August 2018

Introducing Speedy Cable

We have unknowingly used the services of Speedy Cable in the past on various clock and dials refurbishment productbut going through various third parties. On the restoration

Read More »

Buckie Classic Car Show 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our good friend Tom attended this year’s Buckie Classic Car Show 2018 at Cunningholes Ind Est, Buckie AB56 4DA and was kind enough to take some fantastic pictures

Read More »

John, never switching off from work…

On a recent trip with the family to Florida, John was seen getting to grips with the running of the Disney Amphicars.

Whilst he family went out to enjoy the open water John stayed back to chat with the technicians who work on these amazing cars every day of the week.

Of course, he got to have a go in one too…

We’d like to think this was all in preparation for when ours arrives back ready for rebuild. Seeing as John now has the experience in these machines we would most probably look to him to perform the first full test drive!!

Rebuilt Bedford J Truck Servo, Master Cylinder and

Huge thank you, as always, to the masters of brake refurbishment and our good friends at Past Parts. They have done an incredible job of stripping and rebuilding the giant servo and brake master cylinders of our 1971 Bedford J Truck.

Now to fit them back up as part of the recommissioning process.

A day out at North Norfolk Railway

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]After an amazing weekend at our first ever Bridge Classic Cars Classic & Sports Car Show we are all still buzzing from the amazing feedback we received.

And we would love to say a huge thank you to everyone who could make it on the day.

With friends travelling from all over the UK to celebrate the day with us we are lucky to be spending an extra few days with our good friends Greg and Jackie who travelled down from the highlands of Scotland.

Today we have spent an incredible day upon the North Norfolk Railway.

The North Norfolk Railway

The North Norfolk Railway offers a 10.5 mile round trip by steam train (vintage diesel trains on some journeys) through a delightful area of North Norfolk designated as being of outstanding natural beauty. To the south are wooded hills and the Norfolk beauty spots of Kelling Heath and Sheringham Park. To the north, the sea. All within easy walking distance from the various stations. The flowers are a sight to see throughout the year. In spring and early summer there are primroses, bluebells and the yellow gorse. Later in the year the poppies abound and are set off by the mauve heathers. Enjoy a ride on an historic steam train – you can break your journey to look around the stations and marvel at the steam laden atmosphere from a bygone age.

But the North Norfolk Railway is much more than a train ride. There are historic stations, a museum of the railway’s history, a museum signal box and a children’s activity carriage. There are also buffets and souvenir shops.

Sheringham

The railway’s headquarters, is more than just a station. There is children’s activity coach, souvenir shop and a buffet, as well as an attractive booking hall and a ladies’ waiting room. The station is ideally situated for you to take a stroll through the town and walk along the promenade before joining your train. Sheringham is also the location of the railway’s mainline rail connection.

Weybourne

Weybourne is a delightfully preserved country station and our locomotive and carriage maintenance and restoration centre. Enjoy a cup of tea from the buffet and take advantage of the picnic area to watch the trains come and go. Several walks are available through Weybourne Woods and Sheringham Park, with direct access to the Kelling Nature Trail, or walk down to the sea and take the coastal footpath to Sheringham.

Kelling Heath Park

This is our smallest station serving the Nature Trail and Kelling Caravan Park. Owing to the steep gradient steam trains do not stop here on the journey to Holt but will stop if a clear signal is given to the driver on the return trip from Holt to Sheringham.

Holt

Holt is our western terminus and is just about 1 mile from the centre of this lovely Georgian Town. The ‘Holt Flyer’, a London Routemaster Bus service meets most steam trains in the summer. Click here for details. Whilst on the station be sure to drop in and see ‘Broad Sidlinch’ a 300 square foot model railway, which was featured in the Railway Modeller magazine. This is usually open at weekends and during the red timetable, subject to the availability of volunteers. There is also a miniature railway operated by the North Norfolk Model Engineering Club, which is open on selected dates.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”22434,22435,22436,22437,22438,22439,22440,22441,22442,22443,22444,22445,22446,22447,22448,22449,22450,22451,22452,22453,22454,22455,22456,22457,22458,22459,22460,22461,22462,22463,22464,22465″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Introducing Speedy Cable

We have unknowingly used the services of Speedy Cable in the past on various clock and dials refurbishment productbut going through various third parties.

On the restoration of our Jensen 541S we have headed straight for the source and now want to say a huge thank you to the guys and girls at Speedy Cable. They have made an incredible job of refurbishing the old clock when some other restorers have been unable to help with our request.

From the outside, the clock looks as original as the day she left the factory but due to modern technologies the internals have been upgraded.

