Peony Red’s new motor
November 17, 2020
The Peony Red Jensen 541S has had its engine rebuilt. Our engine specialist has been working to refurbish and rebuild the old engine. No one
jensen specialist
Friday Snapshot
November 13, 2020
As ever, it’s been a busy week here at Bridge Classics. We’ve had new cars arrive like the Mini Clubman, we’ve had a new winner
Reconditioned Cylinder Heads For The Gold Jensen
November 12, 2020
Our 1962 Gold and Burgundy Jensen 541S has had its cylinder head reconditioned after multiple cracks were discovered that was causing water and oil to
Peony Red Jensen’s New Parts
November 12, 2020
Our specialist technicians have been working hard on the 1960 Jensen 541S restoration. The latest refurbishments include smoothing and correcting the doors by filling any
Another Jensen, Another Fan
November 10, 2020
One of our technicians, Paul, has made an aluminum mount for the fan in the black 1960 Jensen 541R. This has been handcrafted from a
The Girl In Red
November 5, 2020
You’d be right in saying that this isn’t a red 1960 Jensen 541S. But with a bit of imagination and a lot of hard work
The Jensen’s Headlining Act
November 5, 2020
Much like any good festival, our Grey 1957 Jensen 541R also needed a headliner. In car terms, this just means the fabric fitting that coats
Suited And Booted
November 2, 2020
Our 1960 Jensen 541R has had another round of interior fittings measured up, made, and installed by our talented team in the Trim Shop. This time
Dave’s Diagnosed Our Poorly Jensen 541R’s Gearbox Issue
September 17, 2020
Having come into the Bridge Classic Cars Workshop with severe running issues, Dave was tasked with taking a look at exactly what was causing the
1960 Jensen 514R Dynamator + Inner wings
August 11, 2020
John has fitted a dynamator into our 1960 Jensen 541R. A dynamator is an alternator fitted within the original dynamo housing. Our Jensen 541R project
1957 Jensen 541R Restoration Update
July 28, 2020
Paul and Scott are both working on our 1957 Jensen 541R restoration. Today Scott is fitting in the headlights while Paul is installing the handbrake
Jensen 541 R Restoration Updates
July 1, 2020
We’ve been making wonderful progress on both of our Jensen 541R restorations. On our 1960 Black Jensen 541R, Paul has recently fitted the floor and
Jensen 541R Interior Update From The Trim Shop
June 15, 2020
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
1957 Jensen 541R Gearbox Repositioning
June 5, 2020
John has been working on our Jensen 541R Gearbox. This Tremec gearbox is mated to the Corvette engine given to this unique Jensen. To get
Both Jensen Interior Projects Continues
May 19, 2020
Brian and Kath have been flat out the past few weeks since returning to our workshop. They’ve been tackling the interior on our two Jensen
1960 Jensen Sets and Seatbelts go in
March 20, 2020
Dave has been installing the newly trimmed seats into the car. They really do look wonderful in position. He’s currently fitting the driver side seat.
