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.
February 25, 2022 9:30 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on the 1986 Ford Capri to get everything working exactly as it should.
First, our technician Jon continued to work on the wiring under the dash of the classic Ford. He found a few repairs to the original wiring which were causing the original radio to not work correctly. So, with the repairs done to the harness and cleaning up unneeded wires, the original radio was now working just right.
Next up, he fitted the freshly repainted and refurbished engine bay pieces into the car. Several shrouds, the rocker cover and pipes were painted by our in-house paint shop for the Capri to give the engine bay a new fresh and clean look.
Finally, work could begin under the Capri. With the car up in the air, Jon had access to the suspension and brakes. First up was replacing the anti-roll bar bushes. These had perished over time and were allowing too much flex, so a new set of replacements were ordered and installed underneath. Whilst in the air, Jon could begin looking into an issue with the rear brakes.
Our other technicians on the car’s initial inspection noted a slight brake bind on the rear. So, Jon looked into the issue and found the rear drums were in need of a rebuild. Along with that, he replaced the hardline that runs across the rear axle to the new wheel cylinders. Then, after bleeding the brakes he reported that all was now OK and no more brake bind.
Now, it’s time to move on to getting the 1.6 litre 4-cylinder running properly.
February 25, 2022 9:18 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The 1965 Porsche 912 in the Bridge Classic Cars body shop has been moved into the paint shop to go through the next stage of primer work and sanding along with the bonnet.
Alan, has been working on the classic Porsche to get the body and all the panels into perfect shape before the car has its next stage of primer. Once the air-cooled Porsche had been moved into the paint booth, our technicians could lay down the first of several coats of polyester primer onto the body and the top of the bonnet.
After several more coats of both Polyester primer and Epoxy primer across the Porsche, it was then taken back out into the body shop to have its final sanding process started before the trip back into the paint booth for its journey into final colour and clear coat.
February 25, 2022 8:44 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The Bridge Classic Cars fabrication department have been working their way towards the rear of the 1987 Daimler Double Six and ultimately towards the end of the fabrication work needed on this classic Daimler.
Monty, one of our fabricators, has been carefully working on cutting out the rear sill and rear arch to perform the necessary repairs. Each of the pieces has been made by hand to ensure the best fit and finish on the patch panels. Monty has only removed the affected areas to retain as much of the original metal as possible that is still in good shape. This included a section of the rear door which had rusted out, along with the leading edge of the arch/door jam.
Inch by inch, he welded the new pieces onto the bottom edges of the car until finally the job was completed. All of the pieces were formed and pushed/pulled to the best possible fit so when it is moved to our body shop, there will be as minimal filler work as possible before the car’s respray.
February 25, 2022 8:30 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on servicing and refurbishing the front and rear drum brakes on the 1958 Morris Minor 1000 currently in with ourselves for some work.
Our technicians have taken apart the drums all the way back to the carriers and hubs to be able to fully inspect and assess each part of the drum. The shoes and wheel cylinders needed to be changed as the customer had noted the brakes were very poor even after a recent master cylinder was fitted. After every piece was cleaned and prepared, Rob began to put the whole system back together before testing.
After testing and adjusting, all 4 drums on the Minor 1000 were working perfectly and when the time comes, ready for the road ahead.
February 24, 2022 4:21 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Our recent arrival, the 1986 Ford Capri, has been inspected by the workshop who noted the sunroof on the classic Ford wasn’t working correctly. So, the whole mechanism was removed to be completely assessed by the team.
They found that one of the arms which control the tilt of the sunroof had broken, causing it to not load in and out of the roof correctly. After days of searching for this piece everywhere online, our fabrication team have expertly made a new piece to go back on the car.
With this installed back on the mechanism and the sunroof back in the car, it has been tested by the workshop and works correctly every single time.
February 24, 2022 3:56 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Bridge Classic Cars have recently acquired this beautiful 1954 Jaguar XK120 for sale as a project to be restored.
This XK120 was in the process of being restored by its previous owner who could not complete the project, unfortunately. This XK120 project comes with a full V5 as well as a spare chassis and boxes of spare parts to complete the project.
The previous owner managed to get hold of a correct 3.4-litre straight-six engine for the project, but the car itself is not numbers matching. The car if bought, however, could be restored by our workshops if required.
