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.
This morning we took a walk around the workshop to take a peak at how our engineers are getting on with the current projects.
The Nissan Patrol is almost ready to be set free on adventures again. Pete has given it a general ‘health check’ and service to ensure its exploration spirit is still intact.
The last stage on the Nissan is to ‘blacken’ the underside to protect it from rust and erosion, which is all the more important for adventurous vehicles like this Patrol!
Tamas has been working hard on the latest refurbishments to the MGB which has recently included a new radiator as the old one had developed some rust and holes.
The thermostat has also been refurbished along with its housing and the grill. Tamas has also installed new reversing lights as well.
The Rosytle wheels are currently in the hands of our paint specialist Darren who’s just finished applying the first layer of paint to neaten them up.
The Red MGA has had a seasonal refurbishment with a heater being added to accommodate for the cold months approaching!
Paul tells us that “the car originally never had a heater in, so the parts have been shipped in from America.”
Its not uncommon to see our classic cars fitted with modern creature comforts such as heaters and radios.
Scott has been working on fitting the doors, making sure the latches catch and shut efficiently.
Darren has also been working on the Peugeot, painting the engine bay. This needed two sets of paint, one for the inner parts and a separate colour for the outer parts to match the body of the car.
The Jensen is still in the trimming shop where Brian is installing the leather padding that sits just above the windscreen. This piece followed the original design but still had to be cut and made by hand.
Brian tells us ‘It’s quite a fiddly job to fit this panel’.
We can’t wait to see the Jensen completed with its smart new leather from our trim experts.
Our classic car electrician Adam has been working on tidying up the Amphicar’s wires and installing a second pump to ensure enough water is removed from within the vehicle. This means a custom made pump bracket will have to be designed and fitted when the second pump is installed.
Our engineer Anthony is currently applying a filler to the engine bay to smooth out any bumps.
A keen eye for detail from Anthony is needed to ensure that the Mercedes doesn’t leave the fabrication bay with any imperfections.
The interior of our 1960 Jensen 541R has had a visit to our in-house trim shop this week. The customer is going full-black exterior and interior. Kath and Brian, our trim experts, have been hard at work fitting all the interior trim right through the car.
First up, the sound deadening was glued and fitted to the metal body. This helps reduce the amount of road and engine noise while driving the car. Essential for classics, who’s engines are much loader than standard modern cars.
“I also made a template for the base of the seat” Kath explains “then glued that in and trimmed it up.” Kath also made templates around the foot well and pedals in a similar fashion. “First the sound deadening goes down” she tell sus “then I fitted the carpet in and glued it into position.” The carpet gets fitted all round the sides of the footwell so the edges are tucked away and look clean.
Carpet is also fitted around the handbrake gaiter. Kath’s also fitted the seatbelt eyes into position and cut the carpet to fit snug around them.
“I’ve then cut carpet for the foot wells and door sills.” Kath explains. The door sill carpet was then positioned and glued.
Kath then had to bind round the foot well carpets. Kath marked the position of the carpet fittings and fitted it into the car.
Leather is then fitted around the seat frame base.
The colour combination for our 1960 Jensen is black, on black, on black. Perhaps our customer is secretly a vampire, or maybe Batman? Who knows!
October 22, 2020 10:03 am Leave your thoughts
Class car technician Scott has been looking after our 1957 Jensen 541R this week. He’s been doing a bit of everything, working through a varied check list of parts to fit.
“I’ve put the rear 1/4 windows in” Scott explains “I figured out placement of the catches too, so they work with the window and then I fitted them.”
Scott then worked out the placement of the door wing mirrors. Once confident with their position, he then drilled holes and fitted them into place.
Scott’s also fitted the new Jensen horn. He’s then made a start on the windscreen system.
“Firstly, I worked out a suitable place to mount the screen wash bottle” he describes. “I fabricated a little mount bracket then fitted the screen wash bottle.”
Scott then marked out where the hole for the washer jet should go. Once happy with it’s position, he drilled the hole and fitted the washer jet component. Scott then connected all the screen wash pipework under the bonnet, securing the pipes in nice and tidily.
Scott’s then sorted some other jobs on the Jensen doors. “I fitted the chrome door trim” he tells us. “I’ve also fabricated a bump stop for the windows.” The bump stop is a small rubber part that acts as a cushion for when the widow is wound right down. This helps protect the glass and the internal mechanism from hitting into one another and causing damage.
All this little job help bring the Jensen to life, making the car user-friendly and comfortable. Great job Scott!
October 22, 2020 9:08 am Leave your thoughts
Our 1960 Jensen 541R is having some finishing touches done this week, courtesy of our specialist classic car technician Scott.
Scott’s drilled and fitted the iconic 541 badge to the rear of the car.
