Bridge Classic Cars in-house restoration technicians, Jon and Scott, have been working on some minor repairs and revisions to Fern Grey after its tests. Fern
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have begun work on the stunning bonnet of the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster we have built
The 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster, Fern Grey, is getting closer to completion by the day. Recently our in-house restoration technicians have been
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house have been finishing the final pieces for the interior of Fern Grey, the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster
The 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster which we know as Fern Grey has officially been moved over to the the trim shop! A
Scott, one of our in-house restoration experts has been hard at work getting ”Fern Grey” the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series 3 Roadster plumbed and
There’s always certain parts of any build that can be classed as milestone moments. That rings especially true for the first time the chassis is
Our 1973 Jaguar E-type Series 3 Roadster is currently in the fabrication bay where James and Pricey are working on leading the body. This classic
Scott has stripped the handbrake callipers and sandblasted the parts so they could be painted. Scott then started to put the rear axle together.
Our 1973 Jaguar E-Type recently came back from Abbey Protective Coating’s for sandblasting. Now that any excess rust has come off, we can start to
Our 1973 White E-Type Roadster has had its front suspension fully stripped down as Scott starts dismantling the rear axle in order to repaint and
Scott has been removing the front suspension, all brake and fuel lines and rear axle on our 1973 Jaguar E-Type Roadster. He’s also started to
With everything finished on our 1968 Jaguar E-Type roadster, there’s one last thing to do before we send it on its way. We found a
We’ve now begun stripping the paint from our 1973 Beverly Hills E-Type bonnet so that it can sit in bare metal and ask as a
Scott has continued to dismantle our 1973 Beverly Hills Jaguar E-type Series 3 V12. He’s removed the bonnet, windscreen, top of the dashboard, heater box
Dismantling the car: After having sourced this vehicle last year, it’s been sat in storage whilst we’ve worked on two other classics belonging to the
Our stunning green Jaguar E-Type Series 2 4.2 has almost completed its thorough service. This morning Mauro was carefully replacing the carburettor rubber that fits
Our 1970 Jaguar E-Type V12 is back in the workshop after its hiatus at Bentwaters whilst we waited for the chrome bumper to come back.
We’re working on a full restoration for this lovely Beverly Hills 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12. Originally sourced by us from Beverly Hills Car
Bridge Classic Cars in-house restoration technicians, Jon and Scott, have been working on some minor repairs and revisions to Fern Grey after its tests.
Fern Grey is of course the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster we have been building in our Suffolk HQ. After the tests, Jon and Scott noticed some issues with a couple of interior/dash lights which were solved by removing the cover plate and rerouting some of the elaborate wiring with a few pins needing to be recrimped and shielded.
Along with that, Jon has made a new fuel return pipe for the car as he found the original was not returning correctly to the fuel tank. So, with all of the underside jobs finished on Fern Grey Jon could begin to fit the shields to the underside of this one-off E Type.
Now, with everything buttoned up on Fern Grey, our technicians can begin retesting and rechecking the car before its road tests begin.
The team at Bridge Classic Cars have begun work on the stunning bonnet of the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster we have built for a client. With all of the weatherstripping installed into the headlight surrounds, they can now begin with the final brightwork.
All of the chrome for Fern Grey was sent off to a specialist, Wyatt Polishing, for refurbishment and polishing to make sure it looked as good as the rest of the incredible car. Now Paul, one of our in-house technicians, will start the meticulous task of getting the chrome back onto the headlights ready for when the bonnet is finally installed onto the car in the coming weeks.
Expect to see a lot more on the progress of the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster here on the Bridge Classic Cars newspage.
The 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster, Fern Grey, is getting closer to completion by the day. Recently our in-house restoration technicians have been working on completing the exhaust for this amazing project.
Our technician Paul has been working on cleaning, preparing and coating the exhausts for the 5 litre V12 that sits at the heart of this E Type. Paul carefully cleaned and prepared the original headers for the car before applying several coats of glossy black exhaust paint. This paint is specific for the use on exhausts as it can withstand incredible high temperatures and the environment.
Paul also worked on cleaning and painting the exhaust brackets for Fern Grey to match the rest of the immaculate underside of the car.
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house have been finishing the final pieces for the interior of Fern Grey, the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster before it goes into the main workshop for final assembly.
Brian, our head trimmer, has got the cars handmade seats back into the car to complete that part of the interior and they look absolutely fantastic. This car is intended to be a true GT car so they are comfortable and well-padded to add to that sense of comfort while covering huge distances.
Next, Brian began fitting up the Hardura padding underneath the dashboard. Hardura is a vinyl wrapped sound deadening material used in place where it is remained exposed and is also close to the original style material used on the car.
Then, for the final piece Brian fitted the chrome stalks from the old sun visors onto the new pieces. These were then fitted up into the car and really finish of the dash and windshield surround.
