Saying Goodbye To Our 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

February 9, 2023

The time has come to say goodbye to our Ferrari Daytona replica.

Since it first arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop back in 2020, our 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona has gone through a huge transformation and now looks incredibly different to how it did upon its arrival.

From its paintwork to its engine to its interior, you would be forgiven for thinking the car that is leaving the workshop is a different car from the one that rolled in at the beginning of its restoration journey.

The restoration of our Daytona has been extremely challenging but equally as exciting. Seeing it in its almost finished form has certainly made all of the hard work our team of classic car technicians have put into this project very much worth it.

As our 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona leaves us and returns to its owner, we look forward to seeing what the future has in store for this special classic car.

A Visit To The Rolling Road At Hangar 111

December 20, 2022

Our 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona recently visited Hangar 111 to make use of their rolling road.

This was the best way for the 6 carburettors to be correctly set up.

Our Daytona is a very eye-catching car and it always draws lots of attention from any visitors we have to the workshop.

Lots of progress has been made on our 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona and we look forward to seeing it returned to its owner very soon.

Spotted – The 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona Photographed On Its Way Home

September 8, 2022

The 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona was spotted by a member of local classic car group, East Coast Retros, on its way back to our Suffolk HQ.

The Daytona had a short trip out to one of our trusted specialists to check over a couple of the systems on the car before the team fire it up for the first time and begin to test the car properly.

Progress – The Team Working on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

August 5, 2022

The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working their way through some of the smaller jobs on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

These little jobs are as crucial as the larger bits of work in the restoration of a classic car to make sure that every little piece and part of the car is fit perfectly and work correctly when needed.

Progress – 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona Coming Together

May 30, 2022

The workshop team have been working on making progress on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona that is in our workshop.

The team began work on making the new instrument panel for the classic Daytona replica. This started as a card template which could be refined further and further until it was the perfect shape to fit behind the dash cluster. From there and using reference photos, the team could begin laying out the various dials and lights needed for the Daytona. Then, it was transferred to the aluminium sheet and carefully cut out and cleaned up before being put into the car with its dials in place.

The next job took our technicians to the engine bay of the Daytona replica, and more specifically the AC pump. The team had to create a new handmade bracket to orientate the AC bump for the belt system to work and also to allow for the unit to line up better with the other pulleys in the engine bay. Once in place, the team could then make up the crucial high-pressure lines which will hold the coolant.

Progress – Updates on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

May 24, 2022

The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on making progress on the beautiful 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona in our Suffolk HQ.

The team have completed the final installation of the fuel pump into the classic Daytona replica. This was a key part of the project as the team worked towards the first fire up and testing. Along with this, the team have worked on securing the centre console into the car and bolting it down with the new carpet sets.

The team also worked on fitting the new reverse lamp, which required accurate and precise cutting into the rear valance of the GT car. Alongside this, the windscreen and rear glass have been installed into the car.

Final Finish – Door Cards on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

May 4, 2022

The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has worked on finishing off the final pieces for the door cards of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

The final pieces of brightwork and trims have been put onto the door cards of the Daytona as the finish touches are in the process of being applied. The team have used dozens of reference photos and scale measurements to get them as close to the originals as possible while also improving the fit and finish of the original.

Bedded Down – Carpets into the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

May 4, 2022

The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on fitting down the handmade carpet sets into the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

The trim shop has spent a lot of time making sure that each individual piece of the interior fits perfectly and aligns just right with the pieces that join into it. For this, our trim team have test fit all of the pieces countless time making revisions and changes to ensure the whole interior works in its entirety.

With everything working together, the team began the process of getting the final parts of the carpet set and trim panels into place inside the classic Daytona replica.

Best Fit – Sound Deadening, Carpets and B Pillar Trims on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

May 3, 2022

The interior trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the interior of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona to get each of the new pieces to work in the car.

