Car accidents happen, and they’re upsetting. But nothing breaks our little classic-car-loving hearts more than when someone purposefully damages someones pride and joy.
This gorgeous 1967 Jaguar MKII came to us after having been broken into.
The car’s been left in a very sorry state. The back seat’s been ripped apart, in what we suspect was the thief’s attempt to get into the boot and steal its contents.
But, with no access to the boot from the backseat and having sustained no major external damage, this little Jag has had a fairly lucky escape.
We’ll be pleased to see her interior put right and send her on her merry way.
So be careful you cat-burglars, this is a Jaguar that might bite back!
Two beautiful classic Jaguars have arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Workshop today. Both very different cars, but both undeniably special examples.
Firstly we have the 1963 Jaguar SS100. In for a couple of minor repairs highlighted by a MOT test. This lovely classic has already received a new steering boot and a new air filter. To fit within the SS100’s engine bay, Paul has modified the filter slightly to perfectly fit. Superb work, Paul!
The 2nd Jaguar of the day is this rare XJRS TWR. Featuring a Jaguar 6.0l V12 Engine, this big cat certainly can roar.
The XJRS is in the workshop for a general health check, as well as investigating some unwanted noises coming from the underside of the car.
The TWR in this Jaguar’s name stands for Tom Walkinshaw Racing. TWR were a race team and engineering firm founded in 1976 by touring car racer Tom Walkinshaw.
TWR became associated with Jaguar in 1982. Partnering with the successful entry of the Jaguar XJS into the European Touring Car Championship.
TWR and Jaguar formed JaguarSport initially to build tuned versions of Jaguar road-cars, such as this gorgeous XJRS. They also produced upgraded versions of the XJ220 and XJR-15 sports cars at a new facility at Bloxham. By 1994, JaguarSport had been liquidated, with the Bloxham factory being overhauled for production of Aston Martin automobiles.
Take a look at the full galleries below of these stunning Jaguars.
September 29, 2020 2:59 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Our Jaguar XK150 is in the trim shop this week having it’s seats re-upholstered and new foam fitted.
Our clever classic car technician Brian has been building the seats. “I added the backseats foam to the wooden boards” he describes “then pulled the cover over tight, stapled it into place and cut off the excess.”
Next up, Brian moved onto the central armrest. “I glued the cover to the armrest board” he explains “ensuring I’ve lined up the flutes centrally.” Brian’s left some flaps of material loose so once it’s fitted into the car they can be glued to secure the armrest in place.
He’s then done something similar with the base of the seat, gluing foam to the wood and securing the cover over the top. He’s marked a centre line on the cover and foam to ensure they line up, then glued the flap under the bolster.
“I then pulled the cover round tightly” Brian tells us “again stapling in place a very neatly trimming off any excess leather.”
And there they are! Some gorgeous grey leather seat for the Jaguar XK150, all ready to seat their first passengers.
We always have our eyes peeled to spot classic on our travels. This week we spotted these delightful vehicles.
Firstly there’s this very intriguing Austin, we’d love to know more about her history, she looks like she’s had a wonderful life full of lovely road trips!
Our beady eyes also spotted this 1989 Jaguar sitting pretty in our carpark.
This unusual Teal car was also spotted this week. Inspired by Bugatti, these replicas don’t set you back £500,000 like a real 1920’s Bugatti would. Even if not quite the original, seeing one of these lurking in a local car park is still a treat for the eyes!
We took a walk around our busy workshop this afternoon to see what all our technicians are working on right now.
First up we have Paul, who’s looking into an oil leak from the 1967 Jaguar E-Type. “I’m taking the sump off to further inspect where the oil’s coming from” he explains. “It’s quite possibly that the crankshaft seals that have gone.” With some further inspection, we’re sure Paul will figure out the issue.
Here we have Tamas and Andrew, both working on different parts of our 1963 Morris Minor 1000. Tamas is preparing sections of the car ready for assembly, in this picture he’s working on the foot well. Meanwhile, Andrew is sandblasting various parts for the car.
John our Workshop Manager has been working on the dashboard fittings on our 1960 Jensen 541R. “I’ve been fitting the glove box” explains John “along with the cooling fan control unit.”
And lastly we have Dave, who’s been working on a new gearbox mount for the 1958 Jensen 541R. “I’ve made the part already” says Dave “but no doubt there’ll be several versions I make before I find one that fits perfect.”
There’s always lots happening in the workshop here at Bridge Classic Cars. The team are a little camera shy, but it’s nice to catch them off-guard doing what they do so well!
The wonderful 1971 Jaguar E-Type V12 Series 3 has been taken on a lovely little road trip this week.
Her owner, who lives overseas, came to collect her from our workshop to spend a short trip away. With the sun shining, the roof down, and some lovely long empty roads – it looks like absolute heaven!
