Installation of short chrome beading

[kruemmi77]

I would like to replace the short chrome beading between the headlights and the bumpers on my 66 S1 4.2 .
I already have the beading and the clips.
What would be the easiest way to install them ? Do I have to remove the "sugar scoops" and the headlight covers to access the inner side of the bonnet and install the clips ? Or is there an easier way ?
Thanks for any advice,
Marc

[Cgarside]

In my experience your will have to remove the headlamp glass and scoop to gain access. Once you are able to get behind the bonnet seam between the wing and centre panel, you may have to loosen the .25 UNC bolts to create sufficient gap to slide in the brass finisher retaining clips. (Note: on the seam running along the top of the wing, there are spacer washers between the wing and centre panel flanges to facilitate retailer fitment)). The chrome finisher will require gentle shaping to follow the line of the seam and should fit behind the bumper rubber and under the chrome headlamp surround. The last thing before final installation is to apply plenty of waxoil between the bonnet seal, since it is very difficult to avoid slight damage to paint (and there may well be very little paint between the bonnet flanges)
As ever, one of the more time consuming small jobs which in the end make all the difference.
Enjoy, Chris

[rfs1957]

Having spent hours gently adjusting the shape of the headlamp perspex covers so they allow the rubbers to sit more naturally within the recess of the wings and within the contours of the chrome trim, the result is way tidier, even if there's still a hint of rubber here and there.



BUT I'm faced with a quandry regarding the chrome beading on the top wing - before these used to protrude under the chrome headlamp trim, comfortably nestling in the excess of rubber that poked out of the top. Now that the trim is so much closer to the bonnet, they don't fit any more, hence the protruding length at the winscreen end.





What is the accepted compromise for making this junction look neat please ?

[ChrisC]

Actually I would slide the whole strip deeper under the Headlamp trim so that it aligns with the end of the bonnet. I also place a small amount of putty over the top of the bonnet bead (under the lamp trim) to provide a waterproof seal.

[PeterCrespin]

Now that the trim is so much closer to the bonnet, they don't fit any more, hence the protruding length at the windscreen end. What is the accepted compromise for making this junction look neat please ?
[/URL]

I must be misunderstanding the question, because presumably the answer 'cut the chrome trim slightly shorter' has occurred to you but been rejected? Speaking empirically, if the trim can't be moved forward and also mustn't be cut, you'll have to lengthen the bonnet. Cutting the trim doesn't look so bad now eh? :-) If you really don't wish to trim the trim, you could flatten the front quarter inch and 'persuade' it forward a little, under the headlamp chrome?

[Heuer]

It is also possible to contour the headlamp rim with a 'notch' over the bonnet trim but probably best to do that before you have the rims chromed.

[the doc]

very good question I will be facing this shortly as well .
Can anyone on here after all these years say with certainty how this detail left the factory.

Gary
63 FHC

[rfs1957]

Now I've tried it, and thanks to Chris C, tthere is indeed actually enough spring in the bead, and sufficient gap between the wing/bonnet panels, to accomodate the bead underneath the headlamp bezel (without having to lengthen the bonnet Mr Crespin, thanks for the tip).

I imagine that if you spent enough time adjusting the perspex, the rubbers, the bezel shape, and the body-work, you could get a perfect espousal of the wing/bonnet shape by the chrome bezel with no gaps anywhere and no rubber visible anywhere ............ and there would indeed be no room for the chrome beading.

However, in my real world it worked OK.

Incidentally, I found it much easier to fit the rubbers once I had abandoned any hope of "one little hole per screw" and used a hole-punch on a block of end-grain soft-wood to clear the ovals right out.



One suggestion : the bezels can be such a dock-yard job to remove/refit neatly (mine require coaxing of the rubber seals into place) and the chrome screws are so easy to damage (since they are made, today, as supplied from both principals, with slots that are too narrow for a correct-width blade screwdriver) that I wanted to be able to modify my headlamp beam settings WITHOUT having to get the covers off - personally I think this is an adjustment that can require tweaking over time, trading off blinding oncoming traffic against seeing where I'm going etc

By slotting the ends of the adjuster screws with a fine-disc on an air-grinder ...........



getting an old screwdriver with a bit of brake-pipe crimped on with a bullet-crimping tool ...........





heat-shrinking a sleeve to smooth it all off .........



and cutting a hole in the end of the rubber sleeves that protect the adjusters ...........



it is perfectly possible to adjust the headlamps from the back - the bonnet requires lifting up for a couple of the adjusters (or use a shorter screw-driver than mine ?) and it needs some silicone-grease to ease ingress and reduce the fumbling ???.. fnaar fnaar.



