For all of you that have been kind enough to watch this blog, I have been sidetracked on finishing another project which I needed to get out of the workshop.  However, things are about to get going again.  I am picking up the painted parts for the rear axle this weekend and I promise to get some photos up and move the E forward again.  A trip to Goodwood last weekend served as a great motivator, as there were some beautiful series one cars to oggle.

ok, so whats going on?  well I have to admit that I have another project that I am restoring alongside the E and this has meant that I seemingly neglected 860897.  Not true,   I am still awaiting the painted bits to reassemble the rear IRS, and I have also made up some natty little dollies for transporting the E around the shed.  I bought the basic dolley from Machine Mart and then adapted them to carry the greatest car ever made.  I will endeavour to photograph my application for those that may want to do the same.  However, whilst I am in fact an superb welder, those that spend the time to study the welding on these frames should realise that they were put together by a blind man on a galloping horse as I was in the pub at the time!  Anyway, all is well with the E, and I am hoping for some real traction in the next couple of weeks to get things going once more.  Photos to follow. , but meanwhile here are some of the E before I vandalised it.  It even looks good on a trailer!

Oh dear, not been very active at posting recently I am afraid.  I have been a bit sidetracked on another project and I am still awaiting some bits back from the paint shop for the IRS.  However, I did manage to make up some dolleys for trailing the E type around and will post up some photos tomorrow.  Thanks for watching and I hope to get moving again soon.  

I thought it was going rather well

Wow.  Bent double in the FHC removing the wiring loom, wiper mechanism and heater pipes is a job I am not looking forward to reversing in a few months time.  The loom is quite a bit more involved than I had thought and I am sure its going to take some careful planning to get it fitted back in correctly, well a new one anyway.

The wiper mechanism is pretty fiddly too.  Basically there is a double skin on the E Type bulkhead and the wiper mechanism and the heater pipes fit in between the two and there are three holes about the size of a hand to work through.  Note to self.....make sure the wiper mechanism is greased up nicely when refitting as if it squeaks in action it would be akin to heart surgery to get it out once the dash and wiring loom is in.

Anyway, the old girl is pretty bare now, not much left to remove before the tub can go off to be rebuilt. As I stripped the E down I have thought about attempting the rebuild of the tin work myself, but to be honest, the experts out there are so much better prepared it really would be false economy.  They have the jigs, experience and welding equipment to make it a much better job.  And it will free me to restore and renovate all the bits ready to fit back into the car when it comes back.

I have found another Iconic bit to consider in my competition of the all time favorite E Type part.  The centre dash.

I know all you chaps with 4.2 series one E's will prefer the all black dash. But for me, this is a superb bit of design and was a key element in helping establish the E Type design status. The early toggle switches connect the car with an early time, and illustrate how the E when launched was such an advance on other machines.  More to come no doubt as the rebuild continues.

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.

What a mucky job

Well I had a bit of time today, free from the rigours of work for a day, and able to spend some quality time with my new love.  Today was the day that I got down and dirty with the rear suspension.  Some jobs I enjoy on restorations , and some I spend most of my time wishing that I had already finished them.  Its a sort of masochism based upon the old premise, that its a dirty job but someone has to do it.

The first mistake that I made today was that I used up 10 pairs of surgical gloves.  Everytime the phone rang, I had to take off my bright green marigolds and then they turn inside out you have to dump them.  Well I suppose you could turn them outside in again, but you would likely get more oily than if you had not bothered to wear them in the first place. So an expensive day on the glove front. 

Second, pain in the backside was that whilst most of the nuts, bolts and split pins on the IRS came apart with gay abondon, the circlips holding the Universal Joints in were mostly seized in their slots.  This entailed much handling of the greasiest bit I have found on the car to date.  In may ways, I am pleased to see that the car had been well serviced prior to being laid up as the grease was plentiful, but it does make for a horrible job.  Anyway, all my tools are now covered in a nasty mix of rust and grease and will require a thorough cleaning before using them next. 

So , we now have the IRS in bits, the diff ready to go off the reconditioners, and I am now going to have to order a whole load of new nuts bolts and seals to put this unit back together.  But hey.  what else could I be doing with my time,  I mean who wants to be Spring Skiing in the Alps anyway?

It really is an Independant Rear Suspension

With one of the rear metallistic mounting rubbers broken, I imagine my IRS unit brings a whole new meaning to Independant Rear Suspension.  Anyway, I have started the strip down of the IRS with the target of getting the diff unit off to be reconditioned, blasting and painting all the rusty bits and plating all the steel that needs toi look shiny!   So far its all coming apart easily enough just greasy and mucky job.  Quite rewarding though to be getting rid of all the gunge with a wire brush and some paraffin.  Here are some interim photos,

The thing that worries me...........

is that when I was a little lad, my granny had a toy shop..Yes seriously!  Every trip to the toy shop resulted in the latest Corgi or Dinky toy car or truck.  I had the lot, but there again, if you cant eek a free toy car out of your Granny when she owns a toy shop you werent showing very good form were you?

Anyway, I had a habit of taking all the rubber wheels off my cars, and losing them.  I think I swallowed a fair few, but my dear father reminded me of my habit of pulling things apart and sure enough a quick look in my toy box at my parents home confirms the facts.  Most of my toy cars were wrecked and in pieces.  Oh dear, as I have now dismantled my rare survivor E Type into goodness knows how many parts I feel the hand of responsibility on my to get it back together quickly!  Things always come apart quicker than they go back together though.

So todays efforts resulted in the front subframe coming off and now I really feel she is making headway.  Not long now before I can get the body off for restoration and start on the IRS. 

Down and out

Well having arranged for the wife to go to London for the day, it gave me a good few hours to struggle with dropping the engine and box ( not literally)   All went as it should apart from a tricky job with the torsion bar plate which must have been in there since 1962.  Took a very welcome break to have coffee with my mate Trevor who was very keen to help but came without his overalls again!.  Going to buy him some so as I can catch him out next time!

Anyway, here are the piccies and maybe the front subframe off tomorrow