1957 Jensen 541R Bodywork Goes Into Paint
March 18, 2020
Chris has been working on our 1958 Jensen 541R. He’s now finished off the last fibreglass repairs on the underside of the bonnet and completely
Jensen Interior Restoration Update
March 13, 2020
Kath, Bridge Classic Cars’ interior trim specialist has been making wonderful progress on both of our Jensen interiors. Firstly, Kath begun by sewing up the
Jensen Perspex Ready for Fitting
March 12, 2020
The perspex is now ready to be fitted to both of our Jensens. Using the old perspex as a template, the fresh perspex was made
1960 Jensen 541R Interior Trim
February 26, 2020
Kath has been making great progress on our Jensen 541R interior. She’s been carefully stripping down the original interior. The original material is then used
1957 Jensen 541 R Interior Strip Down
February 12, 2020
Kath has begun stripping down our Jensen interior. She will carefully clean and then mark out all interior fabrics and use these as reference for
Jensen 541R Custom Door Hinge
February 12, 2020
Dave has done a wonderful job fabricating new hinges for our Jensen 541R. He’s had to weld in a box section in order to extend
Jensen 541R Interior Restoration
February 7, 2020
Kath has been hard at work on our Jensen interiors. For the convertible roof she has tackled the following stages Dismantled the headlining Marked out
Jensen Dash Trimming
February 4, 2020
Kath has been working on both of our Jensen 541 R’s within the Bridge Classic Cars Trim Shop. She has been simultaneously working on interior
Jensen 541 R Electrical Update
January 30, 2020
We’ve made great progress on our beautiful 1960 Jensen 541 R. Bob has installed the wiring harness, front and rear lights and indicators. Paul has
1962 Jensen 541 S Arrives at Bridge Classic Cars
January 20, 2020
This lovely ’62 Jensen 541 S has been collected and brought back to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. It’s in for paintwork correction and a
Peony Red’s new motor
November 17, 2020
The Peony Red Jensen 541S has had its engine rebuilt. Our engine specialist has been working to refurbish and rebuild the old engine.
No one ever claimed that rebuilding engines were easier, nor pretty… Ady cleared out this huge sludge ball from the Peony Red’s engine. This rather dubious-looking ball of sludge is made from hard water and dirt caught up in the engine. Its all part of the job…
Friday Snapshot
November 13, 2020
As ever, it’s been a busy week here at Bridge Classics. We’ve had new cars arrive like the Mini Clubman, we’ve had a new winner announced yesterday and lots of new developments with our current projects. Here’s what’s gone on throughout the week!
Peugeot 504
Our engine specialist Ady has been working on the 504’s engine by fitting the flywheel and couch before fitting it back into the Peugeot.
The Peugeot has also had a recent trim shop appointment, with new carpets being made and fitted by our expert, Brian.
1960 Black Jensen 514R
The Black Jensen has had new sills made and fitted to give the finishing touch to the bottom of its driver’s door.
1994 Nissan Micra Dot
The Nissan Micra has now been finished! The paintwork has been completed, bumps and scrapes were taken out and it’s pretty much ready to go again! This endearing little Micra would make the perfect first car for someone learning to drive!
1988 Nissan 300ZX
The Nissan 300ZX has come in recently and appears to have some rather severe rust issues on the lower door sills. Among other restorations, that rust and those holes will have to go! You can see the rest of the work here.
1963 Morris Minor 1000
One of our technicians, Scott has been working carefully on the Morris Minor’s dazzling red interior. The door cards, handles, and carpets have all been fitted.
1960 Lilac Jensen 541R
This Jensen actually belongs to Bridge’s director and founder, Gordon Ranson, and is now starting its restoration journey with us! There’s a lot to do but we can’t wait to see the final product!
One of our technicians Anthony has been working on the body, hand making a lot of the elements such as the boot floor.
Barn find Mercedes
Barn finds are like hidden treasures and we love them when they come in. Currently, we’ve got two prospective projects that need cleaning up and assessing before we know what needs to be done. We really hope we’ll be able to work on these two cars!
Over the Pond Austin Healey
This Austen Healey 100 BN1 is currently residing in America but could be ours soon! Keep an eye out on our website and social media pages for updates!
Craig’s new Gastron
When you work with classic cars all the time, sometimes you want to mix it up a bit. That’s exactly what our Director Craig has done! He’s recently acquired this 3 litre speed boat. Fingers crossed for nice weather soon then!
Red Jaguar E-Type
Another prospective project has been viewed recently and it’s a beautiful red e-type that needs some TLC!
Reconditioned Cylinder Heads For The Gold Jensen
November 12, 2020
Our 1962 Gold and Burgundy Jensen 541S has had its cylinder head reconditioned after multiple cracks were discovered that was causing water and oil to mix.
The cylinder was removed and sent off for a pressure test at Coltec where the cracks were discovered. The cylinder head was then unleaded and replaced.
