From the Lift

First Place Trophy

2012-02-01T23:57:00.001-06:00

I know, I know... it's been a LONG time since I have posted any new entries to this blog I have no really legitimate excuses, it's certainly not because I haven't had anything to report. In my last post, I had almost finished the interior upholstery. That was in late September 2011. The next thing that occurred in my garage was the annual Ice Cream Social that we host for 3 local British Car Clubs. Donna and I prepare 8 gallons of homemade ice cream, many people bring their favorite toppings and cold drinks are provided by the South Alabama British Car Club.
This year we had nearly 60 people to attend.

The Yard was full of British cars from Mobile, Pensacola, FL, Orange Beach and a number of other places in our area and nobody went away hungry.

Just 3 weeks later, the South
Alabama British Car Club had their annual British Car Festival. As I had still not received my new 5-speed transmission or rear brakes, I installed the rear suspension, sans brakes, and put 4 wheels on the Jag.

Two days before the show, a number of club members met at my garage to stuff the Goody Bags. Afterwards, we shoved the Jag on a trailer.

The Bonnet stayed home and it was my intention to show people an E-Type like most of them had never seen. No bonnet and no engine. I removed the front wheels to show off the beautiful E-Type Fabs front brake calipers and disks. i have to admit, it must have been a good idea, I had more people interested in what I had done and interested in seeing the "guts" of an E-Type that it made me think that maybe I should just stop here.... Not a chance!!! I was awarded the First Place trophy for the "Restoration Class"... there were only 2 other cars in the class, but one was a magnificent MG-TC, so I was very happy

No sooner did I get the car back in the garage after the show and direct my attention toward earning a little money in my regular, job that I was hosting another SABCC event. For the last few years, and with the help of a few members, I have converted my garage to an almost proper movie theatre, complete with a 12 ft. screen, a big popcorn machine candy and drinks. We usually have nearly 50 club members come to watch the show and enjoy an evening out with friends and all they have to bring is a chair. You can read all about it on Rodney's blog. Once the smoke cleared from that event I was able to do a little more work on the Jag.

Fuel Line on the right.

Sticking out my tongue helps

I got the fuel line run from the tank to the front of the car.

Then I started tackling the brake lines. I had Rodney's help getting this done and since it was the first time for me to bend brake tubing, I took my time.

Stainless Steel Flexible brake line at rear

We were so pleased with the outcome that we felt that we deserved to have a glass of Single Malt afterwards.

Getting The Doors To Fit

2011-09-20T22:50:00.000-05:00

Putting the doors back on an E-Type is a somewhat daunting task. Even though a test fitting was done back before the car was painted, it still requires a lot of patience and some minor adjustments and, if possible, some help from a friend or two. First of all, the passenger door was off of our 1969 parts car. It was in much better condition that the original door, which had obviously been in a wreck and then filled with Bondo. Ther is only one difference in the 69 door and the 64 door that I could see. The 64 had an extra hole near the latch where an alignment post comes through. Evidently, this was not a requirement in 1969... seems odd to me. I had to make a template and then drill a hole in the door to accommodate the alignment post. I had 3 sets of eyes watching, Rodney's, Mike's and mine. Fortunately it and its accompanying screw holes were close enough to only need a little attention with a rat tail file.

My garage is a mess, I have upholstery scraps, foam scraps, boxes and all sorts of other stuff scattered about. I have work going on on 3 different tables.

I got the rubber seals installed in the door jams with little difficulty, and now it was time to mount the doors. Mike helped me mount the driver's door. We took turns holding the door and trying to get all the hing bolts started. They are positioned in a location where you can barely get 2 fingers on them. After a number of tries, we finally got it hung. I managed to get the passenger door hung the next day with not nearly as much effort for some reason. Probably because we took a good bit of time before painting to make sure that the 69 door would work.

I was anxious to make sure that my little modification to the 69 door would work properly, it did. I only had one minor problem with a screw that was 1/16 inch too long. Once fixed, the door worked nicely. I then installed the rubber seals into the window frames using a generous amount of Gojo to lubricate the seal so it would slide into it grove.

Having gotten all of the frame seals in, I put new felt into the channel where the window slides. On a recommendation from Mike Dollard at SNG Barratt, I used the Series 3 felt because it's already shaped in the form of a U and is much easier to install . I set about installing the windows and their winding mechanisms. Then I had to adjust he window frames so that the door would close and seal up... sort of. This all went surprisingly easy too.. but it still took the better part of a day.

With the window and door latch working, it was time to mount the door panels. They are kind of fidgety things, and putting the re-covered 64 panels onto the door from the 69 meant that I had to drill several new screw holes to get everything to fit. Opening and closing the door carefully while fitting everything is a much to make sure that nothing is scraping the upholstery inside.

I finally got the passenger door finished, opening and closing and with a window that will wind up and down. Whew!

Now the driver's door.. it went much easier because not only was it the same door and door panels that came off of the car, I had the benefit of experience on my side now. I got it done is probably one third the time. Let me add here that the experience I gained back in college while working at Freeman's Sports Cars, the local Triumph, Rover, Land Rover dealer I had little trouble with the door and window handles, but I can imagine that these things have given many people fits.

Now that both doors are done, and just about all of the rest of the interior is complete, I continue to do all the little things that can be done before the engine goes in.

I got the new radio in from Retro Sound. I installed it into the radio console, put the new "original style" speakers from S/M Electro-Tech. They have very small magnets, just like the originals but the magnets are Neodymium magnets (commonly referred to as super magnets) and are 1/10 the physical size of round ceramic magnets found on most modern speakers but provide the same or higher field strength. Side by side, they look just like the originals. The radio, in addition to AM/FM, it also has an analog AUX input and a USB/SD card adapter for playing MP3 files and it comes with a remote control!!! Pretty cool radio. I have it hooked up to a battery on my workbench and have been listening to my tunes.

I purchased two new exterior rear view mirrors a long time ago. I put them on with no problems at all. The holes for them had been drilled before the car was painted.

Now that I had done all I could with the interior, I mounted the rubber bonnet seals onto the mudguards, again, this went fairly smoothly. I still have to fix the pieces to the inside of the bonnet. That'll come later.

Masking the piping

Half sprayed

Earlier today, I went up to the shoe repair place to pick up a pair of shoes that Donna was having repaired. While I was in there it just dawned on me to ask about dying leather. I had resolved myself to the fact that I would probably have to get the seats re-covered or I would never be happy with them. They had the old seat covers on them but re-covering them is a fairly expensive proposition. I asked the guy there about dying the seats in my antique Jag. He said that dying was no problem really. He then took me around the corner in his shop and showed me a rack that much have had a hundred different colors of dye. I saw several that had possibilities. I told him I'd be right. I returned with a seat cushion and the piece of leather that I had cut out of the radio console to install the radio. He took me to the back of his shop and

Compare old on left

One seat cushion done.

we tried several colors on the underside of the cushion, none were perfect, but one was close. I figured "what the hell", my choice was to spend $18 on spray dye or spend $1000 getting them recovered. I opted for the dye route.

At his suggestion, I cleaned the leather good with rubbing alcohol, let it dry good, masked the piping and began spraying.

The color isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than it was and the leather looks brand new. I was definitely impressed. At this point, I'm calling it good. It will remain to be seen if I am ultimately happy with the color. If not, I'll just spend another $18.

Filling Some of the Big Holes

2011-09-05T23:29:00.001-05:00

Putting in the final cantrail screws.

I've had a very productive week and with it being a long weekend, I managed to convince Rodney that he needed to be over here helping me. We finished up getting the cantrails installed and they look very good, if I do say so myself.
I'm very proud of how it's all going. The cantrails are a tight fit, they are installed with small screws that come in from the outside, through the rail that holds window gasket on.

Cantrail's in, "B" post is in...

Next came the "B" post, that is the chrome piece that divides the door window and the rear quarter window.. The quarter window hinges on this post. I first had to install the rubber gasket before we could put the quarter windows in. There is a rail that accepts the "T" shaped edge on the gasket. It's not exactly easy to get the rubber squeezed into the rail, but as with most of this stuff, with a little practice it gets easier.

Rodney, looking for the latch's screw holes.

Quarter windows installed

Once this was done, Rodney and I were able to install the quarter windows. This actually went fairly smoothly. Getting the rear latch on was a little more tricky.

Good ol' Rodney voluntarily climbed in to help mount the latches. These windows swing out at the rear to allow for some ventilation. He was a little tentative about poking a few holes in the newly covered wing panels but I convinced him to poke away. I held the glass. It didn't take long and we (Rodney) had the latches mounted and operating flawlessly.

This had been our goal for the evening but it went so well that we decided to press on. I had been dreading installing the glass in the rear hatch. I had never done anything like that. We decided to tackle this little task... kinda like the blind leading the blind.

Whew!!!

I put the rubber gasket surround on the glass and then ran a piece of nylon cord around into the grove that fits the opening in the rear hatch. By doing this, it will allow me to put the glass over the hole in the hatch and pull the string and thereby forcing the lip of the groove in the gasket onto the edge inside the hatch. I guess I would have to just show you, it's hard to explain, and harder to do, but we got it done, miraculously without breaking the glass or scratching the new paint on the hatch.

Gojo = good slickum

Next came the rubber insert that squeezes into a slot in the rubber gasket. This spreads the gasket out, holding it securly in place. Installing it is a tedious job, but once you get the hang of it and using a generous amount of Gojo on the rubber for lubrication makes it go a lot easier.

The helps keep me from scratching the paint

Next is the chrome trim, it's two half moon shaped pieces that surround the glass. It has to slip between two slits in the gasket and is then held in place by these slits. It really helps to have a second pair of hands when doing this because just when you think you have one end in, the other end tries to jump out. Creme Gojo also helps with this step, along with a right angled pick of some sort.

The rear hatch is nearly complete

We stuck on the chrome Jaguar emblem, stepped back and admired our work. It was a major step in the restoration process completed.

We did a test fitting, got the hinges all aligned and called it a night. I broke out my bottle of 18 yr old Single Malt Scotch and poured us a drink.

While we were enjoying our Single Malt, we started looking at the vinyl covering and fitting it to the inside of the hatch. It was immediately apparent that we needed to take the hatch off to cover it. We made plans to do this the next day.

