The Bridge Classic Cars secure storage facility, The Hangar, has welcomed a new resident recently – this 1968 Daimler 250.
The car has arrived to wait its turn for the team to completely and thoroughly inspect it at our Pettistree workshops deep in the Suffolk countryside.
As the work is being carried out on the other side of the 1986 Daimler DS420, our fabrication team have been working on the passenger side of the car at the same time.
One of our amazing fabricators, Chris, has been working on removing any corrosion from the classic limousine. Much like the other side of the car, the team have been focusing on the rear arches, inner arches, sills and front arches. Every time an area is in need of repair, Chris would create handmade patch panels specifically for the area they were needed in recreating much of the sills and inner arches by hand.
September 1, 2022 8:26 am
The fabrication shop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk restoration HQ have begun to look deeper into the corrosion on the bottom of the 1986 Daimler DS420.
The fabrication team began by cutting a section of the bottom of the Offside Rear Wing which had corroded on the bottom before removing the outer skin of the wing around the entire arch all the way down to the sill.
At the sill, they have trimmed back the outer sill to expose the inner structure to check for any corrosion or damage to that area.
July 28, 2022 11:51 am
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on preparing the bonnet and boot of the 1986 Daimler DS420 for primer.
Both were removed from the car, which is in our fabrication department, to be moved to the body area for the team to finesse. The panels were carefully inspected before their hardware was stripped back and catalogued and the sanding could begin.
A guide coat was applied before sanding to highlight any low spots which could be addressed before the first stay of epoxy primer which will be done shortly.
July 19, 2022 10:42 am
After their metal repairs were completed by the fabrication shop, the doors for the 1986 Daimler DS420 have been taken into the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop to be primered.
The doors were first thoroughly cleaned down before the team set them onto the door jigs to be sprayed. The first stage is to get the panels into Epoxy Primer to stop any rust from forming on the bare metal doors. These will then go on to be reworked by the team until perfect and keep going through various sanding and priming stages until they’re ready for paint and then reunited with the body.
July 14, 2022 9:31 am
The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on getting some of the key trim pieces back into the 1987 Daimler Double Six while removing some smaller pieces to be refinished by the team.
To begin with, Brian fit the new bonnet insulation under the hood of the classic Daimler. This is a noise and heat protector which is cut to shape and rollered on to get the best contact and fit into the recesses under the bonnet.
From there, the team could get the headliner and sunroof for the car finished off. The edges of the opening were finished and glued back neatly into place before the necessary pieces of trim were fitted.
Finally, the team moved to the centre console of the classic Daimler in order to remove switchgear and fittings from the car. This was to then completely remove the weathered panel’s wooden veneer which is being worked on by the team as part of the restoration of the car.
July 13, 2022 9:33 am
As part of its restoration and first fire-up since work began, the team at Bridge Classic Cars have serviced the V12 which sits at the heart of the 1987 Daimler Double Six.
With this generation of Jaguar-based V12, it is not always the easiest to change the spark plugs. So, the team have been carefully disconnecting and moving the various hoses and lines out of the way to get to the spark plugs and remove the distributor cap.
After that, everything could be changed over to new pieces and then put back together with the hoses laid back over and routed in their correct place.
June 29, 2022 9:37 am
The 1987 Daimler Double Six has been coming back together in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ.
The workshop team have been getting the classic Daimler back together in order to perform the first fire-up of the V12. Firstly the team have put the newly repainted and refurbished fan shroud onto the cars core support so the various leads and hoses can be routed on the front of the car. At the same time, the team have worked on refitting the chrome trim to the flanks of the Daimler as well as spraying the wheel wells with durable, hard-wearing black paint.
This is all part of the cars restoration journey, in which the team will fire up the car to check all the necessary systems which were removed from the car.
June 28, 2022 2:38 pm
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have repaired several sections of the door cards on the 1987 Daimler Double Six which is in for restoration.
Brian, one of our trimmers, carefully cut out the damaged areas to make new paper templates from and then graft them into the panels permanently.
June 24, 2022 10:48 am
The bumper brackets for the 1987 Daimler Double Six have been worked on by the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop.
The pieces have been carefully cleaned and prepared to then go into our in-house paint booth in order for the team to finish them as part of the reassembly of the classic Daimler.
June 20, 2022 8:31 am
The doors on the 1986 Daimler DS420 have been stripped back by the paint and body team in preparation to be handed over to the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication team.
The doors had to be stripped back in certain areas in order for the team to assess the corrosion in each piece and come up with a repair plan for the doors.
There are a few areas which will need significant repairs by the fabrication team so keep an eye on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates very soon.
June 20, 2022 8:07 am
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been stripping the 1986 Daimler DS420 further in preparation for its restoration. Previously the team had noticed a few areas of corrosion which required further exploration to ensure the whole car could be completely assessed.
Once the team had begun to dive deeper into the classic Daimler limo, a lot of the history of the car had become evident. The team had found years of repairs/quick fixes across the body of the car, especially lower down in the car mainly the sills and quarter panels. Both of these had excessive amounts of body filler in them which the team had to sand through in order to inspect the bare metal that lay behind it.
