Brake Work on the 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4
Our restoration team have been making amazing progress on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 at our Pettistree workshops. Our technician Steve, who is the main
Our restoration team have been making amazing progress on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 at our Pettistree workshops. Our technician Steve, who is the main
Recently, Peter won our 1972 MGB Roadster through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions. But before the team took the trip down to deliver the car to
The 1996 Jaguar XJS, which has been safely tucked up in storage for a few months, has made its way to our Pettistree workshops ahead
There’s been some big changes recently at our Suffolk HQ with the installation of a new set of ramps. These ramps have been put in
We recently welcomed the video team from East Anglian Daily Times to our Suffolk HQ to show them around after our announcement of being finalist
Another new member of the Bridge Classic Cars fraternity, this stunning 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 which arrived this morning at our Pettistree HQ
This week, we’ve welcomed a few new classics to our Suffolk HQ – the first being this beautiful 1973 Porsche 914. Revered by many for
This weekend will see the running of the 92nd edition for what is to many, and myself included, the greatest endurance race on earth. The
Mauro has been working on getting the MGA Roadster back into its signature vibrant red. Our 1960 MGA Roadster has been perfectly prepared by the
Our 2010 Jaguar XKR, which recently around at our Pettistree workshops, has been under the car of our technician Jon. The alloy wheels of the
Our 1966 Daimler 250 V8 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ for our restoration technician Julian to have a
Jon has been working on our 1989 Daimler Double Six recently to get it back into shape. To begin with, he’s been working inside the
Our 1959 Jensen 541R, which was delivered to its new owner a few weeks ago, has been collected by the Bridge Classic Cars transport team
Our 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Coupe is ready to head off to our safe and secure storage facility, The Hangar, in preparation for its
Our 1975 Jensen Intercepter Mk3 has been making massive progress recently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. With the car being prepared to go into
The Bridge Classic Cars team have been making progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 which is being built up at our Suffolk HQ at the
The paintshop at Bridge Classic Cars are always busy! But recently, the booth was cleared for our painter Chris to get some parts for our
Our stunning 1957 Triumph TR3, which belongs to our friend Karl, has made its way out of hibernation at our secure storage facility recently and
We’ve welcomed back an old friend to our Suffolk HQ, this beautiful 1964 Jaguar Mk2 3.8. It’s come in for our workshop team to have
The workshop team have been continuing on getting our 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Coupe back on the road after its decades long slumber. The
We’ve welcomed this stunning, vibrant red classic Triumph TR6 into the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ for the team to take a look at.
Mauro has been continuing his work on getting our 1960 MGA Roadster ready to get back into colour! He first off finished several pieces of
After being won last week through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, our 1977 Triumph TR7 was loaded into our enclosed trailer for its journey as far
Steve has been working on our 1981 Austin Allegro Vanden Plas this afternoon, as part of his inspection of the classic he noted that the
Our 1971 MGB Roadster has been in the workshop of our Suffolk HQ for our technician Steve to begin work on getting the top end
Our 2009 Porsche Cayman S Sport, which was won recently by Hugh, has been transported safely across the country right to his door step –
Mauro has been continuing to work on getting the 1960 MGA Roadster ready for its colour by keeping up his diligent and obsessive pursuit of
Interior: Our trimmer Lydia has been working on getting the interior pieces in place to our 1956 Jensen 541. At this point, she has installed
Our technician Julian has been working on getting our barn-find 1953 Austin A40 back on the road after laying dormant for over 60 years. You
Our 1972 MGB Roadster is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website! The stunning classic roadster, finished in vibrant, summery red could be
Our restoration team have been making amazing progress on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 at our Pettistree workshops.
Our technician Steve, who is the main technician on the project, has been getting the running gear and brake system back onto the newly refinished chassis of the classic Aston Martin. He has fitted up the original hubs in order to begin work on the brake system with the drums and all hardware in place to begin to map out the intricate network of brake pipes to connect everything up when the time comes.
