161″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Removing the Amphicar wiring

November 10, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As we always say, it is very important to take lots of pictures when carrying out a restoration. Angles you don’t think are important and areas you think may be easy to refit can sometimes come back to bite you.

If you find yourself scratching your head because you can’t quite remember what went where then having ‘too many’ pictures might be your saviour.

We are now looking to remove and/or tidy the dash wiring on our 1965 Amphicar. As you can see, it is a bit of a mess behind there as things stand.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”16219,16220,16221,16222,16223,16224,16225″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Improving some small areas of paint

November 9, 2017

Whilst the aluminium parts are off the vehicle being polished it was a good opportunity for us to improve a couple of small areas that require paint.

The steel straps that hold in the fuel tank have been hand painted the same colour as the body colour, these will be stripped back and repainted black.

And the rear cover that was hinged in position and holds the spare wheel in place has been altered. The hinge was bent and twisted so we have removed the hinge completely as it is not essential and where the modifications have been done has left unpainted areas. The whole section will be colour matched and resprayed.

Fitting up the Capri’s new sills

November 8, 2017

Now the majority of the ‘cutting out’ has been done Asa has securely fitted up the inner sill on the near side of our 1983 Ford Capri.

Here we have the offside sills now removed.

The outer sills have now spot welded.

Let The Strip Down Commence

November 7, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Day 1 of owning our 1965 Amphicar and already we are getting stuck in to stripping her ready for a full body preparation and re-spray.

Lots of photos of this project I think. Photographs are a great referencing tool, an angle you might think is a bit boring or pointless might end up being a crucial photo later on in the project.

Here she is, straight out of the trailer and in front of our front doors.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”15950,15951,15952,15953,15954,15955,15956,15957,15958,15959,15960,15961,15962,15963,15903″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Polishing up the Bentley Special metalwork

November 7, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This afternoon we removed the large items of aluminium from the car ready to transform them with a good polish.

We’ve drafted in the help of our good friend Tony and the guys at Wyatt Polishing to complete this task. With the tools and machinery they have at their fingertips sometimes it’s worth sitting back and assessing how long it may take you to do something when you can call upon the experts who can probably carry out the task in half the time.

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”15947,15946,15945,15944,15943,15942,15941,15940″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]P.S. Based on my ‘half the time’ theory I think we could’ve had this all done in 2 days so Tony, I’ll see you tomorrow with it all :)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Work begins on the Bentley

November 7, 2017

Work is now underway on our 1949 Bentley Special Mark VI.

Our work is very minimal on this project. Mechanically she is fantastic but we felt that a few small alterations to the look would make a huge difference. The aluminium bonnet and tank will be removed and re-polished, the exterior lighting will be replaced with age related components rather than the modern aftermarket option.

Work is now underway and we should see a vast difference in a relatively short space of time.

Delivering and Collecting in Brighton

November 6, 2017

It was a long day for Craig and Dave as they set off for what should’ve been a relatively easy trip to Brighton. We had our 1973 Jaguar E-Type to deliver and returning with our 1949 Bentley Mark VI Special and 1965 Amphicar. The journey there seemed relatively trouble free but the same couldn’t be said for the return leg.

What should’ve been a 3 hour trip turned into a 7 hour trip with the M25 around Dartford being at a stand still for hours.

It wasn’t all bad as we had this beauty sitting beside us for the entire journey, a stunning Jaguar E-Type roadster. We were very impressed with the fact that she kept up with the modern day traffic congestion brilliantly, covering approximately 2 miles in 3 hours, that’s good going!

First off the trailer was our 1973 Jaguar E-Type (WWB 493L) looking glorious in the Brighton sunshine.

Then on to loading up the 1949 Bentley Mark VI Special onto Dave’s open trailer.

Before finally loading up the 1965 Amphicar into Craig’s covered trailer.

1973 Jaguar E-Type Service and Detailed

November 6, 2017

Our 1973 Jaguar E-Type 2+2 Series 3 arrived with us needing very little. She was very much a usable car so a quick re-tune to the engine before a thorough clean and detail and she was good to go.

Her final destination was Brighton so we were all in bright and early this morning (5am to be precise) to get her loaded up before Craig and Dave set off on the journey.

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