Last night, several members of the team from Bridge Classic Cars attended the black-tie ceremony of the East Anglian Daily Times Business Awards. The evening was hosted by former Britain’s Got Talent Winner, Lance Corporal Richard Jones. Our team was honoured to be finalists in two categories: Positive Impact in the Community and Medium Business of the Year.
Although we didn’t take home the trophies, the evening was filled with celebration and success. It was a privilege to be recognised among such distinguished company, and we took great joy in celebrating the achievements of other fantastic businesses.
RM Sotheby’s is offering the legendary 1964 Hank Williams “Snake Charmer” Cobra for sale at their Monterey auction in August. This historic vehicle, celebrated by West Coast SCCA racers and Shelby enthusiasts worldwide, is available to buy for the very first time.
The story of CSX 2227 began in 1964 when a Princess Blue over red Cobra 289 Mk II was delivered to Norman Ford in Pomona, CA. Hank Williams, a WWII hero who fought in Normandy, played in the jazz and blues clubs of LA and worked as an ambulance driver, living east of Los Angeles.
Seeking a fast car for both weekday and weekend racing, Hank initially set his sights on a Corvette. However, during the Civil Rights Movement, local Chevrolet dealerships ignored him due to his race. Instead, he turned to a nearby Ford dealer where he found CSX 2227, a rare 1 of 3 Princess Blue 289 Mk II Cobra, and paid a deposit there and then. Despite some challenges in delivery, Hank secured the car, beginning a legendary partnership that lasted 60 years.
Hank drove the Cobra during the week and raced it on weekends, adding a removable hardtop and repainting it in Silver Mink, a 1964 Lincoln colour. His racing career with the Cobra earned him the nickname “Snake Charmer” from Carroll Shelby, along with a Shelby Le Mans Team shirt, which is also included in the sale.
CSX 2227 became one of the most raced Cobras, with nearly 400 races and over 260 trophies and awards (also included in the sale). Surprisingly, it retains its original engine, body, and chassis, displaying a patina from its extensive racing history. The Cobra’s nearly 60-year-old Silver Mink repaint and red Naugahyde interior remain intact. It is one of the best-documented Cobras, with original build sheets, buyer forms, warranty cards, and competition licenses, and has been featured in numerous magazines, SAAC Club publications, TV shows, and even a Union 76 oil advert.
At 98 years old, Hank was still driving his Cobra. After a remarkable life, Hank “The Snake Charmer” Williams passed away aged 99, leaving behind a legacy and a Cobra driven over 140,000 miles. This legendary Cobra, still in his name on the original 1965 title, presents a unique opportunity to own an unrestored “time capsule” Cobra 289 Mk II in “as raced” condition with single ownership from new.
Hank Williams, a decorated WWII hero, musician, and racing driver, secured one of three Princess Blue 289 Mk II Cobras in 1964.
Nearly 400 races and over 260 trophies and awards included, with the original engine, body, and chassis.
Includes original build sheet, warranty card, competition license, and decades of photos.
Hank Williams earned the “Snake Charmer” nickname and received Carroll Shelby’s Le Mans Team shirt, included with the car.
Unrestored, single-owner “time capsule” Cobra in “as raced” condition, offered for the first time.
We have worked extremely hard to build a community of friends and like-minded enthusiasts who share our love for all things automotive and we are beyond proud of what we have achieved.
Trying to sum up what we have built in words alone is almost impossible. So this is the story of ‘Tony’ and what Bridge Classic Cars has done for him.
There are many ‘Tony’s’ out there and we hope to meet so many more as we continue to grow and evolve as a business.
Thank you to everyone who has joined us so far and we can’t wait to take you with us into our next exciting chapter.
Our enclosed trailer sees quite a few miles every month! With our transport team always out and about across the country, we have a very strict inspection regime for it and occasionally repairs have to be done.
This week, the team have found that the rear marker lights on the trailer weren’t operating correctly. So the trailer was taken off the road in order for our wiring guru (and workshop manager John) to take a look at and get it back up and running again.
After checking the usually suspects such as bulbs and connectors, John dove into the power box which controls the power distribution throughout the trailer. After performing his wiring checks, he found a single wire had corroded and was not allowing proper connecting, so with a replacement wire run to the lights and testing – he was happy to release our trailer back out onto the open road with the transport team.
