Projects

C – Type Refit

Classic car technician Jonn has been refitting our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica. He polished the exhaust heatshield and riveted it to the body. He then

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Wheel Tubs

Clinton has been repairing the driver’s side rear wheel tubs on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4

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Bulk Head Repair

Our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe has been in the fabrication bay with technician Christian as he has been repairing the bulkhead. He also

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Coming back together

The transport team at Bridge Classic Cars have been out and about to collect some important pieces for our 1951 Austin Devon Pickup. Firstly, the

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Carrying out repairs

Our technician Jon has been working on getting our 1978 Triumph Spitfire ready for its live draw tomorrow! After refiting the nearside door panel he

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Alfa Repairs

Jonn has been repairing our 1989 Alfa Romeo Spider. Here are his notes on the work completed: Check digital clock not working in centre console.

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Spitfire Bodywork

Mauro has been polishing the bonnet of our 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500. He has repaired the chips and cracks along with completing some light welding

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Bentley Polyfan

Our 1963 Bentley S3 Continental has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with technician Chris. He finished the panel levelling before masking the

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Finished Hood

The hood of our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet is finished, cleaned and ready to go. Clinton made the side tension cables for Lydia, as these

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A Rare Non-Starter

Our 1965 Aston Martin DB5 has recently returned to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. It has come back to us so we can investigate a

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A Word From Stephen Norman

Former Vauxhall MD (amongst many other influential positions), Stephen Norman recently reached out to us after seeing the arrival of our 1976 MG Midget. This

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Overdrive And Alternator

The overdrive on our 1980 Volvo 245 GL was not working. After investigating, Steve found that the connector under the gearbox tunnel had pulled out

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Jensen Fan Switch

Jonn recently fitted a new fan switch into the radiator of our 1970 Jensen Interceptor. He then topped up the lost coolant and took it

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On Goes The Bonnet

Rob has continued with the rebuild of our 1976 Triumph Spitfire. The headlamp bezels have been fitted and the bonnet has now been fitted to

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Some Care For Our Van

The Bridge Classic Cars van, our 2005 Mercedes Vito has been with technician Neil undergoing some maintenance work. Neil looked at the suspension and aux

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C – Type Refit

Classic car technician Jonn has been refitting our 2022 Bridge C-Type Replica.

He polished the exhaust heatshield and riveted it to the body. He then polished the exhaust silencer and tailpipes and mounted them to the car. Finally, he positioned and tightened the clamps.

Wheel Tubs

Clinton has been repairing the driver’s side rear wheel tubs on our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4

Bulk Head Repair

Our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe has been in the fabrication bay with technician Christian as he has been repairing the bulkhead.

He also braced the suspension mounts.

Spitfire Rear Carpet Piece

The piece of carpet for the rear shelf that was supplied with the kit for our 1976 Triumph Spitfire was incorrectly finished and didn’t fit. It required a complete remake to make it sit in the vehicle as it should. Lydia cut out the new piece of carpet and shaped it in the vehicle, before adding pleats to improve fit. She then glued this to the car and secured the new edging under the carpet piece which sits on top.

Collecting An E-Type

Tony recently picked up an old friend of ours, our 1968 Jaguar E-Type Series 1.5.

It is now safely parked up in the workshop ready for the team to look at.

Coming back together

The transport team at Bridge Classic Cars have been out and about to collect some important pieces for our 1951 Austin Devon Pickup.

Firstly, the team headed to Coltech to collect the freshly rebuilt engine which will find its way underneath the carefully restored bodywork currently in our fabrication bay at our Pettistree HQ.

Then the team headed out once more to go and collected the recently powdercoated bed frame which make up the rear end of our 1950s pick up truck.

Handbrake for our 1982 Bedford HA

Our restoration technician Steve has carried out the final job on our 1982 Bedford HA before it heads off to its new home and its excited new owner – the handbrake cable.

Carrying out repairs

Our technician Jon has been working on getting our 1978 Triumph Spitfire ready for its live draw tomorrow! After refiting the nearside door panel he then continued with some work on the offside exterior door handle.

Jon fit the new striker screw to the catch mechanism and refit the handle under load from the striker. After securing and testing, the handle perfectly hits striker earlier and opens the door fine now. All that was left was to the refit door panel and tidy the area.

