Our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica has recently gone through an IVA (Individual Vehicle Assessment) in order to get licensed with the DVLA.
This time, everything went to plan and we are now waiting on the number plates to be delivered before we can finally take our C-Type Replica out on the road.
One of our Harrington Jackets has been spotted in London.
This style of jacket first appeared in the 1930s, however, it wasn’t until the 1960s when the Harrington Jacket really took on its classic and stylish persona.
To celebrate 20 years of Bridge Classic Cars, we teamed up with Trojan Records Clothing to create the very cool jacket you can see in the images below.
More details about our jackets can be found in the Bridge Classic Cars Shop.
We were recently contacted by one of our clients who will be hosting some guests at Goodwood later this year. As part of the experience, our client asked us to source a special gift for their guests.
After some searching, we found what we think to be a great addition to the guest’s experience in the form of a Fiorano Desk Clock from Holden Vintage & Classic.
We hope the recipients enjoy their gift and we look forward to seeing them at Goodwood.
April 13, 2023 10:44 am
This morning, we welcomed another group of classic car enthusiasts into The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars for our most recent Coffee & Classics.
While they were here, they enjoyed lots of delicious coffee and snacks as well as getting to admire a range of classic vehicles up close.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars would like to thank all those who attended and we look forward to seeing even more of you very soon for our next Coffee & Classics.
2023 marks 100 years of MG. Known for some of the most popular British sports cars over the years, celebrating a century of automotive engineering is something that many owners and enthusiasts around the world will join in with.
Since 1923, there have been multiple successes, challenges, innovations, and a whole load of cars! To recognise MG’s impact on British car history, it seems fitting to share some history of the MG brand.
In the early 1900s, William Morris began manufacturing bicycles in Birmingham. However, come 1911, he was selling and repairing a range of motor cars from his premises which he had now renamed Morris Garages.
1922 was the year when William Morris could quite possibly have made the best decision of his life when he gave his head salesman, Cecil Kimber, a promotion to the position of General Manager. Cecil was a special individual who could not only manage the showroom and garage successfully, but he also had a talent for designing car bodywork.
When Cecil Kimber came up with a bull-nosed Morris Cowley in 1923, the MG name was used for the very first time. This marked the beginning of a soon-to-be 100-year-old car manufacturer.
1924 saw a range of cars carry the MG badge. Known as ‘Kimber Specials’ it wasn’t long before larger premises were needed to keep up with the growing order book. 4 years later, in 1928, production was moved to an old leather works – the famous Abingdon factory.
In 1935, William Morris sold MG to Morris Motors. Prior to the sale though, MG had already produced a whole host of successful models including several Midgets, K-Type Magnette plus the L and M-Type Magnas.
Once under the control of Morris Motors, one of the first models to come out of the factory was the 1936 TA Midget. Before the first world war, the last few MGs to be built were the SA 2-litre, TA/B Midget, 1.5-litre VA, and the 2.6-litre WA.
During the war, Cecil Kimber left MG and sadly died in a train crash in 1945.
After the war had ended, MG went back to producing cars such as the two-seat TC, the 1947 YA saloon, and the 1949 TD Midget. Morris Motors would go on to merge with the Austin Motor Company in 1952 and formed the British Motor Corporation (BMC).
1956 saw the production of what would be a top-seller for MG, the MGA. The MGA was available in two forms, a coupe and a convertible. In 1959, a 1600 OHV-powered MGA arrived and the MGB came in 1962.
It was in 1966, when BMC changed its name to British Motor Holdings after its merger with Jaguar, that led to a further merger with British Leyland, that would end up with MG becoming a successful part of motoring history.
The MGB was quietly dropped in 1969. British Leyland certainly seemed to have a bias towards their Triumph models instead of MG ones. This was quite apparent during the 1970s when only the MGB V8 was produced under the MG brand. Once Midget production stopped in 1979, there was only one MG model left – the MGB with the now rubber bumpers. However, in 1980, British Leyland halted the production of MGBs and would go on to close the Abingdon factory.
MG went through various ups and downs over the next few years with a few notable models such as the MG badged Maestro – noted at the time as the world’s fastest hatchback, and the Montego. The 1.8-litre K-Series powered MGF in 1995 was also a big success.
2023 is, so far, proving to be a great year for MG. With the brand recently announcing that they have achieved a record first quarter, their 100th year seems to have started positively.
Already this year, MG has sold 20,679 cars with more than 12,000 being delivered in March alone. The brand is now positioned as the second-best-selling manufacturer of electric cars in the UK. More success has come from the MG4 EV being crowned ‘UK Car of the Year 2023’. The judging panel described the MG4 E4 as “a landmark moment for EVs”.
Surviving 100 years in the automotive industry is no easy task but that is exactly what MG has done. Despite all the challenges the brand has had to overcome, we are still in the fortunate position where we get to see a wide range of MGs on the road; and this is something that we hope will continue for another 100 years!
April 6, 2023 1:25 pm
News broke in the last couple of days, that automotive pioneer and multiple land speed record holder Craig Breedlove sadly passed away aged 86.
