The 1969 Morris Minor Convertible has been in the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop to have the necessary repairs carried out to the body and parts of the structure beneath the car.
The fabrication shop has been meticulous but also sympathetic to the process in order to make the car not only aesthetical right but structurally sound and secure for our body teams to work from to refine and perfect the beautiful shape of a classic Morris Minor.
Multiple areas of corrosion in key locations were discovered and repaired using the best methods possible and only sympathetically focusing on those specific areas which had been affected.
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house paintshop have been working on preparing and refinishing the engine and parts from the 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible.
The restoration and paint teams have been working on carefully preparing each piece individually for Alan to refinish in the colour-matched Morris green for the engine block and head, while the accessories have been refinished in a tough, durable black.
The restoration technicians in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been preparing and getting the engine and parts ready to be taken into our in-house paint shop.
Rob has worked on sealing up any openings in the classic 4-cylinder for our painter Chris to start work on. Each part has been steam cleaned and then hand finished in order to remove any grease or dirt which can affect the finish on the parts. Then, each individual piece is thoroughly cleaned down with spirits to get any form of grease or oil off and taken into our paint booth.
The new rubbers, parts and trims for the 1969 Morris Minor Convertible in with Bridge Classic Cars for restoration have arrived at our Suffolk HQ.
As part of the restoration, all of the perished and tarnished pieces will be replaced with the highest quality replacements that our team can source which we do with all of our restoration projects. The classic Morris Minor will be fitted with new rubber seals throughout and a series of new hoses to replace the stiff and brittle pieces that come of the car during teardown.
Along with the rubbers, the team have ordered several new pieces of brightwork to compliment the Minor once it is finished and looking just as it should do. This includes new bumpers, new over-riders, headlight surrounds and a series of new badges and handles.
The team also ordered brand new wings for the Morris Minor project to replace the originals which were removed and assessed by the fabrication and restoration teams.
The bodyshell of the 1969 Morris Minor Convertible has been braced by the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication team in preparation of the repairs to begin.
The team have braced and strengthened the bodyshell to ensure that not of the panels move out of alignment when they’re removed and to allow our fabricators to measure them up correctly and accurately to get the best possible fit and finish.
Last night, the 31st March 2022, the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions team welcomed our largest ever studio audience to find out who the lucky winners of the 1966 Jaguar Mk2 and 1970 Morris Minor 100 were.
We had put out an open invitation to attend this live draw, as we have done in the past, and the response was amazing. Lots of classics braved the unpredictable weather to make the journey to the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ to watch the draw and some to find out if they were going home in the same classic they turned up in!
With everyone in, we could begin the live stream to the Bridge Classic Cars Facebook page where the rest of our guests had virtually joined us.
Hayley and Freddie took everyone on a tour around the competition building where we store mostly our competition but also a few personal projects as well as certain customer restorations. Working their way around, giving all those watching a few clues as to what is coming up next with Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Then, it was time for the main event. Finding out who had been assigned the winning numbers. As always, the entry lists to each competition are published at 630pm the day of the draw before the live stream at 7pm sharp. The number is decided at random using a Google Random Number Generator.
To begin, we always do a test run to make sure that the generator is working correctly. Everything was working just as it should, so now it was time to spin the wheel and see who the lucky pair were.
First up was the 1970 Morris Minor 1000. Hayley input the criteria of numbers for the generator to choose between and with a click of a button and a flurry of numbers rushing past on the big screen, the new owner of the Morris Minor had been chosen. 1250 – the ticket allocated to Neil Brinson.
Next was the turn of the 1966 Jaguar MkII. Again, the ticket number was to be selected from one of the tickets published on the entry list. This competition had entirely sold out several hours before the draw, so after resetting the Random Number Generator it was time to find out who had won this classic Jaguar. Hayley input the numbers to be selected from and just like that, we found the Jaguar’s new owner. Ticket 3500 which belonged to Anthony Roberts.
The 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible has been taken into the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop to begin its teardown and inspection.
The fabrication and restoration teams have been working alongside one another to get the classic Morris Minor taken apart to evaluate the overall condition of the car.
From what can be seen on the initial inspection, there are some areas of heavy corrosion. These will be further assessed by the team to come up with a plan to move forward with the car.
The 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible, which is in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ, has had its interior and convertible roof removed ahead of its move into the fabrication shop.
Brian worked methodically through the classic Morris Minor to make sure that all of the interior panels and piece were removed as safely as possible to avoid any unnecessary damage before their inspection by the Bridge Classic Cars trim team.
With the interior removed, Brian could then remove the convertible hood mechanism and covering.
This beautiful 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible has recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ to be assessed by the teams.
The restoration teams will each inspect and assess the car directly related to their areas of speciality. Once this is done, the technicians will report back with their findings on the car.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates on the 1969 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible very soon.
