A while back we shot some stunning photos of our lovely 1988 Ford Escort RS Turbo with model Carnell (@carnage_kicks).
Using a smoke granade to create an artistic approach, we spent the afternoon shooting a series of interesting portraits with the car as well as capturing our standard shots.
This car is currently up for sale, you can see more here.
We may soon be welcoming this 1987 TVR 350i in for some trim work. The client who contacted us is currently in the process of purchasing this beautiful TVR. We look forward to hearing more about this possible project.
The following is what the client has enquired about:
Saturday dawned as a beautiful (and nippy) sunny day, and what better weather for a long-awaited delivery! Mauro drove the lorry over to drop off our charming 1963 Morris Minor 1000 which was received by its delighted owners.
We offer car transportation, logistics and delivery, so if you’re in need of a helping hand to pick up, drop off or transport your car, you can get in touch on 01473 742038 or email us on info@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk
Brian has begun to strip down the interior of the 1979 Arrow Daytona in at Bridge Classic Cars.
Carefully Brian and the trim team have removed all of the carpeting and necessary trim panels to get access to both the dash and centre console which will be removed and stored before their restoration starts.
Along with the interior trim pieces, the wiring for the cabin has also been removed and catalogued for future reference once the car is back in the workshop to be reassembled.
January 21, 2021 8:50 am“As a winner, I can confirm the competitions are real! I saw the 1st white MG offered and before buying a ticket Googled around and was pleased to see an established business behind it all which convinced me buying a ticket was ‘safe’. The competitions have been great through the lockdowns, and provide a little bit of hope and excitement through these strange times.When buying a ticket or 2( or, 3 or 4…) it gives a little bit of hope we might win, especially with good odds of these competitions. But if we’re honest, we don’t truly expect to win. But I have imagined many of the competition cars being in my garage. And strangely, I still buy a few tickets for more competitions. What’s the probability of lightning striking twice?”
January 17, 2021 9:00 pm“I’m a believer it would nice to win one ,Bridge you have made dreams come true for people”
January 17, 2021 8:57 pm“I am a winner !!! When I looked at first I was a bit sceptical about the competition, but after looking on the website I thought why not give it a go!!! £17.50 would hardly wet your lips in the pub. Could not believe it when I got the e-mail to say I had won!!! Told my wife, she watched the draw Car was delivered the next week to Aberdeenshire by two very professional guys. Over the moon with it”
January 17, 2021 8:50 pm“You should make a TV program along the lines of Wheeler Dealers or car SOS but with competition cars… I’d watch it!”
January 17, 2021 8:48 pm
Back in 2020, we lost an iconic 007. Sir Sean Connery sadly passed away last year but his 1986 BMW 635 CSI is now up for auction with estimations of its sale going for between £30,000 to £60,000. The current bid, (at the time of this article – 10:15 am) is sat at £31,250 but we expect that figure to continue to rise until bidding closes at 19:30 tonight.
This stunning BMW 635CSI would be the ideal motor so someone wanting to test the waters of the high performance modern classic car world.
It is believed that Sean Connery owned this BMW 6 series 1989/90 and then sold it in 1998 and the low mileage could be attributed to the fact that Mr Connery was rather busy staring in multiple Hollywood blockbusters during that time. Since then, the car has been stored in several storage units and made brief appearances under different dealerships.
We will continue to follow this auction so keep an eye out on our website and check the auction site linked below.
Although we haven’t worked on the exact same model, we have worked on this 1988 BMW 635CSI that came in back in 2018 for an interior trim freshen up!
The post-1982 BMW 6 series adopted the E28 chassis from the previous BMW 5 series which lead to improvements in the mechanics of the car as well as enhancements to its interior and exterior. This model also suits anything from the school run to tackling winding country roads. The reliability and graceful ageing of this car is all down to the solid and reliable engineering that the older models offer.
Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we’re a close-knit team and its not uncommon to have multiple family members, close friends and couples working together. Lydia and Scott are two of our talented technicians who also happen to be a couple. Like a snapshot from the 1940’s era, Scott and Lydia are fascinated by a vintage way of living. As very hands-on individuals, both have led careers in the trade.
