Home At Last
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, affectionately known as Delilah, is back home with her very pleased owner. After spending quite a while in the Bridge Classic
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, affectionately known as Delilah, is back home with her very pleased owner. After spending quite a while in the Bridge Classic
Today was a big day as the owner of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, affectionately known as Delilah, was reunited with her car after its time
As our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle nears the end of its restoration, with only a few small bits to do, we though we would take it
We have sourced some original VW wheel trims for our 1974 Beetle. These have now been sent off for re-chroming before they will eventually go
Classic car technician has been hard at work completing some of the finishing touches on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. Tom replaced the rocker cover gaskets
Classic car technician James has continued to make great progress in getting our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle ready to leave the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and
The two Johns have been continuing our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle’s progress towards finishing its restoration with us here at Bridge Classic Cars. The wiring was
Brian and Lydia have been hard at work and making good progress on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle as it moves towards the end of its
Brian has continued his work on the headliner of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. After fitting the plastic trims to cover the roof hinges, the front
Classic car technicians Brian and Lydia have continued their work on the interior of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. They screwed the rear wooden frame rail
Classic car technician Lydia has been starting work on the interior of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. After undergoing lots of work on its body and
Delilah, our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been in the care of classic car technician Chris as he begins the job of putting it back together.
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle is coming to the end of its stay in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop. Before it leaves though, Chris has
Chris has been painting our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle as it continues its stay in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop. Now that it has been
Classic car technician Chris has been applying final primer to the rest of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. Our classic Beetle is making good progress through
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has continued its stay in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop. All of its body panels have now been into final primer
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has had all of its filler work completed by classic car technician Chris who has also sorted the panel gaps too.
After being primed a little while ago, classic car technician Mauro has put the panels back on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. More prep work will
Delilah, our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with classic car technician Mauro. He has been applying epoxy primer
Classic car technicians Christian and Monty have been completing more repairs on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. This time, they have been focussed on the scuttle
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been going through quite a transformation as of late. Recently, classic car technician Chris has been doing some repair work
The paint on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been stripped of some of its paint so that Chris and the rest of the paintshop team
One of the most popular cars of all time, our Volkswagen Beetle is a car you will likely see on a regular basis while out
Delilah, our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has begun its restoration journey with us here at Bridge Classic Cars. Classic car technician Brian removed the cover panels
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, affectionately known as Delilah, is back home with her very pleased owner.
After spending quite a while in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, this classic Beetle is now back where it belongs.
Today was a big day as the owner of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, affectionately known as Delilah, was reunited with her car after its time here at Bridge Classic Cars came to an end.
Delilah looked incredible in her very special, roped-off area of The Atelier. Her paint shone under the lights and the full scope of the work completed by the workshop team was clear to see. The restoration of this classic Beetle took several months but, as you can see from the photos below, it was well worth the wait to see it in its finished state and ready to go home.
Since entering the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, our 1974 Beetle has been stripped, had areas of rust repaired, it has been repainted, rebuilt, a new interior fitted, and lots of other tasks that have brought the car back to its former glory.
Gordon spent some time going through all the changes made and was very proud to show off the work of our team.
In a few days, we will deliver the car back to its owner and, although we will be sad to see it go, we are all very excited to see Delilah back home and ready for many more years on the road!
As our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle nears the end of its restoration, with only a few small bits to do, we though we would take it into the Atelier and set up a photo shoot for the car before it leaves our Suffolk HQ to head back home to its excited owner.
‘Delilah’, as the car is affectionately known, came to us at the beginning of 2023 to begin its restoration journey. This wonderful piece of automotive sentiment has received the love and car from each and every department here at our Suffolk HQ like any of our restorations to make sure that we deliver a car which will last well into prosperity for its owner to enjoy and Delilah is one of those. The team have also tried to preserve her unique and personal history with the retention of the window stickers and other original pieces which make ‘Delilah’ a one-off to her owner.
