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Finishing Up – Paintwork Complete on the 1969 Bentley T1

April 19, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 which has been in with the Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team has now been completed!

What started as a pretty standard respray on the classic Bentley quickly evolved into repairing and perfecting some previous repairs to the car which did not have the car’s best interests at heart. So, the team got to work.

After stripping down the classic Bentley in our preparation area, the team discovered a huge amount of body filler had been used on the rear quarter panels of the car to regain the shapes needed for the panel. Chris, one of our technicians, spent multiple hours just getting rid of the layers of filler to expose the raw metal buried underneath. Then, as they moved forward on the car, the front driver’s wing gave up its secret. An enormous dent/crack in the metal itself had been hidden under thick layers of filler. Before the car could be repainted, this had to be addressed.

The team managed to source a replacement wing for the iconic car. This needed some finessing and repairs but was a better starting point than the original. With this now on the car and lined up, it was back over to the paint and body team to finesse and perfect the panels and lines of the car before heading into our in-house paint booth for its first coats of primer.

Several rounds of primer, minimal filler and sanding work were done over several weeks to get the glorious Bentley back into shape. Then, it was time for colour.

The paint team perfectly matched the original Sage Green colour of the car in our mixing shop before laying it carefully and precisely across the body as it would have been done when the car was originally built. Taking the same care and attention to detail, if not more, than her original builders to ensure this T1 looked perfect. Colour sanding, polishing, more sanding, more polishing. All necessary to give the deep richness needed for a colour as synonymous with a classic Bentley as Sage Green.

Then, the team began the meticulous and precise task of masking up the Bentley to have its signature Coach Line applied down the lengths of the car. With that final piece done and the car put back together, it will soon be time for her to head home.

So, we’ve put together a gallery to show the evolution of the project in the Bridge Classic Cars paint and body shop:

Delicate Touch – Painting the Iconic Coach Stripe on the 1969 Bentley T1

April 14, 2022

The iconic coach stripe which adorns the lengths of many classic Bentley’s has been applied to the 1969 Bentley T1 by the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint team.

Chris, one of our painters, carefully measured and masked the coach lines along the T1. The whole car was then safely covered in order to lay down the correct vivid yellow stripe which runs underneath the brightwork.

The paint was then given enough time to cure in our in-house booth/oven before the car was moved into the preparation area to be finished and polished.

Refit and Repair – Working on the Boot and Kick Panels of the 1969 Bentley T1

April 11, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 which is being worked on by the Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team, have been joined by the in-house trim team to work on getting the classic Bentley back together.

The trim team worked on refitting and renewing the boot carpets onto the upper part of the deck lid. Along with the carpet, the team have installed the boot seal onto the lip of the boot opening.

With this part of the work complete, the trim team took a couple of pieces of the interior of the Bentley up to the trim shop to work on. The kick panels are in need of repairing and then will be fit back into the car.

Remade – Making a New Window Sill for the 1969 Bentley T1

April 5, 2022

The team in the Bridge Classic Cars paint and body shop has been working on refitting the trims to the 1969 Bentley T1 after its respray.

Whilst fitting the window retainers/sills, the team found that one was heavily corroded and damaged. So, the team made a new piece using the original as a template to work from and fit into the handmade classic car.

With this piece now done and fitted into the car, the team can carry on getting the 1969 Bentley T1 back together.

First Colour – 1969 Bentley T1 has First Round of Colour

March 30, 2022

The beautiful and elegant 1969 Bentley T1 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint booth to have its first layers of paint applied.

Chris and the paint team have worked hard to get the body of the classic Bentley into perfect shape before it headed into our paint booth. The Bentley is being repainted in the original Sage Green, which has been hand-matched by our paint department to get the colour just as it would have originally been done back in the late 1960s.

With this round of painting complete, the car will be taken into the preparation area and prepared to be finished.

Ready for Paint – The 1969 Bentley T1 Ready for Colour

March 25, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 has entered the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint booth to begin its journey into colour.

Chris and the team in the Bridge Classic Cars body and paint shop have worked tirelessly to get the classic Bentley ready to go into the spray booth for the first layers of colour to be laid down.

The T1 will go through the process of several layers of colour before finishing work begins.

Expect to see much more on the beautiful 1969 Bentley T1 very soon.

Begin Again – Getting 1969 Bentley T1 Ready for Paint

March 16, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 has been moved from the Bridge Classic Cars body shop into our in-house paint shop to begin the process of getting the classic Bentley resprayed in its original Green.

Chris has been working on getting the panels of the classic Bentley reshaped to make sure each piece is in the best shape and appearance before even the first coats of paint hit the body. This latest round of guide coat is so the team can make sure each piece is level and flat before the process of colour begins.

Reshaping – Body Work on the 1969 Bentley T1

March 7, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 is in the Bridge Classic Cars body shop to be reworked and perfected before it goes into the in-house paint booth.

The body shop team have been working on sanding and minimally filling the panels on the classic Bentley to ensure each body line and panel seamlessly blends into the next from the front to the back of the car.

Once the preparations are completed, the car will go back into the paint booth and then the team will move onto the next process.

First Steps – 1969 Bentley T1 in Primer

February 25, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 has been moved from the Bridge Classic Cars body shop into the paint shop to begin its journey towards its full respray.

The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working incredibly hard to carry out the rust repairs on this beautiful classic Bentley. With those now completed properly for the car, it was moved so our body shop could begin to prepare it for its appointment with the spray booth.

With the body prepared and cleaned down, our paint Chris wheeled the Bentley into position and began laying down the first coats of primer onto its newly reworked body. This layer will be used as a guide for the body shop technicians to see which areas need to be worked on to get the panels perfect before the full respray on the car.

The Smallest of Details – Rust Repairs on the C Pillar of the 1969 Bentley T1

February 22, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for restoration, has had more metalwork done to get the car back into a better condition.

This time, our technicians found a small hole in the driver’s side C pillar which had to be filled properly. This had previously been filled with body filler and painted over but our team decided that it needed to be fixed properly before the project moves forward.

Dave, carefully filled the hole and ground it back to shape the weld into place so as to make it easier for the body team when it comes to the minimal filler work before the car is completely repainted.

First Fit – Test Fitting the Front Wing on the 1969 Bentley T1

February 16, 2022

The 1969 Bentley T1 currently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ has had the first test fit of its new replacement front wing.

We managed to secure the only replacement front wing in the entire country for this car. This is a reproduction piece that Dave, our technician, has had to work on to get it roughly fitting onto the car. With it now in place hanging onto its mounts, the workshop can now see where it needs to be manipulated and reshaped in order to match up with the classic lines of the Bentley.

The original wing, as you may remember, was heavily damaged and after more inspection, it wasn’t salvageable to be reused on the project.

With this important point in the project, expect to see much more on the 1969 Bentley T1 very soon here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.

Strip Down – Disassembling a 1969 Bentley T1

January 21, 2022

The Bridge Classic Cars body team have been working alongside our workshop technicians to get the 1969 Bentley T1 stripped down and ready to be taken back to bare metal.

The technicians have meticulously gone through every aspect of the car and carefully labelled and catalogued each piece that has come off the car.

All of this is so that the body team can begin to strip down the whole car and inspect it before it goes in for its full respray.