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After a wee bit of work, I was finally able to convert my XK8 into a comfortable E Type. All that is left now, is getting the trunk to stick closed when I get a flat so a Jag technician can drill a hole above my license plate to get in, make the trunk so small I need to put my luggage on a rack in the rain, over heat in traffic while killing my 10amp Lucas charging system running a 15 amp electric fan, not be able to hold a conversation with the top up or down, and strip out a hub on a long trip.
I used louvers from the hood of a late 20s early 30s car, because the aluminium ones sold on Ebay were all not wide enough, and would bend too easy(we haven't been able to figure out what year the car was, but I don't think a pistol bullet could penetrate it)
I sand blasted and painted it with paint from Automotive Touch up and Paint. They are not functional, because of all the electric goodies underneath. I still have time to screw that up.
I am happy, and the car won first place in the import class(the tuners were real pissed at that, including one that wrapped his car in chrome) at the Police Department's car show The rain even held off, and my wife thinks this is all I am going to do with my JAAAG, as Jeremy Clarkson says....There is always the exhaust?.....Be cool....Mike
I hope if you can click on the pictures, they will get bigger. Right now we have a monsoon happening, hail, 72 mile an hour gusts expected, and tornado warnings out, until 8:00pm. I'm glad we are driving my wife's Jeep Cherokee to her dentist, over an hour away. I will try to get some close shots in, but I kind of shake. Look tonight, or tomorrow......Take care....Mike
Very nice, Mike; you are a true craftsman. And congratulations on winning first in class at the car show with the Jaaaag. The other things you must also be missing about the original e-types are: floor pan rusting out and the transmission tunnel starting to bend in two, having to pull the engine and transmission to change the clutch, which wasn't too strong to begin with, not being to see out the cloudy rear plastic window, and the risk of heat stroke in the summertime with all of the heat emanating from the engine compartment. And as always, the Lucas ignition system on a rainy day. Enjoy.
They blended an XKR and an XKE, basically took the drivetrain and electronics from the R and put them in the E. If I did this I'd revert to the hood and mouth of the 6 not the 12 (never liked the 12 grill) but the rest is rather interesting. Not surprising it fits since the Type 3 led to the XJS which led to the XK8. You can find Type 3 flood cars relatively cheep. Anyway something to dream about.
Nice, thanks. What do they look like from the rear or drivers view. Are the louvers open with the bottom welded closed.
They are just secured to the top of the hood, with some epoxy, and rivets. I left the bottom closed because there is nothing but electrical goodies under where the louvers sit. The rivets are getting painted tomorrow, when I have a little time.
They could have been functional. As for the drivers view, you can't really see them, when you are in the car, unless your head is touching the roof. Hope I didn't disappoint you with them being just a set of functional louvers from almost a hundred years ago, being glued and riveted to the hood.
Where they sit, is over the AC unit, and wiper motor and both banks of the engine, with very little space for a water deflector. The nice hood pad would have been ruined also. They are longer than what they look, and our engine compartment is smaller than what it looks. At any rate, it was the best I could do in a couple of days.
Cutting them out of the old hood was the real bugger, because if you cut too close, they would fall apart, and too far, they would look like cr+p with a half inch of metal surrounding them. They have about a sixteenth of flat metal around them, with a few double sided tape spacers under each one, so the water could run out, if it rains. All I had was a die grinder, because the metal was so thick, and 2 cutting wheels.
They have 4 coats of primer filler, to remove some age, and 3 coats of color, and 3 coats of clear. They will dull up a little, because clear always does in the sun. If you want more info, just ask
The first time I saw your post and photos the first thing that came to my mind was "why?". Then I looked again and convinced myself that the car looked decent even with the pseudo E-type look. I didn't initially like the placement of the louvers but figured that at least they were functional. But now it seems they are NOT functional. So I come back to "why?"
The first time I saw your post and photos the first thing that came to my mind was "why?". Then I looked again and convinced myself that the car looked decent even with the pseudo E-type look. I didn't initially like the placement of the louvers but figured that at least they were functional. But now it seems they are NOT functional. So I come back to "why?"
Doug
I had an original E Type, when they were selling new for around $4500. All of Hollywood, and anybody who was anybody had one, even though they could buy Ferraris for only 5 times as much. Steve Mcqueen even had one.