Peony Red Jensen’s New Parts
November 12, 2020
Our specialist technicians have been working hard on the 1960 Jensen 541S restoration. The latest refurbishments include smoothing and correcting the doors by filling any holes, taking out rust and installing custom made metal pieces.
Our engine specialist Ady carried out a full engine rebuild and has modified the piston holes by making sure the edges are bevelled at an angle rather than a sharp 90 degrees angle. This ensures the pistons fit in neater.
The rest of the engine rebuild has included the rocker fingers being refaced and re-boring with bigger pistons
Another Jensen, Another Fan
November 10, 2020
One of our technicians, Paul, has made an aluminum mount for the fan in the black 1960 Jensen 541R.
This has been handcrafted from a sheet of aluminum in our workshop. The mount allows for the fan to sit in the engine bay and be supported.
The metal sheet was then painted and fitted to the back of the fan. Paul drilled in an extra set of holes to allow for more ventilation as seen below.
The Girl In Red
November 5, 2020
You’d be right in saying that this isn’t a red 1960 Jensen 541S. But with a bit of imagination and a lot of hard work from our specialist technicians, this car soon will be a beautiful Peony Red.
However, that’s a few stages away. It’s currently with our technician Chris who is carefully working on the fiberglass body.
With fixings added, holes filled and a black stone-chip applied on the inside of the body, this Jensen is getting closer to its new colour makeover. These alterations are made to make sure the body of the car is aesthetically uniform and ready for the next stage of works.
The next stages will entail grinding out any imperfections and cracks so it can be prepared for the paint-shop.
The Jensen’s Headlining Act
November 5, 2020
Much like any good festival, our Grey 1957 Jensen 541R also needed a headliner.
In car terms, this just means the fabric fitting that coats the ceiling and gives it that finished look.
Our trim shop experts Kath and Brian have recently applied the headliner. First off they installed metal beams and padding to alleviate any rattling inside the vehicle. After this was fitted, the headlining fabric was installed, pulled tight, heated, and glued in place leaving holes for the interior lights.
The Jensen has also had foam padding added to the parcel shelf, vinyl glued into the front A posts, vinyl added to the dashboard, and holes left for the air vents.
Suited And Booted
November 2, 2020
Our 1960 Jensen 541R has had another round of interior fittings measured up, made, and installed by our talented team in the Trim Shop. This time it’s the Jensens boot that’s been fitted.
Each piece of the boot carpet has been measured by hand, stitched, and fitted in a bespoke pattern. No trim is ever the same.
Dave’s Diagnosed Our Poorly Jensen 541R’s Gearbox Issue
September 17, 2020
Having come into the Bridge Classic Cars Workshop with severe running issues, Dave was tasked with taking a look at exactly what was causing the fault in this beautiful Jensen.
Suspecting the fault to be within the gearbox, dave lowered the gearbox out of the car. Upon closer inspection, it was clear to see the issue. The drive plate splines were not the correct size and specification for the Jensen’s gearbox.
A drive plate is a plate that fits onto the flywheel, which in turn is mated to the gearbox. The splines within the drive plate are machined to perfectly fit the flywheel. It appears that an incorrect drive plate has been fitted.
The next step will be to source a correct Clutch assembly. There is wear on the pressure plate so John has advised to replace this while the gearbox is out.
1960 Jensen 514R Dynamator + Inner wings
August 11, 2020
John has fitted a dynamator into our 1960 Jensen 541R. A dynamator is an alternator fitted within the original dynamo housing. Our Jensen 541R project required a dynamator to cope with the additional electrical draw required to run the power steering.
Whilst installing and wiring in the dynameter, John also installed the wiper motor and connected this up to the wiring loom. Great work, John.
Paul, who is also working on our Jensen restoration has recently fitted the front inner arches and side panels. Paul has also now installed the side panels and all of the sill covers have now been fitted. Dave has almost completed both doors on our 1960 Jensen and is currently working on the rear windows of our 1957 541R.