However, upon inspecting the higher parts of the car it is in relatively good shape with only a few small areas requiring the attention of the fabrication team.
June 15, 2022 11:24 am
The freshly painted 1987 Daimler Double Six has been in the paint preparation area for the Bridge classic Cars paint and body team to begin getting the car into bright, gleaming condition.
The team began by gently and evenly cutting back the freshly cured paint with progressively finer abrasive pads to safely remove any nibs or other pieces caught in the clear coat of the car. After this had all been taken back to an even ”flat” state, the team could begin bringing back its shimmer.
Using various compounds and polishes, the team built up the beautiful sheen across the body of the classic Daimler until it was like a deep blue mirror.
The perfect finish.
May 30, 2022 1:07 pm
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have sealed the inner wings of the 1987 Daimler Double Six which is in for restoration.
The team sealed the inner wings using a product called Raptorguard. This is a hard wearing urethane which will protect the inner arches and wing of the car from absorbing moisture from any dirt collected inside the panel. This is something we do on most of our restorations to protect the longevity of the pieces and ultimately the car itself.
May 26, 2022 7:53 am
The 1987 Daimler Double Six has been taken into the in-house paint booth at Bridge Classic Cars once again to carry on its journey into full colour.
The team have spent countless hours making sure that each process and stage of the paint and bodywork for the classic Daimler is flawless and smooth. Each layer of paint is inspected and assessed even on the inside of the panels. With the inner panels now painted, the team masked up the bodyshell and could begin the process of laying down the dark blue onto the Double Six.
Patiently and methodically, the paint team swept layers of the deep blue across the body and wings of the car. One after another, the layers were built up to give the car its glossy and bright finish but to also build up the depth and contrast in the colour.
With this stage done, the Daimler is now curing before the paint and body team begin colour sanding.
May 23, 2022 11:13 am
The paint and body team have been working to get the 1987 Daimler Double Six ready for the first coats of dark blue paint to be laid on the panels of the classic saloon car.
To begin, the Bridge Classic Cars in-house team painted the bonnet and boot lid of the classic Daimler. Once these had begun to dry, they were moved into the preparation area to fully cure while the body and wings were moved into the booth.
Then the team could begin to mask up the car ready to lay down the first coats of colour onto the body of the Double Six…
May 20, 2022 10:45 am
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim team have been working on the doors of the 1986 Daimler DS420 which arrived into our workshop from the USA recently.
The doors are being carefully taken apart so the panels themselves can be repainted. This involved the careful cataloguing and noting of each individual piece that came off the door from the small screw head cover to the large leather wrapped panels. The doors will then be taken into our paint and body team who will carry out a full assessment and then get to work on making the doors of the classic Daimler limo matching the rest of the car.
May 20, 2022 7:30 am
The paint and body teams at Bridge Classic Cars have been busy preparing the body and panels of the 1987 Daimler Double Six for the final stages of high build primer.
The classic Daimler, which is in with our restoration teams, has been worked on extensively by our paint and body team to get the classic saloon in to perfect condition before the first layers of paint. The body shop have meticulously sanded down, cleaned and prepared each individual part at every stage of its journey into the in-house paint booth.
This step, which is one of the final stages before colour, is the use of high build primer on all panels and in all visible areas or areas which have been worked own by the body and fabrication teams including the inside of the door jams and the all important in arches. With the high build primer now on the car, it will be taken back out of the oven to be inspected and any adjustments made before the next stage begins.
May 16, 2022 6:44 am
The panels for the 1987 Daimler Double Six have been moved into the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint booth for primer.
The paint and body team have been working on perfecting each individual part and panel of the classic Daimler. The team have worked on, cleaned down and prepared the pieces for their first layers of epoxy primer to get them into the same stage as the bodyshell which the team are working on alongside.
The first layers of primer have been laid on the panels and will cure before several more stages of refining and working before colour.
May 10, 2022 9:35 am
The 1987 Daimler Double Six has been taken back to bare metal in the places where the repairs were carried out by the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication team. Now, in the hands of our body shop technicians, the car has been refined and perfected before being thoroughly cleaned before going into the paint booth.
The classic Daimler is being finished in its first round of epoxy primer ahead of the team paint matching the reworked areas to the original dark blue paintwork. The team laid down the primer layer by layer carefully allowing it to settle flat and evenly across the luxury 4 door saloon. With this stage done, it will be transferred back into the preparation area for the team to begin sanding and finishing before it goes back into the paint booth for the next stage.
April 21, 2022 7:19 am
The paint and body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on preparing the 1987 Daimler Double Six for paintwork to begin.
The body team have been carefully and meticulously sanding and working each panel ahead of its appointment with our in-house paint booth.
While the team were working on each individual panel to get them perfect, they also welded up and finished off some of the small pinholes to get that flawless finish when it comes time to paint.
Each of the welds then had minimal filler work carried out just to flatten any low points caused by the finishing work.
April 5, 2022 11:19 am
The sunroof, headliner and window trim from the 1987 Daimler Double Six are in the Bridge Classic Cars trim shop to be recovered in matching beige material.
