I am installing a new interior and much of the chrome trim must be slid onto and over new rivets. Watching a few videos, there are many mentions of using washers to make the rivet head "stand proud" so the channel in the trim piece can slide over the rivet and lock in place. Using a washer does not leave a gap between the surface (in this case a door card) and the rivet head. Does anyone know of a technique to achieve this? Thanks!

 

Hi Ibc3,
I think that the washers for the trim on the door cards are similar if not the same as the ones that are used for the headlight trim. You might want to check with some of the usual parts suppliers about the washers, or maybe with the upholstery company. If the usual suppliers or upholstery company does not have them, you may have to use two washers. A larger washer to slide onto the rim, and a smaller washer as a stand off so the larger washer has a gap between it and the upholstery. Try it on a scrap piece to be sure.
Good luck and let us know what you found out. I might be doing the same job in the not so distant future.
Bill.

 

Parts diagram, some photos/?

https://www.martinrobey.com/jaguar/e...-and-trimmings

see note on part number 18

 

Good diagram Valerie,
I think those are the same rivets, or very similar, to the rivets used for the headlight trim. I think I purchased mine from either Moss or Barrett.
Bill.

 

Bill is correct, several sizes of the specialty rivets are available through Barrett. In the meantime I employed a work a round using half inch machine screws and starburst washers. The washers allow for minimum protrusion from the backside so I am hoping there is no interference during installation of the panels which I will attempt tomorrow.

half inch pan head screw and starburst washer

minimal backside protrusion

pan head screws sized to fit firmly inside of trim channel

Trim applied and locked in place...I hope.

 

I am intrigued with your starburst washers... do the screws thread in to them?

Sending you good wishes for panel reattachment.. IMO a SOB project trying to align the panel clips with the holes in the metal door inner skin. A pair of needle nose pliers helped along with a light source from underneath to 'see' the holes. Destroyed a few of the clips in the process, so was happy that I had bought extra.

 

Yes, the washers do work as nuts, but with a lower profile. I originally mounted nuts but was concerned they would hold the panel off the door hindering the insertion of the attachment clips. Like you, I found that aggravating as it was. But my biggest challenge was with the angled chrome trim piece. By design, it is to be installed first and the door card is then slipped into it's channel. But my car was riding a bit too low and would not stay locked in. So I screwed the panel to the door first and, by modifying the trim piece with a slit, was able to push it down on top of the panel and screw.

I got the door armrest on this morning, so on to the next side. I have been sidelined with this loss of power to my gauges, hoping someone here will point in the right direction.

In the meantime, I installed the boot trim from my Lakewell interior kit. Fit well and is of much higher quality than the separate one I bought for ReRun. The deck mat, especially, is very heavy duty.and the side and back cards are stiffer, requiring not screws.

Post some pics of Mr. E's new suit!

Armrest installed

"custom" boot deck

Lakewell boot trim kit

 

Looking good, and your choice for interior was a good one!

Do note that there should be a black panel/plastic behind the door opening lever.

This link is from lakewell, they should have come with the set you bought.

https://www.lakewell.com/shop/jaguar...pe-s2-69-71-2/

They are attached to the back of the door card.. IIRC they are stapled on (????) but not very long-legged staples.

 

Thanks, and yes I have taken some liberties. I am aware they should be black and no, they didn't come with the kit. (see materials list). And at $80 a pair I doubt I would buy new ones, especially now since I would have to disassemble my door panels! I feel stupid enough for paying $500, yes, $500 for a pair of RED door armrests, which also ordinarily come only in black or tan. If I had it to do over, I would have simply dyed them.

Unlike your Mr. E, this car will never meet standard; see a show and definitely not The One you're going to bring home to meet the family. It is simply a "coffee and cars" drop in. But If you don't approve of the door inserts, you're really gonna hate the dash!

I don't know how much it will hurt resale, the market is terrible and I'm buried in it anyway. But as aggravating as this project has become I may find out if it ever gets up and running. I have put in 7 hours today on this electrical problem today and have accomplished nothing, except having to undo the handbrake work that took me two days to install. I fear I will die with this car still in pieces.

Cheers!

 

You could mask the area and get your satin black spray paint out....

Whatever you are able to do for the car, better than the life that it had before coming to you. And parts prices... While taking the F's door panel off, I snapped a little plastic trim piece... maybe 3/4 inch wide and 3 inches long. The replacement was $50. I choked, but in the end economized elsewhere and forked over the money. It's your car and only you get to decide the route it is going to go. We are happy to help you figure out the vagaries of an old beast!

 

Hi Ibc3,
I like the alternate solution you came up with to get around the need for the special rivets. Does the extra bulk of the screw and nut on the back of the door card interfere with the fit of the door card?

 

It doesn't appear to; the 1/2 inch machine screw barely makes it through the door card material, and the star washer is paper thin. I notice that these Lakewell door cards are thicker than the ones I removed however. The bulk comes in when fitting the window cranks; mine now take a bit of effort but this Jag is a fair weather friend and hopefully will never experience the need to put the top and windows up.

