Tag Archive: classic jaguar restoration

Back Together – Carburettors for the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series 3 Roadster are Rebuilt

The carburettors on the 1973 Fern Grey Jaguar E Type Series 3 Roadster are freshly rebuilt. Our master engine builder Ady spent many hows carefully dismantling each and every component to check for any damage.

Each of the pieces was given a clean bill of health by Ady. From there it was time to clean down every surface of the giant Strombergs. Ady always takes great pride in his work, he sat there and hand cleaned every individual part to continuously inspect the component while he cleaned away years of dirt.

With a full gasket rebuild kit, Ady managed to get the Carburettors back together in an afternoon, performing a small part of the set-up while still on the bench.

Next up for the carburettors is to be bolted up the manifold and put back on that glorious V12. Expect to see that very soon on the Bridge Classic Cars website.

October 8, 2021 11:59 am Published by

Closer Look – Investigating a Misfire on the 1971 Jaguar XJ6

The wealth of knowledge held in our workshop is incredible. Centuries almost of combined experience allow Bridge Classic Cars to look into a wide spectrum of issues on classic cars.

Take for instance this 1971 Jaguar XJ6. Recently it had its fuel tanks replaced with us but during the setup, our in-house restoration team noticed that it had a pretty bad misfire. This needed to be looked into more in-depth. Dave, one of our most experienced technicians, began to dive deeper into the straight-six.

Dave had noted that the HT leads and the coil was arching to the closest metal object. So, with that and his experience he elected to replace the leads and the coil as the first port of call. However, after startup, the misfire was still prominent. At that point, it was decided to perform a compression test. 5 out of the 6 cylinders were all within spec. However, 1 of them was suspiciously low. With the classic cars, it can be a myriad of things that can cause this.

Dave then pulled the rocker cover off of the intake side of the engine to gain access to the rockers and more importantly the valves. With the help of our in-house engine builder Ady, Dave checked each of the valves for the correct lash. Originally they would have been between 10-14 thousandths of an inch but on Ady’s guidance, he is happy to see them between 8-10 thousandths with a vehicle of this age and mileage. All of the valves however fell within those guidelines. Nothing was noticeably out of place.

With that, Dave then found the leads had begun to arch again. This time through a set of pliers and straight to the cylinder head, which was worrying. So, Dave is going to rebuild the distributor with new points and condenser along with a completely new set of HT leads again.

Expect to see more of the progress of diagnosing the misfire on the 1971 Jaguar XJ6 at Bridge Classic Cars very soon on the News Page.

October 6, 2021 10:14 am Published by

Back In The Swing – Refitting the Fuel Tanks to the 1971 Jaguar XJ6

The replacement fuel tanks are now secured in their new home at the rear of the 1971 Jaguar XJ6 at Bridge Classic Cars.

After much hard work and careful approach by our incredibly experienced technician Dave, the XJ6 can now start to be fitted back together. As you may have seen previously, Dave was working on converting a set of later style tanks to work on this earlier car. Some of the fittings and placement for a series of vents and inlets were in slightly different places over the production run of these wonderful cars.

As you can see from the photos, the tanks nestle up under the rear quarter panels in a very tight fit. Dave worked his magic gained from years of experience to ensure they were safely fitted and secured for the owner.

There’s more to come from the XJ6 so keep an eye out on the News Page of Bridge Classic Cars.

September 28, 2021 1:48 pm Published by

On the Ground – Checking Fitment and Set Up on the 1973 Jaguar E Type Roadster Series 3

Scott has been hard at work on the one-off 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 Roadster that is being built here at Bridge Classic Cars.

This marks a milestone in the cars journey. Since this is a bespoke E Type project for a very special client, it has had a very bespoke suspension set up. But, to make sure everything fits and works as it should, the car needed to be down on the floor. This meant fitting up its wheels and starting the suspension set up.

Once this unique E type was down on the ground Scott could begin work on adjustment to the set-up. This is not the final set-up as we still need to have everything in the car before its complete suspension can truly begin. But, Scott wanted to check there would be no interference from any components as they cycled and as they rotated.

