Rusty old cats

[David Oslo]

Carsten

You can sell your rusty shell to Keith :D

Win-win and everyone's happy :D

[vee12eman]

Hi Keith,
You ask if anyone has restored really rusty E-types. Well there are lots of examples of this in the restoration section. I did it and despite all the people here advising against it, this was and still is the only way I would buy an E-type, if only because I simply can't afford a "good" car.
They are NOT so different from other cars although I accept the bulkhead is important and a little tricky to repair. However you do need some skill and patience. Most panels are available and if time is no issue it's not that hard to make a jig, combine it with a rotisserie which you can later sell.
Don't do one as a first restoration and don't expect it to be easy.
One thing to point out is that the price of parts has rocketed. The supplier prices haven't changed all that much in recent years but EBay has made it easier to sell parts and whereas I used to be able to find cheap parts at auto jumbles and swap meets, those parts are now sold to a larger audience with the highest bidder winning. As a result of this the costs are greater than they used to be.
I didn't need a jig, although it was close. I made a rotisserie myself and used some repair panels. Most panels fitted well and Jaguar themselves have just begun the process of making and selling new panels having invested heavily in reproducing them from scratch. What this will mean to the companies which currently make reproduction panels is unclear but there should be a source of excellent panels very soon and these are currently mainly for Series 1 cars with the Series 2 and 3 cars benefitting to lesser degrees respectively.
Try to find and actually inspect the car before purchasing and look carefully at it. They didn't all have very good rust protection as evidenced by the rust on the rear of my car's rear wings, but I was able to deal with that. Mine is a Series 3 so some differences to the early cars you seem interested in.
It can be done at home but go carefully.

Regards,

Simon

[paulsco]

Hi Keith

My shell was pretty rusty; I had to rebuild virtually the bottom 6 inches; floors, sills, doors, bonnet, boot floor, rear wings, etc, etc. Many of the panels had been previously ?repaired? with a slide hammer and required reworking. I would say if you have panel fabrication skills then it is all doable, but best to put the shell on a rotisserie; it makes the job much easier and more pleasant.

Paul

[Durango2k]

I cut the tub in pieces, sold the rear end and that was that...

Carsten

[vrracing]

Hi Keith,

Don't be put off. It's just sheet metal. If you can weld and grind and sand, there is no magic. And if you can't weld, you'll become an amazing grinder while your welding improves. And if you get it wrong, cut it out and do it again.

In addition to the forum archives, Classic Jaguar's and Monocoque Metalworks blogs are great for seeing rust buckets resurrected. If anything there is too much in those blogs.

http://classicjaguar.com/cj-blog/

http://www.monocoque-metalworks.com/main/

and Goodfellow's threads in the GarageGazette go into details on his metalworking his e-type back to life.

http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=421.0

Remember, better built than bought!

Jim

[Durango2k]

Oh thats a nice one.

Its my daily business- better (re-)build then buy.


Carsten

[Bakergt40]

I agree better build than bought. You do get the satisfaction of what you start with and the end result. I have built jigs for gt40 replica chassis's and cars from scratch, fabricated all the metal panels for gt40 and ultimas , not just bought them in.i have a guilotine and all equipment to fold sheet metal and I know some really skilled guys to ask if in doubt. That's also what forums are for sharing information good or bad
I wanted a e type so I bought a series 1 fhc in lovely condition restored.
But I have the time ,I have the equipment, I can mig and tig, I love fabrication. And in my business I know shotblasters, platers ,powder coaters etc.
The one thing that draws me to restoring a e type is the challenge.
That's why I'm considering another one.
If the right car comes along I might just have a go.might !

Thanks for all your replies