It’s a divisive viewpoint in the classic car world – Do you use your classic in the snow and clean it down afterwards or keep
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars are deep into the reassembly of the newly repainted bodyshell of the 1978 MG B GT, beginning with
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars HQ have begun to refit and adjust the panelwork from the 1978 MG B GT back onto the
The Bridge Classic Cars team have been making progress on the 1978 MG B GT. Our restoration technician, Rob, has worked on getting the new
Every car has a story. The series of events from the day its first owner stared wide-eyed at their new car to the teary-eyed day
The 1978 MG B GT has been moved from the paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars to our main restoration workshop for the team to
Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ is this beautiful dark green 1971 MG B Roadster. The restoration teams at the Pettistree workshops
Our friend Chris has brought his Iris Blue 1963 MG B Roadster in for the workshop team to have a look at a running issue
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have replaced the front shock absorbers on the 1975 MG B GT V8 in with us. Upon inspection, our
The 1975 MG B GT V8 has come back to visit the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the team to have a look at an
The 1978 MG B GT has moved from the workshop into the Bridge Classic Cars preparation area for our paint and body team to start
The 1978 MG B GT is having some of the final stages of its metal work carried out by the restoration workshop here at Bridge
The restoration workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on completing the repairs to the bodyshell of the 1978 MG B GT in with
The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop has been busy continuing the bodywork repairs on the 1978 MG B GT in with us for restoration. The
The bodyshell of the 1978 MG B GT in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ has had more metal work
The bodywork on the 1978 MGB GT which is in for restoration with Bridge Classic Cars continues while the rest of the car is being
The restoration technicians in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ have been busy rebuilding and cleaning up the distributor and carburettors of
The rear seat of the 1978 MGB GT in for restoration at Bridge Classic Cars has been refoamed and recovered by our in-house trim shop
With the 1975 MGB GT V8 off to its new home with its lucky winner Roger, the team at Bridge Classic Cars organised having a
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on very carefully unpicking and deconstructing the rear seat of the 1978 MGB GT. Brian
The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars worked on removing the interior of the 1978 MGB GT before it headed to our body shop to
The workshop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on the 1968 MGC Roadster. Our technician Jon has been getting a series
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have some of the trims and pieces from the 1978 MGB GT in the paint booth to be
The sunroof for the 1978 MGB GT is on the workbench of the trim shop here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ and it
Now that the aesthetic restoration of the 1977 MGB Roadster is complete, we thought we would pull the 1970s convertible out of the workshop and
The metalwork on the 1978 Blaze Orange MGB GT has begun! All of the new panels and pieces have arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars
The new panels for the 1978 MGB GT have arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. These pieces were ordered for the restoration of the
As the aesthetic restoration of the 1977 MGB Roadster in the Bridge Classic Workshop at our Suffolk HQ gets closer to completion, the in-house trim
The final pieces for the restoration of the 1978 MGB GT are out of the car! Our in-house restoration teams have worked on getting the
The Bridge Classic Cars trim shop have put a new rear screen into the original convertible hood for the 1977 MGB Roadster. The use of
It’s a divisive viewpoint in the classic car world – Do you use your classic in the snow and clean it down afterwards or keep it tucked away?
Well, the cold weather was closing in on our Suffolk HQ this morning. As the snow began to fall across the surrounding countryside, some of our own cars which are stored outside whilst awaiting time in the workshop got a light dusting. One of those, was our personal 1969 MGC GT.
That’s what sparked this question. In period, these cars would of course have been taken out and driven in all weathers but as their rarity and age grow so does the scarcity in which they are used in the majority of cases.
During the cold snap a few years ago, I owned a 1972 Volkswagen Beetle 1300 and proved (if only to myself) that categorically it was the greatest all-terrain vehicle of all time. With no ABS, no power steering or traction control to interfere with driving and all its mighty 36BHP heading straight to the rear wheels with the weight of its flat-four engine sitting right above it, the grip was phenomenal as I drove on my hour long commute across the wintery Suffolk countryside on back lanes and B-roads.