Success. Everything fitted just as Scott had hoped and as intended like any of the Bridge Classic Car Projects.

Next up for Fern Grey, is getting started on the wiring…

September 27, 2021 7:46 am Published by

Coming Soon – 1984 Jaguar XJ

This 1984 Jaguar XJ has recently had a respray done on it by another Bodyshop.

It will be coming in soon to us here at Bridge Classic Cars to have a look at the Bonnet and Decklid. Our in-house paint and bodywork teams will assess the components and then work out a plan to get this stunning old Jag back to top condition.

Keep a lookout on our News Page for more updates on the 1984 Jaguar XJ.

September 24, 2021 2:38 pm Published by

Rear Axle Re-Works

We’ve been taking apart the rear axle on our green Jaguar E-Type Series 1 so that we can rebuild it back up to performance. Scott has been rebuilding the wheel bearings so that he can fit new ones.

July 6, 2021 10:24 am Published by

Carb Clean Up

We’ve worked on this Jaguar E-Type V12 before but this time it’s only in, in part. Ady has been taking the carburettors off it to be able to strip down, clean and assist.

July 5, 2021 9:33 am Published by

Jaguar MKVII Shims

We’d sent the carburettors off and found that the they needed new shims so Ady has worked on making up newer thicker shims.

July 2, 2021 2:23 pm Published by

E-Type Shape Up

Matt and Chris have been working on applying filler to our white Jaguar E-Type so that they can smooth and shape the body, ensuring there’s not rippling and the surface is even in preparation for paint.

July 2, 2021 1:30 pm Published by

Holey Moley!

Our classic Jaguar 240 has two substantial holes in its underside due to corrosion. It’s been sat 18 months and now needs some thorough TLC.

June 30, 2021 3:53 pm Published by

Jaguar E-Type In Epoxy

Our Jaguar E-type Roadster that’s in for a full restoration is currently sat in the paint shop in epoxy primer. Matt and Chris will then need to shape up the body by applying filler to make sure the body is smooth and perfect without any dents.

June 30, 2021 10:44 am Published by
1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3

The Silver E-Type

This gorgeous 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12 is in for a service. The client has just purchased the car and wants peace of mind that everything is in order. We’re due to check the oil levels, test drive it, supply and fit chrome strips to the top of the sill, secure wipe strips on the doors, fix the fuel gauge and asses the cooling fans as the engine runs hot.

June 30, 2021 7:33 am Published by

Green E-Type Back Axel And Welding

Scott has been working on our 1968 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 by removing the rear axel and stripping it down ready to rebuild it. He’s also carried out a lot of welding to make the car safe for its MOT. We expect that in the future this car will need new floor pans and sills as we have repaired these to comply with MOT standard but to ensure the cars long life, more amends may be on the horizon.

June 30, 2021 7:12 am Published by

Jaguar’s Electricals And Holes

We’ve been fabricating replacement panels to cover the holes in the wheel arch of our 1958 Jaguar 240. Unfortunately, as with a lot of corrosion issues, the more you remove, the more you discover.

Now is very much a good time to be tackling this issue on our Jaguar before it gets any worse.

And the electrical issues discovered were due to corrosion in the fuse box.

June 29, 2021 10:40 am Published by

Jaguar MKVII Air Flow Alterations

Ady has been working on our 1954 Jaguar MKVII and has recently turned to address the air flow. He has opened up the throat on the inlet side to gain 2mm for more air flow and done the same on the exhaust.

June 23, 2021 8:35 am Published by

White E-Type In For Paint Prep

Our 1973 White E-Type Roadster is in the paint booth and being prepared for paint. Matt has been getting it read for epoxy primer by removing excess sealer and cleaning the welds. This E-Type, which used to be white, will soon be a new shade…

June 23, 2021 8:11 am Published by

XJS Almost Ready To Go

As part of its pre-delivery inspection, we’ve carried out a thorough service and our technician Paul is currently addressing the issues that have arisen from the service. There was a noise at the rear end caused by worn brake pads which were rubbing metal to metal on the brake disk. One brake was cracked as well. The steering rod arm was also showing signs of wear and the steering rack gage has been replaced. Paul has also replaced the front pads, rear disks and nearside front wheel bearing along with the other normal checks such as changing the oil and oil filter, repairing the switch for the roof and charging the battery.

