Category Archives: E-Type – Bonnet Restoration

Our blog entries showing the complete restoration of E-Type bonnets – start to finish. See how they are broken down here, stripped, blasted, rust damaged repaired, crash damage repaired and reshaped, primed, assembled, and glued.

Series 3 V-12 Bonnet – Building Collapse!

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

“You have got to be kidding me…” – that’s what I said when this customer showed up with this bonnet in the back of a box truck.  They had said over the phone that the ceiling of a storage building … Continue reading →

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Series 2 Bonnet “Repair Kit”

Posted on November 25, 2011 by admin

We restore shells and bonnets here, but also often help with projects far away.  In this blog post, you can see some of the pieces we provided for a Series 2 roadster being restored in California. This customer was looking … Continue reading →

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Bumper Blow-out!

Posted on August 31, 2011 by admin

Early E-Types – especially 3.8’s – can have their bumpers torn out of the bonnet in even a minor accident.  That leaves you with a big hole with cracks and tears… Last week, another restoration shop asked if we could … Continue reading →

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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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Bonnet – Assembly & Bonding

Posted on May 19, 2011 by admin

If you’re working with a bonnet that has never been wrecked, and you are re-using all of the original pieces, assembly can be very straight-forward.  Since that’s almost never true, get ready for an adventure! Throughout this process, we typically … Continue reading →

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Bonnet – Lower Valance Rebuild

Posted on May 2, 2011 by admin

We’ve done alot of underpanels lately, and the one on this bonnet was especially in need of attention.  This underpanel was totally rust free, but unfortunately had suffered some pretty serious accident damage… It was a tough call to cut … Continue reading →

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Bonnet – Lower Valance “Underpanel”

Posted on April 30, 2011 by admin

I think the lower valance (also sometimes referred to as the “underpanel”) is probably the most under-appreciated panel on an E-Type.  But it’s also one of the most important panels on the car, as it contains the mounting points for … Continue reading →

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Bonnet – Bonded Flanges

Posted on April 13, 2011 by admin

Early bonnets had their flanges spot-welded to the outer skin, but Jaguar soon switched to bonding these flanges with a strong adhesive.  I assume that this not only simplified and sped up assembly, but also eliminated the need to excessive … Continue reading →

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Bonnet – RH Inner Valance Repair

Posted on April 13, 2011 by admin

It’s time to get started on the bonnet.  I like to do all of the inner panels first, because when I finish the work on the wings and center section, I’m usually anxious to start assembly, and this way – … Continue reading →

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Bonnet Underpanel Support & Caged Hinge Plates

Posted on February 15, 2011 by admin

The latest project has been a panel we have had on the to-do list for quite some time…  The brake in our shop is JUST big enough to form this panel – it was one of the first things I … Continue reading →

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