The 1970 Dodge Charger is in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop to be fitted out with its interior.
Brian, one of our in-house trim experts, has been cleaning up the Dashboard and Centre Console ready to be put into the car when that point comes. With such effort being put into the fit and finish of the pieces for the rest of the interior, Brian got to work getting the dash and console up to the same standard.
Now with these and the kick panels all up to the same standard as the rest of the car, it was time to safely store these pieces away for when the time comes to install them into the car.
October 14, 2021 11:45 amPublished by Craig Ranson
New to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is this 1977 MG B Roadster. It is in with us for a full aesthetic restoration which will include a brand new paint job along with a full interior, a new convertible hood and a new radio.
Work will begin shortly and getting this iconic sportscar stripped down and ready for our in-house paint team to work their magic on the car.
Expect to see much more on this MG B Roadster on the news page on the Bridge Classic Cars blog.
October 14, 2021 10:55 amPublished by Craig Ranson
This is one of the seats from the 1971 Morris Traveller 1000 which has been announced as the latest car to be won on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Before then, this seat is going to need to visit our in-house trim shop where Kath will work her magic.
After assessing the damage to the top part of the seat, Kath said it could be repaired. Carefully, Kath removed the seat cover in order to have it laid out flat to come up with a plan to fix the tear.
Each of the pieces was removed one by one and labelled for the reassembly. The tear was skillfully repaired by Kath, whose experience and knowledge of trim work meant that there is almost no evidence that it was ever there.
Then, it was time to start putting everything back together. Kath gathered the closest thread to the original and began to reseam the seat to match the rest of the seats.
And here is the end result! Every part of the seat has been checked by Kath before its reassembly and all seemed to be ok. The finish on the repaired seat is fitting for the Traveller. It’s still original and perfectly useable for such a fun and quirky little car.
You can enter the draw for the 1971 Morris Traveller by clicking the link below!
Our in-house trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working hard to get the interior of the 1970 Dodge Charger back together. One of the key points of the cars looks is the brightwork and the window lines.
The rear quarter windows are pillarless. They must fit up and move perfectly to the window in the door, so they give the best overall look to the car. It’s the speciality of the Bridge Classic Cars trim shop, the fit and finish which completes the look of the car.
Brian has been working on getting the rear quarter windows in the car so all the trim that accompanies it can be fitted. It’s important with these Mopars that the window components are set just right. Thankfully, everything that was needed was in the car. So, with the windows perfectly in place, Brian could now start to work on the trim.
The trim pieces on the Charger come in multiple pieces which all need to be meticulously dry fit in such a way as to not damage either the pieces or the car. After test fitting, Brian then began the process of attaching them permanently onto the car.
Parts of the inner trim structure actually need riveting to the body. Then the covers are put over them to hide the hardware, this takes some time and a steady hand.
Over the course of an afternoon, Brian managed to get all the rear trims and windows in place so it’s time to move on to the next job on the list for the interior of the Charger.
Our in-house trim expert Kath has been fitting the door cards to the 1970 Dodge Charger we have in here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Kath carefully put together the two-piece door cards which are a key feature on the interior of this glorious Mopar. Kath went through each component to check its fit and finish before anything was put on the car, painstakingly marking out any points that would need a skilled hand turned to them.
The door cards themselves needed the openings cut into them for different handles and fixings so Kath broke out the tape measure. Each of the cuts made was a case of measure 10 times and cut once as with all of our interior work. The best way to get the perfect finish is to work with the car and that’s why we have a world-class trim shop.
Piece by piece, Kath put together the parts onto the door itself with all its bright work. The clips that fix the card to the door have to be eased onto the door as to not become deformed or move out of alignment so clip by clip the door card was installed onto the car.
Work on the interior of the 1970 Dodge Charger will continue in the Bridge Classic Cars trim shop in our next update on the blog
Kath, our in-house trim expert has been hard at work finishing up the install of the headliner into the 1970 Dodge Charger we have here at Bridge Classic Cars.
