Painting Our Frogeye
May 26, 2023
It wasn’t too long ago that our 1958 Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite entered the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after we picked it up from Scotland.
Projects
An Old Competition Car Returns
May 26, 2023
Back in 2021, our 1963 MGB Roadster was won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions. It has now come back to us to investigate some issues
Preparing Our Spitfire
May 26, 2023
We have a very special project coming up that involves our 1973 Triumph Spitfire. In preparation for this, classic car technician Jonn has been making
Scimitar Repairs
May 26, 2023
Even though our 1973 Reliant Scimitar is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website, that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t get cared for
Assessing Our Hillman Minx
May 26, 2023
Our 1962 Hillman Minx has been in the workshop being assessed by classic car technician Jonn. One of the first things Jonn noticed was that
A DB2 Story
May 25, 2023
We have recently made a new friend in Godfrey Schiele who is a local Aston Martin owner. His 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 will soon be
Saying Goodbye To Our Gun Tractor
May 25, 2023
The time has come to say goodbye to our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor. After being with us for quite a while, it has been an
Repairing Our Damaged DB9
May 25, 2023
Our 2005 Aston Martin DB9 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop recently as the damage it sustained gets repaired. Once the damaged areas
Painting Transit Parts
May 25, 2023
The body of our Ford Transit MKII Tipper may be on its way to the sandblasters, but work has continued on other parts of the
In The Workshop
May 24, 2023
A new addition has recently made its way into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop – our 1962 Hillman Minx. As you can see from the
Live Now On Bridge Classic Cars Competitions
May 24, 2023
Our 1973 Reliant Scimitar GTE is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website. With a list of high-profile owners, even HRH Princess Anne
A Riley Tonneau
May 24, 2023
Classic car technician Brian has continued his work on our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer. He first marked out where the front flap goes for the
Door Panels For A Transit
May 24, 2023
Our Ford Transit MKII Tipper may have been stripped, prepped, and sent to the sandblasters, but that doesn’t mean work on it stops in the
Frame And Engine Progress
May 23, 2023
More progress has been made on our 1984 Suzuki GSX 400T. The original guard was used instead of a hugger, as the arm was too
In The Paintshop
May 23, 2023
Before our 1980 MGB GT goes live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, it has been in the paint shop being prepped and primed ready for
Ready For Sandblasting
May 22, 2023
Our Ford Transit MKII has been with classic car technicians Steve and Lydia recently as the strip-down continues. Lydia took the covers and foams off
A New Starter For Our Sunbeam
May 22, 2023
Classic car technician Jon has been working on our 1980 Talbot Lotus Sunbeam which has recently returned to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Jon’s main
Jaguar MKII
May 18, 2023
We recently welcomed a 1964 Jaguar MKII into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Despite this beautiful classic car not being here very long, our team
Interior Painting
May 18, 2023
At the request of the new owner of our 2005 Suzuki Every, classic car technician Al has painted the white interior components black. The newly
Our Saab Is Live
May 18, 2023
Our 1980 Saab 99 Turbo is live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website. After being refurbished by our team of classic car technicians, it
Repairs To A Returning Daimler
May 18, 2023
Our 1987 Daimler Double Six recently returned to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. After leaving us last year, it has come back for our team
Another Frogeye Enters The Workshop
May 18, 2023
When we delivered our 1958 Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite to William Gordon, who had won it through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, we couldn’t help but notice
A Jensen Dash
May 18, 2023
Classic car technician Brian has been working on our 1959 Jensen 541R and has been making parts for the dash of our rare Jensen. Brian
A New Tonneau Cover For An AC Ace
May 18, 2023
Our 1958 AC Ace has had a new tonneau cover made by Brian and Lydia. Brian made paper patterns for the steering wheel cover before
New Information
May 17, 2023
We recently received a certificate of manufacture from Vauxhall Heritage which gave us a bit more information about our Vauxhall Wingham. As a result of
E-Type Engine
May 16, 2023
The reassembly of our very special 1968 Jaguar E-Type has well and truly begun. With the engine going into the future competition car, it has
Work Begins On Our Camper
May 16, 2023
Work has begun on our 1977 Volkswagen T2 Kombi. As various areas of imperfections have been noted by the team, these will all be rectified
FF Repairs
May 15, 2023
Our 1971 Jensen FF MKII has been with classic car technician John after returning to the workshop for a few issues to be resolved. John
Roof and Covers
May 15, 2023
After classic car technician Brian had used paper patterns to get accurate sizes for the roof of our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer, he removed these,
Transit Strip Down
May 15, 2023
Classic car technician Steve has begun work stripping down our Ford Transit MKII Tipper. Before the workshop team gets stuck into restoring this commercial vehicle
Painting Our Frogeye
May 26, 2023
It wasn’t too long ago that our 1958 Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite entered the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after we picked it up from Scotland. This classic Sprite actually belonged to William Gordon, who won the 1958 ‘Frogeye’ we had as a competition car through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
When he received his prize, he decided that his old car (the one we now have) could move on to new owners. Now that it has been assessed and inspected, work has begun to prepare it to be a competition car in the near future.