Source: Speedy Cable

Speedy Cables is an independent small company located in South Wales employing around 20 people with a variety of professional, engineering and craft skills engaged in the customisation and repair of instrumentation and the manufacture of custom control cables and custom drive cables.

The market sectors in which the company operates is varied. Historically it was predominantly automotive including replica cars, classic cars, classic motorcycles, taxis, kit cars, motorsport and military whilst we continue to serve those sectors we also serve the agricultural, industrial and security sectors.

The company batch produces products from volumes of 2/3 up to 3/400 for some products/sectors and also extensively provides a bespoke service for almost all products.

Speedy Cables manufacture a wide range of mechanical drive, control and push pull cables from pattern, for sectors including automotive, motorcycle, canal boats, marine, agricultural, industrial and many more.

Speedy Cables History

Speedy Cables is a long established company and has served the automotive industry for over 60 years. The company Speedy Cables (London) Ltd was registered on the 13th of February 1975 and traded from premises in Islington, London, but its origins go back to a much earlier time when it had non limited status and operated from premises in Marylebone in London’s West End. The company had to move to Islington when its premises were compulsory purchased and demolished to build London’s Post Office Tower on the site.

A good deal of state secrecy and intrigue was involved at the time because the new Post Office Tower was a strategically sensitive installation that officially did not exist. Until the mid-1990s, the building was a state secret, and did not appear on official maps, even though it could be seen from just about anywhere in central London. Its existence was finally confirmed by Kate Hoey, MP, on 19 February 1993 when she addressed parliament. “Hon. Members have given examples of seemingly trivial information that remains officially secret. An example that has not been mentioned, but which is so trivial that it is worth mentioning, is the absence of the British Telecom tower from Ordnance Survey maps. I hope that I am covered by parliamentary privilege when I reveal that the British Telecom tower does exist and that its address is 60 Cleveland Street, London.”

If Speedy Cables’ founding business had not moved it could have vanished from the map into a black hole. This would surely have been one of the less common problems that new businesses have to contend with and overcome.

After its lucky escape from Marylebone however the company flourished in Islington and by the year 2000 it had outgrown its premises and moved to its present location near Swansea in South Wales. Over the years the company has placed great emphasis on retaining its staff with their many years of experience and acquired instrumentation skills. Speedy Cables (London) Ltd can now rightly claim to be a leader in its specialised field.

The company now manufactures and supplies all kinds of mechanical drive and control cables including a wide range of automotive instruments and gauges. In addition we repair, restore, and calibrate gauges from most classic, vintage and kit cars. The company holds ISO9001 2008 Approval and our certification can be seen by clicking here.

1998 BMW 840Ci suspension refurbishment

Our 1998 BMW 840Ci is currently in the workshops to have the front and rear suspension removed to be refurbished.

Whilst in with us we’ll also be looking to address a couple of smaller issues too; slight leak to the coolant system and the headlining is starting to drop too.

 

Fitting up the Jensen 541S bootlid

Lots of putting on and taking off today as John fits up the bootlid on our 1960 Jensen 541S.

It is finally secure and in position and looking incredible.

Every line and curve on this car is truly stunning…

1968 Jaguar E-Type Accident Damage

It’s always a sad sight when you see somebody’s pride and joy accidentally damaged but none more so that our 1968 Jaguar E-Type Roadster. As you can see the nearside side (passanger’s) door was a little too close for comfort and the accident has mis-shaped the outer skin.

It has also clipped the front wing too.

Hopefully no further damage has been made internally but it will look to be a new outer skin, strip down before preparation and paint.

Reinstating the Stag’s newly built engine

We have now completed the rebuild of our 1978 Triumph Stag engine. The belts and filters are on order so now Pete is on a mission to have the gearbox and engine fitted back in over the next couple of days. Firstly, we’ll clean up the engine bay whilst the engine is out.

 

The biggest task is now complete. The gearbox is back into position and the engine has been fitted back into the car. Now for connecting up the ancillaries and getting the car back on the road.

1964 Land Rover Visiting

We had a special visit today from Mat and his 1964 Land Rover.

Matt would like to see the checker plating removed from the car and has asked us to sympathetically repair the bodywork so as not to interfere with the current overall look.

As you can see to the rear of the car the checker plating has already been removed so this will also need some attention too.

The future plans for the car is to replicate a fire response unit but with the details matching the ‘patina’ and overall look of the current state.

This is a fantastic little project and we are very excited to see the car in our workshops.

