The subframe from the 1960 Jensen 541R has arrived back at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after being sent away for blasting. The team sent
The 1958 Jensen 541R has been in the body shop to be perfected and prepared in preparation for the careful painting of its roof. The
The 1956 Jensen 541 has been moved from the Bridge Classic Cars workshop to begin its bodywork journey. As part of its restoration, the team
The restoration workshop at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ have been working on getting the various mounts, brackets and hinges into place on the 1956
Bridge Classic Cars are pleased to unveil the newly completed chassis for the 1956 Jensen 541 has arrived back at our Suffolk restoration workshop. The
The Bridge Classic Cars team took a trip over the weekend to head north and collect the 1959 Jensen 541R from its resting place and
It’s the small details on a restoration that we believe take it to a world-class finish. Interiors are a huge part of the experience of
The Jensen 541 interiors are special. Each one entirely handmade with the best materials, all crafted and fitted by hand as it would have traditionally
Peony Red, the 1960 Jensen 541S, is reaching the end of its restoration and its pre-delivery inspection. So it’s time to get the last few
Its been a busy week, with once again, many cars leaving, lots making big milestones and photoshoots! Behind the scenes on the Rolls Royce shoot
Brian has been making some superb progress on lots of smaller jobs on our Jensen interior restoration. He firstly stripped down the scuttle air vent
Dave has been working on our wonderful 1957 Jensen 541R. He’s had to convert the door hinges to allow the doors to correctly fit. To
The subframe from the 1960 Jensen 541R has arrived back at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop after being sent away for blasting.
The team sent away the subframe for blasting to get a better look at the condition of the piece. Once it arrived back, the team have noticed that several of the mounts and brackets are heavily bent and misshapen while the bottom of the subframe has some areas of corrosion.
The subframe will be taken over to our in-house fabrication shop to be repaired and further checked over.
The 1958 Jensen 541R has been in the body shop to be perfected and prepared in preparation for the careful painting of its roof.
The team firstly covered the area in polyfan, which was then sanded back to double check for any low or high spots and then it was taken into the paint booth, reprimed and then the most important part of this particular stage.
The team then set about painting the large, curved roof in special Lobelia Blue, its original colour according to the Jensen records. The team laid down layer after layer of the deep, rich blue across the roof and scuttle panel of the classic GT car.
The 1956 Jensen 541 has been moved from the Bridge Classic Cars workshop to begin its bodywork journey. As part of its restoration, the team will go through every panel and gap to make sure everything is absolutely perfect before it is painted.
Before then, our restoration workshop have worked on every aspect of the body and frame of the classic 541. This 541, being a very early car noted by the very thin body contour that extends from the rear arch, sits on top of a brand new handmade frame made especially for this particular car and incorporates the early style front suspension. The final finishing touch the workshop had finished was the stunning aluminium sill caps which were capped and fitted to the car along with the new lower front wing and door skins.
All of these identifiable pieces will be worked on and perfected by the in-house body shop team.
The restoration workshop at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ have been working on getting the various mounts, brackets and hinges into place on the 1956 Jensen 541.
To begin with, our technician Rob made new arch filler panels which bridge the gap between the frame and the fibreglass body, blending the two together for strength and alignment.
Then, he could turn his attention to the various hinges around the classic GT car. At the front, Rob made a new strengthening bracket which sits behind the fibreglass for the bonnet hinges. The brackets are welded into the firewall and chassis for rigidity and to take the load of the one-piece clamshell bonnet.
At the rear, the workshop team mounted the boot hinges in place and use the boot lid for mock-up to adjust the placement of hinges to make sure the panel fitment is just right for the car.
Bridge Classic Cars are pleased to unveil the newly completed chassis for the 1956 Jensen 541 has arrived back at our Suffolk restoration workshop.
The newly completed chassis has been made especially for this project as the car will be converted to a left-hand drive. The custom-made bulkhead has not been drilled or cut for the conversion so our workshop team can make sure that all the necessary systems can be worked into the car in real space.
It’s amazing to see this key piece of the project returning to our restoration workshop.
The Bridge Classic Cars team took a trip over the weekend to head north and collect the 1959 Jensen 541R from its resting place and bring it back to our Suffolk HQ.
It was an early start with our new van hitched up to our enclosed trailer to make the journey to the north of England to collect the most recent of our 541’s. This car was offered to us for sale because of our long-running history of restoring the Jensen 541 family to the very highest of standards.
Once the team had reached the home of the 541R, and some seriously skilful trailer driving by our director Gordon, the car was carefully pulled out of its garage and out into the open for the first time in several years. The car is remarkably complete with most of the pieces removed from the classic sports car stored back inside the body.
Gordon and Eva inch by inch loaded the 541R into the enclosed trailer, safely secured it and then began the long journey back home with the latest addition to the Bridge Classic Cars family.
It’s the small details on a restoration that we believe take it to a world-class finish. Interiors are a huge part of the experience of these cars for their very lucky owners as it’s the best seat in the house in our opinion. That’s why our in-house trim shop takes everything to the next level in terms of fit and finish.
Brian, one of our in-house trim experts here at Bridge Classic Cars, has been hard at work stripping down and recovering several of the larger components for the 1956 Jensen 541. Brian began by stripping back the original dash and ceiling pads ready for them to be recovered in matching red leather to the rest of the interior. Carefully, Brian worked his magic on revealing the original piece that lay under the weathered coverings for assessment.
