Arriving soon at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ is this 1958 Jensen 541R.
The car will be coming over from the Netherlands to join our other 541 projects that the workshop teams are hard at work on.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page soon for more on this incredible project.
June 15, 2022 7:58 am
The workshop team have fitted and secured the new seatbelts into the mounts for the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R at our Suffolk HQ.
Dave, one of our technicians, has been busy preparing the classic Jensen to have the brand-new seatbelts fitted into the 1950s GT car. Before, the team worked on replacing the threaded amounts throughout the car to make sure that the fixings that secure them can be properly tightened and torqued down to spec.
With this completed, the team ran the various belts through the openings in the interior pieces of the car and check their latching to ensure everything operated smoothly and properly for the car’s owner.
May 25, 2022 9:29 am
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on completely revamping the seats for the 1955 Jensen 541. Beginning with the bases…
Lydia, one of our trimmers at Bridge, has carefully wrapped the stripped back and refurbished seat base for the 541 ahead of the team making the new leather covers.
May 25, 2022 8:51 am
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have given us a closer look at the fibreglass repairs on the 1956 Jensen 541 in for restoration.
In these photos, you can see the thinness of the material in areas which had developed some severe checking and in some areas, cracks had begun to appear. So, the team not only strengthened the outside face of the panel but also reset the inside of the piece with modern hard-lasting resins and glass sheets. Carefully, these were built up in specific areas before being left to cure and harden.
May 24, 2022 3:51 pm
The Bridge Classic Cars body team have turned their attention to some all-important fibreglass repairs to the rear section of the 1956 Jensen 541.
The entire rear clamshell of the classic Jensen had developed a few issues with the material, so the body team carefully re-glassed the area in order to strengthen the piece and add material in for correcting the shape of the piece.
With fibreglass, its important the layers are built up flat and evenly to make sure it perfectly followed the shape of the panel underneath but also around the area.
May 23, 2022 8:00 am
The interior team at Bridge Classic Cars have worked their way through the teardown of the front seats on the 1955 Jensen 541
With the seats in such a delicate condition, the team had to approach this task with a meticulous and thorough approach to get the classic Jensen’s bucket seats stripped all the way back to the fibreglass cores. The team made careful note of every fixing location and took detailed measurements and notes for the seats reconstruction later down the line.
May 20, 2022 7:07 am
The Bridge Classic Cars interior team have been making progress on the interior of the 1955 Jensen 541.
Each part of the interior of the car has been entirely made by hand by our trimmers. The team have taken each individual pieces from the kick-boards to the seat bases and turned their skill to not only the strip down but also the evaluation and rebuild. The team carefully strip everything back to their core components before any need repairs are made or wether they will need to be entirely remade for the classic Jensen.
The finish that the Bridge Classic Cars interior trim team can achieve is because of this care and skill from the earliest stages to the final product.
May 18, 2022 6:56 pm
The workshop restoration team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on completing several jobs on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R in with us.
The first job that need completing was to get the moveable front grille working again. The front grille of the 541R is moveable to vary the airflow into the radiator of the car. This whole mechanism is cable operated and needed to be replaced and tensioned in order to get the system working exactly as it should.
Next, the team turned their attention inside the classic 541R. The team had been tasked with replacing the seat belt mounts in the car. These are a vital safety feature of any car so their mounts must be secure, stable and flat in order to have the belts fixed properly into place. Each of the mounts was removed from the car and replaced by the team. The key mounts go through the gearbox tunnel of the classic Jensen, which were cut out and replaced then painted in rust proofing.
May 17, 2022 6:06 am
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have been making progress on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R in our restoration workshop.
Firstly the team began by removing the seats in order to correctly fit the centre console of the classic Jensen. For some reason, it had been previously fitted backwards. So, the team removed the seats to get access and then reinstalled the piece in the right orientation.
Next, the team began work on replacing the rear windows of the car. These are plexiglass pieces which have been made specifically to fit the 541R, the team carefully refined and worked them into place.
The team have also gone through the fuel system of the car. Upon inspection, they found an issue with the several filters and pipes leading from the fuel tank to the carburettors. Our technicians noticed the main feed line had a severe kink in it which was causing a fuel flow issue and along with that, replaced the in-tank fuel filters (both primary and reserve) to make sure the big straight-six is getting all the fuel it needs.