“I’ve also been working on things beneath the bonnet” Scott explains “I made up an oil line for the oil pressure gauge and re-routed and tidied up the throttle cable”.
Scott’s also attached the front of the side skirt and repaired and fitted the secondary bonnet catch.
“I’ve also made up this bolt for the choke” Scott shows us “and for the 1957 grey Jensen, I’ve made a rubber gasket for the bonnet badge”. Scott’s had to measure out the positioning of the bonnet badge using tape. He then drilled holes to fit the badge into position.
Scott’s also built up the door window channel on the near side. He’s then fitted the window itself. “I’ve also put the front quarter lights together” he explains “and then fitted them to the car”.
Working alongside Scott, our other specialist technician Paul has fabricated a boot panel for the black 1960 Jensen 541R. A new heater box has also been fitted by Paul.
Now all the bulky jobs are complete on the Jensen’s, we’ll be seeing a lot more of the finishing touches completed in the weeks that follow.
Because we have a few Jensen’s in for restorative work right now, these projects often work hand-in-hand with one another. It also means our technicians have become quite the Jensen experts!
October 9, 2020 10:22 am Leave your thoughts
Our stunning 1962 Jensen 541S is eagerly anticipated at her new home. Her new owners came to test drive her around the beautiful grounds at our Hanger Showroom at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk. Needless to say, they fell in love with her instantly.
One of the requests of the new owner is to have power steering installed, in what otherwise would be the original 1960’s steering system. These modernisation requests are favoured with many classics, making these stunning cars more usable and reliable.
The original steering column has been sent to our specialist modifiers in Holland. Once they’ve done the modifications they’ll send it back. We can then refit it to the car and get the power steering working.
What is already a lovely car to drive will be even smoother thanks to this seamless modification.
We can modernise classic cars to include power steering, Bluetooth, air-con or even to go fully electric. Get in touch with us today to find out more!
October 5, 2020 8:36 am Leave your thoughts
We love classic Jensen’s here at Bridge Classic Cars. So much so, that we have five in for restoration work as we speak!
Along with our projects, we also recently sold our 1962 Jensen 541S. This stunning Jensen was officially verified by Concours d’Elegance and the Jensen Owner’s Club with a incredible score of 386/400. More on this incredible car and it’s mounting accolades can be found here.
We’re always delighted when a beautiful classic finds a new home and leaves our showroom. As much as we love seeing these gorgeous cars every day, we’d much prefer them to be driven and adored by their new owners.
Meanwhile, in the workshop, our Jensen restorations are well underway. First up, our classic car technician Dave has been building a fabricated rear gearbox mount for our 1958 Jensen 541R.
Dave’s also been working on our black 1960 Jensen 541R. “I adjusted the plate mods for the steering column” he explains “the steering wheel was in the wrong position, so now it can be centralised in the dash.”
The fuel pumps have also been repaired by Dave along with the repairing the fuel leaks from the carburettors, achieved by tightening all the bolts.
Lastly, Ady our engine technician has been reconditioning the distributor on our 1961 Jensen 541R. “I’ve also cleaned and balanced the conrods,” Ady explains.
There’s still lots to do across all our Jensen’s. Each car brings it’s own history and therefore, it’s own challenges. And there’s nothing we like more here at Bridge Classic Cars than a challenge!
September 30, 2020 3:13 pm Leave your thoughts
We popped into our in-house paint and trim shops this afternoon to check out what our classic car technicians are working on today.
Darren, one of our specialist painters is sanding down the fuel tank on our 1972 Peugeot 504. “I’m stripping it right back to the bare metal” Darren explains “thereafter it’ll be ready for it’s protective coating.”
You can see in the background the shell of our Peugeot 504 that Darren’s been stripping and priming ready for her thorough paint job.
Over in the trim shop, Kath and Brian have been working on two separate cars. Both of which, interesting enough, aren’t physically with us, so it’s only their interiors we’re working with right now.
Kath’s unpicking the original interior of our white 1961 Jensen 541S. “I separate all the sections so I can use them as a pattern for the new seats.” Her owner has opted for a mushroom leather interior. So soon we’ll see Kath bringing the new seats to life!
Meanwhile Brian has been working on the seats for our Jaguar XK150. “I’m using the gun to evenly distribute the glue across the foam to make the fabric attach evenly.”
Whether it’s a full restoration on every part of the car or a repair or restoration on one singular part, we love being able to transform these beautiful classics into their owners vision.
Here at Bridge Classic Cars we carry out all our restorations in-house. We have a team of over twenty-plus technicians specialising in engines, mechanics, electrics, bodywork, paintwork and interior trim.