Lydia, who only recently joined us, works in our Trim shop and has joined our team of specialist interior trim technicians. Lydia tells us she’s always been into sewing since she was a child, and has always enjoyed being creative, which she says is what she enjoys about working at Bridge. “I love the free reign and the creativity here, I’d never done any of the fitting before so being able to see the whole process is really interesting.”
“I started getting into classic cars when I began going to classic car shows as a teenager and I just ended up wanting one for myself. I’ve never bought a modern car because of it. My first car was a 1961 Morris Minor 1000, my second car was a 1952 Ford Prefect and now I own a 1953 Austin A40 Somerset.”
Not only is Lydia a talented seamstress and interior technician, but she also loves the classic lifestyle, that comes hand in hand with many of the cars that we work on. Lydia tells us that she really loves the challenge that comes with a restoration workshop as she learns the bespoke process of making and fitting each car’s interior, “I really love learning new and different skills” she tells us.
Lydia’s skills don’t just stop at car interiors as she tells us she used to make her own clothes and is currently in the middle of making home furnishings for their new house which is also a classic.
Scott is also a lover of classic and vintage lifestyles. He tells us that he grew up watching his father fix cars and picked it up from there, “I’ve always loved cars, I’ve never really cared about much else.”
Much like Lydia, Scott lives and breathes classic cars, with it not only his passion and career but also his personal hobby. Scott owns an artillery of classic cars including a 1940 Tudor Sudan and a Series 2 Land Rover, among various others. His Land Rover is his and Lydia’s current day to day, which he tells us he bought when in search of a run-around car whist we worked on his other projects, “You have to think of it as a tractor. Many people think its uncomfortable but I don’t, I’ve enjoyed driving it”
Scott used to work as a panel beater for cars caught in accidents but tells us that being at Bridge has allowed him to grow and learn much more about the overall process of renovating classics. Whilst Scott joined as a fabricator and general technician, he soon found his love for working in the main workshop where he had the ability to do a bit of everything. You can find Scott working on projects that range from fitting interior trims, fixing alignment issues in the fabrication bay or working over an engine in the main workshop, “I learn something new every day”.
“I’ve always loved cars, I’ve never really cared about much else.”
Scott’s own long term project is building a workshop at his house which will allow him to work on his collection of cars. The car that will take centre stage in his new workshop will be building a Ford Model A with a flathead V8 installed. This will be a full rebuild, starting with the Model A chassis and working up. He’s currently got a ‘hopped-up’ flathead V8 in his 1940 ford, meaning the Ford A project will come with some previous transferable skills.
January 11, 2021 3:46 pm
We’ve sent off a collection of our dials back to Speedograph to refurbish them. These all belong to our Lilac Jensen 541R, the Amphicar, the Peony Red Jensen and a Mercedes.
Just before Christmas, we discovered an issue with the Amphicar’s gearbox which had become noisy. We decided to take it out and inspect the elements. You can read about the diagnosis here.
The gearbox has been sent to Last Transmissions to be overhauled and replace the bearings. Once this has been done and is back with us, we hope to get it back together again and put on the water.
The Lada 1200 has had new seat belts added in the back. Our technician Paul has also modified the exhaust rear box to make it shorter as the original, which you cannot buy anymore, was too long.
We know this year has presented some challenging and difficult times for everyone but we wanted to say thank you to all our clients and followers who have continued to support us and keep up to date with our projects. With more areas in the South East going into Tier 4 soon, we hope everyone will keep safe.
With only 2 sleeps until Christmas, we want to let you know that our workshop will be closed from 24th December at 5 pm to 4th January 2021. You can still reach us via our phone number over the festive period if needed.
But until then, have a wonderful Christmas and a happy, and healthy, new year! We’ll be back in the office bright and early on the 4th of January.
Our 1957 Grey Jensen 541R has had its dash pad rail, roof pad and boot refurbished by our specialists in the trim shop.
