Hmmm, Well, I have thought about documenting my restoration on here for a while, but with so many excellent threads already in place which show 'How to do it properly!', I was unsure if an inferior restoration would be of any use to anyone. But then I thought that not everyone is able to replicate a perfect restoration and buy all of the expensive, original parts. The internet is full of immaculate concourse, Jags, but I know mine will never reach that level of perfection. The cost of new chrome, leather interiors, engine rebuilds and new paint costs well into the 10's of thousands, and that pushes it well out of my reach unfortunately. However, I will be performing a restoration to the best of my ability, it's just unfortunate that this will be limited by my modest budget. Rest assured though, there will be no shortcuts on safety, the car will be mechanically sound, and my attention will be directed towards the shell, brakes, suspension, steering etc.. Another reason for not performing a concourse quality restoration is that I intend to use the car very regularly indeed. It won't be a daily drive, but hopefully not too far off. So, due to the reasons mention above, the completed car won't have new chrome, it won't have an expensive paint job, it won't have re-trimmed leather seats and it won't have highly polished woodwork. But, what it will have is a driver whose smile will equal that of any other proud MK2 owner. And if I didn't do this restoration on a budget, I wouldnt be able to do it at all. So, can a Jag be restored on a budget, I have started on a journey to find out if it can....

The Jaguar MK2 is a car which I have loved since the days of Inspector Morse and The Sweeney. I swore I would own one, one day. My youngest son recently bought a classic Mini which I am currently restoring for him ready for him to start driving in April. Other than this, I've not performed anything much more than general maintenance tasks (clutches, driveshafts, cambelts, etc) on the family's cars for over 30 years, but I've enjoyed the Mini so much I decided to tackle a restoration of my own. Of course there was only one car I wanted! I sold my Kawasaki ZX9R which I have owned for 22 years to make the initial purchase. I looked on eBay and other online sources for a suitable model, and changed my mind a number of times, daunted at the mammoth task that lay ahead. Encouraged by a few glasses of wine on a Saturday evening, I bit the bullet and went for one I had my eye on, and despite breaking all the rules, I bought it without seeing it.

The car arrived in late November 2019. It was pretty much as I expected. What attracted me to this particular one, was the fact that the bodywork appeared to be mainly sound despite a poor interior and an engine which was an unknown quantity. I knew that being so old and not being used for many, many years, there would be much work to do, and after 5 minutes with a hammer underneath the car, exactly how much work quickly became apparent. But, to be fair, having scoured the internet for similar restorations, and after seeing some real horror stories, mine didn't actually seem that bad, and I was looking forward to making a start.

Anyhow, below is the story of my restoration so far..

 

Delivery Day - November 22nd 2019!
The arrival of my project for the next few years. What have I let myself in for? 😂

 

OK, Taking stock of my new purchase. Unfortunately I'm not the first person to take a shot at this car, and someone has already made a start at removing most of the interior, half of the brakes, the clocks, door locks, as well as many of the other components, only adding to the restoration task. Not only because the parts are missing, but I also don't know how they came apart.

The eagle-eyed of you will have noticed that the car is listed as 1965, but the registration is E, from 1967. The Jaguar Heritage Certificate shows that the car came from the factory on 12th April 1965, AND the registration that is currently on the car. The DLOC (Daimler and Lanchester Owners Club) have suggested that it may have been used as a demonstrator, prior to being registered.

 

So, I need a plan. I will initially strip the car to a shell and tackle the chassis. Once that has sufficient strength, I will source a rotisserie and address the rest of the underbody metal work (if anyone has a rotisserie that is no longer required, please let me know.) The engine was surprisingly straight forward to remove. I wouldn't say easy, but I managed to complete it in a few hours on my own. I did forget a couple of items, the starter motor cable and auto-gearbox control cable, but they were easily removed during the process. The exhausts were not present on the car, but the headers and first sections were still attached. I did consider removing them first, but to be honest, it would have been more hassle removing them, than scraping them past the chassis one their way out. Obviously when it goes back in, the engine bay will have a fresh coat of paint, so it will be a different story then! As I have said, the engine and box are an unknown quantity. The crank turns well with the plugs out, and less freely with them in. So that's not bad news. I will fabricate an engine dolly and get the engine running before I refit. I don't intend to rebuild either the engine or gearbox, so hopefully after some attention they will both run sufficiently well to refit. This is all supposition, but I think that the car was taken off the road after suffering a very minor front end bump. There had been a very, very poor attempt at rectifying the damage, but it was never completed and a couple of the lights are still missing, a replacement grill had been simply placed onto the front, and the panels at the sides of the radiator are still crumpled. It would never have been driven like this. So if this was indeed the reason for the lay-up, I hope that the engine/gearbox is usable.