It has recently been in the paint shop with classic car technician Alan who has been stripping the car ready for painting, so it looks great for whoever is lucky enough to win it when it goes live.
An Old Competition Car Returns
May 26, 2023
Back in 2021, our 1963 MGB Roadster was won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
It has now come back to us to investigate some issues that the owner has been experiencing. The main issue involved the car not starting properly. To resolve this, Workshop Manager John replaced the solenoid but found the car still wasn’t quite right.
The starter is now being looked at while some interior work is also being completed in the form of new seatbelts being installed.
We always love seeing competition cars again and this one is still as beautiful and as cool as ever.
Preparing Our Spitfire
May 26, 2023
We have a very special project coming up that involves our 1973 Triumph Spitfire. In preparation for this, classic car technician Jonn has been making sure it is ready to go and in full working order.
Jonn began his assessment by checking the lights and fluid levels before jacking the car up to check its tyres and brakes. All of these areas passed Jonn’s assessment. Grease was applied to any areas that needed it, and a small jubilee clip was fitted on the fuel hose to the carburettor.
The offside wing mirror was secured as Jonn noticed it was a bit loose. He also noticed that the nearside mirror had been bonded on previously. This was heated up to break the bond before the broken base plate could be looked at for repair.
Jonn also began investigating why the stereo powered on but does not appear to be functioning.
Scimitar Repairs
May 26, 2023
Even though our 1973 Reliant Scimitar is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website, that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t get cared for before its new owner is eventually found next week. A prime example of this is classic car technician Jonn has been making some repairs to our latest competition car to make sure it is completely ready to be won.
Jonn gave the car a full check over and topped up the engine coolant. He noticed that the washer pipe wasn’t connected properly, so he reconnected this under the bonnet and tested the washers. The lights, fluid levels, wheel nuts, and tyre pressures were all checked, and Jonn was satisfied that these were as he expected them to be.
The car then went up on the ramp so Jonn could conduct a deeper inspection. The chassis and components were checked and the front suspension and propshaft were greased.
Jonn went on to strip the driver’s door and removed the panel to investigate why the electric window was not working. It was found that the window had come off the regulator. This was resolved by refitting the regulator and, as you can see in the video below, the window now works perfectly.
After repairing the window, Jonn removed the front wheels and replaced the top inner bolt on the upper ball joint and fitted a lockwire to secure the rubber boot.
A new oil filter was also fitted before a satisfactory road test was carried out and our 1973 Reliant Scimitar was given the green light to be won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Assessing Our Hillman Minx
May 26, 2023
Our 1962 Hillman Minx has been in the workshop being assessed by classic car technician Jonn.
One of the first things Jonn noticed was that the letter I needed to be reattached to the bonnet. This was done before Jonn continued his inspection and assessment of this beautiful classic car.
During his assessment, Jonn also fitted new points (after stripping the old ones) and also replaced the condenser. A new distributor cap and rotor arm were also fitted before our Hillman Minx was taken out on a road test.
A DB2 Story
May 25, 2023
We have recently made a new friend in Godfrey Schiele who is a local Aston Martin owner.
His 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 will soon be coming into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for an assessment to see what work will need to be completed to recommission the car in the future.