From the sympathetic and careful metalwork done by Chris and Monty in the fabrication shop, to the fastidious and meticulous preparation and execution of Chris, Alan and Mauro in the paint department. Brian and Lydia turning their expert skills and attention to detail on the bespoke cream leather interior and handmade roof in the trim workshop all the way down to James getting the engine set up to run just how it should, Little Jon working on getting each system working correctly in the cabin and Big John installing the wonderfully subtle RetroSounds stereo unit into the original dash. Each department has proudly worked on Delilah to bring her back to life and back to being able to be enjoyed by her owner for many many years to come.
Now, it was up to me to try and capture in photos what the team here at Bridge Classic Cars have worked so hard on over the past 11 months – I hope I managed to show just how beautiful this Beetle turned out from the talented and skilled work our amazing team have put into this classic Volkswagen.
Take a look at the full gallery here:
We have sourced some original VW wheel trims for our 1974 Beetle.
These have now been sent off for re-chroming before they will eventually go onto the car ready to go back home to its owner.
Classic car technician has been hard at work completing some of the finishing touches on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.
Tom replaced the rocker cover gaskets as well as the driver’s side front arm ball joint cover.
Our classic Beetle is now very close to leaving us and going home to its owner.
Classic car technician James has continued to make great progress in getting our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle ready to leave the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and head home to its owner.
The door pin switches were replaced to ensure the interior lamp works when the doors are opened and a new bumper trim was fitted to the front, along with the external door mirrors (both sides). A new quarter light catch was fitted to the driver’s side front window, then both front wheel bearings were replaced.
Both front wheels and brake callipers were removed and the discs and bearings were taken off. It looked like the bearings had been replaced before, but the outer races were not in good condition. They were knocked out and new inner and outer bearings fitted, they were greased and refitted along with the brakes and wheels.
James also fitted new front seat belts and stalks. There are only a few minor jobs left to address before Delilah goes home.
The two Johns have been continuing our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle’s progress towards finishing its restoration with us here at Bridge Classic Cars.
The wiring was put in for the interior light and the wing mirror was put on and polished too.
Brian and Lydia have been hard at work and making good progress on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle as it moves towards the end of its time in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Once the headliner was installed, foam was glued to the rear bar before the wires for the heated rear window were fitted. The roof material was then put on and tension wire was fitted.
The hole for the rear window was cut out and rubber seals were put in all of the windows. New seatbelts have been ordered as the ones that were in the car did not match. Once the rear carpet was fitted, all of the seats were put back into the car. Now that this project is gradually coming to a conclusion, it’s great to see it looking as good as it does.
Brian has continued his work on the headliner of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. After fitting the plastic trims to cover the roof hinges, the front edge of the roof inner pad was fitted to the frame.
Webbing straps were then stapled to the roof bars and the position of the rear window was marked out. The window frame was then glued to the headliner.
Classic car technicians Brian and Lydia have continued their work on the interior of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.
They screwed the rear wooden frame rail to the frame bars, before fitting the rear edge of the headliner to the back edge of the car. The front edge was then fitted to the front of the frame and the metal trim panel was put on to hold it in place.
Brian stapled the rear flap of the headliner to the rear wooden frame bar before glueing the front flap of the headliner to the frame bars.
Once the headliner was in place, the rear side panels were glued and the rear carpet was glued over the top to keep everything secure and where it should be.
Classic car technician Lydia has been starting work on the interior of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.
After undergoing lots of work on its body and chassis, it’s great to finally see the interior begin to go into the classic Beetle, known affectionately as Delilah.
Door cards have been fitted, carpet has been installed and Lydia’s work will continue as she puts the interior of our Beetle back together.
Delilah, our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been in the care of classic car technician Chris as he begins the job of putting it back together.
After having some repair work completed and being painted, Delilah is now coming towards the end of her time in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and we are very excited to see her return home to her owner very soon.