When Rodney arrived the next day, we removed the hatch and prepared to do the upholstery. The panels came to me pre-covered and fit nicely. I had to install the clips that snap into the holes on the hatch interior. Then we glued the upper part onto the top of the hatch and let it set up for a while

The vinyl pieces needed a good bit of trimming (Rodney cringes), and then it had to be tucked under the rubber seal!?!?!?!? How the heck am I going to do this? Well, turns out that it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. Using the same right angled pick that I used on the seal earlier, along with a plastic chisel looking tool, I managed to get it tucked in without too much of a struggle. I then painted the latch. Once it's dry, the hatch will be done and installed for good, I hope. Then Rodney and I polished off the last of the Single Malt.

Interior Successes and Woes

2011-09-01T00:08:00.002-05:00

I have been working diligently on completing the interior. Sometimes it seems like things are just working against me. I ordered all of the interior materials from what was considered a very reputable company that specializes specifically in Jaguar interiors. I also sent them my console and the hinge and latch covers from the rear hatch because I wanted them to be "professionally" covered. The covers are covered in moquette, a material that has a coarse fuzzy texture used in several places in the early Jag E-Types. All of the moquette is supposed to be the same color. As this upholstery project proceeded, I pulled the moquette out of storage and began calculating just how it all would install when I thought "wait a minute there's something wrong here". I went and got the hinge and latch covers from their box and they were covered in a totally different color moquette. As I learned when I had to order more vinyl, these people NEVER answer their phone. You have to listen to a very long sales message before you can even leave a message. Then they call you back at their leisure. I was appalled at their lack of concern, but I won't get into that, although I'd like to. I think I have finally gotten it all straighten out and they are making it good, although I did have to pay to send the pieces back to be recovered.


All of this moquette is suppose to be the same color

The original seat doesn't quite match,
but that's not anybody's fault, I just can't
afford right now to get them redone, but it's on the list

That's not the first difficulty I have had with this particular supplier, but life goes on. Considering that I know nothing about what I'm doing, I'm making good progress. The little courtesy boxes just behind the seats, on the quarter panel, needed to be covered, originally they were flocked in gray. Mike Darby gave me some very fine wool cloth very similar to the headliner, it was perfect but as it turned out, there wasn't enough there. I went up to Bay Auto Glass and Upholstery and rifled through their remnants and found something that looked pretty good. Now covering them was another head scratcher.. I managed to get it looking a lot better than I thought I would though.

Quarter Panel box (covered)

Original Quarter Panel box (uncovered)

Quarter Panel box installed

These small boxes were included in only the earlier cars. I found them still in their place when I was removing the old interior. They were hidden by the newer style quarter panel that a previous owner had installed. I think it's pretty neat to resurrect them, and they might actually be useful. I'm thinking... I'll come up with something to put in them.

Quarter Panel installed

I got the quarter panels installed. It wraps around the door jam and screws into place. There is another vertical piece that has to go in there too, making it pretty difficult to get it all lined up.I actually don't see how they could have built even one of these cars in
a month, let alone in the numbers that they turned out.

Installing the cantrail

The cantrails are some upholstered pieces that surround the rear window and door opening. If you have been following the blog, you will remember when I was struggling with getting them covered. Turns out, getting them covered was the easy part. Getting them aligned and screwed in was more of a challenge. Rodney came over tonight and was able to help with the driver's side, making it a lot easier. It was completed. In fact, nearly all of the interior is done now. In celebration, we shared a glass of Glenfiddich single malt, and talked about how great we were.

Both cantrails are installed.
it's nearing the end

I do lots of researching of pictures

The colors aren't different, it's just
a reflection or something.

I'm ready for a drive, just need to put the engine in.

There are actually quite a few other things that need to be done, but the single malt stilled seemed like a good idea. I have to figure out where I'm going to mount the retractable seatbelt thing. The luggage rails in the back still need to be mounted, then there's the doors, I haven't even started on them yet. That'll probably be the next big thing I work on. I'm expecting the rear brakes and transmission very soon, then I can put the rear suspension in, it's all ready except for the brakes. I have to finish making the clutch and brake lines, the fuel line, install the guts into the fuel tank, none of which is major, but it's gonna be hard driving the car without getting it done. I'll keep ya posted.

Moquette... Hardura... Cantrail... Brits do speak a foreign language

2011-08-21T00:58:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty tired, I have accomplished a good bit this week even though I have had a fair amount of work to do on my "real" job. Working on the upholstery is not something I have ever done and I don't feel real comfortable doing it. I have been plesantly surprised at how it is turning out. I'm not going to spend a lot of time typing here tonight, but here are a number of pics showing what I have managed to accomplish.Today was a long day.

Upper Cantrail

This cover goes over an access hole in the left rear wheel arch. It gives access to some of the wiring and the fuel filler tube.

This is a little pocket that was in the quarter panel one on each side behind the seats. I discovered them when I pulled the old upholstery out. I just HAD to use them but to do so I had to modify the two quarter panel pieces. Evidently only the early E-Types had them. These were evidently covered over by a previous owner.

Lower Cantrails

All of the panels are covered

Rodney has been a tremendous help.

Installing the Moquette on the wheel arch.

Maybe I can finish it tomorrow after I help Rodney install his garage door opener that got hit by lightning.

I think the Headliner is finally finished.... except for the dome light.

2011-08-07T01:32:00.001-05:00

Rodney and I got an early start this morning. First I met him at Mike Darby's for the final adjustment on his newly rebuilt SU carburetors for his MGB. After that and some all important visiting was completed he and I stopped at Kraver's Seafood Restaurant for a quick lunch, then on to my house to do some more work on the interior upholstery on the E-Type.

Rodney's putting the final bolt in the fuel tank

We decided that putting the fuel tank back in ( had it in once but had to remove it to put the rear bumpers on) would be the next thing to do before we got too carried away with upholstery. It didn't go in quite as easily as it did the last time we did it, but after a little struggling and a few cups of coffee, we got it back in and connected.

We then started working on the final stages of the headliner. We barely got started good before we realized that it was time to get ready for a little field trip to Pensacola to Mini of Pensacola's 2nd birthday party. We were going to ride over in Rodney's classic Mini, but the heat and humidity forced us to opt for something that had air conditioning. After the party, we stopped for a quick "all you can eat" Barbeque dinner and headed back to Daphne. The sun was still up and we decided to get back to work on the Jag.

Rear brackek for the trim wool

Gluing down the skirt

Rodney drilled and mounted the brackets at the rear of the ceiling that had been missing from my car but were fortunately on the old '69 parts car we have. I removed them the other day and cleaned all the rust off and painted 'em. These brackets allow you to tuck the headliner cloth into the gap where it is grabbed by some teeth in the bracket, holding everything good and tight.

Then I got on my back in a somewhat less than comfortable position in the car to glue down & fasten the final parts of the headliner down. The last thing that needed to be done was neatly lap the two ends of the wool together with a nice fold and mount the dome light. After scurrying around looking for the dome light fixture, Rodney finally found where I had hidden it and handed it to me. I inspected it and realized that I should have had it re-chromed when I did the rest of the stuff... "forget it, I'll use it like it is" I thought. I took the lens off of it and promptly broke it. Actually it was very brittle plastic and pieces were breaking off of it. So much for that light... I'll have to order a new one on Monday.

"Thumbs up" for the Driver's side

Finishing up the passenger side.

The dome light goes in the middle.

The bottom 2 inches will be covered by trim

I'm really happy about the end result. For never having done this before, I think that, with the tremendous help of my previously mentioned "crack team of old farts", we did a pretty good job!!

The Headliner Saga Continues

2011-08-05T01:39:00.000-05:00

I have managed to get the wool skirt covering installed in the grove around the top of the cantrail. This is a piece of very high quality English wool, matching the wool that we just installed on the ceiling. There is a rubber hose sewn in a hem on one side of the wool that is supposed to be squeezed into a tiny groove around the ceiling.

Just getting it started

This wool covers the area between the roof and the and the windows. Stuffing the hose into the groove was, to say the least, difficult. I spent most of the day getting it done without ripping the wool. Laying on my back with all sorts of protrusions poking me in the back was definitely not comfortable.

Then working with my arms stretched out above me was tiring. Am I whining? You better believe it, but I did managed to get it done. Now I have to work my way down installing the rest of the interior. I was by myself, so nobody took any pictures of me actually working... but I promise I did.

Whew!! I honestly didn't think I get it done.

One side finished

One more thing I managed to finish was the handbrake. It's a pretty complicated little bugger. It's kinda like building a ship in a bottle with all the pieces you have to get aligned inside of the handle through a small hole in the end. I know, the one piece on the side is supposed to be chrome... I forgot to send it to the chrome shop with the rest of it... It doesn't show anyway, so I just coated it with a Cad spray from Eastwood. It should lasts another 40 years or so.

Rodney came over tonight and he and I started measuring and fitting the moquette on the wheel arches.and making a plan of attack for the rest of it. In case you aren't aware of it, it's rumored that Rodney is an "expert" at interiors, even if that rumor isn't true, I'm still very appreciative of his help. The same is true for many of my friends. Mike Darby, Stuart Waddington, Michael King, Noel Eagleson and many others.

My vinyl is supposed to be here tomorrow according to UPS. We'll see. If so, I should be able to get a lot done this weekend.

No humans were injured during the installation of this headliner.

2011-07-31T00:23:00.004-05:00

Test fitting

I finally convinced several of my good friends to come over and help install the headliner in the Jag. It is notorious for being a difficult job. Rodney McDonald, Mike Darby, Noel Eagleson and Michael King were all on hand ready to tackle this task.

Our "Inside" guy

Trying to eliminate any potential scratches

I had the glue, Mike furnished the spray gun (and a fair amount of experience), Noel was the "inside guy", Michael, Rodney and I were in charge of getting itinto the car and lined up to the center line. I must say, it went off without a hitch. Mike first started spraying the glue and immediately realized that we needed to thin it significantly.

Mikes new XK, parked behind my XJS

Not having any MEK (thinner) Michael and I took off to Lowes in his newly purchased Jaguar XK convertible. Probably a little overkill for a quick trip to Lowes, but well worth the ride nonetheless. When we returned, Mike, was installing Rodney's newly rebuilt SU carbs on his MGB, which was on the list of things we wanted to get accomplished today anyway. I added the thinner to the glue.

When Mike was through with Rodney's car, he started spraying the glue on the underside of the roof in the E-type. Once that was complete, he sprayed it on the foam side of the headliner. We then took a break while the glue dried to a tacky feel.

