I had the same problem when I replaced the seal on mine. I had to press down on the number plate light surround or on the panel below the number plate both to open it and to close it.
But the main problem - water getting in - was cured.
After 2 years of use I guess it’s settled and it now opens and closes as it should do.
Been doing that with my 3.8S for the 56 years I’ve owned it. Standard operating procedure now.
Had the dreaded 'horn sounds on corners ’ fault.
Bit lucky really, had been on a fairly long afternoon out and it started not far from home but did it every single time. Got some very nasty looks from other drivers.
My nephew did most of the work (nearly all, actually) because he can bend and i can’t.
The annoying thing is that i paid a 'specialist ’ to do this a couole of years ago but as you see from the photo he clearly didn’t do it. Grrrrr!
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What’s that all about Bob ?
Yes,
Also wondering if those are the remains of a MKVII manette or the bush of a later steering column???
Cheers!
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Those are the remains of the lower bush (the top one was ok but as they come in a set we changed that one as well).
I got them from SNG Barratt but I guess they all have them
Steering Column Bush/Bearing Set (C23592/93) (sngbarratt.com)
Not a particularly difficult job if you can bend - took about 2 hours and the steering was vastly improved afterwards - much smoother and a bit more precise.
The problem is that when the bottom bush gets badly worn something shorts out inside the column and the horn sounds as you turn the steering wheel. The car is a late Daimler V8250 but I believe all the cars have the same problem, although Pekka says ‘later’ so maybe earlier ones are different. But they all have the same problem.
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Hi Bob,
Thanks, that makes sense. I had a similar experience with my 1966 S1 E-type 2+2 in Germany in 1999. Blowing the horn in a small city when trying to park! 
Also lower steering column bush.
Cheers!
Ps. MKIV thru MKIX is different. 
You just need to detach the horns wires or horn relay wires and the problem is “fixed” till you get home. Good to know where your relays are located
Have always liked the script type Jag label. Nice to be in the company of an XKSS, I expect. Car looks great in OE white or Cream as it may have been then. My e type is supposed to be Cream and it will be again when I retire.
My father’s ownership of a light grey Mark 1 years ago with the ‘scripted’ letters on the trunk inspired me to ultimately find a rust free Mark 2, in a colour a shade lighter than OE white, this one in ‘Honey beige.’
In a reply to the earlier comment of the boot lid having to be ‘slammed shut’, rest assured it will close more easily given some time. I had my boot lid painted and the boot lid seal replaced over two years ago. It took a few months until it would close with relative ease.
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I love the script, too! So much so, I used a gold-plated version to enhance the mouth of an E-Type. No trophies for that, but photographers love it.
Jay
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I am generally not a great fan of the series 3 E types, but I really like how you’ve done the front end of that!
Rather a nice bit of bling.
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I would dare to call it somewhat “ASTONishing” 
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Thanks for the kind words, Paul. I, too, care not for the looks of the series 3 cars compared to the svelte lines of the series 1. From the beginning, my goal was to get this car looking as close to a series 1 as I could without just replacing the bonnet. Now if I could just get the Mark IX looking like a Mark IX instead of a candidate for a demolition derby…
Jay
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I really like the “scoop” look of the headlight buckets: did you do that, or did someone else?
I showed my body/paint guy how to do it, and turned him loose on it, because I didn’t have a welder at the time. So as not to highjack this Saloon thread, I posted my response, with pictures, over on the E-Type forum.
Jay
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I just installed a low-pressure coolant overflow tank on the Mark IX last weekend. These weren’t standard equipment until almost a decade after this car was built; nowadays most systems are high-pressure, which requires a much more robust overflow tank with its own pressure cap. The Mark IX has only a 7-psi radiator cap, and the low-pressure overflow tank works very well. The Suzuki Samurai overflow tank fits quite nicely in the space to the left of the radiator.
Jay
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