I'm Back

 Well, to all of you wondering what's been happing for the last two years, let me catch you up.

Since my last post in 2021, I became a small business owner (Tea Shop), quit my corporate job and moved to the Pacific Northwest.  All of this has slowed my progress and my postings but am finally in a position to start making progress and posting again.  

Since my last post and especially over the last few months I've made some progress, let me catch you up.

When last I posted, I was hopeful that I would soon be firing the engine up.  Well, that did happen but took a little work.  If you have read some of my earlier posts, you know I had to do a little work on the main cap and oil pickup.  When I cranked the motor, I wasn't getting any oil pressure.  I had to add an extra quart of oil to get it to work.  I found a pickup on eBay and will install it before final assembly.  After this was worked out, I cobbled together enough parts for the carburetors to start it up.  There wasn't a distributor in the pile of parts so I used the one from my E-type.

 Not having the cooling system all plumbed up, I didn't let it run very long but it sounded good.  Knowing that the motor works, I wanted to test out my fuel injection system.  I ultimately wanted to install on my E-Type but wanted to try it out here first.

I have a lot of experience using the Megasquirt system for ignition but haven't used the Fuel Injection system before.  I won't go into all the details here but basically, I am duplicating the factory Jaguar system from the 80s with a few modifications.  I use o-ring seal injectors, manifold pressure sensor (MAP), throttle position sensor (TPS) and coolant temp sensor (CLT).  I originally planned to use a mass airflow meter but discovered that Megasquirt doesn't support the GM sensor without significant external wiring and modifications.  For another day.

Don't think this is its final home but mounted the coil pack to the side of the block above the oil filter

Sorry the pic came out blurry but here is a shot of my custom designed FI manifolds

A shot from above.  I made the water manifold from square aluminum but will probably redesign it before final assembly.  

I'm also learning to weld aluminum so added the T-stat housing to the end.  Problem is it doesn't leave enough room to connect the hose.  Another reason to redesign the water rail.  Just use the T-stat in the radiator, like the car was designed.

Pop quiz - What happens when you draw a hard vacuum on a thin sheetmetal airbox?  The outside pressure crushes it like a tin can 

In case the above pic doesn't paint the picture for you, I was able to start the car using the EFI and as soon as I closed the throttle, it crushed the airbox and the test was over 😟

Didn't start the car with it but did get the airbox designed and welded together before leaving Nevada.  

Not for this blog but with the initial success on this motor, I did bite the bullet and install the system on my E-Type.  It works great, I love it.  It will be part of the final drive train.

This was one of the last things I was able to accomplish prior to packing things up for the move.  Prior to moving it to Washington, I do have a few pics.

I got the parts back from chrome, OMG, the grill looks amazing

Finished working on the signal lights.  Seam welded them all the way around, not just tack welds

Took care of some prior damage and body filler that appeared after sand blasting

Putting the body back on the frame for the move.

With the body back on the frame, I found the boot lid didn't have the proper gaps at the bottom.  I tried spreading the quarter panels but couldn't get any spacing.  The only way to solve the problem was to cut down the boot frame to make space.  I used spacers down each side from top to bottom to ensure the gap was the same all the way down.

A view of the other side after making space

The grill looked so good, I had to see what it would look like installed

Along with all the chrome, all of the powder coating is done too.  I installed the top frame.

More chrome added

Car is prepared for the move.  I installed all the parts I could so they wouldn't get lost.

And thus ends the Nevada story

In April, 2022, it went into storage until I could make it a safe home in Washington.  Finally in October, I was ready for the move.

Skinny tires, tire straps and moving trucks with highly sensitive accident avoidance systems are not a good combination.  Truck slammed the brakes and the car lurched forward

I was sick to my stomach when I pulled back the tarp and saw this.  Fortunately, upon further investigation, only the fenders took some damage and that was easily fixed.

First pic in its new home.  I went with a 4-post lift since I had to leave the 2-post behind.

Now, in its new home and with my new career, I have had some time to start working on the car again.  Having spent some time welding aluminum, I decided to finally tackle the doors.

The front bottom edge of both doors were pitted and eaten through.  Since they are aluminum, its not rust so erosion from road rash?  Whatever, I want it gone.  First cut out the corrosion.