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle is coming to the end of its stay in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop. Before it leaves though, Chris has been finishing the painting of our classic Beetle known as Delilah.
After it came out of the paint booth and Chris had worked his magic, you can see from the photos below that the new coat of paint has made the already beautiful Beetle even more eye-catching.
We are certainly looking forward to seeing Delilah continue on her restoration journey with us and seeing her eventually go back home to her owner.
Chris has been painting our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle as it continues its stay in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop.
Now that it has been re-painted, our classic Beetle is looking great and will soon be moving on to the next stage of its restoration.
Classic car technician Chris has been applying final primer to the rest of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.
Our classic Beetle is making good progress through its restoration journey and it hopefully won’t be too much longer before, Delilah, as it is affectionately known, is returned to its owner.
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has continued its stay in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop. All of its body panels have now been into final primer and the rest of the car has had its guide coat applied ready to be rubbed down in preparation for final primer to be applied to this too.
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has had all of its filler work completed by classic car technician Chris who has also sorted the panel gaps too.
Chris also had the polyfan primer applied to our classic beetle too. The polyfan was applied to the car’s body and was in the booth with its doors, bonnet, and wheel arches.
After being primed a little while ago, classic car technician Mauro has put the panels back on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.
More prep work will continue before our Beetle goes back into the paint booth for a new coat of paint.
Affectionately known as Delilah by its owner, we are very much looking forward to seeing our classic Beetle leave the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and return to its owner very soon.
Delilah, our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with classic car technician Mauro.
He has been applying epoxy primer to the stripped body of this iconic vehicle. Mauro also applied epoxy primer to the doors of our Beetle too.
Classic car technicians Christian and Monty have been completing more repairs on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. This time, they have been focussed on the scuttle and the front wing.
Once these areas had been sorted, the rear wing was also repaired.
Christian and Monty have done a great job with the repairs to our Beetle and we are looking forward to seeing ‘Delilah’ returned to her owner in the not too distant future.
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been going through quite a transformation as of late. Recently, classic car technician Chris has been doing some repair work on one of the doors.
Since arriving in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, our Beetle (Delilah) has been stripped of many of her components and some of her paint. This is all to bring one of the most popular cars of all time back to life.
As work continues on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, we are looking forward to seeing it continue making good progress.
The paint on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has been stripped of some of its paint so that Chris and the rest of the paintshop team can resolve some of the vehicle’s rust issues.
Some parts were also sandblasted and prepped ready for their coat of epoxy primer.
Affectionately known as Delilah by its owner, our Beetle has been getting lots of attention lately. With the rust repairs still ongoing, progress continues to be made in bringing this beautiful car back to all of its former glory.
One of the most popular cars of all time, our Volkswagen Beetle is a car you will likely see on a regular basis while out driving. However, what you probably won’t see is a VW Beetle that has been stripped of most of its interior and a good chunk of its body too.
If you are in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop though, that’s exactly what you will see as our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle is currently being stripped by classic car technician Chris.
While stripping our Beetle, Chris made some repairs to the bonnet and the front bumper mount.
The owner of our Beetle calls her Delilah because of the 3 Ys at the beginning of the number plate. Delilah is set to have quite a bit of work completed during her time in the workshop and the strip-down is the first stage of the process.
Delilah, our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle has begun its restoration journey with us here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Classic car technician Brian removed the cover panels for the hood mechanism before undoing the headliner to reveal the hood frame bolts.
The rear side carpets were removed and the bottom edge of the headliner was removed too. The rear carpets were next to go before Brian untied the wires holding the back of the hood to the car. The hood frame bolts were loosened to allow the hood frame to be removed.
The vinyl from the bottom edge of the rear seat was taken out, as were the cross-member carpets. Brian then removed the panels from below the rear seat and took the sill carpets out too. Brina finally went on to remove the front carpet and the kick carpets as well.
Our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle hasn’t been in the workshop very long but work has already begun to bring this classic and extremely popular car back to its former glory.
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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