A request by the owner of the car was to fit a new steering wheel to the classic Jensen 541R. For this the team also went into some of the switches and selectors to service and clean them out. Then, they could begin to remove the original steering wheel. Uniquely, the 541 steering wheel is actually riveted to the boss. The team carefully drilled out each individual rivet to separate the steering wheel from its boss. Then, working in reverse with the new steering wheel the team reattached the wheel and got it back into the car.
And while they were working on the interior, they have replaced the handles with new pieces which really set off against the grey/blue inside of the classic 541.
May 10, 2022 10:04 am
The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on building and finishing some of the interior trim pieces for the 1956 Jensen 541.
Lydia, one of our in-house trimmers, had worked on the ceiling pad and window surrounds as part of the restoration of the classic Jensen. These have been specially made, padded and trimmed to match the rest of the interior being made specifically for this 1956 Jensen 541.
Each piece of the Jensen is bespoke to the car to ensure the best fit and finish for all of our interiors as no two cars are the same. So, these pieces will be safely wrapped and catalogued to be put into storage for the reassembly of the car.
May 4, 2022 11:47 am
The restoration workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working through the jobs on the 1959 Jensen 541R in with us. This time, it was fitting a new 12-volt power supply and fixing the issue with the fuel gauge.
Dave fitted a new auxiliary power supply underneath the dash of the classic Jensen for the owner.
Along with this, Dave has worked on resolving an issue with the fuel gauge. Upon inspecting the float arm inside of the fuel tank, he found it had a previous repair carried out. Once he removed the sender from the tank, the old repair actually fell apart in his hands. The issue was that the arm had actually seized in the sender unit and not giving the gauge reading. So, Dave got some new copper pipe and bent up an exact replica of the original and fit it into the sender.
May 4, 2022 8:43 am
The 1958 Jensen 541R Navy has been with the Bridge Classic Cars restoration team to have the final part of its work completed by our workshop team.
Part of the work is to clean out and inspect the sills of the classic Jensen 541R. The team have a series of areas where they know road dirt and debris can build up and in the long run cause issues so as part of its work, we have cleared out these areas.
The team also checked over a suspected fuel leak that couldn’t be identified and all was found to be ok on inspection. And with that, all levels were checked and topped off before being made ready to go home to its owner.
April 29, 2022 2:31 pm
Years and years of dust, debris and muck has collected on this unique barn find.
As much as a lot of people would say ‘it is best to leave it alone’ we just felt a good blast to clear off the muck wouldn’t do any harm.
The sun is out so that’s exactly what we’ve done. Now the car is back in the Hangar ready for a new owner and a new lease of life.
The 1958 Jensen 541R Navy has been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop for some paint repairs following the hinge adjustments to the classic Jensen by the restoration workshop.
The hinge had fallen out of adjustment and caused some paint damage to the edges of the bonnet and driver’s door. Not a problem for the paint team.
After carefully colour matching the existing Navy Blue paintwork, the team then began to sand and prepare the area meticulously to get the area perfectly flat and into shape before primering could start.
After primer, the area was sanded down once more before being cleaned and masked off and the whole car was taken into our in-house spray booth for the colour to be laid down. After several coats of matched Navy Blue, the area could be clear coated and polished ready for the car to be finished by the restoration workshop.
April 28, 2022 7:38 am
The restoration team in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have begun work on the beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R for its owner.
The team have started by addressing an issue the car did on its way to our restoration workshop. On its way, the bonnet of the 541R came loose and flew up. Unfortunately, this damaged the stays in the struts which hold the one-piece fibreglass clamshell up during any work. So, our technicians managed to release them in order to remove them from the car and inspect them.
Our technician Dave noticed that the stops/catches had broken and were out of shape. These had to be repaired and rewelded in places in order to get the bonnet to both hold open and remain closed. The team will also be looking into how the bonnet managed to open from the clips that keep it tightly shut.
Along with the work on the struts, the team have been looking into the reported issue with the fuel gauge on the classic Jensen. The issue is believed to either be with the gauge or with the sender unit within the fuel tank itself. The team did find the arm for the float level was broken so that has been repaired and are currently looking at, inspecting and investigating the rest of the fuel system in the car to narrow down the root cause of the issue which includes the wiring to gauge itself.
