E-type déjà vu. The second rebuild

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I'm not sure if my man is suffering from insomnia, but I am astounded at the progress. Here are the photos received today:-

Brake reservoirs, carbs, throttle linkage all connected:-



Better photo of the carbies:-



I like this photo. I was quoted about £300 to enamel the new manifolds (the old ones were cracked) so instead we went with a can of BBQ high temperature paint for a tenner. I've seen it before, it works, and anyway the minute you go over 60 mph the bloody enamel starts to fall off! And if it dulls, we have the rest of the can and can respray them. The water bottle is in place, the heater, repaired is in as well.



ETA: the dynamo too, and you can just see the two lovely new wires from the new wiring loom attached to it.

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After much thought and anguish, the dragster suspension above has been binned. This will take its place:-

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Exactly, and before anyone comments the lock wires are to be cut off and rewired north-south so they don't cross and rub.

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No sooner the word than the deed. Here are last night's updates:-



Incidentally, you'll note in the first picture that some metal has been welded to the cage. It had split, and it was far simpler and cheaper to repair than to pay out serious money for a new cage..







ETA And to think those silencers are already 27 years old! The rear ones are newer due to "yumping" and we broke them after many years.

Edited by lowdrag on Friday 28th March 07:30

[lowdrag]

Well, after six months of "it's stuck in customs" from one supplier another rad fan was ordered from S1 Spares in Rotherham and overnighted yesterday. It wasn't important before, but is now holding things up. Similarly, the new screen, purchased from CMC, also arrived. The big sticking point is down to Slower-than-a-tortoise Cables, who've had the instruments since mid-January yet still haven't done them. Assuming that they this time hold to their promise, we'll have them in two weeks, then the car goes off to BAS for the hood to be made, then it's the final stretch and Lee will drive the car a few hundred miles to shake it down before I pick it up, which all being well will be mid-May. Our plan is to go up to the Lake District, swing across to Heartbeat land, then down to Norfolk, Essex and Kent (to show her to the person who owned her in 1974/5) before swinging along the south coast to Portsmouth where we'll do an oil and filter change before catching the boat home. First half of the running in completed then. Really looking forward to seeing the old gal again after her Botox treatment. We have not been separated for this long before, ever.

Edited by lowdrag on Friday 28th March 12:50

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Now now boys! You must remember that to us exiles any pint of English ale is pure nectar. There is a pub near Alencon (serves fish & chips too!) which makes its own beer, but there is nothing to me like the Tichborne Arms near Winchester, 15th century, thatched, in the middle of nowhere with all the barrels behind the bar. Or any real ale pub come to think of it. We now use the CAMRA site to plan our trips, staying in a real ale pub wherever possible. I also find that the food in the CAMRA pubs seems to be of a higher quality for some reason, but my taste buds might just have been sharpened by the excellence of the quaffing.

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More pictures arriving. Two of the fan and blades. The beauty of this Cool Cat (American) fan is that it draws little current, bolts exactly where the old windmill did, and moves 2,000 cufm of air:-





Here the header tank and radiator are finally bolted down and filled now that the fan is in place:-



Finally, the spaghetti that is the wiring loom is ready for when Tortoise Cables return my gauges:-



Lee has nothing but praise for this loom bought from Barratt's. Everything is there with no exception, every wire is the correct length, all the colours are correct. How nice to be able to say good things about modern replacements.

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The loom is done in braided cotton, just like in the day, and all the individual wires are colour coded as they were then. The spade covers I suppose are just a modern enhancement. Here's a cropped photo to show you better:-

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Now for something extremely rare, and you have to know your E-types to understand. Butler was a company owned by Lucas, but traded separately under their own name. Roughly, I seem to remember,the first 1,200 cars were equipped with these chrome surrounds for the number plate lights. A pair in their box sold recently for over £300 but a dear friend gave me these at the New Year. Here they are rechromed:-

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Camoradi said:

That fan is a beauty. Make sure you have the handbrake firmly on when parking up on a hot day, otherwise when the fan cuts in the car will be on it's way without you!

