We have so much going on at Bridge Classic Cars Competitions right now; cars coming in, cars going out, cars finding new homes, cash alternatives flying about all over the placed. It’s difficult to keep up! So I thought I’d
On 1st December 2023, we set off on a festive adventure across the Suffolk countryside – our first-ever Mince Pie Drive. The day dawned bright but extremely cold and icy. We decided to still venture out, albeit with a smaller
Our Christmas line up is being prepared as we speak. We have an amazing selection of competitions coming up between now and Christmas. Something for everyone I’d say. Our incredible 2015 Jaguar F-Type is currently going through it’s inspection and
Steve has stripped down the boot lock mechanism to get to a broken bolt. He has removed the lock clean and replaced with clean tumblers ready for refit. Whilst working on the Scimitar Steve has gone ahead and fitted a
The Suffolk Show is a big deal in the region and we were very happy that Bridge Classic Cars had the opportunity to attend this year. We worked alongside our friends at East Anglian Air Ambulance and enjoyed seeing the
Olympian turned celebrity coach, Greg Whyte, was in Ipswich recently. As this is so local to us, we felt that we had to go and listen to him speak at the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club, hosted at local restaurant Venue
Bridge Classic Cars recently welcomed Martin and Ryan from Heart of Suffolk Distillery to The Atelier. As a local distillery, we feel that their gin could be a great addition to our licenced bar so it was an exciting visit.
The television series ‘Magpie Murders’ (based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Horowitz ) has been picked up by the BBC and will be shown on BBC One later on in 2023. The series was filmed in
Thanks to Joe from F&S Plastering for plastering our new office space. We are now looking forward to our new, larger space in the coming weeks.
Arriving earlier this week, our beautiful 1988 Jaguar XJS Convertible is in with us for a general check over underneath but more importantly it’s service is due. The car has been undersealed so the owner is interested to see the
Bridge Classic Cars would like to invite you to our live draw on the evening of Thursday 10th November 2022 where someone will win our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT. During the evening, our workshop will be open for people in attendance
Join us at the workshops for an evening of entertainment and our Live triple draw. Molly and the team will be finding new homes for 3 more amazing machines! Bridge Classic Cars, The Nursery, Main Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 0HH
Scott has now freshened up the carbs and refitted them. He has successfully run up the car and fitted in new spark plugs. He has continued to work on building up the bonnet and now fitted it to the car.
A new arrival this morning to the Bridge Classic Cars workshops. Working in conjunction with our good friend Lee at Autoshack. The 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 you see below belongs to a customer of Lee’s having very recently been purchased
Scott is making great progress with our 1969 Morris Minor rebuild. Various components are now back on the engine and the fit up of the front end continues.
This Sunday, 1st of August, will be the annual Festival of Classic and Sports Cars at Helmingham Hall in Suffolk! Having had a year off due to the pandemic, it will be fantastic to see the vast array of cars
Yesterday saw the return of the Bridge Classic Cars Classic and Sports Car and Bike Show and what an amazing return it was! The two part event started off at The Hangar, home to Bridge Classic Cars Competitions and our
James has been busy repairing one of the protective covers for the brake and fuel lines, which sits underneath the back of the Jaguar E-Type V12. This one had gone misshapen and had some corrosion, from moisture being let in
Beach Street in Felixstowe had its official opening event this weekend to celebrate the opening of Felixstowe’s new food and artisan centre, all made from shipping containers and decorated with fairy lights. Mike, our finance wiz, went down to the
Mauro and Craig re-visited Jensen Service Ltd in Winchester to collect our 1960 Jensen 541S restoration project. The car will soon be available for sale, either restored or unrestored. If you would like to know more about this car or
The Bridge Classic Car team headed down to Kersey Mill bright and early with a collection of our current classics, from the Bubble car to our Rolls Royce. After securing a large pitch, we set up our cars alongside many
A great article in the East Anglian Daily Times about one of our recent local winners, Matthew Sudgen and his 1949 Morris Minor Lowlight. “I didn’t realise at first that I had won, so when they called me I thought