 

Years ago on another e-type, it had a window crank that was hard to turn. I made a nylon washer the same diameter as the base on the crank. It made cranking the window a lot easier.
Some questions about your interior kit; did you order and complete kit from Lakewell? Are you or did you do the seats your self or did you pay someone do it? Have you had any fit issues?
And lastly, would you buy from them again?
Thanks.

 

Yes, I ordered the"complete Lakewell kit. It seems each supplier I considered had a slightly different definition of "complete" however. Valerie assumed it would include door handle inserts for instance, bu no, a $90 add, Door armrests were additional as well.(they only come in black and tan) Suppliers vary on the amount of fasteners too; one of most aggravating conditions I have faced during this entire refresh experience is the need for screws, bolts, etc. While replacing my bumpers I realized my car was missing the tail lamp protectors, which seem common for any car that has been painted. The bolts and welded in nuts typically seize and the protectors are destroyed during removal and at $150 each are simply foregone. So I order a pair and they come with no bolts, which are specific to the application. For $300 there should be bolts.

Anyway, the seats. Yes I did install the kit covers myself. The Lakewell covers are very heavy duty, maybe too much so. I did the passenger seat first, stripping off he old covering completely. On this car my foam and and diaphragms were in good shape. (another I did recently required replacement of both and those diaphragms are a 3 man job!) The Lakewell covers are generous and consequently require the addition of foam and batting to fill them out. The instructions emphasize the need to glue the center section of the seat bottom to the foam to insure good definition of the recess. I was dubious as to the durability of that. So I opted for a method that was used by the installer of that other car I did. He created a slit in the underside lining of the bottom cover, threaded cloth straps through the slits and forced the through the foam, pulled them tight and tied them off. In retrospect, I would have done both.

The driver side seat I did differently since it remained in the car until it returned from paint. I did not strip it, but took advantage of the oversized nature of the new cover to simply slip it over the existing one. This required much less "filling out" . Of course you can only do this if your existing foam is serviceable. I still used the cloth tie method and again, in retro, I would have also used glue for the seating surface.

Staples and upholstery tacks were recommended but I found the latter, with my ham hands, very difficult to apply and they didn't seem to hold well. I opted for small screws/washers and an electric screw driver in places that required holding reinforcement. .

It is not rocket science and foam/batting is available cheap from Amazon. My stapler is garden variety using J 20 half inch staples. Other than the aforementioned diaphragms, it is a one person job.. The hardest part for me, was re-assembling the seat back reclining mechanism.

Diaphragm replacement is a bear

Cloth tie method to secure seat bottom cover to foam to enhance recess definition.

 

Thanks for the informative response, lbc3.
I agree with you, it seems to me that just glueing the seat cousin cover to the foam, that it would not last very long. I like the tying method that you mentioned. Tying it seems more permanent and secure.
I still have a couple of questions for you. From the photos you posted your car appears to be a series 2. Was your car supplied with arm rest for the doors, or was that something that you wanted? My 68 series 1 does not have arm rests. And lastly; if you had to, would you order from Lakewell again?
Thanks.

 

All three E types I have owned are 70's, and though I bought each used, I am pretty certain it is standard equipment for that year. Obviously if the 68 did not, and you want them, it may be possible to rig it up. I have had success using JB Weld to attach nuts to metal surfaces to create a receiver for a bolt/machine screw which is how the armrests are installed.

I chose Lakewell because of the price. The various vendors offer slightly different content in their "complete interior" packages, so there will probably be something you would like not in each of them.

For sure I am in for a lot of recovering work. The door cards were ready to go, but most everything else is DIY.

I don't care for their version of instructions; they are an 80 page PDF for an Series 3 coupe and assume you are dismantling and reinstalling simultaneously. I took mine apart 8 months ago so I could use something a bit more specific.

I am happy with the quality of Lakewell, but I have nothing with which to compare. I did remove seat covers from my other Jag and they are not as sturdy as the Lakewell. I also bought an aftermarket boot kit the other Jag and the Lakewell is much superior.

I know Moss is having a sale and tariffs might have changed the calculus. Perhaps you query other members who have used other vendors?

Hope that provides some clarity,
Pete

 

Thanks lbc3, that provides a lot of clarity. Except for the door armrest. I have a 67 OTS, and the 68 FHC that I am restoring. The 67 has armrests on the doors, and 68 does not. I wonder if the armrests were on all the OTS cars regardless of series/model year, or is the 68 such an odd ball transitional year that it was omitted on that year only?
Maybe Valerie can comment on her Series 2 coupe.

 

There are multiple posts about armrests and their inclusion/omission history re Series 1 and 2. Apparently they were never "standard" in that some cars had them some didn't. But in 68 due to new American safety regs they were discontinued for some time and then inexplicably reappeared. Several contributors discussed how they added them. It appears that your door frames may very well have the screw receptacles for them so adding them would be relatively simple (a term that is not in the same zip code as XKE). Once you pull the door cards you will know. My cards came with pre drilled holes in the fiber board, but not the leather which was easy enough to pierce. I don't know what color your interior, but the "cheap" armrests come in black or tan only. I had to pay significantly more for red; if I had it to do over I would dye the tan ones as did my P.O. In fact he dyed the entire interior, seats and all and it was not obvious until l I dismantled it. Who knew?

 

Thanks. That would explain the missing arm rest on my 68.
Bill.