Recently, Peter won our 1972 MGB Roadster through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions. But before the team took the trip down to deliver the car to him personally, the workshop checked it all over and then it was handed over to our transport team to get loaded up safe and sound in our enclosed trailer for the journey to its new home.
Once we arrived, Peter met us excited to meet his new pride and joy – and raring to go on the cars maiden voyage under his ownership. You’ll be able to see the video on this very soon over on our YouTube channel.
The 1996 Jaguar XJS, which has been safely tucked up in storage for a few months, has made its way to our Pettistree workshops ahead of being transported back to its excited owner.
The classic Jaguar GT was loaded up by our transport driver Tony into our enclosed trailer and safely taken back home.
There’s been some big changes recently at our Suffolk HQ with the installation of a new set of ramps. These ramps have been put in place in what used to be the home of Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, the Atelier, but since its move into the newly launched Classics Lounge – the Atelier has now become the finishing room for our various restoration projects.
Each project will be built back up in this room before it is tested with a technician assigned to each individual car.
We recently welcomed the video team from East Anglian Daily Times to our Suffolk HQ to show them around after our announcement of being finalist in two categories for this years Business Awards.
Our marketing manager Rob was on hand to give them a tour of the workshops as well as answer any questions they had ahead of the awards evening on the 4th of July.
Another new member of the Bridge Classic Cars fraternity, this stunning 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 which arrived this morning at our Pettistree HQ in Suffolk.
The car will be assessed and looked over by the team very soon who will report back their findings for the cars owner.
This week, we’ve welcomed a few new classics to our Suffolk HQ – the first being this beautiful 1973 Porsche 914.
Revered by many for its lightweight, low-slung simplicity, the 914 is the equivalent of the 1970’s Boxster and was a favourite amongst sports car fans of the time. So, it’s always a pleasure to have one arrive at our workshop for the team to take a look at.
This weekend will see the running of the 92nd edition for what is to many, and myself included, the greatest endurance race on earth. The fabled, 24 hours of Le Mans. It is a race that I fell in love with from a very early age thanks to a illustrated book I bought at school Book Fair named simply ‘Racing Cars’. It drew me in and captured me from a very early age and would inspire many of my life choices that followed, from working on racing teams to picking up a camera in some instances.
A race not only against competitors across multiple classes, skill levels and speeds but against the track itself and more importantly than that… time. The old adage says ‘to finish first, first you must finish’ and that is very true when it comes to Le Mans. As seen in recent years, teams will be leading all the way up until the last few moments (or seconds) of the race only for a decision made hours earlier or a simple lapse in concentration have them pay dearly for it – an example being Toyota in 2016, who lost their outright win when their #5 car lost power and ground to a halt with a minute lead… because it had run out of fuel due to a miscalculation.
Every race creates a legacy or a story for each person that attends this weekend in the middle of France, some see it as every true petrol head’s pilgrimage – to the Devil’s roundabout.
What began as a simple street race in the early 1920’s has grown into an industry all of its own. With teams throwing everything they possibly have at a class or all out win on this one weekend in June. Famously, when the legendary W.O Bentley first heard of this mad-hat idea by a customer of his, John Duff, told him of a 24 hour long race in France he wanted a car prepared for he thought it simply wasn’t possible. But with a sense of duty to his customer, W.O attended the race as support and supplied his test driver Frank Clements to act as a 2nd driver. After this first race in 1923, Bentley would become one of the names so entrenched in the early history of this legendary race which survives until this day.
Each decade has held its heroes. With the introduction of new classes, formats, driving styles, engines and rules it has allowed for certain manufacturers to dominate and ultimately drive other teams to push harder and harder – Jaguar vs Mercedes, Ford vs Ferrari, Sauber vs Porsche vs Jaguar, Toyota vs Peugeot, Audi vs everyone else… you get the picture. It has also been a sight of much tragedy and loss, but within the motorsport world its an accepted risk but in 1955, a true tragedy occurred which involved civilian spectators and would ultimately lead to Mercedes withdrawing from competition for the decades which followed and because of both of these aspects, the loss and the triumphs it has pushed the development of numerous safety systems in both racing and road applications.
