Workshop Walkaround – A Few Projects
May 1, 2024
With the team here at Bridge Classic Cars always working on something, whether that be the restorations technicians in the various departments, the marketing team
1905 Riley 9hp
Our Riley Returns
April 25, 2024
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
Shown To The World
March 22, 2024
After several years of research and restoration, our 1905 Riley 9HP is ready to be revealed to the world! As a 1 of 1 prototype
Lights And Buckles
March 21, 2024
John has been running the wires of our 1905 Riley 9HP from the front and rear to the batteries. He wired in the switch and
Finish Touches – Final 1905 Riley 9HP Parts Painted
March 20, 2024
The final parts of our 1905 Riley 9HP restoration project have been in the booth under the gun of our paint technician Mauro. Mauro has
Coming Together – Trim team work on the interior of the 1905 Riley 9hp
March 20, 2024
Ahead of its unveiling at the Practical Classics Restoration Show at the Birmingham NEC this weekend, our restorations teams have been working flat out to
Riley Seat
March 11, 2024
The backrest of the our 1905 Riley 9HP seat is actually fitted on the body of the car and, as a result, could not be
Taking our Riley 9hp to Joby Carter
March 8, 2024
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
Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia made an internal door card for the opening door on our 1905 Riley 9HP. She first made a template from paper to ensure the
A Rare Vehicle Returns
February 27, 2024
Our very special one of one 1905 Riley 9HP has returned to the workshop after being handpainted. As you can tell from the photos, it
From the Brits to Bridge, meet Joby, the man with the Golden Touch
February 24, 2024
As we continue to see the amazing progress being made on our 1905 Riley 9HP, meet Joby Carter, the incredible talent behind the colour transformation.
An Ultra Rare Roof Frame
February 21, 2024
The roof frame of our 1 of 1 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with technician Mauro. Mauro painted
Riley Roof Frame
February 16, 2024
The roof frame of our 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop with Mauro. He has been prepping the frame before
Paint Progress
February 8, 2024
We have received the below pictures which show just how much progress Joby Carter is making on our 1905 Riley 9HP.
Time For Paint
January 29, 2024
As the restoration of our 1905 Riley 9HP is moving into its final stages, the time has come for it to be painted. For this
Even More Progress
January 26, 2024
Our very special 1905 Riley 9HP continues to make fantastic progress. Lydia has been finishing the buttoned back for the Riley seat. This was particularly
Bench Seat Back
January 24, 2024
Yesterday, Lydia was preparing the seat backrest that Darin, from Ashbocking Joinery has kindly made for us. This involved replacing the springs back to their
A 100-Year-Old Seat
January 23, 2024
Lydia has upholstered the base seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP. She used a 2-inch foam for the base to provide a firm seat so
Bench Seat Base
January 19, 2024
Recently, Lydia has been making the pattern for the base part of the seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP. She has been working with Steve
Moving Forward
January 11, 2024
There’s been some incredible progress on our 1905 Riley 9hp in recent weeks. Recently, the team here at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ have been
Starting A 119-Year-Old Car
January 5, 2024
Our 1905 Riley 9HP was originally thought to be just 1 of 3 remaining examples. However, the evidence now suggests that it is, in fact,
Seat And Roof
December 18, 2023
Brian has been fitting the brackets to hold the roof frame when it’s folded back, cutting the inner seat frame wood to fit around the
Battery Box Framework
December 8, 2023
The battery box metal frame is almost complete and will eventually have an ash wood box for battery to sit in.
Riley 9HP work continues
December 7, 2023
Steve is still working through the few final pieces on the 1905 Riley 9HP restoration. A new final drive chain has been fitted, new fabric
Riley 9 Restoration Progress
November 22, 2023
The restoration of our one-of-a-kind 1905 Rilep 9HP has been something of a labour of love and dedication. With very little reference material to work
New Tool Box and Trembler
November 6, 2023
Darin from Ashbocking Joinery is completing the final few pieces of our Riley 9 woodwork. Here is the new tool box and trembler being finished.