Thanks to Nick at Stratton Motor Company and Aston Martin Heritage Trust for connecting us with Aston Service Dorset. Aston Service Dorset purchased the manufacturing rights and engineering drawings for the post-war Feltham Aston Martins from Sir David Brown in the
Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we like to give you all an incite into what goes on behind closed doors. We often show you the main workshops and restorations, as well as a sneak peak into the production process for
2020 has been a challenge for us all. Nobody has been able to avoid the immense challenges that Covid-19 has presented. So how could we not only adapt, but thrive during a Global pandemic? This year we’ve seen 11 Jensen’s
Join us on the second instalment in our new series: Behind The Scenes. Although we give frequent behind the scenes updates on our workshop, we wanted to show you some of the processes that go into our visuals. With every
We’ve been repairing the hood frame on our 1977 Triumph Spitfire. This involves straightening out the linkages and then drilling out old pop rivets. Once these steps have been completed, we ensure it fits back on the car without any
Our trim shop expert, Kath, has been busy making multiple covers for the magenta Triumph TR6. The hood and tonneau now have covers that have been created out of black vinyl. Velcro has been sewn on and all the individual
We welcomed another new car to the workshop yesterday. This 1984 Lada 1200 Estate was brought in with signs of rust in the sills and floor. A paint job and some fabrication work will be in order to address the
Some drama in the engine workshop! All was seemingly well with the engine re-build however, unbeknown to us, the dipstick tube had previously broken off inside the cylinder block. If Ady’s keen eyes hadn’t noticed, this would have led to
We have so much going on at Bridge Classic Cars Competitions right now; cars coming in, cars going out, cars finding new homes, cash alternatives flying about all over the placed. It’s difficult to keep up!
So I thought I’d do a weekly round up of all competition car updates for you. I’m really sorry if you come on to read about one specific car (which I know a lot of you do) but I just thought I’d be a bit different today. Normal updates will follow…
2024 MG Cyberster
Our 2024 MG Cyberster, one of the very first models to arrive in the UK was won last week by Paul Butcher. Paul opted for the cash alternative of £45,000 which is an incredible sum of money just before Christmas. Being one of the first MG Cybersters to arrive on UK soil and being one of the most important EV’s to be released, this car is certainly set to be one for the future. A very special car indeed and now in the hands of EMG MG to sit as pride of place in their Ipswich showroom.
Available now if you want to get the keys to your own Cyberster in time for Christmas! Contact EMG MG for more information.
1987 Maserati BiTurbo
We can not wait for this car to be ready. The Maserati has been in our possession for many many years and is a genuine 11,000 mile car. Since taking ownership of this incredible car the values have soared, especially in the hard top models.
We are currently recommissioning the car and as it has been standing for some time this is not a 5 minute job, but will be well worth it when it’s complete.
We have stripped and cleaned the plenum chamber, inlet manifold and rocker covers ready for painting.
The carburettor has been removed from the inlet, we’ve cleaned out the float chamber and freed off the needle valve. Blow out jets and reassemble.
The rest of the parts have been removed from the manifold. to be degreased.
Make new seal with O-ring kit and refitted the manifold bottom water chamber.
We have flattened and polished the car.
The badge and lettering is now back on the car as well as the rear light and number plate.
Jon has finish preparing the parts for painting. He has cleaned the throttle and choke spindles.
The manifold has been masked up before being given to the body shop.
1968 Ford Lotus Cortina
Next up, our 1968 Ford Lotus Cortina in for a full appraisal on the workshop floor.
Swap wires from coil and ballast. Electronic ignition fitted and wired to coil 12v. Coil wired through ballast at 6v. We’ve swapped the wires from ballast to coil to 12v feed. Tighten steering idler bolts.
Next up, we’ve put the car up on the ramp to continue with our assessment.
The rear rear wheels have been removed to check the brakes. Nearside rear wheel bolts loose and wheel holes now elongated and won’t tighten so requires a new wheel.
We’ve fitted smaller nyloc nut to nearside trailing arm so bolt actually goes into nyloc.
There is a fuel leak from fuel tank sender area so we have drain the fuel. We’ve used the fuel pumps on the car to empty the tank. Next up, we’ve remove the sender, cleaned and tested. Removed the spark plugs and cleaned out holes. Cleaned and regapped before refitting the plugs.
Remove battery from boot and start to re-route the fuel pipes to pumps.