We already have a 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 in the workshop which is undergoing a full restoration, so we know how beautiful these cars can be. The one currently owned by Godfrey though has an interesting story behind it.
When Godfrey purchased his DB2/4 from Stradbroke, it had around 70,000 miles on the clock and he has owned it ever since, meaning this incredible classic has only ever had 2 owners from new.
In 1979, work commitments meant that Godfrey had to spend some time in France. As a result, his DB2/4 was put away and has stayed there pretty much ever since. Godfrey was kind enough to send us some photos of his car and we are very much looking forward to seeing it in person in the near future.
Saying Goodbye To Our Gun Tractor
May 25, 2023
The time has come to say goodbye to our 1940 Morris Gun Tractor. After being with us for quite a while, it has been an imposing presence in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Classic car technician Jon was happy with how the vehicle performed on his test drive but, as you can imagine, it is quite a challenging machine to drive and navigate the rural roads around Suffolk where we are based. With that in mind, it left us on a flatbed lorry and is now on its way back to its owner.
We really enjoy seeing interesting classic vehicles come into the workshop, and this was certainly a popular addition.
Now that we say goodbye, we hope its owner is happy to have their 1940 Morris Gun Tractor back and we’d love to see it again at one of our events.
Repairing Our Damaged DB9
May 25, 2023
Our 2005 Aston Martin DB9 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop recently as the damage it sustained gets repaired.
Once the damaged areas were stripped and repaired, the paintwork in those areas was repaired too. After fully preparing the car and priming it, the previously damaged area was painted and, as you can see from the photos below, our DB9 is already looking like it’s on the way to a full recovery!
Painting Transit Parts
May 25, 2023
The body of our Ford Transit MKII Tipper may be on its way to the sandblasters, but work has continued on other parts of the vehicle in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Parts of the seats and some of the other components have been in the paintshop being prepped, primed, and painted black ready to be re-installed to our Tipper when the time comes to rebuild it.
In The Workshop
May 24, 2023
A new addition has recently made its way into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop – our 1962 Hillman Minx.
As you can see from the photos below, it is a beautiful classic car and one that will be nostalgic for many people. For now, it will have a thorough inspection and assessment by our team of technicians before a plan of action is put together for its future.
Live Now On Bridge Classic Cars Competitions
May 24, 2023
Our 1973 Reliant Scimitar GTE is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
With a list of high-profile owners, even HRH Princess Anne has owned several of these classic cars over the years.
If you’d like to win your very own 1973 Reliant Scimitar GTE, tickets are available now.
A Riley Tonneau
May 24, 2023
Classic car technician Brian has continued his work on our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer.
He first marked out where the front flap goes for the rear tonneau before he made paper patterns for the steering wheel cover. These were then cut out and a vinyl mock-up of the cover was made. Once the steering wheel cover was trial fitted, Brian cut out the front and rear tonneau covers from mohair.
The previously marked-out flap was cut out from mohair, as was the steering wheel cover. Brian then went on to cut a slot in the front tonneau cover for the steering wheel cover.
Door Panels For A Transit
May 24, 2023
Our Ford Transit MKII Tipper may have been stripped, prepped, and sent to the sandblasters, but that doesn’t mean work on it stops in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
In fact, classic car technician Brian has been making new boards for the door panels ready for when our Tipper comes back to the workshop and our restoration work continues. After Brian had cut out the boards from plywood, he cut the holes that were needed out too.
Frame And Engine Progress
May 23, 2023
More progress has been made on our 1984 Suzuki GSX 400T. The original guard was used instead of a hugger, as the arm was too narrow for this. Before deciding on a guard, huggers from Honda, Yamaha, and Aprillia were tried but they were all designed for cast alloy swing arms meaning they were too wide to be trimmed to fit.
Rear and lower stays have been added to the ally guard and the frame is now being prepped for powder coating.
Stainless allens and flanged bolts have been fitted ready for the engine to be installed. The bolts were taper headed to help improve the finished look of the bike and the new oil filter was fitted too.
In The Paintshop
May 23, 2023
Before our 1980 MGB GT goes live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, it has been in the paint shop being prepped and primed ready for a new coat of paint to be applied.
After classic car technician Mauro finished all of his prep work and once the car was primed, the painting could begin.