For more information have a look on the advert on our brand new sales platform, MyClassics!
The 1971 Jaguar XJ6 which had some engine work recently has gone back home to its owner after everything has been completed on the car.
The Bridge Classic Cars technicians worked on replacing both fuel tanks on this stunning light blue XJ6 late last year before discovering the engine also needed some work to be done in order to get it running 100%. The team cleaned out every coolant galley in the engine block while the cylinder head was being repaired.
With everything complete and tested on the XJ6, it was held out our secure storage facility, The Hangar, while it waited to go home. Just before, we pulled it out to take some final photos with this wonderful piece of Jaguar history.
February 24, 2022 1:49 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
The latest arrival into The Hangar, the Bridge Classic Cars secure storage facility is this legendary 1954 Jaguar XK120.
This car was acquired by ourselves due to the owner, unfortunately, passing away and therefore the project has been left incomplete. Tom and Brian went to pick up the car, the spare chassis and the numerous spare parts which had been sourced for the car by its previous owner.
This 1954 Jaguar XK120 will soon be up for sale on the new Bridge Classic Cars MyClassics website.
February 23, 2022 11:12 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The 1952 MG TD in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been having its convertible roof fixed by our in-house trim shop.
Brian, one of our trim experts, has been working on removing the original webbing straps before replacing them with all new pieces. For this, Brian has had to remove the convertible roof in order to properly remove the complete straps.
The straps themselves are attached to the body at the rear which Brian had to carefully undo so the new pieces could be put in. With the new pieces, Brian could put the whole roof back together and fitted up perfectly.
February 22, 2022 2:40 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
The 1970 Bristol 411 in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is continuing its journey on being converted to left-hand drive.
Our technician Paul has been removing the wiring and gauges from the wooden dash of the classic British GT. Along with this, is removing the metres of wiring from behind the dashboard as well. All of these have been labelled and catalogued for when the reassembly begins after the conversion to left-hand drive.
All of these parts from the dash have also been photographed, catalogued and put into storage for the car.
February 22, 2022 2:13 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
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.
February 22, 2022 1:56 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
The freshly rebuilt V8 burbled in the winter air outside of The Hangar. The Bridge Classic Cars team had been waiting a long time to shoot this particular car, the 1973 MGB GT V8.
With all of the work complete on the car, including the engine rebuild, a new clutch, new wheels and tyres, it was time for the car to go through its photo and video shoot. As the Bridge Classic Cars team set off across the airfield, the GT V8 looked incredible in the bright, low sun.
This particular car has some upgrades which really go to help the useability of the car. The car had previously been fitted with a 5-speed gearbox so the Bridge Classic Cars replaced the ageing clutch to help its next owner use the car more easily. That and the completely rebuilt all-aluminium V8 which ran faultlessly lap after lap during the filming thanks to the newly fitted electric fans.
As Hayley drove the car that morning, we could all tell this was going to be something very special for its next owner.
February 22, 2022 12:52 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
The rest of the panels from the 1987 Mercedes 500SL which is in with Bridge Classic Cars for restoration have been in the in-house spray booth to be finished in bright white primer.
Chris, one of our amazing painters, has been getting the first layers of finishing primer onto the pieces of the classic Mercedes. This is all being done in preparation for the car to be completely refinished in the Mercedes Pagoda colour, Selenit Grau.
It’s all moving quickly now on the restoration of this beautiful Mercedes R107 and we can’t wait to show you the next step!
February 22, 2022 12:08 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
The Bridge Classic Cars body shop have the wheels arches of the 1956 Jensen 541 on the workbench currently.
Our body shop have been forming the new aluminium wheel arch lines by hand for the classic sports car. All of these pieces have to be made by hand for the car due to each arch being slightly different to one another, so for the best fit, our team have made them individually for the car.
Along with that, our teams have finished stripping back the boot lid of the 541 ready for primer and filler work to be completed and ready for paint.
February 22, 2022 11:27 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The Bridge Classic Cars body team have been working on getting the parts and pieces from the doors of the 1987 Mercedes 500SL prepared and catalogued before being painted and put into storage.
Mauro has been working on checking each of the components before then carefully disassembling and refurbishing anything that needed to be reworked before final assembly on the classic Mercedes.