The 1973 Jaguar E Type Series III Roadster which we know as Fern Grey has officially been moved over to the the trim shop! A massive milestone in the build, which means now Brian, Kath and Lydia can began work on getting the handmade interior into this stunning E Type.
To begin with, Brian started to mark out and prepare the sound deadening panels for the car. This will be a crucial part of the interior as not only will it help with the final fit and finish of each of the handmade pieces, but will also be key for a pleasant driving experience for its owner. So, Brian used his years of experience and reference photos to place the sound deadening panels in just the right place which should mean all the piece go into the car perfectly but it has less intrusive cabin noise.
With the sound deadening now secured into the car, Brian could turn his attention to the doors. Brian and the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim team have custom made these absolutely stunning green door cards to match the rest of the interior accent colours. These are two piece door panels with an upper cap and a lower door card but were created specifically for this car. The door cards needed to be secured into place for Brian to do the last piece for passenger side doors. The all important sill cap.
The sill cap for Fern Grey is much like the rest of the car, entirely bespoke to the project. Wanting to continue to the elegance and comfort all the way from the centre of the car out, Brian wrapped the sills in upholstery foam to give them a totally new look and feel. Like they had become an extension of the dash/seats/consoles. Then, wrapped in a colour matched vinyl the sills look absolutely sensational and there’s still so much more to come!
Expect to see quite a few more updates in the coming weeks on Fern Grey here on the Bridge Classic Cars news page.
Scott, one of our in-house restoration experts has been hard at work getting ”Fern Grey” the 1973 Jaguar E Type Series 3 Roadster plumbed and wired.
Recently Scott carefully got the newly built 5 litre V12 into place in the car, taking his time to make sure everything was exactly where it should be and safely locked into place. Then once the engine was in its final position, Scott got to work hooking up the various systems needed to fire this stunning 12 cylinder Jaguar into life.
First up, the team fitted up the newly rebuilt Stormberg carburettors onto either side of the engine. Along with that were the large aluminium intakes that feed the Strombergs. Along with that are the various pipes and hoses that need to be spread across the engine bay and allow the long-legged V12 to run faultlessly and reliably. All of these components needed to go into place first to then get the heater system into place as it sits close to the back end of the carburettors.
From there, Scott worked his way from the engine bay into the cabin with the wiring. All of the related dials and lights needed to be wired up to the engine and the fuse box for when Fern Grey bursts into life. Each of the wires was meticulously run by Scott to ensure they would not chafe or mar the elegant green/grey paintwork that flows with the elegant, iconic lines of this E Type Roadster.
There’s always certain parts of any build that can be classed as milestone moments. That rings especially true for the first time the chassis is reunited with its powertrain.
This 1973 Jaguar E Type Series 3 Roadster being built by us here at Bridge Classic Cars has just met that fabled milestone. The built 5 litre V12 is now safely in place between the immaculately restored frame rails and securely in the car. Scott has been working hard to get all the necessary systems in place for a few days before the engine was carefully lowered into position. Firstly to ensure they will fit and secondly so that no damage is done to the long list of refurbished or brand new parts.
The engine looks incredible inside the car. In terms of its packaging, it is a feat of engineering to fit an engine this large in such a compact but stylish skin.
Once Scott has finalised the installation into the car, it will then be time to get everything hooked up and ready to be tested.
Our 1973 Jaguar E-type Series 3 Roadster is currently in the fabrication bay where James and Pricey are working on leading the body. This classic is in fantastic shape with very little bodywork needing to be done. Pricey tells us “I’ve never seen one this good and I don’t think I ever will. It’s amazing.”
Thanks to the dry conditions of California, this E-Type has survived the test of time without collecting too much rust, something our engineers are certainly thankful for!
Some of the external and internal parts have gone to paint to where they’ve received a layer of primer so that they’re ready for colour.
Scott has stripped the handbrake callipers and sandblasted the parts so they could be painted. Scott then started to put the rear axle together.
Our 1973 Jaguar E-Type recently came back from Abbey Protective Coating’s for sandblasting. Now that any excess rust has come off, we can start to work with all the stable metal that’s left. This E-Type is a particularly strong example as there was very little corrosion.
Tom has been sorting out parts which were then powder coated and sent back from Abbey sandblasters.
Scott stripped the brake callipers before they were sent away to be refurbished, as well as stripping the heater box down and checking it over. He made sure that the matrix was in good condition, then he got a load of the parts sand blasted so they are ready to be painted.
Matt has prepared the panels by striping them back to bare metal and given a protective them a rust proof coating.
Some elements have been painted in DTM black. These components are internal and are kept black to look uniform.
Brian has also started to take apart the seats and hood to be re-covered.
Scott has put the heater box back together after the parts being painted. He’s cleaned and polished the parts and replaced the foam seals and gaskets where necessary, so it’s ready to fit straight to the car when that time comes.
