The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on inspecting the 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster along with carrying out some small repairs on the
The restoration workshop have been tasked to look into a few items for the owner of the stunning 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster. To look into
The Bridge Classic Cars team spot classics in our everyday lives away from the workshops and this morning, we spotted this beautiful Mercedes 280SE W111
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have replaced the front shock absorbers on the 1975 MG B GT V8 in with us. Upon inspection, our
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working alongside the workshop team on the roof of the 1987 Daimler Double Six. The workshop
The interior trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have worked on crafting new wooden support beams for the 1956 Jensen 541 in for restoration. Brian,
The 1970 Jaguar XJ has been in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for our technicians to look into some running issues with the classic saloon
Soon the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop will have a new resident. This 1953 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane which is due to come in for a
The 1972 MG Midget which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has gone up for sale! The classic MG has been checked over
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been carrying out a series of delicate fibreglass repairs to the bodyshell of the 1956
The restoration workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have begun the process of reassembling the 1987 Daimler Double Six following its time with our paint and
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been stripping the 1986 Daimler DS420 further in preparation for its restoration. Previously the team
The 1975 MG B GT V8 has come back to visit the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the team to have a look at an
Whilst having its pre-delivery inspection, the 1972 Lotus Elan +2 developed a slight running issue. So, the Bridge Classic Cars workshop team have taken the
The Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop have been working towards completing all the crucial metal repairs to the 1969 Morris Minor Convertible in for restoration.
The interior trim team have worked on refurbishing and refinishing several key parts of the rear seats for the 1954 Bristol 405 currently in with
The Bridge Classic Cars team have delivered our beautiful 1973 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3 Roadster to its owner ahead of the car being taken
The 1978 MG B GT has moved from the workshop into the Bridge Classic Cars preparation area for our paint and body team to start
Arriving soon at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ is this 1958 Jensen 541R. The car will be coming over from
Yesterday, the Bridge Classic Cars team welcomed Valerie to our restoration workshop to collect her 1973 Triumph TR6 she won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Arriving this afternoon at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ was this breath-taking 1951 Jaguar XK120 for our workshop to look into. The car has
It’s the latest competition from Bridge Classic Cars! This wonderful 1968 Morris Minor Van is now up for grabs on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions
Our 2005 Mercedes Benz Vito is the trusty workhorse of the Bridge Classic Cars fleet. It is used by our transport team across the country
Recently, the Bridge Classic Cars team welcomed Not a Girls Night Out to our Bentwaters and Pettistree sites for an evening social. The group, which
The 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 Roadster is due to leave the Bridge Classic Cars workshop any day now so, we thought we would take
Some of you may have seen the Houndstooth pattern on our limited edition T-shirts but do you know why we chose the iconic pattern which
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been finishing up their work on the 1991 Nissan Figaro’s roof. But, while they have access to
Bridge Classic Cars are in the Daily Mail! Our adverts have been up on the Daily Mail website recently for everyone in the UK to
One of our clients stopped by last week to catch up with the team and have a look over their project which is currently in
Coming soon to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ is this trio of British classics! There’s a 1972 MG Midget, a 1969
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on inspecting the 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster along with carrying out some small repairs on the classic Jaguar.
The team have checked through the underside and all major components of the classic sports GT and found some areas which will require attention in the future. There are some areas of corrosion starting to form on the underside of the car, several of those have been cleaned up and sealed by the team, as well as some pipework which is out of shape.
One of the jobs the team have done is to replace a split radiator hose which works to cool the V12. This had a quite severe split in the front section so the team removed it from the car and fitted a replacement piece before refill and checking the levels.
The restoration workshop have been tasked to look into a few items for the owner of the stunning 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster. To look into some of those issues, the classic Jaguar roadster has been carefully road tested by the team.
Firstly, our restoration technician Jon has been testing the car to try and locate the mentioned unusual engine noise from the straight-six. The team will test the car in varying conditions (driven, idle, visual inspection) in order to look into any possibilities for the noise.
With the XK120 Roadster back into our workshop, tucked away in the Suffolk countryside, it will be moved onto one of our ramps to begin visual inspections of the car and some other items noted by its owner.
