Steve has been making some final repairs to our 1988 Mercedes 300SL in preparation for it to go live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
He has replaced the washer pump rubber seal, replaced the driver’s side interior light, and fitted a new auxiliary drive belt.
In 2006, the Morgan 4/4 celebrated its seventy-first year. To mark this milestone, a limited run of 142 ’70th Anniversary Edition’ cars was commissioned. Of these 142 vehicles, just two were produced per build year. Each edition featured unique paint colours, soft-top designs, upholstery, and more, reflecting the style of its corresponding decade.
Our 2006 Morgan 4/4 ’70th Anniversary’ is one of the two ‘1952’ models. Finished in Duck Egg Blue with Black leather upholstery and Dark Blue weather equipment, this car was originally supplied through Thomson & Potter of Perth. After just 12,000 miles, it entered its second ownership in October 2020, where it has remained until now.
Entry is open to win our 2006 Morgan 4/4 ’70th Anniversary’
All the details you need are on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
Our 1979 Triumph Spitfire is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
Introduced in the wake of the oil crisis, the Spitfire was fitted with a more fuel-efficient 1.5-litre engine, which helped make it both economical and lively on the road. Despite its small size, our Spitfire is surprisingly comfortable and practical. The driver’s seat is a fun place to be and there’s even enough space in the boot for your shopping or luggage for a night or two away.
Our 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500 comes with an extensive history file that contains invoices, MOT certificates, handwritten correspondence from its previous owner, a parts catalogue, and a current membership card for the Triumph Sports Six Club (expires 1st June 2024).
Enter the draw here.
Our 2007 BMW E93 335i is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
Our 2007 BMW E93 335i is still in its original specification and has had several thousands of pounds of preventative maintenance done on it by its previous owner. In July 2023, it had its last service by Cecil and Larter Volvo who have known the car for many years. As part of the service, the spark plugs, oil and filter, pollen filter and air filter were all replaced. The automatic gearbox filter and sump were also replaced. The diff oil was changed and a new input seal was replaced too.
With a substantial amount of money spent on our 335i, it is now ready to get back out on the road with its lucky new owner.
Jonn has been working on our 1964 Ford Zephyr in preparation for it to be delivered to its new owner. Here are his notes:
Carry out pressure test on heater valve before refitting to heater. Fill with water and use air to pressurise. Found small leaks from weld repair on side of valve and seal on inlet pipe. Remove pipe and clean. Fit new O ring and sealer and refit and secure. Mix and apply JB marine weld and leave to go off.
Fill and pressure test heater valve now repair has set. Seems fine. Reassemble heater box and fit back in car. Connect hoses and cables and secure heater to bulkhead. Vacuum pressu4e test system again, this time Vacuum held for approx 5 minutes ok. Fill system and check operation of cable controls. Adjust direction cable and test. Refit centre dash and shelf. Refit handbrake knob. Raise in air and adjust handbrake. Secure exhaust rear mount and get off ramp. Take outside and warm up. Check heater hot. Carry out road test. Found slight hesitation and clutch slow to engage. Bring back inside and strip and remove clutch slave cylinder. Clean out and refit. Bleed clutch and test. Adjust carb secondary air screw and idle speed.
Our 1979 Triumph Spitfire was recently transported ready to be filmed in preparation for it to be available to win through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Here are Jonn’s notes following the pre-delivery inspection of our 1964 Ford Zephyr:
Refit radiator now back from repair. Connect hoses and secure. Vacuum refill system even though it had a minor pressure loss over 2 mins. Visually check round resecure all pipes and check for leaks. Ok at present. Fit refurbished offside front brake caliper and pads. With John’s help bleed entire brake system and pressure check for leaks, ok. Refit wheel.
Take outside to start up and check. Found door ajar and interior light on all night so battery flat. Run lead outside and battery charger and get started, but heater valve leaking almost instantly. Check charge light extinguished and switch off. Take back into workshop and drain coolant again. Strip and remove heater box assembly. Remove heater valve and strip. Get Christian to weld small hole in valve body. Use instant gasket and new O ring and reassemble in vice. Refit to heater and leave to go off overnight. Carry out pdi. Torque wheel nuts and refit wheel trims. Inflate/deflate tyres to obtain correct pressure. All tyres Found to be excessively high pressure as pictures will testify. Set to correct pressures all round.
Our 2007 Land Rover Defender was suffering from a battery drain which John traced back to the wiring to a relay. The wiring was modified to bypass the relay which wasn’t needed. A permanent ignition feed was also fitted for the rear-view camera.
The car was then checked over before it is won on Tuesday.