1905 Stop Start Technology
November 1, 2023
Alright, I am not referring to the start-stop technology of today, it’s not quite the completely automatic system that works by detecting a lack of
100 Years Old But Looking Great
October 25, 2023
Our 1905 Riley 9HP may be more than 100 years old but, thanks to our team of skilled technicians and our friend, Darin at Ashbocking
Body And Running Boards
October 19, 2023
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has been with a friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Darin, from Ashbocking Joinery. While our one-off car is with Darin, he
A Big Step Forward
September 13, 2023
Recently, classic car technician Steve and Bridge Classic Cars Director Gordon took a trip to the British Motor Museum to take a closer look at
Workshop Walkaround – A Few Projects
May 1, 2024
With the team here at Bridge Classic Cars always working on something, whether that be the restorations technicians in the various departments, the marketing team or the leadership teams, we are all focused around our incredible workshop.
We’re all incredibly lucky to be able to be surrounded by these cars on a daily basis and every day is different as each project is unique and individual.
For example, the cars which are currently in the workshop – span nearly 115 years between them. From our 1905 Riley 9HP which Steve has been preparing ahead of its first drive all the way up to our 2022 Bridge C-Type which is also being readied for its maiden voyage in its period-correct trim. In between those extremes, is our 1939 Jaguar SS100 which Julian has been working on reassembling after a spring change and our 1958 Austin-Healey 100/6 (which was recently removed from a local barn) is being recommissioned and shown a bit of TLC.
Our Riley Returns
April 25, 2024
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!
Shown To The World
March 22, 2024
After several years of research and restoration, our 1905 Riley 9HP is ready to be revealed to the world!
As a 1 of 1 prototype for the first car to have fully removable wheels, this is the first time anyone outside of the workshop has seen the car in decades.
The unveiling of the fully restored unique vehicle takes place at the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show 2024 at the NEC in Birmingham.
Lights And Buckles
March 21, 2024
John has been running the wires of our 1905 Riley 9HP from the front and rear to the batteries. He wired in the switch and the front and rear lights.
Lydia has spent the last few days titivating the Riley before its grand unveiling at the NEC show at the weekend. Mostly, she has been making the last of the buckles and straps needed to secure the spare wheel, and the hood at front and back.
She also made a rubbing patch should the wheel ever come to touch the front mudguard. Lydia also made the leather cover to go from the bottom of the seat to the floor, and this press studs over the rubber mat that has been placed on the floor.
The door cards were also finished and fitted and this meant that the brass strip could be applied to the top.
Finish Touches – Final 1905 Riley 9HP Parts Painted
March 20, 2024
The final parts of our 1905 Riley 9HP restoration project have been in the booth under the gun of our paint technician Mauro.
Mauro has been working on finishing these handmade parts in thick, gloss black for the workshop team to get back on the car ahead of the car’s unveiling at the Practical Classic Restoration Show at the Birmingham NEC this weekend.
Coming Together – Trim team work on the interior of the 1905 Riley 9hp
March 20, 2024
Ahead of its unveiling at the Practical Classics Restoration Show at the Birmingham NEC this weekend, our restorations teams have been working flat out to get our 1905 Riley 9HP ready for its first public appearance in what is thought to be nearly 70 years.
The trim team have worked on getting the bench seat in place and the moldings secured ahead of the fabrication team coming in to put on some of the beautiful bronze accent pieces alongside the mechanical team getting all of the final pieces into place before systems checks.
Riley Seat
March 11, 2024
The backrest of the our 1905 Riley 9HP seat is actually fitted on the body of the car and, as a result, could not be fitted until the vehicle returned from paint. Lydia placed the seat in and began to line up the pleats so that they were straight. She had to stuff the seat with additional coconut fiber to give them extra puffiness and to cover any lumps and bumps in the wooden bodywork. The most difficult part of this was deciding how to get a tidy finish on the front curve of the seat, as she couldn’t staple this to the bodywork.
After Lydia finished stapling the seat to the body, she cut away the excess and then applied piping to the back edge. The raw edges of the fabric will then be covered with a beautiful brass beading that we have bought to replicate the original.