Brian has been working on getting each individual piece cut out and perfectly retrimmed after being carefully stripped back and prepared for this stage. Each individual piece has been hand-worked to give the best fit and finish for the classic Daimler.
March 10, 2022 10:35 am
The fabrication team in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ are hard at work repairing the rust issues in the sunroof of the 1987 Daimler Double Six.
Monty has been working his way methodically through the entirety of the classic Daimler. This time he has turned his attention to the sunroof and sunroof opening of the car, which is showing some noticeable signs of corrosion both on the interior and exterior of the car. Firstly, the sunroof panel was removed and stripped back to best assess the piece.
With everything cleaned back, the level of corrosion could be seen and assessed. Monty began handmaking the various patch panels and pieces needed for both the roof panel and the sunroof rails. With all of these pieces carefully templated and made, the process of welding them into the car could begin.
Because of the tolerances in the sunroof mechanism, the welding process has to be precise and accurate as to not warp any of the pieces with the heat generated by welding.
March 10, 2022 9:03 am
Several pieces from the interior of the 1987 Daimler Double Six have been transferred to the in-house trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars.
The trim team have been carefully deconstructing and stripping back the various pieces of trim and panels from the roof of the classic Daimler. The sunroof of the car was removed in order to be inspected and assessed before it will be retrimmed by the team.
Next, the headliner of the car was stripped back and the foam sanded to be readied for the new headliner for the car fitted very soon.
Finally, the trim team carefully took apart the rear window trim and after cleaning up the surface retrimmed it in brand new foam strips.
March 8, 2022 3:32 pm
The doors from the 1987 Daimler Double Six have been moved from the body shop to the paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars.
The doors have been prepared for their first coat of primer before being taken back through into the body shop to be perfected and shaped in anticipation for the body shell to be moved into the department from the fabrication shop and readied for primer.
March 7, 2022 10:18 am
After the repairs to the boot floor of the 1987 Daimler Double Six – The Bridge Classic Cars teams have been working to make sure everything is sealed up tight.
The body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been underneath the and in the boot of the classic Daimler to seal any joints between the panels which make up the boot floor. This is crucial for the longevity of not just our repairs on the car but the longevity of the whole car itself.
March 7, 2022 9:18 am
The Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop have been working their way through the rust repairs on the 1987 Daimler Double Six.
Monty has been cutting out the corroded metal in the boot floor of the classic Daimler. Using the pieces cut out of the boot, he created new pieces for the car which were then test fitted to check before being welded in. The hand-made floor patch also had the strengthening beads rolled into the material to follow the original channels in the existing floor to create one complete uniform piece once painted.
A small patch panel also needed to be made for an area of corrosion behind the fuel tank. Like the others, the area was cut out and rust treated before the new piece was welded in.
March 4, 2022 10:22 am
The fabrication shop at Bridge Classic Cars have begun work on the rear passenger side of the 1987 Daimler Double Six to fix any of the rust issues in this area.
Our fabricators have replaced several areas around the wheel arches and sill which had entirely rusted through. Monty, our fabricator, has hand made new patch panels for these areas to make sure that everything in that area is solid and rust-free.
The fabrication team have also had to make a new wheel arch edge for the classic Daimler. This had unfortunately been affected by rust and spread into the bottom of the rear door. Each of these pieces were then cut out, prepared and new pieces welded in to remove any trace of corrosion.
With the new metal in the rear quarters of both sides, Monty can keep moving rearwards on the Double Six to get the body completely rust-free before it goes into the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop.
February 25, 2022 10:27 am
The Bridge Classic Cars fabrication team have been working on getting any and all signs of corrosion out of the 1987 Daimler Double Six currently in our Suffolk HQ workshop for restoration.
Monty, one of our fabricators, has been methodically going through the car to address any issues with a series of smaller sympathetic repairs where needed. One of these areas is the wings of the car and the bottoms of the doors.
He has gone through each panel to determine just how much material needs to be removed in order for it to be structurally sound and safe. Monty has made a series of patch panels for both the wings and the doors of the Daimler from scratch. Handforming each of the pieces until it was a tight fit and flowed with any curves or radiuses on the car.
With this step done, he will carry on through the car getting all the necessary areas completely sorted out.
February 14, 2022 8:18 am
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house fabrication team have been continuing work on the rust repairs to the frame of the 1987 Daimler Double Six currently in our Suffolk HQ.
Monty, one of our skilled and talented fabricators, has been working his way through the underside of the classic Daimler. This time, Monty has been repairing and fabricating the front core support cross-member.
This has a series of spot-welded panels and pieces that fix the whole piece into place. Monty carefully drilled out the spot-welds to release the piece from the car. After getting the cross member out of the car, Monty could begin templating the affected areas to create the new patch panels which would need to go into the car.
Monty used his craft and skill to create tight-fitting panels which would mean less cutting to non-damage areas of the car. Preserving as much as possible but also securing them in the safest and neatest way possible. The results, look fantastic.
Monty will continue working through the car making sure all the areas that need attention get the work they are needed to bring this stunning classic Daimler back to its former glory.
January 24, 2022 8:30 am
