We have an incredible in-house trim team here at Bridge Classic Cars. They’ve been hard at work on the interior of the 1970 Dodge Charger that is currently in our trim shop.
Here, you can see the work Kath has done refinishing the centre console to match the exterior of the Bright Orange Mopar. Kath carefully removed the original veneers from the piece in order to create templates for the new Orange vinyl that adorns the giant centrepiece of the interior in a wonderful contrast against the rest of the black vinyl.
After cutting out the templates, Kath began to wrap the original pieces after test fitting. Once all in place, Kath cleaned up all of the accompanying brightwork to make the Orange stand out even more. Then, once all the adhesive had correctly cured and settled into place. Kath, test fit the new centre console with the seats just placed in the car.
I think we can all agree, it looks absolutely sensational.
November 9, 2021 10:47 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Our Director Gordon’s new 1934 MG PA Midget is now safe and sound in our classic and collectable vehicle storage facility known as The Hangar.
Since its arrival, the Bridge Classic Cars team have had a chance to pour over all the small details of this stunning early British sports car. Along with its arrival is the routine clean which all cars have before entering our storage facility by Viper Valet.
There are literally hundreds of amazing bits and pieces on this beautifully proportioned sports car. The large Jaeger clocks, the enormous steering wheels and the temperature gauge mounted on top of the radiator. There is just so many! So, have a look here through a gallery of this brilliant car.
Kath and the in-house trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been busy working on the interior of the 1970 Dodge Charger.
Last time Kath rebound the carpet edges after they required some trimming to ensure the best fit and finish for this iconic muscle car to look absolutely perfect. Now, those front carpets are firmly in place in the car awaiting all the other interior trim to be fit over the top of them.
Kath began to look at the centre console as the next step for the interior of the Charger. It’s a rather large piece so it’s very noticeable if it isn’t looking its best. So, Kath began to carefully dismantle the centre console in preparation for its retrim. Even the wooden veneer had to be slowly and methodically removed inch by inch to preserve it to be refurbished.
All of the panels have been removed from the centre console one by one to be evaluated and a plan worked out for each of them. Polishing the brightwork, making templates for new cutouts and then, the entire console itself was retrimmed in matching black leather.
It looks sensational. This will be the next item going back into the car once the seats (which Brian has been working on alongside Kath) are finished and ready to go in.
Kath and the in-house trim team have been busy working on the insides of the 1970 Dodge Charger that’s in here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Kath has been working on getting the rear panels ready and into the car. The weatherstrip has been riveted to the bottom of the window opening along with the chrome strips that make up the ribbing for the panel.
Before that, Kath and the team had tested fitted the carpet and found that in place it didn’t sit quite right. In places, the carpet was actually too long. Not a problem for the Bridge Classic Cars trim-shop! Kath simply cut the carpet and then re-edged it to fit the car perfectly (more on that in the next post)
This meant that the carpet now sat where and exactly how it should in the iconic muscle car, taking extra care and attention to make sure any brackets or holes needed for trim work were neatly and discreetly cut.
Next time, we’ll take you behind the scenes of how Kath cut and rebound the carpet for the Charger!
The in-house trim experts at Bridge Classic Cars have been hard at work. Teaming up to conquer the interior of the 1970 Dodge Charger.
One of the jobs on the list for the interior refit was to fit the signature dome light. This involved a small hole in the brand new headliner for the wires to be passed through. Thankfully with the skill of our trim fitters, you would never know it was ever there and the outings all lined up to be able to secure the light to the roof.
Next up, Brian began to work on getting the new rearview mirrors to the doors of the Charger. These mirrors are so iconic to the Charger that their placement is crucial. Brian, one of our in house trim experts, carefully measured up and mocked up the mirrors countless times before drilling the holes for the fixings to pass through. Once in place, the mechanisms to control the mirrors can be installed to make them fully functional.
Bridge Classic Cars will soon be welcoming a new car into our in-house trim shop. Soon, this bright yellow big block 1966 Ford Thunderbird will be coming in to have its dash pad assessed by our trim team.
As you can see, its seen better days. But, our trimmer can work wonders.
Keep an eye on the news page to see more on this amazing American icon.
October 21, 2021 11:54 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Our incredibly talented trim-shop experts have been hard at work on the 1970 Dodge Charger currently in at Bridge Classic Cars.
Next on the list of pieces that need to be done in order is the rear parcel shelf. For this, Kath had to make it from scratch. Creating a tight-fitting template, it was then cut from ply and covered to match the rest of the interior.
Kath even repainted the original fixings to make sure all originality could be kept and create a uniform look to the car.