The trim team have worked on getting the carpet panels fitted into the car backed with high-quality sound deadening. This means each individual piece had to be tried in place and any adjustments made to make sure that each panel would fit and fit perfectly with the others around it.

With the side panels now in place, the team could get the footwell carpet panels into place and work on finessing the carpets in.

Then work could move on fitting the B Pillar trims. Each of these had test fit and worked on to match the rest of the car.

Covered – Carpets In and Wrapping the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona Centre Console

April 28, 2022

The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the interior of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona with several key jobs finished off for the car.

The team have fitted in the final carpet pieces to the cockpit of the Daytona. The trim team have hand-finished each of these pieces which includes fixing the rubber panels and installing the clips onto the pieces before being fitted into the car.

From there, the team could turn their attention to the centre console. This was trimmed in match green leather to the rest of the car. Each individual piece of the centre console has been perfectly made and trimmed by hand to make sure that it fits the console beautifully and is tailored specifically for it. Even down to perfecting and refining the handbrake lever cover.

Then, the team could begin to work on the door cards of the classic Daytona. The fibreglass cores that sit at the heart of the panels have been reworked by our body team to allow them to sit in just the right place and flush to the tops of the doors. Then the interior team could begin to fit the handmade ribbed panels and grab handles onto the doorcards. Once everything had been fit up properly onto the door cards, 3mm thick foam could be cut and formed to be fixed onto the fibreglass pieces for the car.

Through the Lens – Fitting the Indicators on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

April 21, 2022

The restoration team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have made progress on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona. This time, they’ve been perfecting the fitment of the indicator lenses at the front of the classic Ferrari homage.

Our technician Scott has spent several hours getting the lenses just right for Daytona replica. The lenses had to be fixed into place on the car, which Scott made up some small and strong brackets for. These were carefully measured up and put into the car. Along with that, the back of the lens socket was masked up and painted so through the clear part of the lens, the cars stunning pale green cannot be seen.

One After Another – Working on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

April 14, 2022

The restoration team at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on making progress on several key jobs to do with the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

After fitting the heater matrix in the classic Daytona replica our technician, Scott, hand made a new demister plenum specifically for the car. This had to be put into place for Scott to begin working on testing and measuring for the pedal box of the car.

Scott took his measurements for pedal placements and widths to modify the pedals themselves to make them exacting replicas of original Daytona pieces. While the pedals and lever themselves were being modified, Scott cleaned up the entire pedal box assembly and preparing the clutch and brake master cylinders along with the brake servo to be sent off to a local specialist to be refurbished for the project.

First Fit – Beginning the New 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona Carpet Set

April 13, 2022

The in-house trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars have begun the process of creating the one-off carpet set for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

Our trimmer Lydia has been working on the project to create the bespoke carpets. To begin with, she took the original carpets which were removed from the car during its teardown at the start of the project and laid them back into the car to create a layout and map of which panels needed to be bound and where but also this was done to refine the sizes of each piece to create a final product as close to an original Daytona interior as possible.

Once the pieces had been laid out, they were taken upstairs to our in-house trim shop to be transferred onto the new carpet material. Finished in dark green with matching edging. The original pieces were used as templates and refined to get the best fit into the Daytona.

The largest piece was for the rear of the Arrow, these were test fit into the car to take into account the many recesses and compartments particular to Arrow Daytonas.

Changes – Modifying the Doors, Door Cards and Centre Console on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

April 5, 2022

The 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been having its doors, door cards and centre console modified to have several key authentic Ferrari Daytona pieces worked into the interior of the car.

The first part to be installed was the door lights. This involved very carefully measuring up the pieces as a template and drilling out a perfect hole to fit them.

Next, the door cards for the Daytona had to be heavily reshaped and modified to fit the new Daytona pieces. This involved the team stripping back the door card coverings for the fibreglass backing to be cut and reshaped, using minimal body filler in order to be smoothed out underneath its leather coverings.