Breedlove was part of a small alumni that would push and reset the boundaries of speed in the 1950s and 60s while living to tell the tale, in a sport that would see far too many taken far too soon.
A Southern California native, Breedlove’s obsession with speed started young. At just 13 years old, he got his hands on a 32′ Ford Coupe that he would drive around in secret, but just a few years later at 17, he would be taking an alcohol fueled 1934 Ford to 154MPH on the dry lakes of the sunshine state. This, is where the story of the fastest man in America would begin.
He began his high-speed career in what would now be seen as the start of the golden age of land speed racing. Where amateur enthusiasts could take homemade creations out on the dried salt lakes such as Bonneville and El Mirage to achieve speeds unseen or unobtainable just a few years before. To put into context, in 1927 Sir Henry Seagrave achieved a two-way average speed on 231MPH in his twin-aero engined, purpose built land speed car ‘The Slug‘. In 1957, at the age of 20, Breedlove piloted an alcohol powered ‘belly tanker’ at the Bonneville salt flats to a new record of 236MPH.
His chosen career path, would see him work for legendary aircraft manufacturer Douglas (later McDonald Douglas) as a structural engineer. The skills and knowledge gained from this would have a lasting and impactful future on his later career, speed.
As the sun set on the 1950s, the age of jet power had truly begun to dawn over the horizon of land speed racing. In 1959, Breedlove began his first forays into this new method of propulsion and into the record books.
With a second hand J47 jet engine, Breedlove made his jet fueled way into history with the first iteration of the legendary Spirit of America.
This move into the jet powered world, would also begin one of the most exciting eras of speed the world had ever seen. The 1960s would see the land speed record set, smashed and reset multiple times over a matter of months as Breedlove entered the fray against drivers/builders such as Art Arfons and his half-brother Walt. This triangle of competition would push the boundaries of what people thought would be possible out in the emptiness of the Utah salt plains.
In his first time out with the J47 powered Spirit of America, Breedlove would run the ‘car’ at over 400MPH – clocking a 407MPH average over the two-way course. In response, Tom Green (the driver for Walt Arfons) would respond with a 413MPH record in February of 1964 only to have that record shattered by Walt’s half brother Art at the wheel of his own creation ‘The Green Monster’ with 434MPH. To respond, Breedlove came back with a 468, 500 and then 526MPH. This would spark one of the greatest rivalries in the automotive world between Arfons and Breedlove that would see them push eachother harder, faster and stronger towards what many see as the true ragged edge.
Famously, at the end of his record setting 526MPH run – both of the parachutes used to slow down Spirit of America tore to shreds and because of this, Breedlove completely burnt the brakes out trying to slow the several ton machine down. He outran the boundaries of the salt flats, rolling the ‘car’ into the lake which sat at the end of the course. His crew, fearing the worst, rushed down the course to help their driver… only to find him soaking wet and dancing on the waters edge and screaming ”and now for my next trick, I will set myself on fire!” A true reflection of a man who understood the risks but chased the rewards. His car was in tatters and he knew that someone would be along to challenge that record soon…
He wasn’t wrong, his biggest rival Art Arfons soon responded with a 536MPH record.
The only way to truly prove a point was to push the limit of what was even conceivable. Breedlove came back to Arfons’s record with a now historic 600MPH run in November of 1965. To back it up, Breedlove then pushed Spirit of America even further on the way back to get an average of 606.6MPH. The first man to run 500 and 600MPH. With the sound barrier growing closer and closer, pilots and builders had no clue when this would happen as it also depends on multiple environmental factors. Would the car simply slip past it like a plane? Or, because of the shockwave being created so close to the ground – would it instantly rip the land speeder apart as it traveled across the vast emptiness? No one knew.
The following story has passed into speed record folklore: Breedlove and Arfons were bitter rivals. Arfons being the working mans hero and Breedlove as the all-American poster boy with the backing of huge sponsors and wore a spacesuit for his record runs. One night, towards the end of those crazy few years, Breedlove and Arfons would meet on the edge of Salt Flats. No one knows the words the two contemporaries exchanged exactly, but people have said it went along the lines of one asking the other ”when does all this end?” with the other replying ”when one of us gets it wrong”.
The fear didn’t stop Breedlove from trying to push the limits harder and harder. Over the following years, Breedlove would attempt to beat his records. However, he never did manage to push that any further but neither did Arfons who trying to break a record would see him survive the fastest and most severe accident on earth at 609mph with only a headache and two black eyes.
Over those beautiful few years in the early to mid 1960s, these superhumans would expand what people thought was possible. New ways to engineer solutions to problems never before faced – tyre technology, suspension set up and construction and advanced aerodynamic theory and implementation were all aspects of the automotive world which had been moved on at a pace no one had seen before.
In the following 20 to 30 years, the land speed record would only be moved on by around 100MPH. The current record being attributed to Richard Nobles Thrust SSC, an evolution of everything learned from pioneers such as Breedlove, to 763.055MPH – breaking the sound barrier for the first time on land. Breedlove’s status in the history books are sealed, his achievements and records can never be taken away or tainted or disputed.
