Happy 60th Birthday Little MG A
Our 1960 MG A’s owner got in touch to tell us that it’s his classic’s 60th birthday, marking 60 years since it was first registered.
Our 1960 MG A’s owner got in touch to tell us that it’s his classic’s 60th birthday, marking 60 years since it was first registered.
After engine rebuild, our MG was taken to the owners boat for a day out with his grandchildren, both had a ride in the MG,
Lots has been happening behind the scenes with our MGA, much of which has happened at our outsourced partners such as Scholar. Pouring fluid into
We’ve welcomed back this lovely 1960 MG A for a service. We originally restored this stunning classic and were delighted to hear how happy Mike
Receiving letters like the one below is what makes all our hard work even more worth it. We took on Mike’s lovely 1960 MG A
It’s a bitter sweet feeling when we say our final goodbye’s to a classic that’s been with us for a full restoration. Our gorgeous 1960
Friend to Bridge Classic Cars, Tony Burgess of Wyatt Polishing in Thetford, attended the MG Car Club Championships this weekend and kindly sent us a
Our MGA restoration has been progressing nicely. The body has been down in our in-house trim shop with Chris. Chris has been checking body panel
Paul has continued work on our lovey 1960 MG A. He’s fitted the rear axle with brakes. The leaf spring suspension and a fuel pump
Ady, Bridge Classic Cars’ in-house engine specialist has been working on a complete engine restoration on our 1960 MG A engine. Here is a brief
Paul has continued work on our 1960 MG A Chassis. Paul is working on the MGA floor panels now. He’s used the old wood to
Paul has continued work on our MG A complete restoration. There was damage to the rear differential but Paul has now welded that up in
Paul has been hard at work fitting the front brake assembly onto the MG A chassis.
The dash has been dismantled and is now being sandblasted. Once sandblasted, it will be ready to be repainted and then reinstalled back onto the
Our MG A chassis has visited our in-house paint shop here at Bridge Classic Cars . It’s now back in the workshop ready for Paul
Ady, our in-house engine specialist here at Bridge Classic Cars has done a wonderful job assembling the engine and gearbox on our 1960 MG A.
Ady, our in-house engine specialist here at Bridge Classic Cars is now onto assembling the engine. The following has been completed on this lovely motor.
Here at Bridge Classic Cars our engine specialists have been getting our MG A engine ready for assembly. Darren has painted the engine block and
Our 1960 MG A’s owner got in touch to tell us that it’s his classic’s 60th birthday, marking 60 years since it was first registered. Happy birthday MG A!
After engine rebuild, our MG was taken to the owners boat for a day out with his grandchildren, both had a ride in the MG, all happy.
Lots has been happening behind the scenes with our MGA, much of which has happened at our outsourced partners such as Scholar.
Pouring fluid into the combustion chamber of the cylinder head to determine the pressure ratio of the engine. We’ve had the head refaced, so this confirms that the compression ratio is still okay. The results of the test showed that the combustion chamber is functioning correctly.
Ady has been rebuilding the engine.
Ady and James have made the baffle for the engine sump which will stop oil surge whilst the engine is running.
The engine head has also been recently painted.
We’ve also ordered a collection of new components to be fitted into the engine.
We’ve welcomed back this lovely 1960 MG A for a service. We originally restored this stunning classic and were delighted to hear how happy Mike is with his beloved motor when he dropped it off with us this morning.
We’ve begun by draining the oil out of the engine to replace it as this is advised to do either once a year or every 6000 miles. This is important to do as when the oil has circulated around the engine numerous times, it can collect metal pollutants and lose its effectiveness.
Receiving letters like the one below is what makes all our hard work even more worth it. We took on Mike’s lovely 1960 MG A in 2019 as a barn find. In just over a year, we restored it back to its original beauty. Hearing Mike’s story is a treasured reminder of how each and every classic car comes full of fond memories and stories, and it’s our job to keep these vehicles going so they can collect more stories.
The letter reads:
Dear Gordon and Craig,
There are few things in life more gratifying than to sit behind the wheel of your first car, 50 years later and to experience once again the thrill of a 19 year old!
In little over a year, you have transformed my MGA from a wreck into a beautiful machine. I appreciate very much the work you have done for me.
With my thanks and very best wishes,
Mike
P.s Please do post this on your website if you wish.
You can see here what the MG A looked like when we found it and what it looked like afterwards, as well as some sentimental photos of it back in the day.
It’s a bitter sweet feeling when we say our final goodbye’s to a classic that’s been with us for a full restoration. Our gorgeous 1960 MG A has been with us for over a year, so we’ve got pretty used to seeing this beautiful car every day.
We’ve completed many an MG restoration over the years, but none quite tugged on our heartstrings quite like this one. Not least because of how beautiful the car is itself, but the owner Mike too, who’s won us over with the love he holds for this very special piece of history.
Mike is clearly besotted with his MGA, and rightly so. We too couldn’t help but swoon over the pictures of the MGA from back in her prime in the 70’s. “I was driven in this MGA on my wedding day, by my best man” Mike told us, “so it holds a very special place in my heart”.
After years searching for his beloved MG A, Mike eventually tracked her down. She’d spent 26 years stored in a barn, and although we could all see her potential, a lot of work needed to be done.
Mike had met the Bridge Classic Cars team years before, so knew we were the ones he wanted to bring his precious MGA back to life. We started work on the MGA by stripping the car bare and removing the engine to complete a full engine rebuild.
