1964 E Type roadster (SB) Team CJ total restoration

Restoration Log by Dan Mooney

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows: Total restoration with a full complement of Team CJ performance and reliability upgrades.

We now have your restored body back on its wheels...

We have now installed the engine frames and the IRS. On Monday morning we will install the front suspension and your car will be back on its wheels.

Installing the engine frames
New black anodized grade 8 fasteners	IRS is already installed

Yesterday afternoon we painted the main outer bodyshell...

Underside of boot lid drying in the Texas sun

More Opalescent Dark Blue....

Time to start applying the first of the Opalescent Dark Blue....

Darrell has spent a solid week grinding, hammering and filing your chrome until it fits perfectly. The only item left to be trial fitted is the new right hand rear bumper, which arrived on Friday. The original rhr bumper blade had obviously been hit at some time in the past and was beyond economical repair.

We are now ready to sand the primer and begin the painting process.

Metal finishing the front left bumper blade with a hand file	Trial fitting chrome is a vitally important part of the restoration process
Amco bar holes not required	Holes welded up and overrider metal finished
Damage to headlamp trim	Repaired and metal finished prior to trial fit
Trim trial fitted with glass covers in place

Following extensive blocking of the Slick Sand, your car has now been put into high build Glasurit primer. It is now ready for final sanding and painting.

I am pleased to report that all of your bodywork has now been completed and the car put into Slick Sand. The doors, bonnet and boot lid have all been installed with a full set of new rubber seals and slave latches. The panel fit is absolutely perfect. The car looks better than it did when it rolled off the production line in 1964.

Next stage will be to block the Slick Sand with 120/180 grit, before priming and painting.

The following photos show Darrell fabricating a new door top trim panel from scratch, as well as installing perhaps the worst fitting new boot lid we have ever seen!

The original door top chrome finishers are made of plated brass and the chrome plating process can make them very wavy. Next time you are looking at a 6 cylinder E Type roadster, take a peak along the length of this panel and you will understand what I am talking about. This problem is solved by fabricating new finisher panels from heavy gauge steel which can then be metal finished prior to plating. The result is a beautifully straight panel with a spectacular mirror chrome finish.

Darrell fabricating a new door top finisher panel
Notice how the reflection is not distorted, even before plating	Panel is tailor made for each door for a perfect fit	New boot lid is a terrible fit
Getting this boot lid to fit properly will be a challenge	Right hand side is no better...	First the back edge was trimmed to create a gap
	Welding up rear edge after trimming
Starting to look better already	All four corners were built up with beads of wled
	Left side now has an appropriate gap	As does the right side

More progress in the Coachworks....

Applying Wurth Body Wax to inner sill box section		Trial fitting outer sill in conjunction  with latched door
	Sill then spot welded into place	Jacking point is TIG welded
	Installing rh sill end closing panel
Time to metal finish damaged rh  rear quarter	Before....	After...

Lots of progress in the Coachworks....

New inner sills installed		Trial fitting transmission mount
Trial fitting LH & RH floors	Spot welding floors together
Wurth Body Wax is applied to cross-member  and inner rear bulkhead	Torsion bar reaction plate is installed at this stage	Trial fitting lower engine frame mounting brackets
Lower frame brackets welded into place	Time to install outer sills	New floors and inner sills now installed
Wurth Body Wax applied to inner sill box sections		Welding outer sills into place

Sheet metal repairs underway...

The body and associated panels have now been media blasted back to bare metal, and the news really isn't too bad! Although the body shell obviously requires extensive panel replacement, it is far better than most E Types that pass through the Team CJ Coachworks.

We had hoped to save the engine frames, although the blasting process revealed quite a bit of previously invisible corrosion damage. In any event, we will have the resurrection underway shortly!
 

Previous repair man applied bondo right up against the bumper!
Inner sills way better than most, but still need to be replaced
RH wheel arch has some minor corrosion damage	Time for a closer look after media blasting
		RH rear 1/4 panel has suffered some pain in the past
Bonnet center section will require extensive work	Doors are exceptionally clean	Picture frame will be replaced
	Belly pan will be replaced
Floors will be replaced
Boot floor is amazingly sound
		Note rust holes in engine frames

I am pleased to report that we now have this project back underway. In the next few days we be sending the body out for media blasting. Watch this space!

Installing pistons and rods to block...

Installing custom forged pistons to Crower rods...

The following video shows Chris balancing your crankshaft in the CJ machine shop.

Balancing your crankshaft		Forged Crower rods
Finished crank a thing of beauty	Installing upgraded freeze plugs

We have now completed your Stage One cylinder head rebuild and finished all of our machine work on the block. We hope to be reassembling this engine in the next few days.

As it once was....	As it is today...
Honing cylinder to finish size		Block is then painted inside and out
Look closely and you can see the  cross-hatch honing pattern	Venolia pistons

When we cut away the old exhaust seats, one of them showed evidence of corrosion. This usually means there is a crack (or porosity) in the seat pocket, which can allow coolant to leak through beneath the seat and into the combustion chamber. Fortunately, that proved not to be the case with your head. The first photo below shows the 'rusty' seat after it had been cut out.

I have also included some photos of Chris porting your cylinder head. The last two photos show what a (CJ) ported runner looks like. Once the valve job has been lapped in, the transition between the runner and the base of the seat will be smoothed out so that it is barely visible. I am looking forward to seeing what this head flows when we put it on the bench next week!

Rusty exhaust seat	Unusual staining of pocket	Pressure tested a second time - OK
Chris porting the exhaust runners	Casting quite rough from the factory	Starting to look a little better..
Finished article a thing of beauty	Intakes should flow big numbers

Stage One engine rebuild underway...

	Pressure testing in progress (OK)	Cutting out the old valve seats

Time to get this project underway!

Engine and transmission removed		Floors look remarkably solid
	Missing core plug calls for closer examination	Note factory crayon marks on firewall

I am pleased to report that your car arrived safely at CJ earlier this morning. We will have your restoration underway very shortly!