The wonderful story of this gladiator of motion is best summed up in a beautiful film, The Wildest Ride. Released in 1964, it follows Breedloves attempts and record run to be the first person to cross the 500MPH mark (you can watch the film for free on YouTube below).
Craig Breedlove, and the team behind Spirit of America, were true pioneers of their time. From all of the world, and all throughout the car world, he will be sorely missed. One of the final connections to those glory days of speed.
In the midst of these complex and challenging times for almost all businesses, we are very excited to share that Bridge Classic Cars has achieved noteworthy recognition from a prominent data analysis company.
They recently reached out and informed us that, among the landscape of 374 classic car specialist companies throughout the UK, we have been given the rating: STRONG.
This accolade is something the entire team is proud of. Navigating the current economic climate has undoubtedly presented its share of trials, making this recognition all the more meaningful. This acknowledgement serves as a testament to our team’s perseverance, innovative approach, and the outstanding service we provide for all of our customers.
Moving forward, we remain determined in our pursuit of excellence, continually setting benchmarks in the classic car industry and upholding the standard of being “STRONG” in every sense of the word.
Our stunning 1958 Austin-Healey ‘Frogeye’ Sprite has now sold out!
Before that happened, Nicola Hume helped spread the word of this beautiful classic car via her Instagram story.
If you enjoy playing along with Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, then you might be able to save some money every time you enter one of the draws.
Our exclusive VIP membership gives you an extra 10% off all competition tickets. Whether you are buying tickets at a launch sale price, using an email coupon code, or purchasing at full price, the 10% VIP discount will automatically be applied to all of your purchases.
For just £10 a year, you can become a VIP member and save an extra 10% every time you enter one of our competitions.
If you are not already a VIP member and you enter our competitions regularly, then you could save money with our VIP membership.
Over the weekend, a very special project arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ.
This Cobra project has been in the works for the past 30 years with its previous owner, but now the current owner has bought it to our Pettistree workshop to get the car working and fitted out before then moving onto the next phase of work.
We’re excited to get started on this Cobra and make sure you check out the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more on the Cobra project very soon.
Last night, we invited all of our Mini friends to come over to our Pettistree workshops for the live draw of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini in our Atelier building.
With the weather holding off, we opened the doors for everyone to come in with incredible woodfired pizzas from Picollo Pizza Box and the Atelier Bar serving everything from our Rijo42 Coffee to the always popular Adnams 0.5% range – Our friends had something in hand to listen to the amazing set by Annika Rands.
As the clock struck 7PM and the sun began to dip lower across the Suffolk countryside, it was time for us to find out who the lucky winner of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini was! Would it be someone in the room…
Molly and Freddie took our virtual friends are the Atelier through our Facebook live stream, going through some of the upcoming competition cars as well as some other exciting news about a very special Jaguar which you’ll find out more about very soon.
At 10 past 7, as always, the competition closes. This marks the point where fate and luck collide as we find a new home for a dream classic somewhere in the UK. With only a couple of hundred tickets remaining, Molly gathered everyone in the room a little closer and beckoned those behind a screen to edge forward on their seats.
As with every live draw, we wait until everyone (both in the room and on the web) can clearly see our screen loaded up with the Google Random Number Generator. After a quick test outside of the 1-4999 tickets, everything was in place to find the classic Mini a new home.
Molly carefully and precisely put the numbers in, 1 and 4999 for the generator to search through. With a drum roll and a countdown by everyone in the audience, Molly clicked the fateful button which has led to over 130 people winning through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
4027.
Those were the exact numbers that showed up bold and resolute on the screen.
That particular ticket had been part of a handful of tickets bought by Anthony Wardley – The new owner of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini 850.
March 31, 2023 8:36 am
On 29th March 1927, on Daytona Beach in Florida, Major Henry Segrave drove a Sunbeam, known as ‘The Slug’, over 200mph. This was the first time that any car had ever reached this speed and set a new land speed record. Now, 96 years later, on 29th March 2023, The National Motor Museum is launching its Sunbeam 1000hp Restoration Campaign to bring this ground-breaking car back to life.
The campaign aims to raise £300,000 for a full restoration and to take ‘The Slug’ back to Daytona Beach in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the record in 2027. Restoring a car that has two 22.5-lire V12 engines is obviously a huge task so a major fundraising campaign is needed to make it possible.
After being designed and built for the sole purpose of going faster than 200mph, ‘The Slug’ was, at the time, the fastest car in the world. The excitement around the car was immense and around 30,000 people headed to Daytona Beach to watch Major Segrave drive at an average speed of 203.79mph. To achieve this speed, more than one engine was needed, so two Sunbeam Matabele V12 aero engines were chosen by Sunbeam’s chief engineer, Louis Coatalen. Segrave’s cockpit was between the two engines (one was at the rear of the vehicle while the other was at the front), and the finished car weighed over 3 tons.
