Tony recently collected our 1905 Riley 9HP and transported it back to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Now that it is back with us, we can continue getting it ready for its first drive!
In February our Riley 9hp underwent the next stage of its restoration by paying a visit to Joby Carter’s workshop in Berkshire. Joby Carter is a traditional sign writer who is an expert in fairground style art. Up until 2022 his work could be seen decorating every ride as part of his touring steam fair. […]
The battery box metal frame is almost complete and will eventually have an ash wood box for battery to sit in.
Classic car technician Brian has begun the trim work on our 1929 Riley 9 Tourer. The first step of this was to remove the front seats and base boards from the car. Brian then removed the rear axle cover so that it could be used as a pattern to make the rear seat base board. […]
Bridge Classic Cars have the absolute honour of restoring one of 3 1905 Riley 9hp’s left. And for that, we’ve managed to get some plans. These appear to be copies of the original drawings made for the car. These are crucial for our lead restoration technician Dave to work from. They give our team chassis […]
The doors for the 1951 Riley RMB are currently at local joinery specialists Ashbocking Joinery to have the wooden sections of the doors assessed and replaced. As you can see from the photos, the doors aren’t in the best condition, but Darren and the team at Ashbocking Joinery are working their way through each of […]
Bridge Classic Cars has the honour of beginning the restoration on this incredible 1905 Riley 9HP, believed to be one of just three remaining in the world. Our in-house restoration teams have this once in a lifetime opportunity to work on this amazing project. The rebuild and assessment of the project will be headed up […]
The Bridge Classic Cars in-house fabrication shop is working on the wings for the 1951 Riley RMB that we have in for restoration by our amazing teams. The car is currently with our incredible fabricator Clinton, who has been working on repairing the wings for the classic Riley. He has carefully removed rusty or corroded […]
Bridge Classic Cars have today welcomed its latest guest to the Pettistree workshop. This 1934 Riley 12/4 Lynx has come to us all the way from South Africa where it has spent parts of its long life. The car will be going in to be assessed by our in-house restoration teams to determine what jobs […]
With a car as intricate and flowing as the 1951 Riley RMB, it’s important that our in-house metalwork craftsmen at Bridge Classic Cars apply all their skills and knowledge to ensure each flow, curve and line are exactly right on the car. Highlighted in this post is the extensive work our fabricator James has done […]
Lydia has been helping with the progress of the 1951 Riley RMB. There was surface corrosion on the inside of one of the original wings round the edges of the spot welds done by James. Lydia did this with various-sized grinding attachments on a drill. A small step in the process, but a vital one, […]
After coming back from the sandblasters, the chassis of the 1951 yellow Riley RMB is looking a little corroded so James is going to have to repair these sections. Lydia has begun the process by making cardboard templates of these parts, cutting where necessary to get the shaping right. These templates will be used by […]
James has been continuing his work on the yellow 1951 Riley. The air vent for the second panel was sandblasted last week, so could be welded into its new surrounding. James then used the finished one to determine how much metal to trim off the end. Back in July, he had to do some welding […]
Here’s an update on the 1951 Riley RMB for you. It was found that there was hidden corrosion in between the layers of metal on one of the air vents. In order to get to this, James drilled through the spot welds and eased the metal apart. Lydia then went about sandblasting the main piece […]
We’ve just received the chassis to our yellow 1951 Riley back from the sandblasters. With all the rust off, we can now start to build it back up.
Scott has been fitting the newly relined brake shoes to our Riley Monaco. This has cured the squealing brakes and has now gone back to its owner.
James has been working to dismantle our yellow 1951 Riley and fabricate a new vent panel.
Currently, we’re doing a lot of research into our 1951 Riley as the restoration of it will need a lot of multi-trade skills from woodwork to metalwork. Lydia has been cleaning off the glue and paint from the panels. Once we’ve got the detail blueprints back, we can start to measure up the new parts […]
Scott has been working on our Riley Monaco to remove the brake shoes so that they can be sent off for relining with a softer material. He’s also fitted a lager rubber block to the clutch pedal to make it more easily accessible for the driver.
Pricey has been burning off leftover under-sealer and old paint before it goes to sandblasting. He then scrapes it off so that as little is left as possible.
Scott has begun to take apart the brakes on our 1934 Riley Monaco to determine the issue. He’s stripped the brakes down and checked them over, cleaned and greased them. He discovered that they still squeaked, so he filed the leading edge of the shoes to a chamfered edge. Unfortunately, Scott found that the squeaking […]
This 1934 Riley Monaco has come in to address the squeaking brakes, which are making rather severe noises. We’ll start taking them apart to see what the issue is.
We’ve started on the restoration on our Riley which is in for body refurbishment and paint. Currently the fabrication bay have taken the body from the chassis and started to strip the wooden frame. Once everything has been stripped and refurbished, we will then endeavour to repaint the body.
Our 1953 Riley RMS has been completed, having had its overdrive removed and it now awaiting collection from the client.
Our lovely 1953 Riley which broke down recently is currently being stored up at Bentwaters whilst we wait for the parts to come back. This poor classic unfortunately broke down due to loosing drive. We’ve taken the overdrive out and found that the coupling between the gearbox and overdrive was sheered. After repairing the coupling, […]
This beloved Riley RMS has come in after being recovered from a break down. We understand that driving a classic can be a labour of love and at some point, you’re going to break down, but that’s what we’re here for! This Riley will be back on the road in no time. We’ve worked on […]
Our 1953 Riley RMS initially came in with some alignment issues with the bonnet and side panels however we discovered that the handbrake was sticking. To try and resolve this, Scott stripped the rear brakes, cleaned and greased where necessary and then cleaned up and re-greased the compensator as it was sitting too tight. Scott […]
This 1953 Riley RMS has come in to the workshop for some alignment issues. We’ve had this beautiful Pistachio and Cream dual-toned Riley in before, so its nice to have it back to work on.
This week we’ve giving a warm welcome to some fantastic classics. Arriving in the workshop we’ve had a real mix, from a 1967 Jaguar MKII to a 1972 MG Midget. First up, our beautiful 1951 MGTD joined the workshop this week to begin recommissioning work. She’s already had a service, a brake check, her electrics […]
The owner of this fabulous 1953 Riley came to Bridge Classic Cars fearing the worst. The thermostat was showing severe overheating, often connected to a blown head gasket, which can be a huge expense. Luckily, the specialist technicians in our workshop quickly diagnosed the fault. “It was actually just the thermostat that was stuck,” explains […]