1967 E Type roadster (JP)
Total restoration

 
 

 
Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows:

Total Team CJ restoration featuring a 4.7L CJ Stage Two engine and numerous performance and reliability upgrades. The car will be finished in Opalescent Dark Blue with red Suffolk & Turley hides and Team CJ Borrani wire wheels.



 

   

It finally stopped raining in Austin long enough to take a few photos of the finished car outside!














































































I am delighted to report that this restoration has now been completed and another beautiful E Type is ready for the open road!































































































































































Installing the engine and transmission...



















Your car is now in the trim room receiving its new wiring harness, gauges, lighting, etc..































Gerardo has now sanded and buffed the body and the Opalescent Dark Blue paintwork looks absolutely beautiful.


Beautifully restored Blaupunk with iPhone
connectivity
 Gerardo preparing to sand and buff the body











Opalescent Dark Blue paintwork looks absolutely
beautiful under the shop lights










Check out SS100 stablemate in the reflection!















Getting the car back on its wheels is always an exciting milestone in any restoration.


Bolting new engine frames in place






















IRS about to be installed






















Front suspension and brakes now installed










Gorgeous Borrani wire wheels
 Car ready to be placed back on its wheels



Painting the outer panels...


Wiping down the body with a tack cloth immediately
prior to pulling the trigger
 Applying the first pass of Opalescent Dark Blue











Body and doors have now been painted

































To be continued...





Your car is now in the booth ready for the outer panels to be painted over the next couple of days.



















More Opalescent Dark Blue paint being applied - and lots of beautiful new chrome.













Boot compartment was painted yesterday evening











Masking off the underside of the floors prior to
painting this afternoon










First sealer is applied










3M Rocker Guard is then applied
 Note slight texture of the Rocker Guard










The Rocker Guard is then sealed
 Finally the underside is Opalescent Dark Blue



























Applying the first of the Opalescent Dark Blue paint. First to be painted is the cabin, followed by the underside of the floors and the boot compartment. It is always very exciting when a project gets to this stage - beautiful new paintwork never gets old!











































Your bodyshell is currently in the booth being prepped for paint. First up will be the cabin and the underside of the floors. We are scheduled to be applying the first of the Opalescent Dark Blue paint on Tuesday of next week.


Rebuilt gauges and clock
 Scuffing and seam sealing the cabin area
prior to painting

















Assembling your rebuilt and restored IRS.



















With the bodywork completed, it is now time to trial fit all the chrome and bright work...


Many mechanical components have already
been rebuilt
 Trimming the dash gauge panels






















Time to trial fit chrome























Bumper mounting brackets will be relocated for
perfect fit









Note how badly over-rider finishers fit prior
to modification
 After tweaking and grinding, they now fit
as they should




The filler and block work has now been completed and the car has been primed with Spies Hecker Raderal sprayable polyester high build primer.































We modified the driver's seat cushion, shaving 3/4" from the foam to provide the maximum possible headroom for a tall driver. The modification is subtle, and really not noticeable when  the seats are assembled and installed in the cabin.
   


From above, the seat bases look the same










This view shows the difference between the
two bases
 Side view also demonstrates difference between
the two cushions



Lead loading in progress..







Oscar has now begun the process of fitting the new doors..







   
With the panel replacement now virtually completed, it is now time to fit your new alloy bonnet.


Fabricating inner quarter filler panels
 Trial fitting the new panels











Oscar spot welding the filler panels in place






















Cabin and main structure now better than new










Installing new Robey engine frames
 Trial fitting the new alloy bonnet



Floors and outer sills now welded in place...
Floors spot welded together down the center line











Wurth Body Wax applied to inner sill surfaces











New outer sills clamped in position











Outer sills now welded in place















Lots of progress withe the sheet metal repairs and panel replacement...
IRS mounting cross-member has now been
repaired and reinforced
 Lengthening trans side panel











Trial fitting right hand floor











Trial fitting trans cover










RH bonnet striker panel will need to
be straightened











Boot floor assembly now welded in place






















Lead loading corners of boot floor
 Lead is filed into shape











Finally lead is sanded smooth




Fabricating new repair panels...


























































































I am pleased to report that we now have your body restoration well underway.













































































































































































Installing the Team CJ stroked crank, forged pistons and rods, billet oil pump, etc..





























We now have the body and panels back from being blasted back to bare metal. The main body shell is about what we expected to see, although unfortunately the bonnet has several issues that had previously been hidden beneath several layers of bondo. We will have this body restoration underway in the next few weeks. The last 4 images in the sequence below show the flow test results relating to the port work done to your cylinder head.












Left lower quarter panel will be replaced
 Main floors, inner and outer sill will be replaced






















Bonnet has several issues and will be replaced
 IRS components have been blasted and
powder coated






















Exhaust port before port work
 Exhaust port after flow work










Intake port before port work
 Intake port after port work




We are expecting the body back from being blasted back to bare metal on Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Car on a blasting rotisserie
Floors have been patched in the past










IRS completely torn down for rebuild



Installing seats, guides, valve job in progress..
Measuring bolt stretch on Carrillo rods
 Super lightweight CJ forged stroker pistons










Port work in progress










Intake runners reshaped for Stage Two
application











Machining Stage Two magnesium bronze
CJ guides for ultimate flow










CJ guides modified for Stage Two application
 Guides installed










Honing guides for optimum stem to
guide clearance
 Five angled valve job in progress



The following sequence of photographs show corrective work to your cylinder head. The deck surface was warped significantly, and the cam caps were also out of alignment. These issues were remedied by several sessions on a straightening plate in the oven, as well as an align hone of the cam caps. The tappet to tappet guide clearances were out of spec, and the guides had been inappropriately staked with a 'home made' securing solution. New tappet guides are currently being installed.
Head on straightening plate in oven
 Note 'home made' tappet guide hold-down kit










Pressure testing head after straightening
 Base line flow test in progress










Machining out old valve seats










Align honing camshaft caps










Previous bolt holes for tappet hold-down kit
welded up
 Weld ground back and metal finished











Machining tappet guide bores for new guides



Short block engine machine work underway in the CJ machine shop..
Time to get this engine rebuild underway
 Machining out old liners










Magnaflux crack checking block
 Align hone in progress - note uprated ARP hardware










New top hat liners installed
 Measuring pistons prior to cylinder hone










Installing torque plate for cylinder honing process
 Surfacing the deck of block after honing














Tear down in progress, interior, engine and transmission removed..













Starting to remove the interior











Golden Sand inner dash










Removing underfelts revealed some well
disguised patching in the floors











Engine and transmission now removed






















Bottom side of picture frame in poor
shape
 Picture frame will have to be replaced




Earlier today we took the opportunity to take a close look at the car on one of the lifts, and also to weigh it on the shop corner scales. The good news is that the underside is about as rust free as you could ever hope to see in an unrestored E Type. The original floors appear to be in wonderful condition. The bad news is that we may have to put this car on a bit of a diet, as it came in about 200lb over weight, tipping the scales at 2,760 lbs.












Original floors are in wonderful shape










Underside of boot floor also looks very
promising











She may be carrying about 200lbs of bondo
beneath her paint



We will have the total restoration of this E Type underway in the next couple of weeks...



 
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