Once we felt like it was right, we all grabbed a corner, Noel assumed his station inside of the car and we carefully passed it through the rear hatch.

Aligning the headliner to the center line.

With Rodney in the front of the car, standing where the engine goes, he could easily manage aligning the front edge with our center mark and I was able to align the rear. Mike and Michael kept the sides from sticking to themselves or anything else and Noel began gently pressing down the center line from fore to aft.

How many old farts does it take to do a headliner?

Once that was done, he began to roll, using a small foam paint roller out from the center to each side. It was immediately obvious that the glue we had was some kind of supped up magic glue that once stuck, it was NOT going to allow for any adjustment.

Noel using the foam paint roller

Me and my Exacto knife

Fortunately, this crack team of experts had it perfect the first time. All that was left was to trim the edges with an Exacto knife and press it under the cantrail. Even this turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be. I had recently bought some plastic tools from Harbor Freight which turned out to be the perfect thing to use for this task. The most amazing part is that I used that Exacto knife like a surgeon but never drew any blood. Something very out of character for me.

Rodney's MGB was running again and my headliner was in, all in all, it was a good day and a lot of fun hanging out with good friends.. so good, in fact, that we ordered pizza and opened some beer.

You can't take too many pictures!

2011-07-24T00:27:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I didn't take more pictures of the interior before I ripped it all out. For some reason I have tons of them with no upholstery in the car, but only 2 from before. Fortunately there are a number of people that have restoration websites that have taken lots of pictures of their finished product.

This week I have been working on the upholstered panels. I bought some foam from the upholstery shop just around the corner and set about covering panels. Fortunately the old vinyl, though severely faded, made for some good patterns to cut the new stuff. The foam padding I got was slightly thicker than what was used before but I like it, it seems to make it look more plush or something. I'll get it all finished once I get the rest of the vinyl.

Here I'm working on the door panels and quarter panels

I got the materials, carpet, vinyl, moquette, headliner, wool & leather from BAS Jaguar Interiors. They came highly recommended and I am very pleased with the quality of the materials. Unfortunately, I didn't order enough vinyl to cover everything I need to. Maybe, at the time, I was thinking that I wouldn't recover everything, since a lot of it was in pretty good shape. Of course, as I've said before, I never really expected to be doing a "full blown" restoration. Nonetheless, I have now ordered some more vinyl. I sent a swatch off to BAS to have them match the dye lot as close as possible.

I have never done any upholstery work in my life, I'm mostly a wrench turner. Working on the various flat panels has given me a little confidence. I made a few minor mistakes on the instrument panel vinyl earlier, nothing I can't fix, but you live and learn. This panel is from right behind the seats in an area they call "storage". Ha! Anyway, I stripped it, cleaned off all the glue and rust and painted it with Hammerite

If you ever need to remove a lot of glue, especially contact cement, this 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover #08984 is the absolute best thing I have ever run across. You should be able to get it at any automotive paint store. It doesn't smell, it doesn't affect a car finish at all and it doesn't leave any kind of a residue that I can detect. Not only that, it works spectacularly.

I started taking the door handles apart and discovered that some more red vinyl had been covered. I guess this car really was red at some point in its life. The foam padding was totally disintegrated. I'll have to shape something and pad it.

In other news... We picked Stuart's Stag from the media blaster. It's all primed and ready for a lot of body work. Stuart, if you don't know is from Scotland and is over here on a visa that is good for only 6 months at a time. His 6 months was up 4 days ago so he took off for Scotland and won't be back until sometime in January.. Maybe I'll work on it a little while he's gone. I have become pretty good with body filler and sand paper. ( ha ha ha Don't hold your breath Stuart!!)
Also, Rodney's MGB is in the garage. He and I took the carbs off and he is having Mike Darby rebuild them, new shafts and all. We'll probably get that back together sometime next week. (No rush Mike)

I'm hoping to attempt to put in the headliner this weekend. I have talked the guy from the local upholstery shop into stopping by and supervising. We'll see if that comes to pass. I'll keep ya posted.

Details, Details

2011-07-12T00:34:00.001-05:00

It's getting down to the smaller details that are not necessarily my long suit. I got the rear bumpers mounted which, I must admit, was not an easy task for one person. My car is one of those that was on the cusp between the end of 3.8 liter engine and the introduction of the 4.2 liter engine. There were quite a few subtle changes made and a number of significant changes. One change was the way the bumpers mounted. On the later cars, there were cutouts under the bumper allowing access to the mounts. On my car however the only way to mount them was to run bolts almost blindly from the inside. I managed to finally get them mounted and only put one little bitty nick in the paint. Inexcusable, I know I'm sure it won't be the last (actually it's not even the first but I'm not tellin').

The bumpers and overriders were in, what I thought to be, pretty good shape, since I had not planned to make this a concours restoration. Well, the car is looking a LOT better than I had imagined it looking and when I pulled out the overriders, I realized that they had some small but very noticeable dents and the chrome was all cracked so I had to take them to the chrome shop. The re-chrome job looked outstanding, all the dents were removed and it was very reasonable.

I also decided that I had to replace one of the taillight assemblies. Actually the only part that was badwas the chrome part, but you can't get JUST the chrome part, you have to buy the whole assembly, so that's what I did. I don't know why someone can't make a rubber gasket that fits these lights, but I have several, they are each different and none fit very well.I have done the best I can though and they look pretty good.

Next I decided to tackle the dash top. I ordered a new vinyl cover and set out to recover my dash. The dash top cover that was on it was made of LEATHER! I'm not sure who did that or why, but that's what it was and evidently, as you can see, it was originally red leather.

I had never attempted anything quite like this before, but after the way recovering my instrument panel came out, I was enthusiastic about it. The first thing I realized was that I needed my heat gun. The dashtop is preformed in a heavy vinyl with a pad attached. with a little contact cement, some heat and a lot of patience, I got it done and am very pleased with how it turned out.

gluing down the vinyl

Dashtop, heat gun and a big drink.

repainted the vent tops and added them

I managed to salvage all of the old vents

Completed

Rodney helping me test fit the new dash.

The next thing is going to be the headliner and interior upholstery. Anyone wanting to help is welcomed. I'll keep ya posted.

It's been a while, but I'm still pluggin' away.

2011-05-25T00:34:00.001-05:00

Wow! It's been quite a while since I posted anything on the blog. I have been working on my regular job a good bit, but I have also been slowly progressing on the Jag.

Since my last post, I have completed the wiring, all but strapping everything to the frames. It's just hung temporarily with Zip Ties at this point.

I have started work on getting the bumpers mounted. I had to take the rear overriders to the chrome shop. Originally, I had no intention of carrying the restoration this far, but now everything is looking so good, things like the overriders that were "good enough" are no longer up to standard. I got them back the other day and have gotten one of the rear bumpers mounted. It's not an easy thing to get right, I have it close now.

I have reconditioned and installed the vacuum reservoir.

With Rodney's help, I got the windshield wiper assembly and motor installed, another difficult task. I also got the windshield washer lines run and the washer nozzles installed. It's not an easy thing to get to so I sure hope it's gonna all work OK. I'll definitely check it all out before I put the dashtop and windshield in.

The steering column is in and working, the turn signal assembly is all reconditioned and looking good. With Stuart's help, it's wired and should work fine.

I got the mud shields all sanded and repainted. I have installed them temporarily to see how they look. I'll probably want to remove them when I get ready to put the engine and transmission in to give me more access.

I finally, after a number of attempts, have gotten the heater box faired and painted to suit me. I've now gotten it all put back together and ready to take its place on the bulkhead just next to the brake assembly. All that work, and I'll probably never turn the heater on. ha ha ha

After installing the Zero Clearance in the transmission tunnel, I installed it in the tunnel cover also. I'll top it off with KoolMat then the carpet and I might need to turn that heater on after all.

I decided to pull the fuel tank out, first because I realized that I couldn't reach the center bumper bolt with it installed (embarrassing) but now that it's out, I went ahead and put KoolMat in the boot for insulation and sound deadening and after learning a little more about the Ethanol content in our fuel now, I might get it coated inside with a coating that will not be affected by the alcohol. I still have some research to do on the subject. Any input from you readers is welcomed.

Hopefully I'll be posting a little more frequently now.

A Look Back

2011-04-03T02:07:00.001-05:00

For those of you that don't know me well, I thought I'd take you back to the beginning of this restoration project.

Not long after I got the E-Type.

I purchased this 1964 Jaguar E-Type Coupe in August 2001, just after we moved into our new house in Baldwin County. It was definitely in drivable shape and I drove it a pretty good bit. Mostly just around here and to car shows and such.

British Car Festival at Fairhope Beach

A sailboat beached by Hurricane Ivan

It never won any awards to speak of, mostly because under the bonnet was pretty disastrous looking. It was painted black first of all, which is wrong, but not only that, it was peeling and flaking and just looking bad.

Many of the components under the bonnet (hood) had surface rust and generally rundown looking. The wiring was kinda scary, even though it didn't give much trouble. One carburetor was prone to leak and it had a tendency to just run bad sometimes. But I still drove it occasionally.
In June of 2004, right after my nephew had started construction on my garage, I had major heart surgery. While I was recuperating, Mike Darby, my very good friend, rebuilt the carbs for me and my nephew finished construction on the garage.

We had moved to a lot of about 5 acres so there was plenty of room to build a BIG garage. It turned out to be 40x60 feet with 12 ft ceilings (my intention was to put a lift in it at some point). I figured that I might as well have it insulated while it was being built, it would never be easier or cheaper. We air conditioned it and before anything was put inside, we put an epoxy coating on the floor (one of the best things I did or should I say, my nephew did.).

Once the car came back from Mikes, it ran really good, but eventually it got to where it would only go good for about 10-15 miles, then it would start running worse and worse. I changed out everything.. coil, plugs, points, condenser, nothing changed. Eventually, after a good bit of research, I ordered a Mallory distributor, coil and ballast resistor. FIXED!!!

Now that it ran so good, I decided to "clean it up under the bonnet" to make it more presentable. That's where it all started.... I pulled the bonnet off and started cleaning it up... it was hopeless, I was just making a mess so I decided to pull the engine and transmission out. That's not much of a challenge for me, I have been taking things apart all of my life.

Once I got the engine out, I pulled the frames off of the monocoque body tub, took them to the blaster's to have them media blasted.