Continue re-routing the fuel pipes to pumps in the boot area. Drill and fit p-clips to floor, to hold pipe in place.
Refit battery and secure. We have slackened the alternator belt and checked waterpump and all is ok. Unbolt pulley and refit fan blades. Refit alternator belt and adjust. Remove driver’s seat and carpets. Fit fibre washer to ignition barrel and secure. Strip and fit new rear shoes but clip missing from offside so unable to finish.
Next, we have tested the repaired fuel sender and all seems to be ok.
Remove passengers seat and carpet. Start stripping to remove heater box.
Still more to do on our Cortina in preparation for filming. We have drain the coolant, remove some extra items attached to dash so we can finish removing the heater box.
Once removed, we have strip the heater box and removed the heater radiator.
Tested the radiator and found a split in the seam causing it to leak. With it removed, we are now able to tidy up the area.
And for now, we are up to date on competition cars!
On 1st December 2023, we set off on a festive adventure across the Suffolk countryside – our first-ever Mince Pie Drive. The day dawned bright but extremely cold and icy. We decided to still venture out, albeit with a smaller convoy than first planned. The Bridge Classic Cars team wrapped up warm and headed out (special mention goes to our friends Garry Catchpole and Derek Rush for joining us).
The idea behind our Mince Pie Drive was to take classic cars to several local residential care homes to bring nostalgia and festive cheer to the residents and staff. There were mince pies, kindly provided by The Bakehouse Bakery Woodbridge, and carol singing from Molly and me (sorry about that folks!)
We went first to Highlands in Woodbridge before making our way to Bucklesham Grange Care Home, where we were greeted by the lovely Amanda-Jane Frank, who introduced us to the residents. Several came out to have a look at our cars, with Derek’s BMW proving to be a favourite here. Luke Deal from BBC Suffolk came along to chat with us and see what we were up to. You can listen to that interview here.
Next, we headed to Glebe House in Hollesley. The residents were just having their lunch, and talk about a meal with a view! The mince pies were a very welcome dessert! Lastly, whilst chasing the last hour of daylight, we popped to our neighbours at Lehmann House in Wickham Market.
We are so humbled by all the lovely residents and incredible care workers we met on our Mince Pie Drive. It was so wholesome to be able to remind them of yesteryear by bringing along a spectrum of cars. There really was something for everyone.
We can’t wait to do more events like this in future.
Our Christmas line up is being prepared as we speak. We have an amazing selection of competitions coming up between now and Christmas. Something for everyone I’d say. Our incredible 2015 Jaguar F-Type is currently going through it’s inspection and assessment. We have replaced the spare remote key battery and tested. Reset the service indicator. Torque wheel nuts and put locking wheel nut key back in boot. This was due to having recently refurbished all 4 allows to factory new!
We have carried out a road test and ok, The tyre pressure gauge has been reinitialised and we’ve checked and adjusted the tyre pressures.
Steve has stripped down the boot lock mechanism to get to a broken bolt. He has removed the lock clean and replaced with clean tumblers ready for refit.
Whilst working on the Scimitar Steve has gone ahead and fitted a new fuel filter too.
The Suffolk Show is a big deal in the region and we were very happy that Bridge Classic Cars had the opportunity to attend this year.
We worked alongside our friends at East Anglian Air Ambulance and enjoyed seeing the thousands of people that made the trip to Trinity Park over the two days.
There was a huge range of activities and exhibits for all the family to enjoy. These included:
A great two days were had by myself and Freddie, we had the opportunity to meet lots of new people. The Triumph Spitfire proved to be very popular to all ages and when we popped the bumper up we dazzled hundreds with the sparkling clean engine. The feelings of nostalgia sparked in many show why this is a great and timeless classic car.
The Suffolk Show is run and managed by the Suffolk Agricultural Association. As a charity, the SAA’s core purpose is to promote the importance of food, farming and the countryside to the economy and character of Suffolk through the Suffolk Show itself and a series of education programmes aimed at young people in schools and colleges.
Video highlights of the 2022 show can be seen below:
Olympian turned celebrity coach, Greg Whyte, was in Ipswich recently. As this is so local to us, we felt that we had to go and listen to him speak at the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club, hosted at local restaurant Venue 16.