Lydia also made some straps to replicate the original ones, which hold the roof bars at the correct distance apart. The hood has also been made with great care taken to ensure it looks as close to the original as possible.
Various components have been in the paintshop being painted in dtm black.
Taking our Riley 9hp to Joby Carter
March 8, 2024
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. He has documented many of his creations alongside tips and ideas in a series of books.
In accordance with vehicles of a similar age, Carter was commissioned by Bridge Classic Cars to paint our Riley 9hp with a neat design. The pristine line work edges the shapes and contours of the car, outlining the doors. The sleek likes create an elegant and opulent aesthetic.
Door Card
March 4, 2024
Lydia made an internal door card for the opening door on our 1905 Riley 9HP.
She first made a template from paper to ensure the correct shape, and then she cut this out from card. She then made her own design based on the pinstriping on the paintwork of the vehicle. She will affix this door card to the door when she has finished staining the wood, and the door handle has been altered and fixed on.
A Rare Vehicle Returns
February 27, 2024
Our very special one of one 1905 Riley 9HP has returned to the workshop after being handpainted.
As you can tell from the photos, it looks very different to how it did when it left, but there’s no denying it looks as good now as it would have done over 100 years ago.
From the Brits to Bridge, meet Joby, the man with the Golden Touch
February 24, 2024
As we continue to see the amazing progress being made on our 1905 Riley 9HP, meet Joby Carter, the incredible talent behind the colour transformation.
Joby is a traditional sign-writer, decorative artist, restoration specialist, author and teacher. He’s a master craftsman with his heritage decorative art skills including signwriting and the endangered craft of fairground art. As well as hosting signwriting courses, Joby is an artist in his own right, having had signwriting commissions for the Brit Awards, the English National Opera and Jools Holland, amongst others. He was also involved as a guest curator for Peter Blake’s curation in the Museum of Everything.
Up until 2022 Joby was the proprietor of Carters Steam Fair, the world’s largest travelling vintage funfair which toured from 1977 to 2022. Our award-winning vintage funfair was famous for its beautifully restored, authentically decorated fairground rides which dated from the 1890s to the 1960s.
Our very own Lily is a huge fan of Joby Carter’s work having followed him on social media for some time.
Joby has kindly sent through some photos to keep us up to date on the progress being made on our iconic 1905 Riley 9HP.
An Ultra Rare Roof Frame
February 21, 2024
The roof frame of our 1 of 1 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with technician Mauro.
Mauro painted the brackets in black before also painting the wood.
Riley Roof Frame
February 16, 2024
The roof frame of our 1905 Riley 9HP has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paintshop with Mauro.
He has been prepping the frame before applying epoxy primer ready for it to be painted black.
Paint Progress
February 8, 2024
We have received the below pictures which show just how much progress Joby Carter is making on our 1905 Riley 9HP.
Time For Paint
January 29, 2024
As the restoration of our 1905 Riley 9HP is moving into its final stages, the time has come for it to be painted.
For this to happen, Tony and Gordon took the car to Joby Carter in Berkshire. This is so this special car can have traditional methods used to bring it fully back to life.
Once it returns to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, our Riley 9HP will look as great as its story.
Even More Progress
January 26, 2024
Our very special 1905 Riley 9HP continues to make fantastic progress. Lydia has been finishing the buttoned back for the Riley seat. This was particularly challenging, as the original seat was made from a soft oiled cloth, but she was now using leather, which is much thicker and a lot harder to manipulate.
The flat centre part wasn’t too difficult, but she had to put a lot of thought into getting the pleats in when it came to the curved corners. Once the body of the car is back from paint, Lydia can fit the seat in properly and finish off the top!
Various parts of our Riley 9HP have been in the paint shop with Mauro while Lydia moved on to the running boards. She made the rubber inserts for the running boards and made sure to cut the hatch out carefully to allow for the cranking handle to be easily accessible.
After this, the car was ready to be moved on to the next stage of its restoration.
Bench Seat Back
January 24, 2024
Yesterday, Lydia was preparing the seat backrest that Darin, from Ashbocking Joinery has kindly made for us.
