1965 E Type roadster (Allen) Restoration

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows: Full restoration of an original 11,000 mile car to rolling shell (stage one).

The dashtop has now been retrimmed and installed, as well as the new mirror and the handbrake assembly.

Steering column rebuilt and installed	Dashpad retrimmed and installed	New chrome and rear view mirror
Trimming screen pillars	Handbrake now installed

Installing the bonnet, marker lights, front bumpers and the original windscreen.....

The door handles and locks have now been installed, as well as the replated rear bumpers...

RH door chrome fits well	LH door chrome also now installed	Original boot release restored  and now installed
	Engine and transmission back where they belong!

Time to build up and install the doors. We have a slight problem with the RH door top chrome which was obviously warped slightly during the plating process. I tried to take a photograph of the damage for you (see below), although it is not easy to capture on film. Other than that, everything is going together very smoothly.

Door chrome slightly warped at the front (right of picture)	Passenger door installed	Latch mechanism going into place
I think we can make the door top chrome work

As you can see, we have now installed the various dash components and wired in all your gauges. Sam also restored and installed the wiper assembly and the screen washer tubing prior to putting the dash components in place. The wiper bezels you see in the photograph are only temporarily installed (to hold the wiper rack in place) and will be replaced with new items in due course.

This afternoon we will begin building up and installing your doors and bootlid, etc.

Gauges now all wired in...	Glove box restored/installed	Wiper rack installed ahead of the dash panels

We have now finished refurbishing your gauges and switches and they are ready to be installed in the car.

Sanding and buffing now completed	Gauges and switches came out  nicely	11,210 miles...
Primary  gauges cleaned up  very well

We are going to need some guidance regarding how far you would like us to go in refurbishing your gauges. Obviously some of the casings are pretty corroded and will be an eyesore with the centre dash panel lowered. Andy will contact you directly for your instructions.

More reassembly process. As soon as we receive your driveshaft back from you we will install the engine and transmission. In the meantime we are pressing on with the installation of the wiring harness, etc.

Valve covers about to receive the full buffing treatment	Shock absorbers now installed	Starting to install the wiring harness
Installing stainless heater pipes in firewall (painted black)	Restored dash panels will be next	Laying engine bay harness in place

I am pleased to report that your car is now rolling on its temporary wheels and has been transferred to an assembly bay in the CJ Workshop.

Your car in one of the assembly bays at CJ	Engine and gearbox mated  together	Installing the front brakes

Let the reassembly begin! As we go back together with the engine frames and front suspension, we aim to have your car rolling on all four wheels by the end of the week.

Per your instructions, we are re-using the black zinc plated bolts where they will be visible and new Grade 8 fasteners where they cannot be seen. If I get a few spare moments later today(!) I will upload some further photographs for you.

We black zinc plated the fasteners that could be saved	Using new Grade 8 where the bolts would not be visible....	...and some replated originals to keep the concours judges happy!
Front suspension going into place	Installing the steering rack	More Grade 8 on lower suspension mounting points
Upper steering column needs restoration	Indicator stalk is rust pitted	Should we rebuild and restore or replace  driveshaft?
Time to install the IRS

I am delighted to report that your car is now painted and the Opalescent Dark Blue looks spectacular. In fact, having seen how your car turned out, Sam and I have decided to do Evan and Earl's car the same colour.

The following photographs were taken out in the Texas sunshine - the best possible place for the paint to fully cure. The sanding and buffing process will begin this afternoon.

Today is the big day as we are in the process of painting all the outer surfaces of your car. Look for some photographs of the finished product later this afternoon, although in the meantime I thought you might like to see how we replicated the factory crayon markings for you on the firewall and the picture frame.

For anyone wanting to recreate the factory crayon markings on their home restorations, we use the following product: CAMEL TIRE CRAYON part # 17-236 (available at most auto parts stores)

Firewall before....	Firewall after....
Picture frame before.....	Picture frame after....

With all the blocking completed, it is now time to start applying Opalescent Dark Blue. The engine frames and the interior panels (cabin, boot, firewall, underside of bonnet, etc) are the first to be painted, followed by all the outer panels (tomorrow). We would have started this project last Thursday but for some tropical weather we have had to endure over the last few days.

The shell will be sealed in DP50 epoxy primer (see below)		Outer panels carefully masked off
	Engine frames have already been painted ODB
Cabin now ready for ODB
Applying the base coat		Applying the clear coat
ODB colour looks beautiful

Your car has now been thoroughly blocked and recoated with 271 high build primer and a black guide coat to aid in the next round of blocking with will take place in the next week to ten days. After only one round of 271, I am pleased to report that the car is already looking exceptionally straight. As I know you are aware, it is the effort put in at this stage that will distinguish a good paint job from a world class paint job!

I am pleased to report that we have finished trial fitting all the brightwork and trim (except for the headlamp glass which we discussed on the telephone) and now have the car in its first coat of 271 high build primer. The following photographs show it baking in the Texas sun. When the 271 is thoroughly cured, we will block the entire body then recoat it with a further layer of high build primer - followed by more blocking.

With the bonnet and doors now fitted and latching with perfect panel gaps, we just have some fine tuning of the bootlid fit to complete before sealing the entire car with DP 90 primer followed by 271 high build primer on Monday and Tuesday of next week.

Please note, this car is comprised of sheet metal, lead and epoxy primer - there is zero plastic filler anywhere on the car.