The centre console had been reshaped and refined to more accurately replicate the original Daytona piece and match the level of detail in the interior of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

Fitted Up – Fitting the Heater/AC Unit and Handbrake to the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

March 22, 2022

The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has worked on getting the AC/Heater Unit fitted into the interior of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

Scott has made brackets to adapt the mounts on the AC/Heater unit to the dash structure in the Daytona. The piece was carefully test fit into the car and bolted down before the freshly retrimmed dashboard was placed over it to make sure the fit and finish were perfect on the car.

Next, he turned his attention to the handbrake on the car. The lever has been fitted with a genuine Daytona cover and then the bracketry fitted onto the transmission tunnel, painted and bolted down. Then the necessary cables could be run to the rear brakes.

Mounts – 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona Brackets for the Radiator, Oil Cooler & Air Conditioning

March 16, 2022

The 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona is in the process of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop getting everything fit up and secured into the car.

This time, Scott has been working on getting the radiator, air-conditioning and oil cooler mounts made for the car and the components installed into the car. For this process, each component has to be put into the car to make sure there is no interference between these systems and any others in the engine bay or under the dash of the classic Ferrari replica.

Once each of the pieces was test fit into the car, Scott could take off the brackets and finish welding them and then primer and paint them in durable satin black.

Trimmed – Trimming the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona Dash and Transmission Tunnel

March 10, 2022

With all of the preparations made by the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop, the dashboard and transmission tunnel for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona has been retrimmed in all-new Alcantara.

Lydia has worked on creating a beautifully fitting and clean template for the new Alcantara covering for the pieces of the classic Ferrari replica. Now, it was time to begin the process of securing the material to the reshaped fibreglass panels.

Using specialist adhesives, the material was carefully stretched and glued down before being pinned in place to let the adhesives cure and strengthen.

Once the material was in place, Lydia could then begin trimming out the openings for things such as the dash vents, switchgear etc. and then proceeded to methodically glue down the tags and get the best finished possible for when the trim pieces were fitted back on to the car.

Stronger Together – Strengthening Panels in the Dash of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

March 8, 2022

The fibreglass dashboard on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona is being worked on by the trim team here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ.

Brian has been working on cutting new ply strengthening plates for the fibreglass to make sure it is rigid and strong for not only the retrimming of the pieces but also for when the dash is installed back into the car and allow for perfect fitment in the cabin of the classic Daytona replica.

All-New – Recovering the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona Dash in Alcantara

March 8, 2022

The dash for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona is continuing its journey with Bridge Classic Cars at our in-house trim shop.

The team have been working on transferring the pattern made on the black vinyl to the black Alcantara the owner has chosen. The new covering has been hand cut and stitched by Lydia to create a tight, elegant fit to the synthetic suede.

With these pieces now in their finishing stages, we’re excited to show you the next stage of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

Start of the Process – Retrimming the Dash of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

March 7, 2022

The dashboard from the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona is in with the Bridge Classic Cars trim shop to be recovered after its reshaping by the restoration technicians.

The dashboard has undergone several modifications and revisions while in the body shop, so with that, it has gone upstairs to our in-house trim shop to be retrimmed in black vinyl. This retrim is completely bespoke to the dash with every hole, seam and panel hand-cut and templated by the team.

Lydia made individual templates for each piece using reference materials and photos of the original Daytona pieces to first test fit for the vinyl pieces, and so that any revisions could be made to create an entire piece that fit the dashboard perfectly for the classic Daytona replica.

New Finish – Parts from the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona in Satin Black

March 3, 2022

The in-house paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars have taken some of the parts from the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona to be refinished.

With the Arrow Daytona project making great progress, some of the parts from the iconic car have been taken from our restoration workshop into the paint shop to be prepared for refinishing. Alan, has worked on sanding down and cleaning each part individually ready for its time in the paint booth.

Each of the pieces was hung and then shot in a heavy-duty and durable satin black to match the rest of the pieces in the car. These will be packaged and put into storage for when the project calls for them.