The headliner is such a crucial part of the interior of any car let alone a classic that its fit and finish must be as close to perfect as possible. Thankfully, that is what our in-house trim shop is known for. Kath has carefully stretched and secured the headliner into place to make sure that across the roof of this iconic muscle car, everything lines up.
The interior for this particular Charger is important as it must compliment the vibrant exterior colour scheme but also match the finish of the car. So, next up. Kath will be fitting the 2 piece door cars.
October 11, 2021 11:21 amPublished by Craig Ranson
It’s been an absolute treat to have one of the most iconic muscle cars of all time in the trim shop of Bridge Classic Cars. This 1970 Dodge Charger. The 2nd generation Chargers are without a doubt, one of the best-looking muscle cars built.
This particular 1970 Charger is in with our expert in-house trim team to be fitted out with a brand new interior. First up, Kath began to fit the headliner to the Charger. Covering such an expanse in fabric can be daunting, but for the Bridge Classic team, it’s not a problem. Working through the car methodically allowed Kath to stretch and pull the headliner into shape and give it the best finish possible.
Each of the ribs was carefully moved into its position millimetre by millimetre to ensure it was level and square. These spars allow the fabric some element of give but also when they are correctly installed, gives the best finish with no ripples or waves.
Whilst installing the headliner, Kath did note a small area of corrosion on the shell by the back window. It had been treated and wasn’t structural. In any case, we always let our clients know and suggest a course of action. At this time, it will be underneath the headliner. As said, it’s not in a structural location, it has been treated and on inspection by our body shop team, it is perfectly fine for years to come.
Updates on the rest of the interior will be up very soon so keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars blog.
The 1965 Amphicar is already quite a unique and rare piece of automotive history. But, an original convertible hood cover? Slightly rare than hen’s teeth. However, after some research, we found a company in the States who make them!
We had one shipped to us here for our 1965 Amphicar which was installed by our in-house master trimmers. As you can see, it looks absolutely brilliant!
The art of interior trim is something our in-house trim experts have mastered over years of experience.
A great example of this is the door cards on our 1987 Mercedes 500SL. These are all being entirely made in-house in our trim shop. The fit and finish of our interior pieces is world class thanks to our amazing team.
The door cards themselves were fabricated from scratch in order to best match the originals ensuring an extremely close fit to the same standards as they would have left the Mercedes trim shop in 1987, if not even better.
All of the associated trim pieces for the doors are also being retrimmed with the same level of care and attention to detail as the rest of the car which is currently under going full restoration here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Keep a look out on our News Page for more updates on the masterpiece of German engineering.
September 27, 2021 7:17 amPublished by Craig Ranson
A lot of love and time has gone into making sure this half car/half boat is ship-shape and bristol fashion for its next lucky owner. On a glorious summers morning, our in-house marketing team headed to our favourite location at RAF Bentwaters to shoot this rare classic for Car & Classic Auctions.
After carefully laying the roof back into its hideaway, we set out across the historic airbase to shoot against the high sun. Carefully moving this unique and rare piece of automotive history into position, across the centreline of the runway, we could then begin.
Making sure every surface had been cleaned down to the best that we could, Freddie began to methodically move his way around the car frame by frame and angle by angle. This 1965 Amphicar has been at Bridge Classic Cars for a while now whilst we perfected its running and got it back into a condition for it to be sold by Car & Classic Auctions very soon hopefully to a very lucky and excited enthusiastic owner.
The sunlight radiated from this little white seafarer. The interior glowed against the harsh summer light as it beat down onto the tarmac. For the photos, it allowed Freddie just the right amount of diffused light to be able to accurately capture this rare treat for its auction.
If you would like the chance to own this amazing piece of history, then head over to Car & Classic Auctions to keep an eye out for this once in a lifetime chance to own the 1965 Amphicar.