But, it did pay a price. I forgot to clean down the wings and front edge of the pan which began to corrode. This would ultimately spread and caused me some more issues down the line. But, I learnt from that. Just like with a modern car, the salt and moisture will begin to cause damage and corrode components if left.
It’s not as noticeable with modern cars as it is with classics, perhaps down to the wider use of plastics and composites for body panels and trims or better weather proofing in modern paints and coatings but if left long enough for long periods of time, the dreaded bubbles start to appear…
Our customer cars do not go outside in this kind of weather. At the first hints of any rain or not ideal weather, they are brought inside for safe keeping and cleaned down instantly before being put away in the shelter of our workshop.
But it’s an interesting thought, do you use them in the winter or keep them tucked away?
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars are deep into the reassembly of the newly repainted bodyshell of the 1978 MG B GT, beginning with the front end.
Our technician Rob has been working on getting the front suspension put together and in place on the newly installed cross-member. The spindles and control arms are in place to check tolerances and operations before they will be tightened down to spec and secured.
Also, Rob has fitted up the colour-matched front valance to the car and aligned it perfectly with the rest of the Blaze Orange bodywork.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars HQ have begun to refit and adjust the panelwork from the 1978 MG B GT back onto the car.
Our technician Rob has been working his way from the front of the classic sports car to the back beginning with the front wings. The wings were bolted on followed by the doors in order to adjust and align each of them to get the right fitment and panel gaps as part of the rebuild following the paint and body work being finished off.
Then, after the wings and doors had been adjusted Rob could fit the rear hatch and adjust it accordingly.
The Bridge Classic Cars team have been making progress on the 1978 MG B GT.
Our restoration technician, Rob, has worked on getting the new exhaust fitted up on the underside of the classic sports car. With the whole system fitted front to back, the team could then move on to the next job.
The team could begin to prepare the front cross-member to be fit up into the car. The whole car is being fit out with new polybushes all round and the bushings in the front cross-member is no different. Rob has fit the bushes in before being able to bolt the whole assembly into the underside of the car. With it completely fit up into the car, the team then began to hang the front suspension and steering parts while also being able to slip the engine mounts in and bolt the engine firmly into place.
Every car has a story. The series of events from the day its first owner stared wide-eyed at their new car to the teary-eyed day they said goodbye, a cycle that repeats throughout the years, decades and generations. So, when we find an extensive and in-depth history file in the car it always makes for amazing reading.
In this case, it’s the story of the 1971 MG B Roadster. Its previous owner has meticulously catalogued his work with the car but also did something we find utterly beautiful.
The previous had managed to track down the car’s original owner! The car was collected from a local MG dealer in Colwyn Bay in Wales on the 1st of January 1971, a British Racing Green with black interior 2-seater sports car. The first owner kept the car for a few years before then selling it to a friend who also adored the car for several years before selling it on.
Inside of the history folder is several handwritten letters between the previous owners to fill in the gaps in the car’s history.
There’s also a wonderful leather-bound photo album that documents the car’s aesthetic restoration in 1989/1990.
Again, it all goes to add to the incredible history of the car and show that each and every one of our classics has a story beyond our own with our cars.
The 1978 MG B GT has been moved from the paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars to our main restoration workshop for the team to begin reassembly of the classic MG B.
As part of its restoration, the car was stripped back to bare metal and any areas of corrosion fixed before our paint and body teams worked on getting the sportscar into the best possible condition. Then, it went into our in-house paint booth/oven to be refinished in its beautiful Blaze Orange colour you see here.
Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ is this beautiful dark green 1971 MG B Roadster.
The restoration teams at the Pettistree workshops will go through the car aesthetically and mechanically to put together their report on the MG B.
Keep a look out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more on the 1971 MG B Roadster very soon.
Our friend Chris has brought his Iris Blue 1963 MG B Roadster in for the workshop team to have a look at a running issue on the classic convertible.