Neat and Tidy – Working on the Dash and Interior Wiring Loom of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

March 2, 2022

With the engine bay wiring loom routed for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona, the Bridge Classic Cars restoration technicians could begin work on the dash and interior loom.

The wiring loom for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona has to be carefully laid out and routed throughout the entire car. Rob, one of our technicians, has been working on cleaning up unnecessary wiring for the car and then making sure the harness is carefully wrapped in loom tape to protect the wires from any chafing and to bundle them together for tidiness.

Rob has split the harness into each of the individual systems like it would have been done on the original Daytona and neatly put them into the wire carriers.

Making Sense – Modifying the Wiring Harness of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

March 1, 2022

The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars are working on cleaning up and modifying the wiring harness for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona.

Rob, one of our restoration technicians, has taken the entire harness for the car and begun to strip it back into individual systems to assess what is and isn’t there for the classic Daytona replica. The harness itself comes from a Jaguar XJS which includes multiple sensors, relays and components which aren’t needed or found on a Daytona.

So, Rob is working his way through and cleaning up the harness to make sure everything that needs to be connected is there and both neatly and safely in the car. Stripping away any unneeded pieces to simplify the car’s electrical system.

The Genuine Article – Real Daytona Wheels for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona

December 17, 2021

The Bridge Classic Cars workshop here in Pettistree, Suffolk has had an incredible delivery. A set of refurbished genuine Ferrari Daytona wheels.

These will be fitted to the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona which is undergoing a thorough and complete restoration by our in-house restoration teams. These wheels have been refurbished which must be done by specialists due to their magnesium construction.

This is going to be an amazing addition to the car once the restoration is complete by the team.

Back in the Workshop – 1979 Arrow Daytona

November 25, 2021

This wonderful 1979 Arrow Daytona is back in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Pettistree, Suffolk from being in storage.

It’s currently under covers while several cars are being worked on around the workshop while it awaits its time with our in-house restoration experts to carry on with the restoration of the car.

Keep an eye out here on the Bridge Classic Cars blog for updates on the Arrow Daytona.

Ferrari Daytona – Stop, Go, Shine

August 13, 2021

It has been a solid week for Scott on the rebuild of the Ferrari Daytona. The brake lines are now in, along with the new fuel filler neck, headlamps and rear lights.

The indicator clusters need to be altered slightly prior to fitment so that will be a job for the beginning of next week.

Scott’s making great progress on the build now. Middle of next week we’ll be looking at re-installing the monstrous V12 engine.

Our Ferrari Daytona: Details And Dedication

March 12, 2021

The body of our Ferrari Daytona has officially left the paint shop and found its place in our main workshop, ready to begin the next step in its mechanical journey. The doors, boot and bonnet are set to be completed imminently and will join the body to be fitted.

Scott has been working on re-aligning the front suspension of the Daytona as well, making sure all the elements fit back together nearly after its refurbishment.

The trim shop are continuing with the interior with Lydia focusing on the rear quarter panels. She started off by taking the original leather and foam off them both, glued new 3mm foam onto each one and placed new leather over the top. She then turned her focus to working on the bottom sills where she started off by taking the original leather and foam off and sanded off the surface rust.

Brian has continued to strip down the old door panels and has added new foam to the panels as well. He’s then marked out new leather for the doors, glued the cover around the edges and pulled the leather tight. Brian also turned the fabric over the edges of the hole for the centre section and speaker hole. He has also fit rubber grommet for the door lock button to finish.

Lydia has also continued to take the covers off the seats. First, she undid the bolts holding the wide bars down which hold the seat in place in the car, then she drilled the rivets outs holding the covers into place. Next Lydia took out all the rusted staples which originally held the covers in place. Lydia had to twist the hog rings out, which were holding the inner seat cover tight around the frame as well as cutting the strings holding the inner seat tight in the middle and at the top. She then took the metal bars off that hold the rubber webbing over the frame and took the inner cover off, and then had to drill out a couple of more rivets to get the surrounding cover off.