After he finished and had them primed, he casually mentioned to me that there were several holes rusted through them. I couldn't believe it. These frames hold the engine, the entire front suspension, radiator, bonnet... everything that is in front of the driver. They HAVE to be structurally sound (and they aren't real cheap) sigh....

There was nothing I could do but order a new set of frames.
I had done some research and learned that there was a guy in England that made the absolute best frames for E-Types, Uryk at E-Type Fabs so I ordered some.
Meanwhile, I pulled out the old nasty looking wiring harness, ordered new and started stripping the paint off of the bulkhead. My plan at this point was to paint the bulkhead and frames with as close to the same color as the car as I could get mixed locally.

Sandblasting

Mike came over and blasted it for me and I had it sprayed with primer.At some point, I received the frames from Uryk and was totally blown away. They were a work of art.

There was welding like I have never seen. I'm not totally sure what made me decide to take the car apart further... I think it was just the fact that since I had gone this far, I might as well do it right. I removed the interior, and the rear suspension.

There was nothing detectable wrong with the differential, so my plan was to just clean it up.

Fitting the frames before painting the body

There were a few things that I wanted to correct, and I knew that the only way was to paint the whole car so with a great degree of trepidation, I started sanding on what to most people looked like a pretty darn good paint job on the car body..
During all of this, my friends Mike Darby and Rodney McDonald and Stuart Waddington were a big help. I learned a lot about bodywork, which before now I had never experienced.

Once I had the body like I wanted it and it was approved by Mike,

Primed and ready for paint

I took it to the painter, Jerry Tomacek. He has a paint shop at his house and a very good reputation in the area. Once he had finished and I brought the car home, I started the long task of putting it back together.. Rodney convinced me to start a blog so... here it is. I had done a website outlining all of this but haven't updated it for a long time. If you would like to get even more of the story go to www.my64etype.com also, I have uploaded nearly all of the pictures I have taken during the restoration. You can find them at https://picasaweb.google.com/my64etype/FromTheLift.
I have to say this has been quite a learning experience, and a lot of fun. It just might not be the last.

I just got "Noodled"

2011-03-30T22:34:00.001-05:00

I finally got the E-Type's pedal box installed. I was waiting on the "servo seal" to come. I had ordered it from one of the usual parts places and it had been back ordered, so I called the other usual place I order from and they had it. When it came in, it was something like $16.00 and $8.00 shipping. I wish I had taken a picture of it to post here. It was, and I'm not lying, a piece cut off of what is known in this area as a "water noodle" A noodle is a long round plastic/foam tube that kids play with in the water. I could have gotten one at the Dollar Store up the street had I known. My car didn't have one when I took it apart so I wasn't sure of what it consisted. I figured it was some kind of special seal. Needless to say, I was wrong. Anyway, I stuck the cut off piece of water noodle on the back of the brake servo and got it mounted to the bulkhead. Now I have to assemble the accelerator peddle and it's pedal box, it should be pretty simple. I was going to do it right after I finished with the brake box, but then I remembered that the steering column went through this box and I had not yet refurbished the steering column. That I will finish in a few days.

I also installed the taillights and had to fiddle with the gaskets a lot. They don't fit worth a flip. Then once I got them all mounted, the fit was horrible. I could have sworn that they fit much better before I had taken them to be chromed. School is still out on what exactly I'm gonna do to make the fit better. I did learn something very useful from Rodney . He was over here and I was about to soak the lens from the backup light in some bleach. It's clear plastic and had yellowed. He told me to just put it in the dishwasher. I thought he was nuts, but since he is a good friend and is really pretty dang smart, I stuck the thing in the dishwasher with the rest of the dishes (I had to put it in the little basket to keep it from flying around). When Donna took it out and asked me what it was, I was astonished!!! It looked like it was BRAND NEW!!! It was crystal clear and not a sign of the yellowish tint that it had before. I thinking I should have been sticking all the parts in the dishwasher. Give it a try.

Now for the good news... I am pretty sure I have ALL of the wiring completed, with the exception of hooking up the steering column electrics, that should be very straight forward. Once that is in and connected, I can start putting the interior upholstery and carpets in, install the door and window seals.. It's really coming together. I should be getting the 5-Speed transmission and the rear brakes from E-Type Fabs in the UK pretty soon. I'm starting to think that a mid-summer completion date is a real possibility.

The mail came today and with it, my reconditioned XJS wood.

The grain looks just like a Growler

Saul replaced the ashtrays with cupholders

If you remember a couple of posts back, while searching for a shorted connection, I had to remove some of the wood from the console and the veneer started curling up and falling off. At that point I decided to bite the bullet and send all the wood off to British Autowood in Florida. Saul Chaplin is the proprietor and resident artist. Take a look at his website, this man has made some of the most beautiful wood pieces for automobiles that I have ever seen. I couldn't wait to get mine out of it box. He had sent me a picture of it, but to see it in real life makes you wonder just someone can do work this gorgeous by hand. An interesting touch is seen just below the radio, in front of the shift lever. It looks almost exactly like the Jaguar Growler logo.
And he also embossed the Leaper logo in the door panels and a Growler on the glovebox. I'm extremely happy with the finished product.


Notice my $45 Momo steering wheel :-)

I almost immediately started putting it back in the XJS. Stuart came over to take a look and give me a hand. It went well, and the V-12 Jag is back on the road, prettier than ever.

A little over a week... and what have I done?

2011-03-22T23:32:00.000-05:00

I have finally gotten the chance, and built up the motivation to post another entry to my blog. It's been over a week since I have posted any of my progress. It hasn't been an incredibly productive week either. There have been a number of things that have interrupted my rhythm. I spent a day and a half last week in the edit suite working at my regular job. Then on Saturday I rode to New Orleans with Mike Darby in his fabulous MGA 1600. It was a gorgeous day and the New Orleans club put on a spectacular show with 143 British cars on the field that included 10 MGAs and no less than 7 Morgans, along with a multitude of other marques. There are a ton of pictures on the SABCC Picasa site http://tinyurl.com/6cdh7ky . So, in spite of those little asides, I did actually get some work done on the E-Type. Let me point out here to some of my less "internet savvy" friends. You can click on the small pictures in this blog and see the full sized picture..
As you may remember, I had gotten all of the parts for the pedal box cleaned up and clear coated. Well, now I have it all put back together, and it would be in the car by now but I am waiting on a new seal to arrive. It goes between the back of the booster and the bulkhead. It's foam and about the size of a Krispy Kreme doughnut (glazed, of course). I'm not too sure exactly what it does, but in belongs there so I'll wait till it gets her and put in a new one. The old one was practically dust when I took it apart.

Now when I tell you this was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, I'm not kidding. I don't know how many parts there are, but there are some very strong springs that have to be fitted to help return the clutch pedal, a big fiber washer that must fit in between the pedals and then you have to line up a shaft and shove it through guess at where the correct spline lineup would be. If the 2 pedals don't line up, you have to take it back apart and try it again. I was lucky, I only had to take it back apart once. I rebuilt the two brake master cylinders (one operates the front brakes and one operates the rears) and I replaced the clutch master cylinder with w new one.

While waiting for the booster seal to get here, I directed my attention back to the instrument panel and the wiring. I completed wiring the center instruments, installed the driver's side instruments containing the tach, speedometer and a few levers and lights. That went well and I got it installed.

Then I put in the passenger's side. This first involved installing the glovebox. I had bought a new one of these. It's basically a heavy cardboard, folded and riveted into shape. Oddly enough, it is only held in by a small bar bolted across the top fold. I saw a spot where I could add a little more structural support, so I got an oval body washer and bolted it to one of the screws that holds the passenger handle on.

So now the dash is in all except the top dash pad. My good friend Mike Darby has convinced me to recover it. Let me point out here that when I started this project, I had no intention of taking it anywhere near this far. But the dang car looks so good now that every thing that I thought would be "good enough" is now not and needs to be recovered, revitalized, reconditioned or replaced.... Sigh.... Fortunately most of the stuff I need has already been purchased over the last 3 years.

Also, about a week ago I got the stuff back from the chrome plating shop. It included the parking lights, brake/tail lights, handbrake mirror mounting rod, rear hatch prop rod, and a few other odds & ends.

I reconditioned the light fixtures and have installed them into the chrome housings for the parking and brake lights. I have most of the fiddly rubber gaskets spot glued onto the housings so I can then put them on the car. I had to replace a couple of the innards of the light fixtures on one of the brake lights. I also have purchased all new lenses. Hopefully they will all be going on the car real soon. Then it will start looking even more like a car.

Just this afternoon, I got the heater valve installed on the bulkhead. Yeah, it's new too, not too expensive... and from what I understand, probably not as functional as the original but it looks good. If it gives me much problem, I still have the original one and it CAN BE REPLACED!

I won't be getting much done on the car tomorrow, but that's OK. Tomorrow morning I'm taking my 90 yr old dad down to the Gulf to do a little sitting, watching the water (which he loves), enjoying the cool breezes and having a good lunch of crabmeat canapes at my sister's house.

This is gonna be one cool Jag!

2011-03-11T00:39:00.000-06:00

It was a productive day today. I got the instruments all mounted in their respective holes in the instrument panel,, mounted it in the car and started wiring it up. Rodney came over and gave me a very welcomed hand. We got all of the gauges and switches wired and now I'm ready to mount the speedometer and tach on the driver's side of the car and get started wiring that.

We took a coffee break, discussed some ideas while listening to some Simon & Garfunkel on XM Radio. I mentioned to him that now that I had some of the Zero Clearance insulation material in stock that I was thinking about lining the inside of the transmission tunnel with it. Zero Clearance is a fiberglass & polyester insulation bonded to a heavy, diamond patterned aluminum foil with an industrial strength peel & stick adhesive for attaching it to the body. Being the go getter that he is, he thought now was a good a time as any to give it a whirl.
So... we did. I raised the lift to a good working height and we started measuring and making templates. Rodney cut it, so we knew it'd fit perfectly. I peeled and stuck it. The first piece fit like a glove, and it looked great. At least we thought so.

We made another template, cut the stuff ti fit and stuck it on. It too looked great. Encouraged, we proceeded down the tunnel. It actually well very well and looks outstanding... more importantly, it, along with the KoolMat inside, will make for one cool Jag during the hot Southern Alabama summers.