It has also helped teams pushed the boundaries of performance (and endurance) which have found its way into the cars we drive everyday such as tuning for both performance and for fuel efficiency which came about after a rule change in the 1970’s limited engine size due to the fuel crisis and actually runs up until today with cars only being allowed to use a certain amount of fuel over a certain amount of time (the same also applies to tyres and tyre technology).
The only breaks and delays in the races history have been due to world events entirely out of the control of drivers and teams. The race of course didn’t run from 1940 and would only begin again in 1949 due to the 2nd world war and the rebuild of the automobile industry across the globe needed to form the competition. And then during those almost surreal months/year of the COVID-19 pandemic where the race was postponed until September of 2020.
This year, the 2024 race, will see the introduction to several new manufacturers across the competition as well as a new class – GT3. After the former GTLM/GTE designations ended last year, the new cars for this years race included the new Ford Mustang GT3 under the wonderfully competitive and steady hands of a Ford Racing/Dempsey Proton Racing partnership (Ford formerly ran their Ford GT at Le Mans and secured a class win on their debut with the car so… no pressure). The highest echelon of the paddock of course is the Hypercar category, a selection of hybrid and non-hybrid all out racers makes up this clique with manufacturers such as Porsche, Cadillac, Glickenhaus and Ferrari (who would take both the Le Mans win in 2023).
Although the drivers have become god-like, think of Kristensen, Ickx, Miles, Barnato, Turner, Schneider, Conway, Koboyashi, etc. Their machines have also past into folklore for a plethora of reasons. This mechanical beast mentioned in hush whispers and held in such high regard that they are treated sometimes like the most priceless pieces of art in the world but at their core, they were build for one singular purpose – to be the fastest and most well-built piece of machinery in France on that single beautiful summer’s weekend.
I find myself in a wonderful, almost otherwordly, fortunate position where my job is to be surrounded with classic cars every day of my working life. Photographing and capturing what is only a snapshot of the lives that these machines have led, and its a privilege that I sometimes have to pinch myself to bring it all back that it is indeed real. Those of you who know me, or those who have met me at events, know that I could talk the hind legs off a horse about automotive history and its because of these machines…
Being that I work for a classic car company, being Bridge Classic Cars – I thought it best to wind back the clocks and ride that wave of nostalgia into the shores of yesteryear by taking a look at some of the racing cars which have inspired so many.
It is a rare chance to get up close and personal with these tremendous pieces of history. Many of them are cordoned off from the public and only to be gawked at in the pages of a magazine who have been allowed to photograph the car for 20 minutes. But, thankfully, there are still places for us who fall to our knees at the alter of octane and pray to the gods of speed. Wonderful events such as Goodwood Revival, Members Meeting and Festival of Speed, Silverstone Classic, Masters Historic, Dubai GP Revival and so many more where you can see these cars being used at a percentage of their original anger and chaos, but well within their limits. Many of the cars are seen statically, and most recently (last summer) I got to spend a wonderful afternoon with my dear old Dad at one of the best I’ve been to and surrounded by a class of racing cars which is a very small, select and special group – Le Mans Winners.
The Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace is a wonderfully, eclectic affair. At it’s core, its a car show much like the ones which stretch across this country during the dry months of the year – but like we mentioned, this one contains some of the greatest pieces of machinery ever built but we’re going to talk about the Le Mans winners which formed the welcoming committee as you walked through the beautiful lime arches which opened onto the South Lawn Gardens at the palace.
We began with the famous motto about winning at the beginning of this piece, well each one of these machines stands as a testament to these words and sentiment. Some of them, multiple times.
Let’s begin at the start and go through the timeline of these Le Mans Winners history.
It’s 14th and 15th of June 1924.
Following from the previous years triumph, a 4th place overall but more important finishing of the race, W.O Bentley had decided to fully commit to the race in 1924 with what would be Bentley’s first factory team effort in the shape of a beautiful black 1924 Bentley 3-Litre, known as ‘Old Number 8’ and so began with story of the legendary ‘Bentley Boys’.
