1965 E Type FHC (AD) Full Team CJ restoration

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows: Another total CJ restoration to be finished in British Racing Green and featuring a host of Team CJ performance and reliability upgrades!

Putting the finishing touches to the interior...

Outside in the Texas sunshine for the first time in more than a year!

More interior progress.....

Installation of the glass, chrome and interior now well underway.

Screen and chrome installed	Trimming the tailgate	Installing the headliner

The doors and tailgate installed, all that remains is to install the remainder of the glass, chrome and the new Suffolk & Turley interior.

Both doors have now been installed	As has the tailgate
Next the lights, chrome....	Then finally, the interior

I am pleased to report that we have test run the engine and all systems are functioning perfectly. The pictures below show the rebuilt gauges and dash being installed, as well as the stainless exhaust and Dynamat insulation. If you look carefully, you will see that we have used a mechanical oil pressure gauge as well as a proper voltmeter.

The Suffolk & Turley interior kit should be arriving from England any day...

Lots of freshly re-plated chome...

All of the chrome and brightwork is carefully catalogued and photographed before being submitted for re-plating.

I thoroughly enjoyed your visit yesterday, Andrew, and I'm glad you were so pleased with the progress. As promised, here are a couple of 'Friday photographs' for you to share with your family and friends. Don't forget to say hello to big Sandy for me 

 
Some powder coating......and a glance at the intake side of your engine bay!

Heater box restored and assembled	Gas tank blasted and powder coated	Installing the triple Webers

Your engine bay is filling up rapidly 

What a difference a few days makes! Your car is now back on its wheels and has its rebuilt engine and CJ5 transmission installed.

Back on the ground, ready for the engine and transmission
	Unusual view under the front of the car	Engine back where it belongs

Going together with the front suspension and brakes.

Upgraded Team CJ suspension	Vented CJ brakes

Over the next few days, your car will be back on the ground, sitting on its wheels with its engine, transmission and drivetrain installed. Watch this space!

Assembling the IRS
Ready to go under the car	Starting to assemble the front engine frames and suspension

More British Racing Green....

Painting the inside of the cabin...

First the new painted underside  is carefully masked off	Applying the base coat over tinted sealer
	Boot floor	It will be a shame to cover this with Dynamat and carpet!

I am pleased to report that your car is progressing well and has now had its first few coats of British Racing Green paint applied. On Tuesday, the inside of the cabin will receive the full treatment!

Etching primer on underside of floors was carefully scuffed	All joints were carefully seam sealed
Masking off the area to receive the Body Schutz	Applying the Body Schutz
Starting to turn BRG

With the filler work now completed, we have now applied two coats of Evercoat Slick Sand primer surfacer. This will be dry blocked over the next few days.

Care is taken not to get any of the  Slick Sand inside the cabin
	Inner panels do not receive any Slick Sand

The repaired/restored bonnet has now been fitted and LT has completed the lead loading.

Repairing rust damage to your bonnet, installing a new bellypan, etc.

		Time to cut out rusty sheet metal in the bonnet
Look at the rust inside the bonnet support brace	A new panel was fabricated welded in place	Support brace spot welded back into place
	Nasty old glue being scraped away  from underside of centre section	Repaired panel is sealed with etching primer
Bonnet wings have been trimmed and are too short
Starting to assemble the bonnet	More rust to be dealt with
New bellypan was a decent fit		More rust beneath wing support  braces
De-rusted inner support brace spot welded back in place		Side cowl panel fabricated and installed

The following photos show Lawrence repairing the hatch door which had some rust damage at the lower edge. Half way through the repair looks pretty scary, although the finished result is undetectable.

	Rust holes in the hatch door	With the lower panel cut away the  full extent of the problem is revealed
	Wurth Body Wax	Positioning the repaired panel
Tacking it into place	Another invisible repair
Lead loading finishes off the repair
	Much of the leadwork on the tub has now been completed

The following photographs show the fabrication and installation of the rear license plate panel and side fillets, as well as the installation of the new boot floor assembly. The bonnet you supplied has some serious rust issues and the bellypan will have to be replaced.