When out for a drive and trying to pull away from a junction, the car stalled and wouldn’t restart until the car had cooled down enough. At the moment, we’re experiencing very warm weather here in Suffolk so the team wanted to get the beautiful MGB back to Chris as quickly as possible for him to enjoy in the amazing Summer weather.
Jon, our workshop technician, test drove the car and confirmed the issue with the car near our workshop. From there, he began to inspect the car and found a cracked fuel hose which was replaced with a new piece and then began to look at the carburettors.
Jon removed the units from the car in order to strip them down on the bench after noticing an idle speed issue with the car and adjusting it while running. This helped the pulling away problem but didn’t resolve it. So, a thorough clean-up of the body and ports inside. He also cleaned up the carburettor piston and jets to make sure that no sediment or debris was blocking the fuel flow.
Then, the carburettors were fitted back onto the manifold of the classic MG B before Jon took it back out on a road test to check for the issue. All was ok on the road test while pulling away from a junction after the car was up to temperature and started multiple times while hot.
After that, the car was signed off and delivered back to Chris to enjoy the amazing weather!
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have replaced the front shock absorbers on the 1975 MG B GT V8 in with us.
Upon inspection, our technicians noted there were a few leaks coming from the components so replacements were ordered. Once they arrived in stock, Jon began to remove the old components from the front suspension to cross-check them against the new pieces.
With everything checked, the new shock absorbers could be put into place and tightened down. Before the car was road tested and given the all-clear by the workshop.
The 1975 MG B GT V8 has come back to visit the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the team to have a look at an oil leak reported by the owner of the car, Roger, who won the car from us back in December.
The car has been used and enjoyed by Roger but after a drive noticed an oil leak coming from the B GT V8 and had it looked at by another garage locally to him who unfortunately didn’t seem to find the problem. So, Roger asked if the car could be looked at by the team here.
Once it arrived and our technician Jon got it onto a ramp, he could see the oil sump had taken a considerable hit at some point and he suspects this had caused the gasket to partially blow out due to the edges (which make up the mating surface for the gasket) to roll outwards and not seal correctly.
So, the team cleaned out the original sump for the car and carefully cleared off the paper gasket to begin reshaping the sump whilst we waited for the new cork-style gasket to be delivered. Once it arrived in stock, Jon could fit the new replacement gasket and fit the cleaned and reshaped sump to the underside of the V8 and top up with fluids.
The 1978 MG B GT has moved from the workshop into the Bridge Classic Cars preparation area for our paint and body team to start work.
With all the metal work and repairs complete on the bodyshell, the classic sports car has been transferred into the paint and body department for the team to begin preparing the body for the next phase of its restoration.
We’re excited to show you the beginning of the next phase of the journey with the 1978 MG B GT very soon.
The 1978 MG B GT is having some of the final stages of its metal work carried out by the restoration workshop here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Rob, one of our technicians, has carefully been cutting out the corroded areas of the bodyshell to be replaced with hand-made and high-quality patch panels from specialists.
Rob has replaced the area in the rear drivers side pillar which at the base has corroded all the way through itself. For this, he made sure to inspect the piece entirely and form a panel which will fit tightly and also add strength into the area before welding it in.
Then, he could move onto the rear quarter panel. This had a few areas requiring work, some with small handmade patches and others (like the forward section) having high-quality sourced replacements installed into the bodyshell.
The restoration workshop at Bridge Classic Cars has been working on completing the repairs to the bodyshell of the 1978 MG B GT in with us for restoration.
The team have been carefully removing all areas of corrosion on the classic MG from front to back in order to get it into the best condition possible before it heads to our body shop for further refinements ahead of paint.
Each piece that has been removed from the car was used to template some of the handmade pieces which had to be created in order to fill the gaps caused by the corrosion. These were then welded into the car delicately so as to not create any warpage or movement in the surrounding areas.
The Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop has been busy continuing the bodywork repairs on the 1978 MG B GT in with us for restoration.
The team have worked through the classic MG from front to back removing and replacing any corrosion in the body or sub-structure. Recently the team finished up work on the side sills and pillars before moving on to the rear of the car.