 

Coming Soon – 1977 MG BGT for full restoration

We were first introduced to our 1977 MG BGT at this year’s Bridge Classic Cars Classic & Sports Car Show back in August as we were looking at options of a full restoration.

With just 1 owner from new this very unique project has been barn stored since the 1980’s but the current owner (and only owner) is now looking at bringing her back to life with a little help from us.

We are looking at originality with this car, original colour combinations and the majority of the factory fitted options. The only exceptions being an electronic ignition and improvements to the braking systems.

We will hopefully be looking at collecting the car just before Christmas with a view to beginning the restoration in the early new year.

 

Coming Soon – BMW 635 Interior Work

We were introduced to our 1988 BMW 635 at our Classic & Sports Car Show this weekend gone with a view of having some worn interior addressed. As you can see, the bolsters and front support are worn which is not uncommon on these cars so we will look to strip and re-cover the affected areas.

 

 

 

Amazing turnout for our Classic & Sports Car Show.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last weekend (Sunday 26th August) saw our very first Classic & Sports Car Show to be held at our new workshops at The Nursery, Main Road, Pettistree, Woodbridge, IP13 0HH.

The gates opened at 10am and we had classic cars lining up from 9:30am.

Although the heaven’s opened at midday we had a great turnout for the event with modern and classic all joining together to make a wonderful show within The Suffolk Plant Centre grounds.

We just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who could make it on the day and glad so many of you were there to celebrate our opening with us.

We hope to make our Classic & Sports Car show an annual event so we look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Here are some photographs taken by some of the attendees who have kindly sent through to us:

 

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21747,21748,21749,21750,21751,21752,21753,21754,21758,21759,21760,21761,21762,21763,21764,21765,21766,21767,21768,21769,21770,21771,21772,21773,21774,21775,21776,21777,21778,21779,21780,21781,21782,21783,21784,21785,21786,21787,21788,21789,21790,21791,21792,21793,21794,21795,21796,21797,21798,21799,21800,21801,21802,21803,21804,21805,21806,21807,21808,21809,21810,21811,21812,21813,21814,21815,21816,21817,21818,21819,21820,21821,21822,21823,21824,21825,21826,21827,21828,21829,21830,21831,21832,21833,21834,21835″ title=”Thank you to DM for the wonderful photos”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21836,21837,21838,21839,21840,21841,21842,21835″ title=”Thank you to ECOEA for sending in your photos…”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21843,21844,21845,21846,21847,21848,21849,21850,21851,21852,21853,21854,21855,21856,21857,21858,21859,21860,21861,21862,21863,21864,21865,21866,21867,21868,21869,21870,21871,21872,21873,21874,21875,21876,21877,21878,21879,21880,21881,21882,21883,21884,21885,21886,21887,21888,21889,21890,21891,21892,21893,21894,21895,21897,21898,21899,21900,21901,21902,21903,21904,21905,21907,21908,21909,21910,21911″ title=”Thank you to ED for your selection of photos…”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21912,21913,21914,21915,21916,21917,21918,21919,21920,21921,21922,21923,21924,21925,21926,21927,21928,21929,21930,21931,21932,21933″ title=”Thank you to JS of Sugar and Spice Photography…”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21934,21935,21936,21937,21938,21939,21940,21942,21943,21944,21945,21946,21947,21948,21949,21950,21951,21952,21953″ title=”Thank you to MJ for sending in your photos…”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21956,21957,21958,21959,21960,21961,21962,21963,21964,21965,21966″ title=”Thank you to TB for your selection of photos…”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”21967,21968,21969,21970,21971,21972,21973,21974,21975,21976,21977,21978,21979,21980,21981,21982,21983,21984,21985,21986,21987,21988,21989,21990,21991,21992,21993,21994,21995,21996,21997″ title=”Thank you to GL for sending us some of your photos…”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Buckie Classic Car Show 2018

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Our good friend Tom attended this year’s Buckie Classic Car Show 2018 at Cunningholes Ind Est, Buckie AB56 4DA and was kind enough to take some fantastic pictures of the day.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”22327,22326,22325,22324,22323,22322,22321,22320,22319,22318,22317,22316,22315,22314,22313,22312,22311,22310,22309,22308,22307,22306,22305,22304″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Classic & Sports Car Show: Sunday 26th August: Attendees

More cars confirmed for our Classic & Sports Car Show on Sunday 26th August.

