Category Archives: 1961 Welded-louver Bonnet – BM

This project is the full restoration of an original 1961 welded-louver bonnet. Throughout this project, you’ll see detailed photos of what makes an early E-Type bonnet different from the later, stamped-louver bonnets.

Another Monocoque Metalworks E-Type going back together!

Posted on January 28, 2015 by admin

I just received these photos last evening from our customer from a few years ago – Bud… Bud’s car is the earliest E-Type I have ever worked on – although not by much! We are putting the finishing touches on … Continue reading →

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Time to Mount this welded-louver bonnet!

Posted on December 10, 2011 by admin

Once the frame rails were sealed, the original picture frame straightened, and the everything bolted back into place, it was time to start fitting the bonnet to the shell. We built this bonnet out of two donor bonnets – the … Continue reading →

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885041 – Saving the original picture frame

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

This car came into the shop with the repairs to the shell completed and a nice set of frame rails mocked up already, that included a new picture frame. But it also came with the original picture frame as well, … Continue reading →

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How to save your E-Type Frame Rails

Posted on November 30, 2011 by admin

Here’s another proprietary trick that I probably shouldn’t be giving away for free, but the truth is that I HATE this job because it is a HUGE MESS!!! So if by putting this out there, we lose business with this … Continue reading →

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Last weekend’s E-Type adventures!

Posted on September 25, 2011 by admin

This weekend we’re buried out in the shop trying to get caught up – but last weekend had some fun E-Type adventures!

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1961 Bonnet – welded flanges

Posted on August 27, 2011 by admin

Most people know that the early bonnets have welded louvers, but many do not realize that all of the flanges are also welded versus the later models which are bonded. For this bonnet, we re-created the welded flanges on the … Continue reading →

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1961 Welded-louver Bonnet Center Section Restoration

Posted on August 20, 2011 by admin

Earlier today we finally got the welded-louver center section for this bonnet cleaned up and into a coat of etch-primer. Alot of hours were spent earlier this week getting this piece from a very poorly hammered and bondo-filled mess into … Continue reading →

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1961 Bonnet – LH Inner Valance Repair

Posted on August 18, 2011 by admin

The inner valances we are using on this early bonnet are a solid set of original 1961 valances. You can tell that because the RH side has one fold in the opposite direction from the later valances, and also because … Continue reading →

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1961 Bonnet – Welded Wing Flanges

Posted on August 2, 2011 by admin

This post shows the conversion of an original set of 4.2 Series 1 front wings to the early, welded flange specifications. Early bonnets had welded louvers – called “let-in” louvers by some, and also had their flanges welded on instead … Continue reading →

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E-Type Series 1 Bonnets – there are 3 different styles!

Posted on July 27, 2011 by admin

Most people think all Series 1 bonnets are the same… NOT TRUE – there are actually 3 different styles! Read on to learn the subtle differences and changes made during production of the Series 1 cars. Style A – 1961 … Continue reading →

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Blue Bonnet to the rescue!

Posted on July 27, 2011 by admin

The customer had been contemplating the purchase of an “original 1961 bonnet” before we agreed to build one up in that configuration. So when we discovered that the gold bonnet’s center section was badly warped, he did purchase that bonnet … Continue reading →

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Bad News…

Posted on July 27, 2011 by admin

Well, I guess I spoke to soon when I said this bonnet was the nicest original Series 1 bonnet I had seen yet – the splotchy gold coating of some type of older metal conditioner was hiding a MAJOR problem… … Continue reading →

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Headlamp bucket repair

Posted on January 5, 2011 by admin

We’ve started the project by getting things organized and photographed, and by beginning to strip some of the small components. While not necessary to complete the bonnet conversion, the headlamp buckets were included so that some dents could be removed. In … Continue reading →

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Project overview and early bonnet history

Posted on January 4, 2011 by admin

This project is a conversion of an original Series 1 bonnet to 1961 “welded-louver” specs for a VERY early LHD Coupe that lost it’s original bonnet somewhere along the way. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the … Continue reading →

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