Greg spoke to a large audience of local business leaders and professionals about raising funds for SportsAid.
According to their research, SportsAid has found that, before becoming a household name, talented athletes will spend 10,000 hours and thousands of pounds to make it to elite level. Without funding and support from SportsAid, this simply would not be a feasible option for many promising sports stars of the future.
SportsAid Suffolk has already raised and distributed more than £300,000 to support young people in the county.
The Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club was founded in January 2015 and is sponsored by six businesses based in Suffolk – Pound Gates Chartered Insurance Brokers, Ensors Chartered Accountants, Ellisons Solicitors, StrategiQ, Handelsbanken, and Beckett Financial Services.
Bridge Classic Cars recently welcomed Martin and Ryan from Heart of Suffolk Distillery to The Atelier.
As a local distillery, we feel that their gin could be a great addition to our licenced bar so it was an exciting visit.
Both Ryan and Martin are big car fans too so, obviously, a visit to The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars would have been fun for them too. Our 1973 Audi 100 Coupe S caught their eye during their visit!
We hope to welcome the team from Heart of Suffolk Distillery back soon.
The television series ‘Magpie Murders’ (based on the novel of the same name by Anthony Horowitz ) has been picked up by the BBC and will be shown on BBC One later on in 2023.
The series was filmed in a few places around the county including Kersey and Ipswich.
Magpie Murders is a six-part murder mystery based on the character of Susan Ryeland. Susan is an editor who receives a tattered manuscript. The manuscript is from a local author who seems to be telling a different story within the main story being told.
After it was decided that the novel would be turned into a TV series, it was filmed in 2021. During filming, The Bell Inn, in Kersey, was renamed The Queens Arms and the film crew recreated the streets of London in different parts of Ipswich too.
In the series, there are various classic cars seen including classic MG’s and more.
It’s always great to see Suffolk on TV and it’s even better to see classic cars in Suffolk on TV so, if you haven’t seen Magpie Murders yet, it will be on BBC One and iPlayer very soon.
Thanks to Joe from F&S Plastering for plastering our new office space. We are now looking forward to our new, larger space in the coming weeks.
Arriving earlier this week, our beautiful 1988 Jaguar XJS Convertible is in with us for a general check over underneath but more importantly it’s service is due.
The car has been undersealed so the owner is interested to see the integrity of the sealant and whether any additional work is required.
The car will also undergo a full service with an overhaul of the brake fluid too.
Bridge Classic Cars would like to invite you to our live draw on the evening of Thursday 10th November 2022 where someone will win our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT.
During the evening, our workshop will be open for people in attendance to look around and some of the team will be on hand to share information about the cars being restored. There will also be live music from local band The 3Buskateers, food from Woodbridge Mobile Pizza Company, and coffee from Carmello’s.
The main event of the evening will be our live draw at 7 pm, where one lucky person will win our 1966 Ford Cortina MK1 1500 GT.
You can win this classic car by entering the draw at Bridge Classic Cars Competitions
It would be amazing to have the winner in our live audience so make sure you enter the draw to be in with a chance of that person being you.
The live stream will begin at 7 pm, but everyone is welcome from 6 pm.
Come along and enjoy our musical entertainment and spend some time talking classic cars with us.
The live draw will take place at Bridge Classic Cars, The Nursery, Main Road, Pettistree, Woodbridge IP13 OHH
Enter Suffolk Plant Centre and continue up to the gates where Bridge Classic Cars can be seen on the left.
We look forward to welcoming you on Thursday 10th November 2022 at 6 pm
Join us at the workshops for an evening of entertainment and our Live triple draw. Molly and the team will be finding new homes for 3 more amazing machines!
Bridge Classic Cars, The Nursery, Main Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 0HH
Our 1961 Mini Deluxe, 1970 MG C and our 1994 Ducati 750 Supersport are all guaranteed to be drawn on the night.
We’ll also have live music from Molly and her 1940’s vintage trio The Three Chordettes.
As well as food by The Miller’s Kitchen and coffee (and cake) by Carmello’s
Our gates open from 6:00pm and we’ll be live for the draw from 7pm. The event is free to attend and everyone welcome.
If you plan on joining us, simply send us your name and the number of people who will be coming with you to events@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk so we can make sure there’s enough food for everyone!
