Its true.....

they did pencil the body number on the back of the dash panel .  Just started stripping the last of the Body Tub and in particular the dash panels.  And as I have read in a couple of places the panels left and right seem to have been tailored to specific cars.

Its coming apart so easily, its going to be a doddle to put back together....I dont think!  No seriously, they are pretty easy cars to strip down and everything has been well thought out.  I will post up a few more photos and update very soon.

A cruncy old box the Moss, but it looks nice now anyway

Here are a few photos of the box and diff as promised  and my new shelves too!

It seems a long while ago

It seems such a long while ago, what seemed like it was going to be obvious when taking the IRS apart now it comes to reassembly seems rather more complicated. There is much frantic flicking through workshop manuals going on!   I mean, I know that the diff sits in the middle of the cage and it has a wheel each side connected with a drive shaft etc, but the devil is always in the detail.  No only joking of course I remember how it goes back together.......help.

Anyway, with this restoration I decided to break the habit of a lifetime and get myself organised.  So to that end I have purchased a lovely set of shelves from Big Dug and fitted out my last empty stable as an E type shed.  When we bought the house, I had 5 empty stables and 4 cars to restore. Now I have 5 full up stables and no cars left in one piece.  Actually, thats not quite true.  I restored an early Range Rover and used 2 additional vehicles as donors, the remains of which are in my stables, so if anyone wants some RR parts please get in touch.  Anyway I am off topic again,  the gearbox also came back from the rebuilders and looks fabulous.  All the bearings, layshaft , seals and gaskets have been replaced, as well as the rubber bush on the gearstick and one syncro and gear unit.  Having decided I like the whine of the old non syncro Moss box, I hope I dont regret it when its all put back together.  The last E I had with a Moss box was almost impossible to drive, and I mean impossible.  I think it was just a bad example of what we all know was a super fine bit of engineering..ha!

Anyway, photos to follow as the rebuild of the IRS comes along, but in the meanwhile to add a bit of variety and to prove that not everything I pull apart never sees the light of day here are a couple of photos of one I finished earlier. I know its not an E type but I like it!  E Type Gearbox photo to follow.

Some nice glossy paint!

Well, after disappearing for a few weeks, and not making any posts I have made some headway with one or two things.  The diffential is back from the rebuilders, and has now been painted.  I have also got the suspension parts and drive shafts back from the painters.  Just waiting on the cage and a few parts to arrive and I can get the IRS back together.  Its great to see some parts now in paint and very satifying.  The diff is a 3.06 which is pretty high geared but standard for this year of production.  Interestingly the diff also has the chassis number stamped on it, well to be accurate the last 3 digits, 897 preceeded by the number "1" .  Anyway,  I am concentrating on getting the IRS back together before I pull much more apart , oh......I almost forgot, I have got the gearbox back from the rebuilders as well!   I will have to get a photo of that tommorrow.  Anyway, they have replaced the main shaft which had a little wear on it and all the seals , bearings, and gaskets.  They seem to think it was pretty good overall.  Anyway, another major item overhauled and ready to be refitted. 

Unforeseen obstacles

I am sad to say that the E Type project has taken a turn for the worse this week due to unforeseen obstacles which have conspired to slow progress.   The Garden!

One of the biggest conundrums I face is that when its cold and dark I dont want to work in the garage and play cars, which in the UK is 9 months of the year, and when its nice and one can, the wretched garden needs tending.  Well to be honest, as far as I am concerned it can look after itself, but as far as Group HQ is concerned its time for me to do my stuff!

Anyway, all is not lost, I have actually spent the time I do have in stripping a bit more of the E ready for its eventual body rebuild.  In working on this wonderful creation, more than anything else I have worked on, I am struck by its beauty.  Now I know you probably think I have taken leave of my senses or the effect of all this gardening has sent me potty, but in truth its not that at all.  If you work on an E Type, particularly the fixed head variety, its feels like working in a dressing room for top models.  The shape and feel of an E Type, even a rusty old relic like 860897, stirs the emotions, such is the wonderful design.  It really is a thing of immense beauty..  Once one starts to think like this you notice little elements of the design which are just stunning.  I am therefore going to run a competition to see which bit stands out as the best and most evocative part of the design.  I have my favorite already.  I will post it amongst all the other bits as I see them. 

here is one design statement I think is worthy of highlighing.  When you look at it you can see that it is a wonderful shape but not symetrical at all.  Further more it twists from front to back to follow the contour of the car...beautiful

I'm still here, but something is missing

The last 10 days has been a bit hectic to put it mildly, and whilst I have been getting on with bits and bobs on the E type other family matters have conspired to keep me tied up.

Anyway, can you spot the difference in the photo?

All the front suspension!  I broke one of my rules, and decided that whilst the rear suspension was underway, I may as well get along with stripping the front suspension and refurbishing that ready for refitting.  The thing I have always found with restorations is that there are a few quick wins that you can achieve quite early on in a project and they bring the vehicle to life and give you something to look at that is nice and shiny.  Getting the IRS done and finished will be one of them, and getting the various front suspension components blasted and plated will be another. I am thinking of putting the finished items in my bedroom so I can look at them when I go to bed. 

Anyway, down to basics, the rear axle, or differential was dropped off in the West Midlands last week for a complete refurb by a specialist.  My Goodness it weighed a ton, and as I dropped it off after the factory had closed for the day, I had to leave it with the security guard.  Not to worry , he was there to give me a hand getting it out of the car.......he held the door open whilst I struggled up some steps and into the office with the thing.  Ah well, anyway, its a 3.07 diff which I think is pretty high for an E type, we will see in due course no doubt. 

I also dropped off my Moss gearbox to be refurbished.  The initial view was quite good as the front layshaft had very little play on it, so maybe I have one with little wear.  Lets hope so.  So the plan is get the IRS done, the front suspension components restored and ready to refit and the gearbox done and ready to fit.  Oh, and the heater box.  Well, its such a nice relatively easy job to do, so I stripped that down as well.

For anyone interested , the front suspension came apart pretty easily, except I managed to snap one of the bolts that hold the top wishbone spindle tight. I was so annoyed as I took more time with the other three and they all came out easily.  As my Dad says, make haste slowly son!  Well he was right, I was rushing and it ended up costing me dearly.  I then broke a screw extractor off in the broken bolt.  In over 30 years of messing around with restorations, I can tell you that I have NEVER managed to get a broken bolt out with a screw extractor or easy out!  The problem with them is they expand the broken screw into the thread even more that it was before.  Anyway, after this little mess up I decided this was one for the experts, getting a screw extractor out of a broken bolt is a job in itself!  It amazing, I found an engineering shop just around the corner from me, who got this out and cleaned out the thread in less than 3 hours.  £30 well spent I think, and a new friend who can do amazing things. Currently they are making new engines for Vincent 1000 Motorcycle replicas.  A vey useful contact!  Anyway, the E is making progress and I am loving it!  More soon

What a difference a day makes

Great news today, I have just picked up the parts of the IRS unit from the blaster and they have come up really rather well.  I was very worried about the main cage assembly falling to pieces but its totally solid and only really in need of some pain preparation time.  Anyway,  here are some photos as the bits are today, and next off its get them into gloss black and start to rebuild the unit.