This involved replacing the springs back to their original position and hand sewing them into place. Next came various layers of cotton and horsehair padding, and then working out her fabric allowance with a scrap piece of fabric. This meant that Lydia could then cut the leather.
A 100-Year-Old Seat
January 23, 2024
Lydia has upholstered the base seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP.
She used a 2-inch foam for the base to provide a firm seat so that the driver doesn’t slip out of the seat. She then placed a layer of horse hair on top to give it the correct finished look and feel. This is a tightly woven material which has been needled into hessian sheets.
After this, Lydia cut the face fabric and piping and sewed these together. She used a period-correct paper piping. Then was the border which was made in 2 pieces, and sewed onto the seat face.
Lydia chose to do a border all around so that the seat would have a plump look.
Bench Seat Base
January 19, 2024
Recently, Lydia has been making the pattern for the base part of the seat of our 1905 Riley 9HP. She has been working with Steve to make sure that the seat is adequately secured when placed in the vehicle. They have decided to make a metal dowel/peg affixed to a metal plate, which will locate into a hole in the body of the car. Lydia added a wedge of wood at the front of the seat to provide a bit more stability for the peg beneath and also as a bit of a leg bolster.
Steve also made new gear lever selector pin and fitted it to the car as the old one was worn causing inaccurate gear selection.
Moving Forward
January 11, 2024
There’s been some incredible progress on our 1905 Riley 9hp in recent weeks.
Recently, the team here at the Bridge Classic Cars HQ have been working full-steam ahead on the 1-of-1 antique car.
The wooden frame has returned from the team at Ashbocking Joinery ready for the trim team to continue their careful and precise work in bringing the wooden structure back to life with its handmade covering.
Meanwhile, the fabrication team have been working on recreating several pieces which needed to be re-manufactured for the hood to be fitted up properly for testing. These small hooks are part of the hood support system which needed to be made and shaped by hand to perfectly fit the 119-year-old car.
At the same time, our trimmer Lydia has been working on making a battery bag for the battery. Although its truly a safety item, she has made stylish and perfectly sized for the car. The whole purpose is to make it easier to remove the battery from the wooden box it is fitted into, but the thickness of the leather and the material itself allows for some dampening and deadening to protect the battery and prolong its life.
On the chassis itself, in the main mechanical workshop, Steve has been working on the gearbox. Before the car moves under its own power, Steve has completely flushed and cleaned up the gearbox internals due to the car being sat for long periods of time – and with this much hard work, devotion and passion poured into this very special project it made sense to do it at this time before the body is placed onto the frame for the final time.
Starting A 119-Year-Old Car
January 5, 2024
Our 1905 Riley 9HP was originally thought to be just 1 of 3 remaining examples. However, the evidence now suggests that it is, in fact, a 1 of 1 prototype of the first car to have fully removable wheels. This is the moment we started the 119-year-old car in the workshop.
Seat And Roof
December 18, 2023
Brian has been fitting the brackets to hold the roof frame when it’s folded back, cutting the inner seat frame wood to fit around the brackets.
He then put the front inner seat frame into the car, adjusting the cutouts around the brackets before glueing the left-hand side of the frame back on, before fixing it with a metal bracket.
Battery Box Framework
December 8, 2023
The battery box metal frame is almost complete and will eventually have an ash wood box for battery to sit in.
Riley 9HP work continues
December 7, 2023
Steve is still working through the few final pieces on the 1905 Riley 9HP restoration. A new final drive chain has been fitted, new fabric body prop, new fabric exhaust has been temporarily fitted to help with routing of coolant pipes.
Riley 9 Restoration Progress
November 22, 2023
The restoration of our one-of-a-kind 1905 Rilep 9HP has been something of a labour of love and dedication. With very little reference material to work from, bringing this piece of automotive history back to life has been challenging, to say the least. However, the project has made even more progress recently, as its wooden body has been trial-fitted to the 118-year-old chassis.
