I was able to meet up with my uncle to take a peek at the car finally. It's in rough barn find shape but little to no rust. My thoughts of just getting it running first are now abandoned as you can see from the pictures. It is very straight. Rockers are super solid, just some rust around the turn on the bottom of everything.
So how big of a job is this? I am thinking huge. Like 20k in parts and 500 to 750 hours

 

I wish I had your problem! It looks to be straight and in good shape. Hopefully there wasn't any rodent damage to the wiring. Pull it out of that garage and give it a thorough check out! Cosmetics can always wait, mechanical repairs first. the big question is what were your intentions with this car? Are you fixing for your uncle, or for yourself, of fixing to flip it? These are valuable cars no matter what course you take. Good Luck!

 

Yes it will be huge.

Can't tell much from those pictures, but I don't see any "run far away!" indicators.

In your other thread though you mentioned rust in the wheel wells. Be aware that E-types rust from the inside out. If it's got rust where you can see it then there will be a lot of hidden structural rust.

If you can do most of the restoration yourself and would enjoy doing so, it might be worth keeping.

If you have a strong personal connection to this particular car and want to keep it forever and have deep pockets, it might be worth keeping.

If neither of those applies, it's probably not a great idea. This is not one of the more valuable E-type variants, and you'll probably end up underwater.

 

I am fairly confident of my mechanical abilities to take things apart and put them back together. Would not be my first bag and tag event.

I am still not sure of my uncles intentions which impact mine. He is talking about specific Jaguar restoration facilities in the NJ and CT areas. That I can not afford, but he and his wife have mentioned to me about a six times over the last few years about handing me the car? Maybe it is just more his wife............

Anyhow if I were handed this car there is no way I could part with it, and I think that would be the expectation as well.

I am also thinking if he and/or I pay for a restoration it makes terrible fiscal sense. A paid for restoration will cost in the 65-75K range with this car I think. The cars value might be worth equal to that when finished. I also think if he sold it right now it would bring about 25K?

I am a car guy and have too many as it is, but always want more. I am going to try and bring it up again in the future and see what is in his head on it. I am just happy I was able to see the car. This has been his baby since he bought it in 72 and has been something he has talked about his whole life.

 

She is a beauty! (eye of the beholder, and all that!). If you are considering a full restoration, I'd say your cost estimates are low. As you well know, you're almost always better off buying one that someone else has already poured time and money into. With that said, this looks like it could be a candidate for a light refresh to become a fun driver-quality car. I'd say you pull it out, clean it up, check for oil in the case, disconnect the coil but get a battery and see if the engine turns over (sounds like it should). Then flush the tank and fuel systems, flush the cooling systems, change the oil, check things like belts. It if starts, see what you think. The interior looks relatively clean. So then if you need some new exhaust and some brakes and a brake flush, you can take it out and see what you think. IMO, with a car like that, if you can spend $5k-$10K to clean it up, get it tuned and running, it's a good use of money to bring her back and drive her like she is meant to be!

 

Seals have let go on rear end and maybe transmission long ago. Every piece of rubber is rock hard and very brittle. I think no matter what trans and rear end are coming out and if I were a betting man the engine too just to reseal everything first

 

Hi Mark,
What I would do if I was you:
1) Pull it out of the garage and give it a bath inside and out.
2) Run some compound lightly over the car and see how it cleans up.
3) Polish the chrome.

What are your feelings about the car now? Is there serious rust issues? If you love it continue down the list.

4) Drain all the fluids and replace them with new. Including the gas tank
5) Squirt some oil in each cylinder and let soak for a day to a week. Then turn the engine over by hand with the spark plugs out.
6) Rebuild the carbs - they are probably all gummed up from old gas.
7) Replace all filters
8) Replace the points, condenser, spare plugs and plug wires.
9) Connect a small gas can to the fuel filter and start siphoning the gas to the filter (gravity feed, I have done this before to an E-type) If you need more info on this let me know
10) Start the engine

DO you want to go farther?

11) Rebuild the brakes - front calipers, master cylinder, booster slave cylinder

At this point you can take it around the block. Listen for noises, how does it feel.

All this work above could be done by you and for a couple $100. At this point don't worry if the engine, trans or rear end leaks a little, that just British rustproofing.

At this point you and decide how to proceed for high end restoration or drive restoration.

Wish you the best
Bob

 

^ What Bob_S said +1. Perfectly stated.

 

These are kind of my sentiments as well. Going to try and convince uncle to procede in steps like this and see if he gets excited. Maybe I can get him going and he can enjoy driving for a while again.

 

Hi Mark,
Wish you and your Uncle the best. Just remember we are here to help if you need us.
Bob

 

Thanks. He seems to be stable and has been for few years now. The trial meds are doing their job. I am just a grunt in this whole endeavor. Would be fun to get him back into his baby. Even if I am.i am not given responsibility for this car I have e met some very nice people here.

 

Mark,

I'm really jealous! I would be happy to sort out the mechanicals and drive that car just the way it looks right now!

When you think about how big a job it will be, just remember what it could look like. For example, here's one currently offered on eBay:



Can't wait to see where your story leads!

Cheers,

Don

 

Most of that will "buff" out!

 

The only thing I would add to Bob's list is to get a cheap USB boroscope like this $23 one from Amazon. Then you can hook it up to your computer and inspect the insides of the sills. There are 1" access holes along the floor on the inside of the sills. There are probably other structural boxes worthy of inspection on a closed car but I'm not familiar with them. Of course when you pull up the carpets and the water retaining jute matting, you may find there is no point in looking inside the sills! But hopefully not.

Good luck. Oh, as part of your ROI analysis, you can check Hagerty's valuation calculator. It more or less costs the same to restore a 2+2 as it does an OTS (roadster) but a roadster is worth $70k and an equivalent FHC is worth $50k and a 2+2 is worth $40k.

Have fun

 

You may also want to take that borescope, pop a plug, and look at the cylinder walls. If there is corrosion you don't want to turn the engine over but pull the engine and send it out for a rebuild. You'll likely need new gaskets anyway. You can then think about either a transmission upgrade or rebuild (same issue with the gaskets, they are likely all dried out). On my 1970 pretty much every gasket, bushing, and rubber piece had either perished or would soon due to it being rock hard.

 

Yes on both accounts. Oil is out of the rear end and transmission and on ground. I have access to a better scope but yes I want to look at things before I completely destroy anyrhing. Hoping my uncle is willing to put a little sweat equity into this.

 

 

Mark,
How did your project go, can you update us with some current photos as to how you have handled the project.

I love to see.

 

morning all. And happy father's day.

Current status of the car is........ exactly same as before. Still sitting in his garage. I think my uncle is really struggling on what to do. Every couple months I offer my ability to move car for him. I have offered to get it off the ground and try to fire. I have even offered to do a bulk of the restoration. I have a friend who owns a body shop. He has done three e types over the last 20 years and I have contacts for the engine/trans if it is in need of rebuild. He does not seem interested in this and wants everything done under one roof. He has a short list of restoration places that he has asked me to research, but never gets around of getting me the contact info.
So long story long nothing has happened, but it will someday. Wish it would be sooner vs later. Would love to get him in that car to drive before he can't drive any longer.

 

65k-75k wont do it. Im in the process of a complete restoration on a 69 series II OTS in very good order and have owned it for 36 years. The body and mechanicals are being done by restoration experts and I am refinishing every bit removed from the engine bay and interior and my budget is 50K and not sure that it will give a 90 point car, maybe close but not a winner. Get it running clean it up and go from there. Good Luck!!!

P.S. great project for us retired folk