April 28, 2022 7:17 am
The restoration technicians in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ have begun works on the 1958 Jensen 541R known to us as ‘Navy’.
The team began by carrying out several jobs on the rear axle of the classic Jensen. The rear axle strap required a repair to be carried out on it and along with that, repositioning of the brake pipe to a safe location on the rear axle.
The team then began working on preparing the front suspension to be stripped so the team can replace the perished bushes in the upper arms, making sure the front suspension is the best condition possible.
One issue that was noted by the owner of Navy, was that the one-piece fibreglass bonnet was interfering with the driver’s door when opened. The team began the process of adjusting the hinge in order to get the correct spacing and alignment for the panel and not contact the edge of the door.
April 25, 2022 8:25 am
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim team have been continuing on the hand-made one-off interior for the 1959 Jensen 541R Princess Grey.
Lydia has been working on getting the centre console and rear seats finished up for this particular 541R. Finished in all matching red, this interior for Princess Grey is going to look absolutely incredible when back in the car.
Each piece has been individually cut, stitched and finished to ensure the best possible fit and final result for the classic Jensen.
April 13, 2022 9:40 am
The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ have welcomed this beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R for our teams to carry out a series of jobs for its owner.
Apart from its stunning colour combination, this is a beautiful example of the 541R and the teams are looking forward to sorting out a few niggles on the car which the owner has highlighted. Due to our long history of working on and refining the 541 family, the car will be gone through by our restoration teams to update certain aspects of the car and to also make sure its original features work perfectly and look perfect.
Keep an eye out here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates on the 1959 Jensen 541R.
April 13, 2022 7:19 am
Bridge Classic Cars are excited to announce for sale through our new online sales platform, MyClassics, this beautiful 1959 Jensen 541R project.
To see more on this incredible opportunity to get hold of one of these rare and unique classic British GT sports cars, head over to MyClassics or get in touch with the team here.
April 11, 2022 11:57 am
The rear seat base for the 1955 Jensen 541 has been hand-cut and finished by the in-house trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars.
Lydia has been made the whole piece and the foam work from scratch for this unique Jensen. Lydia used some of the original pieces as templates to create the bespoke interior pieces needed to make up the matching rear seat base.
Each of the pieces was put together and carefully pulled/stretched to get the best fit before being glued and stapled into the base board.
April 6, 2022 9:40 am
The in-house trim shop at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop has been working on finishing up the rear squab seat on the 1955 Jensen 541.
Lydia and the trim team have made the new red leather covering for the squab seat from scratch specifically to fit the new foam and base intended for the interior of the classic Jensen 541.
Using what was left of the original material, Lydia created templates that she could then refine further to get the best fit and finish for the piece. After each piece had been sewn together, Lydia finished the edging for the seat in matching bright red for the final touch.
Once wrapped around the foam and base, Lydia could systematically staple the covering down to the piece carefully stretching and pulling it for the final shaping.
April 5, 2022 9:42 am
Bridge Classic Cars is excited to announce that we can now supply beautifully hand-made stainless steel Jensen 541 front grille replacements.
These are handmade to exactly match the openings and shape of the original grilles of the car. The replacement grilles offered by Bridge Classic Cars are uncut and come without any supports or bracketry, these will need to be transferred over from the original pieces or mocked up on the car itself to ensure the best possible fit.
Finished in high-grade stainless steel, these pieces will remain bright and vibrant for longer than regular steel. A beautiful finishing touch to any Jensen 541 restoration.
March 29, 2022 1:08 pm
The Bridge Classic Cars team took a trip over the weekend to head north and collect the 1959 Jensen 541R from its resting place and bring it back to our Suffolk HQ.
It was an early start with our new van hitched up to our enclosed trailer to make the journey to the north of England to collect the most recent of our 541’s. This car was offered to us for sale because of our long-running history of restoring the Jensen 541 family to the very highest of standards.
Once the team had reached the home of the 541R, and some seriously skilful trailer driving by our director Gordon, the car was carefully pulled out of its garage and out into the open for the first time in several years. The car is remarkably complete with most of the pieces removed from the classic sports car stored back inside the body.