I loved the looks, and driving it, but they were far from fine cars, as you have read in the posts above. The nice ones now are all between 60 and $80,000. I always missed my XKE even though it was a mechanical nightmare, that would rust sitting in the show room. I sold mine for $2000 in 82, and was glad I got that much for it. We left 2 of them behind the back fence when the dealership I worked at moved, because they just weren't worth anything.
Mine was British racing green, and when I found this 99 with a few problems, I knew I was going to do this to it. I would put the growler motif on the front chrome bar, but it already has a stock one on the bumper. As for the louvers, I needed 8" to 9" wide ones for them to look proper on this car, and I could not afford real punched in louvers. I could not use aluminium louvers, because they would get damaged very easily.
I drilled the mounting holes first, to see exactly where they would come down over in the engine compartment, and they would be sitting right over a bunch of expensive electrical stuff, not to mention the spark plugs, and coils, which short out very easily on these cars.
I had functional louvers on my Corvette, from a wrecked 24 hrs of Daytona race car hood, because you can run a Chevy small block under water, if you had a snorkel. That is why the Jag's aren't functional. I make all my cars just a little different, because I think of some cars as art.
If you knew me, you would also know I had an inch and a half of rusty muffler clamp pushed through my brain when an old air over hydraulic single pole hoist dropped a little, and I wasn't supposed to live, but it left some problems, along with another unrelated thing. I continued working for another 11 years, and achieved some pretty special honors for an auto tech, and steel mill manager. My superiors eventually had me put on SSDI, so I wouldn't hurt myself, trying to save someone else. I burned my lungs, and had 2nd degree burns on my arms in the 2 incidents I did save some kid with his whole life ahead of him.
Being on SSDI also means I don't have a lot of spare money. I fix switches, replace parts on wiper motors, modify parts because I thought taller tyres would look more vintage. Replaced my own transmission, after flushing over 40 litres of trans fluid through the system with an electric pump, while the vehicle was running, because it was a 41,000 mile trans out of a flood car, and I never wanted to do that job again. I even manually mount and balance my own tyres.
I also do this on my 83 Porsche 928S factory special, I brought back from the factory, where I knew almost all the engineers, and Dr. Piech, when he was still active. It was a great trip to Germany to pick up my car, and meet all these people I used to talk to on the phone. I also have a pretty loaded X Type, and of course the XK8. I am kind of trapped at home, and sh*t like this makes me feel almost as good as driving them.
I always liked the better things in life, and the 928S is from when I was SOMEONE. The rest of my stable is made up of vehicles that I traded stuff for, or found in terrible condition, and made better than new. The only thing the XK8 needs now is the overhead console, with the garage door opener cluster. I made a spring loaded switch, so it is at least functional now. That is why I do this stuff. I like to......be cool....Mike
I think she is pretty much done. If I wanted more chrome, I would have mortgaged the house again, and purchased another XKE. I have thought of maybe a chrome luggage rack on the trunk, but haven't decided if the rear end is too high. I am thinking of dropping it a couple inches, but want to do it right. Other than than those possibilities, I think my mods are done.
She attracts a lot of attention now, including folks taking pictures of her at the beach, so long as a long grey haired 70s throwback kind of dude isn't standing next to her.
The side moulding will need to stay where it is, for the reason that I can't afford a repaint, on what the government gives me on disability, and the other reason is that my wife won't park far enough away from me, to keep from hitting the side of my Jag with her Jeep doors. She doesn't slam her doors into my cars, but doesn't take enough care to avoid contact. I pull in the garage backwards, and she drives straight in. It wouldn't matter if I pulled in differently, she would just hit the other side of the car. I am going to buy foam pads, I saw in a magazine, to save my car, as well as my mental health. To her and her family, they are just modes of transportation, and their cars look like it. I put a wheel stop(cement block), so she doesn't ram the back of my 928S. 5 years ago, I needed to use hydraulic jaws, to move out the right bumper shock, because she accidently tapped it. She isn't in to what I like, and I am not in to what she likes.