The Morris Minor is a beautiful link to a bygone day of motoring. A simplistic, utilitarian piece of British motoring history, but an icon taken on by driving culture as a source of happiness and easy-going driving joy.
This particular 1970 Morris Minor is possibly one of the nicest Minor 1000s to have ever passed through our workshops. As with all of our competition cars, the Minor has gone through our restoration departments before being cleared for filming and this one passed with flying colours. So, with that, it was taken over to our secure storage facility to have its photoshoot done.
The team at Bridge Classic Cars Competitions pulled the 52-year-old Almond Green Morris out of The Hangar. With a single turn of the key, the 4 cylinder engine cracked into life without the slightest hint of a stutter. Happily, the little 4 cylinder idled outside The Hangar as it warmed up ahead of filming.
Hayley got into the car and straight away began beaming. Her exact words ”This is such a happy little car!” and it certainly is. Everyone who has ever driven a Morris Minor will know that feeling of happily driving around with the world instantly being a better place. The Morris pulled away from The Hangar perfectly, cleanly pulling away in each gear towards our filming location. As we rounded the corner into the filming area, the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions team also couldn’t help but join in with the infectious smile of the dark green Morris.
Going through the process of filming and photoing the car, the Morris was faultless. It happily zoomed off with a rumbling, buzzy exhaust note and when it came time to brake for a corner there wasn’t the slightest hint of any movement in the car. Perfectly balanced.
Lap after lap, the car went perfectly. No matter the speed, no matter the weather, it just kept going happily along. As it bimbled along past the ferns and under the winter sun, it felt like we could have gone back in time. But either way, it was the perfect time with this beautiful Morris Minor.
The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars have worked their magic on the 1958 Morris Minor 1000 that is in with us.
The team noted some small tears and holes in a few of the seats so created small patch pieces to lay over them and fix them into place. Although they’re not exactly the same colour, they’re the closest piece to the original that we have in stock for smaller pieces to be used as repairs and will stop the area around the damage from deteriorating any further.
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop have been working on servicing and refurbishing the front and rear drum brakes on the 1958 Morris Minor 1000 currently in with ourselves for some work.
Our technicians have taken apart the drums all the way back to the carriers and hubs to be able to fully inspect and assess each part of the drum. The shoes and wheel cylinders needed to be changed as the customer had noted the brakes were very poor even after a recent master cylinder was fitted. After every piece was cleaned and prepared, Rob began to put the whole system back together before testing.
After testing and adjusting, all 4 drums on the Minor 1000 were working perfectly and when the time comes, ready for the road ahead.
February 24, 2022 4:21 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Today we had Luke Deal from BBC Radio Suffolk come down to join us at our Hanger at Bentwaters. Luke popped down to chat with our director Craig about our Morris Minor, our raffles and all things classic cars! Luke is a classic car enthusiast himself and was keen to have a go in our Morris Minor. Take a look at the behind the scenes photos and interview below.
Luke talks about his fascination for Morris Minors as his father ‘had many’ he tells us; “my father had many a Morris Minor so it’s a privilege to be here this morning to find out more about this classic car.”
Luke took a look around our little Morris and remarked “Something that strikes me is that It’s in immaculate condition for something that’s so old”.
We love getting involved with local businesses and people so it was great to have Luke down at the hangar today.
In February, we shot this characterful Morris Minor ‘Lowlight’, which you may recognise as out current competition car. We were lucky with the weather as a warm late winter sun graced the skies over Bentwaters RAF base. Ellie and Freddie headed down to our hanger to start photographing and filming our beloved Morris in preparation to be launched on the website.
Alongside our stationary photos, we always capture in-motion shots of the car driving, as well as videos to capture the spirit of the motor.
Detailed shots of the exterior and interior are captured in several locations, giving the team plenty of content to post over the course of the competition.
We were lucky to have our presenter Charlotte join us for the shoot as well, allowing Ellie to snap some portraits of her with our characterful moggy. Charlotte selected her outfit carefully to compliment our motor and set the scene of a sunny roadtrip.
One of our skilled technicians, Lydia, a vintage lifestyle enthusiast joined us on the shoot as well for some portraits. With a carefully selected colour co-ordinating outfit, Lydia perfectly captured the era and charm of our Morris.
James has continued with correct the rust and corrosion on the chassis of the 1949 Morris Minor Lowlight. James made a template and then cut With the chassis now welded up, it has left the fabrication bay and made its way over to our hanger.
We managed to snap a few teaser photos of the Morris as it sat in our work shop before it went down to be stored at Bentwaters for the photoshoot. The interior is just stunning!
February 25, 2021 10:00 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Our new Morris Minor Lowlight has undergone some welding fixes including repairing the leaf spring hanger which had begun to corrode. James soon got to work on repairing this in our fabrication bay.