Afterwards, Jon then managed to finish the final inspection on our classic Spitfire. He then went on to strip, clean and inspect brakes all round. During the inspection, Jon discovered some wear makes on the rear brakes so deliped the rear drums and adjust rear shoes/handbrake. He could then move on and grease all points. Once all of the mechanical jobs were complete, he then wired in the switch to the map light and mount in the dash where he could then refit all the neccesary trims before removing the nearside door panel and attempting to adjust the window angle which required spacing out the runners at the bottom of the door with washers

Rover 216 is going home

Work is now complete on the hood of our Rover 216 so only one more job for Tony to complete, that’s returning the car back home looking lovely in our covered transporter.

From the Brits to Bridge, meet Joby, the man with the Golden Touch

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.

Inspection and repairs

Jonn has been looking at our 1978 Triumph Spitfire. His notes are below:

Finish as much of the inspection as possible on the floor. Carry out repairs. Sort connections to nearside reverse lights. Remove offside door handle and inspect. Strip apart and clean components. Lubricate and reassemble and test. Works fine. Refit to drivers door and test. Still the same. When it has to release the pressure of the lock it slips past p clip inside handle. Requires new handle.

It’s Big, It’s Fast, And It’s Full of Style

Our 1993 Bentley Turbo R is now live on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website. For just £9.00, you have the chance of becoming the new owner of this beast of a car.

When the Turbo R was first introduced in 1985, it redefined what it meant for a car to be elegant and stylish, while still being able to excite the driver with its performance on the road.

Our Tubo R is finished in Racing Green with a Magnolia Hide interior and comes with a history file of past invoices, service records, and its owner’s manual.

You can find out more information and enter the draw here.

Alfa Repairs

Jonn has been repairing our 1989 Alfa Romeo Spider. Here are his notes on the work completed:

Check digital clock not working in centre console. Connections good, face illuminates but no digits visible. Refit and leave as requires new clock. Adjust alternator belt. Look into steering issues. James fitted new top arms and springs to front and adjusted tie rods for an even wheelbase front to rear. Disconnect centre track rod and adjust so idler pointing slightly inwards to give more lock to the right. Adjust lock stops so from centre position steering turns 1.4 turns each direction. Fit new lock stop bolt to nearside. Refit track rods and wheels. Lower to ground and carry out basic tracking adjustment.

Top up clutch reservoir and lubricate linkage. Strip and fit new rear springs. Refit wheels and lower to ground. Stance is much better on standard springs.

Torque all wheel nuts and inflate tyres. Start pdi whilst in workshop. Take outside and run up to temp. Idle speed stumbles upon overrun but recovers. Adjust idle speed and test. Steering still pulls to the right when driving straight ahead. Recheck wheel base by measuring wheel centre to wheel centre front to rear. Offside front wheel appears to be further back in the arch ( caster angle ), but we have no way of checking this. Adjustable tie rods to front top adjustable arms set at different lengths on car. Requires 4 wheel alignment.

Spitfire Bodywork

Mauro has been polishing the bonnet of our 1979 Triumph Spitfire 1500. He has repaired the chips and cracks along with completing some light welding next to the headlights.

The car was then prepped and primed.

Front Crossmember Overhaul

The front suspension crossmember of our 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 has been stripped and overhauled. New bearings and seals were fitted to the main part, then the steering idler was stripped and new parts fitted. Now it has been masked up for a clear coat with the other aluminium parts, this will stop any future corrosion and protect the parts for the future.

Some parts of the suspension were also painted in black satin.

Bentley Polyfan

Our 1963 Bentley S3 Continental has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with technician Chris. He finished the panel levelling before masking the car up and applying polyfan.

Spitfire Bushes

Classic car technician Neil has been working on the rear bushes of our 1968 Triumph Spitfire.

DB2/4 Bulkhead

Christian has been repairing the bulkhead of our 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe.

Finished Hood

The hood of our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet is finished, cleaned and ready to go. Clinton made the side tension cables for Lydia, as these could not be sourced online and appear to not exist! As soon as the tension cables were fitted, Lydia could commence with finishing off the hood installation.

A Rare Non-Starter

Our 1965 Aston Martin DB5 has recently returned to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. It has come back to us so we can investigate a non-starting issue.

Here are Jonn’s notes for the work completed:

Strip carbs and clean pistons. Use a micrometre to set jet depths to approx 1.6mm. Remove float bowl tops and floats and remove old petrol from carbs and replace with new petrol. Refit float and tops and reassemble. Attempt to start and car fired straight away. Disconnect fuel pipe and use pumps on car to empty tank. Refit pipe and fill with 10ltrs of E5 petrol. Run up outside and carry out road test. Return to workshop and adjust idle speed. All ok.

