The 'E' Type Forum

Hi everyone!

after years dreaming of an E Type, I made the big plunge into the water 2 years ago.
Thing is that:
1- I had never learned to swim before (I am a full beginner about mechanics, E Types, panel works etc...)
2- I have no lifebuoy (i.e. I am on a budget)
3- I was in the dark (I bought my early 67' OTS overseas without seing it in person)
In a nutshell I did all that is advised not to do! But I wanted it, you can't fight against that can you?

As I wanted a hobby as much as the car itself, I started the long process of a nuts and bolts restoration by dismantling the car, then stripping the shell, the bonnet & the doors to bare metal. So far, not too many disasters discovered. The panels look sound, except the floors that I am currently replacing.



I don't doubt that you forum members will be of great help for me in the future, so wish me good luck and be ready to be appealed to!

Philippe (french spelling for Philip, albeit pronounced the same)

Bienvenue dans l'aventure.....
Welcome Philippe . Y're at the beginning of a awesome adventure !
I did exactly what you are doing now some years ago. So if you need some help i am sure y'll get much here.

Hello Yves,

I must confess that one of the motivations that pushed me into this foolish "adventure" was the blog you kept about your restoration, in french at the time. Among others, particularly the book by Chris Rooke. Both demonstrate that the inherent difficulties and bad times did not spoil your sens of humor and cool. Let's hope the same for me!

Philippe

Philippe, welcome to the best place for all things E Type. Lots of help, information and advice. There's also a good sense of humour.
Read the restoration section for examples of how others have gone through what you will experience:
viewforum.php?f=8

Ask questions and you'll get help and the search function can be very useful. Some search words (e.g. engine or oil) may get the response of too many results. But using different words can get you the results you need. Trial and error will get you there. And often posting a new topic can get useful associated topics listed below. Which can be a good place to look for answers.

Bonne chance

Geoff

Welcome and good luck!

Thank you Geoff,

you're right to outline the strengths of the forum. In fact it is usual to invoke the mantra "internet is your friend", but it is a bit of a fake as it is far too vast and "divergent". On the contrary I soon saw that the forum benefits from a powerful search function, a tremendous data base, and, above all, from the help and experience of all members.
This reassured me, too, at the time of making my decision: whatever the question, the forum will have the answer.
I am not a great fan of the "new technologies" but I must admit they sometimes bring triggering advantages, for the sake of the E Type that is.

Philippe

Bonjour and welcome Philippe,
I am not quite sure if the etype is the right object for beginners in starting a car restoration without any mechanic experience but respect for your courage.
Hope it will work out well for you and good luck
Looking forward to see your progress
Kindly regards
Ralf

Welcome, as already iterated the E Type is not a simple first project and the effort is a head. Unlucky for me I joined here post restoration and never had the opportunity for the kind assistance I could have obtained here. Never the less three years later when the car was on the road the info and the members on here helped me affirm many aspects of the work carried out and on the completion of a number unfinished items and some worthwhile modification allowing me to fully enjoy the efforts weather permitting .

Indeed I had this debate with myself about having my first mechanics experience with the E Type.
The main motivation why I took the risk can not be passed over: my age (I could have the suffix C on my personal registration plate) that gives me no time to practice first on a simpler car, then gradually go to the E-Type.
I made the bet that with enthusiasm and the help of the forum members, I can do it.
Anyway I can rely on pros when I reach my limits, can't I? The difficulty will be to find to skilled pro around....

Hi everyone,

I am taking the risk of being considered as a dummy, but I didn't find how to search for an exact expression. For instance "engine fitting from below" gives all threads speaking about engine OR fitting OR from OR below. At least getting results for engine AND fitting AND from AND below would help converge to the solution, but I couldn't figure out to do that either .
Thank you for your help.

Philippe

Welcom and good luck. I like the practical looking frame you've made for moving around & tipping over the tub.

Philippe

The search function does allow you to use AND OR operators but I find an iterative process works best.

So search the Forum for 'below'
Then use the 'search these results' box to search for 'fitting'
Then use the same 'search these results' box to search for 'engine'
Then use the same 'search these results' box to search for 'removal'

This is the result: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19567&p=159125&hili ... al#p159125

Indeed not easy playing with the search function. Did you try "dropping the engine"?
Anyway, this is a method described on our US fellows forum, one of many:
https://forums.jag-lovers.com/t/engine- ... ype/443632

Thank you all for your answers!
David, I didn't notice this 'search these results' function, and it works well, thanks.
Ralph, your result is exactly what I was looking for. Even if I will only put the engine in place for bonnet fitting tests, I will use this method.
Randall, the craddle I made was inspired by many others restoring their E. It is far from being optimized in terms of weight (!) but did the job in a constrained space and allowed me to change the floors without to much of twisting:

Of course you can have a rotisserie for not too much money, but it was my pride to make mine

Philippe

Welcome Phillipe

Looks like a fun project, will definitely follow