If this were mine, I would put a big pipe clamp across the center section and squeeze while simultaneously working the center part. The pipe clamp will help it move the way you want it to.
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Youâd have to be very careful, doing that: otherwise, the metal could be deformed in such a way as to make it figure 8 shaped, where the clamp was bearing on the sides. That would end up making the gap twixt the center section and the wings wavy, longitudinally.
If your going custom go low drag coupe that was cool!
But lets be honest, come close, this car was built on a shoe string budget, even the great Ferrari GTO has a front nose that look like it came out of a chinese take out tin.
Id go low drag 
In case it helps here is my Feb 1968 bonnet opening. I think the motif bar is pretty well centered. Perhaps a little more opening below the bar.
David
68 E-type FHC
Built to a budget, certainly. Shoe string? I do not understand. IRS, twin cams, triple carbs. Polished cam covers, 4 wheel disk brakes. Priced higher than many cars.
Tom
Thanks David. I am amassing quite a few photos, from various sources. One thing I am starting to see is that the opening got slightly more oval in the corners during the timeframe our your car and my 2+2, versus the opening for the early cars. This points to the fact that my 2+2 (the blue car posted above) is probably not going to be the best candidate as a pattern for my 63. The re-search goes on!
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Tom Jaguars of this era looked wonderful, even the greats working on them and testing used to sayâŚ
If Jaguar spent 2 CENTS more on this part or 3 cents on that part , it would have made a big difference.
If you look at a TRUE SURVIVOR never touched, the panels for THAT TIME are ok, but compared to a restoration today they are terrible.
Compare the Aston or Ferrari or Maserati , yes the price was less but the metal, fit and finish were night and day.
As for the front nose, the saying at Jaguar was thisâŚIf the front nose looked perfect!
It was made on a wednesday afternoon at 3 pm.
gtjoey1314
How was Jaguar any different than any other somewhat mass produced car? Ford saved money everywhere they could. And so did Lincoln and Cadillac. They all spent as much and as little money as they had to to meet the demands of their target market/price point. If anything, I would say Jaguar spent MORE on stuff than their competitors. Who else in their price range in 1961 had all the things I mentioned above? At any price? Porsche? Mercedes? Ferrari? And they all cost more. I believe Mercedes did not even have leather standard on the 230sl, it it cost more. Who is cheap? They all saved where they felt they could, just like today.
Why would anyone compare? This is a whole new topic, but how many hours went into the typical new car. 10? 100? How many in your top end restorations? And the restorations do not even have to do the big stuff like design, molds, casting, etc.
Tom
Tom, Jag ALWAYS PINCHED THE PENNY compared to the rest and in the end LIKE TODAYS JAGUARS, It showsâŚ
You and I have a fond memory because of our age and childhoods growing up with these cars.
We dont care, I love the brand, but you cant recreate something better it doesnt look the part.
The wind up in this thread is YOU CANT GET A 2020 laser cut front replacement nose out of a 55 year old jaguar, its a different time.
Look back at Norman Dewis oe Walter Hassan, they always said the same thing , spend a couple cents more and the jag would have been on a higher level playing field.
Most restorations are OVER restored by 200% compared to when it left the factory.
So enjoy the car for what it isâŚEven Dens Jenks who knew everyone at Jag gave him his Etype bonnet with the growler UPSIDE DOWN Having fun
GTJOEY1314
Question for those experienced in repair of bonnets,how bad is this? Intake is flattened off across the bottom,1 obvious kink just right of lower center and more metal displaced a few inches further right,damage also around bumper/nudge and lots right across the bottom.Will it or should be fenders off? etc.
Thatâs not that bad.
To repair that undertray could be done in situ roughly (by the measure of most, here) enough do that nobody could tell, unless they got on their knees and looked under.
To do it âcorrectlyâ would require its removal.
blow up the 2nd image underside,lots of damage,hard to see in the images but the whole underside is pushed up.Came down a steep hill at 80kmh depression across the road at apex of dip,suspension compressed and BANG into the depression.
Yea⌠I know. Tweetyâs was worse. Tweetyâs got caved-in by an apex tire.
It came out acceptably.
Certainly they could have, but that was not their market. And everyone thinks their boss is cheap.
But now you do have me curious. Where was Jaguar pinching pennies compared compared to the rest in their market, or even 20% above their market?
The twin cam, alloy head, triple Su carbs, 265 hp?
The torsion bar front suspension?
Lucas and Smith components regardless of reputation were not cheap?
IRS when very few had them?
4 wheel disk brakes when nobody had them?
Leather seat facings, which even today is often all one gets when they pay extra for leather?
Reasonable amount of chrome, even on the resonators?
Wire wheels with knockoffs?
Wood and alloy steering wheel?
Full instrumentation and toggle switches?
Monocoque chassis with tubular subframe?
Lined trunk when many had only rubber mats?
Covered headlights?
Body panels that fit above average for the day, and same with paint?
About the only thing that I can think of at the moment that was âcheapâ was the non synchro first gear transmission. And it was durable.
So help me out, please list all the penny pinching they did.
Arthur Whittaker was Jaguarâs materials buyer and was clearly tutored by Bill Lyons. For example Smiths offered the rev counter in two grades, standard and Rolls Royce quality. The latter cost an extra ÂŁ1 so Whittaker went for the cheaper unit. Dealers, especially in the US, begged Jaguar to increase the price of the E-Type and use higher quality parts but Lyons refused.
Exactly my point why would anyone put a Rolls Royce Tach in a car costing much less than a Rolls. And not only that an awful lot of those tachs still work. Mine had never been touched.
Tom
Letâs go back in the time machine shall we
Sorry the pictures took up the text
Iâm at a computer now
So all the above pictures we consider ourselves friends
From Norman Dewis to Brian Redman to Michael Quinn Gary Bartlett and so on
Most were all there as Adults and have always confirmed what I was saying
The rear is a master piece , the old moss box was a joke
The bellows brakes were terrible and the old dynamo in the 60s just didnât keep up
Go to you tube Norman was very vocal on MANY interviews along with the othersBrian was a lot more colorful
As wellđ
Itâs a known fact from old parts in new cars to XK engines long in the tooth for 40 years!
No one loves Jaguar more than me
No one
Someone find the video of when Norman has to sell the used racing tires at the track to get a ride home
To get the thread back onto Harveys original topic I will relate my experience with my 67 that had a relatively undamaged centre section but a badly beat up belly pan. As I had bought a lot of replacement panels from Chuck at MM I contacted him to ask if the lower opening was a mirror image of the upper. The answer was no. He does not lend or sell templates understandably and while he could make me a patch panel which would be pretty pricey, being the honest guy he was he is, he recommended that I spend a few hours with a hammer and dolly to reshape the metal into where it looked right and where the metal naturally wanted to go. At that point and only then cut out any really thin or rust or torn spots. I ended up with the upper half of the opening being a pretty even oval shape and the lower half of the opening being slightly larger with a more pronounced curve at each end and a less curved profile in the centre. To my eye it matches most of the pictures of the openings I have observed. It is my understanding from reading the bonnet shaping articles in Chuckâs blog that the very early bonnets were slightly different shaped than the later ones like mine.
It would be great if any of the listers who restore these cars professionally could chime in with an informed opinion.