February 17, 2021 12:10 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Late one evening last week, a Russell’s transporter lorry arrived with two new additions to the Bridge Classic Car family, one of which being this 1949 Morris Minor Lowlight.
This is soon to be a competition car but before we can shoot and release it, it needs some TLC. Stay tuned…
February 17, 2021 11:49 amPublished by Craig Ranson
This delightful 1963 Morris Minor 1000 came to us back in December 2019 and has undergone and fantastic transformation within the last year. It has had rust correction, bodywork, new paint, new interiors, engine restoration, new wiring and a chassis rejuvenation during its time with us.
Morris Minor convertibles have always been seen as a premium touring car of that generation. Morris Minors, in general, are full of charm and instantly recognisable. From an engineering and mechanics side, they’re also built extremely well and make a reliable classic that is also suitable for everyday use. The Morris Minor was the first car built in the UK to sell more than one million vehicles.
Now that the restoration has been completed, its time for us to wish this Morris farewell as we send it back to its owner tomorrow. We hope this delightful vehicle will be enjoyed for many years to come.
January 22, 2021 11:13 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Tom has aligned the steering wheel in our Morris Minor, meaning this treasured Morris Minor 1000 will be ready to leave on Saturday. Centralising a steering wheel is done after a car has been test-driven to see where the steering wheel naturally returns to, making sure that the car doesn’t drift off to the side when the wheel sits in a neutral position.
As much as we love sending of our cars, it’s always a little sad to see a long term project leave the workshop.
Both the Morris Minor 1000 and the Peugeot 504 have had their road tests to check how they’re running. They’re both currently being stored up at our hangar to keep them safe and out of the way now all their major refurbishments have been completed. Both ran their road tests fine with only a few minor teething problems.
January 12, 2021 12:52 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
We’re delighted to announce that our 1963 Morris Minor 1000 is ready to go! All we need to do now is do a road test to ensure everything is in working order when running for an extended period of time.
This is a vital part of every restoration as there’s a huge difference between turning over in the workshop and actually running soundly on the road. It isn’t uncommon for teething snags to appear after the road test but fingers crossed the Morris Minor will pass with flying colours!
We’ve had this Morris Minor in for almost exactly a year now, so it would be ideal if we can see it off exactly a year later!
Our 1963 Morris Minor 1000 is having some chassis trouble but luckily our technician Scott is on hand to help out. The rear spring is rubbing on the chassis, so Scott needs to re-shape the spring to allow it to move correctly.
December 22, 2020 3:20 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Our 1963 Morris Minor 1000 is also in its last stages of restoration. We’re currently adjusting the suspension and applying some final tweaks to the mechanics.
The Morris has also had a new Engine Stabiliser installed which stops the engine from moving. The old element had deteraireted over time so we replaced it with a brand new component.
December 15, 2020 9:58 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Our 1963 Morris Minor 1000 is out of the paint shop and into the workshop for a full reassembly.
Tamas, one of our specialist classic car technicians has been working on the rebuild. “I’ve fitted the new wings and wing rubbers” Tamas describes, “along with fitting the new front grills and chrome work”.
Tamas has also been fitting the new door latches and handles. The car’s also had new wheels fitted.
Along with the gearbox that’s been fitted this week, our technician Pete has also been working on getting the Morris Minor engine back in. The engine is now back in the car, back in its rightful place under the hood (well technically, the hood isn’t back on yet either!) But that’s another job on the list of putting this lovely little motor back together again!
Chris in our paintshop has continued work on the 1963 Morris Minor this week. “I’ve coated the inside of the car and the engine bay with raptor satin black,” Chris describes.
“I also temporarily fitted the wing rubbers,” he continues, “to make sure they fit nicely before spraying.”
Chris has completed the high build primer on the Morris Minor, below are the full before and after shots of his progress.
The Minor’s now ready to be rubbed down and have her final direct gloss paint job. Looking good so far… Great work Chris!
Paintwork continues on the 1963 Morris Minor 1000 as the doors and wings get some specialist paintwork treatment from our expert paint shop technician Chris.
“I’ve got the car ready for epoxy and polyfan primer,” describes Chris. “Then the doors and wings in a high build primer to perfect the finish.”
The car’s paintwork will be finished very soon now, we’re looking forward to the next stage of the restoration where the project moves to the trim shop.
Final high build primer has been applied to the doors and bonnet of the 1963 Morris Minor by our paint-shop-pro Chris. “All they need now is a final rub down ready to be painted,” he explains.
The side panels have also been prepped and shaped with filler, ready for their polyester primer.
Inside the car, polyester sealant has been used along all the welded joints. This section will be ready for painting very soon too.
This project is coming along quite nicely, we’re looking forward to seeing the finished paint job in the coming weeks, coupled with the next stage of the restoration- the trim shop.
September 4, 2020 1:33 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
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