1963 E Type roadster (JK) Team CJ restoration

Specification (briefly) for this project is as follows: Total restoration with a full complement of Team CJ performance and reliability upgrades.

Another completed project ready for delivery....

Only a few finishing touches remain...

Headlamps and covers now installed	As you don't plan on using the headrests,  we fabricated plugs for the seat backs	Darrell made the plugs...
Carlos trimmed them in hide

Wiring in the Becker Mexico and installing the center console...

Cabin starting to fill up rapidly	Cross-overs installed beneath the driver's seat	Tweeters placed in each corner  of the dash
		]
		Amp placed beneath passenger seat
Becker now installed		Door arm rests now installed

Trimming out the interior of your hardtop....

We now have road testing and shakedown underway...

Fabricating a custom bracket to hold the new Becker radio unit, trimming out restored center console...

	Trimming the center console

Installing the the new carpets, convertible top frame, etc...

Lots of progress in the interior trim room over the last week or so...

I am pleased to report that we have now begun the process of installing your custom interior.

Reclining S2 E Type seats are  being used in this 3.8 roadster
	Trimming the seat backs

We have now installed your engine and the all new CJ5/600 five speed transmission. With lots of sunshine forecast for next week, the test driving and shake down will begin!

Installing the engine and CJ5/600 transmission
	CJ5/600 fits neatly in the original transmission tunnel	Shifter location is exactly as original
		CJ5/600 bolts directly to OEM bellhousing  and uses OEM clutches
New stainless steel exhaust now installed		Almost ready for maiden voyage!

Good to see you earlier today, John. I'm glad you got to hear the engine in person as my camera doesn't do justice to the noise coming out of those open headers on the test rig!

Your Dunlop replica alloys arrived safely and we trial fitted them over the vented Wilwood brakes, encountering no clearance problems whatsoever. I hope you like the the 3 eared spinners, too!

Reassembly underway...

Now for the fun part - going back together...

Painting your bonnet....

		Time to start sanding and buffing

I am pleased to report that we painted your car this afternoon and the finished results looks great. I will post more pictures tomorrow but I know I promised you a couple tonight before I went home - so here they are!

I am delighted to report that we have now begun applying the first of the Opalescent Gunmetal paint. We have already painted the underside, the cabin, the engine frames and the boot compartment. Later this week we should have the rest of the repainting process completed.

Trial fitting chome and brightwork before submitting for replating.

A number of bumper mounting brackets had to be replaced	New brackets were welded in place then had appropriately sized nuts installed	Nut then welded in place to complete  the repair
	New rear lamps were ground to fit	Door top chrome finishers were a  particular challenge
Front edges were built up then ground back	Ready for plating	After lots of hammering, welding, grinding and sanding, front bumpers now fit perfectly
	In the shipping room...	Note hardtop chrome in back ground

Starting to look like a car again after a few weeks of intensive care in the CJ Coachworks...

We thought it might be cool to lay out and photograph every component for your engine before we put everything together over the next couple of days.

Forged rods save 165g per rod

Harold machined the new Venolias in order to obtain the precise compression we were looking for.

Probably not something you should do at home to your new Venolia pistons!	After machining, the edges were deburred to prevent hot spots

We ran into problems with the water jacket plugs in the valley of your cylinder head because of badly corroded heads. To be on the safe side, we decided to weld them up and cut new threads.

Cutting the block for upgraded freeze plugs
Block now painted and ready for  final assembly	Damaged threads in cylinder head valley	Holes were welded up and will be re-threaded
Chris cutting new water jacket holes on the mill

Engine rebuild progress - and some spectacular flow numbers...

Ported inake runner	Exhaust port	Resurfacing your cyl head
	Honing cylinder to size	Exhaust side picked up 30 cfm
Intake side picked up 40 cfm (which is a  spectacular gain)

Lots of good progress in the Coachworks since my last update!

The following photos show Darrell welding up the damage around the edges of two of your combustion chambers.

Outline of chamber is etched using an old head gasket
A bead of weld is then laid around the edges of the damaged bowls	This will be machined and reshaped on the mill

The following photographs show Darrell making some highly skilled repairs look deceptively easy.