Sealing up the holes is easy by using ?? lengths of black sponge rope (as used to plug the diamond-sawn expansion slots of concrete industrial flooring before sealing with Sikaflex or w.h.y.) - these are a perfect tight fit in the original sleeving.



and since stocks would appear to be currently adequate I would be happy to supply a length f.o.c. on demand.

[Heuer]

In 14 years of ownership I have only adjusted my headlamps twice - the day the car was delivered and last week, out of curiosity, when messing around with the relay upgrade. On the other hand I have to take my headlamp covers off regularly to clear out dirt and muck from wet roads or simply washing the car. Interesting modification though. Incidentally do you realise your sugar scoop screws are mounted the wrong way round. The threads should be coming into the wheel well, not the heads People assume because there are captive nuts on the scoops the way you have them is correct. In fact the factory used the captive nuts to secure the bolts whilst the scoops were lined up to the bulkhead.

[rfs1957]

Maybe you never adjusted them just because they were so awful, pre-relay tweak. Certainly was my case, but it's only been 9 years.

Took your earlier point about the studs on the scoops, but fitting mine is fraught enough already without having the extra length of 3 studs to scrape the paint, and since 3 screw-heads looks so much neater I can't see the problem. Other than the sucking-in through the teeth ..........

Quite why the outer captive nuts are on the front, and the centre on the back of the scoop, escapes me ?

Whilst on the subject, are my adjusters in the standard place ? Seen from the front they're at about 3 and 6 o'clock.



The mods that had been made by the PO were confined to the buckets, and since it had been done very neatly and I wasn't sure I'd get new ones that fitted my brand-new and apparently original flat-backs, with adjusters in the same place, I've re-used them for the time being, using a tiny strip of black foam behind the chrome rim to guarantee the squeeze.



The PL700's are now in fact perfect, end up properly aligned, and the adjusters are roughly in mid-position when the beams are correct, so difficult to do better.



Now why can't I get this ----- picture straight ?

[Heuer]

Adjusters are indeed in the correct place on the buckets and I see you have new ones (flat backed buckets that is), presumably not from SNGB because theirs don't fit and are so wrong it is unbelievable they sell them :? The only ones to buy at the moment are those from Holden Vintage and Classic. They share the same problem as yours though - the spring retaining clip on the bowl is not spot welded in place as original but held by a screw or rivet. I would worry about water ingress with that system so you need to think about sealing both inside and outside of the screw hole because if moisture does get in your PL700's will be ruined very quickly. Another tip is to make sure you use a sealing boot over the bulb socket - they are usually supplied with the headlamps but are probably available separately. Getting one small enough to fit is a challenge however. This is off a Renault Clio:


As for the sugar scoop bolts being the wrong way around it is a bit of a 'rookie' mistake and easy to spot which makes anyone with a bit of knowledge think "what else has been done wrong?". Actually it is easier to fit the scoops with those bolts the correct way around which is why Jaguar did it - to simplify the build and reduce work time on the line.

[rfs1957]

They are originals I believe, and would have been fitted when the car was rebuilt in 1990 - maybe NOS was available then ? PO went to (documented) extraordinary lengths to find only original parts. So no sign of leakage and the rivets and the spring-seats were all in place when the chrome / black-chrome finishing process was carried out, no leaks present or apparent. Besides we have 300+ days of sunshine a year, average 7h22 per day, why would you want to drive an E-Type in the rain anyway ?! Especially when it's Cream and is such an unrewarding b---h to keep clean.

[Heuer]

With all that sunshine why are you bothering with the lights?

Doubt there were any NOS available in 1990, besides they were generic parts bin items back in the day - there is no part number for them in the Spare Parts Catalogue as far as I can see, which is odd.

[hankslick]

Removing the headlamps and sugar scoops is a lot of work just to install/replace these short pieces of chrome beading. I've found it much easier (though not easy) to simply remove the motif bar which allows one to reach through the openings on either side to bend out the brass beading fasteners underneath. And if your arm is really thin, you don't even have to remove the motif bar (which can be tricky, requiring loosening the bumper overriders.)
Hank S