Rob, one of our restoration technicians who has been working on the project, removed the old passenger side rear wheel arch due to its condition. Using this as a rough template for the replacement piece, Rob has precisely cut and fit the new piece into the body of the car which allowed him to keep moving rearward on the car and complete the final fitment of the rear valance.
The bodyshell of the 1978 MG B GT in the Bridge Classic Cars in-house restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ has had more metal work repairs.
Rob, one of our restoration technicians, has been working his way methodically through the repairs needed to the car. The team have been working their way from the bottom to the top to make sure that everything is square and secure to the chassis. The biggest job tackled recently was remaking and resecuring the bottom of the drivers-side A-pillar which was heavily corroded and was allowing a lot of flex through the inner wheel arch and many of the pickup points for the door.
Along with that, Rob has finished welding the new door skin to the repaired door frame for the passenger side of the car. And with that, could bolt the door up to the car to double-check fitment and alignment.
The bodywork on the 1978 MGB GT which is in for restoration with Bridge Classic Cars continues while the rest of the car is being worked on by the various other restoration departments.
The bodywork on the car has been worked on piece by piece, with any remnants of corrosion or rust completely removed from the shell of the classic sports car.
Using replacement patch panels, the areas were carefully cut out and the metal replaced piece by piece.
The restoration technicians in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Suffolk HQ have been busy rebuilding and cleaning up the distributor and carburettors of the 1978 MGB GT.
Rob began by carefully disassembling the distributor on the classic MGB. The internals of the distributor was assessed and inspected, with the decision being to entirely rebuild the whole component and clean up the casing.
The next job was to work on stripping down the SU carburettors and manifolds to assess them. Once the assessment was complete, our technician Rob cleaned up each and every piece of the carburettors before beginning the process of rebuilding and recommissioning the vital intake components.
With these jobs complete, Rob could begin to prepare the engine block for refurbishment and paint.
The rear seat of the 1978 MGB GT in for restoration at Bridge Classic Cars has been refoamed and recovered by our in-house trim shop to match the rest of the car.
Whilst the body is in with our body shop, the interior is being revamped by the team in the trim shop. Lydia has completely remade the foam for the rear seat of the classic MGB. This was all for recovering the rear seat in black leather to match the front seats of the car.
Each piece has been finished by hand to make sure the best fit and finish for the piece is achieved.
Now with this piece finished, it will be wrapped and put into storage for when the car is ready for reassembly.
With the 1975 MGB GT V8 off to its new home with its lucky winner Roger, the team at Bridge Classic Cars organised having a state of the art tracker fitted to the classic MGB for security.
It’s a request we are getting more and more frequently to fit trackers to the classic cars that come through our restoration workshop. So, we work closely with a specialist company who instal and set up the system into the cars for their owners.
With the tracker secured and hidden in the car, the team could load up the classic V8 sports car into our enclosed trailer for the journey to its new home.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on very carefully unpicking and deconstructing the rear seat of the 1978 MGB GT.
Brian carefully unpicked all the stitching of the rear seat in order to assess and inspect the piece.
He also has been making new straps for the car out of handpicked leather to suit the rest of the cars interior.
The trim shop at Bridge Classic Cars worked on removing the interior of the 1978 MGB GT before it headed to our body shop to begin its rust repairs.
With the interior of the classic MGB removed and safely upstairs into our in-house trim shop, the team could begin working through the interior for the car.
The front seats of the sports car are in incredible condition, all that was needed was to tighten up the clips to pull the covers a touch tighter and regrease the mechanisms to avoid any unpleasant squeaking.
The rear seat of the MGB GT had slightly more wear, however. The ends of the foam panel underneath had deteriorated away so the trim team removed the cover and carefully cut and sectioned in new pieces to the ends of the base.
The next job was to strip back and inspect the rear squab panel. This involved the removal of all hardware, covers and foam from the panel.
The workshop at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ have been working on the 1968 MGC Roadster.