The pieces themselves were in remarkable shape. So, very little was needed before they were prepared for their new look. Inch by inch, Brian began with the underlays for each piece making sure they were cut perfectly to size before being married to the piece. Then, using the best hide, Brian began the process that would make them complete.
Using his years of experience in high-end retrimming, Brian stretch and secured the leather to the piece making sure at each point that the coverings sat flat and straight onto the original 1950s pieces. As you can see, the results are sensational just like the rest of the interior on this wonderful early car.
The Jensen 541 interiors are special. Each one entirely handmade with the best materials, all crafted and fitted by hand as it would have traditionally been done back at the factory. Kath, our in-house trim expert here at Bridge Classic Cars, has been working on retrimming the front seats of the 1956 Jensen 541.
Those who have been following along will have seen the condition the seats originally came out of the car like. The foam and covering had all but rotted away to dust but the shells were in good condition and reusable. Kath and the trim team refurbished the shells and made brand newly fitted foams to sit inside the fibreglass buckets.
Now, it was time to trim them. On one of the original seat base was a tiny piece of the original leather. A dark, crimson red. This was the colour that was decided on, to be put back to original specification. Kath carefully matched the materials closest to the original colour to be sent to the owner for selection. Once that was decided on, Kath then began the process of getting the coverings cut to shape and fitted. Each piece was templated and the appropriate swatch of material was selected and cut for the job. Using adhesive, gentle heat and small stretching techniques Kath managed to get the covers in place.
The results are incredible. A wonderful testament to not only the skill and craftsmanship of our in-house trim team but to the timeless design of the 541.
Peony Red, the 1960 Jensen 541S, is reaching the end of its restoration and its pre-delivery inspection. So it’s time to get the last few finishing touches completed and in the car.
One of these systems that is being finished by our in-house trim experts is the sound system. Peony Red has got a modern stereo unit, although it is a classic-looking head unit it is thoroughly up to date. With that, it does require a set of new speakers.
Kath has been working on making new speaker boxes from scratch for the car. These were made from a simple wooden box but finished in matching carpet to the rest of the interior to blend into the car and be completely useable for her new owner.
Just because it’s a classic car, doesn’t mean you can’t have some of the modern luxuries. We think its a good balance of old and new in this stunning 1960 Jensen 541S
Its been a busy week, with once again, many cars leaving, lots making big milestones and photoshoots!
We were extremely lucky with the weather on Wednesday for our Rolls Royce Corniche shoot at Hintlesham Hall.
This stunning 16th Century Elizabethan hotel created the perfect backdrop to shoot the regal 1973 Rolls Royce Corniche with our friend Giles, who made the perfect model.
We’re currently selling the Rolls Royce, so if you’d like to look this suave, head over to our website to see more about it!
You can see our Behind The Scenes video on our Instagram Reels!
Our ray of sunshine, the Yellow 1973 Triumph TR6 has just left the workshop!
It came in with some issues concerning the gearbox so we swiftly replaced the clutch slave cylinder and it was back up and running in no time!
It was delivered back to its owners this morning.
We’ve recently received another Jensen to restore. Although it’s currently a dull white, it will soon blossom into a beautiful Peony Red! This is a really exciting project for us as it’s going to be an amazing transformation!
Earlier in the week it had its fiberglass body worked on, smoothing down the exterior and adding a layer of stone chip to the inside. You can see that here.
Since then, our technicians Chris and Ant have tidied the metal plate work by welding and smoothing the exterior to make it all uniform. A primer has been added and a DTM satin paint applied on top.
The chrome pieces for the Jensen have also been sourced and cleaned, ready to be applied.
The doors have been refurbished with rust and holes corrected and parts of the inner door having been refurbished.
We’ve recently bought a 1974 VW Beetle for a near future competition car! We cant wait to get started on this beautiful green vehicle!
We’ve also had a lot of work on our other cars such as new trimmings for the Grey Jensen, custom window wipers and pump for the Nissan, new wheels on the MGB, new seat belts on the purple TR6.
Brian has been making some superb progress on lots of smaller jobs on our Jensen interior restoration. He firstly stripped down the scuttle air vent covers ready to retrim.
Brian has also stripped down and recovered the main Jensen dash panel. He has re-trimmed this in black vinyl. This black vinyl is extremely tactile, providing a luxurious, understated finish that will offset the chrome work superbly.
Brian has restored the original glovebox, re-trimming the glovebox with new carpet.
Brian has also made one pair of rear door capping from 9mm ply wood. He chiselled the correct cutouts and shaped the wood to perfectly match the original. Great work, Brian!
Dave has been working on our wonderful 1957 Jensen 541R. He’s had to convert the door hinges to allow the doors to correctly fit.
To do this Dave has cut out the old door plate and fabricated a new door plate, using our 1960 Jensen door as reference to match it perfectly.
He’s then had to modify the ‘A Post’ on our Jensen to sit 4 inches further forwards towards the front of the vehicle.
In order for Dave to check the fitment on the vehicle, the new hinges have been temporarily tacked together with a mild copper. This is strong enough to take the weight of the door during the test fitting process, yet also easy to remove when we undertake the final welding.
Only once we have the perfect fitment will Dave fully weld up the door hinges and get the panels ready for painting.
Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.
