Changing the clutch flex hose, Series 1 XKE with engine and carbs in place. Very Challenging
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Marek, âreversing the flowâ? Is that what turns them into âUnobtainiumâ?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Cheers,
Lynn
Grooooooooooooooooooooan⊠speaking of which⊠clutch is one of my next projectsâŠ
LLoyd
Dick, Changing the clutch hose was so hard, I gave up! Finally swapped hoses this winter when I had the intake manifold off.
Those nuts on the underside of the manifold drove me crazy! Canât see them, just barely reach them, no room for a ratchet, and there are NINE of them! NUTS!
My other âunfavoriteâ was scraping camel hair upside down in the footwells.
Lynn,
I could answer that, but itâd be more fun to offer a prize to any non-Brits who can tell me where the neutron reference originally came from. You are not allowed to use Google.
kind regards
Marek
OkâŠbut the old nozzles as well as the new ones on my 69E has nuts that have to be screwed. How do I get those nuts on and offâŠno room to stick your hands underneath.
thanksâŠabe
Putting the bonnet back together and fit to the car after rust and dent repair is definitely the single most time consuming and head scratching undertaking in my book.
Bah! Some things make no sense. Like why does our nerdy daughter carry an inflatable TARDIS in the back seat of her car?
I am scared that you all are right about the clutch hose. I remember the hardest part I had about changing the clutch slave cylinder was hooking things back up to that hose and thinking how hard it looked to actually replace the hose.
David
68 E-type FHC
Sadly, Dr. Who comes on after my bedtime on Sunday nightsâŠ
Cheers,
Lynn
I can relate to this one. Ended up swathing my arm in vasoline. It worked but very painful trick. I think thatâs got be an 8 out of 10 at least
Abe,
I have an earlier model with press fit nozzles.
Regards
Chris
You just need to get a guy with skinny arms. If you were close I would do it for you 
pauls
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What about a tonsillectomy that slides off the bonnet and becomes a hemorrhoidectomy?
My vote on the mechanical side is the washer nozzles, viz
After that fitting the doors till I learned how to do it.
My vote for the most challenging operation on an E-type restoration is bodywork, then interior trimming.
Achieving accurate bodywork is the most challenging operation on an E-type. Door, bonnet, bootlid/rear door fitment. Smooth elevations between those movable components is what makes or breaks (sorry for the clichĂ©, itâs late) an E-type. Zero bondo. The factory didnât use it, neither should a quality body job/ Then the paintwork. Itâs the body that makes the E-type stand out. The stuff thatâs underneath - the hydraulics, electrical and drive train - are common to the saloon cars. A super straight E-type of any series is a sight to behold.
Bodywork.
Hiding the invoices from my wife
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On a built car, probably:
- Heater pipes
- Washer nozzles
- Wiper rack
Iâm sure there are many jobs that seem fairly easy during a restoration which are way more difficult on a complete car. I know I found that myself working on the car later.
I imagine that when the cars were being built, the factory installed sub-assemblies that theyâd already set up such as the IRS and this front frame assembly complete with engine, gearbox and suspension wishbones. (This looks like a very early 3.8 because of the cotton reel gearbox mounts.)
After working with OSJI via telephone for 3 E types, and having seen how Mike Greely can do such a spectacular job, I would ship him my consoles, seats, dashboard and pad for upholstery.
You are correct, Clive. According to Phillip Porter, early on, the engine and gearbox were assembled and mounted on the frame rails. Then later (Porter doesnât say just when) the process was reversed and the engine and gearbox were fitted to the already installed frame rails. I would love to know why this reversing was done because it seems to me that it would be easier to build the engine with all of its ancillaries, particularly carbs, intake manifolds and exhaust manifolds, and then install them to the frame rails without the body shell being in the way.
With the frame rails in place canât the engine can be dropped in from the top with the intake and exhaust manifolds installed?
Whatever the reason you can be sure one main consideration was less labor, i.e., less cost.