1965 E Type roadster (Gil) Restoration to rolling shell stage

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows: With this project we will be totally restoring the body, rebuilding the suspension, installing the top and interior, then handing the car back to the customer as a rolling shell. This what we call a Stage One restoration in the CJ workshops.

Installing your new convertible top.

More interior trim progress....

As you can see, your car is now receiving attention in the CJ trim room.

Restored gas tank installed	Fuel pump and fuel lines also now installed	Gluing underfelt to Dynamat
	Trimming out header bow	Dash pad restored
	Dash looks great!

Installing the dash, bumpers, lights and new windscreen....

The photographs below show the installation of the rebuilt brake hydraulics and the fuel lines, etc. We also now have all the re-plated chrome back, so lots of shiny bits will be installed over the coming weeks!

The reassembly process is now well underway - the fun part of any restoration!

About to paint the gas tank - which  was in excellent condition	SS heater pipes are about the first thing to be installed	RHD blanking plates
Car is now steering	Restored pedal box installed	Team CJ suspension thoughout

Installing Wilwoods and drilled and slotted rotors	Note grade 8 hardware tho'out	Dynamat XTREME in boot compartment
Rear wheels on the ground for the first time in a while	Time to lower the front	On all four wheels

It is now time to put your car back on its wheels. Over the next week or so the car will take a huge visual leap!

I am delighted to report that your paintwork has now been completed. We will be colour sanding the car this afternoon then applying a further couple of coats of clear coat tomorrow or Thursday. So far, as you can hopefully tell from the photographs, your car  is looking absolutely fabulous!

Entire car is first sealed.....	Important to get a nice consistent sealing coat when painting metallics	The metallic laid out beautifully
I am particularly proud of the straightness of the car	Opalescent Maroon looks different in various lighting conditions	We will unmask and colour sand the car later today
Car will be back on its wheels in a few days

We now have the underside of the bonnet painted and are in the final stages of preparation for the final shoot of all the outer panels. The Opalescent Maroon paintwork is looking absolutely spectacular!

After all the hard work and countless hours of blocking, it is finally time to paint your E Type! The following photographs show the cabin, firewall and the boot areas changing colour. The process of painting the outer panels will follow the painting of the underside of the bonnet - which will be completed in the next few days.

Epoxy primer is applied inside  the cabin...	...inside the boot compartment...	...and to the firewall....
Followed by.....	Some rather beautiful Opalescent Maroon	Unmasking the outer body
	Interior will be masked off before outer panels are painted

Time to start applying some Opalescent Maroon! As you can see, we have painted your new CJ engine frames and over the course of this week we will be painting inside the cabin, the underside of the bonnet, doors and bootlid, then finally all the outer panels.

Opalescent Maroon is one of my all-time favourite colours for an E Type, so I am looking forward to seeing the finished article over the next few days.
 

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The long and tedious blocking stage is not really very photogenic, although I thought you might like to see a photograph of your car receiving its final coats of high build primer before being removed from the booth and left to bake in the Texas sun for a few hours. Although the door and bonnet latches are obviously removed at this stage, I think the photographs I took earlier today still see all the beautiful panel gaps!

Applying the last coat of 271 high build primer	Baking in the Texas sun	Panel gaps are beautiful on your car
Bonnet, doors and bootlid are blocked on the body	Check out the bonnet to cowl fit!

The bonnet, doors and boot lid are fully latched with rubber seals temporarily in place as the serious blocking gets underway. With E Types it is important to block each panel in conjunction with its neighbour in order to achieve a beautifully straight car.

Guide coat applied over  high build primer	First round of high build blocking well underway

Final trial fit of the chrome and brightwork, then intensive blocking followed by another application of high build primer....and more blocking! This will be the next car to be painted in the Team CJ Coachworks.

As you can see, we now have the entire car in 271 high build primer. This layer will be blocked then followed with another application of high build. Once that has been blocked, Opalescent Maroon will follow! Allowing for cure times for the high build primer, we plan to have your car painted and resting on its wheels in about 4 weeks time.

As you can see, the first splash of Opalescent Maroon is now on your car! Next week we will be repairing and assembling your bonnet and fitting it to your restored bodyshell.

Applying base coat	Rotiserrie makes it easy to reach everywhere	Clear coat applied

I ran out of time yesterday and didn't get to finish your update report! As you can see, today's photographs show the application of the 3M Body Schutz. Before the car is removed from the rotisserie we will paint the underside and the cabin area Opalescent Maroon.

Applying 3M Body Schutz	This product will protect the underside of the car	Note bump stops have been removed
Body colour will be applied over the Body Schutz	View up inside the rear wheel arches

Lead loading of the body is now complete so the car is now in epoxy primer. All the joints have been seam sealed and we are about to apply the 3M Body Shutz to the underside and all the inner arches. It's getting close now!

Entire tub sealed with epoxy primer	Seam sealing the cabin area	Underside will be coated with 3M Body Schutz
Car now better than new underneath	Seam sealing the transmission tunnel	Boot area is also sealed
Seam sealing reach arches

All the panel replacement has now been completed and the lead loading process is well underway.

