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.
Chris and Dave have joined forces for the latest Jensen task.
Within the fibreglass bonnet moulding are channels. Within these channels should be metal bars used to strengthen the structure.
These are missing on many of the Jensen’s we see so whilst Chris has been working on the fibreglass Dave has been assisting with the fabrication of new metalwork.
Chris has been working on re-fitting the chrome around the windows and door tops. This exercise is done to ensure all lines and re-shaping work has been carried out perfectly and that all components will once again fit as they should when it comes to rebuilding the car after paint.
All panels around the car are now lining up beautifully so we are now very close to carrying out the paint preparation.
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.
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.
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!
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.
January 30, 2020 12:14 pm
Ady, Bridge Classic Cars’ engine specialist has begun work on our Jensen Engine restoration. He’s stripped down the engine ready for cleaning, refurbishing and then rebuild.
Having completely restored several Jensens in recent months, we’re very familiar with these wonderful classics.
Does your Jensen need restorative works? Get in touch to see how our Jensen specialist mechanics can help.
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.
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.
Chromework has arrived back at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for our two Jensen 541 R projects.
Pictured below is a selection of some of the chrome components that will be fitted to the completed restorations.
Our 1957 Jensen Bonet has been down to the paint shop for preparation. It will be fully prepped and primed before it receives its colour coat. There is a couple of quite substantial cracks that will need repairing for a perfect surface to be achieved.
Our Jensen has emerged out of the paint shop and can be seen gleaming in the sun. Chris has done a fabulous job on our Jensen 541R. Black is arguably the hardest colour to get just right, however Chris has worked wonders, firstly preparing the panels to be perfectly smooth, before then applying this stunning deep black paint.
Chris has been applying the first few coats of paint to the tricky Jensen fibreglass shell.
Our one-of-a-kind Corvette powered Jensen 541R is having custom fabricated stainless steel exhaust system made and fitted. We had originally designed a system that took the manifold above the engine but due to our customers request we’re re-routing the system underneath. We’ve had to ensure the exhaust misses the steering column and alternator. We’ve avoided too many sharp bends in order to maintain efficient airflow.