After it was wrapped in matching material, the trim team fit it into the car and it looks absolutely amazing in the back of this wonderful muscle car.
October 21, 2021 10:29 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Kath has been working on test fitting the carpet on the 1970 Dodge Charger in the trim shop of Bridge Classic Cars.
To check the best fit on the carpet, she has had to mock up the rear seat in place. It looks incredible! The carpet does need to be stretched and skillfully manipulated into its final place but the results so far are looking amazing.
More very soon on the 1970 Dodge Charger here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Our 1966 Sunbeam Alpine is freshly back from its time at the 78th Goodwood Members Meeting last weekend and it’s now time to have its tonneau cover fitted.
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim experts worked hard to get the new cover fitted and sitting just right on the back of this bright blue ’60s sportscar. Brian worked on getting the hardware fitted into the body of the car in just the right place to tightly pull the black cover in each way to make sure it flowed and sat well on the car.
Our in-house trim team can work wonders with just about any material they are given for a job. This, is a perfect example of the time, care and dedication given to a job by Brian, Kath and Lydia.
On Thursday (October 21st) the car will be part of a live draw over on our Facebook page where we will find out who the next lucky owner of this wonderful little sports car will be.
Tickets are still available! Just click the link below to head over to the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
This is one of the seats from the 1971 Morris Traveller 1000 which has been announced as the latest car to be won on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Before then, this seat is going to need to visit our in-house trim shop where Kath will work her magic.
After assessing the damage to the top part of the seat, Kath said it could be repaired. Carefully, Kath removed the seat cover in order to have it laid out flat to come up with a plan to fix the tear.
Each of the pieces was removed one by one and labelled for the reassembly. The tear was skillfully repaired by Kath, whose experience and knowledge of trim work meant that there is almost no evidence that it was ever there.
Then, it was time to start putting everything back together. Kath gathered the closest thread to the original and began to reseam the seat to match the rest of the seats.
And here is the end result! Every part of the seat has been checked by Kath before its reassembly and all seemed to be ok. The finish on the repaired seat is fitting for the Traveller. It’s still original and perfectly useable for such a fun and quirky little car.
You can enter the draw for the 1971 Morris Traveller by clicking the link below!
Our in-house trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working hard to get the interior of the 1970 Dodge Charger back together. One of the key points of the cars looks is the brightwork and the window lines.
The rear quarter windows are pillarless. They must fit up and move perfectly to the window in the door, so they give the best overall look to the car. It’s the speciality of the Bridge Classic Cars trim shop, the fit and finish which completes the look of the car.
Brian has been working on getting the rear quarter windows in the car so all the trim that accompanies it can be fitted. It’s important with these Mopars that the window components are set just right. Thankfully, everything that was needed was in the car. So, with the windows perfectly in place, Brian could now start to work on the trim.
The trim pieces on the Charger come in multiple pieces which all need to be meticulously dry fit in such a way as to not damage either the pieces or the car. After test fitting, Brian then began the process of attaching them permanently onto the car.
Parts of the inner trim structure actually need riveting to the body. Then the covers are put over them to hide the hardware, this takes some time and a steady hand.
Over the course of an afternoon, Brian managed to get all the rear trims and windows in place so it’s time to move on to the next job on the list for the interior of the Charger.
Our in-house trim expert Kath has been fitting the door cards to the 1970 Dodge Charger we have in here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Kath carefully put together the two-piece door cards which are a key feature on the interior of this glorious Mopar. Kath went through each component to check its fit and finish before anything was put on the car, painstakingly marking out any points that would need a skilled hand turned to them.
The door cards themselves needed the openings cut into them for different handles and fixings so Kath broke out the tape measure. Each of the cuts made was a case of measure 10 times and cut once as with all of our interior work. The best way to get the perfect finish is to work with the car and that’s why we have a world-class trim shop.
Piece by piece, Kath put together the parts onto the door itself with all its bright work. The clips that fix the card to the door have to be eased onto the door as to not become deformed or move out of alignment so clip by clip the door card was installed onto the car.
Work on the interior of the 1970 Dodge Charger will continue in the Bridge Classic Cars trim shop in our next update on the blog
The 1965 Amphicar is already quite a unique and rare piece of automotive history. But, an original convertible hood cover? Slightly rare than hen’s teeth. However, after some research, we found a company in the States who make them!
We had one shipped to us here for our 1965 Amphicar which was installed by our in-house master trimmers. As you can see, it looks absolutely brilliant!
The art of interior trim is something our in-house trim experts have mastered over years of experience.