If you have a classic in need of some expert attention, give us a call to see where we can help – 01473 742038
September 24, 2020 7:47 pm Leave your thoughts
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!
September 24, 2020 4:02 pm Leave your thoughts
Our specialist classic car technician Paul has built a bespoke filler neck component for our black 1960 Jensen 541R.
The customer wanted the iconic chrome Monza fuel cap. Therefore, we needed to get creative and manufacture a new filler neck to accommodate this modification.
Even though not part of the original Jensen, the Monza cap looks right at home. We love making our customers visions come to life. They do indeed have great taste!
September 17, 2020 10:53 am Leave your thoughts
Dave, one of our incredible classic car experts has built a custom-made adjustable door lock for the 1960 Jensen 541R.
These parts never look much, and often on cars of this age they’re impossible to obtain. Therefore, our talented team of mechanics and classic car restoration experts often manufacture their own components.
Struggling to find a component for your classic car? Have a chat with the team to see how we can help – 01473 742038
September 15, 2020 10:50 am Leave your thoughts
Scott, one of our classic car technicians has been tinkering with several more intricate parts of both the 1957 and 1960 Jensens. “I stripped down and modified the windscreen wiper mechanism,” Scott tells us, “re-greased it, put it back together then fitted it back onto the car.”
Scott also stripped down the motor for the wipers, then cleaned the grease out, prepped and repainted it, repacked the grease then re-fitted it to the car.
Scott has also made and fitted new number plate surrounds for both Jensens. “I had to fabricate a tiny joiner or ‘mount’ as it were, for the top.”
Scott has also modified the boot lid handle as it didn’t fit. Along with sorting out the bonnet guides and rest plates and fitted the glass for the 1/4 windows and fitted them to the car too. Scott also refurbished the courtesy lights too.
“I then made a boot-prop,” Scott described. “I’ve fitted that, along with the boot catch and striker plate, then adjusted the boot so it would close.” He also then fitted the return spring to the throttle pedal.
All these little additions contribute toward what will be two fantastic cars, both looking and working. Super work Scott!
September 14, 2020 9:19 am Leave your thoughts
Both our 1957 and 1960 Jensen 541R’s had an upgrade in steering system this week.
John, our classic car workshop manager explained, “It’s a like-for-like exchange really. We take the old steering column out and replace with power steering.”
In some other cars this process can be much more complex, but for the Jensen’s it’s a case of replace and rewire.
“I then make sure it’s all fitted nicely away,” explains John, “so you can’t see it.”
We love the concept of transforming classic cars by upgrading things like power steering, aircon and installing modern technology including sound systems, Bluetooth and GPS.
Now you really can have the look and feel of a classic car, but with the luxury extras you’d find on a newer model. To find out how we can improve your classic car driving experience, give us a call – 01473 724038
September 11, 2020 8:37 am Leave your thoughts
We’re always excited to see fresh classics arrive at our workshop here at Bridge Classic Cars. So, here’s a first look at the new arrivals joining us this week.
First up, it’s our 1996 Nissan Patrol. In for a paint job, re-chroming and body preparation.
Our 1958 Jensen 541R has arrived with us with gearbox issues. The specialist technical team are on hand to diagnose the faults and get her back up and running.
These Ford Escorts are both sitting comfortably at the Hanger in Bentwaters.
The light blue Ford Escort RS Turbo belongs to a customer, she’s being kept with us in our secure storage facility where we watch over many of our customers prized possessions.
The other is our very popular 1979 Ford Escort RS2000 that believe it or not, is a competition prize where one lucky winner will be handed the keys to this beauty! For more information on our competitions click here.
Lastly, this stunning 1971 Triumph Spitfire has come to us to sort a couple of problems out. Firstly, to investigate a strange noise coming from the engine along with fixing some oil leaks.
It’s great to follow a classic cars journey from their first day with us, to when we say goodbye.
Make sure you check back on our current projects page for all the latest updates on everything we’re working on at Bridge Classic Cars.
September 10, 2020 3:06 pm Leave your thoughts
These car parts have all undergone a special cleaning treatment of vapour blasting here at our Pettistree workshop.
The inlet manifold, cam cover, sump and side covers from a Mercedes Pagoda, a 1972 Peugeot 504 and a 1961 Jensen have all had the impressive cleaning treatment and just look at those results!
Vapour blasting is an industrial cleaning method that removes tough grime and grease but is gentle enough to protect valuable and sometimes delicate components, which are often found in classic cars.
This method is perfect for our classics, returning them to their former glory these parts now look brand news, who would have thought they’re from the 60’s and 70’s?
September 4, 2020 4:04 pm
Our 1960 Jensen needed a new number plate bracket, the trouble was, none that fitted were in existence.