The Bridge Classic Cars team spot classics in our everyday lives away from the workshops and this morning, we spotted this beautiful Mercedes 280SE W111 Convertible locally.
The classic Mercedes was parked down the road from our main workshops in Pettistree so when we saw the car sat there we had to grab a few pictures of it.
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have replaced the front shock absorbers on the 1975 MG B GT V8 in with us.
Upon inspection, our technicians noted there were a few leaks coming from the components so replacements were ordered. Once they arrived in stock, Jon began to remove the old components from the front suspension to cross-check them against the new pieces.
With everything checked, the new shock absorbers could be put into place and tightened down. Before the car was road tested and given the all-clear by the workshop.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working alongside the workshop team on the roof of the 1987 Daimler Double Six.
The workshop technicians fitted the sunroof and its mechanism into place on the classic Daimler as part of its reassembly following its time with the paint and body team. Once in place, the trim team could begin to work the headliner into position around the opening.
Brian, one of our trimmers, carefully cut into the new headlining to be able to fix the headliner into position around the channels and to the roof itself.
The interior trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have worked on crafting new wooden support beams for the 1956 Jensen 541 in for restoration.
Brian, one of our trimmers, made templates of the original pieces to begin work on carefully cutting and angling the new pieces of pine into the factory position. Each of these pieces were first rough cut before being refined to ensure the perfect fit as these pieces not only add a bit of support to the rear window opening but will also allow the trim team a place to attach the headliner once the interior of the car begins to go in.
Each of the two pieces which made up the beam are cut by hand and then offered up as no two are perfectly uniformed due to the handmade nature of the cars originally.
The 1970 Jaguar XJ has been in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for our technicians to look into some running issues with the classic saloon car.
To begin with, our technician Jon road tested the car to confirm the issue with the car and to find out the situation the issue would arise in. After confirming the fault, he could begin to work his way through the fuel and ignition systems in the engine bay.
After inspecting, decided to strip and rebuild the carburettors to make sure that they were clean, clear and working just as they should do. Once rebuilt, they could be put back onto the manifold to begin testing again. The issue had become better but it still had some areas that Jon needed to investigate. He noticed a broken wire inside the distributor which was repaired, and the car was retested but again did not resolve the issue.
The team then took the decision to upgrade the ignition system to an electronic set-up and programme in the correct timing gap and curve to work with the car. After road test, Jon reported that the car worked just as it should do.
Soon the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop will have a new resident. This 1953 Armstrong Siddeley Hurricane which is due to come in for a recommission for its owner.
The team originally went to collect the car and bring it back to our Suffolk HQ but upon arrival found the brakes/wheels were seized and couldn’t be moved out of position. So, the collection has been rescheduled for August where some of the workshop team will go to free up the issue and get the Hurricane loaded into our enclosed trailer.
The 1972 MG Midget which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has gone up for sale!
The classic MG has been checked over by our workshop who have noted a couple of jobs which will be done before the car is sold, the front brakes will be rebuilt along with new bushes on the underside.
The car is up live now eBay and our no fees classic car sales platform, MyClassics!
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been carrying out a series of delicate fibreglass repairs to the bodyshell of the 1956 Jensen 541.
The team have been working on the joins between the front pillars and the windscreen surround which over time had cracked. The team carefully strapped the piece into place to make sure the piece was in alignment once the resin had set.
Along with this piece the team also had to carry out some repairs on the rear body section in places around the wheel wells to repair some small cracks and thin areas.
The restoration workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have begun the process of reassembling the 1987 Daimler Double Six following its time with our paint and body team.
The team began by getting the sunroof panel installed into the mechanism to be able to fit back into the roof of the Daimler so the trim team can come to help with the trim panels that surround it.
After the sunroof was back in the car, the team moved on to getting the sill plate mounted into the car and test fitting the polished plates onto the car.
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been stripping the 1986 Daimler DS420 further in preparation for its restoration. Previously the team had noticed a few areas of corrosion which required further exploration to ensure the whole car could be completely assessed.