New rear inner arches	Spot welded into place	Time to trial fit the rear bumpers
Bumper studs installed	Courtesy light panel now installed	Leading the seam beneath the new lower quarter panels

As you can see, the complete boot floor assembly has now been welded into place and all that remains is to replace the inner rear arches. Next we will be turning our attention to fitting the new engine frames and bonnet and then starting the lead loading process.

Fabricating the panel that goes up behind the lic plate	Offering new boot assembly into place	Drain pipe welded in place on new boot floor
New boot floor assembly is an excellent fit	Gas tank bracket welded into place	Rear end now spot welded in place
Strange view up inside your new  boot compartment!	Rear end now almost completed

We now have the doors rebuilt and the outer sills spot welded into place. Lots of good progress since our last report!

Door shells pretty rusty	First they will be blasted...	then have rusted metal cut away
More rust....	Blasted clean...	New sheet metal welded into place
Installing new door skins to repaired/primed door frames	Welding the outer sill into place	Lead loading seam  between sill and cowl
		More photos later today!
Lead loading the  B pillar seams	Time to move to the other side!

Full steam ahead with the panel replacement! As you can see from the following photographs, the new floors have now been spot welded into place, as well as all the firewall panels and the new engine frame support brackets, etc. Next we will be installing the new outer sill panels before moving on to the replacement of the complete boot assembly.

Almost ready for the new floors	Rear (inner) bulkhead thoroughly rust proofed	Trial fitting new frame brackets
Trial fitting sill end panels and outer sills....	......and front bulkhead panels	Spot welding bulkhead panels into place
Sill end panel spot welded into place	As are the floors..	Perfect fit around trans tunnel
Almost ready for the new outer sills	IRS mounts  rivetted in place

Lots of progress since our last update!

Bolt sleeves for IRS cage  mounts were missing!	New sleeves welded in place	3/4 panels fabricated and welded into place
Inner B posts reconstructed	Installing inner sills and floor cross member	Unusual view of the door, inner sill and B pillar
Trans tunnel is trial fitted	As is the trans mount, etc	Inner sill braces installed
Floors are trial fitted and trimmed as required	Important to trial fit the reaction plate now	Rear bulkhead and trans tunnel welded in place
Forward rear bulkhead being installed	Body wax applied to all inner box sections	This car will not rust again in our lifetime!
Almost ready to receive the new floors	Lots of hammering and welding up of holes	Ready for lead loading

Slowly, but surely, sheet metal is now being attached, rather than cut away!

Spot welding the inner shut panel in place	Internal braces were blasted to  remove any remnants of corrosion	After priming, new A post  support panel welded in place
The side panel had to be fabricated from scratch	Time to plug this gap....	Fabricating a repair panel
		To be continued...
Trial fitting the new repair panel	Contour matches beautifully

I am delighted to report that we have now begun the restoration of your E Type body. As you already know, this bodyshell has suffered from some horrendous corrosion problems during its lifetime - as well as falling victim to some unbelievably butchery!

Having said that, given the extent of the sheet metal replacement we have underway, rest assured that your car will be significantly better than new by the time we are finished with it in the Team CJ Coachworks.

Let the games begin!	Cutting away all the corroded metal	3 floors had been laid one on top of the other!
The pile continues to grow!	Lots of daylight	Not much left of the RHS of your car!
A little encouragement...	The jigsaw puzzle begins

We now have all your Nickel plated items back from the platers and all of the replacement body panels have been purchased in readiness for the monocoque restoration.

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As you can see, the following photographs show your IRS - which has been completely rebuilt since our last update report.

I'm afraid the news is not good. As you can see from the folowing photographs, your car has very serious corrosion issues and has also been badly butchered at some time in the past.

LH  A post face panel	Unusual corrosion up high	Trans tunnel rotten
More unusual corrosion	Both wings have similar  lower edges	RH shut panel
RH rear bulkhead and conv top mounting point	Support brackets for lower subframe are missing altogether!	Bellypan badly corroded
More corrosion	More corrosion	A little encouragement!

Keep your fingers crossed!	Items to be nickel plated	Your car reduced to 3 shelves!

We are taking a little more care than usual disassembling your car as things like the convertible top and wiring harness (for example) appear to have been replaced in the not too distant past. You may want to re-use some of these items when the car is reassembled.

I'm afraid the disassembly process has revealed some very heavy handed welding, although that will be taken care of when the car makes its way through to the Team CJ Coachworks.

Coming apart fast!	Top looks in good shape	Wiring also vgc
IRS removed	Interior now stripped out	Ready for bead blasting
Horrible rust in rear bulkhead	Nasty stuff...	Conv top pivot mounting point almost non-existant
Bonnet being disassembled prior to bead blasting

Starting to come apart....

Off with bonnet and frames..	Gas tank removed	Actually in vgc
Removing the bumpers	IRS will be removed next.....	Lower 3/4 panels appear to have been replaced....
Novel lower mounting  arrangement for engine frames..	Battery tray welded in place!

I am delighted to report that your car arrived safely and that work is already underway in the CJ workshops. The first task will be to fully disassemble the car, take the body back to bare metal and assess the extent of the body restoration we have in front of us.

I hope you enjoy watching the work progress and I thank you for entrusting this important project to Classic Jaguar!

Welcome to Team CJ!	Disassembly will commence  immediately	Sans engine....