The car travelled so fast that, during the first run, strong winds caused it to skid with Segrave having no other option but to drive into the sea to slow down! However, following corrosion attacking the internal workings of the engines, ‘The Slug’ has not been run for more than 50 years.
The National Motor Museum is working with Brookspeed Automotive to restore this incredible car, and the work will be carried out in the public eye through visits to the museum as well as through online content such as videos and blog posts.
To raise awareness of the campaign, ‘The Slug’ will be taken to motoring events and shows all over the UK and Europe before also going on a tour of motoring museums in America too.
The National Motor Museum has owned the Sunbeam since 1970 and it has been one of the main displays there ever since. Their Senior Engineer, Ian Stanfield, has already started stripping down the rear engine to investigate how bad the corrosion damage truly is.
Restoring a car that is as special and such a big part of motoring history as this is a worthwhile project. There aren’t many better ways to help future generations recognise how ground-breaking ‘The Slug’ was than by bringing it back to life for them to see first-hand.
The National Motor Museum’s Head of Development Michelle Kirwan said: “This is a wonderfully exciting opportunity to raise the funds necessary to breathe new life into the two aero engines and enable the Sunbeam to run again.
“To be able to take this iconic car back to Daytona, where world Land Speed Record history was made, would be incredible – especially in the centenary year. We are grateful for Brookspeed Automotive’s support with this campaign and look forward to working together to achieve the ultimate goal of such a historic run, which will capture the imagination of motoring enthusiasts around the world.”
March 28, 2023 8:40 am
Yesterday, we welcomed the Essex Austin Seven Club into The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars.
It was great to see the members of the club spending time with us enjoying coffee and snacks before getting to have a look behind-the-scenes of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, as they had a tour of our facilities.
We always enjoy hosting car clubs. With several others already booked in, we are looking forward to seeing more of you in the very near future.
Another classic car will soon be arriving at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500 is coming to us for a full restoration.
This will be the 4th concours restoration for one of our customers. We will be working closely with them over the coming weeks and months to determine the final specifications of the registration. However, one thing that has already been confirmed is that it will stay as a left-hand drive vehicle. As it will be heading off to France once it leaves us, the current configuration is ideal.
We are looking forward to work beginning on our 1976 Triumph Spitfire very soon and we are sure it will look incredible once the restoration is complete.
To some people, the classic car world is one that will eventually die out as the automotive industry continues to move forwards at a blistering pace towards an alternative fuel future.
However, classic cars hold so many memories and interesting stories that more and more of the younger generations are finding their way into classic car restoration. One such person is 19-year-old Luke Henshaw who is the Heritage Vehicle Apprentice at The Great British Car Journey in Ambergate, Derbyshire.
March 17, 2023 10:43 am
Hollywood actor Theo James has been seen driving a 1962 Austin Healey 3000 during the filming of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix adaptation of The Gentlemen. Theo plays the lead character of Eddie Halstead in the highly-anticipated series that takes place in the same world as the widely successful film of the same name from 2019.
Theo was dressed smartly as he drove the classic Austin Healey through the grounds of the Badminton Estate in South Gloucestershire. This is the same location that has been used for scenes in Bridgerton, Pearl Harbour, and 28 Days Later.
A camera could be clearly seen attached to the front of the car catching action shots of the actor driving the blue and white vehicle.
Theo has previously starred in multiple high-profile films such as The Divergent Trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant), Downton Abbey, How It Ends, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.
In the series, Theo’s character, Eddie, inherits his father’s large estate before discovering that it is actually a marijuana empire.
Guy Ritchie is the man behind the creation of The Gentlemen TV series and he will also direct the first two episodes. When talking about the new series, Guy said “The world of ‘The Gentlemen’ is a little bit of me, I’m thrilled that with Netflix, Miramax and Moonage we have this opportunity to inhabit it once again.
‘We’re looking forward to bringing fans back into that world, introducing new characters and their stories and I am excited to be doing it with this extremely talented cast.’
‘The Gentlemen’ is expected to be released towards the end of 2023 and we are sure that it will be an extremely popular series but, for now, we are more than happy to simply admire the 1962 Austin Healey 3000 being driven around the beautiful Badminton Estate.
The full story and images can be seen here.
March 17, 2023 9:23 am
If you haven’t been to visit us in person yet, you won’t have experienced what it’s like in The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars. Work still continues to make this space a very comfortable and enjoyable place to be for petrolheads, car clubs, and other classic car enthusiasts.
Since our licensed bar has been installed, we have had a new fire exit fitted, and some new furniture has been made too. Recently, we have begun the process of finding the best way to heat the beautiful events space.
We have had 2 wall-mounted heaters fitted and these are being tested to see if they are up to the job of heating the 2450 square feet building.
The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars continues to develop and improve. With more and more events being added to the calendar, we hope to see you in The Atelier very soon.
March 16, 2023 9:49 am
Craig has spent the day at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire at an auction hosted by H and H.