September 23, 2021 11:32 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Interior trim is one of the key elements of any restoration, and we here at Bridge Classic Cars have got probably the best in-house trim shop bar none. Take for example this classic car, Craig’s 1987 Mercedes 500SL which is having a whole new interior done by our in-house trimmers. The fit and finish on these custom-made interior pieces are worthy of an article in themselves.
Those of you following the project will know that the original interior was a, once upon a time, dark royal blue but as part of the restoration of the car here at Bridge Classic Cars, the whole interior is being retrimmed in a deep and beautiful Claret Red.
Starting with the original door cards as a template to work from, our in-house trim experts got to work creating new door cards from scratch in order to create the best fit and keep them as close to the originals as possible. Once the new door cards had been shaped, finessed and test fitted it was time to choose the right hide. Matched to this amazing example of 1980s German luxury performance was stunning deep Claret Red. Every mark, indent or locator was carefully and skillfully transferred onto the new door cards by hand to ensure they were an exact match for the existing interior trim pieces.
The deep red colour of the door cards was carefully selected to match the previous material used through the 500SL. The centre console, dash covering and all the other refinished trim work all match up thanks to the expertise and attention to detail that our interior team at Bridge Classic Cars has and the devotion to their craft.
September 14, 2021 8:22 amPublished by Craig Ranson
We have an inquiry as to whether we could repair a rip in the seat of a modern Mercedes. As you can see it is the main seat area on the base and in order to repair properly the entire material from that section would need to be replaced.
The customer has asked whether we can glue up the tear which would is an option. It is not ideal but it can be done.
This may be one for the trim shop in the coming weeks, we’ll see.
September 14, 2021 6:16 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The clear PVC back window is starting to de-laminate and coming away at places, so we’ve ordered a new piece as a replacement. Kath has been removing the old one this morning in preparation.
Kath has been fitting the second front base seat cover to its foam and frame for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4. It’s exactly the same process as the other front base, which you can read about here.
Brian has been finishing the restoration of the headlining for our 1981 Rover 3500 SD1 Vanden Plas.
Once he’d finished getting all the old foam and glue off the board, he cut a piece of nylon foam headlining to the required size and proceeded to glue it onto the board. Brian had to do this in sections because the glue went off too quickly.
Brian has had to glue new headlining fabric to the sunroof section as well. This didn’t have a board, it was just glued straight on. He’s just got to fit the headlining board in the car now!
Kath has been continuing her work on the front squab seats for the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2 4 Mark I. Now the fronts of them have been re-made, she’s moved onto the backs. These are made out of carpet!
So Kath started by cutting a piece of the new grey carpet roughly to the size she needed, using the seat frame as a template. She then laid this piece of carpet out and marked around the original front squab back with tailor’s chalk. She checked the fit of it against the seat frame. Kath then measured out a strip of the dark grey leather and cut out. The leather was sewn around the edge of the carpet and then folded under, and sewn again to create a bound edge, which completed the front squab backs!
Kath has been continuing her interior work on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2 4 Mark I’s seats. This time she has moved onto the front squabs.
She started by marking notches and important places to remember when sewing, with a pen on the original covers, before taking them apart carefully. She didn’t unpick the flutes, but instead, measured them to work out how to create the new flutes on the new leather. Once calculated, Kath measured and marked out flute lines on the back of the new leather and a piece of scrim foam, cut to size. This acts as a backing and will create the same effect as the original, whereas they had used calico as a backing and stuffed the flutes with lengths of foam instead.
Once the flutes were all sewn, Kath used the original fluted face as a pattern to mark the edges. Pieces of leather cut to shape were sewn onto the sides of the fluted face. The sidebands were then cut out and piped in the dark grey leather around the curved edge. These sidebands were sewn onto the plain leather sides that were just attached.
Brian has been covering the top parts of the dashboard and the cover for the rear hatch hinge in the chosen new dark grey leather, for the Aston Martin DB2/4. He took the original leather off each of the pieces and cleaned off any old glue, before applying the new leather.