Daytona gets new suspension, trim and paint

March 9, 2021

Scott has been working on the suspension for our Ferarri Daytona. He’s replaced all the UJs, bearings and bushes on the front and rear suspension. He’s also started to reassemble the front and rear axles.

Brian has been marking up the old armrest covers ready to make new covers. He used the old pattern as a template to cut out the new leather, glued in the new metal trim for inside the handles, added the foam and glued up the edge of the arm rest. By pulling the arm rest tight and stapling it down, Brian can get a neat finish.

Lydia has been working on putting together the seat covers by adding pipping around the outside, adding calico underneath which gets pulled over the bars in the frame to keep it tight. Lydia then marks out the new back and skirt on fresh leather. Lydia sews on the hem to the skirt and adds the pieces back together.

Kath has been working on making the test run for the head rests. She starts by drawing around the inner section and adding the seam allowance. She then makes up the skirt, clips it together and sews it in place. Kath then makes the pattern for each part of the head rest, marks out the positions on the leather and foam and sews it all together. Once all the parts and skirts as sewed up, she fits it onto the foam head rest and adjusts it to fit. Once she’d modified it to fit perfectly, Kath can then sew round the inner section and fit that. Once that the pattern is made, Kath finds she needed to unpick the stitching and mark out the parts in he sage green leather.

Matt and Chris in the paint shop have smoothed and flattened the paint so its looking really shiny and even. Once the doors and panels have been painted, it can all be fitted together.

Daytona Details

February 24, 2021

The Ferrari Daytona is currently sat in primer and is being smoothed and prepared for its final paint step: the official colour. Before it can be painted, it needs to be masked. We hope to see the shell painted by the end of the week which will mark an exciting milestone in this restoration.

Here are some examples of different stitching options for the interior of the Daytona. The trim is set to be a similar tone of green to the exterior.

Scott has also been continuing his welding to the front subframe of the Daytona. The bottom of it was heavily damaged so he cut the damaged area out and straightened the supports inside. He then, cleaned up the rust inside and treated it by applying a zinc primer. Scott then fabricated a new panel and welded it in. Finally, he dressed the welds so it was ready to go to paint.

Daytona Catch – Up

February 19, 2021

With Scott’s Land Rover hiatus now over, he can get back to the Daytona. Today he’s been welding the front cradle that holds the suspension as the element was suffering from some intense rust and corrosion. With new patches welded in, Scott can put it aside to fit once the Daytona has come out of paint.

Scott has drilled out the spot welds that held the spring locator into the spring seat to gain access to the rot underneath. He then cut all affected metal out and cleaned up rust off the sound metal and applied a zinc primer to the parts he knew wouldn’t be able to access after its welded back up. Scott then fabricated a new piece and welded that in place. After repairing the spring locator, Scott lined it up perfectly to where it came off and then placed it back on. He finished by grinding flat the plug welds so that once its painted it will look like it’s never been touched. Success!

The Daytona shell is sat in the paint shop in a bright green primer as we prepare it for its final paint. Chris hand made the green primer by adding a tint of green paint into the body primer. This allows the final green paint to sit more naturally.

Meanwhile, the interior trim has landed in the trim shop for our team to begin tackling. Lydia has begun taking apart the seats by removing the old and deteriating staples. Lydia then drilled out all the rivets, hiding the bottom flap in place and the sides. the next step was to undo all the bolts with a spanner which were holding these metal bars in place. These metal bars hold the seat down into the car on the floor. Lydia then begun undoing all the laces that run through the back straps and the inner seat cover. After more staples were taken out, Lydia had to undo these metal bars holding the edges of the rubber straps in place going along the back. Before Lydia could start to get the covers off, she had to then cut the strings running down the middle, which help the cover keep tight. Lydia could then take off the middle cover from the foam and frame, peeled the foams off the rubber straps that were held in place with glue and took the outer cover of the foam and frame. Once the covers had all come off, Lydia could then look at the construction of them properly and start marking them up to help make new ones in the future.

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