Another Team CJ Special!
| 1963
E Type roadster (Ed)
Another Team CJ Special! |
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The following pictures show Sam fitting your grey canvas convertible top!
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cantrail very well |
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blue piping |
I thought you would enjoy seeing some photos of the car resting in the Texas sunshine during a break in road testing!
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Putting the finishing touches in the trim room, installing chrome, lights and trim....
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Click
on above photo for short video clip of maiden voyage!
We are getting very close to the initital firing......
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looks superb - great job, Ed! |
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Installing your new Weber carbs.....
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Installing the engine and CJ5 five speed transmission...
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linkage are installed first |
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diaphragm clutch |
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Installing the Dynamat heat/sound insulation and beginning to lay the new wiring harness into place.
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Going together with the front suspension, steering, brakes, etc. Nice to see the car back on its own (temporary) wheels for the first time in many years!
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put the IRS under the car |
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to the ground |
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a car, once again! |
With the colour sanding in progress (the tub is already finished), we have now started the reassembly process. It is very exciting to see the engine frames going into place and the car starting to take shape!
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cleaned up and reinstalled |
My all time favorite E Type colour - Opalescent Silver Blue!
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guide coat is applied... |
build primer to outer panels |
being blocked |
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your new picture frame |
primer on your bonnet |
sealer then Silver Blue! |
The following photographs will be updated throughout the day as we apply the first coats of Opalescent Silver Blue to your car. We are using a tinted sealer before we apply the OSB base coat.Check back later today for more updates!
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With the car back on one of the rotisseries we took a little time to straighten out a few of the dings and dents under the original parts of the floor, before sealing and applying the 3M Body Schutz. We hope to paint the underside Opalescent Silver Blue tomorrow.
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In keeping with our stated ambition to make each bodyshell we do the best we have done so far, I am delighted to announce that I think your car fits the bill perfectly! Yesterday we removed the doors and the bootlid in order to repair and seal the underside of the boot lid and to apply sandable primer surfacer over the entire outer surface of the car.When I pulled up at work this morning, Lawrence had already re-installed the doors and had begun to block the high build. The photographs below do not do the car justice - it is looking truly spectacular. Once this round of blocking is finished (Monday) we have some final repairs to make to the bonnet (lead immediately aft of the louvres) then we will be putting the car on one of the rotisseries and painting the underside Opalescent Silver Blue.
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blocked as one |
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as you know.... |
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very, very straight! |
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us to check our work |
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Per our telephone conversation yesterday afternoon, check out Lawrence's custom 'bonnet bulge hammer' and the amazing results he was able to achieve reaching through the bonnet mouth and tapping away at all the dents the bonnet had picked up over 2 decades of storage!
Lots of progress this week - a study in sheet metal and lead....
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The main bonnet fit work has now been completed and Lawrence has repaired and installed your original bootlid. As you know, the aftermarket bootlid was a tad flimsy, to say the least, and we decided you would be better off having your original restored.The photographs below show Lawrence lead loading around the rear lamp housings (which are currently being trial fitted) and fine tuning the bootlid fit.
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LH rear lamp opening |
(video clip) |
the boot lid |
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and latch in place |
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Today we have been sealing up the bonnet, the rear end and the boot compartment. Lots of sanding, acid washing, prepping and priming today...
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Good to see you yesterday, Ed!
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During the bonnet installation, it became necessary to relocate the right hand latch mount and reduce its depth a little. It also took us half a day to grind off all the horrible old sealer that squidged (a technical term) out from beneath all the underside panels.
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While the bodywork steadily progresses, we have been busy rebuilding some of your other ancillary components.
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completely rebuilt |
on LH door, it is sealed |
to be sealed |
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exceptionally well |
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gauges installed |
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It is now time to finish the bodywork and bring your car to paint. Before you know it your car will be back on its wheels, resplendent in its new Opalescent Silver Blue coachwork!
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project until it is painted |
was very encouraging |
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I am delighted to report that your bodyshell has now been completely sealed with DP50 epoxy primer. The welders and lead (for the time being) have been put aside and it is now time to install your new Team CJ engine frames and your new bonnet.
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Lots of 'hidden' yet vital work is done at this stage to get the best possible door fit - including all the associated chrome and brightwork. Time spent now results in a car that has beautiful fitting chrome and panels that flow from one to another without any jarring lines. At the time of writing we are well into the lead loading stage and will soon be sealing the entire bodyshell in epoxy primer before moving on to the installation of your new bonnet, etc.
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trim in conjunction with doors |
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fit together with door top chrome |
follows line of upper rear wing |
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between pillar chrome and door top |
1/8" gaprs around the entire car |
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When I last reported we were in the process of cutting out corrosion by the RH license plate area. As you can see, this repair has now been completed and we have also installed the new sills, firewall closing panels and a complete LH floor. We will soon be finished the sheet metal replacement and moving on to installing the new bonnet.
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primed before.... |
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RH inner sill area |
points were installed |
panel installed |
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the inner A and B pillar sections |
place |
down the centre line of the car |
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outer sill into place |
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place |
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Cutting out more rust, installing new sheet metal and filling up some unwanted holes.
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to go... |
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right of license plate |
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metal |
panels from the factory... |
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boot floor |
at the rear corners |
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The following photographs show the reconstruction of the LH B pillar and the installation of the new outer wing and door shut face panel.
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pillar |
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together |
welded back into place |
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panel into place |
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The following sequence of photographs show how we restored and reskinned your doors.
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modification |
original RH door |
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thru zinc primer on edges) |
a new drain tube |
into place |
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square with sharp edges |
'shipping primer' |
As we trial fit the replacement LR wing, it is now time to restore and reskin the doors. It is interesting to note that your original RH door (pic # 9 below) has no provision for armrests (something which was introduced around June of 1963) but the replacement door you provided for the left side is obviously a later door from a car with recessed (S2) style door handle and a different latching mechanism. None of this is a problem, I just mention it out of interest and because we will obviously have a little longer in the LH door as we modify it for use on your car.
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undamaged in the impact |
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well with the original panels |
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be welded beneath the new wing |
LH door |
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door |
to look like this |
armrests on your RH door |
It is now time to restore the body of your E Type to as new condition - or some level better, actually! The shopping list for new panels is unusually short as this is one of the better E Type bodies we have been asked to restore. Having said that, the photographs below show some of the areas that will need new sheet metal, as well as the accident damage that you already knew about, of course.The first thing on our list of tasks is to cut away the outer sills, the LH rear floor section, the boot floor and the damaged B pillar.
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leaking battery |
right of this picture |
obviously knew about.... |
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in a number of areas |
floor |
hole up |
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obvious solution! |
lower part of LH inner sill |
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bracket for LH engine frame |
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wing |
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Nothing quite like an XK engine in all its glory!
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As your car patiently waits its turn in the Team CJ Coachworks, we have been quietly rebuilding many of the mechanical components that we will need further down the road.
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restored |
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rebuilt |
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IRS now completely rebuilt.....
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Going back together with your IRS and 3:07 differential......
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As you can see, we now have your car back from the media blasting company and I am delighted to report that the news is excellent! Other than the accident damage we knew about, this is one exceptionally sound bodyshell.
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almost no rust whatsoever |
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We have now completed the disassembly of your E Type and catalogued all the parts you sent along with the car. In the next few days we will send the shell and various panels off for plastic media blasting. So far so good!
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to Stage One specs |
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everything in its place....... |
I am pleased to report that your E Type made it safely to Austin and that we expect to have the restoration underway within the next few days.I hope you enjoy watching the restoration unfold and many thanks for entrusting this important project to Classic Jaguar!
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