As our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle nears the end of its restoration, with only a few small bits to do, we though we would take it into the Atelier and set up a photo shoot for the car before it leaves our Suffolk HQ to head back home to its excited owner.
‘Delilah’, as the car is affectionately known, came to us at the beginning of 2023 to begin its restoration journey. This wonderful piece of automotive sentiment has received the love and car from each and every department here at our Suffolk HQ like any of our restorations to make sure that we deliver a car which will last well into prosperity for its owner to enjoy and Delilah is one of those. The team have also tried to preserve her unique and personal history with the retention of the window stickers and other original pieces which make ‘Delilah’ a one-off to her owner.
From the sympathetic and careful metalwork done by Chris and Monty in the fabrication shop, to the fastidious and meticulous preparation and execution of Chris, Alan and Mauro in the paint department. Brian and Lydia turning their expert skills and attention to detail on the bespoke cream leather interior and handmade roof in the trim workshop all the way down to James getting the engine set up to run just how it should, Little Jon working on getting each system working correctly in the cabin and Big John installing the wonderfully subtle RetroSounds stereo unit into the original dash. Each department has proudly worked on Delilah to bring her back to life and back to being able to be enjoyed by her owner for many many years to come.
Now, it was up to me to try and capture in photos what the team here at Bridge Classic Cars have worked so hard on over the past 11 months – I hope I managed to show just how beautiful this Beetle turned out from the talented and skilled work our amazing team have put into this classic Volkswagen.
Classic car technician James has continued to make great progress in getting our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle ready to leave the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and head home to its owner.
The door pin switches were replaced to ensure the interior lamp works when the doors are opened and a new bumper trim was fitted to the front, along with the external door mirrors (both sides). A new quarter light catch was fitted to the driver’s side front window, then both front wheel bearings were replaced.
Both front wheels and brake callipers were removed and the discs and bearings were taken off. It looked like the bearings had been replaced before, but the outer races were not in good condition. They were knocked out and new inner and outer bearings fitted, they were greased and refitted along with the brakes and wheels.
James also fitted new front seat belts and stalks. There are only a few minor jobs left to address before Delilah goes home.
Brian and Lydia have been hard at work and making good progress on our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle as it moves towards the end of its time in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Once the headliner was installed, foam was glued to the rear bar before the wires for the heated rear window were fitted. The roof material was then put on and tension wire was fitted.
The hole for the rear window was cut out and rubber seals were put in all of the windows. New seatbelts have been ordered as the ones that were in the car did not match. Once the rear carpet was fitted, all of the seats were put back into the car. Now that this project is gradually coming to a conclusion, it’s great to see it looking as good as it does.
September 25, 2023 11:16 amPublished by Rob Harvey
Brian has continued his work on the headliner of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle. After fitting the plastic trims to cover the roof hinges, the front edge of the roof inner pad was fitted to the frame.
Webbing straps were then stapled to the roof bars and the position of the rear window was marked out. The window frame was then glued to the headliner.
Classic car technician Lydia has been starting work on the interior of our 1974 Volkswagen Beetle.
After undergoing lots of work on its body and chassis, it’s great to finally see the interior begin to go into the classic Beetle, known affectionately as Delilah.
Door cards have been fitted, carpet has been installed and Lydia’s work will continue as she puts the interior of our Beetle back together.
Work has begun on our 1977 Volkswagen T2 Kombi. As various areas of imperfections have been noted by the team, these will all be rectified before the classic VW becomes a competition car through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Campers like this are iconic classics and have a huge following.
We are really excited to see our Camper progress through the workshop and eventually go home to its new owner – who will hopefully be found very soon!
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working their way through the list of jobs on the 1991 Volkswagen T4 Transporter.
The first job, was to work on the rear suspension on the T4. The rear sat considerably higher than the front, so the customer has asked the team to sort it out. Thanks to the bountiful aftermarket, the team will be replacing the set of springs for the camper. The heavy-duty, stiff springs will be taken out of the car and replaced with a new set of lowering springs which allow the same support but lowering the ride height at the back of the van.
After that, the team could work on getting the cold start sorted which had been reported by the customer as not working. The team found the cable had seized but after being reworked the team got it to start working again and tested.
Finally, the team have reshimmed the power steering and adjusted the alternator belt.
September 8, 2022 11:01 amPublished by Craig Ranson
Recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ deep in the heart of the Suffolk countryside is this glorious 1981 Volkswagen Scirocco Storm.
The classic water-cooled VW has come in to be fully inspected and assessed by the team restoration teams who will compile their report on the classic coupe and report back.
Keep a look out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates on the 1981 Volkswagen Scirocco Storm very soon.
Our friend Mark headed over to air-cooled Volkswagen specialists, Type 2 Detectives, over the weekend for their Cars & Caffeine event.
The guys over at Type 2 Detectives opened their doors to friends and visitors on Sunday for a meet up of not just Volkswagens but Porsches, BMWs, Lotus and many many more. Type 2 Detectives are known for their sensational builds specialising in classic air-cooled Volkswagen’s and it’s always a pleasure to see their work and the pride they take in it!
Bridge Classic Cars have welcomed this 1975 Volkswagen Beetle into our Pettistree workshop recently for our in-house restoration teams to assess and report on the condition of the car for its owner.
After the team has assessed the car and thoroughly inspected it, they will come up with a list of jobs that need to be undertaken on the classic aircooled Volkswagen to get it back into safe and running order.
The team set out for Bawdsey to shoot their recent competition vehicle, a delightful VW T2 Westfalia, a particular favourite of Ellie’s. With Freddie capturing the video and Ellie on the photography, the team set up their own camp on the sand with Charlotte featuring as the ever talented star of the visuals.
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