Once the team had begun to dive deeper into the classic Daimler limo, a lot of the history of the car had become evident. The team had found years of repairs/quick fixes across the body of the car, especially lower down in the car mainly the sills and quarter panels. Both of these had excessive amounts of body filler in them which the team had to sand through in order to inspect the bare metal that lay behind it.
However, upon inspecting the higher parts of the car it is in relatively good shape with only a few small areas requiring the attention of the fabrication team.
The 1975 MG B GT V8 has come back to visit the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the team to have a look at an oil leak reported by the owner of the car, Roger, who won the car from us back in December.
The car has been used and enjoyed by Roger but after a drive noticed an oil leak coming from the B GT V8 and had it looked at by another garage locally to him who unfortunately didn’t seem to find the problem. So, Roger asked if the car could be looked at by the team here.
Once it arrived and our technician Jon got it onto a ramp, he could see the oil sump had taken a considerable hit at some point and he suspects this had caused the gasket to partially blow out due to the edges (which make up the mating surface for the gasket) to roll outwards and not seal correctly.
So, the team cleaned out the original sump for the car and carefully cleared off the paper gasket to begin reshaping the sump whilst we waited for the new cork-style gasket to be delivered. Once it arrived in stock, Jon could fit the new replacement gasket and fit the cleaned and reshaped sump to the underside of the V8 and top up with fluids.
Whilst having its pre-delivery inspection, the 1972 Lotus Elan +2 developed a slight running issue. So, the Bridge Classic Cars workshop team have taken the carburettors off the car to look into the problem.
After removing the set of carbs from the classic Lotus our technician, Jon, could begin investigating what the issue was. In the carburettor bowls, he found that some sediment had built up and caused some small fuelling issues. So, the entire set-up was methodically stripped down to its base components before each individual piece was cleaned, inspected and tested before being put back together and refit to the car.
After this, the car was run up and then road tested, coming back with an all-clear from the workshop team ahead of its new life with its new owner.
The Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop have been working towards completing all the crucial metal repairs to the 1969 Morris Minor Convertible in for restoration.
The team have worked on securing and repairing the substructures beneath the rear quarter panels which were heavily corroded and needed to be carefully cut out and replaced with new pieces and then methodically welded into place to add the much-needed structure beneath the classic Morris.
With the substructures repaired and covered in rust-proofing treatment, the team could begin work on fitting the closing panel which will be blended into the existing body work by our paint and body team later in the car’s restoration journey.
The interior trim team have worked on refurbishing and refinishing several key parts of the rear seats for the 1954 Bristol 405 currently in with Bridge Classic Cars.
Lydia, one of our trim team, has carefully stripped back the parts to bare metal to fully assess and inspect each individual piece before then preparing them to be refinished in hard-wear durable black paint.
With these pieces now curing, the team can carry on with the retrim of the rear squab seat in the classic Bristol.
The Bridge Classic Cars team have delivered our beautiful 1973 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3 Roadster to its owner ahead of the car being taken on holiday.
The team met up with Stephen in Folkstone to hand over Fern Grey on his way to France on holiday where the car will join the 1973 Triumph TR6 on its adventures in France.
Fern Grey has been built entirely to Stephen’s specification by our in-house restoration teams who have spent countless hours building, perfecting and testing the beautiful V12 E-Type for this moment and its life with its owner afterwards.
We look forward to hearing about the Jaguar’s adventures over the summer in France and wish Stephen many happy miles in this incredible GT car.
To go back and look at the entire 1973 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3 Roadster project, click here!
The 1978 MG B GT has moved from the workshop into the Bridge Classic Cars preparation area for our paint and body team to start work.
With all the metal work and repairs complete on the bodyshell, the classic sports car has been transferred into the paint and body department for the team to begin preparing the body for the next phase of its restoration.
We’re excited to show you the beginning of the next phase of the journey with the 1978 MG B GT very soon.
Arriving soon at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ is this 1958 Jensen 541R.
The car will be coming over from the Netherlands to join our other 541 projects that the workshop teams are hard at work on.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page soon for more on this incredible project.