A great example of this is the door cards on our 1987 Mercedes 500SL. These are all being entirely made in-house in our trim shop. The fit and finish of our interior pieces is world class thanks to our amazing team.
The door cards themselves were fabricated from scratch in order to best match the originals ensuring an extremely close fit to the same standards as they would have left the Mercedes trim shop in 1987, if not even better.
All of the associated trim pieces for the doors are also being retrimmed with the same level of care and attention to detail as the rest of the car which is currently under going full restoration here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Keep a look out on our News Page for more updates on the masterpiece of German engineering.
September 27, 2021 7:17 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Work has begun on the interior of our incredible ”Barn Find” 1956 Jensen 541. As you can see, it’s not in the best condition but that’s not a problem for our incredible in-house trim shop.
The original interior unfortunately had succumbed to the passing of time. As you can see, there wasn’t much left after our in-house trim team began to pull it apart.
This interior will see the light of day again!
Be sure to keep an eye on our news page for more updates about this project very soon.
September 21, 2021 10:55 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Refinishing a piece of trim is sometimes more effective than replacing it. Although the finish may be work or damaged, the part itself is still in good condition.
That is the story with this dash surround belonging to our friend Ted at Team C Racing. The paint on top of the veneer had unfortunately cracked in several places over time. But our in-house paint and body team knew just what to do.
They stripped the whole piece back ready to be repainted to match the original paint. Carefully making sure it would be as close to the original as possible and as you can see. Matt and Chris got it absolutely spot on.
September 20, 2021 8:09 amPublished by Craig Ranson
In the trim shop, Brian has been fitting the front squab seats of the 1960 Jensen 541R to their foams and frames. These seats were created and sewn by Lydia a little while back. You can read about the process here and here.
Brian started the fitting process by glueing and stapling the front squab “faces”/fronts to the frames, making sure the leather was nice and tight with no wrinkles. The staples went around the back of the wooden frame. The back of each seat was then attached with staples that went into the piping flange. 3mm plywood was cut out to the correct shape using a paper template for the bottom of each seat, this was wrapped in the white leather/glued onto the wood. This plywood was nailed onto the bottom of the seats with tacks and does the job of hiding the staples and raw edges of the leather.
We’re lucky enough to have our own interior trim department in house here at Bridge Classic Cars, which allows us to maintain our high-quality services, lower costs and provide tailored custom interior trims for our clients. With a skilled team of three, we attend to worn out, dirty and tired interior, replacing and reworking everything from vinyl, calico, leather, fabric and carpet. We also design new interiors and help classic car owners pick their new colours, materials, and styles to suit the car depending on its age, purpose, or style.
As well as classic car interiors, we also offer boat and yacht interiors as the same keen eye for detail and discipline goes into luxury boat interior as it does for luxury cars.
If you’d like your boat or car interior trim reworked, brightened up or totally re-designed, get in touch at info@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk or give us a ring on 01473 742038 and we’ll be happy to discuss your plans.
Just look at the difference after the Honda Integra Recaro seats have been cleaned! They came in looking a little worse for wear but now, after a thorough wash, they’re looking good as new again!
The 1968 Triumph TR5 has had its seat belts fitted by Mauro who tells us they needed a bit of modifying and focus to get them to fit perfectly, however no problem is too small or big for our technicians. With the seat belts firmly fitted, our TR5 is progressively becoming more and more road worthy!
Craig’s Aston Martin DB9 is set to get some new seats as the trim shop begin on the task of freshening up the interior. Kath began by carefully removing the covers, un-cliping the handle mechanisms and then removing the air bag which had been previously disabled by Aston Martin themselves. Kath then removed the retainers out from the inside of the metal frame and take out the centre piece which was attached with Velcro. Once the squab was removed, she could then remove the switches at the base of the seat. Once this was done, she could untie the cable tires and gently pull the cover out from around the wires. The seats contain small retainers to hold the cover on as well as strips of velcro, such as down the centre. Kath then removed the heated panels from the base and squab and the seat belt clip cover.
With all the external pieces now removed, Kath can begin the same process on the other seat and recover them both.
Lydia has been working to refresh the headliner in our 1940 Alvis. She’s marked out parts on the original fabric to help her know where everything goes when she starts remaking it. She then cut out new strips of fabric to recover the paper cord piping and flaps. Lydia then moved onto topstitching the new side panels.
The next step was to cut around the original cloth to make new patterns, followed by measuring, marking and cutting out the new strips of calico for underneath the centre panel. These sections hold the ceiling cloth in place. She then sewed on the piping and attached the side panels and middle panel together.
Our 1940 Alvis came in last week to have its hood restored and that process has begun today. Brian and Lydia have been taking apart all the pieces including the rear panels and seats so that they don’t get damaged in the process. Lydia has been marking out where the stitches are on the fabric.
