In reply to a message from tbob sent Thu 23 Jul 2015:
Dear Steve,
If you consider solving the problem backwards, then a kit for a
s1.5 car will leave you with an inferior product by comparison to
the s2 car. The headlight opening on a s1.5 car will be smaller and
the headlight on the Jaguar s1 cars was further back and lower down
than was considered optimal. Empirical evidence is that Jaguar
thought so aswell, as their successive alterations to the design
kept moving the headlight progressively forward. To want to go
backwards would not be a good engineering solution.
Although it would not be a reversible solution, placing the chrome
s2/s3 surround onto the s1.5 bonnet and cutting to make that a
permanent alteration, would give you a far better soltion. In
effect, you are doing a āāreverse Metal-Monocoqueāā to the bonnet and
thus putting the headlight as far forward and high up as the bonnet
will allow.
kind regards
Marekā
v12 E-type running MS3/3X sequential lpg and petrol
āPosted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]ā
In reply to a message from MarekH sent Fri 24 Jul 2015:
Thanks for the reply Marek. I had my car parked next to my
buddyās series 1 coupe last week and was surprised by how
visually different the 1.5 2+2 is from the coupe -
especially the roof line. The headlights donāt look quite
so different (his are covered). I am now confident that
covering in my headlights would not be as aesthetically
pleasing as I originally thought
Steveā
'68 2+2, '87 Benz SL, '60 Mini, '68 MGC
āPosted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]ā
In reply to a message from MarekH sent Fri 24 Jul 2015:
The S1ļæ½ headlight opening is larger than both the S1 and S2/3.
If you were to recess and lower the headlight buckets into the
S1ļæ½ bonnet, attaching them to the headlight diaphragms ļæ½ la S1
and affixing slim chrome trim like your S2 conversion, then
with the S1ļæ½ bonnet you could achieve a superior covered
headlight design than the original S1. Not that Iām advocating
it. I rather like the S1ļæ½ bonnet design as it is.ā
The original message included these comments:
If you consider solving the problem backwards, then a kit for a
s1.5 car will leave you with an inferior product by comparison to
the s2 car. The headlight opening on a s1.5 car will be smaller and
ā
Nick Saltarelli '68 Cdn mkt E-type S1ļæ½ OTS, '54 XK120SE OTS
Niagara, Ontario, Canada
āPosted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]ā
Hi Merek,
I am trying to contact you to buy some headlight conversion kit but canāt find a way of contacting you (new to this site) can you help please.
Thanks,
Steve jackman
You can contact me via private message (āPMā) using the messaging app embedded into the site software. Once you are logged in to jag-lovers.com, you can just click on somebodyās name to find out out details about them, what they have posted recently and how to contact therm.
Hi - the kit I purchased is from Monocoque Metalworks, and does not require any altercations to the original parts or bonnet. Itās all bolt-on, and can be put back to 1.25 specs if desired. Iāve seen the results on other cars and it looks identical to a series 1 with one exception - the chrome strip below the headlight chrome would not be there. In fact, all the series one headlight parts will be in place. How is this done? By mounting the meal flange on the inside of the bonnet to the existing series 1.5 rivet holes. The kit I purchased includes enough extra metal on the parts to make this happen. With the flange riveted in place, the lenses, seals and chrome trim can be properly attached with the original hardware. Yes, the series one headlights may not work as well at night compared to the later design, but Iām ok with that. I rarely drive the car after dark.
That doesnāt sound like the kit Chuck Hadleyās supplying, unless itās a new offering none of us in here have heard of till now. The kit Iām familiar with requires the headlight flanges to be welded into the bonnet after cutting away a bit of the existing headlight openings.
Obviously, these flanges are designed to be installed during the metalwork phase of a bonnet restoration. That being said, though, several customers have purchased these with the intent of gluing them in (again by overlapping on the underside) with a strong modern assembly adhesive. This would allow you to do the work without repainting the bonnet. In this case, you would need to fiddle with the flanges a bit more in the fitting stage, Iām sure, as you want a very tight fit so they do not come unglued, and while I make them as accurate as possible, and have not had a SINGLE return after selling well over 100 sets, they are hand formed and have slight variations here and there. They do come ālongā, and are designed to be trimmed down during the fitting.
Another option is to use the existing 1/8" diameter holes around the edge of the Series 1.5 opening, which are leftover from the rivets that hold the Series 1.5 bucket in place, to rivet in the conversion flanges. This is actually a GREAT alternative to welding, as it is much easier, you DO NOT have to repaint, and the car can be easily converted back to the factory Series 1.5 setup. One of the dealers that I work with has done several cars this way, and always includes all of the removed Series 1.5 buckets, diaphragms, trim, etc. in the boot of the car... I now recommend this as the BEST way to do this conversion on Series 1.5 cars!
Now that is interesting. Odd he hasnāt included the option on his website because it would open up the possibility of additional customers whoād prefer a reversible mod. Does a glue-in install still require trimming the opening? Please do take pics and post them here as you go along.
My preference for a reversible closed headlight conversion for the open-headlight-variant Series 1s remains something along the lines of Merekās offering, unfortunately available only for S2s and 3s which wear the mod quite well in my estimation. Though the S1 glass covers are gorgeous imho the original chrome bezels are heavy and represent an assembly line compromise more than contributing to the aesthetic. Glass (or perspex) covers under a thin chrome bezel treatment a la XKSS on a later '67 or '68 bonnet would present perhaps the cleanest and most beautiful E-type of all (YMMV).
Nick, if you send me your email address, I will forward you photos from Chuck showing two customer cars with his kit installed. He said he has sold over 100 of these conversion kits,
Okay, I am once again confused. Steve, if I understand correctly, you are saying Chuck offers an S1.5 conversion that can be made without metal modification, a ābolt on,ā easily reversible covered headlight. Nick seemed surprised, as he thought only S2 and S3 were offered by Chuck. You posted a quote and photos. The photos you posted from Chuck show S2ās, your car photo shows an S1.5. Chuck in his quote says some have bonded his flanges under the opening, making it sound like welding may not be needed. But even if that is so, wouldnāt one still have to cutout and reweld/mount the headlight frame back further, meaning to most of us more than a ābolt on.ā
Tom
