Spotted – Jaguar MkII in Woodbridge
The Bridge Classic Cars team spotted this fantastic classic Jaguar over the weekend. One of the team was working in Woodbridge, a town just down
The Bridge Classic Cars team spotted this fantastic classic Jaguar over the weekend. One of the team was working in Woodbridge, a town just down
The restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have got to work on servicing the 1967 Jaguar MkII 3.4 which is in with us for service
Some of you may remember the 1966 Jaguar 3.8 MkII which was part of a consignment of cars that we received from South Africa. Well,
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house restoration technicians have been working on getting to the bottom of some noises that have been noted by the owner
While the seats were removed from the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 which is in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, our in-house trim expert, Brian, could
It’s been a pleasure having this 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our in-house restoration technicians have been hard at work
The next job to be done on the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 by Bridge Classic Cars is to replace the steering coupler. This will help
One of the jobs to be done on the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 was to paint the wheels to a colour matched off white, just
The 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop where our paint expert Alan has worked his magic on
Jaguar. A legendary name in both performance and luxury. Just the name is enough to conjure images of elegant, long-legged coupes and saloons powered by
Bridge Classic Cars have been working on preparing the 1978 Jaguar MkII 2.4 to prepare it for the next phase of work to begin. Dave,
The straight-six for the 1963 Jaguar MkII is back and is in the car. Some of you may remember from it’s last update, some damage
The interior of the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 is the next item on the list of jobs to complete for its very lucky owner. With
The Bridge Classic Cars team spotted this fantastic classic Jaguar over the weekend.
One of the team was working in Woodbridge, a town just down the road from our workshops, and spotted this stunning white Jaguar MkII parked up on the road.
It’s always a welcomed sight to see a classic out there being used.
The restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have got to work on servicing the 1967 Jaguar MkII 3.4 which is in with us for service and inspection. The team carried out the service which also included the replacement of the points and condenser in the ignition system to make sure the classic big Jaguar was running at its absolute best.
Along with that, the owner has asked the team to investigate and find the source of a reported leak. Beginning the investigation, our technician Scott inspected all the axle seals as well as any other parts of the driveline. During that inspection, he noticed a weap coming from the rear differential with a suspected leak coming from the pinion seal of the classic Jaguar.
With this, the car will have this investigated further and rectified before being tested and given the all clear.
Some of you may remember the 1966 Jaguar 3.8 MkII which was part of a consignment of cars that we received from South Africa. Well, it has now gone through the process is fully registered in the UK!
The classic Jaguar now sports its very own black and silver pressed number plates. So, with all the paperwork complete and the iconic classic plates in hand, our workshop fitted them onto the big Jag and we couldn’t help but take some photos of this legendary car. The MkII was a firm favourite with racers, the gentry, the police and the bank robbers.
We’re very lucky to have another one of these beautiful 4 door Jaguar saloons in our building once again. But, keep an eye out for what’s happening next on this amazing car…
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house restoration technicians have been working on getting to the bottom of some noises that have been noted by the owner of this 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4.
After looking into the issue, our senior technician Dave found several components that could cause the sound. The biggest one was that there was a pin missing and perished rubber isolators from the gearbox mount which can allow the vibrations and movement of the gearbox to transfer through the chassis and into the cabin and present as a sound. Along with that, Dave also noted that the exhausts would move occasionally and when they touched each other would also cause noise.
Whilst under the car, Dave also noted that the Universal Joints had become severely worn. For that, the prop shaft had to be removed in order to replace the joints. Whilst out of the car, Dave also cleaned up the splines and assembly to make sure everything was in good condition before reinstalling back into the car.
While the seats were removed from the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 which is in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, our in-house trim expert, Brian, could begin work on retrimming the floors and installing the sound deadening into the floor of this classic Jaguar.
Previously, Brian had stripped out the floors of the car in our trim shop in preparation for the welding repairs needed. Now, Brian could begin his work getting the inside of the car looking as good as the outside. Using original style sound deadening, Brian laid the material into all of the areas that can be affected or are known for transmitting sound into the cabin. Using a series of specialist trim tools, Brian managed to neatly secure the sound deadening into the car. This, allowed Brian to carry on to the next phase of the interior in the 1968 MkII 2.4.