With the engine parts restored, any parts that couldn’t be restored replaced and a fresh coat of paint on the engine block, the engine was then fully reassembled and looked a treat.
The car’s shell was treated to a good rub down and primed, ahead of going into our specialist paint shop here at Bridge Classic Cars. With so much nostalgia attached to this car, Mike decided to keep her in the original signal red he knew and loved.
The MGA had a lot of mechanical and electrical work to have done to get her into full working order. Restoration work was carried out by Bridge Classic Car’s specialists technicians on the dashboard, suspension, gearbox and brakes.
It was then time for the Bridge Classic Cars specialist trim shop to work their magic on the cars interior. For a full interior restoration the MG A was given newly upholstered chairs, flooring, door and boot panels.
Not forgetting the MGA’s iconic soft top, which was also treated to a custom made roof by Bridge’s specialist trim shop team. All in-keeping with the original design of the car, but with a black roof, as per Mikes request.
With the final finishing touches added to this stunning car, including chrome bumpers, wing badges, a new windscreen and a spare tyre cover, the 1960 MG A was really starting to look like herself again.
As the entire car was undergoing a full restoration, most members of the Bridge Classic Cars family play a part in putting this beauty back together again. We are so chuffed with the final result – as is Mike!
Mike came to collect his pride and joy and was overwhelmed with the special memories this classic car brings back to him.
Mike marked the occasion with a special poem, written especially for us at Bridge Classic Cars.
From a barn to a palace – Bridge Classics.
From a palace to a crown.
The crown fits an Austin Princess,
But who now wears the crown?
1960 to 2020 – the story goes,
The crown was replaced by an octagon (no less!)
In which the immortal letters MG are found,
And in 60 long years,
She faithfully conveyed seven proud owners-
With assorted histories of lives lived and journeys made.
And where is she now?
Why back with me my lads and lassies,
My very first car!
Oh, what a star.
Come back from afar.
Thank you all, at Bridge Classic Cars’
We all wish Mike many more joyous road trips in his beautiful 1960 MG A, it’s been an absolute pleasure for us to restore. Happy driving Mike!
Friend to Bridge Classic Cars, Tony Burgess of Wyatt Polishing in Thetford, attended the MG Car Club Championships this weekend and kindly sent us a few snaps.
Racing on the 300 circuit, the MG Car Club had all of its Championships in attendance, including the history-rich Cockshoot Cup. There’s a brilliant weekend to be had at this MG specific event, where guests can get up close to many a historic MG race car as well as watching them race too.
We’re big fans of the MG here at Bridge Classic Cars and have worked on many over the years.
One of our favourites was our 1947 MG TC we did a lot of restoration work on, you can read more about the project here.
Another favourite of ours was this gorgeous 1960 MG A. She came to us for a full restoration including paint, engine, interior and body work. Her owner was so chuffed with the restoration he’d written a poem especially for the occasion. You can read about all the work we did on this stunning MG A here.
We’ve even featured an MG in Bridge Classic Car Competitions. Our 1964 MBG Roadster was our first ever prize. Lucky winner Graham Haigh has since been enjoying his new Roadster throughout the summer.
Our MGA restoration has been progressing nicely. The body has been down in our in-house trim shop with Chris. Chris has been checking body panel fitment and making any nessasary adjustments for perfect panel gapping.
From this stage, the panels have been thoroughly prepared. Chris has sanded and filled in the panels multiple times to make sure the surface is perfect before it goes into paint.
Great work, Chris! We can’t wait to see how this MGA looks after painting!
Paul has continued work on our lovey 1960 MG A. He’s fitted the rear axle with brakes. The leaf spring suspension and a fuel pump have also recently been installed onto the car. The MG is now ready for the half shafts and brake drums to be fitted next.
Ady, Bridge Classic Cars’ in-house engine specialist has been working on a complete engine restoration on our 1960 MG A engine.
Here is a brief rundown of Ady’s process:
Paul has continued work on our 1960 MG A Chassis. Paul is working on the MGA floor panels now. He’s used the old wood to measure up a template before fabricating new wooden floor panels. He’s repaired the front chassis section and prepared it for paintwork.
As pictured the rear section of the driveshaft tunnel has severely deteriorated and will wither need repair or replacing.
Paul has continued work on our MG A complete restoration. There was damage to the rear differential but Paul has now welded that up in preparation for its refit into the car.
Paul has been hard at work fitting the front brake assembly onto the MG A chassis.
The dash has been dismantled and is now being sandblasted. Once sandblasted, it will be ready to be repainted and then reinstalled back onto the MG A during the interior refit stage.
Our MG A chassis has visited our in-house paint shop here at Bridge Classic Cars . It’s now back in the workshop ready for Paul to begin re-assembily. As with all of our restoration projects, we endeavour to refurbish components to as new quality. If we do have to replace components, it will always be with the highest quality parts for the vehicle. The next step will now be to build up the suspension units and then get it on wheels.
Ady, our in-house engine specialist here at Bridge Classic Cars has done a wonderful job assembling the engine and gearbox on our 1960 MG A. After a total engine rebuild we can’t wait to see this back in the car and starting for the first time!
Ady, our in-house engine specialist here at Bridge Classic Cars is now onto assembling the engine. The following has been completed on this lovely motor.
Here at Bridge Classic Cars our engine specialists have been getting our MG A engine ready for assembly. Darren has painted the engine block and Ady has either refurbished or replaced all the other components.
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.
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