Technical Library

by Peter Mitchell

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During a telephone conversation with Philip Porter about Malcolm Sayer, designer of the C-, D- and E-type bodies, I foolishly mentioned that I was well on the way to completing the total rebuild of my E-type. Before I had finished speaking, Philip charmingly asked if I would write an article for his new E-type Club magazine. As I had just asked Philip for a favour, I could not easily refuse. So here it is.

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I acquired the car on the 24 April 2004 which meant I sadly had to sell my Bristol 401 to make space. I have only room within my garage / workshops to house four old cars; a 1959 Jaguar XK 150 DHC, a 1966 Mini Traveller and an Aston Martin DBS in which I have fitted a V12 Jaguar engine, and now the E-type.

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I use all of my cars on a regular basis, as I do not own a modern car, so the XK 150 and the Aston are my everyday transport. The decision on which model of E-type to buy was based on pragmatism but I was, to some extent, influenced in this decision by a personal comment made to me in 1972 by Sir William Lyons that he thought the E-type Fixed Head Coupé was the most beautiful of all his cars. He was, I think, referring to the Series I.

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My cars, regardless of age and model, must perform well in modern traffic and be reliable. I expect to be able to drive from Coventry to Stuttgart, Vienna, Milan or anywhere else within Europe without any problems. This dictates my approach to the rebuilding of all of my cars.

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While I feel that there are many books and articles dealing with the restoration of historic vehicles and thought it pointless me going over this again, Philip was keen that I should cover some details of the work carried out during the total rebuild as he mentioned that many members of the E-type Club were keen to read about how other amateur enthusiasts carried out their restorations.

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I should point out that while I have worked all my life as a Museum Curator / Director, my education and training were in mechanical engineering. I have at my small ‘semi’ in Coventry a very well-equipped workshop with lathes, milling machine, plasma cutter, and all forms of welding equipment, as well as lifting gear and two pits.

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During my early years working in The Science Museum in London and later as Senior Keeper of Industry & Technology for the City of Coventry, I made a series of specials using Jaguar engines and I moonlighted by making chassis and other specialist mechanical components. Also, I took on private work for the Jaguar Cars Service facility which was then at Kingfield Road in Coventry. So the scale of what I am doing with my E-type is not so strange, but I would not advise anyone who does not have some real engineering experience, knowledge and facilities to take on this task.

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Rebuilding my car was a major task and for many enthusiasts it may not be practical for them to take on a project of this scale and level of work at home. But, before I go into more detail about the restoration, I thought it would be sensible to briefly cover some of the more fundamental factors that confront enthusiasts as well as the new recruit to classic car ownership.

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The Requirement It is a sad fact that some enthusiasts acquire a vehicle or start a restoration without having first decided what they want from the car, and are often disappointed at the result.  I have a friend who, some years ago, bought an Aston Martin DB2 and spent a great deal of money having the car totally rebuilt to original specification by professional restorers specialising in Aston Martins.   The quality of work carried out on the car was excellent, but my friend was disappointed as he found he could be easily overtaken by a Ford Escort and had difficulty in keeping up with it.  So, before starting work, it is always wise to jot down what one is wanting to achieve and expects from the completed car, and how it will be used. If an owner wants a totally original car to polish and show, or wants a usable road-going car, or a car built purely for performance, then the car can be rebuilt, adapted or modified accordingly to any fit of these requirements.   There is nothing wrong with any of these approaches to rebuilding a historic car, unless the car is unique.

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See Note 1.In my case I wanted a long-legged, high-performance, reliable car for fast European touring and rallying.   This meant I would need to modify the car.   To achieve what I was seeking meant the back axle ratio would have to be changed and a five-speed gearbox fitted together with electronic ignition which would improve reliability and reduce the need to adjust the points every couple of thousand miles.  It would need an oil cooler and an uprated water pump and radiator to cope with modern traffic jams on a hot day.  It would have to be left-hand drive as much of my touring and rallying is on the mainland of Europe, therefore probably a USA-specification car.   The engine would also have to be modified to increase both the power and torque over the existing USA-spec engine as originally fitted in the car.  It would also have to be safe and capable of being used in all weather conditions.

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Taking all the relevant factors into account, I decided the best model to acquire for my purpose was the Series II 4.2 E type Fixed Head Coupé.  While it still retains most of the looks of the Series I, it is more comfortable to drive, it has far better braking and, when set up correctly, better handling than the earlier model.   I decided on the Fixed Head Coupé even though the market value of a restored Coupé would be less than that of the Open model.  With the help of friends, I found the model I was seeking in Warwickshire not far from my home in Coventry.

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The Car In the interesting ‘price guide classification’ shown on page 25 of the second issue of The E-type.   The car I bought would come well below Condition 6! It is a left-hand drive Series II Fixed Head Coupé.  I paid £7250 for the car which, apart from minor items, was complete but a non-runner.  The upper part of the body was in good condition and the doors, bonnet and boot lid fitted perfectly, which was a deciding factor in the purchase. However, when sitting in the driver’s seat, both feet could touch the ground! There was little of any part of the floor at all, apart from the prop shaft tunnel from the engine bulkhead through to the rear bumper.I stripped out everything leaving a bare bodyshell. The back axle was taken out of its cradle and Brian Reid rebuilt the limited slip differential, changing the axle ratio from 3.54 to 2.88.  I was at first unsure what to do about the engine as I had no idea about the state of its wear and tear.  If was a matter of a rebore and valve grind job, then I would do this at home. However, as I wanted to raise the specification I decided to ask Brian Reid if I could buy one of his special top hat relined blocks.   As a favour, I asked him if he would build me an engine to an up-rated specification, which he has now done.

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I will cover the extensive work both on the body and engine in a later article but the photographs give some indication of the work that was required. It is a major benefit that virtually every panel for the E type is available from Martin Robey, including internal sill strengthening panels (not fitted in the original), which were developed by his company, and add to the strength and rigidity of the body.You can sometimes hear a classic car owner say that it has taken him, or her, years to restore a car, as if time was a measure of quality of engineering or finish. In my case, if it takes a long time to complete a task then it is usually lack of funds. So, setting a budget at the start is crucial to the success of a restoration project. I do not deny the wonderful satisfaction in completing a restoration oneself, but for me the real pleasure is driving the cars.Note 1: It is impossible to decide what is a totally original, Jaguar-built car until the introduction of the XJ6, as no two models ever left the factory the same – Sir William’s own comment. I have studied and presented papers on this subject to the World Forum for Motor Museums.A concours judge has to make an assessment about a car he is examining – should it be built to the original specifications or as it left the factory? As you will see from the previous paragraph, Sir William Lyons felt the former was an impractical approach.© Peter Mitchell, January 2005.