Next up, was getting the carpet panels in the least accessible places throughout the interior. Trimming the rear seat edges, driveshaft tunnel and seat cross members in the stunning, vibrant red which was closely matched to the original pieces. Brian also hand trimmed the gearbox tunnel as well. Using the original pieces as a template to work from but would trim and adjust the pieces to ensure the best fit and finish once all of the accompanying trim has been fitted.
It’s been a pleasure having this 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our in-house restoration technicians have been hard at work on the car getting through the list of jobs requested by its lucky owner.
Our technician Dave has been working on getting the reworked front seats safely and securely back into this classic saloon car. Since the car has also been in our workshop where our master trimmers have been working their craft on the inside of the big Jag. Dave has been carefully working around the incredible work that has been done by Brian and Kath our trimmer so as to not damage or mark any of their work.
With the front seats being so important, Dave has been making sure that all the hardware used to secure them to the car is in the best condition and all the threaded holes are clear and clean-cut to make sure they can be tightened down accurately. So, with that, Dave will get the front seats into the car and then the team at Bridge Classic Cars can work on getting the other jobs on the 1968 MkII 2.4 done.
The next job to be done on the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 by Bridge Classic Cars is to replace the steering coupler. This will help to tighten up the loose steering for its owner.
This job is being done by our master tech, Dave. Dave has a huge wealth of knowledge and experience working on classic cars so a job as delicate and crucial as this was given to him. Carefully, Dave began by removing the shaft from the coupler in order to gain access to the bushes and balls inside the steering box. As opposed to some MkII’s that we have worked on in the past, this MkII remains as a steering-box car.
After removing the original parts from the car, Dave began to check the new replacements would work with the car and were correct. Then, it was a case of getting everything back together and into the car. Dave took his time to make sure that every component cleared the steering box and its boot so it remained happy for many years to come.
After the job was complete, Dave manually checked that the box rotated as it should and also meshed together with as little play as possible thanks to the new parts.
There will be more updates soon as work continues on this stunning MkII 2.4.
One of the jobs to be done on the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 was to paint the wheels to a colour matched off white, just the same as the body. So, it was off to the paint shop under the watchful eye of our in-house paint expert Alan.
Finished in a healthy layer of primer, to begin with, the wheels were then prepared to be put in the booth ready for painting. Alan used our state of the art paint mixing computer to find the closest match possible to the existing paint of the MkII in order to get the best match.
Then, with the right amount of paint mixed up and in the gun, it was time to start laying down the first of many coats to get these wheels to look perfect. Alan took his time to make sure the paint fell evenly and was given enough time in-between coats to achieve the best results straight out the gun. And, as you can see the results are absolutely incredible.
The 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop where our paint expert Alan has worked his magic on the rear valance.
The valance had been coated with a thick black stone chip protection across the lower parts, so Alan pulled out his trusty DA sander and got to work. Carefully knocking back the stone chip, Alan exposed the paintwork underneath. Because of the thickness of the protection, Alan had to take it back quite a way. Once the area had been thoroughly cleaned down and smoothed out, Alan could begin his detailed and meticulous work.
Carefully, Alan applied the new stone chip to the area to protect the car from any possible marks or damage while it’s being enjoyed by its very lucky owner.
After the area around the new stone protection had been masked off, Alan carefully colour matched a small amount of paint to the rest of the car in order to seamlessly blend the new area into the existing rear panels and behind the rear bumper.
Jaguar. A legendary name in both performance and luxury. Just the name is enough to conjure images of elegant, long-legged coupes and saloons powered by the now infamous XK straight-six engine. But, what is the story behind this incredible powerhouse which lived 1000 different lives?
Debuting in 1949, the XK straight-six came with a sizeable 3.4-litre displacement, it was the brainchild of four very important icons in the Jaguar world. Sir William Lyons, William Heynes, Walter Hassan and Claude Bailey. The introduction of this engine however stretches back nearly a decade before. During World War II when the company still went under the name SS Cars, the team were actively seeking and developing replacements for its engine lineup so, during its wartime efforts they worked on the new powerplants for its post-war cars. Jaguar had begun to produce and develop the engine just after the nightmares of war had begun to subside at the end of the 1940s. The cornerstone of these engines was to be higher output, higher quality and higher style, thus the XK Inline-Six was born.