Our workshop team have been steadily making progress on our 1956 Jensen 541 which is in the finishing workshop here at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Suffolk.
Our technician, Paul, began with working on test fitting the rear window catches to line up correctly with the stunning interior built by our in-house trim team. Once checked, Paul could fix them securely in place. Then he moved on to getting the drivers side door test fit to work out the gaps and line up through carefully adding and taking away specifically sized shims. Once he was happy with the doors fitment, Paul went under the bonnet of the classic GT car.
To begin with, he fabricated the new battery mount for the car specifically to work within the confines of this specific chassis. And finally, Paul could test fit the radiator into the chassis to begin working on radiator mounts for the car.
The workshop team are crossing off the last few remaining jobs left to do on our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica with Jon and John working their way around the homage to the greatest era of sports car racing.
Here’s what they’ve been up to: ”Remove rear wheels. Cut rear suspension bolts and replace with new bolts fitted the other way round. Drill out rivets in nearside rear arch and apply sealer. Re drill and re rivet. Trim off excess alloy front arch liner. Seal boot to body area under fuel tank above rear axle. Refit wheels. Adjust and tighten mirrors. Drill and fit fire extinguisher between seats.”
The exhaust for our 1975 Cobra project are back at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ after being sent off to a specialist for coating. With these now back, the team can keep pressing on with getting with very exciting project back on the road and now, sounding absolutely sensational.
Alongside our 1958 Austin Healey 100/6, our transport team were given the task of safely delivering our 1989 Porsche 928 S4 to a special location recently for filming with our marketing team.
Tony, our transport driver, expertly navigated the narrow country lanes to get this stunning long-legged GT car to location for the team to make it look like a million dollars and… you’ll be able to see the results of that very very soon.
This stunning 1998 BMW E36 M3 Evo has been in long term storage for quite some time now. Recently, our transport team took a trip to our secure, secret storage facility – The Hangar, to pick up this incredible 1990’s sports coupe.
After being taken out of its protective bubble, the car was loaded into our enclosed trailer and brought to the main workshops here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ.
The 1973 Ferrari 246GTS ‘Dino’ has been in the Bridge Classic Cars workshops for a few weeks now with the restoration team getting started on revitalizing this iconic sports car. Most recently, the car has been in with our body team aswell as our workshop teams to begin the process of repairing corroded and damaged sections of the car.
To begin with, the workshop team have been carefully removing all of the trims and accessories from the exterior of the car – making sure to catalogue and document each piece that is removed for the moment when it is ready to come back together in our brand new finishing workshop.
After that, the car could be transferred into our body shop for Chris and his team to begin the process of taking the cars paintwork back to reveal areas of corrosion and damage highlighted during the cars assessment. Most notably, the sills which have actually corroded all the way through in places along with other areas which will require the careful and delicate attention of our fabricator, also called Chris.
Our technician Jon has been hard at work getting our 1989 Daimler Double Six back into fully working order. Here’s what he’s currently been doing ”Remove rear wheels. Cut rear suspension bolts and replace with new bolts fitted the other way round. Drill out rivets in nearside rear arch and apply sealer. Re drill and re rivet. Trim off excess alloy front arch liner.seal boot to body area under fuel tank above rear axle. Refit wheels. Adjust and tighten mirrors. Drill and fit fire extinguisher between seats.”
”Take outside and disconnect heater pipes. Use hose to flush heater matrix. Clear water flowing after 2 mins. Reconnect and top up system. Run and test”
John has been working on getting to the bottom of why the washers on our 2010 Renault Wind have stopped working.
To check the pump, John had to jack the car up and remove one of the wheels to get access to the bottom of engine bay. After checking out the pump, he determined that the pump had failed and placed a new one on order.
Our workshop manager has been working on our very special barn-find 1952 Austin A40 sports cabriolet.
After it having its first test drive late last week, the team noticed that the charge light was not switch off while running. Looking into it further, John removed the wiring to the dynamo and checked its charge rate which was measured at 17.2 which indicated that the regulator was faulty – so the team fitted a new unit to the car and all was happy afterwards. And, John even had time to fix the interior mirror.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been making progress on our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. Everyday the car gets closer and closer to completion and with that, the list of major jobs get smaller.
