Sorry there have not been alot of posts this month – I got the flu…
What a mess – I usually work 7 days a week for the most part, and the flu took me out for almost 7 days straight. I spent two days unable to get out of bed – day 3 I got up and got showered and dressed, but that was it. On day 4, I went out into the shop and just poked and prodded at a few things, then came back in… On day 5, I felt a little better, and parts orders were backing up, so I rallied and fabbed up parts and packed orders all day. I finally got some things done, but that put me back to no energy on Day 6 and Day 7…
I did NOT get a flu shot – BIG mistake… What’s worse, my wife had the flu too, and things were just a mess around here. It’s been two weeks now, and I’m JUST now back to my normal self, but WAY behind – which is the reason I was up until 1 AM gluing bonnets last night.
Here are some pictures from the shop over the past month or so. Lots of things go on around here that don’t get blogged about – it takes as long to write the blog entries sometimes as do the task! Just remember that alot of times, the blogs make it look easy – You can read a blog entry in 5 minutes that encompasses a WEEK’S worth of work!
Anyway – here are some interesting recent shop photos…
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- The previous owner of the ’70 FHC we have for sale bougfht another one just like it – same color and everything – already restored. That’s how we ended up with the car. Anyway, his new car had an aftermarket steering wheel, so I sent him the steering wheel from his first E-Type for Christmas. I told him that he can tell people, “Yes – I did restore that car – I replaced everything except the steering wheel!”
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- A batch of 3.8 center consoles.
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- Another shot – these came out GREAT, but they were ALOT more work than I remembered!
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- We finally took the bonnet from the lead sled (’66 OTS – JE) apart and salvaged what we could – which was the inner valances and the rings from the Headlamp diaphragms. I also saved the center section – not even sure why… When we cut the lower valance off, there was 3/4″ inch of solid lead filler in the nose! No wonder it was so heavy!!!
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- Two 1968 LH bonnet mudshields with the same problem…
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- Both had a little patch TIG-ed in rather than replacing the whole piece.
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- Two DIFFERENT ’68 bonnets ready to be glued.
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- Me.
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- Fitting the glass on a converted Series 1.5 bonnet.
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- A parts order ready to be shipped out.
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- Having fun with a batch of heater bottom plates!
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- Finally! A new MIG welder! I was 19 when I got the last one!
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- Lots of cords – this is a top of the line Lincoln, and is dual-powered – it runs on 220 or 110. The 220 mode gives a really nice range of power level vs. wire feed for the work we do here – I LOVE IT!
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- This is a new Series 3 V-12 headlamp diaphragm we fabbed up – WITH a Series 1 headlamp ring welded in so the car can be converted to covered headlamps. On Series 1.5 and 2 cars, you can just bolt in the Series 1 duaphragm, but on a Series 3, you need to call us to make you a pair of these.
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- Other side – special Series 3 V-12 covered headlamp diaphragm.
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- Here is a recent shop visitor – the new owner of the same ’63 OTS I just saw on Donovan Jaguar’s showroom a couple weeks earlier!
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- Another shot – we took this out and I blasted it around a bit to give him my opinions. This was a great car – I knew I liked it when I saw it up there and it did not dissapoint!
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- A nice, presentable driver – this E-Type was ready for action, and the ride around on a cold Winter’s day with the top up took me right back to Senior year…
