1964 E Type roadster
Team CJ driver restoration


 

 
Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows:

Take a partially restored car - and finish it!

 
 

 
As promised, some photographs in the Texas sunlight......



 
 
 
 
 

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     


Time to put the seats in place! All we are waiting for to finish the interior are the chrome dash finishers and the underdash board set. Otherwise, it's time for some serious shakedown and road testing!
     
     
     
     
 
     


One snug fitting convertible top...This afternoon we are installing the seats and the trimmed out radio console.

 
     
     
     
     
   
     

 


The frame is slotted to allow
fine tuning the fit
 
Starting to install the new canvas
     
 
Measure twice, cut once...
 

 


Time to install the windows and the convertible top....
Restored frame is first bolted
in place
 
Header bow trimmed out
     
Bow is then attached to frame and 
latched to the screen
A great deal of time is spent obtaining 
best possible fit.....
.......between the window glass
and the conv top frame


More interior progress: trimming out and installing the centre console and the B post shut face panels.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Installing the chrome rim
and special rivets
     
The centre consoles are not symmetrical
so....
We moved the hide gaitor seam
around to line up with the joint
in the aluminium mound
 
     
Finished result looks very nice
Now installed in the car
Time for some seats and the top
frame...


More interior progress...
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
     


Time to start installing the interior trim.
     
     
     


If you click on the photograph of Andy filling up your car with gas, you will be treated to a slightly extended (full screen) video of the subsequent test drive. I'm afraid it is a large file, so the first time you click on it you will probably need to go and make a cup of coffee while it is downloading, unless you have a really fast connection. Once it has been downloaded once, however, it should play pretty quickly when you view it on subsequent occasions. Oh yes, and I recommend you crank up the volume!



 


As you can see, we have now trimmed out your seats and the centre console. In the meantime we are pressing on with extensive road testing, thoroughly shaking down the car prior to installing the new interior.
     
     
     


Time for a proper road test! CLICK HERE to be a fly on the wall as we take your E Type down the back roads with no bonnet or interior! Put your earplugs in and wrap up warm, it's a bit noisy and blustery!

It's maiden voyage time! Click on the picture below to see a video clip of Sam's maiden voyage earlier today in your E Type.


I am delighted to report that we have now test run your engine and everything is working beautifully. The Rob Beere oil pump is providing about 70 psi at a cold idle. Click on the photograph below to see a short video clip of the initial firing!
Warning - no exhaust fitted!



 


Team CJ headers
Delco alternator going into place


I am delighted to report that we now have the engine and transmission installed.
Installing the engine from
beneath...
A couple of views from
beneath...
 
     
   
Alloy radiator a thing of beauty
from any angle
   


Over the last couple of days we have been busy installing some of your new chrome and brightwork. After the struggle we had fitting lights and bumpers, especially to the fibreglass bonnet, I am very pleased with the finished result. We have not yet received the front sidelamps or the rear lamps back from the platers, although we should have them back and installed early next week.
     
     
     


The engine rebuild has now been completed. I am going to find you a replacement set of valve covers as yours are cracked. We should have the engine and transmission in the car in the next couple of days.


Putting together your Stage One engine......plus unpacking some of your replated chrome.
 Who needs matching numbers?
Plugs are removed from the crank
to properly clean internally
Compression with Cometic
head gasket now 9.4:1
 
 
Large, FI intake valves 
Note how smooth the
hemi domes are
Flow increased through intake ports by
more than 30 cfm
 
 
 Wide blade rods and ARP hardware
 Tappet hold-down kit on exhaust side
 

 



 
     
     
     
     
 
     



 
Removing the shipping primer
from your new gas tank
primed and painted
Heater box repaired and
painted



Dash components and gauges now installed in your car

 
We now have the doors installed and latching/locking, as well as the dash components rebuilt and assembled.
Centre dash restored with new
aluminium facia panel
Hopefully you will spend lots
of time sitting in front of these!
License plate and reversing lamps
installed and wired in
     
   
Doors now installed and latching
   


We now have the new Triplex windshield permanently installed and are in the process of installing Dynamat XTREME throughout the cabin. We also have the doors and bootlid installed - so lots of progress since my last report!
A few powder coated items
Not sure where the part on
the left goes....
Installing Dynamat everywhere
     