An unusual view of the fuel pump  bracket inside RH rear wing	This area is treated with Wurrth body wax	This is the underside of the fuel filler box
Fabricating a new license plate fillet panel		Offering the new panel into place
New boot floor assembly	Welding the new license plate panel to the boot floor assembly
Bonnet has some lots of rust holes	Bellypan will be replaced

Installing your new outer sills....

Wurth Body Wax is applied inside the new sill panel	Also inside the inner sill box section	Sill is then clamped into place
	Approximately 200 spot welds  hold each outer sill in place!

Here we see LT skinning your doors and starting to install your new floors.

Time to skin the doors	First the edges of the frame are carefully hammered flat	A window frame bracket stud  was replaced
Amazing to watch LT do this!	Finished result is an incredibly neat folded edge	Trial fitting the assembled door
Time to address the floor	First the 2 side floor panels are offered into place	They are trimmed at the rear
The 2 sides being spot welded  together	Important to make sure that all the bolt  holes line up around trans mount	Wurth Body Wax being applied
Floor is then bolted in place  again around trans mount	Shipping primer is removed with lacquer thinner
Spot welding the front floors to the firewall

The following photographs show Lawrence fabricating and installing a new right hand inner and outer wheel arch.

Part of the inner arch that is to be replaced		Repair panel is spot welded into place
Welded seam is lead loaded	Making the inner arch
	Welding new inner arch in place	Job done!

The engine rebuild has now been completed and it is time to get the body restoration underway! After plastic media blasting, any sound sheet metal was primed with BASF etching primer. The following photographs show Lawrence cutting away what is left of any corroded steel.

Assembling your engine
		Time to wrap and store it while the bodywork gets underway!
	More solid starting point than we normally have!
Complete boot floor and rear 3/4 panels will be replaced	LT cutting away 3/4 panels
	Up inside RH rear wheelarch	Not much left at rear!

More photos of the machine work in progress....

Polishing the crankshaft	The water jackets being welded up  and re-shaped	Align honing in progress
	Honing the new cylinder walls

The following photographs show some of the less photogenic aspects of the machine work for you, such as the machining out of the old sleeves. To the best of my knowledge, we are the only people in the industry that replace sleeves in 4.2 (and 3.8) E Type engines as a matter of course.

Machining away the old sleeves	These water jackets behind the sleeves are always blocked up
This picture shows Harold cutting the recess  for the stepped sleeves	Deck will be surfaced after the new sleeves have been installed

The following photographs show the head (after cleaning) being flow bench tested prior to the machinework, resurfacing and the polishing and porting process.

New stepped sleeves will be installed in the block	Head is thoroughly cleaned prior to flow bench testing	Testing the flow prior to starting  the polishing and porting

About to start the machinework for your Stage One engine rebuild...

Gathering all the parts we will need for a  HP Stage One cylinder head rebuild	De-greasing the block	Head will be flow tested before and  after polishing and porting

The engine tear down has now been completed and the machine work will begin in the next week or so. Inceidentally, your engine is factory standard throughout, and has obviously never been rebuilt.

Very grimy, but well oiled
Head has never been re-worked	Pistons and rods removed

If only this engine could talk.....

If it could, I would be fascinated to hear the circumstances which led to the exhaust cam being snapped clean through! Yesterday, as I began the tear down process in readiness for a full Stage One rebuild, I was absolutely amazed to find the damaged exhaust camshaft lurking beneath its cover. I have never encountered such a thing!

As we replace the camshafts anyway in the course of our high performance CJ rebuilds, the broken cam is of no consequence, although I had to take a few photographs!

Look for a more detailed update tomorrow as the tear down is completed and the machine work begins.

Everything looks perfectly normal as the cam covers are removed
First hint of trouble as the cam gear bolts are removed	Yikes!	I have never seen anything like this before

Another Team CJ total restoration gets underway.

Another one about to get  the full treatment!	Absolutely every component will be removed	Engine removed
Matching number engine	IRS will be rebuilt soon	Not much interior left
Original data plate	Bonnet about to be torn down	Off to the blasters!
	Differential already totally rebuilt	Blasted tub is pretty solid