Our 1973 White E-Type Roadster has had its front suspension fully stripped down as Scott starts dismantling the rear axle in order to repaint and refurbish all the parts.
This lovely E-Type came to us in working condition, so much of the stripping is purely to take elements apart to clean and tidy up, and to get to what’s around them.
The body of the E-Type has been placed on the rollover spit and is ready for media blasting. Our media blasting is done at Abbey Protective Coatings which includes blasting heavy-duty particles at the metal to strip the paint off be leave the base metal remaining in good condition.
Scott has been removing the front suspension, all brake and fuel lines and rear axle on our 1973 Jaguar E-Type Roadster. He’s also started to disassemble the front suspension components ready to be refurbished.
With everything finished on our 1968 Jaguar E-Type roadster, there’s one last thing to do before we send it on its way. We found a leak in the sump which needs a new helicoil.
Mauro has also replaced the rocker cover and the brake hose pipe.
We’ve now begun stripping the paint from our 1973 Beverly Hills E-Type bonnet so that it can sit in bare metal and ask as a blank canvas to be reworked and repainted. James in the fabrication bay has started to smooth out the body and will start to correct any imperfections. The bumper also needed some fabrication and welding to repair some corrosion damage.
This is the bare metal work stage that comes before the paint prep. The fabrication bay will get the whole body down to bare metal and then make sure it all lines are perfectly and there aren’t any bumps or rust in the bodywork.
As seen below, the original British Layland factory stickers are still intact on the underside of the E-Type bonnet and go to show how original this E-Type really is. Asides from the addition of the red strips and American modifications, this Jaguar is a stunning original example. Among James tasks has been to take off the American standardised bumper and weld in the hole so that the original Jaguar chrome one can be re-fitted.
Scott has also continued to dismantle the body of the E-Type too.
Scott has continued to dismantle our 1973 Beverly Hills Jaguar E-type Series 3 V12. He’s removed the bonnet, windscreen, top of the dashboard, heater box and various parts in the engine bay in readiness to get the engine ready to be removed. What was once a functional E-Type a week ago is now looking more like bare-bones however it’s exciting seeing it stripped down only to be built up brighter and better than ever before!
After having sourced this vehicle last year, it’s been sat in storage whilst we’ve worked on two other classics belonging to the same client. Now it’s time for this Californian dream to be restored. With a big re-design coming it’s way, the first step is to dismantle the E-Type. By removing the chrome, trim and lights, our technicians can start working on parts of the car.
The compression test also came back positive, with all the readings as they should. A compression test gives you an indication of the health of your engine, its valves, valve seats, piston rings and whether these parts are wearing evenly.
The tests should show the compressions at 110-115 psi. The test shows how much volume of air and fuel goes into the combustion chamber. If there’s not enough, for example, if only 80 psi were passing through, it would give you an indication of a serious fault in the valves. If the valves aren’t seating correctly, the air and fuel can seep out of the cylinders and lead to more serious faults.
Our stunning green Jaguar E-Type Series 2 4.2 has almost completed its thorough service. This morning Mauro was carefully replacing the carburettor rubber that fits around the air filter. This was the solution to the engine idle not running correctly.
Mauro has also fit new brakes, new back suspension arms, new front upper suspension arm ball joint and added in some high performance silicone spark plugs that allow the engine to perform at a higher level.
Mauro has also been working on modifying the steering column to remove the extra movement. Once he’d altered the steering column, he could fit the wheel back on as shown below.
Our experienced Auto Valet technician, Colin, From Viper Auto Valets has finished the jaguar project but thoroughly cleaning this stunning motor. The nature of the paint means that once polished, it’ll look good as new.
Here are the photos of the elements for the suspension and steering column.
Our 1970 Jaguar E-Type V12 is back in the workshop after its hiatus at Bentwaters whilst we waited for the chrome bumper to come back. Mauro has dedicated his morning to carefully applying the chrome bumper, making sure it fits and it’s perfectly cleaned.
The next step is to run the E-Type through a general service and send it back home!
Along with the bumper, we also received other chrome parts back for our Jaguar such as the front grill surround which Mauro has also fitted.
Mauro has also installed the steering rack tie rod ends which had been replaced as well as a new clutch slave cylinder.
We’re working on a full restoration for this lovely Beverly Hills 1973 Jaguar E-Type Series 3 V12. Originally sourced by us from Beverly Hills Car Club in America, we imported it for the client. The importance of it being from California is that we know it’s been living in a dry state, meaning that the chassis and body work is more likely to be in the best condition. The client aims to keep this e-type over in Germany to be used in Europe, hence the need for a left-hand drive.
The restoration will lead with Californian classic to take on a more traditional British Fern Grey with an Olive or Moss interior. The engine also needs to be rebuilt.
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