The Jag has since been returned to us to be kept snug in our secure storage facility, eagerly awaiting her next road trip. We look forward to seeing her next adventure!
Tom has been making superb progress on our Jaguar E-Type Race car. The ethos of this build has always been to keep weight to a minimum, delivering the rawest possible E-Type racing experience whilst highlighting the incredible skill of our engineers. This car will meet all road legal requirements whilst being hugely competitive on the racetrack.
Tom has installed the custom rear quarter lights.
We created a template to shape the rear window perspex perfectly to the window frame before cutting to size.
The wiper motor is now installed.
Front headlights have been test fitted with custom moulded lightweight perspex. These still need to be trimmed to shape and fitted with sealing rubbers.
Tom has custom made a fuel pipe breather that is fitted within the fuel pipe line. This allows air to escape as the vehicle is being refuelled.
The E-Type handbrake has been sandblasted and powder coated by Darren and Chris in the paint shop. It’s now ready to be fitted into the car.
Tom has fabricated a custom seat frame from steel tubes. The seat runners have been installed onto the steel frame.
We have now fitted the rear window and rubbers. Picture left is the window being test-fitted, picture right is the completed job.
Last but by no means least for today’s E-Type update. The old wheel spinners have now been replaced with new, chrome spinners.
Great work, Tom. We’re inching ever closer to completion now. The next major task is to complete the wiring.
We’ve chosen the interior leather colour and carpet colour for our Racing E-Type.
The leather will be finished in tropic orange to compliment our exterior colour. We’ve selected a matching, darker hue for the carpeted areas. We have access to an almost limitless array of colour options for our bespoke interiors. This means we can stay as true to the original or go as wild as you can imagine with our custom made interior trimming.
Our Jaguar E-Type from Beverly Hills Car Club in L.A. has now arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
This vehicle will undergo a full restoration. We are currently discussing the specification this vehicle will be finished to. The engine and gearbox appear to be in very good condition so may not need to be refurbished. The bodywork and paint however are in need of some TLC.
Being a U.S. delivered E-Type, this car features a plastic front and rear bumper to meet U.S. safety regulations of the 70s.
Kath has begun working on these E-type seats. She put new foam in, fitted both bases before fitting the gorgeous red leather. Then she moved onto fitting the headrest before the metal stalks and metal grommets arrive to complete the seats.
We’ve had news from our American imported E-Type. The Jaguar is approaching Barcelona on its long trip from California to Felixstowe.
The vehicle is expected to arrive early in the new year. Once it lands on British soil, it’s only a 20 minute drive down the road to Felixstowe. From there, the E-Type will be taken into our workshop where work can commence.
December 18, 2019 8:50 amPublished by Craig Ranson
We were recently approached by a good friend of Bridge Classic Cars to source a V12 Series Three Jaguar E-Type. We found this lovely example for sale from US classic car sales company, Beverly Hills Car Club.
Although the vehicle looks in fine condition, this E-Type will need to undergo a full restoration to bring it up to our exceedingly high standards. We can’t wait to see this stunning car arrive on British soil.
To keep up to date with this project and our other restoration projects here at Bridge Classic Cars, keep an eye on the ‘Projects’ section of our website.
The wonderful Jaguar Mk2 was the epitome of luxury transportation when it first took to the streets in the very late 1950’s. We’ve been approached by a potential client who is looking to give this vehicle a complete restoration.
The Mark 2 Jaguar was used by the British police force, with the 3.8l engine outputting an impressive 220 bhp. Ironically, the Jaguar Mark 2’s were also known for being very popular getaway vehicles of the 60s.
The Jaguar Mark 2, driven by John Thaw’s fictional TV character, Inspector Morse recently sold at auction for over £100,000, this vehicle was the 2.4l version and had been subject to a total restoration.
Massive thank you to Harvey from Apex Signs for coming down today to apply decals to our Jaguar E-Type Racecar. It really is starting to look ready for the track.
November 22, 2019 3:50 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
We love it when clients of ours send us images like this. Thank you to the owner, Martin for sending us this fabulous picture of his 1968 Jaguar E-Type. The car has been taken for a trip up to the Lake District. It’s wonderful to see such a lovely machine being used and enjoyed on some of the the country’s finest roads.
“At the top of Wrynose pass, Lake District… all done without breaking a sweat ?”
November 20, 2019 12:25 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Wow, what a beauty! Our gorgeous deep blue Jaguar E-type is with Pete for a service. The tan leather interior compliments the striking blue interior so well. We’ll be sad to see this one leave us.
November 14, 2019 3:37 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
We use cookies to deliver the best possible experience whilst visiting our website. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies, or you can manage your preferences by clicking the link below. You can manage your preferences at any time from out Cookie Policy page.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.