Next, make a patch panel

And, weld it in place.  My welding skills are still not super and even after cleaning, it was still difficult to get a nice bead.  Oh well, grind, grind, grind

Same thing for the other side.  With all the body filler removed.

Corrosion removed

New piece welded in.  Still not stellar welds but after some grinding, it'll look just fine.

More on the doors at a later date.  The skins look OK now and the wood panels on either end overall are in good shape but from what I can deduce, the screws/ nails that attach the skin to the wood have rusted away or come loose and the door doesn't hold its shape properly.  Just not sure how I'm going to fix this short of pealing the door apart (which I don't want to do).

Now for something completely different.  Did I mention that I had a woodworker friend that helped me with the burled dash panels?  He took the time to soak/ heat and peel the veneer off the backing and reattach it to new substrate.  They look amazing.

While the dash panels were in bad shape and now with them repaired, I wanted to install the wood to see how the other pieces looked.  I will have to do a little work before final assembly.

The other side

Self motivation pictures.  Getting close to prepping the body for paint so assembling everything before I tear it all down

Top is installed, most of the chrome, all fits pretty well so far

Nothing is in permanently yet but just need to see the red interior

And the boot

And finally something I've learned over the last couple of weeks.  Before moving to Washington, I mounted the body on the frame and made sure the gap were good.  Unfortunately, I made the gaps correct by adding shims to the boot mounts.  Well, turns out, WHEN you add too many shims to the boot, the spare tire won't fit under the frame rails anymore.  After dropping the rear clip down to allow for the spare tire, the B pillar didn't align anymore.  I've since basically had to separate the front and back (on the driver's side) from the sills to fix it.  Good thing I only tacked everything together.

This is the gap after all my rework.  

So this catches you up on my current status, I should be back to posting updates on a regular basis again.  I'm excited to be making progress again.  A lot of the underlying work has been done, just finalizing body work finish ensuring all the interior bits fit.  Come back later to see more.

Happy Anniversary!!!!!

 Its amazing how fast time flies.  I can hardly believe its been a year since I started this project.  Before I provide my update, I want to do a 'Then and Now' reflection.  I'm amazed at the progress I've made and I can actually see light at the end of the tunnel.  The only part on the car I haven't touched is the bonnet and that is because it doesn't need much work.  If life would stop interrupting my fun, I could finish this project. 

My original goal was to complete it in a year but now with that date past, I will try to complete it before the Oil Leak tour in October.  Oil Leak, you question?  It is an annual event where a group of fellow British car lovers get together for a week and see some of the sights our great country has to offer.  Its a really low key trip with people who not only like to restore their cars but drive them too.

Anyway, here are some Then and Now Pictures:

I brought home a rust ridden, multi-piece ready for the scrap yard car

Now, its rust free and one piece.  It is beginning to resemble its original design.  No longer is it destined for the scrap heap.  It has a bright future ahead of it

Before putting these pictures together, I've not really reflected on just how much work I've done over the past year.  When I started this project, I estimated about 1000 manhours to complete it and I think I'm still on target for that or maybe just under.  I've probably spent 600 hours on it so far and have done most of the hard work.  I still have to spend some quality time with the doors but can't do that until I get all the chrome back.  

Now, for some more progress pictures:

I just mentioned getting the chrome back.  It took awhile but it is starting to get done.  There were a few pieces I sent off, they declined to chrome or gave me the option to just replace instead.  So far, the pieces they didn't want to do are readily available and probably cheaper than I could repair/ rechrome.  Of the remaining pieces, the one I am most concerned with looking good, is the grill.  From the very beginning, I was concerned about a missing fin.  I found a very nice thread on jaglovers xk120 Grill Project where a guy made brand new ones and I was prepared to do the same.  Miraculously, the missing fin was among the parts I sent to be chromed so I don't have to make it now.

As others had mentioned, the chrome shop recommended disassembling the grill for stripping and polishing.  They said I could do it as one piece but the sides of the fins would not get polished and therefore would not look like new.  Taking their advice, they gave me back the grill and I unsoldered all the fins.  This was not very difficult as they are not brazed in and a propane torch worked quite well.  Propane isn't hot enough to effect the brass plating.  By removing the fins, I could also replace 2 of the studs that broke when I pulled the grill from the bonnet.  Those I brazed back in so they would be stronger than just solder.