During the checks, our other Jonn made the following notes:
Carry out inspection. Start repairs. Reverse lights still not working after new switch fitted. Remove multi plug and short out. Ignition on and reverse lights working. Remove switch from gearbox and grind away nut slightly so switch goes further into gearbox. Test switch plugged in but not fitted to gear ox. Operate and light works. Fit to gearbox and tighten. Test reverse lights, now working. Adjust hand brake via transmission brake shoe adjuster. Strip and remove brake pipes from across rear axle to replace.
Manufacture new brake pipes for rear. From rear flexis to calipers. Secure and cable tie Abs wiring to pipes. Remove bleed nipples and clean and blow out, refit. Inflate tyres and torque wheel nuts. Adjust washer jetvaim and test. Resecure trim around nearside rear door lock button.
Fit new rear wiper blade. Raise on ramp mp and strip rear flexi brake pipes. Corroded badly and unable to remove brake pipes from flexis. Cut front to rear brake pipes and chisel off bracket supporting rear flexis. Get Christian to make a new support bracket. Mount new flexis at axle end and secure to mount. Reconnect brake pipes across rear axle. Upon inspection found joiners for front to rear brake pipes on top of nearside chassis rail.
Manufacture new brake pipes to rear flexis. Fit each in turn shaping pipe as its fitted. Drill and paint new mount and fit and connect pipes at each end. Use small pieces of hose to protect pipes from chaffng and secure with cable ties.clear up area.
Top up brake fluid and free of all bleed nipples. With John’s help bleed brake system complete. Carry out pressure check. Tack weld weights back onto rear rpropshaft. Take outside and warm up. Carry out road test. Recheck all joints and connections on return and found small weep at nearside chassis joiner. Drain circuit and re flare original steel pipe on car. Reconnect and tighten. Re bleed circuit and pressure check. Ok this time. Carry out road test to fuel station and put £30 diesel in. Finish pdi, ok.
Our 1993 Bentley Turbo R has left the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after undergoing its pre-delivery inspection and being delivered to lucky winner, Hugh.
Classic car technician Jonn has completed the PDI on our 1976 MG Midget. It is now ready to be delivered to its lucky new owner. Jonns notes about the work completed are:
Drain coolant header tank and replenish with new anti freeze.
Get car round into workshop and raise on ramp. Inspect underneath for signs of knocking on floor. Found exhaust been made and stting close to rear axle and floor. Drop exhaust and grind away section of rear floor to add clearance and remount higher in relation to where it was. Grease all points. Lower to floor and check carburettors. Remove suction Chambers and pistons and clean. Use vernier to set jet heights to approx 1.7mm. Reassemble but pistons sticking in Chambers. Found air filter gaskets protruding over carburettor edge not allowing Chambers to sit flush. Cut off excess gasket from both air filters and retry. Chambers sit flush and pistons return freely. Fit P clip to fuel pipe to secure to air filter bolt. Replace both ends of rubber fuel hose. Lower to floor. Torque all wheels. Take outside and run up to temp. Adjust mixture and carry out road test. Drives better but knock still present. Get back in and rase in air. Check gearbox mount as knock seems to come from this area. Fou d metal on gearbox mount hitting floor. Fit piece of rubber between mount and floor and take outside and retest. Ok now. Bond gear knob back onto stick. All ok.
Jonn has fitted a new diaphragm to the heater valve on our 1964 Ford Zephyr 4 and reassembled it. He then fitted a new seal to the valve connection to the heater rad and fit the valve to the heater.
He rebuilt the heater box and refitted it to the car. After connecting the pipes and cables, Jonn tested its operation, and all was ok.
He went on to vacuum-fill the system but it wouldn’t hold a vacuum. He found a dash leak from the radiator matrix so the coolant was drained and the radiator was removed for repair.
Before our 2007 Land Rover Defender 110 goes live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions tomorrow, technician Neil has been giving it a checkover.
We have recently welcomed another car into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. This time it is our 1964 Ford Zephyr 4, which will soon go live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website.
Jonn has been looking at our new arrival and here are his notes:
Top up gearbox and axle oils. Strip brakes and inspect. Remove offside front calliper.
Thoroughly degrease calliper and clean all components. Remove piston from calliper and found it badly pitted and unserviceable. Check rear brakes to find cylinders weeping, shoes contaminated and hub seals weeping. Order parts….. refit wheels and drums until parts arrive. Remove fuel tank sender. Strip and lubricate and free off. Refit and test, ok. Tidy wiring under bonnet.