The car had been prepared at Bentley’s Cricklewood works for the race. A majestic, simple and rugged 3-litre tourer was chosen and been fitted with four-wheel brakes, mesh covered headlights and a wrapped fuel tank to protect from debris along with numerous other upgrades for the cars drivers, Duff and Clements from the year before. Famously during that years race, the car was sabotaged by a rival team and resulted in an overly long pitstop for the car but this didn’t both ‘Number 8’ who would take the flag in 1st place and cement the Bentley name into the winners circle of what would become the worlds toughest race.
This car would begin the run of famous Bentley Le Mans wins, taking 5 trophies between 1924 and 1930 culminating eventually with the cars spiritual successor taking the crown in 2003… more on that later.
The formula of a tough, reliable and simple car would form the basis of champions for the next several decades but in the early 1950’s, this would change somewhat.
After being somewhat decimated and punished following the second world war, Mercedes would look back to move forward and set the stage for their rise from the ashes of worn torn Europe. Before the war, the ‘Silver Arrows’ would dominate Grand Prix racing across the continent and also be part of the highest of class of luxury, style and engineering.
In 1952, Mercedes would return to France with their W194 300SL, the car which would be the genesis of the iconic Gullwing road cars. The W194 was the first German car to win the 24 hours of Le Mans at the 1952 race thanks to its exceptionally strong but light tubular steel spaceframe and lightweight aluminium bodywork. Paired with a simple but punchy 3-litre straight-six to supply it with the performance it needed.
Hermann Lange and Fritz Reiss were given driving duties for the now legendary ’21’ which would cross the line first followed by its sister car for a one-two finish. Just 10 W194’s were ever built and ’21’ was the most successful and prolific of them all.
Following the horrific events of the 1955, Mercedes would withdraw from factory competition efforts for a long time afterwards.
The greatest leaps in technology, design and performance would occur over the following decade. The introduction and rudimentary understanding of aerodynamics would begin to play a role in the sport, whilst progress in braking, tyre and safety equipment would go to stake a claim in the 1950s and 1960s being the ultimate time in sports car racing.
Especially the early 1960’s with cars such as the 1963 Ferrari 275P.
Since his time with Alfa Romeo, Enzo Ferrari would have his eye on Le Mans. The ultimate proving ground for a manufacturer and perfect place to advertise your companies prowess as a sports car and racing car builder.
In 1963, the 275P would be Maranello’s offering to the speed gods. A radical departure from the norm, the mid-engined V12 car was put in the hands of factory drivers Bandini and Scarfiotti (both of whom sadly would not see the end of the decade) who took the car, which in 1963 was actually a 250P, to its first victory at the 1963 running of the race. They won the race by an incredible 16 laps (or 125 miles if anyone is interested) with the car sporting a 3.0-litre ‘Testa Rossa’ (Red Head) V12. The 250P was actually a development of the 1962 246SP… but in June of 1964 the paddock would see a familiar face once again. The sight of the iconic Cavallino Rampante, but this time much more angry.
The 1964 car was taken back to the factory and reworked, this time with a 3.3-litre V12 and being piloted by Vaccarella and Guichet. That year, the car would set a distance record at Le Mans covering 2917.5 miles at an average speed of 122.2mph across the 24 hours, and giving Ferrari they’re first back to back Le Mans wins. This was in fact, the last time that the Scuderia would win the top level of Le Mans until 2023 the 275P’s great, great grand daughter’s the trio of 499P’s crossing the line in formation.
The 1960’s would see big changes at Le Mans. It now wasn’t a gentlemanly fight, it was the pride of nations and the future of manufacturers resting solely on the race. Famously depicted in the recent film Ford Vs Ferrari, the battles for supremacy didn’t entirely come down to luck or circumstance but rather the might of a pen on a checkbook and the skill of the driver.
Ford would win Le Mans in 1966 and 1967, as a factory team. Originally the cars had run in 1965 but due to Ford management interfering with the set up of the cars from the team principals none of them survived. I won’t go into the entire history of the GT40 programme (believe me I could) but it’s worth looking at the most successful GT40 at Le Mans out of all of them, Number 6.
