Scott has been repairing the exhaust manifolds for the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona. They’re made of stainless steel and were cleaned up before being painted in black high-temperature paint to make them look like genuine Ferrari.
Ady has been investigating the engine on the 1976 Mercedes 350SL. Initially we were lead to believe this to be a running car but unfortunately it has arrived with us as a non-runner, and he’s found that this is probably due to an electrical fault.
There are two sides to the V8 engine and only one bank works. the right hand bank looks to have been tampered with.
The wiring to the injectors on that bank have been cut and rewired to earth. We don’t understand why someone has done this unless they are trying to cover up something more. There would be no other obvious reasoning. Rewiring to earth could possibly mean the engine can still run, albeit on 4 cylinders as it will hopefully not be sending any fuel into the ‘dead’ side. If it has then we have a problem.
We have replaced the points and adjusted the timing but the car remains on 4 cylinders.
We have then removed the plugs and checked the condition of the number 6 plug which looks to have a carbon build up. We have checked easy access compressions on all cylinders.
We have refuelled the vehicle but as before, the engine can only run on 4 cylinders and is therefore running dangerously rich.
August 26, 2021 8:23 am
This tool tray is from the Peony Red 1960 Jensen 541S. It hasn’t got any tools that were in it, so the customer is going to source those separately. Kath is going to shape a new piece of foam and cover it in black vinyl to match the dash. This piece of foam is the handle part, and the piece you see while sitting in the car. The tool tray sits underneath the dash, on the passenger side, and slots in like a draw into a metal frame.
Dave has been investigating the 1971 Jaguar XJ6 because it wasn’t running very well. He found that the carburettor tubes weren’t the same height as each other, and there was a new one and an old one. This is all why the carburettors couldn’t be set up. So a kit was purchased with all new ones in, the same height as each other. The choke had to be modified because the car had been changed to a manual choke in the past, whereas it’s meant to be an automatic one. Dave installed a better return spring for this. He put the car back together but the car still wasn’t right… It would only run for a limited time and it started to run badly again. After another investigation, he found that it wasn’t getting enough fuel in fast enough. It was soon realised that there was dirt in the offside fuel tank, which could be found without even getting into it properly. This car has got twin fuel tanks and both were the same. Dave has drained the fuel out of both of them, remarking that it smelt like rum! Not quite right then… There’s a video at the end of this post showing him at the start of draining the offside fuel tank.
The 1998 Honda Integra went into the paint bay at the end of last week. The body shell and bonnet have been primed and the doors and boot panel have been coated in the final coat of new white paint.
Kath has been starting the work on the 1989 TVR S2 rear window replacement on the soft top. Yesterday she removed the hood from the roof frame. This involved taking out the metal plates that are on the front, and slot it into place when it’s up. The rubber seal was removed next, in order to start taking the fabric of the hood off the foam on the middle bar of the frame. Kath scraped the old glue off the foam. The removed hood was placed on a table and another bar was removed from it, before unpicking the old PVC window from the surrounding fabric. The old foam and glue that was left on the fabric was then scraped off. Tomorrow, Kath will be cutting out the new window from clear PVC and stitching into place, making sure to go through the same original stitch holes.
The 1974 Triumph GT6 that we recently bought has left Scotland today for its long journey to us in Suffolk. In the same garage was a yellow 1995 Lotus, which you can see photos of at the end of this post. We’re looking forward to the arrival of the Triumph soon!
Here are some images from our recent photoshoot with the 1978 Lancia Beta. Don’t forget you can win this classic! To enter, just click here. By following that link, you’ll also be able to find an in-depth description of what the vehicle has to offer.
Last week we welcomed back this lovely 1963 Jaguar SS100. It’s a replica made by a former business, Suffolk Sports Cars, which sadly are no more. It was reported that there was a weeping coming from the front of the car. Paul set to investigating the leak and quickly diagnosed the problem, the suspension shocks were where the weeping was coming from. They’ve now been replaced and this gorgeous classic is road-ready once more.
The clear PVC back window is starting to de-laminate and coming away at places, so we’ve ordered a new piece as a replacement. Kath has been removing the old one this morning in preparation.
Newly purchased by us is this 1974 Triumph GT6. We’re awaiting its arrival and have been informed that it’s in mint condition. Keep your eyes peeled for its arrival into our workshop!
Paul has been continuing his work on the 1933 Austin 7. There was an oil leak. so he dropped the rear axle down in order to get to the gaskets and to re-seal at the drive shaft.
On Friday, the newly-built engine was plunged into the bay of the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona, using a heavy duty crane, with Scott and Ady levering the engine in with the chains. The car originally came to us with an over-heated engine, so wasn’t running. Fortunately, it came with a spare Jaguar V12 engine. The old, blown one was stripped apart and any useful parts were left to be used in the re-building. Scott’s now been re-connecting everything back in the engine bay now it’s in.
Our one-of-a-kind E-Type is available to purchase through Car and Classic auctions. The reserve has been met and this auction will be coming to a close on Thursday 26th August at 9.00 pm. View the listing here.
It’s not often that a competition-spec E-Type comes up on the open market, and even rarer that a road-registered, fully rebuilt and extensively upgraded example rears its head.
Offering the unique opportunity to buy a virtually brand-new E-Type 2+2 with numerous enhancements that both improve the performance and usability of the car, this gorgeous Volcano Orange example has been finished to the highest standards and has evidently been a true ‘passion project’ for the builders – an opportunity too good to miss, and likely one that will never be repeated.Â
Be sure to get your bids in thick and fast if you want a chance to own this stunning S1 E-Type.
