Looks like you’ve got a nice car a treasure from your dad whether nice or not. You’ll have many cheerleaders here!!
pauls
Rob,
First thing I’d do is get Yosemite Sam mud flaps instead of the non descript ones.
Readily available in FLA, btw. So when you get it Rockledge…
There’s a thread on JL titled “Lets Build an E-Type Together”. I think its safe to say Joey’s doing a higher end refurbishment himself. You may want to study it. Many issues you will be facing since your car has sat unused as well. Joey made his decisions favoring reliability and saving time. For example he bought a new fuel tank, new “loaded” A-arms instead trying to clean & rebuild the old ones. Lots of interesting decision making from a guy who has a few old Jags and other vintage rides. Might be of some help in making your decisions.
I have to have half a million dollars of my labor in my own car -(but who’s counting at this point?) I’m three hours north of you in Fernandina Beach, FL.
Yes, looks to be in really good shape. The colour looks like it could be Opalescent Maroon (same as my car was) although it’s hard to tell in artificial light. The body does look really good and much of the chrome looks like it would come right up after a good polish with Autosol.
The wheels are probably shot but many folks use Dayton replacements and are happy with them. Re the trunk lid problem, I think there’s an outside release somewhere. Maybe an OTS owner will say.
There should be a small hole in your license plate panel. If missing, one should be drilled before shutting the trunk and do a test run so that you know how it works. It is a big problem if the trunk gets stuck shut.
Lube up the mechanism well also.
That has to go… When my wife bought me my '73 it sported those side moldings and had dents on either cowl where the front of the door rested on it when opened. Thankfully paintless dent removal fixed that PDQ.
Beautiful car and I too have a soft spot (in my head no doubt) for the S 1.5 and this looks to be a very nice example.
Cheers,
LLynn
On my Series 1 1/2 I installed an emergency pull wire from the boot lid latch to the right tail light. I can remove the tail light with a screw driver and get access to the pull wire. Never had to use it but sleep better knowing it is there.
1 Like
I did something similar and our mutual friend Steve asked ‘And where do you carry the screwdriver?’.
I then moved one screwdriver from the boot to the cubby.
2 Likes
Yeah, I’ll certainly be removing that when I get the chance! I might add a power shoulder seatbelt to keep the 80’s effect though…
RobY
Yes - my dad did all his own paint, body and engine work. I know he’s been through the engine at least twice, and body work and paint twice, in addition to intermittent repair work. The last “event” I recall was when he let my step brother drive it on the day of his high school senior prom. I think it was the first time he’d driven it, and he didn’t even make it to the prom - ended up crunching a good couple of feet of the bonnet under the rear of a pickup truck!!
When I was in middle school I remember helping him bead blast the shell, but I wasn’t around for the rest of the job. I picked up mechanic skills from him but not the body work and paint skills. I regret that now!!
RobY
1 Like
I’ve seen that stuff take paint with it. Be careful.
Yes - I’ve been following that as well as @69Cat adventures, and have bookmarked many e-type restoration websites I’ve found too. There are a lot of very passionate and talented e-type owners out there!
RobY
1 Like
I’ll need to look through whatever records I can find to see about the paint color. I don’t believe it’s an official Jaguar color because he asked for my help tracking down a paint code for a past GM color. I think it was actually a Saturn paint code of all things.
Once I can get all the numbers off the car I’ll pursue a heritage cert and see what the original color of the car was, just out of curiosity. To me, it’s always been maroon and that’s the color I intend to keep it. I will say I really like the gunmetal gray OTS’s I’ve seen too though.
RobY
Check under the boot lid, and/or the spare tire well.
Thanks Geoff! I had read about the access hole but I haven’t been able to check to see if there’s one there yet. I appreciate the picture - I hadn’t seen it before and it’s helpful!
RobY
You are welcome but I must admit I stole the picture from someone else who posted it. Not sure who it was.
Rob, Your story really resonates with me. I too am the custodian of an E-Type OTS my father purchased new and used as a daily driver. He did all the mechanical work himself, including a complete restoration in the 1990s. Unfortunately, he never drove the car much after restoring it and I naively thought it was well preserved under a car cover in his garage. After he passed away at age 93, I found a family of rats had been living in the interior eating the wool carpeting and pissing on everything. All the hydraulics were shot so there were no brakes and the clutch did not disengage. Nonetheless, the bones of the great work he did rebuilding the engine, transmission, IRS, front suspension, steering etc. was all there waiting to be brought back to life. Like yours, his car also suffered the indignity of stick on side molding, but fortunately I talked him out of putting those back on after the rebuild. Nothing makes me feel closer to my father’s memory than driving that car. I know my driving technique is a clone of his. My shift points, the way I hold the wheel, my braking, cornering and passing techniques all mirror his exactly. He set the standard I aspired to as a teenager. When I drive his car, it is very much as if he were still behind the wheel. It will take some work to get your car back to form, but it will be rewarding for you in ways you may only guess at now. You will find it well worth the effort.
7 Likes
Thanks so much for sharing that, Bob. I am really looking forward to diving into things. My sons are as well, which makes it even that much more special.
I too was concerned about rodent damage, especially with the farm environment and learning experiences with that in other stored equipment. Luckily, my dad hooked up one of those electronic rodent deterrent things and has had good luck with it.
RobY
1 Like
Hi Rob,
Love the color. The car looks great.
We have a 67. My Mom had the Jag. She is 90 now. I have been loving it for about 25 years.
My two sons, 25 and 27 have grown up fixing their own cars. We love piling in the garage and working on whatever needs fixing. They both love and drive the Jag.
Everyone is home for Christmas. Detailing Kyle’s 06 Acura TL, Mom gets new front brakes on her 15 Tahoe, Check, and fix ABS light on Austen’s 06 Tacoma. The Jag gets brake fluid flush.
We are right down the road in Vero. If I can help with anything just chime in.
Enjoy the addiction. The JL guys here are fantastic.
Tom Z.
2 Likes
Thanks Tom. Nice to meet you!! Now that I’m not-working-at-my-paying-job for the holidays, my younger son Carter and I are replacing the fuel filler neck and fuel tank in his 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. It’s his first car and came from the north and it’s a rusty mess under there!! Making progress though…
RobY
Rob,
All good stuff with your son. We have good times and memories
working on whatever cars they have.
We are by no means experts, but we will try most things to a
point. For me the older the cars better. The Jag has some tight
spaces to get to. Those old Brit guys must of had small hands, and
secret tools!!
If you get into it get the full shop manual. Membership in the
national Jag club will get you good prices on manuals, and they
have a great Jag factory specialty tool loner program.
The forums, and internet are a great help from the days when you
had to get a full shop service manual. I do have the full service
manual, parts catalog, and Santa is getting me the owners/operator
manual for the Jag. The printed parts catalogs are great from XK ,
and SNG.
I will try and send projects pictures.
I am digitally handicapped!
Enjoy the time with the car and wrenching with your son. It's the
best.
By the way our 67 Jag OTS (it is a driver) is opalescent gun
metal grey. I don’t it was available in 67, was the next year.
Keep in touch,
Tom Z.
Vero Beach