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riley rmb

One Door Closes – Update on the Doors of the 1951 Riley RMB

January 19, 2022

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 them methodically to perfectly recreate the frames.

Darren and the team at Ashbocking Joinery are using what is left of the original wood as templates and then meticulously interpreting any missing pieces into the design.

This is all happening alongside the metalwork which is being down by our own in-house master fabricator, Clinton.

Progression – Working on the Wings of the 1951 Riley RMB

January 14, 2022

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 sections of the wing of the Riley in order to repair them and thanks to his skill and talent, completely disappear into the existing metal.

The new pieces have been entirely hand-formed by Clinton in cour in-house fabrication shop for the Riley RMB using traditional techniques and practices. As you can see, the results are absolutely fantastic.

In the Woodwork – Ashbocking Joinery Working on the Doors of the 1951 Riley RMB

November 19, 2021

Some of the coachwork for the 1951 Riley RMB that is in with Bridge Classic Cars for restoration has been sent off to a local joinery specialist to be remade in brand new timber.

The wooden components of the Riley were in a bad way. Thankfully, Bridge Classic Cars have many local specialists around us. So, when the joinery for the car was ready to be sent away to be remade it went to Ashbocking Joinery here in Suffolk.

They have entirely remade sections of the bodywork of the Riley from scratch. Their work looks outstanding! It’s always amazing to see other trades with the same approach, care and passion for their craft as we have for restoring classic cars.

Wing Walk – Working on the Rear Wing of the 1951 Riley RMB

November 15, 2021

James has been continuing with the bodywork of the 1951 Riley RMB that is in at Bridge Classic Cars for restoration. Our in-house fabrication team have had the rear wing of the Riley on the workbench to carry on with replacing the areas that needed attention.

Many of the flanges and construction have issues, whether it is rust or bad previous repairs, and needed to be entirely remade from scratch. James used the remaining original pieces to recreate them in the closest materials to the original and used original techniques to shape, move and mould the metal to where it needed to be.

James constantly test fitted pieces to the car to ensure they were fitting correctly and lined up with the original mounting points.

A Delicate Blend – Reworking the Fender of the 1951 Riley RMB

November 9, 2021

Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we have some of the best fabricators in the business we believe. One of the best showcases of this is the incredible work that our in-house fabricator, James, has done on the 1951 Riley RMB.

James has tried to use as much original material as possible during the restoration of the Riley. Only adding in or cutting the panels if needed, or entirely remaking them if completely necessary. Take for example this wing on the RMB, it’s partly original but with new sections, entirely made by hand, grafted into it. Using years of experience, feel and skill, James has managed to recreate the flanged lower section of the wing.

Along with making the panel from scratch, it takes huge amounts of talent that only comes with years of metalworking to carefully and patiently apply his craft to grafting the new piece into the old seamlessly. As you can see, James has pulled off an incredible job!

Back in Shape – Metalwork for the Scuttle/Windscreen Surround on the 1951 Riley RMB

October 26, 2021

Metalwork on classic cars is a craft. A skill that takes years to master and dedication to conquer. Our in-house bodywork experts at Bridge Classic Cars have those skills, experience and dedication.

Work is continuing on the windscreen/scuttle for the 1951 Riley RMB by our in-house expert James. Last time he worked on the top of the windshield surround but this time, it was the case of the lower scuttle.

Some of the metal bracing and reinforcement had deteriorated over time quite badly. These pieces help give that stunning spilt windscreen its shape and hold it rigid, so their placement and construction are crucial.

Using the existing pieces as a template, James cut the new parts roughly into shape to begin refining them closer to the originals. Then, offering the pieces up to the panel James could work on shaping them more and more till the fit was perfect.

All of the areas underneath the remade panels were rust treated carefully before being welded in.

Outside Help – Doors for the 1951 Riley RMB

October 20, 2021

The doors on the 1951 Riley RMB have got some beautiful wooden trims inset around the window openings. Sometimes it’s best to leave things like carpentry to the specialists who know and understand the material they’re working with more than anyone else.

So, the doors have been sent off to local joiners Ashbocking Joinery to be refurbished. These are a very important part of the aesthetic of the car not only the door so as with everything we do, we only want it to be the highest standard for our client.

We can’t wait to show you what they look like when we get them back! Keep an eye out here on the Bridge Classic Cars blog.

Getting into Shape – Windshield Surround on the 1951 Riley RMB

October 20, 2021

Our master fabricator James has been busy in the Bridge Classic Cars fabrication shop carefully and methodically recreating the windshield surround on the 1951 Riley RMB.

Using traditional shaping methods, James has recreated the original tops of the cowl/windshield surround. The shape is complex with many compound curves and edges but that is no trouble for our in-house fabrication shop. Carefully manipulating the metal through the English wheel and the shrink/stretcher, James managed to create the same sweeps and bends of the original.

Then with the hammer and dolly, finessing the final shape into place. Then, it was time to do it all over again for the otherside. The only way to create this piece was in two separate parts. The skill that our master fabricators have is the seamlessly blend them together.

The two halves were then welded together to create one entire panel that can be fitted into the windshield surround. Later, the welds will be ground back to create a smooth finished piece and then cut down to size for the perfect fit.

Finishing the wing on the Riley!

July 29, 2021

James has been doing some more work on one of the wings of our 1951 yellow Riley RMB.

He’s been finishing by welding in the wire rolled edge of the left-hand wing and repairing a section at the front.

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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