It’s real name is actually Chassis 1075.
Yes, that livery… These car’s actually had nothing to do with Ford. The factory GT40 effort had been stopped in 1967 after the ‘J’ cars but in 1968 John Wyer of JW Automotive Engineering (with the backing of Gulf Oil) would field their newly built GT40, in full Mk1 spec, to take on a field of Porsche’s with the superb pairing of Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi behind the wheel, both of them masters when it rained and at that point in history there was a saying ‘it will always rain at Le Mans’.
Thanks to their expert car control as well as the GT40’s rugged mechanicals (and knowing what broke on the Mk1’s in 1965) the GT40’s would pick off their rivals throughout the race. By the end of the 24 hours as the flag fell, the GT40 and its team were winners.
But in 1969, 1075 would come back and do it all over again. This time with the timeless pairing of Jackie Oliver and Jacky Ickx who took it all the way to the finish line in second place… right up until the final lap when they would snatch the lead away from Hans Hermann in a factory Porsche 908 just before the line giving 1075 (number 6) as well as the team their first taste of Le Mans success, and they would be back very soon with a different car to challenge it the following year.
As the 1970’s dawned on the racing horizon, the cars themselves would change drastically. Their styling becoming more alien than elegant. Wings, intakes, difusers, splitters and open cockpits would play a pivotal role in this decade of top level motorsport with the introduction of the Group 5 rules.
One of the most celebrated and revered names in racing at this time was Matra-Simca. Beginning in 1972 as the MS670, this open cockpit prototype was fast out of the box. In 1973 and 1974, the car was re-engineered and upgraded to make it more and more competitive against its rivals which saw its performance under the strict Group 5 rules as a challenge to be pursued. In both of those seasons (’73 and ’74) the car would take first place at Le Mans, ‘taking the double’ as it was so called.
Driven by the French dream team of Henri Pescarolo and ex-Porsche factory driver Gerard Larrousse, the MS670 would go on to prove that it was truly a force to be reckoned with taking not only the 24 hours of Le Mans but also the manufacturers championships in both of those years too. In 1975 however, they wouldn’t contend the title. Choosing instead to focus on road car production.
The 1970’s would be a beautiful decade for native teams. Beginning in the 1970’s with Matra-Simca but towards the end of the decade, it would also be a local french team that would contend the title for the Devil’s Roundabout.
The 1979 Rondeau M379B was a curious machine. This car holds an interesting distinction in that it is the only car to have won Le Mans with a driver/builder (think McLaren or Brabham taking their Formula 1 titles) in 1980. A local to Le Mans, Jean Rondeau would pair himself with compatriot Jean-Pierre Jaussaud to take their Group 6 car to all out victory behind the wheel of his creation. The car itself was a prototype built and developed by Jean Rondeau but powered by a full-blooded 3.0-litre Cosworth DFV mounted inside the closed cabin fibreglass, aluminium and steel racer.
It’s now quite the jump, through the 1980s and 1990s, through the Group C era and all of that to a car that holds a very special place to me personally, because this is the first car I saw win Le Mans.
Growing up in the Middle East, we would occasionally get some European sports channels. Mainly it was football (which I couldn’t play or understand), the odd cricket match (if we were lucky) and the big F1 races (this was before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix). It was 2003, and I managed to catch a sight of a green car with a Union Jack on it, cross the line at the greatest race on earth.
We mentioned before ‘Old Number 8’, the 3-litre Bentley which had won Le Mans back in 1924, well I was watching this cars successor cross the line with a modern interpretation of everything it represented. The Speed 8 ‘Number 7’.
After a 70 year break from the sport, and under the new ownership of Volkswagen, Bentley had worked to develop a car which could bring back that glory to the marque and its heritage. Driven by Guy Smith, Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo ‘Dindo’ Cappello, Number 7 would cross the line before my 10-year old eyes and make me completely, totally and unashamedly fall in love with this ballet of performance, this poetry in motion, this theatre of noise, speed and skill which lasts until this day and remains as true as I write these words as that day I opened the book at my school Book Fair.