Remove air filter and fixed throttle linkage. Cut small pieces of wood to use as battery security. Make small strap from alloy to hold down battery and cover in sticky back foam. Drill out inner wing and bolt up strap. Clean out washer bottle and top up and test. Adjust washer aim. Test dynamo charging. Remove dynamo and regulator to send for repair. Remove exhaust completely and take to Fab shop for repair. Suck out old fluid from both master cylinder reservoirs and top up with new.
Jonn has been working on our 1978 Triumph Spitfire in preparation for it to be won very soon through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Here’s what Jonn did:
Jonn has been looking at our 1978 Triumph Spitfire. His notes are below:
Finish as much of the inspection as possible on the floor. Carry out repairs. Sort connections to nearside reverse lights. Remove offside door handle and inspect. Strip apart and clean components. Lubricate and reassemble and test. Works fine. Refit to drivers door and test. Still the same. When it has to release the pressure of the lock it slips past p clip inside handle. Requires new handle.
Our 1993 Bentley Turbo R is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website. For just £9.00, you have the chance of becoming the new owner of this beast of a car.
When the Turbo R was first introduced in 1985, it redefined what it meant for a car to be elegant and stylish, while still being able to excite the driver with its performance on the road.
Our Tubo R is finished in Racing Green with a Magnolia Hide interior and comes with a history file of past invoices, service records, and its owner’s manual.
You can find out more information and enter the draw here.
Jonn has been repairing our 1989 Alfa Romeo Spider. Here are his notes on the work completed:
Check digital clock not working in centre console. Connections good, face illuminates but no digits visible. Refit and leave as requires new clock. Adjust alternator belt. Look into steering issues. James fitted new top arms and springs to front and adjusted tie rods for an even wheelbase front to rear. Disconnect centre track rod and adjust so idler pointing slightly inwards to give more lock to the right. Adjust lock stops so from centre position steering turns 1.4 turns each direction. Fit new lock stop bolt to nearside. Refit track rods and wheels. Lower to ground and carry out basic tracking adjustment.
Top up clutch reservoir and lubricate linkage. Strip and fit new rear springs. Refit wheels and lower to ground. Stance is much better on standard springs.
Torque all wheel nuts and inflate tyres. Start pdi whilst in workshop. Take outside and run up to temp. Idle speed stumbles upon overrun but recovers. Adjust idle speed and test. Steering still pulls to the right when driving straight ahead. Recheck wheel base by measuring wheel centre to wheel centre front to rear. Offside front wheel appears to be further back in the arch ( caster angle ), but we have no way of checking this. Adjustable tie rods to front top adjustable arms set at different lengths on car. Requires 4 wheel alignment.
We have recently welcomed our 1978 Triumph Spitfire into the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions workshop.
This will go on to be won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions very soon.
Jonn has been completing his work on our 1972 Morgan 4/4.
He has: Fit new exhaust tailpipe. Mock fit and align mount. Mark position and remove. Centre pipe larger bore. Cut slots in end of centre pipe and refit tailpipe. Clamp up centre joint and check. Remove and add sealer to pipe and refit. Secure mount at rear and tighten clamp. Run and test, ok. Finish pdi.
Carry out road test. All seems ok when warmed up. Check anti freeze, zero. Drain some coolant and top up with anti freeze. Run and test.
Jonn has carried out the pdi on our 1992 Rover Italian Job Mini. Now this is done, the car is almost ready to be delivered to its lucky new owner who won it through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
As our 1982 Bedford HA Van is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website, classic car technician Jonn has been looking at it to make sure it is ready to go to the lucky winner in a couple of weeks time.
Here are his notes:
Take into workshop to finish inspection. Secure rear brake pipe to piece to rear axle. Secure wiring in offside front arch. Remove screw from offside rear tyre, not punctured. Tighten fuel tank union. Check axle and gearbox levels, ok. Tighten front crash bar. Strip brakes and inspect. Remove nearside rear adjuster and free off. Refit and adjust shoes. Delip all drums. Regrease and adjust offside front wheel bearing.
Strip and remove offside rear half shaft and bearing. Heat up bearing to remove but unable to at this point. Christian cut some plates for me to use. Heat up again and use plates to hold bearing whilst knocking half shaft from above. Remove and clean all surfaces. Make new hub gasket and clean backplate, ready for new bearing etc.
Remove rocker cover and associated parts. Check and adjust tappets. Found clearances were massive on most. Setting 0.08thou or 0.2mm. Some clearances were up to as much as 0.80thou or 2mm!!! Set to correct clearances and refit rocker cover etc. Check operation of seats. Both slide but you have to be sat in them. Found key for doors but no door lock will operate via key. If it is the correct key.