Scott has now freshened up the carbs and refitted them. He has successfully run up the car and fitted in new spark plugs.
He has continued to work on building up the bonnet and now fitted it to the car. The doors are also now built up and all of the electrics have now been completed.
A new arrival this morning to the Bridge Classic Cars workshops. Working in conjunction with our good friend Lee at Autoshack. The 1972 Jaguar E-Type V12 you see below belongs to a customer of Lee’s having very recently been purchased from the The Classic Sale at Silverstone 2022 hosted by Silverstone Auctions.
The description reads as follows:
A decade after the original Jaguar E-Type arrived, the design progressively matured through 1971 with the introduction of the Series 3. Designed to showcase the new smooth and torquey 5.3-litre engine, originally developed for Le Mans, the Series 3 cars were available as a Roadster or a 2+2 Coupé. The Series 3 is easily identifiable by its large cross-slatted front grille, flared wheel arches, wider tyres, a larger bonnet bulge, updated bumpers, four exhaust tips, and a badge on the rear that proclaims it to be a V12. It also featured uprated brakes, power steering as standard and a large horizontal scoop added to the underside of the bonnet to assist with cooling. The interior was entirely new in the V12, with more comfortable seating, stylish new door panels and a smaller, dished and leather-rimmed steering wheel. Being slightly larger and altogether much softer in nature, the E-Type in Series 3 form had lost the wildness of its youth but gained the long-legged touring profile to which it was arguably better suited.
The United States was always the target market for the E-Type and the model evolved over a decade to cater for the needs of the American driver, a fact that has always been downplayed this side of the pond. The ‘Jagwar’ has always been held in high regard by the American enthusiast-driver that considered the homegrown muscle cars as too blue-collar and the precocious exotica of Italy as too expensive. The Series 3 had now evolved into a sports coupé that offered a smooth automatic gearbox and rear seats. The iconic lines of the early car is still unashamedly British but capable of outperforming bloated V8 rivals with its smooth V12. According to the Heritage Certificate, this Coupé, with automatic gearbox and air conditioning, was dispatched to British Leyland, New York on 10th April 1972 in Primrose Yellow with a Cinnamon interior. Our vendor informs us it was owned by one family from new in Louisiana, and it was imported to the UK and registered on the 1st December 2019.
Buying the car on the 1st December 2021 with the intention of reliving his E-Type owning youth as a racing engineer with the Le Mans winning Group 44 Race Team, our vendor’s ill-health sees the car regretfully offered to auction. The odometer reading of 23,393 miles, at the time of cataloguing is assumed to be genuine, although not warranted, whilst our vendor asserts that the family ownership prior to the 2019 registration in the UK is certainly persuasive. The colour was changed during restoration whilst the delightfully original Cinnamon leather shows lovely patina. Recently a new braking system was fitted to the front and new pads fitted to the rear. Our vendor, having worked on Jaguar V12 racing engines changed the oil himself, and the car will have a fresh MOT for the sale. The history file contains receipts, Heritage Certificate, importation documentation, handbook and V5C.
Residing overseas, the customer would like the car fully assessed and for a full service to be carried out. There also seems to be some issues with the cooling system and air conditioning which we would also like to look at.
Keep up to date with our progress as we get the car prepared and ready for it’s trip back home to Europe.
Scott is making great progress with our 1969 Morris Minor rebuild. Various components are now back on the engine and the fit up of the front end continues.
This Sunday, 1st of August, will be the annual Festival of Classic and Sports Cars at Helmingham Hall in Suffolk! Having had a year off due to the pandemic, it will be fantastic to see the vast array of cars again that so many enthusiasts and owners bring.
We’ll be there of course, along with all of our current competition cars, including our maroon 1959 Jaguar MK I. This will be won on the day and the draw for it will be live from the show at 4:00 pm.
So if you’re a Jaguar fan or simply want to add to your collection of cars, come and grab a ticket on our website this very minute, for your chance to win! If we haven’t sold out online, tickets will also be available on the day, on our stand, up until 3:00 pm. So why not come and say hi to us!