Gordon and Eva inch by inch loaded the 541R into the enclosed trailer, safely secured it and then began the long journey back home with the latest addition to the Bridge Classic Cars family.
March 29, 2022 10:58 am
The interior of the 1955 Jensen 541 has been in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop to have the front seats completed and begin the strip-down of the rear seat.
The front seats for the Jensen 541 have been completed and finished in a beautiful bright shade of red. Lydia has meticulously been working on getting these seats into the incredible shape that you see here completely from scratch.
With the front seats complete, the trim team could begin carefully dismantling the fragile rear seat to use as a template for the brand new rear seats being made. Every piece of the rear seat had to be slowly unpicked in order to preserve each panel to be used later on in the process.
March 25, 2022 2:30 pm
The 1975 Jensen Interceptor Mk3 is in the Bridge Classic Cars workshops at our Pettistree HQ for body and paintwork.
The fabricator and restoration teams have been working together in order to strip apart and teardown the shell of the classic Interceptor. The shell and many of its associated parts from the suspension need to be completely dismantled in order to be sent off for either sand-blasting for some of the components and acid-dipping for the shell.
Piece by piece, the big Jensen was taken apart while being catalogued and boxed up ready to be sent off to the various specialists to get this project moving forward.
March 24, 2022 9:42 am
The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on the interior of the 1955 Jensen 541.
Brian, one of our trimmers, has handmade a lot of these details for the interior of the car. Including the rounded bases of the rear quarter panels finished with hand-formed aluminium brackets. These pieces have been entirely made by the trim team and will be recovered.
The seat bases have also been worked on by the team and the wooden spars carefully cut by hand to give the best fit and finish needed for the bottoms of the seats.
March 22, 2022 11:11 am
Bridge Classic Cars are excited to announce the latest Jensen 541 to be joining our stable. This 1959 Jensen 541R was previously owned by Neil Hepburn, an engineer with a passion for his 1959 541R.
Neil had owned the car since 1974 but unfortunately passed away several years ago leaving his beloved Jensen to his family. The details that are known of the car is that during its life it had several upgrades done such as a disc brake conversion as well as a chassis rebuild.
All of this work had been done to a very high standard under the guardianship of Mr Hepburn and the small number of custodians of this 541R.
Across its 63 years, the car is reading as covering just 40,000 miles which is believed correct. The engine has not run for several years but previously, although put away into storage and up on stands, the car was run regularly with the carburettors fed by tube using premium fresh petrol.
The car also comes with its original V5 logbook which shows previous owners including several members of the Palmer-Tomkinson family.
Barbra Hepburn, the wife of Neil, would like her late husband’s car brought back to its former glory as she has many happy memories and photographs of the car being used by herself and her late husband in years gone by.
This 1959 Jensen 541R is coming to join its sisters here at Bridge Classic Cars to await the commissioning of its full concours restoration. This 541R is offered for sale with the condition of a restoration carried out in full by our restoration workshop who have extensive experience restoring Jensen 541’s to the very highest of standards which these special cars deserve.
March 22, 2022 7:11 am
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop has been working on handmaking all new pieces for the interior of the 1955 Jensen 541.
Using their wealth of knowledge when it comes to the interiors of the whole 541 family, these pieces are being made to exact measurements which takes craft, skill and precision for the best possible fit.
Brian has made new seat woods, kick panels, floor supports and mounts specifically for the car.
March 17, 2022 9:32 am
The top boards for the rear quarter panels on the interior of the 1955 Jensen 541 have been made by hand in our in-house trim shop at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Brian has made each individual piece by hand using original templates for the interior of the Jensen 541s. After they have been hand finished they will be retrimmed in the matching material to the rest of the car.
March 8, 2022 3:21 pm
The Bridge Classic Cars trim shop have been working to finish off the handmade cubby boxes for the 1955 Jensen 541.
Brian has been making the lids for the new cubby boxes. This involves hand finishing the recesses in the lids for the brand new hinges to get the lids to sit perfectly flat onto the bases. He also created the recess in the top to fit the ashtray, this has all been done and finished by hand to give the best possible result for the car.
Along with these pieces, Brian has created the metal base for the cubby boxes. This was then wrapped in black vinyl to match the colour of the interior of the box and give one single uniform look to the boxes.
March 4, 2022 9:35 am
