I originally posted in the E Type forum but perhaps this forum is more appropriate. Recently bought a 71 E Type 2+2 Coupe which the original owner was going to restore. He had the V12 and the manual tranny rebuilt but the havent moved from their spots on the floor since 1991. What is the best procedure to follow to bring back to life?
Jetjock,
I did this from a basket case on my new-to-me '72 SIII starting back in 1987.
First thing, you say both motor and trans have been rebuilt? Did they rebuild the carbs also?
I assume the motor/trans are in the car? Also assume the motor was started after rebuild-
Before you turn the motor over (assuming you haven’t?),
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Order some carb kits from Joe Curto in NYC area, pull the carbs and clean them, even if rebuilt in 1990 they’re going to have crud in the bottom of the bowl, and in the jets/needles etc.
Probably order some new jet covers (the plastic plugs at the bottom of the float bowl if they are original), these are a prime source of leaks if not paid attention to. Also unhook the passenger side hose leading to the carb fuel supply (connects to the forward side of the fuel pipe). Using the fuel pump (turn the key to the on position and the fuel pump should come on), drain all the old gas and put in 5gal fresh hi-test -the manual calls for 98octane but good luck getting that nowadays. 91-93 is about as high as I can find here locally. -
I would dump a tablespoon of oil down each plug hole to make sure that the cylinders at least have some lube when you do turn the motor over-
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pull the dipstick and see what the oil looks like- should probably change it and the filter. May not want to change it till you have the car at least started if it’s not looking too bad.
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get the carbs back together (DO NOT MIX the parts - take apart and re-assemble one carb at a time) and back on the car- hook everything up, turn the key to on but do not start - go look for any gas leaks first-
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if it were me, I’d pull the coil wire and turn the motor over till you see the oil pressure start to come up before I tried to start it.
Then you can try to start it - but we haven’t covered any of the adjustment you should do to the carbs while you’re reinstalling them.
Assuming you’re going to keep the car and do the mechanical work yourself, I’d look up Paul Clarkson (paul@pclarkson.com) and he’ll send you a really good guide to the Strombergs - how to tune them, etc.
Let us know how it goes-
How is the rest of the car? Was it wrecked? How many miles? Rare to find this car from the original owner-
Hi Tomcat, To answer your questions: The engine, clutch and transmission
were removed from the car and rebuilt in 1991. The body was sandblasted
and then sat in the shop for several years before it was rescued by the son
of the original owner. Meanwhile, the engine and the tranny, drained of all
fluids, sat on the floor of the garage. The car was coated in primer and
is sitting on its wheels. The carbs were rebuilt also and are in a box
with the intake manifolds. Body looks good except the son had the rear
wheel arches cut out to fit flares! Fortunately I was able to order a set
of repair panels from Welsh. Great shape with the exception of one bumper
that is dented. All the parts and pieces, hopefully, are in boxes.
Fortunately the car has been in a covered garage and the humidity here in
Calgary averages less than 25% so that may reduce the amount of internal
rust in the engine. I have all the paperwork including the original bill
of sale, all invoices and the father was a bit obsessive and kept a log
from the day he got it to the 65,000 miles it shows now, including odometer
readings, fuel milage and oil changes. All numbers match.
I have restored a 1949 MGTC, 1972 MGB and. 1962 AH 3000 but this will be a
challenge as I took my cars apart so had some idea of how to put it back
together.
Thanks for the advice. Larry
Depends on whether you want to do this right, i.e. keep the car and enjoy it, or get it back into some kind of running shape and flip it.
To do it right, you’re going to have to tear it down quite a bit further than what you described, and maybe this is done already.
What I did to mine, and I’m damn glad I did, was to tear the front end completely off, i.e. suspension, torsion bars(!!), unbolted the box frame from the firewall, etc. I’d seriously recommend that you do this, because the rubber you’ll get for the body grommets, gaiters for the power steering rack, etc are worlds better than they were. Yes, you can just put the motor back in it and set sail, but I promise you won’t be happy with it when the various rubber parts split. This says nothing of the rust I promise you’re going to find in various places (rear fenders are being replaced) and I assume from this that the rear suspension cage was removed? To do it right, you really need to pull the rear cage - not a big deal in spite of how it sounds - I think there are 4 bolts and down it comes once you have the driveshaft out and brakelines loose- and you do need to take the driveshaft out to clean/renew the u-joints… My fenderwells had rust in them, I basically took a wire wheel and cleaned out everything down to bare metal under the rear end of the car once I had the cage out. Another reason to take the cage down is the brakes- you should tend them while they are accessable - I’d be surprised if they weren’t frozen up after sitting that long. And again, the bushings being renewed will pay big dividends - mine drove showroom fresh in terms of bumps and lack of rattling and I’m convinced it was due to the new rubber I put in. Now, it’s not a rattletrap but neither is it showroom fresh… Back to corrosion- the oblong washers holding the bonnet together had white metal under them when I took them off- the car had very little to no corrosion treatment at all, so it’s almost a certainty that there is rust working away somewhere. And one place I found it was in the square tubes of the front supports forward of the firewall.
To do it right is a challenge, yes. But let me tell you that after 30 years of ownership since restoration, I do not regret one thing I did to the car in terms of taking the time to tear it down and make sure I knew there was no rust. It’s still rust-free and a real head-turner.
As to the motor, mine was a basket case like I said - but it also came with a factory workshop manual (not Haynes or Clymer, but a Jaguar original workshop manual. That saved my bacon in terms of showing how things went back on. I would maybe get the engine up on an engine stand and pull a few things off to check for lube - do you know if engine assembly lube was used, i.e. are the rebuilders still in business and can you call them? At least get a bore-camera and snake it into the sparkplug holes and see if any rust on the cylinder walls. Or, just tear it down to the heads so you can see for yourself and fix whatever needs it before you put it back together. The tranny should be okay, there’s not so much to go wrong with one of those, but I’d hope it was lubed before it was left sitting.
Sounds like a project for sure. And it will in fact be a challenge- but if it were mine, I wouldn’t hesitate to do some additional work while it’s basically apart.
Best of luck,
TameCAT
Thanks for the good ideas Tamecat! Presently have a 74 XK8 Convertible
that I will have to sell to finance the restoration of the E Type.
Probably easier all around to flip it but…I have always lusted after an
E Type!
Regards, Larry