1972 V12 E Type roadster (TM) Total CJ restoration

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows: Total CJ restoration including numerous performance and reliability upgrades

I am pleased to report that your car is due to be collected this afternoon. It has been an absolute pleasure to build this beautiful E Type for you.

Ater fine tuning the engine and carbs on the rolling road, and with the rings nicely seated, we decided to do a couple of Dyno pulls to establish some actual HP and torque numbers. Although the engine rebuild was carefully blueprinted, the only significant variations from stock specification are forged 9:1 pistons and Team CJ headers.

These cars left the factory with approximately 250 horsepower, measured at the flywheel with all belts and ancillaries disconnected - and of course, no muffler. In a long wheel base E Type, 250 HP at the flywheel equates to approximately 200 rear wheel horsepower. On the very first Dyno pull, this fresh CJ rebuild put down 251 HP to the rear wheels, equating to approximately 313 HP at the flywheel. That represents a gain of approximately 65 HP over stock - and of course we also have a full exhaust system installed and all the engine bay ancillaries hooked up, including the air conditioning. This old E Type will get along the road very nicely indeed.
 

I am delighted to report that we test fired and ran the engine this afternoon and everything went perfectly. Unfortunately, the microphone on my camera doesn't pick up the engine note as well as I would like, although I can tell you that it sounds very nice indeed!
 
 
 
 
 
 

We have now installed your CJ5 five speed transmission and your new stainless steel exhaust. The maiden voyage is planned for tomorrow afternoon!

Just about ready to fire the engine for the first time		Brand new design - CJ spin on oil filter conversion for V12
	New exhaust installed	CJ5 five speed installed

Installing your new hide seat covers...

We have now installed your engine and the engine bay is filling up rapidly!

We have now completed your Stage One engine rebuild and will be reinstalling the engine back in the car very shortly.

Front bumpers and overriders now installed	Alternator rebuilt mechanically and cosmetically
	Assembling the short block	Custom Venolia pistons and modified liners
Stainless steel headers	Engine now fully assembled	Engine mounts had to be modified to clear the headers

We have been busy rebuilding your dash, carbs, installing more chrome...

Chrome and brightwork going into place...

Installing boot insignia		Rear bumpers installed
	New real lamps in place	New electric antenna

Installing and adjusting the doors, bootlid, gas filler flap, etc....

Installing Dynamat in the cabin and trunk areas...

	Rebuilt upper steering column

Time to start going back together with your car...

We painted your car yesterday evening and I could not be more pleased with the way everything came out. I hope you like it!

Heating one of your heads prior to installing new CJ seats

Time for the first of the Signal Red paint. First we painted the engine frames, then the underside, then last night we painted inside the cabin. Next will be the underside of the bonnet, doors and boot lid, then finally all the outer panels. We hope to have all the paintwork finished by the end of this week.

First the engine frames were painted....	Then the underside...	Then the cabin area

We have now completed all the bodywork and your car is in final primer. Over the next week or so we will sand the car with 400 grit (dry) then 600 (wet), at which time it will be time to start applying the color.

Car is reassembled for the final sanding stage		Latches and rubber seals are installed for sanding
Panel gaps are perfect on your car		Cabin sealed with epoxy then seam sealed

We have now finished the panel replacement. Next up is the installation of your bonnet.

Wurth body wax is applied to the inner sill area	With the sill welded in place, Darrell the lead loaded all the seams	Freshly leaded areas must be acid washed before priming
Body is sealed with 589 epoxy primer

Installing the left hand door skin..

Weld-Thru primer used on areas to be spot welded	John spot welding the new skin in place
	Next up, installing the new outer sills

The following sequence of photographs show the repair to your boot floor.

First the rusty section was cut out	A repair panel was fabricated and tack welded in place	The joint was then TIG wedled
	With the weld ground away the repair is virtually invisible	Scraping underseal off the front mudguards

It is now time to get the exciting stuff underway! I am very pleased to report that there really weren't any nasty surprises following the sand blasting of the body. The worst of the corrosion was in the left hand door skin and the boot floor (beneath the gas tank). Other than that, everything looks pretty solid.

Cutting off the outer sills prior to blasting	Not too bad underneath...	Boot floor looks a bit dodgy, however...
Back from the blasters, everything looks quite solid		Bellypan of bonnet has some minor issues
Cabin floor is sound	Holes in the boot floor had been hidden by the gas tank	LH door skin removed and the door shell has been sealed
Bellypan already repaired	Sealing the bodyshell with epoxy primer	All in all, the news is pretty good!

Your differential and IRS rebuilds have now ben completed...

Nickel plated front and rear suspension  and brake components	Differential completely rebuilt	IRS now a thing of beauty!

We now have your IRS and engine rebuilds well underway...

Disassembling the IRS		Very grimy!
Spray can silver paint directly over grime and dirt - not a good look	Suspension will be uprated, front and rear	Cylinder heads did not want to  part company with the block
	Engine will be built to Stage One specs

We now have your car completely disassembled and on one of the rotisserie jigs ready to strip the paint.

Engine and trans removed	Firewall completely stripped
	On the rotisserie rear to strip the paint

I am pleased to report that your car arrived safely at CJ on Friday afternoon. I hope you enjoy watching the restoration unfold in the months ahead!

		Original looking dash in nice shape
	There is a fair amount of bondo down both sides of this car	Both rear arches are a little rough
	Old accident damage evident at RH lower quarter	Lots of overspray all over the underside
Some rust is bubbling though the  driver's door skin	Home made 'glass pack' exhaust