Right in the middle of the building of the new shop, I got a call about an abandoned E-Type project. It was also about one day after I proclaimed to Brent and Janie that I have WAY too much stuff and I’m not buying anymore! Plus, it was described as a “very roiugh 1969 Jaguar hardtop…” – and as a Series 2, was a little less desirable to me…
But read on…
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- Here is the first of 4 photos that were sent to me – OK, NOW I’m ALOT more interested – This is no ’69!…
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- The car turned out to be a 1966 Fixed-Head Coupe – Series 1 – Jackpot!
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- Uh-oh… Things just got worse – this car has obviously had an American V-8 in it…
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- And it’s not getting any better – this bonnet is a MESS!
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- But of course, I agreed to purchase and save the old girl anyway, and a few weeks later, Brent and I headed up to rescue her from a slow death under this tarp – held down by bricks – classic…
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- This dirt turned out to be the by-product of a ground-hog hole, and we had to drage the car out through it.
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- Here’s Brent helping to line up the trailer. We used a winch I installed in the trailer for just such adventures, and the loading did not turn out to be too bad – the biggest issue was getting around the compost pile!
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- Next, we headed inside to take a look at some additional parts that went with the car, as well as some leftover parts from some Mercedes 190SL projects owned by my new friends’s deceased ex-husband. One of the parts was a hardtop for the 190’s, so you can imagine our shock when she pulled back the clothes in a closet in the laundry room and opened this hatch and said, “OK, Follow me!”
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- OK, wait a minute – Brent, get a picture of this!
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- Here I go, into the crawl space, still in disbelief!
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- But there it was! Along with the E-Types windshield, and some soft top frames and windshield frames for the 190SLs.
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- AND more parts! This is an unknown ALUMINUM V-8 engine block and heads. This turned out to be exactly what I thought it might – a 1961-63 Buick-Olds-Pontiac 215 cubic-inch V-8 – commonly used in mid-engined sports racers of the period!
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- On the way home, we spotted this Messerschmitt car!
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- Back at the shop, after a long day!
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- And she appears to have been home to MANY little critters over the years!
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- Most of the important parts are there…
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- …including the intake and 2 of the three SU carbs!
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- The car did suffer some mis-guided “improvements” though… And between the rust, the welded on wheel flares, and the widened mouth, this bonnet is pretty much a write off…
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- A few days later, we started cleaning her out – no small task!
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- This WAS a Series 1 bonnet, but the mouth was opened up to this size for no apparent reason…
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- The fron wheel splined hubs were milled down, and these cheap slot mags were bolted on with the help of not one but TWO wheel adapters stacked one on top of the other – a death wish!
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- So the frame rails and the fron hubs are junk and will need to be replaced.
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- This Ford toploader trans does not belong here, but DID turn out to be an original transmission from a 1965 Ford Mustang!
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- A shot through the stripped interior. This car was a great find, being a Series 1, but she is going to need LOTS of parts from our stock of originals…
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- She also had the usual rust…
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- …and more “improvements” in the rear…
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- But both rear wheel arches will be repaired as good as new with our standard 3-inch rear wing repair panel.
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- As is the custome with V-8 swaps, the gearbox tunnel has been BUTCHERED! But again, we will provide all of the necessary correct panels to make this factory perfect.
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- This is a typical dent in the LH bulkhead side panel – although this one is PARTICULARLY deep!
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- Also common in V-8 swaps, the engine stabilizer has been sliced off. We also make these, and as usual, they are a PERFECT replacement.
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- A shot of the bonnet’s underside. On top of everything else, the wings have been welded to the center section – pretty much the kiss of death…
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- Luckily the pedal box, heater, etc. are all still intact – it’s just that much less we will have to steal from our stock.
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- A few days later, we removed everything from the bulkhead forward, and just started over…
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- These frame rails were original and have never been off – and this white sealant is from the factory – I have seen this on many E-Types – this is how it was done.
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- The car does have all of the typical rust, but it is limited to the floors and sills, and thankfully has not progressed to the next level of panels.
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- We have already found the car a new home – back in the UK! We will send the car over as a complete project car, and include all of the necessary panels to repair the shell. Included in the deal are all of the parts that have been modified or removed. Unfortunately, we do have to re-assemble the car as a roller so it can be shipped overseas – which is always a pain – especially when you know is is all just coming back apart…
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- We have re-installed original frame rails that look like they can be restored – a big plus considering frame rail pricing is now INSANE at about $7,000 USD for the set of 4 pieces new!
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- We also re-installed all of the front suspension, but have replaced the cut hubs with other originals with good splines and threads.
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- Next, we installed a correct 4.2 XK engine from a very early Series 2 that still has the Series 1 style 3-freeze-plug block. We then added the third SU carb to complete the car’s original intake system, as well as Series 1 E-type smooth cam covers.
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- Next, we will build out all of the pulleys and engine accessories from our stock with the correct Series 1 pieces.
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- Miraculously, the car’s original full-synchro, close-ratio “EJ” 4-speed gearbox was in that crawl space, and is now back in the car! We will top this off with a different, better (aka restorable) Series 1 bonnet from another ’66 FHC that we have on the shelf, as well as any other missing pieces. The crawl space revealed several other goodies that will help with that – not the least of which were the original covered headlamp glass and chrome trim rings!