Our technician Jon has been getting a series of jobs completed on the rare roadster ahead of its departure from the workshop. Jon has been adjusting the door handles for the car and realigning the strikers so that when the handle is pulled or the door is pushed back into place there’s no binding up of any of the mechanisms.
He has also been making sure all of the rear lights are secured into the car and that each and every function of the clusters works just at it should do.
The paint team at Bridge Classic Cars have some of the trims and pieces from the 1978 MGB GT in the paint booth to be refinished.
Whilst the body of the MGB is having its metalwork completed, the paint team took the opportunity to refinish several of the trims and fixings in a new heavy-duty black finish for the classic sports car. This not only is aesthetic but also will help protect the pieces, which were taken back to bare metal, while they’re in storage until reassembly begins.
The sunroof for the 1978 MGB GT is on the workbench of the trim shop here at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ and it needs more work than first thought.
Lydia had been working on entirely refurbishing the soft top for the Blaze Orange MGB. As she began to disassemble the piece, the metal railings literally started to crumble in her hands. So, with that, she worked on getting everything broken down into its components and went to our fabrication department to make new rails for the soft top.
Once these had been made and given back to Lydia, she could start to put the refurbished soft top back together and safely put into storage for when our body team have finished the metal repairs on the sports car.
Now that the aesthetic restoration of the 1977 MGB Roadster is complete, we thought we would pull the 1970s convertible out of the workshop and take some photos to show the work we’ve done on the car.
Every panel, piece and seam have been worked on by the teams here at Bridge and it really goes to show it on this car. Inside and out, we think this car looks absolutely fantastic.
The metalwork on the 1978 Blaze Orange MGB GT has begun!
All of the new panels and pieces have arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop for the team to begin work on the classic 1970s sports car. Once all of the welding is complete on the car, it will then be turned over to our body shop to make sure every line and curve on the car is absolutely perfect.
There will be more updates on the 1978 Blaze Orange MGB GT very soon
The new panels for the 1978 MGB GT have arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. These pieces were ordered for the restoration of the sports car being done by our workshop.
All of these pieces are being checked and catalogued for the car by the team for when bodywork begins as part of the restoration project.
As the aesthetic restoration of the 1977 MGB Roadster in the Bridge Classic Workshop at our Suffolk HQ gets closer to completion, the in-house trim team have been finishing off the final parts and pieces for the car.
Brian, our lead trimmer, has been working on getting the original hood fitted back to the car at the customer’s request. Not only did that involve stretching and fitting the hood over the newly refurbished hood frame but also replacing the rear screen with a brand new high-quality replacement we had sourced for the project.
With the hood now stretched over the frame, Brian could begin making sure all the associated clips and brackets for securing it to the car were in the correct place and correctly fitted to the car. Installing convertible hoods is somewhat of an art form but with Brians years of experience, he can stretch and refit an original hood to make it look as good as new.
One of the final pieces on the car that needed to be completed was the decorative sill plates. These highly polished pieces were riveted to the sills, as they were originally, to finish off the amazing work that Brian and Lydia in our Bridge Classic Cars trim shop have done on the car.
The final pieces for the restoration of the 1978 MGB GT are out of the car! Our in-house restoration teams have worked on getting the entire car stripped down to a bare shell over the past couple of weeks.
One of the last bits to be removed is some of the most crucial. After our technician Paul removed the fuel pump and fuel lines from the car, Mauro took over the task of getting the fuel tank and filler out of the car. Although this had been completely drained, we always remove the fuel tanks of cars that require any bodywork doing to them for safety reasons.
With this all removed, the team can now get the beautiful bright orange sports car around to our in-house body shop for them to begin working on the car.
The Bridge Classic Cars trim shop have put a new rear screen into the original convertible hood for the 1977 MGB Roadster.
The use of the original hood was a request from the owner. But, the rear screen was very deteriorated and split in places. So, the trim shop replaced the rear screen and stitched it into the existing material.
With this now in place, the hood can be fitted onto the car.
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.
