Hi Steve,
My gaskets are originals, as are the chrome surrounds. And yes, paint damage is a very real probability. When I remove my chrome surrounds, you can see in a few places some slight indentations in the paint where the outer rim of the ring has compressed the gasket and has been resting directly on the bonnet. The good news is, that helps me get the rings positioned properly. 
Being a driver and not a show car, this has never really bothered me, but your needs may be different.
All the best,
Jay
My car is a driver as well. Itās a low mileage car (34k) and in really nice shape, but life is too short to bury it in the garage. However, despite the driver status, I want it to look right, and sloppy gaskets would drive me nuts. I have heard the reproduced gaskets are a little bigger, which could be the problem.
That said, Iād love to find a set of original gaskets.
Installing these chrome parts is one of the more challenging items to add to a freshly restored car. I have installed two sets using new gaskets and they both have some rubber sticking out. I trimmed it with a razor blade very carefully.
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Annapolis Maryland. It was the only spot available when I parked the car and the E was the only one there when I left. I guess the other drivers felt intimidated 
John
Thanks for the slap up side the head! Of course I should trim the gasket, just didnāt think about it when I finished my conversion. I did do a lot of trimming on the A post gasket, after owning the car for almost 4 decades, I finally realized that the rubber supplied doesnāt always fit and that trimming makes a lot of sense.
Mike
Just wanted you guys considering converting your Series 1Ā½ bonnets to Series 1 to know that a certain BRG 1968 Series 1Ā½ OTS has today won first in its class (1961 to 1968 Series 1 Jaguar E-types, at the 2017 British Car Day in Bronte Park, Ontario) against mostly covered headlight competitors. British Car Day is the largest gathering of British cars in North America.
A few years ago I mulled over the conversion. Uncircumcising the bonnet. Iāve been ambivalent for years. I like the glass covers more than I dislike the heavy chrome trim. I called and talked it over with Chuck Hadley and in the end decided not to go ahead. He said he understands completely because the two bonnets are beautiful in their own ways. This is taken from his website:
''A couple of years ago, I had 2 dead bonnets sitting outside of the
shop for a couple weeks, waiting to be taken apart to save the
inner valances. One was a '63 and one was a '68. And after seeing
them every day side by side, I determined that the '68 just had a
better shape overall. And with their body-colored scoop, and
minimal trim, ā68ās probably have the best lines around the
headlamps. So, actually, I can see why they ditched the covered
headlights for safety reasons, and I think they did a pretty good
job with the ā68.āā
Think twice about converting over.
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Hey Nick, my car came with a S1 bonnet that needed to be replaced. I used what was left of it to horse-trade a small credit with Chuck to get me back to a S2 bonnet. He was able to use some of its parts. I also like the way both bonnets look but I preferred to keep my car period correct.
Congrats on your prize and it was great to see you yesterday. I looked at all of the E-types and I knew yours would take it. It sure looked good! Sorry we left without getting back to your display area as I planned. By mid afternoon we were overwhelmed by the time it took to view all of cars on display and we had to get out of the sun. Otherwise Bronte was a blast!
Anthony
Hey nick, congrats on winning first, after looking at all the e types at bronte I knew youād
win first, beautiful car
derek
hi tbob where did you buy your headlight conversion kit and what do you think of it ?
Does it have a thin metal rim and fit series 2 ? derek
I bought my kit from Marek. It has the thinner rims and is installed on my S2 bonnet. Installation had some challenges for me, but Marekās support was excellent, and the results are spectacular.
If you decide to use his kit I would be glad to share details of my installation with you.
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Wow Bob that looks great, are those lenes 090ā thick and are they lexan ? is the kit expensive ? the german kit from walhs is about $2500.
yours looks very professional, I take it no body work involved ?
derek costello.
Lenses are Lexan. As far as dimensions and pricing Marek would ne a better person to answer.
I had some minor filing to do on my bonnet openings, but it was sheet metal that had never been previously installed. Probably not a good example.
