The trim shop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on finishing up the interior of the 1968 MGC Roadster.
Brain, one of our trimmers, has been carefully cutting out a new hole to fit up the new clock into the dashboard of the classic and rare MGC. The panel had to be clamped down and the new wood veneer laid over the top to use as a template to mark out the piece.
Once the piece had been marked out, Brian carefully drilled out the new clock opening and finished it by hand. Now that this was complete, he could begin to secure the veneer to the panel.
After the adhesive had cured completely, he could fit the panel into the car and secure everything down into the car.
The bodywork on the 1978 MGB GT which is in for restoration with Bridge Classic Cars continues while the rest of the car is being worked on by the various other restoration departments.
The bodywork on the car has been worked on piece by piece, with any remnants of corrosion or rust completely removed from the shell of the classic sports car.
Using replacement patch panels, the areas were carefully cut out and the metal replaced piece by piece.
Once the engine and parts had been thoroughly cleaned by our restoration workshop for the 1978 MGB GT in with Bridge Classic Cars for restoration, they could be transferred over to the paint shop to be refinished.
Chris and the paint team worked on getting each piece cleaned and prepared before being taken into the paint booth. Each piece was individually painted whether in the maroon heavy-duty paint or the deep, silky black for some of the accessories.
Once everything had correctly cured, they were taken back into the restoration workshop for the engine to be reassembled ready for when the time comes to be reinstalled into the restored body.
This gorgeous 1955 Austin-Healey 100 has just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshops at our Suffolk HQ for our technicians to look into a slight issue with the car.
The team at Bridge have been asked to look into a running issue with the car. The car had an intermittent fault where starting from particularly hot it would struggle. So, the team will be going through the various systems to check this over and diagnose the issue.
Expect to see more very soon on this incredible 1955 Austin Healey 100 on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
The paint shop inside of Bridge Classic Cars have sealed the bottom of the classic Mini for Team C Racing.
The underside of the Mini was hand sanded to make sure the surface was perfect before it was handed over to the paint team. Chris has tinted the RaptorGuard to match the colour intended for the rest of the body but is much harder wearing and more durable than normal paint.
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.
The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on the interior of the 1955 Jensen 541.
Brian, one of our trimmers, has handmade a lot of these details for the interior of the car. Including the rounded bases of the rear quarter panels finished with hand-formed aluminium brackets. These pieces have been entirely made by the trim team and will be recovered.
The seat bases have also been worked on by the team and the wooden spars carefully cut by hand to give the best fit and finish needed for the bottoms of the seats.
The Bristol 411 left-hand drive conversion is moving forward with new mounts and brackets being fabricated by the restoration team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Paul has made new glovebox brackets to reinforce behind the dashboard now the dash has rotated.
The biggest change has been underneath the car. Paul has made new plates that will be used to attach the all-new steering rack for the conversion. The pieces were cut to shape and then carefully refined to fit into the car.
The underside of the Team C Racing Mini shell has been worked on by the Bridge Classic Cars body shop ahead of its appointment in the in-house paint booth.
Mauro, our paint and body restoration technician, has been painstakingly sanding the underneath of the classic Mini. Each and every inch of the car’s top and the bottom has been worked on to ensure the work done by the paint shop is perfect.
The underside of the car is due to be raptor guarded to give the best durability to the bottom of the car against the elements.
The restoration technicians in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ have been busy rebuilding and cleaning up the distributor and carburettors of the 1978 MGB GT.
Rob began by carefully disassembling the distributor on the classic MGB. The internals of the distributor was assessed and inspected, with the decision being to entirely rebuild the whole component and clean up the casing.
The next job was to work on stripping down the SU carburettors and manifolds to assess them. Once the assessment was complete, our technician Rob cleaned up each and every piece of the carburettors before beginning the process of rebuilding and recommissioning the vital intake components.
With these jobs complete, Rob could begin to prepare the engine block for refurbishment and paint.
The 2nd round of proceeds has been donated by Bridge Classic Cars Competitions to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal to go directly to those who are on the ground helping the people of Ukraine affected and displaced by the invasion.
Every week, we send 100% of the proceeds taken to the Humanitarian Appeal to help them carry on their amazing work in the area.