There was a wide variety of vehicles available for sale throughout the day, and Craig ended up purchasing more than one, which will find their way to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in the next week or so.
A successful auction trip is always a good day and we are very pleased with the new additions to our collection – more on those very soon!
In the meantime, here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at some of the vehicles going to auction.
We hosted our second Coffee & Classics event this morning from The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars.
It was great to welcome a group of fellow classic car enthusiasts to enjoy a coffee with us as well as have a behind-the-scenes tour of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Our Coffee & Classics mornings happen on the second Tuesday of every month. With this and other exciting events coming up over the next few months, we hope to see even more of you very soon.
Thank you to everyone who came to see us this morning and we look forward to seeing you all again in the near future.
A recent arrival to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop is our 1975 MGB GT V8. It has come to us so our team of classic car technicians can investigate some starting issues.
The whole car will be assessed so we are able to come up with a plan of action for its future.
It’s a divisive viewpoint in the classic car world – Do you use your classic in the snow and clean it down afterwards or keep it tucked away?
Well, the cold weather was closing in on our Suffolk HQ this morning. As the snow began to fall across the surrounding countryside, some of our own cars which are stored outside whilst awaiting time in the workshop got a light dusting. One of those, was our personal 1969 MGC GT.
That’s what sparked this question. In period, these cars would of course have been taken out and driven in all weathers but as their rarity and age grow so does the scarcity in which they are used in the majority of cases.
During the cold snap a few years ago, I owned a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 and proved (if only to myself) that categorically it was the greatest all-terrain vehicle of all time. With no ABS, no power steering or traction control to interfere with driving and all its mighty 36BHP heading straight to the rear wheels with the weight of its flat-four engine sitting right above it, the grip was phenomenal as I drove on my hour long commute across the wintery Suffolk countryside on back lanes and B-roads.
But, it did pay a price. I forgot to clean down the wings and front edge of the pan which began to corrode. This would ultimately spread and caused me some more issues down the line. But, I learnt from that. Just like with a modern car, the salt and moisture will begin to cause damage and corrode components if left.
It’s not as noticeable with modern cars as it is with classics, perhaps down to the wider use of plastics and composites for body panels and trims or better weather proofing in modern paints and coatings but if left long enough for long periods of time, the dreaded bubbles start to appear…
Our customer cars do not go outside in this kind of weather. At the first hints of any rain or not ideal weather, they are brought inside for safe keeping and cleaned down instantly before being put away in the shelter of our workshop.
But it’s an interesting thought, do you use them in the winter or keep them tucked away?
March 10, 2023 12:28 pm
Finding space for all the classic vehicles that come into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop can be a big challenge. To make some additional secure storage for the workshop team to make use of, a container has recently arrived.
This extra space allows the technicians to be able to make effective use of the workshop while still being able to keep the special classics that come to us safe and secure.
Though the weather today may be bleak and in some places snowy, the early flowers popping up in hedgerows and on grassy banks promise that spring is just around the corner. Pops of colour and low yellowy sun symbolise the beginning of another year filled with adventure.
For many of you, the winter months signal a time when the precious motors are tucked up warm in a garage or storage facility however, those with a year-round driver have been able to enjoy journeys out on crisp, frosty(but not icy) mornings. Some even ventured out to welcome in the New Year with Bridge Classic Cars back at the beginning of January and enjoyed a bright day driving followed by a cosy lunch in a local pub.
Now, as the nights draw out, the car community awakes en masse from its slumber. Tarpaulins and carcoons are pulled back, chrome is polished to perfection and paintwork buffed lovingly to its pre-hibernation glory. The event season begins.
For Bridge Classic Cars this year, the calendar is buoyant with events to suit every car lover, we want to welcome you to monthly live draws with music and fun as well as more car meets and coffee mornings for a more intimate vibe. We have special guests sharing their stories and lives with us, on stage at The Atelier. First, we welcome Ed Stafford, shortly followed by Martin Donnelly plus many more special guests. Soon to be revealed! We have days out in the local area allowing us to celebrate Suffolk and classic cars all in one go. Rallies, charity events and car shows scattered through spring and summer meaning there is fun, entertainment and a warm welcome for all the family.
On March 3rd 2022, the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal was launched. This happened due to the escalating conflict between Ukraine and Russia. As the situation has continued to progress in the last year, more and more aid is needed and the DEC continues to do all they can to assist as many people as possible.
Since its launch, the appeal has raised more than £400 million. As a result of these funds, almost 2 million people benefited from access to clean water, 392 000 people received assistance in accessing food, and 71 000 people were able to access primary healthcare services.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars is very proud that we have contributed in some way to the DEC’s cause of helping the Ukranian people. We raised £38 500 for the appeal through one of our competitions. Previous winner, Jar Joyce, returned his prize (1989 TVR S2) back to us so we could run another competition for it with the money raised going to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
With the support of Jar and several other companies and friends, the competition was a great success and we were extremely happy to raise a large sum of money for such a worthy cause.
The conflict in Ukraine is still ongoing and more help is needed. The DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal continues, as does our passion to support charities working to help people in need.