Confirmed: Robert’s 1947 Morgan 4/4 Royal Ivory

Confirmed: Tim’s 2001 Porsche 911 (996.2 C2)

Confirmed: Ray’s 1969 Pontiac

Confirmed: Nigel’s 1986 Honda XBR500

Confirmed: Gay’s 1986 Citroen 2CV

Confirmed: David’s 2004 BMW E46 M3 Coupe

Confirmed: Neil’s 1969 Austin 3 Litre with a fantastic story. Bought it in 1987, restored it himself in 1990, sold it in 1998 and got it back as a scrapper in 2012 and restored it again.#

1969 Jaguar E-Type Roadster Engine Rebuild

We have now completed the full rebuild of our 1969 Jaguar E-Type engine with the assistance of Ady at Scholar Engineering.

The engine has been run up and tested with a video on our YouTube channel so we can now put the engine away ready for the restoration to commence.

The car is available for sale as a restoration project, complete with the newly built engine or the restoration can be completed to exacting standards by us here at Bridge Classic Cars.

 

Cleaning up the MGTC hood

One final task to undertake on our 1947 MG TC before we return her to her owner…the hood.

Having spent many years out on the UK roads and a couple of trips to a ‘not so careful’ garage the hood is a bit grubby. We’ll get the buffers and polishers on her to see what we can do.

Classic & Sports Car Show: Sunday 26th August: Attendees

More cars confirmed for our Classic & Sports Car Show on Sunday 26th August.

Confirmed: Geoff 1972 Jaguar E-Type Series 3

Confirmed: Keith with his 1939 Morris 8 Series E Tourer

Confirmed: We also see the return of our 2005 Smart Roadster Brabus.

MG B fully stripped

Our 1975 MG B is now fully stripped and ready for blasting early next week. The shell will be away from ours for a couple of weeks but once blasted we will have a better idea to what extend our repair work will be.

Audi 100 Damaged Fuel Tank

With the challenges we will inevitably face later in this project, due to the rarity of the car and it’s parts, we have now discovered an unexpected hole in the fuel tank.

If a new/good second hand tank can not be sourced we will need to look at the options of stripping the existing tank back to bare metal, repair the damage before re-sealing internally and re-painting.

It is not a job that is impossible to complete, intact we have had to repair and re-seal various tanks in the past so it is not too daunting a task but like a lot of jobs when restoring a classic car, it is one that was not expected.

1970 Jaguar E-Type 4.2 Series 2…but with a difference

Recently seen at Historic Wheels Rally in Forres was this very unique E-Type.

Original owner was Sir William Gordon Cumming – Forres.

Purchased new in 1969 (registered in 1970) and delivered to the coachworks of Williams and Pritchard (London) who customised to a design chosen by the owner.

The car was owned by an Elgin garage proprietor up until his death in 1980. It was then bought by his cousin in Chesterfield who seldom used the car.

The vehicle was recently purchased by its present owner who brought it back to Elgin in June 1997.

It is believed the coachworks produced 3 models to the same design. One of the others belonged to a member of the Moores family of Littlewoods fame.

 

Coming Soon: 1976 MG BGT V8

Due to arrive at our workshops very soon is our fantastic 1976 MG BGT V8 for a sympathetic restoration.

 

Stopping for directions in Woodbridge

Do we attract them?

Gordon: I am trying to get my grandson Loick into the garden when I was stopped and asked for directions from not one…but two petrolhead within two minutes of each other.

A fairy tale story, just like the glass slipper!!

It is one of those stories that couldn’t be written.

For many months we have been on the hunt for a Jaguar E-Type V12 pulley. Some examples have come and gone. We’ve tried plan A, B and C and have gotten nowhere.

Having called pretty everyone who knows anything about Jaguars in the hope of finding one on their shelves we were close to running out of options so we decided to design the pulley ourselves and have it re-manufactured using the latest machining technologies.

Yesterday Dave had completed the drawing and found himself standing in front of our precision engineers in Claydon, Suffolk to explain exactly what needed to be done.

One of the machinists then came out with one of the most inspiring sentences we’ve ever heard…’my neighbour has an E-Type V12.’

So off we went and sure enough here is the very V12 pulley we require, taken directly from his fully functioning V12 E-Type.

Just like Cinderella’s slipper it fits so now a trip back to Claydon. With the latest CNC technologies we will be able to reproduce a batch of the pulley’s just in case, one day, we get a call from a restoration company desperately in need of a Jaguar E-Type V12 pulley.

Jeremy Clarkson on A Level results day.

Whether you feel he’s inspiring or not he makes a very good point. Credit to Jeremy Clarkson on A Level results day.

‘Don’t worry if your A level grades aren’t any good. I got a C and 2 Us. And I’m sitting here deciding which of my Range Rovers to use today.’