Brian has removed the old cover of the dash rail, added more foam and wadding, glued on a new cover, added leather around the brackets and fit it all back onto the dash board.
The ceiling pad has also been refurbished. The old cover has been removed, as have the brackets and vinyl. New wadding has been glued into place over the original foam. Fresh vinyl has been cut and glued on, the edges folded over and the brackets refitted. Once these steps were completed, the ceiling pad was fitted back in again.
The boot lid has had new foam added into its indentations. The carpet has been glued onto the boot lid, leaving holes for the boot support rods and latch.
Our new competition car, the 1979 Chevrolet Corvette has come into the workshop for a small repair. We discovered there was an issue with the power steering wherein a leak had occurred. This was easily resolved by replacing cutting off the cracked part of the hose and reinstalling it as the component was long enough already to amend.
Many of the jobs that are done on our cars seem like very small insignificant elements but if you look at the bigger picture, every single detail is just as important as the larger parts.
The black 1960 Jensen 541R has recently had its spare wheel carrier lowering mechanism altered. The original it came in with didn’t function properly so we’ve lengthened the mechanism in the workshop today.
We have also replaced the fixing bolts on rear bumpers which had become faulty due to damage. We’ve welded in new bolts carefully, making sure we don’t damage the chrome and paint inside.
We’ve been discussing which modern cars we think are going to age like fine wines and which might fade into the history books. There are a whole host of current cars from run-abouts to super cars that have what it takes to become a classic car.
The conversation was triggered when a copy of the Garage Support landed on our desk in the marketing department, with the magazine open on an article that discussed the top 10 cars on the road over 3 years old. It got us thinking about how modern cars are ageing and which models will take centre stage for the next generation of sought after classics. Ellie, our marketing assistant was happy to see that her Toyota Yaris had made the cut for the top 10 cars, a small victory for a Wednesday afternoon.
Among the guesses made for future classics were the Ford Focus ST, VW Golf MK4, Mazda MX5, Toyota Starlet, Cupra Formentor, Fiat 124 Spider, F-Type Jaguar, Mitsubishi Evo VII and Aston Martin DB9.
The team had different reasons for their guesses, some suggested that much like the Beetle or Ford Escort that started its life as a simple first car, many of the common modern cars could also age well. It’s certainly a temptation to pick up a cheap car now with the foresight of a future classic!
Alternatively, we had some say that modern-day supercars such as Aston Martin DB9 and the Bugatti Veyron would make their way into the hall of classics, in much the same way as 1960’s sports cars such as the Jaguar E-Types developed into long-loved classics.
It’s certainly an interesting thought. Many of the cars we bought as cheap first cars have become sought after classics. But which cars will be the next selection of golden classics?
With the future of automotive engineering venturing into the world of electric motors and self-driving vehicles, will the classic manual petrol be a thing of the past?
We’ve found this lovely Mazda MX5 MK1 that had recently sold for just £1220 with 47,000 miles on the clock. Investing in a pre-1998 Mazda MX5 with low milage may just pay off in the future.
Recently we’d looked at buying these two Rovers P5B’s as seen below. Could a few new rovers be on our horizon? We certainly wouldn’t be complaining…
As ever, it’s been a busy week here at Bridge Classics. We’ve had new cars arrive like the Mini Clubman, we’ve had a new winner announced yesterday and lots of new developments with our current projects. Here’s what’s gone on throughout the week!
Our engine specialist Ady has been working on the 504’s engine by fitting the flywheel and couch before fitting it back into the Peugeot.
The Peugeot has also had a recent trim shop appointment, with new carpets being made and fitted by our expert, Brian.
The Black Jensen has had new sills made and fitted to give the finishing touch to the bottom of its driver’s door.
The Nissan Micra has now been finished! The paintwork has been completed, bumps and scrapes were taken out and it’s pretty much ready to go again! This endearing little Micra would make the perfect first car for someone learning to drive!