If you would like to read more about how we raised £38 500 for the Dec Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, the full story can be read here.
We have raised money for a number of charities. Our other charity work can be seen here.
The history of Trojan Records Clothing goes all the way back to 1947 when, in Lambrete, Milan, Ferdinando Innocenti’s 123cc scooter was launched. The scooter in question was the Lambretta, named after the district in which it was created and, subsequently, revealed to the world.
The Lambretta was a huge success in Italy and beyond. In 1951, it arrived in the UK and by 1959 it had overtaken the sale of Vespas, which had already established itself prior to the arrival of the Lambretta.
Throughout the 1960s, the Lambretta developed a very English personality, despite being an Italian scooter, and it became a popular mode of transport across the country.
Once the production of Lambretta scooters ceased, the brand it had built and the values it had created lived on and, in 1997 the Lambretta clothing range was launched. The first Lambretta shop opened on Carnaby Street in 1997 before a second opened in the Victoria Quarter, Leeds and a third opened in Covent Garden in 2002.
In 2015, Lambretta launched a sub-brand called Trojan Records. This was a limited clothing range that proved to be successful enough for it to be established as its own fashion brand in 2015.
Trojan Records clothing has become known for its stylish and classic apparel that pays homage to its Ska roots. This Jamaican heritage is still present in the range of Harringtons, polos, parkas, button-down shirts, fine-gauge knitwear, track tops, tees, and trousers.
All of the apparel in the Trojan Records range is high-quality and timeless and incorporates parts of traditional favourites while also keeping in tune with contemporary styling.
It may seem odd that a classic car restoration company is talking about clothing and style. However, here at Bridge Classic Cars, we appreciate all things classic and Trojan Records Clothing certainly fits the bill.
Something new and exciting is coming very soon so keep your eyes peeled for more Trojan Records and Bridge Classic Car news.
March 7, 2023 2:57 pm
We recently welcomed a new vehicle into our secure storage facility, The Hangar.
Vehicle storage is important to get right to ensure your car is safe, secure, and kept in the best possible conditions.
When we store customers’ vehicles, we use Carcoons to create a protective environment around them.
As we welcomed a 2008 Porsche 997 911 Turbo to The Hangar, we captured a video of it going into its Carcoon where it will be securely stored until its owner is ready to take it back out on the road.
Molly and I headed to Kensington Olympia this weekend for The London Classic Car Show for a fun-filled day of classic cars from up and down the country.
On arrival, we were greeted by the organisers who encouraged us to walk around and view all the exhibitions brought together by this event. One of the main attractions was an iconic display of Minis designed for members of the Beatles. A highly decorated one belonged to George Harrison and one had even been converted for Ringo Starr to be able to put his drums in the back!
The Aston Martin Club, Ferrari Owners Club and The Triumph TR Register Car Club amongst many others were there representing their clubs. And there was a great display of many cars, some over 100 years old.
Earlier in the weekend there had been an auction take place, hosted by Historics Auctioneers. A great many lots were available with some truly remarkable cars on offer.
Molly was lucky enough to be invited onto the Fighting Torque stage at 3 pm to talk about her thoughts on Barn Finds alongside Tobias Ballard, Nick Wells, and Vicki Butler-Henderson. She spoke to the audience about our 1905 Riley 9HP and our love for uncovering hidden treasures in unexpected places.
After finishing on stage, Molly and I bumped into Tobias as he headed back to his own stand, The Model A Revival Company. A few years ago he recreated his very own version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang using car components from vehicles dating before the 1930s, Tobias gave us a quick run-through about where all of the parts were sourced from. There was even an incredible snake horn down one side! It is a very special vehicle and provokes feelings of nostalgia.
It was great to see so many special cars in one place, surrounded by the people that are the most passionate. We are looking forward to next year.
Founded in 1945, the letters BRM would become synonymous with flying the British flag in the early years of Formula 1 and the following decade.
British Racing Motors was founded by Raymond Mays (who was the man behind the brand ERA) and Peter Berthon – who after the war used the engineering know how from building hillclimb cars and their access to pre-war Mercedes and Auto Union designs to forge an alliance and build a brand that would literally have ”racing” in its name and enter Britain onto the world stage once more in top-flight racing.
The financing of the original plan was done through a series of industry connections and trusts. This would prove difficult in the long run for the fledgling company along with less than impressive results until one of its backers stepped up – the enigmatic Alfred Owen. Owen was the owner and chairman of the Rubery Owen Group, a group of companies responsible for manufacturing components for the automotive industry. With his expertise in organisation and management, Owen took over the running of British Racing Motors in the early 1950’s but Mays and Berthon would continue to run the team on Owen’s behalf well into the 1960s when the job was given to Owen’s brother-in-law Louis Stanley to run.
At the company’s HQ in Bourne, Lincolnshire they would created some of the greatest F1 cars of the 1960s utilising drivers such as Jo Bonnier, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Clay Regazzoni and Tony Brooks to name but a few world class wheelmen on the driving duty roster for the team through its 20 year racing history.