But why, it must be asked, is it better thought out, better engineered, than products made here in the UK? If you are looking for a concours restoration then the old two bladed windmill is obligatory, but if a driving car are you going to spend £250 on a fan that is attached to your car by two cable ties going through the radiator matrix or £150 on a fan that bolts into place exactly like the original but with less current drain and ten times the power? Another point is the early alloy finned radiator; £1,260 in the UK with a month's wait or £650 including FedEx charges from the USA and off the shelf to boot?

I am sure that in the years to come I'll be doing more business with Welsh Enterprises Inc, and their telephone manner and help was first class. If you need parts for any Jaguar it's worth a look:-

http://www.welshent.com/index.php

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Correctamundo dear sir. More than 40,000 of the 72,000 ended up over the pond, but it still doesn't explain the 100% price difference. I expect I'll have some import duty to pay, but still a lot of moolah left in my pocket.

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The radiator is already in the UK! No idea where of course, but I must now register with customs as a "dealer" since according to FedEx I am only importing the radiator to enhance the value of my car to sell on for a profit.

I have received five pages of forms, two of explication and three to fill in, and they are going off to HMRC tomorrow. I'll have 20% VAT to pay as a "dealer" and then the total cost will be about £700. I knew this in advance, but it is still an amazing saving and also full credit to Welsh Inc for the rapidity of their service.

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Well, the radiator arrived today and I leave you to draw your own conclusions. It was recommended by friends as well worth it but by the same token it was a shot in the dark. Would it be up to the mark? Would the quality be there? Would, in effect, I lose my bet and my money? Let me know your opinions please.









Yes, I know it has to be painted, but that will be done tomorrow.. The end tanks machined from a solid billet and even the Marston tag. But I am unsure as to what number should be tapped thereon. Advice please.

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More photos. The tank on both sides and in situ.







Now another reason why my car can never be concours:-



Yes, it's the new chrome I know, but that number plate with that union jack has accompanied me everywhere over the last 25 years. It is my GB plate and always will be.

Now some interesting news. Barratts are now offering a new immersed pump with (I'm not quite sure on this yet) a more efficient and solid state drive. And at £150 a lot cheaper than a new standard one. I've ordered one anyway.

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Finally, after four months, Tortoise Cables have returned the gauges. We have also received the modern immersed fuel pump:-

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Yes, the cat has purred for the first time in six months. Sounds good too.

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I don't think it's worth going that far Dave! It's only one of a few hundred thousand XK engines out there; not as if it is a Maclaren F1 for example. Hopefully in another month or so she'll be finished and lots of people can enjoy the exhaust note as I pass them on the road.

ETA One thing I noticed from the bill accompanying the instruments was that the clock has changed religion. It used to be of the traditional Smiths family standard electric type, and as such was always guaranteed to be correct at least twice a day. However, I note that the clock has changed allegiance to the quartz family and as such is probably guaranteed to be wrong all the time now.

Edited by lowdrag on Friday 11th April 08:59

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e600 said:

Very impressive build quality, however, is the picture of the centre switch/gauge panel the before or after shot as it isn't in keeping with the quality elsewhere.

just sayin'

This is a budget rebuild so the alloy dash panel and the transmission panels are original. They'll polish up I reckon, as will the switches with a bit of Finesse It. It's like the rear number plate as well the Union Jack is rather "patinated".

ETA I'm not even sure if the very early type of alloy dash and tunnel are made any more either. Not that it matters.

Edited by lowdrag on Friday 11th April 15:05

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RichB said:

ny thoughts on what you'll use to polish them Tony? The door shut faces on my Aston are a very similar alloy and when I've used stuff like Solvol Autosol on them it just gets trapped in the patterned surface of the material. I was wondering about cheap cola and a toothbrush but it would be awfully sticky!

As I said above Rich, the product you need is called Finesse It. A very fine liquid with the consistency of a kitchen product but softer, it is fantastic for cleaning out small scratches without taking off half the paint. it is used for D-types on the Perspex windscreen for example, and I've been using it for years. Solvol Autosol is akin to grinding paste in comparison.

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Under the rules of the thread Club 55, all methods of illuminating the car must be subject to the law of Lucas. the Prince of Darkness.