The Nissan 300ZX has come in recently and appears to have some rather severe rust issues on the lower door sills. Among other restorations, that rust and those holes will have to go! You can see the rest of the work here.
One of our technicians, Scott has been working carefully on the Morris Minor’s dazzling red interior. The door cards, handles, and carpets have all been fitted.
This Jensen actually belongs to Bridge’s director and founder, Gordon Ranson, and is now starting its restoration journey with us! There’s a lot to do but we can’t wait to see the final product!
One of our technicians Anthony has been working on the body, hand making a lot of the elements such as the boot floor.
Barn finds are like hidden treasures and we love them when they come in. Currently, we’ve got two prospective projects that need cleaning up and assessing before we know what needs to be done. We really hope we’ll be able to work on these two cars!
This Austen Healey 100 BN1 is currently residing in America but could be ours soon! Keep an eye out on our website and social media pages for updates!
When you work with classic cars all the time, sometimes you want to mix it up a bit. That’s exactly what our Director Craig has done! He’s recently acquired this 3 litre speed boat. Fingers crossed for nice weather soon then!
Another prospective project has been viewed recently and it’s a beautiful red e-type that needs some TLC!
Our beautiful 1973 VW T2 had its primer applied post acid bath.
Unfortunately, the process of removing the rust revealed a bigger than expected project underneath so the owner took the decision to store the VW and resume its work next year.
We’re excited to re-start work on this in 2021 as we know this T2 is going to look amazing when restored to its former glory!
Our 1974 De Tomaso Pantera features in Alison Hammond’s recreation of Kylie Minogue’s iconic music video ‘Can’t get you out of my head’.
Last week the team took our restored De Tomaso Pantera up to the ITV studios to meet director, Harry Bott. Harry went to great lengths to find the same model and colour De Tomaso that featured in the original music video. Fortunately, we had restored this iconic Pantera, and the owner was happy to help out.
If you’re looking for a certain car for your production, whether it be an old classic or a more modern vintage number, we can help you out! As a company, we’ve had a number of our cars feature in TV and Film.
The full video will air on This Morning on 12th November so keep your eyes peeled.
You can see the car’s history with us here.
Here is the final edit played out on ITV’s This Morning…
Its always nice to get positive feedback from clients but even nicer when they send their vehicles back in for more refurbishments!
The owner asked for some extra alterations so we cracked on right away!
We created a custom made window wiper bracket for the Nissan as well as replacing a water pump.
You’d be right in saying that this isn’t a red 1960 Jensen 541S. But with a bit of imagination and a lot of hard work from our specialist technicians, this car soon will be a beautiful Peony Red.
However, that’s a few stages away. It’s currently with our technician Chris who is carefully working on the fiberglass body.
With fixings added, holes filled and a black stone-chip applied on the inside of the body, this Jensen is getting closer to its new colour makeover. These alterations are made to make sure the body of the car is aesthetically uniform and ready for the next stage of works.
The next stages will entail grinding out any imperfections and cracks so it can be prepared for the paint-shop.
November 5, 2020 10:16 am
Local charity, GeeWizz has partnered up with Ed Sheeran’s parents, John and Imogen to host the Ed Sheeran ‘Made In Suffolk’ Legacy auction. It aims to raise funds for children and young adults from Suffolk and Norfolk who suffer from life-threatening conditions, disabilities, or Cancer
The money raised from the auction will help fund the children’s equipment, care and education as well as providing important support for the families.
The auction includes ‘money can’t buy’ prizes from local businesses. A day of recording or mixing for a band at Decoy Studio, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars VIP Tour with lunch for 4 people, and a VIP visit to Classic Team Lotus in Norfolk are among the prizes.
You can visit the website to learn more here.
Among the sponsors is local business Tru7. CEO Guy Nicholls has pledged his company to be the main sponsor. Guy is passionate about East Anglia and helping local children.
You can see his pledge video below.
Our  1960 Jensen 541R has had another round of interior fittings measured up, made, and installed by our talented team in the Trim Shop. This time it’s the Jensens boot that’s been fitted.