Press new wheel bearing and spacer onto half shaft. Lube o ring on bearing and hammer back into axle. Secure seal flange and backplate. Refit drum and wheel and adjust brake. Lower to ground and torque up all wheels to 68nm. Inspect drivers door lock. Remove door panel and view mechanism inside door. Found lock barrel on handle not fitted correctly. Reposition barrel inside door and test. Ok. Refit door panel. Check passengers door locks from inside. Reposition handles.
The old roof panel on our 1972 Morgan 4/4 was badly damaged and beyond repair. The hood was also very tight, making it hard to put up, especially on your own. Lydia inserted a new panel and added an inch onto the depth, making it much easier to put onto the hood frame now.
Before our 1982 Bedford HA Van goes live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, Jonn has been inspecting it. He attended to the throttle not being connected. He found that the linkage was actually a mechanical one and had fallen off so Jonn reconnected it to the throttle pedal.
Jonn has been inspecting our 1992 Mercedes SL300 in preparation for it to be won next week through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
His notes were:
Our 1963 Vauxhall Victor recently went live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website. As it is scheduled to be won very soon, Jonn has been making some repairs to make sure it is ready to go to the lucky winner.
He has removed the inline fuel filter, cleaned it out, blew it through, and refitted it to the car.
Jonn then stripped and removed the nearside front upper ball joint rubber. This was cleaned, and a new rubber boot was fitted and secured. After refitting the top arm to the hub and tightening using a new split pin, Jonn refitted the wheel and repeated the process for the offside front upper too.
The radiator was drained. and Jonn removed the top hose and ran water through the radiator and engine to flush out rusty brown water. Antifreeze and water were mixed to make a 50/50 mix. The pipe connections to the radiator were cleaned and a vacuum pressure filling machine was used to refill the system.
Jonn topped the antifreeze mix up with a small amount when he had finished before cleaning up and checking the anti-freeze content. Protection down to minus 18 degrees Celsius is now covered, as shown in the last photo of the refractometer sight glass.
A new washer pump was also fitted. To do this, Jonn had to re-drill the fixings as the new pump wouldn’t align with the old holes. He then cut and fitted the washer pipes and tested them. The washer jet aim was adjusted appropriately before all tyre pressures were adjusted to 26psi.
Jonn has been preparing our 1963 Vauxhall Victor for its launch on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
After getting it into the workshop, Jonn continued his inspection up on the ramp. He adjusted the dynamo belt before bending the tangs on the radiator cap to tighten.
He then untwisted the driver’s seat belt and glued the knob to the heater and control lever. The terminal onto the speaker was soldered and tested.
Jonn then stripped, cleaned, and inspected the brakes. He adjusted and greased them all before refitting the wheels and adjusting the handbrake cable. all of them.
Lucky winner, Mike Bartlett, was delighted when he accepted the delivery of his 1968 Morris 1000 Pickup.
After being drawn as the winner on the last live draw of 2023, Mike, with ticket number 4032, won this stunning pickup as well as having £1000 transferred to his bank in time for Christmas.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars would like to congratulate Mike again and we hope he enjoys his very own festive classic.
Earlier this week, we delivered our 1970 Lotus Europa to lucky winner Timothy Chapman.
Timothy was randomly selected as the winner during the live draw with his ticket number 784.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars loved this car and we are very happy to see it at home with its new owner. We all hope that Timothy enjoys it for many years to come.
This morning, we were very excited to see the latest batch of vehicles arrive at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
After Craig and Gordon’s successful day at the Classic Car Auctions Christmas Sale, we welcomed our 1963 Vauxhall Victor, 1989 Ford Fiesta XR2, 2000 Peugeot 306, and 1993 Bentley Turbo R.
Our Vauxhall Victor will be assessed by the workshop team before it will eventually go live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
Another fast Ford to come into the workshop, our Fiesta XR2 will soon be available to win through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
This one won’t be a competition car, unfortunately. The reason for this is that this is now part of Craig’s collection. After always wanting a 306 Cabriolet when he first passed his test, but being unable to afford one, he can now say he has one of his own.
Our Bentley Turbo R will be joining Gordon’s collection. It’s a great looking car and we are looking forward to seeing it out on the road around the workshop.
Before our 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi is taken out to film in preparation for it to go live on Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, classic car technician Jonn has been giving it a once over.
After checking all levels, he attended to the broken nearside door mirror. He swapped parts from the donor mirror and mounted/secured it to the car.
Jonn then removed both number plates and attached the WIN ME plates before using panel wipes to remove excess glue.
