1961 E Type FHC (885036) Total Team CJ restoration

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows: Total restoration of the 36th E Type coupe built. The car will feature a high performance CJ Stage One engine, triple Weber carbs, a CJ5/600 five speed transmission and a host of Team CJ performance and reliability upgrades.

Putting the finishing touches to another Stage One engine rebuild.

Oil pan drain plug boss was welded up and machined flat	New threads cut for the drain plug
Uprated ARP main cap bolts	Measuring deck height
All CJ forged pistons now installed
	All that remains is to install the polished cam covers

Repairs and machine work completed on cylinder head, huge gains on the flow bench...

Corrosion ground away from water jackets	Water jackets then welded up in Coachworks
Surfacing welds so we can bolt head to straightening plate	Head on straightening plate in oven
Flow testing head after port work	Base line test results
More than 60 cfm gained by port work - huge gains	Front of head cosmetically polished
Water jackets re-shaped, deck surfaced	Time to assemble this Stage One head

Early pedal box modified for use with later master cylinder and booster..

We have now completed your IRS rebuild.

	Larger front calipers and pistons have been rebuilt and installed on  the rear - front brakes will be converted to vented Wilwoods
Rear suspension features Koni shocks and uprated CJ springs	Assembling the rear hubs
Very early hubs do not have water throwers between the hub and the hub carrier	Ray putting the final touches to your IRS rebuild
Base line flow testing your cylinder head prior to port work	Pressure testing cylinder head

Pulling down sleeves prior to surfacing the block and mocking up main bearings to calculate requisite crankshaft journal sizing...

The following sequence of photos show the align hone and cylinder hone in progress....

Getting your Stage One engine rebuild underway...

We had to use the crane to remove your cylinder head	Pistons were seized
	Old school knurled pistons

With the last couple of repair panels now welded in place, it is time for some lead loading.

Wurth Body wax is applied to all inner surfaces before the side cowl panels are welded in place
Replicating early style 'two piece' door skins	Old door top panel being fitted to new door skin
Old panel is spot welded in place on new skin
Lead loading the welded seams

The following sequence of photographs show us fabricating some complex repair panels to restore the nose of your bonnet to its former glory.

A hand made wooden buck will be used to form the required  shape for the upper part of the bonnet mouth
Repair panels are then hammered over wooden buck
The 3 repair panels are then tack welded together
After metal finishing, welds are invisible	New nose is then tack welded in place
	The seam is then TIG welded
	Welded seam is then ground away
	Cosmetic surgery, CJ style...

After a lengthy delay caused by an apparent world shortage of new engine frames, I am pleased to report that we now have this project back underway. Fitting the bonnet was something of a challenge as the bonnet itself was more than an inch too short. The solution was to weld additional sheet metal across the rear edge of the bonnet to close up the gap at the cowl.

Arrival of new engine frames allowed us to start fitting bonnet
Even with extra thow CJ hinges and all the (fore/aft) shims removed,  the bonnet was still more than an inch too short	The solution was to weld additional sheet metal along the rear edges of the fenders and center section
The extension is first tack welded in place, then the resulting seam is TIG welded
	After the weld is cleaned up, the repair is invisible
	Next up - some major repairs to the nose of the center section

Darrell has now installed the front cowl panel he fabricated a couple of weeks ago, and has also fabricated and installed a repair panel for the left hand rear quarter panel/wheel arch.

Trial fitting new front cowl
	Fabricating a new side cowl panel
Side cowl panel is shaped to match contour of leading edge of door skin	Trial fitting side cowl panel with new front cowl panel	Spot welding front cowl panel in place
	Left rear wheel arch next up...
Fabricating and trial fitting a new wheel arch repair panel	Panel is first tack welded in place
	Seam is then TIG welded	TIG bead is then ground away leaving an invisible repair
Inner wheel arch also requires extensive repairs	New inner wheel arch panel was fabricated	Wurth Body Wax is applied to all inner surfaces
Seam between rear quarter and sill is lead loaded	Door fit already starting to take shape	Rear tailgate fit is very poor and will require extensive work

Installing new floors and outer sills...

	Trial fitting new outer sills
Wurth Body Wax applied to all inner boxed sections		Outer sill spot welded to outer edge of new floors

Fabricating and installing new panels for the right hand side of the transmission tunnel...

Installing new inner sills...

Wurth Body Wax is applied to all closed box sections	Trial fitting the RH inner sill
Sill stiffeners welded in place

The bodywork restoration is now underway...

Back from the blasters, everything is pretty much as expected with the exception of the nose of the bonnet center section, which is very rusty.

Nose of center section very rusty		Some of the panels that will be required

The following sequence of photos show Darrell fabricating a new sceen cowl panel from 18 gauge sheet metal.

Making a template from the original, rusted cowl panel		Shaping on the sheet roller
	Gerardo assists on the bead roller	Forming the screen seal edge

Cutting away corroded sheet metal to give the media blaster the best possible access to all inner panels and box sections...

Very early style 2 piece door skins		Cowl panel has perforations  and will be replaced
Underside of cowl panel
Rear clip will be replaced
Bodyshell now ready for blasting	Disassembling the bonnet

We are delighted to get the restoration of this very early coupe underway. Our first task, after disassembly, will be to cut away the corroded sheet metal and have the car media blasted.