Here’s a link to the competition page on our website, which gives you all the information you should need about the car and how to purchase tickets. https://www.bridgeclassiccarscompetitions.co.uk/product/mk1-jag/
Here’s a link to the Helmingham Hall website page about the day, and how to buy tickets to the show. https://www.helmingham.com/events/the-festival-of-classic-sports-cars/
Yesterday saw the return of the Bridge Classic Cars Classic and Sports Car and Bike Show and what an amazing return it was!
The two part event started off at The Hangar, home to Bridge Classic Cars Competitions and our showroom. Located in the beautiful RAF Bentwaters, Rendlesham, IP12 2TZ we saw hundred’s of cars turn up to get ready for one of Suffolk’s biggest classic car convoys!
From 10am we all set off together through the town of Woodbridge up to the Bridge Classic Cars Workshops, Main Road, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 OHH for drinks and lunch!
The event was completely FREE to attend and as weather was on our side we welcomed a huge array of cars to both sites.
Jake from The Original Friendly Classic Car Group and Suffolk Vehicle Enthusiast Club shared a fantastic assortment of photos from the day to his social platforms.
@bloomers_flying_shadow shared an image of the Shadow arriving home after the show.
@jasondale1980 attended with his lovely little Mini. We love a Mini here at Bridge Classic Cars.
Andy James posted a picture of his 1954 Ford Popular with the caption “the weather was much kinder than expected, the long slog from the Fens was definitely worth the effort. Thanks chaps”
Thank you for coming, was lovely to see so many cars and a lot of you travelled from far and wide so thank you even more!
Tony from Wyatt Polishing was present at both sites to enjoy and experience the convoy with us in his classic Rover.
Jay Baggott liked the look of our 1983 VW Golf Mk1
Local classic car enthusiasts Gary Farrow and John English shared some pictures to their feeds from our Bentwater’s site on the day.
Keep the images coming in. Was lovely to see lots of locals coming out of their homes to watch, video and photograph the convoy head through Rendlesham and Woodbridge.
Check out Craig and Freddie having a looking around the main workshops on the day!
James has been busy repairing one of the protective covers for the brake and fuel lines, which sits underneath the back of the Jaguar E-Type V12. This one had gone misshapen and had some corrosion, from moisture being let in along a damaged edge, which is why it needed work doing to it. The other one is in much better condition.
James fabricated and spot welded the corroded one to get it back into its former glory!
Beach Street in Felixstowe had its official opening event this weekend to celebrate the opening of Felixstowe’s new food and artisan centre, all made from shipping containers and decorated with fairy lights. Mike, our finance wiz, went down to the opening at the weekend and captured these lovely photos.
Mauro and Craig re-visited Jensen Service Ltd in Winchester to collect our 1960 Jensen 541S restoration project.
The car will soon be available for sale, either restored or unrestored. If you would like to know more about this car or any of our other 541 restoration projects please fee to contact the office on 01473742038 or email info@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk
The Bridge Classic Car team headed down to Kersey Mill bright and early with a collection of our current classics, from the Bubble car to our Rolls Royce. After securing a large pitch, we set up our cars alongside many other amazing and beautiful classics that other enthusiasts had brought. The show itself spanned over a collection of grass paddocks surrounding Kersey Mill, which lay in the background. From American police cars to British classics and even a steam engine, everything and anything was parked up at Kersey.
The show itself was to celebrate National Drive It Day, a day to celebrate classics and gather everyone together in the name of charity fundraising, raising awareness and funds for the NSPCC. It was fantastic to see so many families and children enjoying the day as well as the drivers.
Talking to those at Kersey, we heard many fond stories of days spent with their cars, restoring classics and enthusiasms over mechanics. At one stand was a father and son duo with their Series One Land Rover and a three-wheel Barkley that had made (almost) completed the Mongol Rally, just needing a little help and clever engineering from its driver at the end. They both spoke of their love for usable classics, explaining that for them, classics were there to be driven and enjoyed. Another man had bought along his 1934 Wolsey, for which was filled with original and timely artefacts from gloves to books, a pipe holder and an old camera. He told us about how, to him, it was all the extras like the tool kit and pipe holder that made a classic. He explained he was looking for the original pipe holder however the one he made and fitted, would have to do for now. The man who had bought along the steam engine told us that is was a former military vehicle that has spent most of its life around Suffolk and Colchester and had just finished restoring it. Kersey Mill was his first outing in a decade with the steam engine, however, he told us it took him 6 hours to get there from Colchester because of the slow speed of the vehicle.