The Jaguar E-Type series 1.5 has been getting new front carpets made by Kath, in the trim shop.
The original ones were marked out with “notches”, which help when putting the new versions together, then taken apart and were used as patterns on a roll of new carpet. Leather strips were cut out for the binding. Kath first bound round the outer carpet section, then the bottom edge of the inner carpet section. Before sewing the two carpet sections together to complete.
Although the seats on our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 were re-trimmed not that long ago, the colour and finish were not correct to factory specification.
Original records show red with grey piping and grey carpets. We now begin the process of stripping the seats, side panels and all interior panels so we can manufacture the new interior.
All of the metalwork around the interior will be blasted, cleaned, prepared and painted back to original specification.
We’re lucky enough to have our own interior trim department in house here at Bridge Classic Cars, which allows us to maintain our high-quality services, lower costs and provide tailored custom interior trims for our clients. With a skilled team of three, we attend to worn out, dirty and tired interior, replacing and reworking everything from vinyl, calico, leather, fabric and carpet. We also design new interiors and help classic car owners pick their new colours, materials, and styles to suit the car depending on its age, purpose, or style.
As well as classic car interiors, we also offer boat and yacht interiors as the same keen eye for detail and discipline goes into luxury boat interior as it does for luxury cars.
If you’d like your boat or car interior trim reworked, brightened up or totally re-designed, get in touch at info@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk or give us a ring on 01473 742038 and we’ll be happy to discuss your plans.
Pricey has been continuing his work on our 1998 Honda Integra. He’s currently making up a new rear wheel arch and shaping up the arch. When he removed the arch it revealed a rotten inner sill and inner arch which he has worked to improve.
Lydia has been working on recovering a pair of Bentley Continental seats. She has done the whole process from start to finish by hand. She’s replaced the foam, cut new leather from templates she’s made from the old cover, fitted, stitched and glued the new seats together with a keen attention to detail.
Pricey has been working hard on our 1998 Honda Integra to solve the rust issues. He’s taken apart the front nearside corner and welded in new parts as well as the rear nearside wheel arch.
Craig’s Aston Martin DB9 is set to get some new seats as the trim shop begin on the task of freshening up the interior. Kath began by carefully removing the covers, un-cliping the handle mechanisms and then removing the air bag which had been previously disabled by Aston Martin themselves. Kath then removed the retainers out from the inside of the metal frame and take out the centre piece which was attached with Velcro. Once the squab was removed, she could then remove the switches at the base of the seat. Once this was done, she could untie the cable tires and gently pull the cover out from around the wires. The seats contain small retainers to hold the cover on as well as strips of velcro, such as down the centre. Kath then removed the heated panels from the base and squab and the seat belt clip cover.
With all the external pieces now removed, Kath can begin the same process on the other seat and recover them both.
Our charming 1940 Alvis headlining has now been completed after a wholesome team effort from our trim shop technicians.
The final part was finished by gluing in a rear calico flap over the rear frame bar and applying calico flaps around the roof bars. Next, Brian stapled the next calico flap onto the roof bar and stapled it onto the wooden section of the roof bar and finished it by undoing the roof straps to allow headliner to stretch to the front bar. Brian then pulled the headliner tight and stapled it down to the front roof bar. He then fitted the straps over the top of the headliner and trimmed off any excess material. Finally all the pieces were stapled back down over the roof bars. rear quarter panels and wooden rear bars.
Lydia has been working to refresh the headliner in our 1940 Alvis. She’s marked out parts on the original fabric to help her know where everything goes when she starts remaking it. She then cut out new strips of fabric to recover the paper cord piping and flaps. Lydia then moved onto topstitching the new side panels.
The next step was to cut around the original cloth to make new patterns, followed by measuring, marking and cutting out the new strips of calico for underneath the centre panel. These sections hold the ceiling cloth in place. She then sewed on the piping and attached the side panels and middle panel together.
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