Paul has completed fabricating the bonnet locators which are now ready for welding. He has also fabricated new sill brackets which are ready to be installed onto the car. Great work, team.
1957 Jensen 541R Restoration Update
July 28, 2020
Paul and Scott are both working on our 1957 Jensen 541R restoration. Today Scott is fitting in the headlights while Paul is installing the handbrake lever. Paul has had to shorten the realise button rod to perfectly fit. It’s now being fitted back into the car.
The next major steps will be to complete wiring up the car and prepare the interior for Kath and Brian in the Trim Shop to install interior trim.
Jensen 541 R Restoration Updates
July 1, 2020
We’ve been making wonderful progress on both of our Jensen 541R restorations.
On our 1960 Black Jensen 541R, Paul has recently fitted the floor and brake and clutch master cylinder. The stainless steel exhaust has been custom made by exhaust specialists Demand Engineering and installed into the vehicle.
Paul will now be moving onto fitting the clutch pipe from the master cylinder to the gearbox slave cylinder.
In the trim shop, Brian and Kath have been trimming our Corvette engine powered 1957 Jensen 541R and 1960 Jensen 541R. We’re using Connoly Vaumol Leather. 891 Luxan grain chestnut in the 1957 Jensen and 8500 Crushed grain black in the 1960 Jensen. Brian has been covering the door cards in the specified brown and black leather leather.
Brian has trimmed the front arm rests and the rear seat divider in the Connoly Vaumol Leather.
Below you can see how Kath has trimmed the door card. Using the wooden panel that Brian has made, Kath cut the leather to size and has glued and stitched the leather in place.
Kath has applied carpeting to the door panels. She is now currently making the rear seats on the 1957 Jensen 541R.
Dave has custom fabricated this panel for Brian to trim.
Jensen 541R Interior Update From The Trim Shop
June 15, 2020
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!
1957 Jensen 541R Gearbox Repositioning
June 5, 2020
John has been working on our Jensen 541R Gearbox. This Tremec gearbox is mated to the Corvette engine given to this unique Jensen. To get the gear lever position perfect John has repositioned the whole gearbox forward for the ideal driving position.
Wonderful work, John!
Both Jensen Interior Projects Continues
May 19, 2020
Brian and Kath have been flat out the past few weeks since returning to our workshop. They’ve been tackling the interior on our two Jensen 541R’s.
Brian has been mainly working on creating the bespoke wooden panelling and Kath has been working with our leather and fabric.
The old interior has been used by Kath as a template to cut our fresh leather to. She has then fitted the new leather to Brian’s bespoke built wooden panelling.
We’ve now finished work on the front two seats and the rear seat base and back swab of our black 1960 Jensen. The next stages will be to fit the headlining which will be a gorgeous cream colour. This should offset the black leather and black exterior paint wonderfully!
1960 Jensen Sets and Seatbelts go in
March 20, 2020
Dave has been installing the newly trimmed seats into the car. They really do look wonderful in position. He’s currently fitting the driver side seat. Firstly, Dave installed the seat rails before mounting the seat onto the rails.
The four point racing seatbelts are being custom fitted to the chassis.
1957 Jensen 541R Bodywork Goes Into Paint
March 18, 2020
Chris has been working on our 1958 Jensen 541R. He’s now finished off the last fibreglass repairs on the underside of the bonnet and completely stripped down the body panels for painting. He’s begun the first layers of filler primer on the boot, bonnet and side-skirts. It’s crucial at this phase to ensure the surface is absolutely immaculate before colour paint is applied. It’s only by taking extreme care now that we achieve the perfect finished product. Great work, Chris.
Jensen Interior Restoration Update
March 13, 2020
Kath, Bridge Classic Cars’ interior trim specialist has been making wonderful progress on both of our Jensen interiors.
Firstly, Kath begun by sewing up the new black leather seat covers before moving on to refurbishing the upper panels near the headlining. She then began assembling the front and rear seat bases, the rear seat middle section also required trimming in fresh leather.