OK fine, still looks good, how do I get a hold of marek ?
derek
Heās still in bed, Derek, but you can be sure to hear from him in the morning. Your morning, that is.
Giving up on developing your own kit so soon?
69 Coupe
Good Day to all,
Have been reading this post, with interest. Although I will keep my original non-covered lights, I am very curious as to the color of the sugar scoops in some of the pics. I was always under the impression that they should be the vehicle color, but since mine will be stoplight red, when completed, a contrasting color might look nice. However, although I will never show my car, I would still not like it be have anything that jumps out as not āacceptableā to those more knowledgable than me on E jags
Mark M
Murrieta, Ca.
Hey there Mark. The very first cars featured body colour sugar scoops. Not much later cars extending to the end of the Series 1 were silver. Two theories on the change. One is that it was cheaper to have a bin full of sugar scoops all the same silver on the assembly line, and two the silver would reflect more light from those (quote) glow-worm headlights. It is worth noting that Jaguar deleted the glass covers one year before they had to to satisfy new US Federal safety regs. The writing was already on the wall. The E-type was not sufficiently safe to drive at night. Halogen headlights were a big improvement, pretty much solved the issue actually, but they were after the fact.
As to things that are āacceptableā to those more knowledgeable than you on E-types you will need to determine how the wind is blowing. It changes. A decade or so ago open headlight variant Series 1 E-types were valued the same, according to Hagerty, as those with glass covers.
According to Hagerty now, a 1967 E-type OTS in #3 condition is pegged at US$112K if it has glass covers, but only $75K if it has open headlights. A car produced on (iirc) January 17, 1967 is worth $37K more than an identical car produced on January 18. The only difference between the two cars is the glass covers. Everything else - the toggle switch dash, the triple SUs - and all the other inane 1968 changes mandated by the US Feds not there - everything else is the same. I expect Hagerty is out to lunch on this one but they were probably out to lunch 10 years ago too.
Forget about what other E-type owners value. Itās ephemeral. Itās what you value in your car that counts.
69 Coupe
Thanx Nickolas. I bought my 69 when I was 27, from a friend at work. I wasnāt really a Jag guy, I just liked the appearance and he was selling it. If I had been looking for an E, I would have searched for a n earlier model becuase I now like the SUās better and some other things on the earlier ones, As Iāve said before, I was born and raised in California and at 70 now, I would venture a guess that itās been 20+ years since Iāve actually seen an E Type on the road here. They are here, obviously, but I havenāt seen one in forever!!
We have local car shows every year, but 30% of the cars are dime a dozen mustangs nowadays. A lot of 50ās and 60ās chevyās etc, but no Jags! Mineās going to look nice, in and out, but I just want to take it to local show, sit in my lawnchair with my wife and watch folks as they look at it. Engines are my forteā. Itās gonna purr and anything that will shine, will! However, 98% will be original, which is why I ask about sugar scoops, etc.
When Iām thru with this, Iām going to get a 35 Ford 3 window coupe and restore it. My folks had one and I remember when they had to sell it. My mom stood by the curb when they towed it away and cried! It was their first car and they needed the money to feed my brother and I. My dad walked to work after that. They sold it for $5.00 !!
Mark M
Murrieta, Ca.
Thank you for sharing that detail. Many abroad donāt appreciate the fact that US of A has been built by and with hardworking folks.
Martin
Hey Nick:
No I havenāt given up, but I thought it would educational for me to see other kits not made by that German Co. Iām still working on it by trying to use edge fitting rubber with double
slots for glass and metal.
derek
Update! Since we are re-spraying the hood, Iāve decided to add the beading below the headlights. This involved removing the lead and cleaning up the channels. I visited the car today, and saw it mocked-up with the lenses and trim in place. MASSIVE improvement over those old series 1.5 lights. We discovered that previous bodywork around the headlights was not done to a high standard, so this is being corrected. Had it been done correctly, the conversion kit would not have required painting anything on the body. I hope to have the car back late next week. Iāll post more pics when this happens.