February 22, 2022 9:02 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop has been continuing to work on the interior of the 1955 Jensen 541. This time, Brian has been handcrafting new storage boxes for the rare and unique sports car.
Bridge Classic Cars have become the go-to for Jensen 541 restorations which include our hand-made interiors. Brian, has been working on the new cubbies for the 1955 Jensen 541. These have been entirely made from scratch by hand specifically for this car by Brian and trimmed in brand new black vinyl for the finishing touch.
These are being made as part of the interior that the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop are making specifically for the car.
February 21, 2022 2:55 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Bridge Classic Cars will soon be welcoming this 1954 Jaguar XK120 to our secure storage facility, The Hangar.
This XK120 is an incomplete project with numerous spare and replacements parts in boxes, including a complete spare chassis for the car. The car, all the spares and the V5 have been acquired by us so while its future is decided it will be kept at our safe, dry storage facility.
February 21, 2022 11:20 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Some of the panels and pieces from the 1965 Porsche 912 have been into the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint booth for their first coats of primer.
Alan has been working on getting these panels ready for the polyester primer in the previous days which has involved hours of careful sanding and reworking of the metal. Now, it was time for the panels to go in for the first round of primer for the classic Porsche.
Now with the panels currently curing in the paint shop, Alan will begin getting the other parts of the 912 ready to go into the paint booth.
February 18, 2022 2:17 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on getting the suspension and steering system out of the 1970 Bristol 411.
Paul has removed the springs and dampers from the classic British GT ready for its left-hand-drive conversion. Along with that, he has removed the steering box out of the car. All of these pieces are being carefully inspected and put into storage to go along with the car after its conversion.
It’s exciting to see this project moving forward on such a unique but more frequently requested job.
February 18, 2022 12:50 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have had some of the parts and pieces from the 1956 Jensen 541 in the paint booth.
With the restoration of the 1956 Jensen 541 moving ahead with the body panels and pieces being worked on by our paint and body teams, it was the turn of some of the parts to go into our in-house paint booth to be refinished in heavy-duty black and looking as good as new.
The pieces for this restoration will be going into the booth in various stages in preparation for the final assembly of the car but until then they will be wrapped up and put into storage after being catalogued.
February 18, 2022 11:07 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The stunning 1987 Mercedes 500SL which has been in the Bridge Classic Cars body shop getting prepared for its paint job has been transferred into the spray booth for the first layers of finish primer to be laid onto the iconic classic Mercedes.
Chris, one of our paint technicians, has taken the R107 into the booth and thanks to the hours of preparation on the body by our body team, flawlessly laid down the first in a long process of getting the car into its final colour of Selenit Grau.
Chris treats every coat of primer like it is a final layer of colour or clear and all the paintwork that comes out of the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop is held to the same exacting standards.
We’re excited to show you the next step in the restoration of the 1987 Mercedes 500SL very soon here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
February 18, 2022 10:48 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have some of the trims and pieces from the 1978 MGB GT in the paint booth to be refinished.
Whilst the body of the MGB is having its metalwork completed, the paint team took the opportunity to refinish several of the trims and fixings in a new heavy-duty black finish for the classic sports car. This not only is aesthetic but also will help protect the pieces, which were taken back to bare metal, while they’re in storage until reassembly begins.
February 18, 2022 10:33 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on getting the body of the 1965 Porsche 912 currently in with us absolutely perfect before it goes into the paint booth.
Alan has been working on getting each and every panel just right with hours of sanding and manipulating each piece. One of the front wings had shown evidence of repairs in the past which had changed the shape of the panel quite drastically, so Alan removed this from the car and went through the process of shrinking the metal in very specific places along the panel to get it to fall back into the correct shape.
With that process completed, he could then begin refining the filler work needed to smooth out any surfaces on the classic Porsche.
February 18, 2022 10:18 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The engine for the 1969 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda has begun its final phase of testing at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Suffolk.
As part of the process, after the engine has been run up to temperature and left to cool several times, the cylinder head on the 2.8-litre straight-six. This is retorqued in the correct sequences and settings to make sure that the newly rebuilt cylinder head is sitting flat and even to the top of the engine block and the gasket is fitting correctly.