Rodney works with many insulating types of products in his real job at Marspec and mentioned that the Zero Clearance wasn't going to be water resistant and that we would need to caulk the edges to keep moisture from seeping in. Having nearly a full can of seam sealer that I had used before painting the car, we decided that would work just fine. I masked about a quarter inch from the edges of the seams in the insulation so once the seam sealer is applied and dry, I could pull the tape off and it would, hopefully, leave a nice looking seam. I'll pull the tape tomorrow.

It was a good day, and I feel pretty good about what we accomplished. If anyone would like some of the Zero Clearance Insulation, drop me a line. I am now a dealer. :-)

Toggles

2011-03-08T21:12:00.000-06:00

I just got the little bottle of Great Knobs in today.

It's and ink or a dye or something that a friend ran across and when he read my blog about how nasty my toggle switches were he sent me the link. The place is called Pensbury Manor Garage and the stuff is called Great Knobs. If you don't remember what the toggle handles looked like before I started, here they are.

I got an artist's paint brush from my wife (one that she wasn't going to use)
It was pretty simple, just dip and brush. then set them where nothing can touch em for about 30 minutes and it's done. I've very pleased with the outcome. Tomorrow I'll be putting the instrument panel back in, hopefully.

Brakes and Pedal Box

2011-03-08T18:42:00.002-06:00

Looking at the car and trying to decide what to do next, I settled on the pedal box and the master cylinders. I had partially disassembled the pedal box a long time ago, but left the servo linkage intact because I knew if I took it apart, when I went to put it back together, I would have a real struggle. It's like a puzzle. As is it, I'm still concerned about putting it back together and I JUST took it apart.

I went ahead and took it apart, there are a number of nylon washers and spacers that are very discolored, I ordered a new set that should be here in a day or so. After getting it apart, I carefully cleaned each piece and clear coated them with a light coating of clear enamel.
With this awaiting the rebuild kit, I directed my attention to the master cylinders... yes plural, it has two brake master cylinders. It was an early solution to compliance with safety standards, one controls the front brakes and one controls the rear. Mine were pretty nasty looking. I took them apart, cleaned them thoroughly and began honing the bores. Knowing that this was ahead of me, and realizing that the bores were only 5/8" diameter, I had ordered a brake cylinder hone that would fit since none of the ones I had would go down that small. Once getting the cylinders honed smooth, I then needed to get some brake fluid and assembly lube. The fluid I got from O'Reilly's and a small bit of assembly lube from my good friend Mike Darby Since I had decided to use DOT5 fluid, I was concerned about the assembly lube. Once assured that it would be OK to use the lube with the DOT5 fluid I proceeded.
The master cylinders are simple systems and went together fairly easily. Except when I was putting the spring part together on one of them and it slipped and launched the end piece out of my hand and across the shop. I had to spend nearly an hour finding it. Hopefully I will find out if they'll stop the car one of these days. Once I get the bushings in for the pedal assembly, I'll be posting that process.

"...the pipes, the pipes are calling"

2011-03-05T20:34:00.001-06:00

I have been putting off reinstalling the heater pipes in the bulkhead because, as is written in any number of Jaguar forums, replacing the heater crossover pipes can be a daunting task, resulting in a real dilemma. First it is said that you need a small child with long thin arms and small hands to help reach into the depths of the bulkhead behind the dash, but you also need to be able to drink a lot of beer and shout out many words that might be less than appropriate for young ears. Well, evidently, I was lucky today. I didn't have a young child helping, but I had Rodney and he is pretty used to my vocabulary during stressful situations. Also, the heater pipes went in without a lot of the difficulty that I was expecting.

This long pipe has to go where????

When Rodney arrived today, we set about looking for the next thing that needed doing on the E-Type. He suggested that we put the heater crossover pipes in. He's an MG man so what did he know? I figured as long as I had some willing help, that we could attempt it. I first got online and did just a little research in the Jag-Lovers archives and read a few forum discussions on the process. In retrospect, not all was totally accurate, but it was helpful nonetheless.

The wires fed through the pipes and the bulkhead were very helpful.

The pipes are down in there!

One hint I remembered from an article I had read some time ago was to run some mechanic's wire though the hole in the bulkhead and into the inside of the car, run it then through the lower crossover pipe (the long one) and back out through the other hole for that pipe Thus allowing yourself a guide to then pull the pipe into position. (I know that to most of you reading this I'm talking Greek, but bear with me.)

This process went off fairly easily and with very little effort, the first pipe was in. The second pipe went in even easier using the same method. The third pipe went it with little or no effort. We put the rivet plates on the outside of the pipes and set the rivets, having to help on a few with a drill to resize the holes. All of this was done with the entire wiper assembly in place. It never got in the way at all, contrary what I had read.

Riveting the outer plates.

The pipes come through here.

If any of the Jag people out there want to contact me about any specifics of what we did, feel free to send me an email and I will be happy share my experience with you.

Stripped Naked

2011-03-04T11:53:00.001-06:00

The last couple of days I have been working on my 1988 XJS. The turn signals have not been working the last couple of times I have driven it so I decided to figure out what the problem was. To begin with, I checked the fuse, not an easy one to get to either. It was blown. I replaced it and that one blew as soon as I turned on the ignition... sigh... I then got out the book to see what all was on that circuit. The wiring diagram can be a bit confusing. I tested a few things with no luck. Curiously, the emergency flashers worked but the turn signals didn't, in checking though I discovered that my brake lights didn't work either. At that point I solicited the help of my electrical engineer friend Stuart.
We started checking circuits and deciphering the wiring diagram. There are 3 or 4 different wiring diagrams for the XJS in the shop manual, covering different models. There is also a big fold-out one in the Owner's Kit. Turns out that the one that came with the car isn't exactly right. Stuart located one in the shop manual that seemed to be right, at least as it applies to this particular circuit.

One relay is right under the 2 white plugs on the right.

This car has a number of relays and complex circuits so we had a lot to check. One of the pertinent relays was under the center console, so we removed the console... the wood veneer on the console was already cracked and chipping, when we took it out, it started falling off in big chunks. This is a common problem with Jaguar wood after it's been exposed to sunlight for a long time. The wood on the dash does the same thing. Anyway, the relay under the console wasn't the culprit. We explored further and finally decided to call it a night around 10:00. I had a job in Mobile the next day so I wasn't able to do anything on it until the afternoon. When I got home, Stuart was already here and had successfully found the problem. I'm ashamed to say that it was something I had done accidentally.

You can see the squeezed insulation.

When I replaced the Throttle Position Sensor a few months ago, I had inadvertently pinched a wire on the adjacent kick-down switch as I tightened the throttle body down. This caused the wire to short to ground and blow the fuse. What a fluke. We replaced the fuse and everything is now working.

But by now the car's interior had been stripped of a lot of its interior pieces and I decided to not reinstall the chipped and split wood pieces. I called Saul Chaplin at British Autowood and made arrangements to send the pieces to him for refinishing. His work is amazing and probably exceeds the original quality of the Jaguar wood which was awesome in its own right.

In a program about Jaguar manufacture that I once saw, the announcer stated that the "guys in the Jaguar woodworking shop were convinced that Jaguar built cars just so that they could show off their beautiful wood". I kinda doubt that's the case, but the wood in a Jaguar (except the E-Type which has no wood in it) is well known for its beauty. I removed the rest of the wood from the dash and the door panels and have them packaged and ready to send to Saul. Hopefully I'll get back on the E-Type this weekend.

This morning I cut the yard... SPRING IS HERE!!

It's a Vinyl Record

2011-02-28T23:04:00.002-06:00

I had a busy weekend and didn't get too much done on the Jag. Today was a little more productive, I got up with intentions of getting a lot done. Then my dad called and asked if I was going to be home, he and my brother-in-law from Montgomery were wanting to come over to see the car and check out my progress. Actually I think he was looking for an excuse to get out of the house. They arrived about lunchtime and took a look around, then we headed out to one of Dad's favorite places for lunch. It's a little home cooking place in Robertsdale. He and I had liver and onions, my brother-in-law got some fried chicken. So when I got back to the house, I was about ready for a nap, but instead I got o ut in the garage to see what I could get done.


The clock in the tach is still at the Jag Clock	repair place

Over the weekend I had glued some of the new vinyl cover on the instrument panels and before they got here this morning, I got the rest of it glued and clamped. When I got back from lunch, it was ready to unclamp and start putting the gauges in. I actually got the gauges all together, new seals and all and got them installed in the dash. Then I started on the other various switches, lights and levers that go in there.

I succeeded in getting those in and amazingly, didn't screw any of it up. I don't have a lot of experience with things like glue and vinyl, so this was definitely a vinyl record for me. You wouldn't think that putting all the stuff back in the dash would be all that difficult, maybe it isn't, maybe I was just trying to be extra careful, assuming that it won't all peel off tomorrow, I'm very happy with the result.

You'll notice that the toggle switches that go across the bottom are still not installed. I am trying to recondition them, the toggles are some sort of black plastic, or whatever was being used in 1964. It's all discolored now and I have been trying different things to make them look better. It looks like I'm just going to have to order a set of toggle levers. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get the old ones off and the new ones on. You can bet that if I go that route, I will be getting all of the advice I can find... the switches are VERY expensive for some reason.

Slow but Steady

2011-02-21T22:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a couple of days since I posted anything to this blog. I have actually accomplished a number of things, all see somewhat small when looked at alone, but they all add up. It seems like everything I do, is preceded by looking in the book to make sure I have all the parts ready, often I don't. Then I search through my picture collection on the computer for pictures that will either show me how it was on my car originally, or look through the hoards of pictured that I have downloaded and somewhat cataloged of other similar cars being restored. It's been a great reference. THEN I round up the necessary nuts and bolts, screws, gaskets, and other various parts, some of which need some restoration themselves. Once that is all done and I'm satisfied that I might actually be able to complete the task, I start on it. Often, the actual task will only take a few minutes once I have all the pieces. Of course, anyone doing this type of restoration will eventually come to the realization that all too often, after completing one task, you fine that in order to go to the next task, you will have to undo some part (or all) of the task you just completed. I wish someone would write a "step by step" restoration guide for the E-Type. There may actually be such a guide, but that would be classified as "instructions" and who wants to be bothered with instructions... that's literature for weenies!
So on to what I have accomplished. About a week or so ago Rodney and I fitted the front suspension, remember? Well, it looked so good and went together so easily and we were so proud of it, that I had forgotten that we had just "fitted" it. Mike Darby came over to visit and while he was here asked if I was ready to align the front end. I told him that I was, so we proceeded, only to find that I had not put the inner washers on any of the rubber bushings, allowing for a substantial amount of slack... this reminded me that we had only put the front end together to make sure I had everything... not intending for it to be permanent. So... Mike left and I took the front end back apart, installed the inner washers and put it back together. It would have been a LOT easier if I had put them in to begin with.... but it was ONLY A TEST FITTING!!! ...sigh...
Having done that, I went ahead and hooked up the brake lines, permanently I hope, and mounted the brake hose. That was yesterday evening.
Yesterday morning, I went on a field trip with my car club, the South Alabama British Car Club, to a big car collection. It was a beautiful day and you can read all about it and see some of the gorgeous cars here.