Have I mentioned how nice it is to have access to a mill?  There is no way I would have been able to tackle this project otherwise.  Taking a que from the jaglovers thread, I made a jig to hold the fins.  To ensure the grooves were identical, I drilled guide holes in each piece, bolted them together and then milled out the grooves.  Since the grill has an arch, I made each one a different height so the fin could rest in it while I soldered them in.

Grill fin holder

A quick check to ensure the fins fit properly

This was presolder.  I inserted all the fins so I could make sure the frame was centered with the fins

And after all the fins were soldered in.  The chrome shop has already plated everything in brass and polished it.  Once they get this back, they just need to do one final polish and the nickel/ chrome plating. 

To make sure I wasn't going to have an issue when I went to mount a newly chromed grill, I did a test fit.  Fit right into place, I'm very excited about it.

After a long hiatus, I decided to get back to some of the remaining body work.  My initial focus was on the boot section, posts and sills.  Once those were complete and the car back together, I turned my focus to the frame and mechanicals.  Now that I'm continually in holding patterns, waiting for parts, I've filled my time with the bonnet section.

When I had the body sand blasted, it revealed all the areas I expected and a few I didn't.  One area I didn't expect was the fender mounted signal lights.  They were extremely pitted on the sides and as I found, completely rusted out underneath.  Obviously, this is what happens when things are added as afterthoughts, instead of designed in.  

To start, I wanted to remove the lead filler.  This would help me locate the new pieces, as well as help me see how best to remove the old ones without damaging the fenders.(not sure why, there turned out to not be much fender left).  Once I removed the old signal holders, I could really inspect the damage.  From underneath, the 'hole' for the light almost seemed purposeful but it turns out, it was just the shape of the signal light from the rust.

What I discovered is the light holder was affixed to the top of the fender and the only hole was the wiring pass through at the rear.  With the forward tilted fender, any dirt, grime and moisture that found its way into the cavity was destined to remain there for the rest of its life or until it ate a hole through the fender so it could get out.  I am drilling a hole at each front corner to try and prevent this from happening in the future.

Before removing the fixture, I made X-Y alignment marks so I could place the new one in the correct location.  From there, it was just cut, shape and replace.

With the light housing removed, I found that almost the entire fender underneath was gone.  I probably could have just welded the new one on top and none the wiser but really??  I've done this much, might as well do it right.

The passenger side wasn't as bad but still bad

This was a test fit before grinding down all the welds underneath

Same for the other side.  You can see my alignment marks to ensure I put the new one back in the same location

First, I tacked each on in place and then went back and seam welded them

Not the final picture but close.  Now, the only spot left to replace is the lower edge of the bonnet nose on the driver's side. 

And here is the final picture with all the welding and grinding done.  Just a little feathering with some body filler required.  

Another project I tackled was the bonnet hinges.  At first glance, I thought these hinges had already been restored.  They looked fairly clean but did seem a little stiff.  I thought maybe they were just stiff by design so I installed them.  I discovered they are NOT stiff by design.  Even after risking damaging the bonnet by open and closing the hood a few times did not help loosed them up.  Thanks to Bob, Bob's Hinge, I decided to do the same.

Old vs. New
The left is the factory version, the left will be the final design.  I used stainless tubes for the spacers, copper washers between each moving part and stainless screws & nuts.  Like Bob, I'm making these black instead of the factory gray finish.  I think they will stand out better with the white color.

One final thing for this update is the wood dash.  As opposed to the hinges, the wood is actually in better shape than it looked at first glance.  The lacquer has not aged well but the burled wood is mostly in good shape.  The only piece that isn't great is the dash side panels.  Having a friend who is a woodworker, he thinks he can relaminate the wood on new backing.  If not, this is probably the easiest piece to replace.

Here is the wood pieces.  If you look, you can see the delamination on the left panel.  I sanded the glovebox lid to see what it looked like under the lacquer.  It looks pretty good, there is a section at the bottom edge that will need a little creative painting to hide but think my wife, the artist can do it.

Next post will HOPEFULLY include the first crank of the engine and maybe the fuel injection.  Stay tuned.