Mauro has been working on getting the MGA Roadster back into its signature vibrant red. Our 1960 MGA Roadster has been perfectly prepared by the paint and body team here at our Suffolk HQ and now that the panels are in paint, the next step is to bring the body of the car in and get it looking the same!
Our 2010 Jaguar XKR, which recently around at our Pettistree workshops, has been under the car of our technician Jon. The alloy wheels of the car have been removed to be taken off to a local specialist to be refurbished.
Our 1966 Daimler 250 V8 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ for our restoration technician Julian to have a look over before it becomes a new dream classic on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Julian noted a couple of items which needed his attention. Firstly, he had to replace a faulty brake light switch and also fitted new spade terminals before moving on to wiring up the horn. As part of his process, Julian pressurised the coolant system on the car and his words ” found every coolant hose leaking”. So, methodically he went round each one and resealed them tight before draining the system and replacing the cars antifreeze/coolant.
Next, he moved under the car to get more of the mechanicals in order. The car has been fitted with adjustable suspension by a previous owner, and these had been set to their absolute maximum in terms of stiffness. Julian set them all back to zero before testing the car and stiffening them until the ride quality of the car was just right. Then he could check all levels as well as service the grease points such as the ball joints and propshaft etc.
Jon has been working on our 1989 Daimler Double Six recently to get it back into shape. To begin with, he’s been working inside the cabin of the V12 saloon car to do some work on the dashboard.
This is what he did: ”Disconnect battery. Strip dashboard and remove components to facilitate the removal of wooden dash. Take over to bench to separate metal frame from wooden dash. Place frame on wooden dash and screw together. Clean parts and fit to new dash.
Refit dashboard to car. Reconnect components and rebolt dash to car. Refit components removed before dash removed. Fit new glovebox wooden trim and adjust catch. ”
”Continue dashboard replacement. Like out holes for switches in centre panel and fit switches. Original rheostat came apart upon removal but managed to find old one from stock to fit instead. Fit centre panel. Connect battery and test all switch functions. Solder terminals onto stereo speaker wires and connect stereo and test. Bend tangs on stereo to hold in place and fit to centre panel. Tighten battery terminal. Fit new horn relay but horn still not working via steering g wheel centre push. Use power probe to check horns and switch . No earth from switch. Check via column contact under dash. Horn works from here so fault with horn push. Remove steering g wheel centre and test. Adjust steering wheel and horn earth now ok. Reassemble and test, ok. Secure loom I engine bay. Check levels and carry out road test. Couple of issues to address. Raise in ramp and jack in. Nearside binding. Strip caliper and order new seal kit. Attend to gearbox mount, strip and remove.”
”Get exploded view of gearbox mount and with John’s (workshop manager) help reassemble in correct order and bolt back up securely. Remove nearside front caliper ready for new seals to be fitted.”
Our 1959 Jensen 541R, which was delivered to its new owner a few weeks ago, has been collected by the Bridge Classic Cars transport team to make its way back to our Suffolk HQ for a routine check up.
As with all of our ground-up builds, we like to see the cars back after completion to double check everything is as it should be. The car will make its way back to our Pettistree workshop for the team to take a look at the car.
Our 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Coupe is ready to head off to our safe and secure storage facility, The Hangar, in preparation for its excited new owner to meet it for the first time in the metal.
Before then, our transport driver Tony spent the morning cleaning the classic E-Type to get it ready to be put into its protective carcoon. But, before it leaves the workshops we had to take one last look at this stunning automotive icon.
Our 1975 Jensen Intercepter Mk3 has been making massive progress recently in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. With the car being prepared to go into the spray booth for the final time, our fabrication team have cut the body from the frame jig so it can be more easily moved around before it heads into the spray booth. But before that, Chris has some more sanding to do…
Chris applied a thin layer of Polyfan to the car before sanding which acts as a guide coat to ensure that every surface is flat and even. When it is, the whole car should be a matte white finish and then it is ready to go into the spray both for its final coat of primer.
