Ready to reinstall front end . Wondering if the flat plates need to have sealer up against firewall. When removing we noticed some black material on the bolt threads. If it does have sealer any suggestions on brands?
Thanks in advance for info
Hi, in both of my E types there was a black very thin sealant, asphalt like around the firewall under the side frames. So, I used dum dum very sparingly as it does not paint well.
Regards,
Allen
Also known as 3M Strip Caulk. Wear gloves as itâll stick to you fingers easily.
Marley;
I used the 3M strip caulk as Rich mentioned. I did roll it between my palms so I had a narrow strip less then 1/8" diameter and put it around the edges and around the bolt holes of the sub frames then bolted them to the bulkhead. There will be no leaks for this car.
Regards, JoelâŚ
Are we talking about Jaguars here? 
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Jack;
How foolish of me, I should of added âfrom the subframesâ, is a more accurate statement.
Regards, JoelâŚ
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Thank you for the advice
Thank you , everyone has given me great advice
I wonât argue that it is a good idea for a restoration but I would also argue that it was not done at the factory. Hard to prove a negative but I do not recall ever reading anything definative that said they used a sealant in that location. I think the operative sealant was rust!
Marley, you didnât state which year your car was built but the early cars used a blackening solution on the subframe bolts. The part inside the cockpit probably stays blacker then the parts exposed to the elements.
I agree with Harvey. Also, its a mistake to pour on the paint in the areas of interface between the engine frames, the bulkhead and the picture frame, as this provides a gasket of paint between surfaces that should be pulled up tight. If the bulkhead and engine frames have been repainted, either do a dummy assembly, mark around the flanges where they interface with other components and then carefully scrape some of the paint thickness off with a sharp blade, or revisit all of the securing bolts occasionally for the next year or two and re-tighten them; they will loosen if there is an ample paint thickness between these surfaces
If you wanted to use a sealer, I would only apply it as a narrow border band close to the periphery of the flanges, leaving the entire centre area dry.
Brent
I do not think my car has ever had the frame rails loose or paint work done under the bonnet. Built Feb 1968. Some sort of sealant in this photo at least around the edges of the flange.
David
68 E-type FHC
My 1969 S2 FHC looked the same as this one.
As did my 69 2+2, January build date.
I didnât put anything in there when I did the FHC. I wish now I had used a bit of paintable seam sealer.
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David, separate issue but are those subframe bolts painted red or are they as plated silver.
Harvey I think they are painted red on my red car. I am out of town at the moment but when I get back I will try to remember to look at all of them more closely to see if my memory is correct.
David
68 E-type FHC
Harvey
I copied this from the Series Judging Guide. Hope it helps
UNDER SIDE OF BONNET, LINKAGE, SUBFRAMES, ETC.
BONNET
Gloss body color, cadmium plated bonnet linkage, safety catch & locks
FRONT SUB FRAME-BONNET PIVOT POINT
Changed from stud on sub frame to which bonnet hinge mounted to a bolt through the hinge into a threaded section of the sub frame at:
| 876458 | 850239 |
|---|---|
| 885385 | 860139 |
| (SB P.47) |
LINKAGE SPRINGS
Black
RADIATOR SCREEN
Frame - light gray - with black felt âfillerâ at top (J30-Pg.235) Screen - cadmium plated (J37-Pg.212)
HEATER INLET
Black Fiberglass - black or body color oval washers.
Note: Body color on the heater inlet was common on the first cars
SUBFRAMES
Gloss body color
BONNET SUPPORT
Gloss body color
SUBFRAME BOLTS
Bees, GKN, RO, Cranes, Richards, or Ruby Owen - black oxide or cadmium on late 4.2. Cadmium (see footnote A) plated nylock type nuts
SPLASH PANS
Black with black brackets
INNER FENDERS
Black
RUBBER SEALS
Retainer by black plates with pop rivets. R.H. side goes around complete inner fender
Footnote A:
Although the original Jaguar production line photos such as Porter pages 163,167,249,379 all show unpainted subframe bolts, from surviving original cars we know that some were painted.
Yeah, this turns out to have been a hotly debated topic in a thread 10 years ago. Iâm not wanting to get into it again but I was curious, while folks were looking for evidence of sealant at their subframe mounting angles, to see if their hardware was painted. Not quite idle curiosity, as I am in the middle of restoring my 63 FHC. Always good to collect data points when you can 
I had sealant and body color bolts
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Wow this is great info, I have the judging criteria somewhere in my pile of notes, I should have remembered I had that. I decided not to use sealant on the firewall attachment plates and my series 2 was produced early 69 so cad silver was the bolts I used. Thanks all for the great response.
Marley
Ditto, on Tweety, and it was unmolested.