E cats lurking in Forest of Dean need help

[MarkE]

Hello Boys and Girls
I?m Mark and live near the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. A Jag and Lotus nut for many years, I have a fine pair of E Types that are nearly, but not quite, finished. So I need a shot of enthusiasm and probably need to find some professional help to get at least one on the road!

The cars are a 1965 4.2 Coupe in Black, and a 1972 OTS in Primrose. I bought them from Paul Webb quite a while ago. Both came from California, and both are totally rust free.

The coupe has been subject to a complete nut and bolt restoration. One chap, Brian, completed all the mechanical restoration. He was a Jaguar apprentice in the 1950s and spent much of his working life restoring classics. Another chap, Richard, has spent the last 30 years with classics, and completed all the bodywork. The result is absolutely superb, but between them, they didn?t have the skills for trimming, and the car has the odd electrical gremlin. She?s running and sounding very good, with both bodywork and mechanical work having been carried out to the highest standards and to totally original spec, albeit converted to RHD.

The car hasn?t been registered in the UK yet, and needs the trim work completing, together with a final shake down and set up. Any pointers to anybody who could complete this would be much appreciated.

The Primrose V12 didn?t require such a level of restoration. The engine was pulled to reveal cylinder heads welded to the studs, and of course the deep bowl Californian pistons. A good pair of heads, a set of new pistons and a set of UK spec carbs and manifolds got her running as she should?and never had before! A trip to Alan Proctor got the old paint stripped, revealing a near perfect body?not so much as a parking dent. So she?s resplendent in her original Primrose colour again, but due to a house move and ?new house? restoration (it?s 500 years old) some 9 years ago, needs to be fettled back to the road. This I can do, but every time I go into the garage and look at the two of them, I feel as guilty as hell?so I need to get the coupe sorted, and whilst that?s away, sort the V12.

Phew, I feel better already!

Any suggestions (keep it clean) and / or counselling most gratefully received.

Mark

[Car-Nut]

Hi Mark,

I cant believe you have a pair of E Types every E Type enthusiast dream...

The early model and a late series III with all the easy driving goodies...

Harry may be your man to get a few pointers from is the moderator of the forum and owner of E TYPE UK if you google it.

A very nice helpful chap :D

Cheers

Clive

[MarkE]

Hi Clive
It is a bit over the top, but up until last summer there were 3 here?a very early S3 2+2 as well. That was for restoration, and with these 2 not finished, I had to let it go. The chap who bought it has nearly finished it 9 months later, which makes me even more embarrassed to have these two languishing here.

Just to show how completely out of touch I am, I hadn?t even realised the connection between E Type UK and this forum?even though the logo is at the top. I arrived here via the E Type club website (looking to join for the same motivating reasons) and assumed the forum was a club one. Apologies Harry?. I would like to talk to you.

The Coupe restoration has been fairly easy to this point, but to do it properly, very time consuming. Having the car in its original black didn?t help speed up the process, with the prep and paint costing nearly double that of the V12 in yellow?a far more forgiving colour to paint. Every panel is original to the car, as is all the chrome and glass, so everything fits properly.

The mechanical side was horrific, with everything to do with the engine, gearbox, final drive, suspension and steering all being stripped to their last component and rebuilt?and the car was only on the road in California for 9 years! Even the instruments have been rebuilt.

But hopefully she?ll be on the road this year. I still have the black Californian plate for her, which has a registration sticker of 1974 still on, so she?s been off the road for 34 years. I have some catching up to do?.

Mark

[Phil]

Hello Mark,

welcome and congratulations for you 2 E's !
Most of us here came via the E-Type Club as this forum has been
very kindly set up by Harry in association with the Club to allow
E-Type owners to discuss/share etc... about E-Types.

I am sure Harry would be able to help you or other list members to give
you valuable suggestions.
If you need support in trimming, you may have a look at www.aldridge.co.uk/main.htm

best wishes in your next steps and let us know when your first car is on the road again :)

[Heuer]

Two of the top people for trimming in the UK are Eric Suffolk http://www.suffolkandturley.com/ and Mick Turley http://www.mctjag.co.uk/ both ex Jaguar. Given the level of work done on the rest of the car they would be the destination of choice. Just had my OTS trimmed by Eric and it is an incredible job. Expect to pay ?5k, a lead time of three months and leave the car with them - book now if you want it for the summer!