The Bridge Classic Cars team have been making progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 which is being built up at our Suffolk HQ at the moment.
First off, our painter Chris painted the door hinges on the car as soon, the doors will be test fit onto the car and the team begin to align the pieces onto the car to get the best fit possible. Meanwhile in the mechanical workshop – Paul has been working on getting the various systems in places and working properly with eachother.
This includes fitting up the fuel line to the carburetors and running the new throttle cable from the carburetors to fabricate the throttle cable mount and removing the dash in order to measure for the new speedo cable.
The paintshop at Bridge Classic Cars are always busy! But recently, the booth was cleared for our painter Chris to get some parts for our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe project painted.
These are running gear/suspension/chassis parts so Chris has sprayed them in a glossy, thick and hard wearing black.
Our stunning 1957 Triumph TR3, which belongs to our friend Karl, has made its way out of hibernation at our secure storage facility recently and back to our Pettistree workshop for the team to take check it over and get it running properly before it heads back out on the road for the summer.
Our technician Julian checked over every inch of the underside of the classic sports car and inspected each individual line for any corrosion or defect as well as inspecting the brakes thoroughly. When it came out of The Hangar, it was noted as to not be running as it should. So, Julian stripped down the carburetors to clean them out thorough as well as adding fresh fuel before setting up the car to run like a champ.
We’ve welcomed back an old friend to our Suffolk HQ, this beautiful 1964 Jaguar Mk2 3.8.
It’s come in for our workshop team to have a look at a few issues reported by the owner so keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates very soon.
The workshop team have been continuing on getting our 1962 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Coupe back on the road after its decades long slumber. The final piece of the puzzle was for Jon to diagnose and repair a fault with the speedo in the car.
Jon discovered that the drive from the gearbox (which goes through a 90 degree converter) was not spinning the cable. So Jon found another one we keep in stock and modified it to fit the car and tested the cable operation by hand, which began to work the clock inside of the speedometer. With that, he could get everything connected back up and test thoroughly before signing the car off.
We’ve welcomed this stunning, vibrant red classic Triumph TR6 into the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ for the team to take a look at.
Mauro has been continuing his work on getting our 1960 MGA Roadster ready to get back into colour!
He first off finished several pieces of trim with a light skim of filler before getting them into primer to be ready to shoot colour with the rest of the car.
With the trims and smaller panels in primer, Mauro could turn his attention to getting the larger panels and the body ready to head back into our spray booth to bring the MGA back to life in colour!
He carefully applied a sanding coating to show any possible low spots on the panel work, but after sanding each individual piece had gone back to the flat white colour which shows that the car is nearly ready for paint.
After being won last week through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, our 1977 Triumph TR7 was loaded into our enclosed trailer for its journey as far north as we could go.
Tony, our amazing transport driver, was tasked with safely delivering the classic sports car to its lucky new owner Andy. Not only was a trip all the way up England, but all the way through Scotland where Tony met up with Andy in the town of Thurso where Andy picked up the car before taking it home.
We want to wish Andy many happy miles with his new TR7 and a big thanks to our driver Tony for getting Andy’s pride and joy there safe and sound.
Steve has been working on our 1981 Austin Allegro Vanden Plas this afternoon, as part of his inspection of the classic he noted that the washer pump wasn’t working. So, he easily replaced the unit and cleaned out the washer bottle and checked everything worked correctly.
Our 1971 MGB Roadster has been in the workshop of our Suffolk HQ for our technician Steve to begin work on getting the top end of the engine back together.
The car came into us with a blown head gasket so the team stripped down the engine to remove the cylinder head and inspect for any damage. Thankfully it was minimal to none so the cylinder head was packaged up and sent off to a trust engineering works to be checked, skimmed and rebuilt. Whilst it was away, the team have cleaned up the mating surface for the gasket to ensure the best seal possible for when the head returned.
Once it was back with us, after also having hardened valve seats installed to be used with unleaded fuel, Steve got the cylinder head back onto the engine and then began the process of getting everything back together before the car begins road tests shortly.