The badges under the leaper are simple Cosworth badges, since our heads were assisted in design and made for the 4.0, and 4.2 by Cosworth. I have had 2 Cosworth head cars, the Sierra RS Cosworth(RH), and an open wheel car with an early 80s Cosworth engine(the Cosworth Vega I don't consider one, because it was slower than a stock Vega) and helped set up a mid 80s Cosworth Indy engine. Like I said.....I used to be someone. I noticed the familiarity in design, when I changed out my upper chain tensioners, and research brought me to this little known fact, that for some reason Jaguar has kept hidden.
I think having Cosworth written across those massive cam covers would look a lot more impressive than the cheesy plastic they put on. The valve angle gave it away, and as I see it also opens the doors for someone willing to make a lightweight high compression piston for our cars. Looking at our bottom end, I am sure it could take a higher compression piston, except for the supercharged engine, which for some reason has smaller journals. We would probably just need to bump up our octane, so the knock sensors wouldn't have a nervous breakdown. Sorry for your dislike, but Cosworth has always meant something special to me. Glad you like it.......Mike
Looking at our bottom end, I am sure it could take a higher compression piston, except for the supercharged engine, which for some reason has smaller journals. We would probably just need to bump up our octane, so the knock sensors wouldn't have a nervous breakdown.
Didn't realize that the supercharged version has smaller journals. That does seem an odd thing to do.
How are the wire wheels working out? I've toyed with putting them on my 2004.
Ken
I love the wire wheels. You have to treat them a little different, because a cast wheel is more rigid, but I think the trade off is fine. My one complaint is that wire wheels really need tubes in them, to not cause future problems.
They make radial tire tubes, but no one around me will mount tires with tubes. I mount them manually myself with a tire changer from Harbor Freight, that I had a welder friend beef up for me. I drilled 4 holes in the concrete floor of my garage, and added anchors, to mount the tire changer. I put it in the middle, because on a manual changer you need the room to go around the tire, with a bar.
You also need a piece of rubber band, to protect the tubes from an errant loose spoke. I use this rubber membrane that I buy at a plumbing warehouse. It is about 4 inches wide, and so sticky it will remove hair. I wrap it around the inside of the rim a couple or three times, where the spokes poke through, and the tube will be protected for the life of the wheel.
The key to the whole operation is lots of tire lube. Some people use heavily soaped water, but I use this stuff called RuGlyde, and a toilet mop.
After I am finished I unbolt the changer, and put shorter bolts in the anchors, so they don't fill with dirt, and put the changer in the corner of the garage. It takes up a little over a square foot of space.
Another thing to remember, when installing a tube is to partially inflate it a few times, to remove and wrinkles, before you fill it up, to set the tire bead
Look the procedure up on youtube. It doesn't take rocket science, and is not very physically taxing. I also bubble balance my wheels, with an antique from the 50s, but they make newer ones, and you simply glue and tape the weights to the center of the wheel rim. Harbor Freight sells the weights also.Now you know the pluses and minuses of wire wheels. Take care....Mike
HI MIKE the hood looks great after all that work . glad to hear you got first place .i thought i had read that you put on a trunk rack fom a old spitfire ? and as for the over head consol i got some parts from a member in a.z for a great price . real nice over yhe phone. xk8 offerd to members before going to crusher. give jim a shout . mightwork something out . again car looks great all the best .dan darlington sc
Hi Dan L.......If you look at my latest album, I did put the luggage rack on. I have had a lot of positive comments on it, and even an offer on the car. With all the work I have put into this $3000 car, and the luck in finding parts, I don't ever think I could build another one just like it. It is like my 928S, except I mortgaged my house for that one.
They were built for people way above my station in life, as the sticker price shows, so I take someone else's trash, and restore it. Being 57, I don't think there are many projects like this left in me, but you never know. I have always wanted a front engine 12 cylinder Ferrari, but just haven't found the right barn yet.
I did make the hood louvers functional, like I was kind of goaded to here, but after the first heavy rain, my suspicion's were confirmed, and I had to put water deflectors under the vents. The vents are still functional, but the deflectors keep water out of the spark plug holes....Thanks for liking my car.......Mike
06-22-2015, 09:48 AM
Comfortable XK8 E Type
) at the Police Department's car show The rain even held off, and my wife thinks this is all I am going to do with my JAAAG, as Jeremy Clarkson says....There is always the exhaust?.....Be cool....Mike
