Important Blog

This 1964 XKE was purchased by a customer who also owns a 1959 XK 150 and a 1959 twin cam MGA. We had serviced both of his other cars, so when he bought this one, he brought it in for a quick go over and some work on the brakes. One thing led to another, and now we are in the process of restoring this car to its "almost" original condition when it was sold by Jaguar Cars, New York to the first owner who lived in California. How do we know that? With a good deal of searching the internet, Carolyn found a source for retrieving information from the original Car Record Book. The customer followed through on the suggestion and was able to find that his E Type had originally been painted Opalescent Silver Blue with a blue top and blue interior. We were already aware that one owner had upgraded the seats to the 4.2 model and these are to be reused. The owner has also decided to upgrade the transmission to a 4.2. Other than those two changes, the rest of the car will be back to it's original condition when the project is completed.

Before we start any restoration, we take pictures of the car as it came to us. As we go through the process of stripping down the car to prepare it for body and paint work, we take more pictures as we go along to keep records of what needs to be replaced or repaired. Following are pictures of a few items that must be corrected and the car's interior.

Notice the lack of the upper chrome strip on the door panel and the original armrest which is no longer there.

The door sill of an original E Type is covered with a material called Moquette which is not as dense as the proper Wilton carpet. The carpet through out this car was unbound, pieced together, and glued down. This sill is also missing the original chrome strip on the outer edge.

The rear bulkhead was also covered in carpet instead of the correct moquette and hardura, a textured material which is used under the seats, etc. Our customer did not want the radio speaker in the rear bulkhead.

All of the rubber seals will be replaced.

Pictures of the engine and under the hood after engine was removed. The frame will need to be stripped and painted body color.

After removing the convertible top, windshield, seats, carpeting, panels and all hardware, the dash was removed.

When the car was totally stripped, Bart trailered it to a body shop for repairs and paint. The first repair was to fill the hole in the rear bulkhead where the radio speaker had been.

Body work is completed and the base coat has been applied.

One door in final paint color. It's going to be a beaut!

The car returns to the shop with a new paint job.

While the car was out for paint and body work, Carolyn started work on the seats and the center console.

The complete interior kit for this car was produced by B.A.S. Ltd. Jaguar Trim Specialist of Canada. They pride themselves in using original materials as were found in Jaguars over the years. These seat covers are Connolly leather with moquette on the back. The center console is covered with vinyl and leather.

The carpet is 100% Wilton wool with storvic heel pads. Half inch English natural jute underfelt is installed under all carpeting to reduce heat and road noise. The outer foot wells are covered with half inch thick insulating hardura while the rest of the footwell and transmission tunnel are covered with Wilton wool and underfelt. The door sills are done with closed cell foam and vinyl and will have a chrome strip on the outer edge.

The rear bulhead is covered with the half inch hardura while the wheel arches and lower bulkhead are in moquette with foam underneath.

Carolyn used the wooden rear tack strips for the convertible top which were on the car to make jigs to reproduce the three sections of the strip. She used thin strips of red oak to laminate and bend the parts to the correct shape.

The tack strips were then screwed into the bulkhead and covered with vinyl.

The trim pieces for the door jams were installed.

The door windows were installed with new channel strips. The door panels and chrome strips were installed along with handles. The arm rests will be next.

The interior light and upper bulkhead panels are in place.

The windshield with new rubber gaskets was reinstalled.

After having a valve job done, Bart installed new rings, rod bearings, upper and lower timing chains with tensioner, head studs and a 4.2 flywheel for the upgraded 4.2 transmission. He also started installing the wiring harnesses while Carolyn began work on the wiring for the head lamps, blinker lights and tail lamps.

With the engine work completed, the engine and transmission assembly were reinstalled. Next comes the installation of brake lines and rebuilt front suspension.