Bonnet fit now perfect	Time to trial fit the remaining chrome components	Body will be sealed again with DP90 before high build
Bonnet and doors latched with rubber seals in place	Trial fitting RR bumper....	and left rear bumper
Checking fit of door top chrome

We now have the bonnet fully assembled and the underside of the car has been coated with 3M Body Shutz, DP 50 epoxy primer and the car's first helping of Opalescent Dark Blue!

Lead loading centre section	Acid washing prior to DP 90 primer	Assembling the bonnet
Almost done...	Body Shutz on underside	and up above IRS
This is where we draw the line for concours cars	Texture is quite subtle	DP 50 (grey) primer applied over Body Schutz
	Grey provides an excellent base for Opalescent Dark Blue
Lots of new oval washers!	Front arches will also be  painted with Body Schutz	Time for some Opalescent Dark Blue
As good as new...	Accessibility is great with car still on rotisserie	Booth light doesn't do the rich metallic justice

With the epoxy primer now dry, it is time to seam seal all the various joints before applying a coat of Body Schutz and then the first splash of Opalescent Dark Blue to the underside of the car.

Seam sealer being applied  inside the cabin	And beneath the floors	Lead loading the doors

Time to seal up the main bodyshell in DP90 epoxy primer. I have included the first photograph because I can never before recall seeing the steel supplier's brand still visible on an E Type body.

Now we know who Jaguar bought their steel from!	First the outer body is primed	Then it is flipped to prime the unerside

An update especially for the Jaguar Club of CT.....

We have now replaced the footwell panels and cut open and reinstalled the floor cross-members (they were in excellent condition internally). We have also acid washed the entire bodyshell again and applied Wurth Body Wax to all the internal box sections. After a little more lead loading on Monday morning, the bodyshell will be sealed in epoxy primer on Monday afternoon.

Trial fitting rear lamps	Plasma cutter does a neat job cutting out corroded footwells	Replacement panels about to be installed
It was really exceptionally clean inside the cross-members	Even more so after a liberal acid bath	Spot welding the new footwells into place
Passenger footwell also now installed	Acid washing the entire bodyshell	Body Wax applied to all inner panels
Including behind the dash

We have already begun straightening out some of the dented sheet metal around the rear apron and down the left hand cowl side panel. We will send the items in the last photograph to you (for Cad plating at your local facility) once we have finished with them in terms of door, bootlid and bonnet fit, etc.

Almost done scraping off all the sound deadening	Straightening out the rear apron	Lead loaded and  good as new!
We also straightened the upper apron and lead loaded that	Another pesky rust hole!	These are the items we are sending up to you for Cad plating

I am delighted to report that it is now time to attack the bodywork on this project. Although this is one of the most solid E Types we have ever seen, it is still going to need some panel replacement. Close examination of the floors reveals rust holes in both footwells and also a fair amount of suspicious surface rust on the floor cross-members (particularly on the driver's side).

The first job is to remove all the factory sound deadening material as moisture gets trapped between it and the sheet metal. Once we have done that, we will be cutting out the footwells and making an even closer examination of the cross-members. We may end up laser cutting the front section of the cross-members to gain access to the inside of the box section.

Scraping away all the factory sound deadening	Both footwells have rust through (holes)	This is the passenger footwell
Surface rust on passenger crossmember is not bad	Driver side crossmember is cause of some concern	Truly excellent firewall
Front brakes have now been completely rebuilt	As has the steering rack...

The IRS assembly is now fully rebuilt.

As you can see in the following photographs, we have been busy restoring and rebuilding your IRS. I'm pretty sure it didn't look this good in 1965!

Comparing colours (left to right):  Original, CJ paint, aftermarket Girling	New SS pistons	Bearings were worn, despite low mileage
Gear lube like treacle	New bearings thro'out	Assembling rear brakes
Exactly as original	Assembling rebuilt 1/2 shafts and hubs carriers	Starting to come together
Probably better than new...	Installing new brake lines	Nickel plated front susp

Your differential has now been disassembled and the casing painted with the paint you provided. Despite the undoubted low mileage, the bearings were in poor condition and will be replaced (retained for your inspection).

Paint available from Eastwood	Concours correct casing....

We have now torn down the IRS and had the various components powder coated. We have also resleeved the calipers (front and rear) in stainless and had them Nickel plated. The front suspension has been sent off for Nickel plating, with the exception of the upper control arms which were badly pitted and will be replaced.

Stripped fr suspension	Badly pitted fulcrum shafts	Diff about to be opened
Powder coating of IRS	Front and rear calipers

As you can see, the body has now been completely stripped and I am pleased to report that the news is excellent. This roadster shell is truly the holy grail - a 100% rust free E Type monocoque!

Original conv top seal?	Chrome finisher filled with lead	Wood tack strip completely  dry rotted
Original bolts will be black zinc plated	Ready for plastic media blasting	Very encouraging!
Virtually perfect floors	No rust anywhere	Rear bulkhead like new
Best boot floor I have ever seen!	IRS about to be rebuilt

Bootlid is damaged beyond economical repair	Solid looking boot floor	Switches are the best originals I have ever seen
Rear floors solid, front floor are suspect	Removing dash & harness

I am very pleased to report that you car arrived safely and is already being disassembled in the CJ workshop. We hope to have it plastic media blasted within the next 10 days.

Thanks for entrusting this important project to Team CJ!

Your car arrived safely!	Duct tape survived the journey	Laregly stripped out  engine bay
Matching numbers...	Factory crayon markings on firewall	Switches in amazing condition
More factory crayon work	11,210 original miles	Rear apron a little beaten up
Last inspected 1986	NOS front bumpers?