Below you can see our photos as well as featured photos from others that we at Kersey yesterday.
A great article in the East Anglian Daily Times about one of our recent local winners, Matthew Sudgen and his 1949 Morris Minor Lowlight.
“I didn’t realise at first that I had won, so when they called me I thought it was a wind-up. I only bought one ticket – it was incredible. It’s brilliant to drive. It’s very rustic and very different to drive than modern cars.”
Matthew tells us he’s taken it out a few times already and is loving it.
In a wonderful cyclical move, the Morris Minor that started its life in Ipswich and then moved around the UK has found its way back to Ipswich with its new owner.
We wish you many more happy miles, Matthew!
You can read more here.
Thanks to Nick at Stratton Motor Company and Aston Martin Heritage Trust for connecting us with Aston Service Dorset.
Aston Service Dorset purchased the manufacturing rights and engineering drawings for the post-war Feltham Aston Martins from Sir David Brown in the early 1970s and have been providing parts, service and restoration for these and the later models of Aston Martin since those times.
They have been able to dig deep into the archives to find the original heritage certificate and factory specifications of our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4.
This information confirms to us the original colour combination of Moonbeam Grey with red, piped in grey. It also matches nicely to the description given to us from Bonhams as to the origins of the owner and location of the car in it’s history.
Work will now commence on the strip down in preparation for restoration to begin.
Here at Bridge Classic Cars, we like to give you all an incite into what goes on behind closed doors. We often show you the main workshops and restorations, as well as a sneak peak into the production process for live draws with Charlotte, but we rarely take a look at our hanger itself. Our hanger is an unsung hero with an interesting past…
Up at RAF Bentwaters, we’ve got our own hanger. Originally a military base, Bentwaters run as an active American airbase from 1942 until 1993. Now home to multiple businesses and a museum, Bentwaters is a functioning business park with a very visible history. It is home Europe’s longest air strip and feels like a step back in time with many old fighter jets and military vehicles dotted around the base.
You may have also heard of RAF Bentwaters thanks to a mysterious UFO sighting in 1980 which has made the location popular with tourists and alien enthusiasts. The sighting took place in the surrounding forest and is known as the Rendlesham Forest incident which has gone down in history as the UK’s most famous UFO sighting and is known worldwide.
With the base commanding its place in British history, what better spot to store and film classic cars. We offer storage solutions for clients who need a secure and dry location to store their beloved motors. We offer Carcoons, plug-in batteries and regular cleaning.
We also store our own cars in here as they wait to come in for restorations or have been completed and need photographing and storing before finding their new home. We host our live draws from the Hanger but we also use Bentwaters as the regular backdrop to our photoshoots and videos. You might recognise the familiar pine-clad backdrop and clear open roads.
You may also notice a certain rare Francis Barnett which we currently have up for sale. This bike was originally Craigs so we’ve had it safely tucked away at the hanger for a few months however he’s decided to part ways with it and let someone else enjoy the timeless beauty of this bike.
2020 has been a challenge for us all. Nobody has been able to avoid the immense challenges that Covid-19 has presented. So how could we not only adapt, but thrive during a Global pandemic?
This year we’ve seen 11 Jensen’s pass through our Classic Car workshop. Having built up a superb reputation for Jensen 541 restorations, we are now one of the most prolific Jensen 541 restorers worldwide. Our expert team of classic car technicians have continued to uphold our incredibly high standards for quality, even with so many disruptions this year.
Formerly specialising solely in the sale and restoration of classic cars, we have had to adapt to an increasingly challenging economic landscape. With 90 percent of our workforce unable to work. Craig and Freddie fast-tracked the launch of Bridge Classic Cars Competitions. Fortunately the launch of our competitions couldn’t have come at a better time. In preparation since January 2020, we were planning to launch a completely new division to the business, for quite some time. We seized the extra time we suddenly have an with the first national lockdown on the 16th March began work on the new division of Bridge Classic Cars.