[Erikantwerp]

Hello Mark,

Likewise a very warm welcome to our little group of crazy enthusiasts. Your cars look truly magnificent, well done and good luck with getting them on the road.

Should you be inetrested and/or get them on the road by June 14th, feel free to come over and join us on our first "live" gettogether weekend near Antwerp , Belgium on June 14th to June 15th 2008.

More information can be found under the "general" thread.

All the best
cheers
Erik

[MarkE]

I have seen the work completed by Suffolk / Turley (when they were one I think) in XKs, Es and a Mk 2 Jag, and it is superb. I would definitely be after work like that to complete the car.

I have done some trimming in the past, with mixed results. Using kits, the carpets, door cards etc. come out very well. But when it comes to the plump bits, like seats, centre console and the like, my lack of skill certainly shows up. The last car I did was a Healey 3000, which I traded in with Paul Webb to get the S3 E type, and the first thing he commented on was the rubbish seats! However, he did give me the S3 and ?5k for the Healey, so the overall result wasn?t too bad.

The coupe, I?m sure, will be a much bigger job than the OTS. The headlining and cant rails, the rear compartment side trims and the little folding compartment and rear hatch add a fair bit more complexity. All the more reason to get it right. I?m also putting in S2 seats, but trimmed in the S1 style. At 6ft 4inches I need all the reclined space I can get. No problem in the S3 in that regard thanks to the extra length.

As for the trip to Antwerp I would love to come, but work commitments this year make it impossible I?m afraid. I?m looking to get a lot more free time to enjoy the cars from next year onwards though?hence the need to find someone to complete them over the coming months.

I can still find time to enjoy E Type day at Prescott, which is pretty close to home.

[harryetype]

Hi Mark

I see a couple of the boys have mentioned me in this thread, with regards to trimming I always use Eric Suffolk especially cars that have been fully rebuilt like like your FHC. Its not worth spending a huge amount of money rebuilding an E-type then not finishing it off with first class trim, afterall the interior makes the car.

With regards to the rest of the work I could have a look at the car for you and even get booked in with Eric suffolk.

Please feel free to contact me at any time on 07887 885590.

Harry

[MarkE]

Hi Harry?that sounds excellent.

I think that there will be a lot more than trimming, as you know when a car has been apart to the last nut and bolt. I also understand that taking on somebody else?s uncompleted work can be a nightmare. A bit of background to assure you?.

Brian Moody completed all the mechanical restoration, with the exception of a bit of help from Rob Beere who saved the cylinder head (studs had to be cut to get the head off) and the differential restored by GKN (Dana). Brian is well known in Jag circles, having restored a couple of C types, and for Cedar Classics, an Invicta, a Lagonda and a few more exotics. He also used to run the workshops for one of the Ferrari garages in Surrey. He went at his own speed, and replaced or refurbished everything that wasn?t up to standard?between him and the Jaguar specifications, these were very high standards!! I don?t think there will be many issues with the mechanics of the car.

The bodywork has had the same attention to detail, and the bonnet, door and tailgate fit is superb. All original panels, so no issues regarding shape or component fit.

About half way through the mechanical fit up, Brian lost his clean workshop facility, and we had to take the car back to a corner of the bodyshop to complete the build. It was by then running and driving, but without the bonnet, doors and tailgate in place. The bodyshop wasn?t a great environment for the task, with the car getting covered in filler dust, and eventually it made Brian quite ill and I had to pull the plug. The three of us spent a week or so fitting up the bonnet, doors, tailgate, bumpers, lights etc just to finish as much as we could and to ensure that nothing was missing?then I brought the car home.

Some of the detail of that last bit of work may need to be re-done, and the electrics sorted. The suspension and steering haven?t been set up, and the carbs could probably benefit from a strip and clean. The window chromes needs to be re-chromed, as do the rear side glass chromes?.on and on. So a bit more than trimming!

I will write up a proper list over the weekend and talk to you next week to see if you want to take it on, and if you do, when. I will also assemble all the bits of old trim, internal chrome bits etc. to make sure nothing is missing.

The enthusiasm is back with a vengeance!!

Mark