Going back to 1954, the team would debut the car that would set them onto the world stage not only in Formula 1 but in the world of engineering with the Type 15, a design that that been developed since 1947.
The Type 15 would take advantage of the post-war rule change for engine sizes. The rule change stated that a car could have an engine size not in excess of 4.5-litres naturally aspirated but for any sort of forced induction the engine size would have to be 1.5 litres. Taking the latter approach, BRM created a masterpiece of technical skill and know-how. The team of Peter Berthon, Harry Mundy, Eric Richter and Frank May would take two 750cc V8’s and make a 1.5-litre V16… To get the power up to where the bigger naturally aspirated engines were BRM turned to the experts at Rolls Royce to build and develop a twin-stage centrifugal supercharger for the car. During its testing with Rolls Royce, to calibrate the superchargers, the small scale monster would rev out to over 12,000RPM with Rolls Royce engineers commenting that it still had more room to go if needed. During this, legendary engineer Tony Rudd would be brought into BRM from Rolls Royce to help with future engine development and eventually lead him to working with both BRM and Lotus after his aero-engine career.
This engineering tour de force would put the BRM name in-front of the automotive world. However, it proved to not be that reliable. In 1954, the regulations would change once more and essentially outlaw this beautiful engine.
Next, the team would develop the car which gave them their winning name and reputation. The Type 25.
The Type 25 would meet the new 2.5-litre regulations that came into effect in the mid-1950s. This would prove to be the beginning of BRM’s most successful period thanks to help from outside sources as well as a determined and highly talented team. The car was a slow and trying development for the team, but with the help of people such as Colin Chapman from Lotus along with drivers like Stirling Moss backed by the infamous Rob Walker (who combined the BRM engine into a Cooper Climax chassis to create a Cooper-BRM) to test out the strong and weak points of the design, the Type 25 (which would then be developed into the rear-engined P48) was developed and refined into formidable racing machines.
In 1962, BRM would win their first Formula 1 world championship with Graham Hill driving the formidable P57. To help pay for the racing programme, BRM would also become an engine supplier for privateer teams with the in-house designed and built V8. This would mark the beginning of the teams 2nd resurgence in F1 and its wild technical world.
In the mid-1960s, the team would embark on some of the grandest engineering projects to be undertaken by a British racing team, alongside the development of its own F1 projects like the fabled V12 and the doomed H16. In 1963, talks were in progress between the automotive might of Rover and the now well established BRM team to work together on a project outside of F1.
The meeting came about because of BRM’s owner, Alfred Owen. Owen was still the owner of Rubery Owen. The firm had been supplying Rover with automotive parts for decades at this point and with his connection in the BRM team, the board at Rover (mainly William Martin-Hurst, MD at Rover) decided it would be the perfect partnership to push both brands further into the motorsports world with a very unconventional engine and they would need the help of an established and well run team to be able to pull of this task.
Rover had been developing an engine since the end of the 2nd World War that even today, in 2023, is still seen as exotic and futuristic in a car. It was of course, the jet turbine. Rover initially debuted its revolutionary engine in the famous ‘Jet 1’ car in 1949/1950 but it didn’t end there. The team would go on to develop the T1, T2, T3 and T4. The T4 would actually be displayed at the 1962 24 hours of Le Mans before the race to do exhibition laps and prove the viability of this engineering project.
With the reception and experience gained in this publicity stunt, Rover decided it would enter a turbine powered car into the race the following year to prove the competitive nature of the turbine technology but also its endurance. So, Rover began the talks with BRM.
BRM would handle the development of the chassis and suspension for the car under the supervision and control of Tony Rudd. Using the damaged chassis from Richie Ginther’s 1962 Monaco Grand Prix F1 car, the team set about converting it into an open-top prototype for the team to develop the relevant systems and the set up of the car. The car was fitted with a single-speed transaxle (much like a modern electric car) and taken to the MIRA test track in April of 1963 to begin testing in the more than capable hands of Graham Hill. At the end of testing, Hill would describe the experience as ”You’re sitting in this thing that you might call a motor car and the next minute it sounds as if you’ve got a 707 just behind you, about to suck you up and devour you like an enormous monster.” One can only imagine the sounds and experience of the 150BHP jet turbine when it approached its top-speed during testing of just over 140mph.
With the proof of concept there for both BRM and Rover, the team could begin on the work for preparing the car for Le Mans in 1963.
The Rover-BRM would arrive at Le Mans in the summer of 1963 with Graham Hill and Richie Ginther given control of the car. The sanctioning body decided to allow the car twice the fuel of a conventional car and it ran with the designation of ’00’ to show it was experimental. The goal for the 1963 race was to develop and learn about the turbines use for extended periods and to take advantage of a prize for the first jet turbine to complete 2,600 miles in 24 hours while also achieving an average speed of 93mph, the car would go onto crush that challenge with hours to spare in the race. With the car being placed in the experimental class, it would not be given a technical finishing place. But, if it were conventionally powered the car would have placed 8th overall – a positive start to the Rover and BRM partnership.