With that done and rechecked, the testing of the 1969 Mercedes 280SL Pagoda can continue.
February 18, 2022 9:45 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The night of the 17th of February 2022 was time for another of the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions live draws! This was the time to find out who the new winner of the TAG Heuer Carrera Watch and 1974 MGB GT.
As with our last few live draws, we invited several members for the East Coast Retros car club down to watch the draw from our brand new showroom facility at our Suffolk HQ along with a very special friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Karina (AKA Bike Like a Mum). As Hayley and Craig made their way around the selection of cars inside the new building and showed our live audience both in the building on the live stream around each of them.
After that, it was a quick walk through our restoration workshop to show some of the new projects currently being worked on by the Bridge Classic Cars technicians. Included in that was a look at our new paint and body preparation area and the move of our trim shop from downstairs to upstairs at our Pettistree workshop.
Then, it was back into the new building. Hayley and Craig managed to grab a couple of minutes with Karina to talk about her experiences going through the process of getting her motorcycle license and her history and connection to motorbikes which all lead up to the reveal that we will be doing some very exciting projects with Karina in the near future.
It was now time to find out the new owners for the TAG Heuer Carrera and the 1974 MGB GT. The MGB had sold out ahead of the draw with only a few tickets remaining on the watch. With the entry lists published ahead of time before the draw for everyone to have access to, Hayley and Craig went over to the laptop where all the pages were on stand-by. First up was the TAG, as Hayley input the numbers 1 and 2999 for the number generator to choose from – then with one click, the number 1146 appeared on the screen. Consulting the entry list, that ticket belonged to Ron Miele. The new owner of the brand new TAG Heuer Carrera.
Now, we could find out just who was about to get a phone call to let them know they had won the 1974 MGB GT. With the number generator reset. Hayley put the criteria of between 1 and 2999 before wishing everyone good luck. As the numbers whirred past, they landed on 1480. That particular ticket had been bought by Ian Calder. So, we decided to give him a ring and let him know the news. He was thrilled! So, the classic sports car will very soon be loaded into our enclosed transporter and be making its way to Ian for him to enjoy and drive.
February 18, 2022 9:14 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The workshop technicians at Bridge Classic Cars have been working alongside our trim team to remove some of the parts and pieces from the 1986 Ford Capri to be refurbished.
The team began by working on removing the sunroof out of the classic Ford sports car. The technicians had noted that the mechanism seemed to bind and not lay into the roof evenly or flat. Once removed and inspected, it was found that one of the arms which controls the tilt of the sunroof was broken and because of the piece not going into the roof straight, was scratching the piece. This has all been removed to be refurbished along with several pieces from the engine bay.
After this, our technicians turned their attention to the radio and wiring in the Capri. The technicians noted some issues with both the radio and the wiring so after cleaning up some of the previous changes done to the car, everything worked perfectly.
February 18, 2022 8:48 amPublished by Craig Ranson
While the 1970 Bristol 411 is in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the process of its left-hand-drive conversion, the trim team have removed the seats to perform a couple of repairs.
On the side panels of the seat, our team noted down a hole that had appeared at some point in the cars life. So, the trim team got to work repairing it. Brian, one of our trimmers, carefully removed part of the covering from the base in order to perform the repair.
Using a piece of calico and a tiny section of matching red leather, Brian managed to plug the hole perfectly and properly.
February 17, 2022 9:49 amPublished by Craig Ranson
The trim team at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in our Suffolk HQ are working through the interior pieces and trims for the 1955 Jensen 541.
Brian, one of our trimmers, has been working on shaping and putting together the fitted rear seats for the 1950s GT car. Each part of these rear seats is made by hand by our trim shop in-house. Every car is unique so each interior we do for a Jensen is also unique and fit specifically for that car.
This 541 is no exception. The rear seats have had their foams cut and shaped by hand to get the best fit and finish possible for the interior of the classic Jensen. Along with that, Brian has also remade and trimmed the ceiling pad to match.
February 17, 2022 9:15 amPublished by Craig Ranson
We use cookies to deliver the best possible experience whilst visiting our website. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies, or you can manage your preferences by clicking the link below. You can manage your preferences at any time from out Cookie Policy page.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