Kath then began stripping the interior side panels and centre console, ready for reconditioning.
The seats are now complete and ready to be fitted back into the cars. They have been refitted to the highest quality and will look absolutely stunning fitted back into the vehicle. Great work, Kath!
Jensen Perspex Ready for Fitting
March 12, 2020
The perspex is now ready to be fitted to both of our Jensens. Using the old perspex as a template, the fresh perspex was made to the exact same shape as the original was.
These are now ready to be fitted to both cars.
1960 Jensen 541R Interior Trim
February 26, 2020
Kath has been making great progress on our Jensen 541R interior.
She’s been carefully stripping down the original interior. The original material is then used as a template for fresh material to be cut to. When cutting out the material its crucial to leave enough spare material for the seam, whilst also making the most out of each roll of the expensive leather.
These Jensen interiors are far more complex than many vehicles of the era. They use plenty of tacs to keep the material in place. This provides a wonderful tight quality finish, but is very time consuming to safely remove. We will upholster the interior in the same fashion to keep everything as original as possible.
The current red interior will be changed to a wonderful rich black leather. This will match the stunning deep black exterior that was recently finished by Chris down in the Paint Shop.
Next up, Kath will be reupholstering the interior in the freshly cut new black leather.
1957 Jensen 541 R Interior Strip Down
February 12, 2020
Kath has begun stripping down our Jensen interior. She will carefully clean and then mark out all interior fabrics and use these as reference for the new leather. Once the seats and interior trim is all stripped down, we can then work on building them back up with brand new foam and leather.
Jensen 541R Custom Door Hinge
February 12, 2020
Dave has done a wonderful job fabricating new hinges for our Jensen 541R. He’s had to weld in a box section in order to extend the Jensen’s ‘A post’ towards the rear of the car. This has allowed to doors to sit in their correct position. The Jensen will go to our in-house paint shop for bodywork to ensure the door sits perfectly flush. Great work, Dave!
Jensen 541R Interior Restoration
February 7, 2020
Kath has been hard at work on our Jensen interiors. For the convertible roof she has tackled the following stages
- Dismantled the headlining
- Marked out new material patterns onto the new fabric
- Cut out and numbered the fabric pieces
- Measured out a strips of calico for the convertible loops
- Cleaned metal bars
- Sewn headlining back together
- Inserted metal bars
Kath has also begun stripping down the Jensen seats. They actually sit on a fibreglass base that attaches to the car. The seats are currently still being prepared to be reupholstered.
Jensen Dash Trimming
February 4, 2020
Kath has been working on both of our Jensen 541 R’s within the Bridge Classic Cars Trim Shop. She has been simultaneously working on interior components for both of our Jensen 541 R restorations.
The Jensen dials have also arrived in to the workshop, ready to be fitted and wired in to the newly trimmed dash.
Great work, Kath! These new interior pieces will shortly be installed into both cars.
Jensen 541 R Electrical Update
January 30, 2020
We’ve made great progress on our beautiful 1960 Jensen 541 R. Bob has installed the wiring harness, front and rear lights and indicators. Paul has fitted the bonnet and bonnet support struts.
This restoration is now really starting to come together. The next stages will be to fit the freshly trimmed dashboard and wire in the dashboard instrumentation.
The wiring harness is labeled by Bob before permanent install.
The bonnet in position before being mounted to the bonnet support struts.
Wiring has now been installed and the lights are tested at this stage.
1962 Jensen 541 S Arrives at Bridge Classic Cars
January 20, 2020
This lovely ’62 Jensen 541 S has been collected and brought back to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. It’s in for paintwork correction and a other remedial works.
Our classic car technicians have a wealth of well experience with Jensens. As such, we’ve picked up a lot of Jensen restorations over the years with clients eager to have their cars seen to by Jensen experts. They are beautiful cars, but also present many demands and challenges in order to restore with the finest quality. Rest assured, this Jensen is now with our expert technicians who will see this lovely 541 S back on the road, ready to be enjoyed soon.