Therefore, our creative and very talented classic car specialist technician Paul manufactured a custom built bracket to take it’s place.
Using aluminium, he cut and bent the metal into the correct shape and fitted it seamlessly into position. You’d never tell it hadn’t started it’s life there.
Awesome work Paul!
The 1957 and 1960 Jensen 541R’s were treated to custom made bonnet supports last week. Along with this, they had their recently restored wings and sills re-fitted.
“Both cars have had their sills and wings completely restored, including a fresh paint job.” Our talented technician Paul explains. “I’ve fitted the restored parts back onto the car and built and fitted their new bonnet supports too, to keep the bonnet steady”.
Both Jensen’s are really starting to return to their former glory now, it’s great progress from the Bridge team.
September 1, 2020 2:00 pm
Work continues on the full nut and bolt restoration of the 1960’s Jensen 541R.
Replacement air filters were fitted by expert technician Paul last week. “The original inlet manifold and carburettor didn’t fit” he described. “I’ve replaced them, so she should now have more torque and perform better”.
Paul also replaced the top coolant hose and the bottom hose, both needed cutting to the correct size.
She should sound even sweeter now – good work Paul!
September 1, 2020 1:07 pm
Derek, the proud owner of the 1961 Jensen 541S came along to our workshop this week to choose the colour scheme for the restoration.
After some careful deliberation, Derek finally decided on peony red coupled with kelvin grey for the exterior with a mushroom leather interior.
We think she’ll look excellent!
Our 1957 Jensen 541R needed her chrome components re-plated, so we instructed the expertise of our good friends over at Douglas Metal Finishing.
In a few weeks we eagerly received back our bright shiny parts, including a bonnet grill, window chromes and the Jensens iconic ‘541’ badge.
Looking forward to seeing these fixed back in their rightful place. We do love our chrome extra shiny!
August 21, 2020 11:55 am
Dave has been working on our 1960 Jensen 541R restoration. He has taped up the side rear windows to test fit into the car for a trial fit.
The rear windows are fitted in place after some polishing and filing. Dave is now bolting these fixed windows in position.
Dave has had to modify the doors on our Jensen to allow the glass to move freely up and down through the door. He has had to cut out a strip of metal at the top of the door, move it back a few millimetres and then weld the metal back into the correct position.
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.
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.
Brian and Dave have been making up the Jensen door pockets that intrude into the door card, providing storage space.
Using the original wooden pocket as a template, Brian has cut new wooden inserts and handed them over to Dave.
In the workshop, Dave has custom fabricated new metal surround for the pocket. This will head back into Brian in the trim shop for final fabric trimming and fitting. Although this task alone is but a small detail, it needs to perfectly match the original door pocket to ensure the vehicle is restored as true to the original as possible. The overall quality of a restoration is determined by how precisely the smaller details are restored. Wonderful work, Dave and Brian!
Brian, one of our Classic Car Technicians who specialises in Interior Trim has been making superb progress on the interior of our 541R.
Brian has fabricated new footpanels with back supports screwed in. He’s also stripped down the old scuttle panels.
He’s cut new scuttle panels and drilled correctly placed holes.
Brian has dismantled the original under-dash panels and is making new under-dash panels from millboard. He’s stripped down the original door panel infills and trimmed in black leather. The attention to detail is second to none. Beautifully done, Brian.
Paul has been working on our 1960 Jensen 541R restoration. He’s fitted the doors and prepared the prop shaft to paint black.
A new brake servo unit has been fitted with custom brackets. We’ve installed EPS (Electronic Power Steering) and fitted in place. Paul has also installed the Brake and clutch pedal mounting box. He’s fitted the front brake hose and modified bracket to hold the hose.
Kath and Brian has done a wonderful job transforming the roof lining of our Jensen 541R. There’s a lot of black components on this Jensen specification. The roof lining however is finished now in this sumptuous perforated cream headlining fabric, expertly trimmed by our Trim Shop team. They begun by fitting the restored roof bars into the roof of the car, using the old headlining as a template, it was a challenge to get the fabric to fit perfectly without any creases. This required the fabric to be kept taught from all angles. It’s now finished and looking wonderful.
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!
We’ve had to say goodbye to our lovely Jensen 541S as it returns to it’s owner. Our skilled technicians are incredibly familiar with Jensen vehicles and we have become one of the most trusted Jensen specialists in the UK.
This 541S was brought in to us to repair the front bonnet, relocate the front bonnet latches and to replace the front bonnet grilles. Finally the vehicle was MOT’d before trusting our good friends at Russell’s Transport to transport the vehicle home. Please note, the vehicle was transported before the latest government advice to avoid all non-essential travel. We have since closed our workshops for the safety and health of both our staff and customers.
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.