Recently, our workshop manager has been checking off some of the smaller jobs on the tribute to a Le Mans legend. This time he has fitted the leather straps which hold down the spare wheel as well as the side reflectors onto the car.
Our 1958 Austin Healey has been back into the Bridge Classic Cars worshops at our Suffolk HQ to have a couple of jobs finished off before it had a very special date.
The team found that the original kill switch in the car wasn’t working correctly anymore so replaced it with a new one before checking the car over for the transport team to deliver to a very special photoshoot with our marketing team. The results of which, you’re going to have to wait a little while longer to see.
Our trim shop have been giving the task of repairing the seats on our incredible 1952 Fiat 1900A. The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars is one of our busiest departments, but our trimmer Lydia has worked her magic on fixing up the seats of the classic Italian saloon.
The stitching on both seats had popped and somewhere in the cars passed, someone had attempted to fix this with superglue… So Lydia carefully unpicked each section which had been ‘repaired’ in order to fix it correctly. Then she could carefully stretch the covers back over the foam and frames.
We recently welcomed a 1964 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 to the Bridge Classic Cars for our team to take a look at a few little issues and also to service the classic Jaguar before taking back to its owner.
Here’s what our technician Julian has done ”Removed float bowls, found rear needle jet stuck on rear carburettor, replaced needle jet and cleaned float bowls etc. Replaced spark plugs, changed oil, checked all levels. Removed and resealed thermostat housing. Drained fuel from tank and filter housing and replaced with 2 gallons. Road test. Advisory notes, rear pinion seal leaking, gear stick linkage worn, rear propshaft UJ worn.”
After that, it was handed back over to our transport team to get the car safely back home.
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.
While Lydia was working on our 1952 Fiat 1900 A, she removed the seat cover and exposed the foam underneath.
Once she had, the original factory details that had been etched onto the foam were still visible. This is a great example of the quality, time, and effort that went into this car at the Fiat factory. As the only right-hand drive 1900 A, lots of care was clearly taken to make this a fantastic car.
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.
Last Thursday, we hosted our Sunset Classic Car & Bike Meet and it was a huge success.
It was the first time most of our guests had seen inside The Classic Lounge and we were blessed with a warm sunny evening to enjoy and admire all of the cars and bikes that joined us.
The bar was open for guests to have an evening drink and the workshop doors were up so they could get a closer look at some of the impressive classics we are currently working on.
It doesn’t seem that long ago but it has already been two weeks since the Suffolk Show 2024.
The Bridge Classic Cars team had a great time on our stand talking to fellow petrol heads and sharing lots of exciting information about our new Members’ Club, competition cars, and much more.
One of the highlights for us was winning the Best Motor Vehicle Stand. The trophy and certificate now take pride of place on our ever-growing awards display in The Classic Lounge.
Yesterday, we hosted a very successful Cars by the Coast event.
After meeting at the brand-new Classic Lounge at Bridge Classic Cars, we spent some time catching up with everyone, having a coffee, and, of course, admiring all of the cars that came along.
Before heading off, Nick gave everyone a short briefing about the route, where we were going, and the plan for the rest of the day.
Then we all set off to Aldeburgh via the scenic route to enjoy some time down by the coast.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, we all had a great time!
Join us for an exclusive Bridge Classic Cars members’ tour of the Morgan factory on Tuesday 3rd September 2024. This unique experience offers a behind-the-scenes look at the craftsmanship and heritage that have defined Morgan cars for over a century.
Event Details:
See the traditional skills and the latest modern technology that goes into each Morgan sports car. Our tour guide will tell us all about the work that is needed when building every single Morgan by hand.
Our tour will begin at 10:20am and will last approximately 2 hours. A member of the Bridge Classic Cars team will meet you at the factory beforehand and we will all enjoy the tour together. No matter where you are in the country, we can’t wait to meet you in Malvern and admire some incredible cars with you.
Food is available from the onsite cafe
Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the artistry and tradition behind one of the UK’s most iconic car manufacturers. Whether you’re a long-time Morgan enthusiast or new to the brand, this tour promises to be an unforgettable experience.
I have booked a couple of Premier inn rooms (just up the road from the factory) for a friend and I who will be attending.
I thought I would let you know as we spoke about it last week. Speak soon. James Bartrup
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