Yesterday, the Bridge Classic Cars team welcomed Valerie to our restoration workshop to collect her 1973 Triumph TR6 she won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Valerie came down to take delivery of her beautiful Saffron Yellow TR6 and to have a look around our workshops at some of our restoration projects. Whilst she was collecting the car, we found out it was Valerie’s birthday! What a day it would be. Valerie, her son and her partner made the trip from Norfolk to collect the car and drive it home.
It’s always an incredible part of the story when you get to see someone’s reaction for the first time seeing their new classic in the metal for the first time. As Valerie said, the morning after she had won the car she still couldn’t believe it and had to ask if she had actually won it. This isn’t the first car Valerie won however, in 1991 she won a brand new Rover Metro through a competition by Heinz.
Still, this TR6 is a beautiful addition to the family so this morning Valerie sent us over a photo of ”Caramac” alongside the family Delorean in its new home.
We all want to wish Valerie many happy miles and hope she enjoys her new classic.
And here’s the video of Valerie collecting her 1973 Triumph TR6 from the Bridge Classic Cars workshop:
Arriving this afternoon at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ was this breath-taking 1951 Jaguar XK120 for our workshop to look into.
The car has been worked on by various specialists since the current owner purchased the car several years ago but since its last visits with them has developed a few little niggles that the team here at Bridge Classic Cars will be having a look into.
There are also a few areas the workshop technicians will be looking into such as inaccurate gauges and a sticking front brake. Along with that, the team will look into the set-up of the carburettors which feed the straight-six engine (including a small issue with the choke) and servicing of the gearbox.
We’re excited to show you more very soon on the 1951 Jaguar XK120 here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
It’s the latest competition from Bridge Classic Cars! This wonderful 1968 Morris Minor Van is now up for grabs on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
Since all the work had been completed on the classic Morris van by our workshop, it was time to get it ready for competition.
With this, we thought we would take you behind the scenes on the shoot with the Bridge Classic Cars team. Craig, Freddie and Monty headed out to Bentwaters to shoot the classic van under the Suffolk sun.
The little 4-cylinder engine burbled its way round the countryside for lap after lap as the team moved around the site to capture the various stills and video clips that we need for our competitions but every one of us had a huge smile thanks to this beautiful van.
And, it could be yours! Head over to the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website and enter now for the 1968 Morris Minor Van by clicking here!
Our 2005 Mercedes Benz Vito is the trusty workhorse of the Bridge Classic Cars fleet. It is used by our transport team across the country delivering cars or locally to pick up parts or move our classics from the workshop to Bentwaters or specialist etc.
The team thought it was time to address a couple of bits and pieces that needed sorting on the van so it was handed over to our workshop and then to our paint and body team.
The workshop team began by inspecting and overhauling the brakes on the Vito as they needed attention. Tom, one of our technicians, completely stripped back and replaced any components which needed to be replaced. During this time, the team could have a look at a few areas of corrosion on the lower parts of the quarter panels.
Once the fabrication team had cut out all the corrosion, the new panels could be carefully welded into before the paint and body team took over to refine the areas and work on some of the door latches ahead of the van going into paint to have those areas blended in.
With the paint and body team now working on the trusty Vito, the guys could start to prepare the areas which had been worked on as well as areas which had general wear and tear in order to refresh the whole van. A few deep scratches were flattened back and filled along with making sure the areas which had been welded were in perfect shape before going into the booth to be painted.
Recently, the Bridge Classic Cars team welcomed Not a Girls Night Out to our Bentwaters and Pettistree sites for an evening social.
The group, which is a friendly club of male members who join in on each other’s passions, came to us due to each event/outing having to be planned by a different member of the group each time. A member of the club, Steve, is a long-time friend of Bridge Classic Cars who trusts our team to work on several of his beloved cars. So, when it was Steve’s turn to organise an evening out he thought he would give us a call to show him and his friends around our sites.
The evening began over at The Hangar, our secure storage facility located on an old air force base, to show the club members around some of our personal collection as well as several cars we hold there awaiting their restoration by the team in the workshop or cars that have been used and are awaiting return to Pettistree.
Then, the whole club travelled in convoy over to our Pettistree site to have a look around our restoration workshops as well as our new building which we host events at throughout the year. Everyone had a brilliant time and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone from Not a Girls Night Out again in the future!
