I had posted a couple years ago about my Uncle wanting to do something with his 70 E-Type.

My Uncle has decided to begin moving on this in the Spring.
He is unsure if he is going to go through a specialty Jag restorer or sub it out though contacts I have. I have a local body shop who has experience with E-Types and have found someone local to do the mechanical if it is over my head which I don't think it will be.


As a result I have a few questions:

1. I am assuming it will take about a year? What I don't know is if my uncle uses a Jag Specialty outfit if they will accomplish quicker? I think he may be a little unaware of the time involved in something like this.
2. What are the MUST HAVE upgrades? I have been reading about cooling upgrades and even a 5 speed upgrade.
3. Any pitfalls with something like this if I sub out and do some of the disassembly and final assembly?
4. My uncle thinks a appropriate budget will be in the 40K range. I think it will be in the 75 to 80K range. This is a zero rot car with minimal rust on some of the seams. Interior is excellent. Engine turns over by hand. All seals and gaskets have failed.
5. I assume I should be dong the mechanical while body is off and on a rotisserie.

I am excited to get the ball rolling on this. I also wonder if I can give my uncle some needed attention with his car on a show like Fantom Works in VA. No idea on their quality, but if it is good I think he might enjoy a little limelight.

 

Just to let you know that my rebuild of a Mark 2 in the 80s took seven years !! I just cannot see one year, but if you subcontract out a lot of it, then two years is probable. Much depends on how much you do yourself. In my case almost all of the car, plus holding down a day job. Main advice I would give you is to photograh all the assemblies before dismantling, and take notes. Also photograph all the wiring connections where they fit onto relays and such like.

 

I will find out how much my uncle is willing to let me do over the holidays. He told me at thanksgiving he wants to spend the money to do it. He thought a reasonable budget was 40K to take it to Excellent condition. I told him that figure would double for that level. I am going to check out Fantom Works over my break and talk to them as they are fairly close to my uncle and I have been impressed at the content of the show. Could be all smoke and mirrors which is why I want to find out.

I have done three complete take aparts. Tagging, bagging, and pictures is the only way to go. Body guy says about a year on his end. I have lots of time off in the summers so that will be a majority of my catch up time if I am allowed to take some of this on to get close to his budget. Being his car and seeing that he is going to be giving it to me, it would mean allot to me if he let me have a hand in it, but at the end of the day it is his decision.

He is considering a Jag specialty place. One in NY one in ME and I think another in VA. If that is the case I will be completely out of the loop.

 

It is very satisfying doing most things yourself, but does take a lot of time, and of course there is the learning curve for the model of car. Handing over to (hopefully) competent professionals means the job is normally well done, but very expensive. Handing the car over to incompetent people because you can't afford the best specialists, is a recipe for disaster

 

I subbed out the work on my 1970 E-Type and it was supposed to take 6 months back in March of 2017. I'm told the bodywork will be done today and then it will take another 2-6 months to finish the interior and wiring. I'm not holding my breath. On top of the price of the car, I'm in around $50K to date. I'm roughly guessing another $20 to $30K to finish, but I have made a lot of modifications. Car was relatively rust free but when we pulled off the paint we found a lot of bondo in the left rear quarter we hadn't caught which added to the cost and time. I have done a number of modifications and replaced all the rubber, bushings, shocks, and pretty much everything else that was perishable. My car had a v8 in it which cut down on the engine replacement a lot. A new engine cost me $5K, a rebuilt Jaguar engine is between $15K and $30K depending on how nice you want it. Recommend a shop that has done these before otherwise they'll be learning on your car and that is wicked expensive as a lot of parts that you'd think no one has you can actually buy and the car requires special tools to disassemble. Fortunately, there are a few Jaguar specialty shops on the East Coast. They may seem expensive but you'll likely find, in the end, they'll be a ton cheaper than someone who doesn't know the car and underbids the job because you'll have to fix what they messed up.