mini specialist uk

Covered – New Rear Matting in the 1980 Austin Mini Van

The interior team at Bridge Classic Cars have been busy making new rear matting for the load bay of the 1980 Austin Mini Van.

The team begun by making a paper template to ensure the matting would fit up tightly to the rear arches and meet perfectly in the centre of the classic Mini. Once each side have been marked out and cut from paper, it could then be transferred onto the matting and cut to size.

The next step involved gently keying the load floor inside the car to give it the best surface to adhere to. Then, very carefully it was put into place with the adhesive and left to cure.

This Just In – 1980 Mini Van

Just arrived into the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ is this wonderful 1980 Mini Van. But, it’s hiding a secret…

Underneath the beautiful green bodywork lies the heart of a hotrod. This bite-sized bruiser is packing a 1380cc supercharged A-series engine! All of that performance in a small car is a recipe for fun in our books.

The car will of course go through the usual inspections and assessments by our in-house restoration teams who will check over the entire car in order to find out if anything needs to be done to this incredible classic Mini for it to be in absolutely tip-top shape.

Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page very soon for more on this tiny terror!

Behind the Scenes – Photoshoot with the 1993 Rover Mini Sprite

After having its inspection and being given a clean bill of health by the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop, it was time to pull our latest Bridge Classic Cars Competitions prize out and shoot some photos of it.

That’s right, the next competition from Bridge Classic Cars is this beautiful 1993 Rover Mini Sprite. An iconic and well adored classic that almost everyone has a connection to in some way or another. The happy little 1275cc 4-cylinder buzzes along and the sound from the stainless steel sports exhaust bounced off the trees and concrete angles at our secure storage facility as it was taken over to our shooting location.

The tiny wheelbase and wider wheels, thanks to its upgrade to the later Sportback specification, allowed the bright white classic Mini to change direction and talk back to the driver. Letting them know exactly what was going on beneath them.

And from this evening, you’ll be able to enter for your chance of winning the 1993 Rover Mini! Just click the link below.

Click here to enter the 1993 Rover Mini competition.

Headed Home – Team C Racing Mini Shell Heading Back for Final Build

The Team C Racing Mini has been completed by the Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint shop and is headed back home to Team C for final assembly.

The Innocenti Mini arrived at our workshops a few weeks ago and has had many hours of work put into it in order to get it looking absolutely perfect for the project. The car has even had the underside of the shell completely prepared and treated with tint matched Raptor Guard to protect it from the elements.

It’s sad to see some of our projects leave us but this one has been a pleasure. And, there’ll be a new Team C Racing Mini for the Bridge Classic Cars team to start work on soon.

In The Sun – The Team C Racing Classic Mini Painted

The Team C Racing Mini, which has recently been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint booth, has been in the paint shop curing overnight. So, with the weather looking perfect the team thought we’d grab some photos of it out in the sun.

This is the first stage of getting the classic Mini into colour. It still needs to be cut back and polished but it looks absolutely brilliant.

Finished in Colour – Painting the Team C Racing Classic Mini Shell

The Bridge Classic Cars in-house paint booth has recently had the body shell of the Team C Racing classic Mini in to begin the process of getting the car into colour.

Chris, along with the rest of the Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team, have been getting the body shell of the classic Mini into the best shape possible before it heads into the booth. Every surface on the car, from top to bottom, has been meticulously prepared and cleaned down before being moved into the booth.

Coat by coat, Chris built up the layers of deep brown on the inside and outside of the shell of the Mini. Then, he could turn his attention to the roof of the car. For this, he had to re-mask the rest of the car before re-priming and laying down the white which gives this Mini its classic look.

RaptorGuard – The Underside of the Team C Racing Mini Shell RaptorGuarded

The paint shop inside of Bridge Classic Cars have sealed the bottom of the classic Mini for Team C Racing.

The underside of the Mini was hand sanded to make sure the surface was perfect before it was handed over to the paint team. Chris has tinted the RaptorGuard to match the colour intended for the rest of the body but is much harder wearing and more durable than normal paint.

Primed and Ready – Team C Racing Mini in Primer

The body shell and panels for the Team C Racing classic Mini has moved from the Bridge Classic Cars body shop to the paint booth ready to be shot in primer.

With the body and panels cleaned down thoroughly and masked up, Chris could begin the process of getting the classic Mini into primer ahead of its colour change. Several coats of primer were laid onto the body before it is taken back to the body shop to have more delicate sanding done to ensure the best finish on the shell for our friends over at Team C Racing.

Preparations – Preparing the Team C Racing Mini Shell

The Team C Racing classic Mini shell has been in with the Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team in preparation for its new colour scheme.

Our paint and body restoration technician Mauro has worked on preparing the classic Mini. The car arrived into us in grey primer, but the team have begun body sanding the entire shell to make sure that every curve and panel is in perfect shape before it finally gets its new colour.

The shell, after being sanded, has been taken into the booth and prepared for its next round of primer and sanding in the pursuit of perfection.

This Just In – Team C Racing Classic Mini

The newest arrival to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop at our Pettistree HQ is the first of the 3 classic Mini shells that the restoration teams will be working on for our friends at Team C Racing.

This car will be worked on by our paint and body teams to be transformed into a brown body/white roof classic Mini for Team C.

Keep a lookout on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates very soon on this classic Mini.

Coming Soon – Team C Mini’s

Continuing our relationship with Team C Racing, we are about to being the process of respraying 3 classic Mini’s for the local Mini specialists.

Firstly, the car finished in grey primer. This will be changed to brown with a white roof. A classic colour combination for a Mini.

Secondly, the black and red car. The entire car will be changed over to orange and a fibreglass bonnet fitted to the car.

Lastly, the white car. This will be having some bodywork carried out on the car before it is resprayed in a brand new white. This car is having a new front panel fitted and a rear quarter panel to make sure the body looks as good as the paintwork on top of it.

Anyone who knows of Team C will know they’re keen racers and true enthusiasts and experts when it comes to everything classic Mini. So, Bridge Classic Cars is happy to help and will be painting these 3 Mini’s over the next few weeks.