Today, I decided to attach the brake & clutch reservoirs to the frame. There is a heat shield that goes between the reservoirs and the engine. It's located on the same side as the exhaust manifold so the heat shield is to prevent the brake fluid from getting too hot. This heat shield is made of galvanized metal and some kind of fibrous stuff that has taken the place of asbestos, I'm sure. It was in pretty ugly condition and since I have just become a KoolMat distributor, I decided to use some of their Zero Clearance product. It's a fiberglass composite mat with a heavy aluminum foil backing and a high temp pressure sensitive adhesive. It's primarily designed to be used between the muffler or exhaust pipes and the floor to keep the floor cool but this shield looked like a perfect place to give it a try. It had a peel-off plastic backing so you just peel and stick, pretty simple. Then I hooked up the "Low Fluid" wiring to the brake fluid reservoir caps and voila... one more step completed.
While I was working in that area, I went ahead and installed the started solenoid and the voltage regulator. I'm really pleased with how well everything is looking. I honestly had no intention of taking this restoration this far.

I'm still waiting for the instrument seals to be delivered. I ordered them two weeks ago tomorrow. They were supposedly sent out by U.S. Mail on last Wednesday. As soon as I get those, I will start completing the wiring. I have to remember though to be sure and install the 3 heater pipes and the windshield wiper assembly into the dash before I go too far and have to take anything else back apart.

The New Brakes Are Here

2011-02-17T23:22:00.000-06:00

FedEx arrived at my door early today, in fact, a day earlier than I was expecting them. Uryk at E-Type Fabs in the UK sent me a pair of new front disks and calipers. Uryk is a real artist. He built the frames that are on my car. I was so impressed with their quality, that I actually have gone into business with him. It's in it's infant stages right now, but because of our arrangement, he is now able to offer the many (and expanding) special products designed and built specifically for the Jaguar E-Type without having to play the 'Currency Exchange Rate" game.

In addition, I will be available to answer questions, offer assistance and take orders at times that are more convenient for the U.S. customers. In the future we will be stocking many products here in the U.S. as well, being able to have quicker deliveries than from the U.K. Aside from his frames, another product that Uryk builds is brakes, specifically designed for the E-Type. A set of which I received this morning. They, like the frames are a work of art. combining beauty with a definite functional, muscular look.

I couldn't wait to get them out of the box this morning, until now, all I had seen was pictures. They actually looked better in person. I unpacked them and took a few pictures, then I went about mounting them to the hubs that were originally on my car. As with everything Uryk makes, they fit perfectly and painlessly. In fact, you can even get a socket on the nut holding the disk to the hub. If you have ever removed the disk from the hub, you will know that getting a socket on the back side is nearly impossible, I had to wedge a screwdriver between the disk and the nut to hold it because the nut was too close to the edge of the disk. I feel certain that I'm not the only one that has experienced this. I replaced the old bearings and seal and packed the new bearings and slipped them on their respective spindles... constantly reminding myself which side is the "near side". :-) Again, they fit perfectly and with the slotted and vented disks, they looked great. I have no doubt that they will perform just as well.

A "Captive Nut" is not an incarcerated crazy person

2011-02-15T21:53:00.000-06:00

Stuart got my hint the other day and made it by yesterday to help me get the last screw into the second sugar scoop. I wasn't happy with the fit of the lens that I had mounted the other day so I took it back off to see what I could do to make it better. While messing around with it, I managed to break one of the little cages that hold the nuts off of the bodywork. it was originally spot welded on, but not having a spot welder, I broke out the 2 tubes of structural adhesive, mixed some up and put the little cage back on the body inside of the headlight opening and clamped it. That's where I quit for the day.

Today, I managed to get both of the headlights and with gaskets and chrome surround installed today. It was not an easy task. There are six machine screws that hold the chrome trim on. The screws go into some captive nuts around the perimeter of the headlight opening. Unlike most captive nuts, these are allowed to move around a good bit so that the ill-fitting trim ring and the likewise ill-fitting gasket will still allow the screw to find the nut... in theory. In actuality, none of it fits. It is becoming more and more apparent that this car took a substantial hit in the nose at some point in its life. The gasket (or seal) that I got in the "complete rubber kit" was completely different from what was on the car when I took it apart. This new one looks much more impressive. Thick soft foam rubber with little slots where each of the screws is supposed to go. But the screws don't line up with the screw holes in the bonnet or the holes in the trim rings. The simple solution is to make bigger slots in the rubber, which I did. Last night I put some windshield sealer in the slot in the gasket where the glass headlight cover goes.
The covered headlights is one of the most distinctive parts of the Series 1 E-Type so it has to look good. I thought that this windshield sealer would dry with a firmness that would help hold the glass in the gasket... wrong. it just made a gooey mess. It took a while to clean the glass and every time I touched it, I left another gooey fingerprint. Anyway, I finally got it all cleaned up and got the first one installed on the bonnet. I had one already installed the other day, but wasn't able to get all of the screws started so I had to take it back off and run a tap through teach captive nut again. after that, I got lens number one fully installed. Lens number 2 wasn't as easy. It took several passes with a tap through the captive nuts, I was afraid that I was going to break the little cage off that I had repaired yesterday... it held up fine though. with much struggling, I finally got the second headlight lens, gasket and trim ring installed. This whole project killed most of my day.

But I had some more time so I picked up the center section of the instrument panel that I had glued new vinyl on the other day and I got my X-Acto knife and started cutting out the holes where the instruments and switches go. This project went off without a hitch. It's not totally complete though, I had to fold the two ends up and glue them down and clamp them. It should be cured completely in a day or so. In the meantime, I'll replace the vinyl on the right and left sections of the dash. Man! There is a lot of stuff to do when you are building a car.

An interesting thing I noticed, obviously done at the factory, the body number of my car, 7559, as it appears on the ID Plate is written on the back of both the right and left dash panels.

Sugar Scoops?

2011-02-14T00:12:00.000-06:00

This weekend I think I got a lot done. When Rodney left the other night, I had been searching high and low for some little captive nuts and holders that go on the headlight buckets. About 2 minutes after he left, I walked over to the workbench and there they were, in the little baggie that I put them in. Go figure! So I proceeded to put the headlight buckets together. They go into the diaphragm panels that then mount in the bonnet. This whole process requires a pretty specific sequence. If you don't put it together in the right sequence, you will just have to take it back apart. Don Pritchett came over Saturday night and was a big help getting the diaphragms mounted. It's a difficult thing for one person to do. There are a number of wiring connections to be made. The horns, the headlights and the side marker (parking) lights. I mounted 2 new "after market" horns and had to fabricate a bracket for them. Don then helped me run the wires. I managed to get both sides put together and installed.

Then came the Sugar Scoops.... They are the little curved pieces of bodywork that fill the recessed hole under the headlights. I think the same guy must have designed these things that designed the fuel tank. First you have to figure out how to get the things into the hole where they will reside. By all appearances, they are too big to go in, but eventually, you turn them just the right way and they just fall in. Then you have to align 3 captive nuts to get it mounted. It's kind of like building a ship in a bottle.. but harder. I got one completed and I got two of the captive nuts lined up on the other one but will need some help getting the last bolt in. I need somebody to bend the sugar scoop from one side while I start the bolt from the other. I then was very anxious to get at least one glass cover and chrome surround on so I could feel like I had completed something. Maybe Stuart will be here tomorrow and he can help me to get the other sugar scoop in.

I also had some time to glue new vinyl on the center section of the dash. I think that went ok, I'm letting the glue "cure" now. I still have the other two sections to do, but I'm not going to rip the old vinyl off until I see how the center section works out. I have been doing a lot of things that I'm not real accustomed to doing, but it all seems to be going pretty well so far.

I know I did several other things, but I can't really remember them all right now. When I think of something, I'll make another post. :-)

Wires, Wires, Wires

2011-02-10T23:03:00.000-06:00

This is probably going to be a short post. I'm pooped. I have been working on the wiring for that last day and a half (off & on). I got the fuse panel wired, that was pretty easy, Since I am awaiting the gauge seals from Nisonger, I can't connect any of the wires to the instrument panel just yet. So, instead, I started taping labels on the wires when I figured out which one went where. It's coming along well, I have nearly all of the marked and the ones that aren't are the ones that are pretty obvious. Having Stuart here working on his Stag has been a big help. He just happens to be an Electrical Engineer so he's pretty good at reading a schematic. Rodney came over earlier this evening and helped me run the wires to the back of the car. Then he watched me wander around looking for one part and then another. It seems that I have lost every part of this car at one time or another... I think someone is just messing with me by hiding stuff. I finally rounded up all the parts for the headlight buckets and started on putting them together. I'll probably finish that first thing in the morning.

Yesterday, the guy that was doing the welding on my aluminum radiator called and said it was done. I went and picked it up. He did an outstanding job. I had taken my old radiator to him as a pattern for the lower hose connection. He not only changed the angle like I wanted, he put a larger, heavier pipe on it so that the original equipment hose would work perfectly. In addition he added a drain. I am very pleased.

Tomorrow is going to be mostly a housekeeping day. I have such a mess in the garage and everything needs to be put back in it's place. It'll also help me start to find all that lost stuff.

The 8 Pin Plug

2011-02-08T22:17:00.000-06:00

I had a job in Mobile this morning so I only got to spend a little time on the car. When I got home, UPS had delivered my new 8-Pin Bonnet Plug. I have been anxious to get it wired up. I didn't quite know what to expect, the original ones I have seen in the past don't look to be too conducive to rebuilding. They are usually extremely tattered and often completely broken. Mine was in pretty bad shape. Since everything else on this car is looking so good, I decided to bite the bullet and get a new plug. I was pleasantly surprised when it came in. It was fairly easy to assemble, a tremendous improvement to the OEM one. I had to solder each wire on the end, and put it into a screw-down pin and tighten them up (also had to make sure that the wires in both pieces of the plug were in the same holes) I got it put together in a couple of hours, with coffee breaks along the way. Now I can install all of the bonnet harness, horns and lights and complete the bonnet.

