The 'E' Type Forum

...after being scrapped in 1978, re-found by me in 2007, it drove today for the very first time under it's own heat (it generates a lot of that).

The carb problems were an easy fix - the choke levers were misaligned, it was jumped out of cam/rail on 2 carbs, and the rearmost throttle flap misses its closing spring. Did some adjustements, fine.

Then I had a stable idle at 1300. Despite some clutch problems (I did bleed it but I had to pump 2times to get it to work every time), I put the front center gear into position (push leaver forward whilst pumping left foot was all I could do), and let her fly.

Whow. It is a bloody fast thing, this. Goes like a rattle snake. Above 1500, push pedal down (I must cut my shoes smaller), the the rear end flings around on the gravel.

All 4 tyres half-flat, ++40 yrs old, hard like rocks, of course, no bonnet fitted, no rear bench so IRS visibly inside :-), what a day.

To round it of, I went home. Made myself a chicken curry with spicey potatoe wedges, and will get a glass of sweet red whine (yes, thats me taking, really).

Pics:









After 2 rounds, I made my own diff filling device - I see no other way to fill it down there.

Must now fine -tune it, carbs are out of sync, and get the bloody clutch thing to work.

Carsten

Great day Carsten.......all that hard work now you know what its like to drive the big cat.....Steve

Excellent news. I am sure the rest will just fall together easily now.

Well done.

James

Methinks its still a lot of work- restore the bonnet, align, and fine-tune axle, camber, castor, steering...

I bet still another year or so. Money is again tight as could be of course, but how easy would it be if I could simply buy everything I need instead of having to restore any tiny bit.

Carsten

Great news Carsten, things can only get better

Geoff

Great milestone on your Resto!

Thanks for the pics!

Durango2k wrote:...and get the bloody clutch thing to work.

Regarding your clutch slave bleed, double-check your correct pinion & play. I don't remember how often I bled my (new) slave before noticing play was wrong. I was double clutching as you were.

Martin

Regarding clutch, its a bit strange. My car should have the spring-less system, but came with a cylinder with a spring. I will try it without the spring, simply, first, and of course adjust (again).

But I simply could not resist after all those years, so I ignored idle, clutch, whatver, go for a 300 m spin on the yard.

Carsten

P. S. some should fix the steering wheel on that emojii....:-)

Great news Carsten! A day/moment never to be forgotten. Keep on now and get it done!

Durango2k wrote:
The carb problems were an easy fix - the choke levers were misaligned, it was jumped out of cam/rail on 2 carbs, and the rearmost throttle flap misses its closing spring. Did some adjustements, fine.

Whow. It is a bloody fast thing, this. Goes like a rattle snake. Above 1500, push pedal down (I must cut my shoes smaller), the the rear end flings around on the gravel.

Carsten

Viele Glückwünsche. Definitiv ein Tag zu erinnern!

What started out as a $1300 pile of bits in Stockport around 2002, has donated its body and rolls again. Meanwhile, some of the rest of 1E 75339 is in a D replica in Norfolk and I still have the IRS here. I think it's called vegetative reproduction.

1300 ? Whow. Even back then, the seller of the shell plus bits must have made a loss. Painting it would have cost that alone....

Carsten

Durango2k wrote:Even back then, the seller of the shell plus bits must have made a loss. Painting it would have cost that alone....

His wife wanted a new conservatory at the back of the house. I guess it was lose the car or lose the wife...

Ouch.

I found my Citroen SM in 1999 in Los Angeles- a one owner car. He (architect) had a new wife, and she had a Merc W124 - so the SM had to go...2500 Dollars.

Carsten

PeterCrespin wrote:[quote="Durango2k"
What started out as a $1300 pile of bits in Stockport around 2002, has donated its body and rolls again. :

Is this the shell I saw in your garage in Buxton the first time I met you, Pete? I hadn't made the connection. That was my first long trip in the E and I still remember:
It was a very cold day
The impressive size of your garage
Your equally impressive array of tools
Discovering unexpectedly that falling snow will get in your face as you drive (did I mention it was a cold day?)
Crawling down the high street in rush hour and getting nothing but positive comments and questions from the horde of teenagers leaving the local school and walking beside at the same speed.

Great to hear it is rolling, Carsten. All that hard work was worthwhile!

Joe

That's the one Joe. I actually paid GBP1800 by check and then found out the engine was S2 XJ and the transmission likewise with overdrive. So I went back next evening and said the deal was off as only half the stuff was E-type.

Wifey basically begged me to take it away but I said the only thing I would do was stop the cheque and write another one for £1000. She got hubby on the phone and persuaded him and then she wrote the new cheque for £800 refund and I banked it next morning. So that's where the $1300 came from at today's rates(ish).

That version shown in the Buxton garden and the D version are on XKE data.com for 1E 75339

In fact he used quite some filler on it. But it looks good, and who am I to ask such questions ? Furthermore, some drillings and minor fittings are not there- Pete once said it was in the old days when repro metal was not that detailed.

I' still glad to have bought it !

Otherwise, I would have had to cancel the project for sure, tooo big.

Carsten

Congrats Carsten, well deserved