Now that the paintwork has been repaired, our MGB GT is looking great and it will certainly make someone very happy when they win it soon.
Ready For Sandblasting
May 22, 2023
Our Ford Transit MKII has been with classic car technicians Steve and Lydia recently as the strip-down continues.
Lydia took the covers and foams off the frames before taking the frames apart and sandblasting them. This was in preparation for Chris in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop to paint the frames. Lydia also took the covers apart as new vinyl is wanted which is being sewn to the original fabric faces.
While Lydia was working on the seats of our Transit, Steve carried on stripping the main body of the vehicle. A tool had to be made in order to remove the steering Pittman arm.
An adapted trolley was used to move the stripped Transit ready for it to be taken to the sandblasters.
A New Starter For Our Sunbeam
May 22, 2023
Classic car technician Jon has been working on our 1980 Talbot Lotus Sunbeam which has recently returned to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Jon’s main focus was to replace the starter. To do this, he started by stripping the wires from the main terminal of the starter and labelled them. There were 5 connections here, plus a start connection from the solenoid to the starter – this was not required for the new starter. Jon removed the starter and installed the new one.
Once the new starter was in the car, only 2 of the 5 wires reached the connection. Jon made a short connector wire to run the power connections that were on the old starter. He used a small bolt to secure the connections together and then taped this up to cover. The loom was then fixed securely back into place.
Jaguar MKII
May 18, 2023
We recently welcomed a 1964 Jaguar MKII into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Despite this beautiful classic car not being here very long, our team of classic car technicians resolved several issues that the owner had reported to us. These include the car not starting, changing the auto choke to a manual, and a full health check.
Scott noticed that the oil pressure was showing at just 15psi. After attaching a mechanical oil gauge, the oil pressure reading was much better so Scott traced the issue back to a faulty sensor.
The fuel was drained and Scott cleaned the carbs and flushed the lines before checking over the rest of the car. While doing so, he noticed a snapped spoke on one of the wheels so swapped this out for the spare.
Interior Painting
May 18, 2023
At the request of the new owner of our 2005 Suzuki Every, classic car technician Al has painted the white interior components black.
The newly painted parts give a crisp and stylish look to the interior of this stunning VW replica.
We hope that the new owner of our Suzuki Every is happy with the finish and enjoys their new camper.
Our Saab Is Live
May 18, 2023
Our 1980 Saab 99 Turbo is live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
After being refurbished by our team of classic car technicians, it retains a lot of its original features and has been refinished in its signature deep black paintwork. The interior is in excellent condition and the lucky winner of this classic Saab will be the owner of one of the first true turbocharged performance cars.
Tickets are available now from the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
Repairs To A Returning Daimler
May 18, 2023
Our 1987 Daimler Double Six recently returned to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. After leaving us last year, it has come back for our team of technicians to resolve a few issues, including some paint repairs, a door not closing properly, and the steering wheel adjustment not working as it should.
Now that our technicians have rectified these issues, our Daimler will soon leave us again to return to its owner.
Another Frogeye Enters The Workshop
May 18, 2023
When we delivered our 1958 Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite to William Gordon, who had won it through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, we couldn’t help but notice the Frogeye he already owned parked up in his garage.
The story ended with the Frogeye he won staying with him in Scotland and his former Frogeye coming back to Suffolk with us ready to eventually be offered as a future competition car.
Our (new) 1958 Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite has arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and will now be inspected by our team of technicians before being prepped ready for its lucky new owner (who will hopefully be found soon).
A Jensen Dash
May 18, 2023
Classic car technician Brian has been working on our 1959 Jensen 541R and has been making parts for the dash of our rare Jensen.
Brian started his work on our 541R by cutting out vinyl for the dash top. He then sanded the dash smooth before filing out the slots for the air vents. The vinyl cover was glued to the dash top and was trimmed to shape as well as having the air vent slots cut out too.
Once the dash top was covered, Brian undid the ends of the dash crash pad so it could be cut down to fit the car. The crash pad was trial-fitted into the car before having its ends re-covered.
A New Tonneau Cover For An AC Ace
May 18, 2023
Our 1958 AC Ace has had a new tonneau cover made by Brian and Lydia.
