The Little Workshop That Can

For a small classic car restoration workshop based in rural Suffolk, we have had the privilege of restoring and working on some of the automotive world’s most special, most interesting, and extremely rare vehicles.

The incredible skill of the workshop team has allowed us to take on so many projects that many might consider beyond the reach of a modestly sized business like ours.

Some of our extremely special projects include:

1905 Riley 9HP

I’ve spoken about this 120-year-old beauty so much over the last year or so, and yet I will never get bored of its story.

Our 1905 Riley 9HP is an incredibly special car, not just because it’s rare, but because it represents a very important moment in automotive history. This exact car is believed to be an experimental model that predates Riley’s first four-wheeled production cars.

Originally discovered hidden on a farm, most likely for safekeeping during the World Wars, the car was nothing more than a pile of wood and metal when it was found. Most people would have considered it as too far gone to save, but not us, we took on the challenge of bringing it back to life and, 4 years later, it was back on the road (literally).

Geoff Haviland from the Riley Cars Archive Heritage Trust has inspected the vehicle and he believes it to be a prototype, built by Percy Riley himself as part of his early experiments with four-wheeled designs. At the time, three-wheeled cars were the norm, so this would have been quite a disruptive design back in the early 1900s. While it certainly has similarities with the 1907 Riley 9HP production model, this particular car has some telltale differences – like an extended front end and unique seating layout. When all of the evidence is combined, it does seem to suggest that this special car was used for development and testing.

1939 Jaguar SS100

The SS100 is an extremely significant pre-war British sports car and was the first model to carry the ‘Jaguar’ name.

At the time, it was one of the fastest and most affordable 100 mph cars available, with the original 2.5-litre engine producing 102bhp (in the 1930s!) A later 3.5-litre version followed, delivering 125bhp and pushing the top speed beyond 101 mph (again, this was the 1930s). Acceleration was equally as impressive, with 0–50 mph in just 7.1 seconds and 0–60 mph in under 9 seconds, making it one of the quickest cars of its time.

With only 309 examples ever built – 191 with the 2.5-litre engine and 118 with the 3.5-litre (like the one in our workshop) the SS100 is an incredibly rare car with probably fewer than 10 still on the road.

1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 & 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupé

In 1953, Aston Martin introduced the DB2/4, an evolution of the DB2. One of its most notable changes was the addition of two occasional rear seats, achieved by modifying the rear axle bracing and raising the roofline to provide the needed headroom.

The DB2/4 was available in several body styles, including a 2+2 hatchback saloon, drophead coupé (DHC), and a 2-seat fixed-head coupé. A small number of bespoke versions were also commissioned, such as the Bertone-bodied spiders and a coupé, ordered by American businessman Stanley H. Arnolt II.

The DB2/4 initially had a 2.6-litre Lagonda straight-six engine that could produce 125 bhp but, in 1954, this was upgraded to a 2.9-litre version, increasing the output to 140 bhp and enabling a top speed of around 120 mph.

Production numbers for the DB2/4 were modest, with 565 Mark I models built between 1953 and 1955, of which, only 102 were Drophead Coupés.

1956 Jensen 541

First shown at the 1953 London Motor Show, the Jensen 541 entered production in 1954 and remained in production until 1959. It was something of a groundbreaking model for its time as it had a fibreglass body. The 541 was actually one of the earliest British cars to use this lightweight material. Mounted on a steel chassis, the fibreglass construction made the 541 significantly lighter than Jensen’s previous models, improving both performance and handling.

Just over 500 541s were ever built so they are very rare today. We have become known for restoring these cars and have had up to 10 in the workshop at any one time.

1969 Aston Martin DB6 Volante

The Aston Martin DB6 Volante was introduced in 1966. The term “Volante,” means “flying” in Italian, and was chosen for Aston Martin’s first-ever convertible. With its 4.0-litre DOHC straight-six engine, it could produce 282 horsepower and had a top speed of around 145mph.

Production numbers for the DB6 Volante were limited, with only 140 units built between 1966 and 1970. Of these, only 29 were specified with the high-performance Vantage engine, making them extra rare.

Rare Vehicle At Bridge Classic Cars

We may be a relatively small business but we can do incredibly big things. I’m lucky enough to see these rare cars every single day and, every now and then, I can’t help but realise how few people will actually be able to see them up close.

All of our current projects can be seen here.