   
Triplex screen installed
   


We have supplied, rebuilt and installed a 4.2 brake booster and have also started to install the Dynamat XTREME insulation. The project is moving ahead nicely!
Core brake booster
Installing Dynamat in boot area
 
     
Rebuilt booster installed
 
Upper steering column installed


As you can see, we now have the reassembly stage well underway. My thanks to Andy McCreadie who took the following photographs during my absence last week.
Installing the rebuilt IRS
 
SS heater pipes are installed
at a very early stage
     
As is the wiper linkage
Notice the 4.2 pedal box with
upgraded MC, etc
Starting to install the new
wiring harness


All the outer panels have now repainted and we will be colour sanding and buffing the body in the next couple of days. The IRS has also been rebuilt.
     
     
     
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Today we painted the dash, the underside of the bonnet that had been reworked, the outer edges of the firewall, the new forward sills and the new bonnet hinge frame. On Monday we will be painting the entire outer body - so look out for some really encouraging photographs on Monday afternoon!
     
 


Cole, aged 4, representing Classic Jaguar at the Monterey Historics

We have now finished the bodywork and applied a little high build primer to the areas that had been massaged in the Coachworks. As you can see from the photographs below, the bonnet now fits beautifully.

On Monday we will do a little blocking then seal the entire car in DP90 epoxy primer.

     
     
 
     


We have overcome a bunch of challenges in fitting your bumpers and lights. The photographs below demonstrate the importance of trial fitting such things before painting the car! The main problem with the bumpers, other than them being of poor quality and barely resembling the shape of the car, was that holes (to mount the bumper) had already been cut in the wrong places.

The left hand front bumper was almost an inch lower than its right hand counterpart. Furthermore, the hole had been cut for the left hand side light 3/4" too low. As a result, with the bumper blade in the correct position, it covered half of the hole that was supposed to be occupied by the lamp housing.

Anyway, I am pleased to report that everything now fits beautifully and we can move ahead to painting the car. We did a number of things that are not easy to photograph, such as bonding phenolic blocks behind the headlamp openings so the headlamp chrome retaining screws had a strong purchase point.

It has been a messy, noisy and frustrating 3 days!

 Bumper blade covering hole
for side lamp housing
 Headlamp buckets and scoops
being trial fitted
Holes were cut in the
bonnet diaphragm
 
 
 
Headlamp chrome a little
dinged up but we will straighten
it out before it is replated
Filling the incorrectly cut
sidelamp hole
New hole will be cut 3/4" higher 
 
 
 
 Marking the outline with the
bumper blade installed
 
 
 
 
 Perfect!
No reversing lamp pod?? 
A used one (at left) will be
welded into place
 
 
The two side holes will also
be blanked off
Grinding away welds
 
     
More photos to follow....
 
Yes, there is a lot of bondo 
under the boot floor....
   


Fitting the modified fibre glass bonnet, trial fitting and grinding bumpers, etc. None of this work is very photogenic, perhaps, but it is vital that we do it at this stage as we prepare to repaint the car.
 Powder coating finished
IRS assembly underway
Modified bonnet made
deliberately too long...
 
 
The rear edge being filed to fit
We also now have 3/8" of shims
both above and in front of hinges
Passenger door received a
new hinge and improved fit
High spots in bonnet centre section
where interior panels are bonded
We will obviously address these
prior to repainting the car
 Bonnet gap now shaping up
very nicely
     
RH rear bumper needs a
great deal of grinding to fit
Literally possible to slide my
fingers between bumper and body
After grinding, the bumper
now fits well
     
LH rear bumper also a challenge
 Now fits nicely with seal
installed
 The rear lamps appear to have
been replated but are quite pitted
     
 
Time to spot weld sill
end panels in place
Sill repairs now complete

 


New centre laced wheels are a thing of beauty!


The following sequence of photographs show us extending the length and wing depth of the bonnet. Obviously far more material is added initially and in due course the bonnet will be trimmed to fit. When we are finished, the join where the new material was added will be invisible.
Gloss card is taped to the
top surface...
New glass will be sanded and cut
to the required length and depth
 Seam is bonded on both sides...