Bridge Classic Cars Competitions has been hugely successful. We’ve harnessed the power of social media as our primary marketing source and increased our monthly social media impressions from a few thousand users to over 1.4 million unique users every month, reaching classic car enthusiasts across the UK with industry leading innovative digital media advertising campaigns. This has allowed us to move our physical face-to-face car sales into an online space.
Charlotte, friend of Bridge Classic Cars, talented presenter and face of Bridge Classic Cars competitions has connected with classic car enthusiasts across the country in regular live videos. She’s brought an incredible warmth and energy to our brand.
Our customers have won their dream cars by purchasing tickets which cost just a few pounds, changing their lives forever. Here is the moment Colin, winner of our 1966 Ford mustang Competition saw his car for the first time
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=643554456248570
Our success has been recognised by industry professionals, having recently been named Classic Car Restoration Specialists of the Year at the London and South East Prestige awards from Corporate LiveWire.
We have also been awarded both Best Classic Vehicle Restoration and Maintenance Company and Innovation in Automotive Marketing 2020 at Corporate Vision’s Global Automotive Awards.
We would like to thank you, the classic car community reading this. Our successes are nothing without this community. We are so immensely proud of the wonderful group of enthusiasts we have following our journey and it is with great excitement we anticipate the re-introduction of in-person meetings. But until we meet again, we hope you all stay safe, stay well and we look forward to a brighter future.
Join us on the second instalment in our new series: Behind The Scenes. Although we give frequent behind the scenes updates on our workshop, we wanted to show you some of the processes that go into our visuals.
With every competition car and for sale car, we arrange a full photo shoot to capture our beloved classics in the best possible light. Some of these shoots include models and locations and some include members of the Bridge Classic Car team hopping in and helping out at Bentwaters. No matter the setup, the aim is always the same. To tell a story and capture the car in the best way.
We recently had a photoshoot for our Imola Red 1998 BMW Z3M outside Aurora in Ipswich, Suffolk. It was a particularly cold day and our hands clutched at our cameras, frozen on the buttons. Our plan was for Freddie to film the BMW driving past the Willis building, capturing the red reflection in the sleek black glass architecture. We then took the car down to the waterfront where we met our friend Zey who was the model for the shoot.
After working each angle of the car, in both stills and film clips, we packed up our kit and departed ways. All of our on-set photoshoots are treated in the same way, with the aim to cast a creative and editorial light on the car, often taking the majority of the day. However, for the BMW, we managed to work extra fast, wanting to beat the cold weather that day.
You can keep up to date with our behind the scenes videos on our Instagram page under ‘BTS’ highlights! Keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook stories as well as we often put up sneak peaks on there too!
We also offer photoshoots as a service, so if you’d like your beloved motor photographed by the team at Bridge Classic Cars, click the link here.
We’ve been repairing the hood frame on our 1977 Triumph Spitfire. This involves straightening out the linkages and then drilling out old pop rivets. Once these steps have been completed, we ensure it fits back on the car without any further modifications.
Our trim shop expert, Kath, has been busy making multiple covers for the magenta Triumph TR6. The hood and tonneau now have covers that have been created out of black vinyl. Velcro has been sewn on and all the individual parts are then sewn together. Kath has also made a bag for the jack which followed a similar pattern to the tool bag.
We welcomed another new car to the workshop yesterday. This 1984 Lada 1200 Estate was brought in with signs of rust in the sills and floor. A paint job and some fabrication work will be in order to address the rust issues.
Lada 1200’s were a heavily modified version of the Fiat 124 tailored for the Soviet Union and much of the Eastern Bloc. The Lada brand was built with hash Russian and Siberian conditions in mind. The suspension was raised to clear rough Russian roads and the bodyshell was made from thicker, heavier steel to make them more durable. These cars were later shipped around the world and used as police cars, taxies and other public utility vehicles.
Some drama in the engine workshop! All was seemingly well with the engine re-build however, unbeknown to us, the dipstick tube had previously broken off inside the cylinder block. If Ady’s keen eyes hadn’t noticed, this would have led to a total engine strip and rebuild in the workshop later down the line!
Luckily he noticed and managed to remove it before it did too much damage. A new one has now been fitted.
The Peony Red Jensen 541S has had its engine refurbished by our engine specialist. A new steel tube has been installed as well as a distributor, water pump and oil filter housing.
