What did you do to your E-Type today? (Part 1)

Still cutting and grinding out rusted and previously patched areas. The more I remove the more I find. This may end up with building a new car around the remains of a half rusted out transmission tunnelšŸ˜±

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But at least you will have easy access to the windscreen washing tubes!

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Married car and hardtop for first time ever. Donā€™t know why my camera makes it look so pinkā€¦

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ā€¦red balance is off.

Top looksā€¦tops!!!

From the front it looks more correct though, same lighting. Odd that.

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FTFY:

EM%20E-Type

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Used the inner tube trick to bleed the brakes. Easiest bleed yet, first rear, then the front:

Tried connecting it to both reservoirs at once but that proved to be an unnecessary complication.

Used a basic, common inner tube from Ace Hardware:

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havenā€™t heard of this one, but bookmarking it for down the roadā€¦

Which wheels do you have on it? Rim width and tire size?

Nice top, Erica.
I find that the hard top looks a whole lot better than the convertible top on any of the Eā€™s.

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Absolutely, and I think that they look best in body color.

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Iā€™d agree, but am showing my bias ā€¦

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Hello, bin away for 5 months to build a beautiful house on the hill. I want to ask you about the crack in the engine block, did you weld it? Because a bought a 3.8L engine with a crack also.
How is the crack welded , I want to know.?
Greetings Frank.

While it does nothing to diminish the attractiveness, I went out for the first time with aforementioned hardtop and was treated to a calamitous roar every time I hit the slightest bump or shake. First all three softtop clamps were hopping up in unison and sounded like a Yahtzee dice shaker. Following earlier advice I stuck thick paper on either side of the clamp handle and taped them all over with gafferā€™s tape.

Now I find that instead of Yahtzee it sounds like a clown is folding balloon poodles behind me, a sound previously drowned out by the dice hitting the Yahtzee board. Iā€™m certain itā€™s the seal rubbing. I have no idea why it moves around so much but it does. I thought I was being so smart when I carved the rear edge if the top so that it ended up being a perfect 1/8" gap all the way across. I thought such a snug and consistent fit might minimize movement but no. Iā€™m pretty glad I ran some electrical tape all around under the seal or it would have destroyed the paint.

Anyone found a magic lube for this that wonā€™t deteriorate paint or rubber seal?

Iā€™ll finish up reading, later, when I stop laffinā€™!

But, not at yer painā€¦:joy::joy::joy::joy:

I use silicone lube on rubber seals. Just make sure to wipe off excess: 3M film on the body is likely a good idea.

I had that film back there but removed it after 10 years because it was getting hard and yellow. it was such a nightmare to remove that Iā€™ve so far elected not to replace it. Instead I ran black electrical tape all around. I expect it will get gummy but that is easily removed later. Iā€™ll consider the silicone. I think I might try carnauba wax first.

I suspect that this is why every normal car company that offers a hardtop also puts fixing points on the rear deck to lock it down.

Similar. I use silicone o-ring lubricant I bought mine at a swimming pool supply store. Something like the below will do nicely.

https://www.amazon.com/Dow-Corning-Ring-Silicone-Lubricant/dp/B00CTUJNU2

The body lateral torque stiffness is that of a convertible of the day, for sure, and shows up on the rubber seal as shear movement across the back. Rather than try to stop it (which would be quite impossible trying to use the lightweight top as a structural anti-angular torque resistance member), itā€™s easier to accommodate itā€¦ now you know why I have Philips screws on the rear adjustable brackets, rather than the slot screw sliding screwdriver to make the appropriate adjustments on the fly simpler and save slashing the interior finish as a shaky old man while ā€œtuningā€ the assembly. Also, for our climate it made sense just to take the softop assembly off and use a custom tonneau cover in the summer. I also use a silicon matrix before donning the top for the shoulder seasons. As wiggles says, keep it minimal and to the point.

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Was it 3M? Ive not seen 3M deteriorate that way. Off brands, yea.