Time to correct the 'sawn-off sills' and at the same time to add some length to the back edge of the fibreglass bonnet. We found a fair amount of bondo under the paint, particularly on the RH sill. We also found some minor rust so we decided to cut away a section of each outer sill to afford access to the inner box section. As I write this we are in the process of acid treating, priming and rust proofing the inner sill areas. Tomorrow's update will be much more encouraging for you.
 Slightly less radical sill end
panel will be fabricated
Cutting away the old panel... 
revealed quite a bit of plastic
filler
 
 
 
Also some rust that will obviously
be cut away
Straight edge shows why there is
so much plastic on RH side
We decided to cut away a section of
both sills to examine inner sill
     
Looks worse than it is - really
not too bad
Inner section being doused with
acid
Likewise on the other
side of the car
     
This will be primed and treated with
Wurth Body wax
 Cutting down a new sill panel
 
     
Wurth Body Wax
Trial fitting new panel
 
     
   
     


As you can see, we have pulled the IRS and rebuilt the differential. The calipers have been sent off for Nickel plating and the cage and the radius arms are being powder coated. The differential has received new bearings and seals, although it was otherwise in sound condition.

We finally got the back ordered sill panel in and will be installing both sills and reworking the rear edge of the bonnet early next week.


When we receive a car that has already been painted and we are asked to complete the project, as in this case, there are a number of additional challenges that have to be met and overcome. With this E Type, unfortunately none of the chrome was trial fitted and the bonnet was not fully adjusted before the car was painted. The photographs below show some of the issues we are facing, particularly with regard to the bonnet fit.

Having said all of that, no problem is insurmountable and we are up to the challenge!

 Bottom gap is too wide and
there are no shims to work with
There is a 5/16" gap right
across the cowl
Bottom gap is about 13/32" 
 
 
 On the driver's side we have 
a 1/4" gap to deal with
 We are married to this inconsistent
gap along the door tops
No shims at all on the
RH side of the bonnet
 
 
 
Getting the door top chrome to
fit nicely with screen pillars
is a challenge
Notice how originally the door top
chrome protruded significantly from
the screen pillar chrome
We have already dealt with this and
the two pieces are now flush


I am pleased to report that your car has arrived safely at CJ (in two separate shipments) and that we already have the restoration well underway. As we discussed on the telephone, the engine block and crankshaft were not servicable so we will use another core to build you the Stage One powerplant that you want. The paintwork is really quite nice, although it is a shame some of the lights and bumpers weren't trial fitted before now!

After some initial concern about the relocated screen pillars, we trial fitted your new windscreen and the Triplex glass fit very well, although we are still a little concerned about the fit (actually, they don't fit at all) of the chrome screen pillars. I will report back in due course on this issue.

That's about it for now! I hope you enjoy watching your car come together - and I thank you for entrusting this important project with Team CJ.

S2 Dayton wheels?
Funky sawn-off sills
Superb fibre glass bonnet
made by Predator - nice job guys!
     
All parts now cleared out of
the interior
Bumpers and light trims
are horrible fit
You need a new hinge frame
     
A little too much green...
Certain items will be removed
and Nickel plated
Inner dash will be painted
     
   
Rest of car arrived on pallets
   
Engine as delivered
...as delivered....
...as delivered...
     
Surface rusted cam lobes
Rust in bores
Rust in bores
     
Rust in bores
This was an attempt at
photographing the studs
Intake valves are standard 1 3/4"
     
Valves are also surface rusted
Good sized gouge in cyl head
gasket surface
Most of the studs are rusty
     
Another attempt at photographing
the studs.....
Easier to see problem with the
flash - even the threads are corroded
 
     
Lock tab not bent back and
piece of tab fell off when touched
Grooves cut in crank, also original style
con rod bolts
These rings would be struggling
to seal anything!
 
 
 
Unfortunately the block is also
cracked between #2 and #3
Also cracked between #1 and #2
With the engine we rebuild for you
we will be able to give you a precise
compression ratio
   
 Rods are C7917 (early 3.8 E)
 
 98 cc's

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