Hi Steve,
First of all, all the best with this project whatever you end up trying to do with it. I started from a not so different point many years ago, with a V12 2+2. I had the advantage of having most of the car, but no bonnet (or anything attached to it), boot floor removed rear end cut out, all chrome missing or beyond saving and, although I didn?t know it at the time, the engine was largely unusable and ended up being replaced, using as much of the original as possible. The car was Auto and I wanted Manual and it had the same hole in the roof that many are critical of.
For a quick look at what I achieved, look here (There are other posts with pictures too, if you want to take the time to search):
http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=385&highlight=
I did have the advantage of an ID and a very cheap purchase price and some repair panels were included in this. I now have a complete car with rebuilt engine, 5-speed manual gearbox, a rebuilt and much appreciated sunroof and totally restored in just about all areas. Like you plan to, I did all the work myself, with only the engine and sunroof farmed out to others. Body and paint I did myself. I spent nothing like the figures some have quoted as a result and my car is something I am very proud of.
However, in your case, some words of warning ? the ID is critical and, as far as I can tell, you will be very hard pressed to get one legally. The DVLA use a points scheme, aimed more at custom cars, using the term ?radically altered?, but they used to take this to include major restoration cases too (there were several articles about this in Practical Classics some years ago), with major parts of the original car required to be present in the rebuilt car, giving a point value for each item. This included values front & rear suspension, engine, body shell and I think chassis, where applicable, plus I think rear axle. The difficulty for DVLA is disproving this, should they choose to try, but in the case of the E-type, this becomes easier since the records kept were pretty good and were even include on the data plates of earlier cars, including I believe, all six cylinder cars. Of course the onus is on you to prove the car is legal, rather than the other way round, but the evidence you would be expected to produce will be difficult if not impossible to acquire. A quick internet search revealed this link:
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration ... d-vehicles
There is a link on this page regarding reconstructed classic vehicles too but I must stress my knowledge may be out of date as I was applying this to a Triumph GT6 which ended up with a legal registration and ID, but this was in 2004, before I moved to Australia.
Also, in terms of cost, you may have a trailer full of parts, but you really must find out what is in it ? cost of, for example door & window mechanisms, glass, dash panels, radiator, brackets, brake servo and cylinders are all amazingly high for an E-type and many are not common to other cars (although some are). Many of my parts were not initially usable, but could either be repaired or exchanged with professional rebuilders, if they are missing you have a problem. It does lead to opportunity too, for instance I had no radiator, so the purchase cost of an Alloy Radiator was very similar to that of a copper item ? a cost normally offset by the core charge gained when you exchange your old, damaged item.
So, proceed carefully, good luck and I hope it works out well for you ? keep us posted,
Regards,
Simon