I also received the dash harness that I was missing. I had to pay a little more for it than I wanted, but the cheaper one would have taken 4-6 weeks, so it was worth it to me. Getting the wiring all in the main body of the car is going to be the next big step. I don't have any jobs for the rest of the week... at this point anyway... so I'll be able to devote a lot of time to the project.

I took the aluminum radiator to a welding shop nearby to adjust the angle of the lower pipe. With that done, I will be able to use an original set of hoses. While he has it, I also asked him to put a drain in the bottom. It is a aluminum racing radiator, for a Ford, I think As I think I mentioned a few days ago, Ray Livingston wrote an article about it and I decided to give it a try. It was hundreds of dollars cheaper than one specifically designed for an E-Type.

Other than that, I got to install the bonnet latches on the firewall and Stuart was here so he took a break from dismantling the Stag so we could scratch our heads over the dash wiring. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

The Dreaded XKE Fuel Tank

2011-02-06T00:51:00.003-06:00

I worked late last night on the E-Type. I slept in for a while this morning. When I went out to the garage, the first thing I did was clean all the glass from the gauges and carefully wrap it and them in baggies. I bagged the instruments and the switches and put it all in a box and shelved it until I can get the stuff I need to recondition them from Nisonger. Stuart came over shortly after I got into the garage to work on his Stag. We had a cup of coffee, and about that time Rodney called and said he was going to come over to help with whatever was needed. When he got here, we decided to install the fuel tank in the E-Type. Now the fuel tank in an E-Type is legendary for being extremely difficult to take out and put back in. When the Brits built the E-Type, they very obviously start at the fuel tank and build the rest of the car around it. The hole in the rear that it goes in is slightly smaller than the tank, there are 2 hoses that need to be hooked up that can only be reached with one hand by anyone with hands larger than a 3 yr old. Neither of the 2 hoses really fit the pipe where you have to hook them up. If you don't put it back in in a very exact sequence, you just won't get it installed, and even then, it's still not a sure thing. To make matters worse, we spent the better part of an hour just looking for the bag of hardware and rubber pads and the bracket. We wound up digging the old stuff off of the 69 "Katrina" parts car that we bought a couple of years ago. The stuff was still pretty nasty, but we cleaned them up and proceeded. We then put some of the remnants of the CoolMat on the floor where the tank would sit.

Amazingly, the tank dropped right into place. But bolting it down and hooking up the hoses was a totally different matter.
There is a big hose that is very short, about 4 inches, that connects the filler neck on the side of the car to the filler hole in the tank, we will hook that up last. Then there is a smaller hose that is a tank vent and hook to the tank and to a vent pipe in the upper part of the filler neck. We could get half of the job done before we put the tank in, but the filler neck end was up in that hole where you can only get 1 hand. I let Rodney handle that hose. He did a stellar job.we clamped it and started on the bolts.; The first one went in easily. The next one was not so easy, we had to remove the first one and I had to run a tap through the 2nd one to make sure that the threads were OK and there was no paint in them keeping us from getting it to start. Once that was done, we managed to get 2 mounting bolts in. Then the third mount came. With this one you have to mount the bracket to the rear bulkhead and them start the mounting bolt. This too was a struggle. About this time I moved a towel looking for something and found the bag full of the original hardware... it was no more than a foot away from us the entire time we were working on the tank. With some difficulty, we got the third and last mounting bolt in.

The tank was mounted! Now I had to deal with the filler hose. Another 30 minutes and I had it... Rodney put the hose clamps on and we were done. Altogether it was probably only a 4 or 5 hour job, but it's done, thank goodness.
(and many thanks to Rodney)

One other thing, I had ordered a new Data Plate. It's supposed to be a duplicate of the original. It came today. I've gotta say that I am VERY disappointed. Something about it just didn't look right to me. I pulled out the original one to compare. First, it was was not even the right size. It was a quarter of an inch shorter than the original and the font and spacing were totally different.

Radiator and Instrument Panel

2011-02-05T00:41:00.003-06:00

I got up this morning and the first thing I did, after making myself a cup of coffee, was to go pick up Stuart and go look at a Triumph Stag that has been sitting up in a garage for quite sometime. To make a long story short, the woman that owned it HAD to get rid of it because she was about to move to Colorado. It was in rough shape in some ways but in others it was really good.
Since he is in the middle of restoring one and needs a number of parts, Stuart negotiated a deal to buy it. We'll go pick it up Sunday. After I got back from that early morning excursion, I got busy in the garage. I couldn't wait to see how the aluminum radiator I purchased from Summit Racing, and the high power, low wattage fan and shroud was all going to fit together. I got to work on that and sure enough, just like Ray Livingston said, it all fit fine.
The only minor issue I see is just finding an aftermarket flexible lower radiator hose, but that shouldn't be much of a problem. The whole thing is just fitted, I'll have to take it all back off when I start to put the engine in if for no other reason but to allow myself better access. It's pretty easy, 4 bolts and it out.

Next, I pulled the instrument panel off the shelf and after taking a really good look at it, I thought, "Ya know... I have gone this far with this little 'clean-up' project, that I should repaint the bezels on these gauges. I took them off. I noticed that the vinyl covering was extremely brittle. Heck. I'm going to replace it too.. I'll order it tomorrow.
I took the bezels off of the 4 small gauges, which was no easy task, but with Stuart's advice and oversight (did I mention that he had come over to continue working on his Stag) I got the little bas.... uh... bezels off. The rubber that isolates the metal ring from the glass was shot.. all hard and brittle.. it'll have to be replaced. At some point during this it dawned on me that these bezels have been on these instruments since I was 13 years old, no wonder they are all dried up and brittle!!! Seeing this I figured I needed to do the same thing to the speedometer and tach. The condition of the rubber rings on these gauges was worse.
They just crumbled and fell on the
floor in pieces. Sigh... "I'll just order some new ones", I thought. "I don't have any idea if you can even get these any more. I think possibly Nisonger Instruments would be the only possible place." I checked online and it appears that they do carry just what I need. no prices on their website, I'll have to call them Monday. I had to wash up then, Donna and I were going to meet Rodney and Melissa and Mike and Kristine at Papa's for pizza... our usual Friday night group (the Darby's couldn't make it, they had out-of-town guests). When I got back, I prepped and sprayed the bezels, they are drying now. I'm going to pack it in as soon as I lay in some pictures here. I'll figure out what I'm going to do tomorrow, tomorrow.


You can see the crumbs of rubber here

The instrument panel is solid copper

I'm working on cleaning it up, it was pretty nasty also

Starting on the wiring

2011-02-04T00:51:00.003-06:00

Today was a good day, Stuart came by to take a look at his Triumph Stag that has been staying in my garage while he has traveled the world with his work for the last 6 months. He's fired up and ready to get busy restoring it. He and I chatted for a little while then he went about working on the Stag while I continued my work on the E-Type. I accomplished a good bit today. I pulled the main bonnet wiring harness through this little bitty hole made even smaller by the fact that I had to put the weatherproof grommet in the hole first. Inch by inch I finally got it shoved through, everything seems to line up with where it should be in the engine compartment.

The old harness

I seemed to be missing something... I searched, then checked the invoice where I had purchased the harnesses... I had failed to get a new Dash harness.. this is the harness that has all the lights, fuse connections, gauges etc. I don't know if, at the time, I was thinking that I would just make do with the old harness or if I just failed to order it. Nonetheless, I have to order one, the old one is much too stiff and discolored. I'll get on that tomorrow.

At that point, Rodney came in to hang out and help with whatever we were doing. I couldn't find part of the harness I asked Stuart to take a look at the wiring diagram and help me see how the bonnet harness would hook up to the 2 rear harnesses. We (Stuart) worked at it and figured most of it out. Rodney and I proceeded to connect the inside portion of the harness. Hopefully tomorrow I can find a dash harness that isn't too outrageously expensive and/or isn't 4-6 weeks away. With that discovery, I could go no further at the dash.

After Rodney and Stuart left, I went ahead pulled the wires through the bodywork to the rear. For some strange reason, Jaguar chose to route the wires going to the right side of the rear (right side taillights) down the passenger side of the car and the ones going to the left side of the car (left side taillights, fuel sending unit, fuel pump and back-up light) down the driver's side... then both harnesses meet in the rear, not more that 3 feet from each other... seems to me that they could have easily all gone down one side. But what do I know?

After doing that, I had some more time to kill and was on a roll, so I went forward and started mounting the radiator tank and bracket. Now the ENTIRE front of the car is held together with 5/16" bolts, that's what holds the engine, front suspension, huge bonnet and everything else that is in front of the driver to the part containing the driver... So, explain to me why 5/16" bolts are strong enough for that, but it takes to big honkin' 3/8" bolts to hold the little radiator tank and bracket on! Who knows. I'm sure that there is probably a perfectly good explanation for it. While I was there, I wanted to see how the fan motor that I got from CoolCal was going to fit so I got it out of its box and started to mount it... one thing that they didn't mention was that to mount it you either had to take the steering rack loose or take the motor and it's bracket completely apart to get it to go on the picture frame mount. I chose to take the bracket off of the motor.

Not a huge problem, and it's mounted. I'm sure I haven't thought things through entirely and I will probably at some point in the near future, have to remove one or both the motor and the steering rack to install some little bracket or something. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it... for now, I'm going to bed.

Making Headway

2011-02-01T11:08:00.000-06:00

Over the last couple of days I have made what I would call some significant progress, With Rodney's help, I have gotten the front suspension, steering rack and anti-roll bar all fitted, knowing that I might have to remove some of it to make adjustments and such. I mainly wanted to make sure that I had all the pieces and that I knew how it all went together. I have new front shock absorbers, but they didn't come with the lower bushings, so before I can install them, I will need to find some. I'm probably not going to replace the rears at this point, they are just too expensive, and the ones I had seemed pretty good. I test fitted the torsion bars, I think that's not going to be a big problem either. I guess the next step is going to be to start on the wiring.

Waxoyl!!!!