After Jonn had finished with our DB5, Tony delivered it back home to its owner,

A Word From Stephen Norman

Former Vauxhall MD (amongst many other influential positions), Stephen Norman recently reached out to us after seeing the arrival of our 1976 MG Midget. This is what he said:

The MG Midget went out of production in 1978, two years earlier than the MGB and MGB GT [and coincidentally the Triumph Spitfire 1500].

The Sandglow example that you have in is not only a good-looking car but recalls to my memory that Sandglow – a staple BL colour of the mid to late ‘seventies and painted both at Cowley and in Longbridge, as witnessed on countless Minis, Allegros, Marianas and Princesses was a rare order on an MG.

That it was offered at all is down to the production of MG bodies at Pressed Steel Fisher in Cowley and their painting at Morris; specific MG colours had disappeared long before.

But Sandglow, like Tundra, was a rare colour choice on a sports car and always stood out for its rarity as much as its perception.

Mainstream on a humdrum BL Austin or Morris [or Wolseley], rare on an MG.

So typically British Leyland!

Stephen Norman

While our MG Midget has been with us, Chris has been repairing and painting the wing.

Sound Deadening And Brakes

Lydia recently covered the gearbox tunnel of our 1956 Jensen 541 with sound-deadening material. Paul has also made and fitted the brake pipes from the master cylinder to the main pipe connector.

Paul then went on to build up the engine bay ready for the engine and gearbox. He also fabricated the rear brake wheel cylinders backing plate and fitted it in place before fitting the gearbox tunnel, and bonnet hinges. He then cleaned and painted the servo valve.

Hood Going Together

Lydia has fitted the hood to our 1999 Rover 216 Cabriolet, as far as she can take it without some vital parts that she is waiting for.

A set of tension cables was sent, but although the correct ones were ordered, we received a set for a MK5 Ford Escort!

Christian from the body shop is going to help Lydia fabricate something that will fit, and hopefully be better than what we could have ordered.

It’s All Coming Together

It was all hands on deck to get the headlining fitted to our Ford Transit MKII Tipper in an afternoon before the windscreen fitters arrived the next day. Luckily this didn’t take too long as it’s only a small roof section.

The headlining fits very crudely, being simply tucked up into a channel to secure it, without the need for glue or additional fastenings. The front is then glued on and also held in with the windscreen rubber, which is why it had to be done before the screen was fitted.

Prior to this, Lydia took the time to add some sound deadening to the roof to try and keep the cab as comfortable as possible.

Steve has also been working on our classic transit by fitting the rear lights and the newly fabricated mounts. The original gearbox has been refurbished and refitted to the van and the front bumper, end caps, door mirrors, and bonnet have all been fitted too.

Overdrive And Alternator

The overdrive on our 1980 Volvo 245 GL was not working. After investigating, Steve found that the connector under the gearbox tunnel had pulled out so he soldered a new connector on.

The alternator from our classic Volvo has returned from specialists after being refurbished. This is now ready to refit to the car.

Jensen Fan Switch

Jonn recently fitted a new fan switch into the radiator of our 1970 Jensen Interceptor.

He then topped up the lost coolant and took it outside so he could run it up to temperature. When he did this, the fans cut in and out as he wanted them to.

An Ultra Rare Roof Frame

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.

Wheel Arches And Tonneau Cover

Our 2022 Bridge C Type Replica has been in the Bridge Classic Cars paint shop with Alan, who has been applying raptor to the rear wheel arches.

Lydia has also been working on our stunning replica. After fitting the steering wheel into the c type, she was able to make the final adjustments on the tonneau cover. She cut a slit and made a cover to fit the wheel, and still allow the cover to be fitted in case of rain etc.

Lydia then made a bag to fit the cover in and keep it nice and compact.

On Goes The Bonnet

Rob has continued with the rebuild of our 1976 Triumph Spitfire.

The headlamp bezels have been fitted and the bonnet has now been fitted to the car too. The door seals and B post capping finishers were fitted and the hood frame was bolted on.

Rob cleaned the hood frame catches and fitted them.

Some Care For Our Van

The Bridge Classic Cars van, our 2005 Mercedes Vito has been with technician Neil undergoing some maintenance work.

Neil looked at the suspension and aux belt of our longstanding workhorse!