Each piece of the boot carpet has been measured by hand, stitched, and fitted in a bespoke pattern. No trim is ever the same.
Our 1987 Mercedes 500SL has had its primer and flattening completed by our technicians Ant and Chris.
This stage allows the bodywork to be perfected and smoothened and allows the next layer of paint to stick.
This is the last stage before the colour paintwork begins.
November 2, 2020 4:24 pm
We were recently mentioned in Vision Suffolk’s magazine in an article about two recent Mini winners.
Chris Allitt and Courtney Barker both won Minis as a result of entering our monthly competitions.
You can see the article in edition 28 available here.
We run our competitions each month. By entering you could win a classic car for under £20! You can find out more by visiting our competition website here.
October 28, 2020 8:09 am
We had a walkabout this workshop this afternoon to see what everyone’s up to.
One of our classic car technicians Pete has the 1996 Nissan Patrol up on the ramp. “I’m working on the front disc brakes” he explains “the inner seal on the hub has gone.”
Pete’s lined up the front-wheel-drive axel, marking out exactly where each component goes, so it can go back together the exact same way.
The seats on our 1972 MGB Roadster are back from Kath in our in-house trim shop. Tamas is now fitting the seats back into car. “I’m also removing the wheels ready to go into paint” Tamas tells us “as well as refitting the luggage rack back onto the boot”.
Another MG also in the workshop, is our stunning 1960 MGA. Keen to modify the car, her owner is opting for heating to be installed. Some classics would have these modern ‘essentials’ as optional extras back in the day.
“We had to order the heater box from America” our expert Paul explains. “We’re also doing some minor improvements on the gearbox and pistons.” Paul’s also added another mirror that the customer’s asked for. Along with changing the rubber trim around the boot and bonnet from grey to black.
Classic car technician Scott’s continued fitting various bits and pieces onto our 1957 grey Jensen 541R. “I’ve been making the cable ends for the grill flap mechanism” he tells us. The front grill on the 541R opens to act as a cooling aid for the engine. The driver controls this mechanism from the front seat.
Scott’s also fitted the new windscreen washer system this week. Including new washer bottle, pipework and washer jet system.
Our impressive 1967 Jaguar E-Type Race Car has reached a milestone moment today! Our Director Gordon and workshop manager John got her engine roaring and even got flames firing out the exhausts!
This is a very exciting moment here at Bridge. After quite an exhaustive restoration, it’s a beautiful thing to finally have a car up and running again.
Gordon even managed a quick test drive round the car park!
In the trim shop our interior experts Kath and Brian are making great progress on our 1960 Black Jensen 541R. The back seats, front seats and centre console all now in position.
Rosie the dog even came to say hello!
Our car electrician Adam has been working on the 1965 Amphicar’s wiring. “I’ve been tidying up the engine bay wiring” Adam explains. “All the engine accessories and wiring wasn’t waterproof. Which for an Amphicar- is pretty important!”
Interestingly, the Amphicar’s engine is in the boot, much like boat engines are. Whereas under the bonnet, is where the fuel tank and storage space is.
Our engine expert Ady’s is getting ready to put the engine back in our 1972 Peugeot 504.
He’s also done some engine work on the 1953 Ford Taunus Transit Van. “It was running a bit rough. So, I’ve done a few engine tweaks and am hoping to do an oil and filter change next.”
Last but certainly not least, our body shop expert Anthony has been working on our 1987 Mercedes 500SL. “We need to get the underseal off the metal shell” explains Anthony. “It’s really tough to remove so we use a method of literally burning it off, it’s almost like melting it.”
Phew! What a busy week we’re having here at the workshop. As we fast approach the weekend I think everyone earned a well deserved break. Well done Bridge Class Cars team!
October 23, 2020 2:48 pm Leave your thoughts
Congratulations Lee Polley, winner of our 1991 Rover Mini with ticket number 410.
For your chance to win your dream classic, head to bridgeclassiccars.co.uk/competitions
October 19, 2020 8:00 pm Leave your thoughts
