Yep, that’s just about what I figured… It’s which side of the “maybe” I end up on that’s the question … I gotta do it for the love of it.
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Good to know!! And thanks for the pointer!!
I would put a long strait edge down the full length of the right side of the car that should give you an idea of how much structural damage there really is. I’m just finishing a 68 that had all the main body rust repaired did almost all of the work myself ending with around 70K in the car but worth every penny.
Mark
Yes, it’s an OTS. Already has closed headlights. As you suggested, I was thinking of taking the existing dual Strombergs and going to the triple SU. I did the triple Webers on my Healey and was not happy. The constant velocity dashpots on the SUs are really made for these engines.
As for trends and history, I think I agree … it’s a fading glory.
I had a Mark 1. I would still like to find a decent Mark3 with O/D. Side curtains suck.
You have to do this if its something you love doing. Visited my E today to see the bonnet progress and shop owner commented on how rusted out and “lacy” most of his restoration projects are, coming in. So, if this E passes your sniff test as to metal condition, then go for it. Check YouTube for monocoque metalworks videos,( especially the structural ones), as well as those from Maikel Lemke and Richard Michael Owen. Get yourself a Bentley e type repair/shop manual and the jaguar e type parts book. And I second the Martin Robey panels. The replacement lower valance the shop ordered for my E needs little if any “fettling” and fit right up. Everyone here will be of help, just ask!
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If you’re confident in your ability to cut out the damage and restore it accurately within +/- 1/16” of spec then maybe you should go for it. From what you describe though it’s going to be a real challenge to make this car straight again. How many years do you have?
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Nick is right.
The car will need to be put on a dedicated E Type jig to accurately replace the panels.
Chuck at Monocoque Metal has one and does excellent work.
Count on replacing more than you can see presently. Outer and Inner sills, and complete floors at minimum.
A Body Shell is NOT something you want to do a learning curve on. The entire project centers on this being done properly.
Count on replacing subframes.
If this car carries a salvage title with it, I would seriously factor that into your decision.
Best of luck on this one.
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I’d buy a complete S1 E Type for $15k any day of the week.
I think the dollar and hour numbers you’re quoting are pretty fair estimates.
The good thing about the E Types is that (a) pretty much all the parts are available and (b) you’re probably not going to overcapitalise.
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Ya you need a jig to do it right other wise your just guessing
Not really.
This sort of measurement and repair is pretty common. As above you need to tie down the body and use reliable datum points from the floor.
Once you know where you are chain/porta power etc allows you to pull it back into place.
If you needed to construct a jig for every car you repaired you’d run out of storage for them, even if you could actually get a set of measurements to make your jig in the first place
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I agree with you completely Andrew. If you set up the car on a solid level surface using an accurate horizontal/vertical laser level along with tape measures straight edges, and the available dimension chart the body can be returned to standard form. A body jig would be nice but that is assuming you could source an accurate one or build an accurate one yourself. I think that doing that would be a much bigger cr@#shoot than just going off the factory chart. Some good photos sent to Monocoque will get you their accurate panels that can be used for alignment plus a list of the ones from other manufacturers that are accurate. That is the route I chose and it worked extremely well for my previously crash repaired and rusted out ots. Most measurements ended up within Nick’s mentioned 1/16 inch tolerance and all were well within 1/8. Self tappers are your friend for set up. No welding till everything is correct. Resist the temptation to assume that something does not fit because “they were all hand made” unless it is a very early car. In my experience it was invariably because I had done something wrong that needed to be corrected.
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If the cowl and firewall are damaged, I wouldn’t attempt it. The shape and alignment of the entire body structure flow from there. I’m not sure if there are off the shelf repair panels for that area.
Are the whole tubs or bulkheads not cost effective for ones like this ?
https://www.martinrobey.com/jaguar/body-shells
David
68 E-type
I’ve basically rebuilt an XKE that a “restorer” who was really just a body guy tacked metal in place then bondo’d over it. After about 4 years part time i finished. But I did panel by panel so that the basic alignment was not altered. Generally, I’ve seen basket cases be well over priced with people thinking that this would be the lower cost way to get an e type, using their own sweat equity. But unlike a mustang, this is a monocoque where as Michael Franks indicates is a different animal (jaguar vs. mustang 
). I’d give Chuck at Monocoque Metalworks a call 443-907-2287. Chuck is GREAT!! and the parts that he sells are EXACT duplicates from originals that he’s measured. Look at some of his videos on YouTube. I’ve bought a lot of panels from many others and trying to get them to fit wasn’t the easiest thing to do.
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Thank you for the good advice!! I did call Chuck, and he gave me valuable information.
I appreciate all this great information from the Forum!!
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sounds like more than you can buy a good example for
I would take the 1500 hours and drive around in a finished car.
LOL. Good advice. That’s why I’m on the fence. I do this sort of thing just because I love it. But I do have to ask myself if I want to spend the next year of my life doing this, or if there’s something better I could be doing with my time!
Thanks for your reply!!
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Now that made me smile ruefully, because I have without exception grossly underestimated the time it would take me to complete any of the restorations I tackled.
Multiply it by three … at least.
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