Just a little update here about the 1974 red Triumph Stag. The owner of the car reported to us that they were having trouble with moving the seat runners. So we took the seats out of the car and realised that there were missing parts, which should solve the mystery.
Here’s another little update on the 1979 Arrow Ferrari Daytona. After adjusting the genuine Ferrari side lamp covers the other day to be able to fit on this replica, they’re now on. Scott is now working on repairing the exhaust manifolds. They’ll then be taken to the spray booth to be painted with paint that can withstand high temperatures.
Tamas has been working on the 1968 Jaguar E-Type Series 1.5 4.2 after it failed the MOT the other day. He’s put a new water pump on, put the alternator on, fitted a mobilised on the radio panel, there was a rubber tube that was leaking underneath and the thread got damaged that was attached to it, so those were replaced and the rear handbrake was adjusted.
Brian has finished creating the new headlining for the 1990 BMW 750 iL. After taking the original fabric off the board and cleaning the board up, a grey nyylon brushed headlining foam was used to re-cover the board, which was similar to the original. Brian gradually glued the new fabric on, pressing into the curves and contours to get a neat finish, and trimmed away where any holes were for attachments and panels. After he had re-covered the board, Brian then set about rejuvenating the sun visor switch panel. Once that was done, the headlining board was put back into place in the car, along with the sun visor switch panel and all the panels and pieces that were taken out of the car to get the board out. Another job finished!
Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we have just purchased this 1989 TVR SII 2.9 V6. The previous owner had become very unwell, so the car ended up being left to go into a state of disrepair. That owner was Leonard Smith and he has sadly passed away this week. He was part of the TVR Car Club.
We’re looking to tidy it up considerably and bring it back to its former glory. We’ve started by getting our valet, Colin, to detail the car in order to see any damage properly, after being left to get grubby over time. We’ve decided to order a new hood for it because it was too far gone to repair, and the interior needs a general tidy up, parts coming unstuck, etc.
While we were there picking up the TVR, we also spotted a couple of other classic cars in the same storage space, owned by other people. We took photos of a black 1951 Jaguar Mark V Saloon and a bronze 1981 MGB Roadster. You can see why they caught our eye!
After Paul did inspection work on the 1967 Ford Mustang 350, one of the first things that are being done is that the steering rack is being sent off to be over-hauled, after it was found to be leaking at the seals.
Lydia has been taking the flaking paint off the engine block for the 1963 Jaguar Mk II 3.4. It’s going to get re-painted, so a smooth surface is required. The block was cleaned several times first to get grease and dirt off. She used an air gun, to begin with, to blow off as much as possible, then a mini air sander for the worst bits that were on a flat surface, and sanded the curved flaking areas by hand. Once all the sanding was done, the engine block got blown again with an air gun to remove debris and then cleaned over a few times. Lydia finally masked up any areas that aren’t getting painted. It’s now ready to go in the spray booth!
Chris has started to strip the 1983 Ford Capri 1.6 LS, in preparation for re-painting.
Matt has finished sanding and polishing the lacquer on the 1973 Jaguar E-Type Roadster Series 3 body shell, so it’s now been transported over to the workshop, where work can begin on putting everything back together in it.
Work has started on the 1976 white MG B. The windscreen rubbers have been replaced after it was found that the original ones had perished.
This white 1976 MG B has come in for a list of reasons. It needs to have an inspection service, there’s a leaking sump and sump plug gasket, the heat’s not coming through the heater vents, the starter motor is sticking, the windscreen is leaking water, a new cigarette lighter needs to be fitted, new number plate lights are required, new electronic ignition needs to be sorted out, a new off-side rear indicator brake light reflector is needed and an MOT is to be carried out. We’re also going to give quotes for a few other issues.
Ady has been working on the total engine rebuild for the 1973 MG B GT V8. He’s rebored the engine to suit the pistons, refaced the engine block, refaced both the cylinder heads and cut all the valve seat and the lap in the valves. There are all new valve springs fitted, the crankshaft has been re-ground, there’s a new camshaft with new cam followers, he’s up-rated the camshaft and crankshaft, there are pulleys with a new timing chain and a new front cover is on, including an oil pump. The engine has been built re-built with new bearings, gaskets, seals and a water pump.
Dave has been inspecting the 1975 Magenta Triumph TR6 and found that there was play in the two near-side wheel bearings. You can see this in the two videos in this blog post. He also found that there were a few threads ripped out, due to just being worn out by people taking the car apart over the years. You can see in one of the photos that bits of aluminium have got stuck on the thread and are coming off. The threads are going to get helicoiled.
Kath has been continuing her work on the 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4’s carpet. This time, she’s re-made the left-hand footwell carpet, right-hand boot side panel, right-hand rear floor, right-hand rear under-seat, right-hand rear corner, right-hand rear sill, rear quarter panel (which needs the wood in still) and rear scuttle panel.
Both the Jaguar E-Types pictured had their MOT’s done yesterday. The gold 1971 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3 is currently with us for storage at our Bentwaters hangar. The green 1968 Jaguar E-Type Series 1.5 4.2 came to us for MOT preparation. If you are looking for storage for your classic vehicle or need it prepared for its MOT, please don’t hesitate to contact us!
New into the workshop is this 1976 Jaguar XJ6. It’s got issues with its carburettors, meaning the engine isn’t running right. Ady will be in charge of looking over this one for us, being our engine expert.