The 1989 TVR S2, which was generously donated to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal by its owner Jar Joyce, has been featured in both the East Anglian Daily Times and the Ipswich Star.
It’s amazing to see more and more exposure is given to this incredible cause and the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions prize. Remember though, 100% of all proceeds go to directly help those affected and displaced by the invasion which has turned so many people’s lives either into chaos or completely upside down.
The restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have got the engine running on our 1969 Sunbeam Rapier since it arrived in with us from South Africa recently.
With some fresh fuel, top-up of levels, a jump start from our director’s car and a check over the little 4-cylinder sprang into life, happily idling in our storage facility, The Hangar. So, we decided to take it out for a drive up and down the runway to make sure everything worked just as it should.
Bridge Classic Cars are excited to announce the latest Jensen 541 to be joining our stable. This 1959 Jensen 541R was previously owned by Neil Hepburn, an engineer with a passion for his 1959 541R.
Neil had owned the car since 1974 but unfortunately passed away several years ago leaving his beloved Jensen to his family. The details that are known of the car is that during its life it had several upgrades done such as a disc brake conversion as well as a chassis rebuild.
All of this work had been done to a very high standard under the guardianship of Mr Hepburn and the small number of custodians of this 541R.
Across its 63 years, the car is reading as covering just 40,000 miles which is believed correct. The engine has not run for several years but previously, although put away into storage and up on stands, the car was run regularly with the carburettors fed by tube using premium fresh petrol.
The car also comes with its original V5 logbook which shows previous owners including several members of the Palmer-Tomkinson family.
Barbra Hepburn, the wife of Neil, would like her late husband’s car brought back to its former glory as she has many happy memories and photographs of the car being used by herself and her late husband in years gone by.
This 1959 Jensen 541R is coming to join its sisters here at Bridge Classic Cars to await the commissioning of its full concours restoration. This 541R is offered for sale with the condition of a restoration carried out in full by our restoration workshop who have extensive experience restoring Jensen 541’s to the very highest of standards which these special cars deserve.
The amazing people over at Car & Classic and Hagerty UK have shared our Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal 1989 TVR S2 with their followers.
The response to the charity appeal has been absolutely incredible for the TVR with 100% of the proceeds going to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal with over £15,000 raised to go directly to those affected by the invasion of Ukraine.
To check out the Hagerty UK article, click here. And to read the Car & Classic article, click here.
And you too could enter to help this amazing cause. Head over to the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website and enter now!
Last week the Bridge Classic Cars team loaded up our 1995 Dodge Viper RT/10 and headed out to the H&H Auctions at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.
Although the Viper was entered into the auction, it also gave the team a chance to look around this amazing venue and the incredible machinery on display waiting to head over the auction block. Everything from the remnants of a very rare AC Ace to a stunning Jaguar C Type, an Audi Quattro Rally Car to a new Lamborghini Aventador.
The cars on display were truly breathtaking and all displayed inside the former RAF hangar, like a giant version of our own secure storage facility, The Hangar. There was something for everyone at the H&H Auctions, but the car that caught our eye was the 1990 Porsche 944 Turbo.
As the day progressed and the proceedings began, the cars crossed the auction block one by one. Some amazing machinery was sold that day like the Bentley Speed 6 which sold for £300,000+ and the stunning Austin Healey 3000 nearly identical to our own Big Healey for sale on MyClassics.
When the time came for the Porsche to be sold, we had to get hold of it. This beautiful example finished in Guards Red with recent work carried out and a remap of the ECU generously adding more power to the turbocharged engine.
Unfortunately, our 1995 Dodge Viper RT/10 didn’t sell. But, it just means it’s waiting to go to the right home.
As the hammer fell, we had won the bidding. So at the end of the day, we loaded up our new 944 Turbo into our trailer to bring it home to our Suffolk HQ.
Another recent arrival from South Africa is this stunning 1972 Lotus Elan 2+2. This is now in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Pettistree headquarters.
The car, as with all cars that arrive, will be inspected and assessed by the restoration teams who will compile their reports and come up with a plan if needed.