The XK engines first saw service in 1947 with the 3.2-litre units (XJ 6 Cylinder) but during testing of the engines, it was found they severely lacked low-end torque, so the blocks were bored out to 3.4 litres (XK 6 Cylinder) and were destined to be the beating heart of one of the most beautiful cars ever made, the XK120 which broke cover at the 1948 London Motor Show. This would then see the engines fitted to the upcoming MkVII’s and countless other models over its production run.
The cast-iron engine blocks were not the lightest but were highly durable. The construction techniques developed for this engine would push other manufacturers to refine and develop new and improved engines to try and match the level that Jaguar was achieving. Jaguar fitted special vibration dampers to the crankshaft of the engine to absorb and limit the number of frequencies travelling through the crankshaft and ultimately the XK’s split case engine design.
In 1951, Jaguar began work on developing the idea of a smaller displacement but still useable version of XK straight-six. The results for the 2-litre engine were mixed and by 1954 the engine had grown to become a 2.4-litre unit. The engine itself was actually shorted than the bigger displacement engines but remained under the same name and architecture. These engines would be put forward to power the upcoming stylish and sleek saloon, the MkI. The road engines were entirely carburetted until 1978 (the first year of road engines being fuel injected for the US market) but would use a combination of two or three SU’s. Webers or Zenith carburettors except for the MkII 240 which had a set of downdraught Solex units.
From this, all the subsequent Jaguar XK straight-sixes were laid out. Short block engines would make up the smaller displacements such as the 2.4 and 2.8-litre engines and the longer, more torquey powerplants would go anywhere from 3.4 to 4.2 litres by the end of its production. Jaguar officially retired the XK 6-cylinder in 1992 replaced by the newly developed AJ6 platform it used alongside the faithful XK until the AJ6 was then also retired in 1996.
During this incredible engines lifetime, it would see all manner of changes and applications. From racing to agricultural work. Le Mans to Leicester and beyond. This incredible piece of not only industrial design but of engineering excellence and durability should be remembered and revered for the legend it surely is.
Long live the XK Straight-Six.
Bridge Classic Cars have been working on preparing the 1978 Jaguar MkII 2.4 to prepare it for the next phase of work to begin.
Dave, one of our most experienced in-house restoration technicians, has been working on removing the interior and other parts of the car to begin working through the mechanical jobs on this stunning MkII. Carefully, as each piece is removed from the car, it is then catalogued and safely stored for later during its rebuild.
For now, it’s carefully assess the areas of attention for the owner and coming up with a plan to deliver the best result.
Expect to see more on the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page very soon.
The straight-six for the 1963 Jaguar MkII is back and is in the car. Some of you may remember from it’s last update, some damage was found on inspection of the internals of the engine so it was sent away for a rebuild.
The engine has been gone through thoroughly to ensure all is ok before it went back into the car. Paul, one of our in-house restoration technicians, has fitted the glorious 3.4 litre straight-six back into the front of the stunning white MkII.
The accessories will be refit into the car and testing will begin by our in-house technicians to ensure the engine and the issues noted have been rectified.
The interior of the 1968 Jaguar MkII 2.4 is the next item on the list of jobs to complete for its very lucky owner. With this, it’s been down to our in-house trim expert Brian to carefully dismantle and evaluate the intricate interior of the MkII.
Removing both the front seats, Brian could begin to carefully pull up and remove the front carpet from the car. This is being done as part of the replacement with a brand new matching set of carpets we have got for the car. Also during this process, Brian removed several leather-wrapped panels and the centre console that will need Brian’s expert eye and skill cast over them.
With the centre console and seats out of the car, Brian also needed to remove the rear air vents for the next phase.
With the front carpets removed from the car and safely stored away in case they are needed. Brian could turn his attention to stripping down the rear seats and floors ready for the refit. For that, Brian also had to strip the leather from the original rear seat bases to prepare for the new kit.
With everything stripped, Brian could then put the new matching set into the car. And, they look absolutely incredible!
Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.
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