Our 2009 Porsche Cayman S Sport, which was won recently by Hugh, has been transported safely across the country right to his door step – which is where we delivered our Bentley Turbo R several months ago as Hugh is now part of a very small member of our double winners!
Tony, our incredible transport driver, cleaned and loaded the sports car into our covered trailer yesterday before setting off this morning to bring Hugh his new pride and joy. We wish him many happy miles with his new car.
Mauro has been continuing to work on getting the 1960 MGA Roadster ready for its colour by keeping up his diligent and obsessive pursuit of perfection when it comes to the bodywork of the classic sports car.
With the car wearing a coat of polyfan, Mauro has painstakingly hand sanded every single inch of the car to make sure that each angle of the car is as good as it could possibly be. With the polyfan completely sanded off the car, it is a visual indication that each panel is exactly as it should be which means its time for the car to head into the paint booth for final primer.
Once the car had been carefully moved from the prep area at our Suffolk HQ, it was put into our booth for Mauro to lay down several coats of final primer on the car. All of the prep work on the car leads up to this moment, and as you can see the primer laid down near enough perfectly on each of the panels of the car.
Interior:
Our trimmer Lydia has been working on getting the interior pieces in place to our 1956 Jensen 541. At this point, she has installed the bespoke carpet set into the car which has been made specifically to fit the contours of this particular chassis to make sure that it fits perfectly. So well in fact, that it is held in place with press studs which have to be aligned to make sure that each piece sits perfectly in the car.
Mechanical:
Alongside Lydia in our trim shop, our technician Paul has been handling the mechanical side of the classic GT car. Continuing his work under the bonnet, Paul has installed the wiring harness and secured it in place before routing the connectors and wires to the specific areas, such as the headlight buckets and other lighting. Paul has also fabricated and installed the mounts and brackets to hold the horns in place.
With the core of the interior now in place and the wiring loom ran to the headlights, Paul could fit the foot operated high beam switch into the footwell of the Jensen and wire it into the harness. From there he began work on modifying the exhaust heat shields, fabricating support bars for the radiator and fitting up the carburettor overflow pipework in the engine bay.
Our technician Julian has been working on getting our barn-find 1953 Austin A40 back on the road after laying dormant for over 60 years. You can see the short film we did here of releasing the car from its hiding place.
To begin with, Julian worked on freeing up and rebuilding the entire brake system with new wheel cylinders and replacing any lines which had corroded or cracked. The previous owner had done a sterling job at preserving the cars bodywork and also its mechanicals, but over time rubber will perish and degrade regardless of its upkeep.
Next, Julian began to work on getting the original engine to fire up. This involved gently adding oil to the bores over a period of time and applying gentle pressure to the crank shaft to free off the pistons which had become corroded to the cylinder walls. Once it span over freely, he could check for spark and ignition which required a replacement coil and the little engine fire straight back into life. We couldn’t run it up for too long as Julian noted that the water pump and thermostat had been packed solid with corrosion and debris, so these were removed along with the radiator to be recommissioned.
Our 1972 MGB Roadster is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website!
The stunning classic roadster, finished in vibrant, summery red could be yours just in time for the start of show season but you’re going to want to be quick, over 50% of the tickets have already been sold.
Here’s what our very own Rob Harvey has written about what might be the worlds most popular sports car:
”Our 1972 MGB Roadster is a quintessential example of British automotive engineering. Manufactured by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and later by British Leyland, the MGB Roadster was first introduced in 1962 and continued production until 1980.
A 1.8-litre B-Series engine powers our MGB and provides ample power for the lightweight, two-seater roadster. A four-speed manual gearbox, with overdrive, helps our MGB to offer a lively and engaging driving experience.
The 1972 model is noted for its classic design, characterised by clean lines, chrome bumpers, and a distinctive front grille. The cockpit is driver-focused, featuring well-placed controls, supportive seats, and a traditional wooden steering wheel.
MGBs are always popular competition cars and this one, finished in striking red with a beige interior, looks like it’s going to be exactly the same.”
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.
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.