Brian has been stripping off al the old material from the front trim panels and recovering them in a new material to match the headliner. He has also removed and recovered the side trim panels and b post panels.
We thought we’d take a closer look at the finished Ferrari Daytona seats that the trim shop have made. Having had to make these all from scratch with appropriate modifications and alterations along the way, these seats are looking amazing. Finished in a green leather, they will match the colour tone of the Daytona paint work perfectly. We can’t wait to see them fitted in the Ferrari when its ready!
Lydia has also been working on covering various interior panels for the Ferarri as well. The first image shows the pair of console side panels in their original state before Lydia took off all the old leather, foam and plastic vents. She then cut new leather and foams out after cleaning the metal up, applied a layer of 3mm foam to the fronts of the panels and applied a layer of 3mm foam to the fronts of the panels. Lydia made sure that the leather was tucked in and glued underneath, then she added a layer of 3mm foam which was applied to the backs of the panels. All these fabrics were trimmed and tucked around the holes for the plastic vents to fit into.
Lydia then moved onto making the headlining for the Ferrari Daytona. She marked out the headlining fabric and foam for it, she then made slits for the flute lines on the foam so that the headlining fabric to lay better. She then fluted 14 flute lines, checking how it looked as she went. The finished result may look like a flate piece of fluted fabric, but it will become the headlining when fitted into place in the Daytona.
Our side of the trim work has been completed for the 1958 Jaguar XK150. Our job was to only fit the fabric to metal pieces as the customer is restoring the majority of the car himself. Although we previously made the seats, the customer is fitting them himself. Our trim team have done yet another fantastic job to restore the interior in this iconic classic, with the finished product looking spectacular.
The foot pedal carpet did not fit properly so Kath made a new template and cut out new set. She found that her new design glued and fitted in a lot neater. The front tunnel section was also completed by adding some deadening as well as the trim however it originally didnt fit right as it came up too big, so Kath had to pack out tunnel with some extra foam. The trim team cut some millboard out to go over the inspection chamber and screwed it in place. They found that the tunnel was a funny shape so had to modify the design and add some extra foam until the cover fit perfectly. Kath then fit the next part of tunnel by trimming around hand brake gaiter and gluing it all into position to clamp in place.
Our 1975 Tundra Green MGB has popped back in for a new carpet before its stored with us. Brian in the trim shop has recently fitted the new carpet sides around the pedals.
For those that might not remember the Green MGB, here’s a photo of it when it first came to us.
Once the carpet had been fitted, we loaded it up onto the lorry to transport it to our hanger.
Our stunning Jaguar XK150 partial trim restoration is progressing well as the trim shop finish the boot carpet and continue with the other sections inside the made body.
The pre-existing carpet pieces are carefully glued in bit by bit, making sure that each section fits well and sticks.
The process included glueing the hardheaded sections into boot sides, which, once glued in, left room for the boot floor mat to be fitted. Brian then glued the vinyl around the edges of the rear seat and around the hatch to the boot. He made the millboard panel for the hatch and glued the hardheaded sections to the billboard.
February 3, 2021 12:50 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
This stunning blue 1998 TVR Chimaera has come in for some interior trim work. Its in need of new carpets and some leather work.
We’re incredibly lucky to have our own in house trim shop and trim team which is now three strong! Over the last year, we’ve gone from one trim technician to a whole department with its specialist team. This means that everything is done under one roof, ensuring that all our restorations are up to the same quality. Its also reduces outsourcing, meaning the time frames are shortened as we rarely have to wait whilst trim parts are ordered in or fitted elsewhere.
If your car is needing an interior trim freshen up, don’t hesitate to get in touch! Give us a call on 01473 742038 or pop us an email on info@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk
This iconic motor recently came in with us and is here for a partial re-trim. The carpets that are being fitted have been bought from elsewhere but are being fitted by our specialist trim shop team. Brian is currently taking a lead with the work and fitting the carpets into the vehicle.
Brian has been glueing the sound deadening into the gearbox tunnel section and glueing vinyl to sides of the dash. He’s also been glueing the moquette material to the rear wheel arch section and front of the rear seat section. The foam has been glued to the rear ‘diff’ tunnel and fitted rear seat bases as well.
He’s then cutting the rear seat back boards into shape, glued the foam to the boards and then stapled covers to the boards. The rear seat pads have been fitted in place as well. Once Brian had glued the sound deadening to the tunnel, he could then glue the carpet section on top.
January 29, 2021 10:31 amPublished by Craig Ranson
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