Brian made paper patterns for the steering wheel cover before cutting out a trial cover from vinyl and trial-fitting it in the car. The tonneau cover had a slot cut out of it where the steering wheel cover will be. The steering wheel cover was then cut out before Brian fitted lift-the-dot fasteners and fitted the cover to the car.
Lydia helped Brian out by sewing the vinyl mock-up of the steering wheel cover.
New Information
May 17, 2023
We recently received a certificate of manufacture from Vauxhall Heritage which gave us a bit more information about our Vauxhall Wingham.
As a result of getting the certificate, we have updated this project as, rather than a 1937 model, our Vauxhall Wingham was actually manufactured in July 1938.
As there are so few of these cars left worldwide (estimates indicate five) finding out accurate information about each vehicle can be difficult. However, as this has come from Vauxhall Heritage, we believe this new information to be factual.
Despite the difference in year of manufacture, our Vauxhall Wingham is a beautiful classic that we are very pleased to have in our collection.
E-Type Engine
May 16, 2023
The reassembly of our very special 1968 Jaguar E-Type has well and truly begun. With the engine going into the future competition car, it has certainly taken a big step in the right direction for it to be won later this year.
The wiring has also been progressing ready for the rebuild to carry on over the next few weeks.
This will very likely be one of our biggest competitions to date and we are extremely excited to see our E-Type continue to make good progress towards being won by its future new owner.
Work Begins On Our Camper
May 16, 2023
Work has begun on our 1977 Volkswagen T2 Kombi. As various areas of imperfections have been noted by the team, these will all be rectified before the classic VW becomes a competition car through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Campers like this are iconic classics and have a huge following.
We are really excited to see our Camper progress through the workshop and eventually go home to its new owner – who will hopefully be found very soon!
FF Repairs
May 15, 2023
Our 1971 Jensen FF MKII has been with classic car technician John after returning to the workshop for a few issues to be resolved. John began his work on the car by removing the old sill covers that needed to be replaced.
Once the sill covers were removed, John cleaned and filled the old screw holes before drilling and fitting new clips to both sides. As the covers didn’t align correctly with the jacking points, a modification was needed to correct this.
Another issue that the owner of our FF was experiencing was that the fuel flap wasn’t working. John investigated this by checking the switch and connections. He found that there was power to and from the switch so, after removing, cleaning and refitting the solenoid at the fuel flap, he tested it and everything was working fine.
The offside inner main beam was dim so John removed it and found that it had a poor earth and a bad bulb. The earth was cleaned and a new bulb fitted before John tested the light and made sure it was working.
John went on to repair the slightly damaged exhaust tips – making them round again before cleaning and polishing them.
The fuel filler neck pipe was tightened as the owner of the car reported that this was weeping. Once John resolved this, he fitted the new sill covers, including the modified jacking point covers.
An oil leak had also been reported to us, so John investigated this too. He used PTFE tape to make a better seal on the oil tank and, during a road test, the problem looked to be resolved.
Roof and Covers
May 15, 2023
After classic car technician Brian had used paper patterns to get accurate sizes for the roof of our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer, he removed these, folded the frame down, and marked the positions for the stud fasteners.
A trial-fit cover was made from vinyl before Brian fitted the webbing straps to the roof bars using screws and rivets. The straps were held in place by glueing the ends of them around the lower bar. Once the fitting of the straps was completed, the roof frame was folded to make sure it folded as it should. Brian put the vinyl roof pattern to check that it fit before making the roof cover from Mohair.
Patterns for the front and rear tonneau covers were made before they were placed on the car so the hole for the steering wheel could be cut. A cover for the steering wheel was cut out too.
Transit Strip Down
May 15, 2023
Classic car technician Steve has begun work stripping down our Ford Transit MKII Tipper.
Before the workshop team gets stuck into restoring this commercial vehicle back to its original specifications, it needs to be stripped right back so a full assessment can be made of its current condition.
Stipping a vehicle like this is a time-consuming process as parts are removed, labelled, and any work needed on each component is noted.
Steve will continue his work stripping down our transit and it will be an exciting project to see what the future holds for our Ford Transit MKII Tipper.