2011-01-29T22:56:00.001-06:00

If you've never used Waxoyl, it's an experience that everyone needs at some point. Waxoyl, for those who don't know, is a wax that has, evidently, a very low melting point used to coat the inside of any closed areas that could be subject to rust. You have to heat it up by putting it in the oven or on a hotplate... or letting the can sit in hot water, which is what I did. It was a learning experience. I borrowed a can containing about 2 liters from Mike Darby and the applicator gun and hoses. I heated the can like instructed, but I failed to warm up the frames at all. it was kinda chilly in the garage and I think the Waxoyl just clotted up inside the frames..

To make a long story short, I made a mess, finally got the frames coated inside, I believe, by sitting them out in the sun the next day. After I poured the excess Waxoyl out of the frames, I started installing them on the car.

That made me feel really good.. I was finally making some noticeable progress. The Frames are new from E-Type Fabs in the UK and they fit PERFECTLY!!!. There is a guy named Uryk that owns the company and is an absolute artist. Whenever I look at these frames I marvel at the amazing perfection with which they are put together.... He is also a first class individual... so much so that I have now entered into a business venture with him to give E-Type Fabs a better presence in the U.S. E-Type Fabs US . I'm excited about the things to come with this relationship.

Rodney McDonald came over today and helped me continue assembling things. We got the frames all fitted, sorted out which bolts went where, I'm not totally sure that I have them all right just yet, but I'm getting closer. We got the steering rack, sway bar and lower A-frames and their bushings mounted. He was a huge help (he promised me that doing the interior was his long suit so I can't wait till we get started on that, because I'll need some expert help) Maybe it doesn't sound like we did much, but I feel like we accomplished a lot. It's starting to look like a car... and a beautiful car at that.

Rough day in the garage

2011-01-27T00:53:00.000-06:00

Have you ever spent half the day looking for something that you JUST HAD IN YOUR HAND YESTERDAY???? I did that today. Yesterday I found a bracket that goes under the bonnet. I wasn't quite ready to install it at that time so I put it somewhere so I would know where it was when I needed to install it. Yeah, I spent most of the afternoon looking for it today. I couldn't find it so I just finally gave up and started on something else. Remember that B-Post seal I spent so much time describing the other day? I couldn't figure out why I had 2 extra seals. I called BAS, the people that make premium Jaguar interiors and from whom I happened to have bought my interior and rubber body seal kit. The guy there didn't know where the other 2 seals went either. I spent quite a while looking at pictured of restorations on a number of websites.. I finally discovered where they went and also discovered that the ones I had installed in the B-Post was in backwards. So I proceeded to remove them and re-install them correctly. I fixed the one on the driver's side, then got a phone call.. and then fixed the one on the passenger side.. or so I thought. Turns out, I reversed the driver's side seal twice and didn't touch the passenger side one. So in essence, nothing changed and I had to do it all over again. The two other seals go on the back side of the window frame... in case you were wondering.
I got that project finished and went back to the bonnet for one last look for the bracket. I looked down and there it was... inside of the area behind where the headlight goes. I'll install it tomorrow... if I can find it again.

Rubber Seals

2011-01-24T00:14:00.000-06:00

Today, the first thing I did when I got out to the garage was to pick up all the tools and put them where they belong. I had stuff scattered all over the place. Then I started working with the rubber seals that fits in the B-Posts to seal the back of the window frame when the door is closed.
This is a short piece, about a foot long, that fits in a groove in the B-Post. (they sent me 4 of then, but I can't figure out where the other two go, if anybody knows, give me a holler) Simple enough you say? I thought so too. But it proved to be a little more than I had thought. The rubber has to be slid into a slot and if it would slide past the beginning of the slot, it would have been a piece of cake.
Unfortunately the Brits didn't take into consideration that someone one day would want to replace this. With the help of a flat head screwdriver, some Windex, and a hard piece of plastic, I managed to poke it into place without doing any apparent damage to either the rubber or the B-Post. I then decided that it would be a good idea to put some generous amounts of tape on all the edges of the body and in areas where I would be working to protect the gorgeous paint.
I then installed the cantrails that hold the rubber gasket around the rear quarter windows. Using the same technique as before, I was finally able to fit that seal as well. I polished the B-Posts and fitted them to make sure everything was in order.

I am a little disappointed with the job that this outrageously loud vibrating thing does on the nuts and bolts that I put in there. I think I could do just as good of a job with a bench grinder and wire wheel, but I'll give it a little more time. I probably have the wrong kind of media in it.

While I was doing all that I also watched the NFL playoffs... I wasn't too concerned with who won, since the Saints were out of it. It looks like it's going to be the Packers and the Steelers, two of the really old teams, should be a good game. Too bad it's being played in Dallas.

Not a very productive day day

2011-01-22T17:58:00.000-06:00

I had a "real" job in Mobile today. I was planning to shoot Quarterback drills to use in a recruitment video for a young high school football player... drove over there only to find that the field that we were to use was occupied with a kicking camp. The coach that had hired me to do this had failed to check on the availability of the field. Nonetheless, the rest of the group had arrived when I discovered that I had locked my keys in the truck with all my camera equipment. As it turned out though, the field was taken, the young quarterback had injured his shoulder yesterday and one of the receivers was not able to be there at the last minute. So my locking my keys in the car was of no consequence... unless you were my wife. I had to call Donna and ask her to drive to Mobile and let me in my car. Which she very graciously did. After that, I went to Harbor Freight which was nearby and bought one of those vibrating machines that cleans nuts and bolts and small parts, so the trip wasn't entirely wasted. When I got home, Donna and my sister were in the kitchen making bread. Yumm. By then it was mid afternoon. I came out to the garage and put the vibrating thing together and threw some nuts and bolts in it. turned it on and it was so loud that I will have to do it overnight when I'm in the house.
Other than that, I put the handbrake actuator together. I had taken it apart yesterday cleaned it, sprayed it with some cadmium spray and let it dry overnight. It made a huge difference.

I started with a very rusty piece, functional... but rusty. After about an hour or so's work, it's looking pretty good.

I'm not sure what I'll get started on next... tonight after dinner. There is SO much to do it's hard to know just where to start... maybe the wiring harness???? Hmmm

Final Buffing

2011-01-21T17:17:00.000-06:00

Today Jerry Tomecek, the guy that painted the Jag came over to do the final work on it. He had just one run that wasn’t noticed until it got home. He fixed it with a RAZOR BLADE! Just scraped it right off, then a little sanding and buffing and it was totally gone.

Since I had the car on a rolling cart when I took it to him, he wasn’t able to sand and buff out the roof. So once I got it here and on my lift, I was able to lower it down to a height that was easy to work with. Once he got here, he also noticed several small places that needed a little more attention so he spent the better part of the day here working on it.

In the meantime, I worked on restoring the handbrake pad actuator mechanism. It was pretty nasty so I took it all apart (I’m almost confident that I can get it back together) cleaned it, soaked it in phosphoric acid to rid it of surface rust and such. Then I sprayed it with some Eastwood cad coating. Once that dries, I’ll put it back together. I also worked on fairing the heater box and the air filter assembly. Jerry offered to take them back home with him to paint for me. He is very obviously a better painter than I.

What's next?

2011-01-19T21:59:00.000-06:00

I got the KoolMat all installed this afternoon. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it might be. I had to do some "real" work in my studio this morning so I couldn't get out the garage until later. I had time to finish up with the mat and caulk all the seams. We had a SABCC Exec meeting in my garage tonight so I wasn't able to get much more done. But there were a lot of people over that were admiring my car and it's new paint. I think the next thing I will be getting started on is running the dash wiring... that should be interesting. I'll keep ya posted

finishing KoolMat

2011-01-18T23:58:00.001-06:00

Today I worked some more on installing the KoolMat but first I had to make a quick trip to Mobile to get some stainless steel pop rivets and screws. One of the brackets that positions the trailing arm to the body had to be removed (pried off) when I was removing the rear suspension because it had rusted to the inner part of the trailing arm bushing.

To mount it back, I had to use steel pop rivets... Threaded Fasteners didn't have regular steel but they had stainless steel... even better I figured. I decided to remove the other bracket as well because it appeared to me that the PO had used aluminum rivets and I wasn't comfortable with that. Well... I got home and tried to rivet it with my rivet gun... not a chance, the gun was nowhere near powerful enough to pop the steel rivets. I called my usual savior, Mike Darby, he had a monster pop rivet gun (I presumed that he had experienced the same problem somewhere along the way). I drove to Mikes, and borrowed his supped up pop rivet gun. It worked like a champ.

In the meantime, Jerry, my painter, came by to look at the few things I had found that needed addressing. He agreed and will come her Friday to get to work on them.

After he left, I cut and glued a few more pieces of KoolMat down and got the handbrake out to measure how I needed to cut the KoolMat around it. At that point, I remembered that that was one of the things that I needed to get re-chromed. So started taking it apart.... Now let me tell you... the guy that designed this thing NEVER intended for it to come apart.

It took me over an hour and about half of that was just figuring HOW it came apart. My only hope is that I can get it back together.

Finally my hands are all washed and I'm sitting down to do my blog. Rodney would be proud.

The Jag's back home

2011-01-17T22:05:00.000-06:00

Believe it or not, I'm going to give this blog another try. At the urgings of my good friend Rodney, I'm going to try to keep everyone who cares updated on the progress I make on my 64 E-Type.

It came back home from the paint shop last Saturday. I have to thank Rodney McDonald and Mike Darby for helping me get it home. Without them it would have been a real struggle, and would not have happened last Saturday. It wasn't a long trip, but the body was on a rolling cart and the bonnet was on a rotisserie, so it took two trips. It pretty much took all morning, afterward, their efforts were rewarded with lunch at Kravers. I think I got a pretty good deal.

I have gone over it with a fine toothed comb to find any imperfections. The painter said he can come by and fix them. Other than that, I have started putting the KoolMat in, again with Rodney's help. That little process is going pretty well. The KoolMat is some pretty neat stuff. I had a choice between KoolMat and DynaMat. The DynaMat is probably more popular, but the KoolMat seems to suit my needs a little better. DynaMat is used primarily for sound deadening. The KoolMat is a fiberglass backed silicone that will shield the interior from the road and engine heat. Something I care far more about than sound deadening. It has to be caulked with silicone caulk and I'm a lousy caulker. Fortunately it will all be covered with carpet.

Short blog, but it's a start. I'm going to attempt to keep this going this time. It's easier than constantly updating my website.