The 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 Roadster is due to leave the Bridge Classic Cars workshop any day now so, we thought we would take one final look around the car that the team here have built from the ground up.
Fern Grey, as the car is known to us, arrived from the US as a white and red 1973 V12 E-Type. But, it didn’t stay that way for long. The restoration team began to strip, assess and work on the car for one of our amazing restoration clients who has had several classics hand-built by us specifically for him.
Fern is on another level. There isn’t a single panel, component or piece which hasn’t been worked on by the term in the single-minded and absolute pursuit of perfection we aim to achieve on our projects. This E-Type is very special and it is due to go on and have a very special life with its enthusiast owner.
The car has gone through numerous test hours and checks, double checks and triple checks by the workshop team before being prepared to leave our Suffolk HQ bound for its new life away from us.
So with that, we all that we would have one final look at Fern Grey before it was loaded into our enclosed trailer and buckled in for the drive.
Some of you may have seen the Houndstooth pattern on our limited edition T-shirts but do you know why we chose the iconic pattern which has its roots going back over 1500 years and has been used in some of the most sought-after interiors? Well, we thought we would talk to you about it.
The history of houndstooth begins in Scotland with wool weavers in around 400AD. A little-known fact about the timeless pattern is that it’s apparently considered a form of tartan. Known as the ‘Border Tartan’, Houndstooth was connected to a band of settlers along the English/Scottish borders but is more widely associated with its boom in the late 19th-early 20th century. It’s also a form of camouflage! Being part of the inspiration for World War 1 dazzle paint schemes due to its angular and intersecting lines, it can make an object appear smaller or further away than it truly is.
But, where did it all start in terms of being used in modern fashion and ultimately in the interiors of some of legendary sports cars?
In the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s, the Houndstooth pattern was adopted by the upper classes as a form of ”country clothing” alongside the ever-popular Prince of Wales Check and the now infamous Tweed. After somewhat falling from favour, in the late 1940s Christian Dior would use the historic pattern in a modern way which inspired others to find its uses and applications. Houndstooth would find its way from interior design, footwear and overwear for the next 25 years in high fashion across the world. This makes sense when you think about a certain German sports car maker who wanted a more modern interior for their newest model.
In terms of its use in car interiors, the first widely accepted use of the pattern (or actually a variation on the design) was by Porsche during the production of the 356. Porsche had a series of variants of the classic houndstooth look for their interiors. This series of Houndstooth styles would be used all the way from the 1950s until the early-1970s with the famous Pepita Recaro seats. The houndstooth style inserts for Porsche would see a massive resurgence in the 1980s and 1990s, with their ”Dazzle” patterns so synonymous with the decades of excess and statements.
Even to this day, a modern Porsche 992 can be ordered with a ”houndstooth” interior, harking back to its earliest days with the pattern gracing the seats of true driving machines. World-class artisans Singer Vehicle Design also has the ability for clients to spec their bespoke 911s with a houndstooth pattern in their own unique colour.
So there you have it, the history of Houndstooth and its role in the interiors of Porsches. And now, it’s part of our history too with our limited edition Houndstooth T-Shirts.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been finishing up their work on the 1991 Nissan Figaro’s roof. But, while they have access to certain places they took the opportunity to get it all looking and fitting perfectly.
The team took the chance to clean up the rear window surround for the customer to blend into the new roof covering on the classic Nissan.
Now with this done, the car has been handed over to our Paint and Body team to begin machine polishing the car.
Bridge Classic Cars are in the Daily Mail! Our adverts have been up on the Daily Mail website recently for everyone in the UK to see that it is possible to win your dream car.
For your chance to win your dream classic, just head over to the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website for your chance to enter now!
One of our clients stopped by last week to catch up with the team and have a look over their project which is currently in with our trim shop.
It’s always nice to see what else our clients have in their garages!
Coming soon to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ is this trio of British classics!
There’s a 1972 MG Midget, a 1969 Morris Minor 1000 and a 1971 MG B GT which will all be coming for the in-house restoration teams to inspect and assess.
Keep a look out here on the news page very soon for more about these classics!
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.