Using everything they had learned in the 1963 race, the turbine engine went back to the Rover engineers for internal modifications to help with the efficiency in the form of a pair of ceramic rotary regenerators. These would be used as both heat exchangers for the car but also as a way of pre-heating the intake air temperatures. This would ultimately take away from the cars power for the race, but help its reported ferocious fuel consumption. Along with its mechanical update based on the ’63 race, the bodywork was redesigned by Rover engineer William Towns to be a closed cockpit style racer – helping with the cars aerodynamics. However on the way back from the pre-race tests early in the summer, the car was damaged and withdrawn from the race and the team busied themselves to build up the ultimate configuration for 1965.
For 1965, after proving itself as competitive and durable enough in 1963, the Rover-BRM would be allowed to run at full anger in competition against other cars in its 2-litre class. Because of this, the governing body said that the team would only be allowed the same fuel allowance as a normal piston driven car, making those ceramic rotary regenerators even more crucial to the teams success as it was now about efficiency rather than out and out speed for Graham Hill and Jackie Stewart charged with piloting the now enclosed prototype.
The story of that race goes that after running wide in a turn with Hill behind the wheel, the cars intakes inhaled dirt/sand which was sent directly into the turbine blades. Sand at that pressure and speed is highly-abrasive which had led to damage on the fan blades and ultimately the engine beginning to overheat – this would be near enough constantly monitored and nursed throughout the race by the BRM team. Later in the race, Jackie Stewart was inserted into the red corduroy lined cockpit of the car where the drama really began. Some say that due to the damage that began with the car inhaling the sand on the excursion off the track with Hill earlier in the race, a large piece of a fan blade fractured and was sent hurtling into the turbine and severely damaging one of the ceramic regenerators, noted by Stewart as a ”massive explosion” but thankfully and also mercifully, the turbine continued to run…
At the end of the 1965 running of the Le Mans 24 hours, the Rover-BRM partnership would cross the line 10th place overall and earn itself 2nd in class for the 2-litre formula. A very respectable position for any car let alone something that 2 years before had simply been an experiment between an automotive giant and a racing legend.
In 1974, the car was completely retired from any active service and has spent the last 49 years going between museums and static displays except in 2014, when for old times sake the turbine was fired up and the car taken around the legendary Circuit de le Sarthe to show it could still stun crowds.
After the 1965 race however, the Rover-BRM partnership would come to an end. Rover deciding that the turbine road car idea was still a distant dream with a lot of development work still required. BRM concentrated its efforts back onto Formula 1 (as well as other automotive projects) where it would remain, in its original guise or another, until 1977/1978 when the team effectively completely withdrew from top flight motorsport (until their recent resurgence under the leadership of Alfred Owen’s grandson, Simon). Rover however, would continue building passenger cars until 1967 when it was bought out by British Leyland. The Rover name as we would know it would continue on until 2005 with the closure of British Leyland.
In 1997, to commemorate this herculean project between the two companies, the Rover and BRM name would reappear on a limited edition hot hatch. The Rover 200 BRM. This was built to celebrate significant aspects of both companies heritage and their joint project of the mid-1960s. The Brooklands Green paintwork, the striking and contrasting orange front grille surround and the brushed aluminium accents that adorn this underrated 1990s hot-hatch.
And now, Bridge Classic Cars is giving you the chance to win one of these rare and unique cars that celebrate the union between an automotive powerhouse and a racing legend. Click here to to get your tickets and be in with a chance of winning our 1999 Rover 200 BRM.
February 27, 2023 2:41 pm
Molly takes you behind the scenes of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and takes a closer look at some of our current projects.
A 1980 Range Rover that is believed to have been owned by Bob Marley is going to auction!
The original registration document has the name Robert Nesta Marley on it, which is why this classic vehicle is generating such interest. Classic Car Auctions are offering the legendary musician’s Range Rover for sale on Saturday, March 25th without reserve.
It is obvious that the Range Rover is not in drivable condition (the engine is currently in the back of the vehicle) so it will be purchased as a restoration project. Originally Masi Red, the Range Rover is now a mix of black, green, and blue with Bob Marley’s children said to be the people responsible for the paintwork.
With a little over 62,000 miles on the clock, you can see that, in the right hands, this could be an incredible classic in the future.
Bob Marley owned 2 Range Rovers and this one was shipped from Birmingham to Germany, then to Jamaica. It was also regularly shipped back and forth between Jamaica and the UK. His other Range Rover was a series 3 which was found in 2015 and has been fully restored.
This very special classic vehicle will be auctioned at the Practical Classics Classic Car And Restoration Show Sale 2023 being held at the NEC in Birmingham, which brings the story full circle as the Range Rover returns to the city in which it was built.
Even in its current state, a sale price of around £150,000 is expected. While fully restored models have previously sold for up to £130,000, the story and iconic former owner of this particular example makes it something of a unique opportunity to own something extremely special.
Full details can be seen here.
