SERVICE

Brit Bits offers all the services you need to keep your British car safe, happy, running well and on the road. When we service your car we are focused and dedicated to safety, reliability, originality and cosmetic appearance. We are here to help you enjoy the British car hobby and your special car with professional advice, service and repairs.

Safety – Each time your car visits us, we perform a “Check Overall” service which consists of a visual safety inspection of all components, a check of all fluid levels and making sure wheels and shocks are tight. These antique sports cars are not equipped with many of the modern safety features of your every day automobile, so it is important that everything on the car is in safe operating condition. Our “Check Overall” service can often spot a problem in advance of failure, and with preventative maintenance we can keep your car on the road and off the side of the road. Time to perform this service varies between makes and models but typically takes ½ hour to 1 hour. At your request, you may opt out of this service.

Reliability – With a 30-plus year old antique car, failures and breakdowns are bound to happen. Having your car serviced at Brit Bits, where we place a major focus on reliability, can greatly reduce those down times. In deciding how to address improving the reliability of your car, the first thing we look at is how you use your car. The right mix of standard and upgraded components is important because a show car, a weekend driver and a daily driver all have different criteria to help them be as reliable as possible. We will make recommendations for specific improvements to your car that will increase your enjoyment and ease some of the worry that “adventures in motoring” can cause. Some of the upgraded components that are available are electronic ignition, gear reduction starters, spin-on oil filter conversions, improved quality tune-up parts, uprated springs, shocks and suspension components and solid state electrical components such as fuel pumps, flasher units and voltage stabilizers. Electric relay systems can improve the brightness of your lights and reduce the drain on your electrical system. Major engine overhauls, whether in a stock configuration or with performance modifications, are based on your needs, how the car is used and your budget. A stock rebuild can bring back the power your car originally had and a performance upgrade, from minor improvements to a installed supercharger system can hugely increase your driving pleasure.

Originality – Enhancing and maintaining the quality and originality of your car is another major goal for us in performing the repairs and maintenance on your pride and joy. This simple goal is crucial in our efforts to maintain and increase the cars value and your investment. Brit Bits technicians strive to make every repair an improvement to the existing condition of your car. Cleaning, painting and refinishing the components around the problem area help maintain your car in its original condition. The attention to detail and the extra time spent on your upgrades and repairs can rectify a previous non-original repair and in small steps become an ongoing process to raising the quality level of your LBC.

Appearance and Cosmetics – As time passes for these beautiful British sports cars, appearances can fade, interiors get worn and these replacements can be expensive. Sometimes even more important, the time required to perform these repairs can eat away at the short New England driving season. So the moment we begin our relationship with you and your car, we are planning and making recommendations for ways to get these tasks done. Ideally most of these larger projects can be accomplished during the winter storage season and the costs can be spread out over time.

Restorations – Brit Bits does many restorations each year, from rolling projects to full frame offs. We will develop a program to meet your desired level of quality and performance. A restoration is a large commitment of money, time and energy.  Attention to detail can make all the difference during your project and have a huge impact on the final result. We utilize a network of subcontractors dedicated to providing the best quality services.
You can see photos of many of the restorations we have done on our web site, you can talk to owners who have brought their cars back to showroom condition and we encourage you to visit us. We can give you a tour, show you what we do and often times you can see a restoration in progress.

Insurance and Value Appraisals – An insurance appraisal establishes the value of your car for insurance purposes, so in the event of a total loss your car can be replaced with one of similar condition. A value appraisals takes a close look at what your car would bring on the open market should you decide to sell it. We provide insurance and value appraisals based on car sales around the country and documented by the condition of your car, your investment and the improvements you have made while the car has been under your stewardship.
The values of British sports car has consistently appreciated and even during current economic conditions have remained strong. The trend we anticipate for the future is for these cars continue to increase in value as the antique automobile hobby keeps on growing and attracting new enthusiasts every year.
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Interiors:  Complete or partial, tailored to fit your needs

• Convertible Tops. Replacing seals, webbing and other worn components as needed. Fixed rear windows and zip-out rear windows are offered.
• Seat Covers. Quality upholstery kits and replacing foam cushions and diaphragms as needed to put the fit and feel back in your seats.
• Carpet Sets. Available in different levels of quality and we suggest an under-carpet padding to suit your car focusing on heat shielding and noise reduction.
• Panel Kits. A quick and easy way to improve your cars interior appearance. For some models, door panels are available separately.
• Trunk Kits. Dress up that storage space, helping it stay clean, neat and organized.
• Windshields. Can get pitted and scarred from years of exposure, replacements are available which include new glazing rubbers and seals.

Mechanical Repairs:

• Oil Changes. Includes oil and filter using the correct motor oil and ZDDP additives, chassis lube, checking all fluids, coolant protection, wheel and shock tightness.
• Tune-Ups. Full or partial, can include valve adjustments and compression tests, ignition repairs and upgrades. Carburetor adjustments, balancing and full rebuilds.
• Wire Wheels. Refinishing, checking and spin balancing available. Truing can be arranged.
• Tires. Mounted and balanced. While we do not stock tires, we can supply you with classic original tires and everyday driving tires.
• Suspension Rebuilds and Alignments, Wheel Bearings. We rebuild king pin sets for most cars and rear wheel bearing sets for Triumph TR6 and others. Improve the handling of your car with original replacement components and upgrades.
• Engine Repair & Rebuild. These cars were never meant to last more than fifteen years or so and we have kept them on the road long past their engineered life. Age and use will diminish the power output and a rebuild can restore the original power, adding to the value and enjoyment of driving your car. From minor to serious, we can handle all types of problems that can arise. For full rebuilds we set up and break-in all engines on our engine test bed, ensuring problem free installation in your car. Our test bed is available for start up and break-in for engine that have been home built.
• Transmission Repair & Rebuild – We are experienced with overdrives and 5-speed transmission repairs and installation. We feature the services of Quantum Mechanics for our transmission rebuilds which includes a warranty of 1 year/12,000 miles on the transmission.
• Our labor rate is $150 per hour, we do our very best to offer professional repairs to your LBC and we stand behind all of our work.

If you have any technical questions, just give us a call or drop us an email