Our 1905 Rilep 9HP is a great example of the craftsmanship and innovation of early automobile engineering. Its uniqueness lies not only in its design but also in its rarity as a prototype for the first car to ever have fully removable wheels. The workshop team has worked extremely hard to find any kind of record of how this one-off car should be put back together to honour its legacy throughout the restoration process.
After the wooden body recently returned to the workshop, following its time with Ashbocking Joinery, classic car technician Steve temporarily put the body back onto the chassis in a trial fit to make sure everything goes together as he would like it to. As well as the body going back on the chassis, the impressive radiator has also taken its place on the front end of this incredible classic car.
The Restoration Of Our Riley 9 Isn’t Done Yet
While our Riley 9HP may look much more car-like than it has since it first arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, it will still need to be stripped down again once Steve is happy that the trial-fitting has been a success. Once stripped, it will then be painted before going back together for the final time. The next big milestone to reach though is getting the car to start. Although we have seen that it can start (we fired up the engine for a very short period of time last year), it has never been run without assistance and in its current configuration.
If all goes to plan, our 1905 Riley 9 restoration will be complete and the finished car will drive out of the workshop in the early part of 2024. Until then though, we are very excited to see it continue to make great progress in its restoration.
New Tool Box and Trembler
November 6, 2023
Darin from Ashbocking Joinery is completing the final few pieces of our Riley 9 woodwork. Here is the new tool box and trembler being finished.
1905 Stop Start Technology
November 1, 2023
Alright, I am not referring to the start-stop technology of today, it’s not quite the completely automatic system that works by detecting a lack of vehicle motion.
Instead, check out the beautifully crafted hatch that has been made up for our 1905 Riley 9HP. When opened, the vehicle’s engine can be run by simply turning the handle but when the hatch is closed, the handle fits perfectly inside a grove that has been cut out especially for the handle. Doesn’t it look amazing?
What is start-stop technology in modern cars and how does it work?
You probably have it on your modern car right now; start-stop technology detects when your car comes to a halt and stops the engine automatically. It then starts the engine again for you when you press the accelerater. This technology was developed to reduce the amount of pollution caused by vehicles, specifically emissions released into the atmosphere when cars and vans are idling or stuck in slow-moving traffic.
100 Years Old But Looking Great
October 25, 2023
Our 1905 Riley 9HP may be more than 100 years old but, thanks to our team of skilled technicians and our friend, Darin at Ashbocking Joinery, this is one special car that looks as good as it ever has.
With the wood sections of the car being worked on and fitted to this one-of-one prototype, it certainly shows just how far our Riley has come since we first pulled it out of a barn a couple of years ago.
Body And Running Boards
October 19, 2023
Our 1905 Riley 9HP has been with a friend of Bridge Classic Cars, Darin, from Ashbocking Joinery.
While our one-off car is with Darin, he has been starting the first phase in the process of mounting the front body and running boards.
Before the running boards are fitted to the car, Darin has been shaping them and it already looks like great progress is being made.
A Big Step Forward
September 13, 2023
Recently, classic car technician Steve and Bridge Classic Cars Director Gordon took a trip to the British Motor Museum to take a closer look at the Riley 9HP they have on display. The purpose of the trip was to gather more information and references as to how our 1905 Riley 9HP goes together and works.
It’s not quite as easy as simply taking photos and then building our Riley in the same way though, as ours is slightly different to the very small number of others out there. It is strongly believed that we actually have the prototype for the Riley 9HP – the first car ever to have removable wheels. This means that it never looked exactly the same as any of the others produced.
Another challenge the workshop team faces is the age of the car. At more than 100 years old, there aren’t too many people around who saw one of these in their prime or know how they go together. It’s also worth noting that over the last 100 years, it’s highly unlikely that someone hasn’t tinkered with the vehicle in some way, making Steve’s job even harder to work out what is original and what may be a later modification.
That being said, after his trip to the museum, Steve has been hard at work and has made great progress on our Riley project.
He has been trial-fitting various components including the beautiful radiator!
With more photos and a bit more information to hand, hopefully, Steve will continue to make good progress on our very special 1905 Riley 9HP.
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