Expect to see more on the beautiful Elan 2+2 very soon here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
This gorgeous 1969 Sunbeam Rapier is fresh off the boat from South Africa and has made its way to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop inside of our Pettistree HQ.
This classic sports car will be heading into the workshops to be inspected and assessed by the restoration teams and report back on the car.
Expect to see more very soon on this beautiful 1969 Sunbeam Rapier here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars noted a small noise coming from the suspension of the 1973 MGB GT V8 during its pre-delivery inspection and found a small clearance issue.
The wheel weights fitted to the new minilite wheels were interfering with a ball joint and had damaged the rubber gaiter. So, the weights were moved to the inner edge of the wheel and the ball joint was replaced.
This has given the arm and the balljoint enough clearance to spin freely without any interference.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have turned their attention back to the interior of the 1968 MGC Roadster.
Brian has been renewing the wooden veneers which cover the face of the dashboard as well as the centre console. After these were all secured in place, it was the job of carefully refitting all of the trim pieces and brightwork back into place on this truly beautiful and rare MGC Roadster.
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has begun to inspect the carburettors on the original straight-six destined to be reunited with the 1954 Bristol 405.
Our restoration technicians have been testing the carburettors are clear and all springs and rotating pieces move smoothly, as well as inspecting some of the internals before they’re completely taken apart and inspected further on the workbench.
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on the 2003 Jaguar XKR which came to use for a knocking noise from the rear.
Upon inspection, our technicians noted that the rear link rods were heavily corroded and had a substantial amount of play in them which could be contributing towards the report knocking noise. These were changed by the workshop technicians to retest and see if it improved the knocking noise.
This beautiful 1990 Porsche 944 Turbo has just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Suffolk.
The classic Porsche will be inspected and assessed by the restoration teams at our Pettistree HQ to see if this beautiful red with black interior Porsche needs anything to be done on the car.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more on this wonderful 944 Turbo.
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop has been working on handmaking all new pieces for the interior of the 1955 Jensen 541.
Using their wealth of knowledge when it comes to the interiors of the whole 541 family, these pieces are being made to exact measurements which takes craft, skill and precision for the best possible fit.
Brian has made new seat woods, kick panels, floor supports and mounts specifically for the car.
Previous Bridge Classic Cars Competitions winner has been out and about in his 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Tribute.
Lyall took his family out in the classic muscle car recently for a family day out. It’s always amazing to see our winners out there using their dream classics!
This stunning 1960 Austin-Healey 3000 recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ.
The ”Big Healey” will go through each of our restoration departments to be assessed and inspected by our restoration technicians to find out if the car requires any work to be completed on it. Each of the teams will compile their inspections and report back on the condition of the 1960 Austin-Healey 3000.
Recently, the owner of both the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series 3 Roadster and 1973 Triumph TR6 came to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop to test drive and inspect his newest projects by the team.
Each of the cars was inspected by Stephen before being taken out on several test drives to sort of suspension setups and any small changes to the car before their delivery to Europe for Stephen to enjoy for many years to come.
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop team have been working on inspecting pieces from the 1978 MGB GT which were removed before it entered the body shop.
Our restoration technician Rob has been going through each of the parts to decide if new parts will be required or if they can be refurbished for use in the restoration of the classic sports car.
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop has begun the process of carefully taking apart the original interior of the 1905 Riley 9HP in order to recreate and understand the car better.
The original leather was brittle and stiff, so Brian carefully began to remove the trim pieces in order to best remove it from the car as complete as possible to use as a reference when it comes to making the new piece. Each item that has come off the car has been meticulously catalogued and stored for the restoration project even the original springs and hessian backing of the seat and all the hardware.
This is a very exciting part of the project and we’re excited to show you more progress on the 1905 Riley 9HP soon here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
The body shell and panels for the Team C Racing classic Mini has moved from the Bridge Classic Cars body shop to the paint booth ready to be shot in primer.
With the body and panels cleaned down thoroughly and masked up, Chris could begin the process of getting the classic Mini into primer ahead of its colour change. Several coats of primer were laid onto the body before it is taken back to the body shop to have more delicate sanding done to ensure the best finish on the shell for our friends over at Team C Racing.
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