A small patch is cut and shaped for the left rear quarter	TIG welded in place	Stripping shipping primer from new bonnet
A similar patch was needed for the right rear quarter	Larger repair panel fabricated, shaped and tack welded in place	Same panel then TIG welded
	Forward panel behind B post is next	Inner box section cleaned back to bare  metal, acid washed and sealed
Wurth Body Wax	Darrell TIG welding the new panel in place
Welded seams now virtually invisible	In the booth to seal inside both front and rear cowls	Again, bare metal is acid washed before being sealed with epoxy primer
Trial fitting front cowl	Firewall now straight and clean, inside  and out	Trial fitting the rear tonneau
	Progress!

More bodywork progress...

Fabricating inner arch panels	Welded together and sealed with epoxy primer	Note difference between original  and replacement panel
We decided to weld the access panel into the new replacement panel		Wurth wax in box sections
Modified new panel welded  in place	Time to tackle the mangled  rear clip!

Fitting and welding your transmission tunnel and new floors into place...

Welding the trans tunnel sides into position	Trans tunnel adds a great deal of rigidity to the structure
	Masking surfaces that will be welded
Front cowl panel has been cut away	Wurth Body Wax applied to box sections	Trial fitting new floors
Darrell spot welding your floors together		Better than new...

Darrell has started welding your expansive collection of new body panels together.

An E type body in kit form	Inner sills and cross-member  now in place	Series II seats will be used when we trim out the interior
	IRS rebuild virtually complete

Lots of progress this week in both the mechanical workshop and the Coachworks.

Even the steering rack has not escape accident  damage!	We supplied and rebuilt an alternative	Wiper motor, completly rebuilt
Upper steering column rebuilt	More progress with body restoration
	Front brake calipers rebuilt and moved to rear	Bronze IRS bushings

As bad as things looked after media blasting, I thought you might be encouraged to see some new sheet metal going into place.

New rear clip has all the shipping primer stripped away by hand	Fabricating new repair panels for the transmission tunnel	The first of many new panels is welded  into place
Reconstructing the RH B pillar		After sealing with epoxy primer, we coated the inner box section with Wurth Body Wax
	Spot welding the nw LH inner sill into place
Starting to look better already!

Further to our telephone conversation, I will not subject you to too many photographs of the bodyshell, as received back from being media blasted. Suffice it to say that it is absolutely horrible...

Differential was aslo in bad shape	Final drive is 3.31
Diff now completely rebuilt	Looks a bit better, too!
Difficult to believe we drove this car  into the shop		Corrosion and accident damage everywhere
This wing has been caved in	Front cowl will be replaced
		Preparing to seal what we are going  to keep

More progress in the CJ machine shop. Your block has now been align honed and four of the new sleeves have been installed. This afternoon we will be installing the two custom oversized sleeves, the need for which was explained in your last invoice.

Pressure testing cylinder head (OK)	Grinding main caps square	Align honing your block
Meauring new top hat sleeves	Honing cylinders 3 & 6 to accept custom oversized top hat sleeves	Note ledge cut into top of cylinders

Sorry you had to cancel your visit at the last minute on Friday, although at least you can see from the following photographs that we were ready for you!

Machining out the old sleeves

Time to prepare your car for blasting. This particular body is about as rough as you will ever see. Having said that, rest assured that it will better than new when we are finished with it.

Engine machine work now underway	Cutting out rusted panels	Not a pretty sight
We are going to leave the inner sills in place for blasting, although they will be replaced	There really isn't going to be much left to  blast!	This car is about as rough as you are ever likely to see
Doors are rusty, too	Bonnet will be replaced

Car already completely disassembled....

		Note bent RH torsion bar
		Engine frames bound for the dumpster
Boot compartment shows evidence of some very poor repair work		Picture frame also toast
		Engine will be rebuilt to Stage One specs
Home made shims lurking beneath the tappets!
		Disassembling the IRS
19 pieces for powder coating

I am pleased to report that your car arrived safely at Classic Jaguar this morning and we will have this exciting project underway very soon. I hope you enjoy watching the restoration unfold over the coming months!