June 22, 2021 2:27 pm Published by

XJS’s New Brakes

Our 1989 Jaguar XJS that has recently been finished is currently undergoing a pre-delivery inspection during which we’ve discovered it needs new brakes.

June 17, 2021 11:16 am Published by

Jaguar E-Type Roadster Making Progress

Brian has been working on adding headrest brackets onto the seats by adding the chrome trim. He’s stapled the bottom of the frame, cut holes for the brakes and fitted them.

The fabrication bay have also completed stripping the body to bare metal so that its now ready for paint prep.

Chris has begun coating panels and parts in to epoxy primer in preparation for colour.

June 17, 2021 9:44 am Published by

Behind The Scenes – Helmingham Hall Live

We did an impromptu live at Helmingham Hall where we gave our viewers another peak at our 1989 Jaguar XJS and 1996 Mercedes CL 500 which were won just a few days later by two lucky winners.

Helmingham hall set as the perfect backdrop to our video and gave us the chance to not only show you the two cars again, but also glimpse a behind the scenes at Ellie photographing our upcoming 1959 Jaguar MK1.

You can take a look at all our shots from the shoot here as well as some portraits of Charlotte:

June 17, 2021 7:56 am Published by

Jaguar MKVII Update

Our 1954 Jaguar MKVII has had its cylinder head welded to resolve corroded water ways.

Ady has also started revuilding the engine after its been re-bored, cleaned and painted.

June 10, 2021 11:36 am Published by

Parts Of A Bygone Era

This contraption we were given seems to be an old fashioned Jaguar air conditioning diagnostics unit. We love discovering bits and bobs that no longer exist – they’re like mechanical time capsules!

June 7, 2021 1:11 pm Published by

White Etype Rear Axel Building And Lead Hole Detection

Scott has been rebuilding the rear axel for our 1973 White E-type Roadster. Everything has been replaced, refurbished and rebuilt to create a perfectly functioning rear axel.

James has also been doing some lead work on the E-Type as he works on fixing holes left by removing American modifications.

Chris has also rubbed down and primed the bonnet as well as the wheel arch on the bonnet which has been stripped of underseal and cleaned ready for epoxy primer. He’s then applied epoxy primer to bits for the bonnet.

June 2, 2021 11:27 am Published by

Behind The Scenes – 1989 Jaguar XJS

We set out a week or so ago to shoot with Charlotte and our 1989 Jaguar XJS at Bentwaters. We were lucky that the rain stayed away and the sun came out to help brighten up our visuals.

This stunning classic is up for grabs over on our competition website.

May 25, 2021 3:20 pm Published by

Jaguar XK8 Finished

We’ve now finished our 1997 Jaguar XK8 which is now looking as good as new – you’d never be able to tell that we’ve taken apart and rebuilt those rear wheel arches! This Jaguar will now head home with its owner, ready to take on the roads again.

May 24, 2021 10:50 am Published by

Jaguar’s New Fan And Radiator

Our Jaguar MK1 has had a new fan and radiator fitted as it came in with an old fan that had started to bend and get caught by the radiator. We’ve now replaced both elements so it has a brand new fan and radiator.

May 23, 2021 1:40 pm Published by

SSII Boot Lid Amended And Service Completed

Scott has serviced the SS which only needed an oil change and the brakes adjusted.

As part of this 1934 (Jaguar) SSII’s checkup, we’ve started to fix the boot lid as a small gap between the lid and the boot was letting in water. Our trusty trim shop has cracked on with the task to amend this by adding a piece of flange to glue and nail around the edge to stop the water. The seal will hopefully stop the water from seeping in.

May 20, 2021 2:47 pm Published by