 

After the engine was removed, I turned my attention to the interior. (Un)luckily most of it had already suffered at the hands of a previous prospector, and was already loose or half way there. I think the seats may have passed that point where some TLC would return them to their former glory, and I suspect I will be looking for replacements at some point in the future. A recover would be prohibitively expensive I think. What remained of the carpet and underfelt came away with a bit of effort, and soon I was left with an empty cabin. I was reasonably pleased to be honest, the floor above the front jacking points had long gone the same way of the jacking points themselves, which I was totally expecting. But above the rear jacking points (under the rear seat) looked reasonably intact, with just a small piece of fabrication on one side required.

 

With regard to the chassis repairs, my intention is to start at the front and work backwards towards the rear. Leaving those pesky leaf hangers until last. Hopefully by then I will have perfected my 'welding upside down' technique, because at the moment, unless I'm welding at less than 75 degrees to horizontal, the results are like a bunch of grapes. So the first thing is to remove the front subframe. The only difficulty was raising the car shell sufficiently so that the towers of the subframe would pass below the chassis rails. I was amazed however, at just how heavy the unit is. I was equally surprised to see that one brake caliper was missing. I checked, and when I found that one of the rear calipers was also missing, it was obvious that this car had been used as a donor at some point, albeit to a minor degree.

 

With the front subframe removed and put to one side for a now, I can start on the front end. It initially looked to be in a terrible state, but when I removed the worst bits (either with a grinder, or in the case of most of it, by grasping firmly with a gloved hand and pulling/twisting) it was soon apparent that the sections I had removed were the parts that could easily be replaced with repair panels anyway. The usual suspects, the front crossmember, braces and the crows feet. Onto the chassis rails. Good news, from the anti-roll bar forward there is only a little corrosion. O/S only has a small piece that needs attention where the brace attached, and the N/S in the same place, but a little worse along with some minor bits that I can probably fill weld. I've ordered some 2mm steel to repair these and I'm waiting for that to arrive. (I've painted both in weld-through primer, not as a final finish, but simply to prevent any rusting of the freshly exposed metalwork). What has arrived however, is my Martin Robey order to replace the aforementioned rusty pieces. Amazing to think that what had arrived in this heavy package had turned to the rusty mess I cut out, most of which I was able to hoover up.

(**Note to self** - don't cut corners with the rust prevention)

Anyhow, back to the chassis rails. Unfortunately the good news in front of the anti-roll bar was not repeated behind it. The chassis rails are pretty much shot, well, at least the bottoms of the rails are shot, the sides not so much. I knew this was coming and had already prepared myself to replace the straight rails, and having seen Homer Simpsons posts about it, I had some inspiration/ideas. What I didn't want to see though, was the bottom of the section between the anti-roll bar mount and the straight section was also rotten. Yes, that awkward curved bit. I had rather hoped that this section would be OK, as my fabrication skills are not as good as you guys, and I suspect it will give me some grief. I may resort to welding it up from each of the 5 flat sections. A bit OTT, but may prove quicker for me. We'll see when I get to that bit.

So, as soon as the 2mm arrives, I will be able to continue with the reconstruction of the front end.

As an aside, tomorrow I will be going to visit TilleyJohn as he has kindly offered me a brake caliper to replace one of my missing ones. I'm very much looking forward to meeting John, and also seeing the final result of his grey MK2 restoration.

 

Thats a really solid looking project, I wish mine looked like that!

I've restored one of these on axle stands (it was actually an S-Type) and then one on a rottisere and the rottisere really makes it so much easier, I can highly recommend one. I bought mine off ebay as a weld together yourself kit and its been great. I think I bought it from here and it was the heavyweight jig. I also bought the self loading tool as without its a pain getting the car onto it.

If you get stuck for a rear brake calliper I may have one but i'm moving house soon so allmy stuff is packed away.

 

Hi Homer, thanks for the encouragement, and the offer of a rear caliper. I'm obviously in the very early stages of my restoration, so the brakes won't be required for a little while yet, but if you do unearth one at some point in the future, I'd be most grateful if you get in touch. Good luck with the house move, after living here for 20+ years, moving home is certainly not a job I would relish!

The car is in reasonable shape compared to some I've seen, and it works well for me, as I think it's probably just at the limit of my ability. But it's amazing how your viewpoint changes as you become more familiar with the car and after seeing countless online articles. When I first started looking for a project car, I was horrified at the state some of them were in, thinking that there is no way on earth that these are ever going to be able to be restored. But as I see more and more amazing work being done, my opinion of what's 'feasible' has shifted massively. The internet is amazing and I cannot imagine that I would have even considered starting this project back in the dark ages before online resources and owners forums were freely available.

Regarding the rotisserie, I have had the good fortune to be offered a loan of one! As per previous post, I met up with TilleyJon yesterday and he has kindly offered me the use of the one he used for his resto. This will be a massive help to me, and I'm very grateful to him for the offer. It was an absolute pleasure to meet Jon, and he gave away most of his afternoon showing myself and my wife (who was more interested in the cats and horses!) around his amazing cars and facilities. Seeing his MK2 has encouraged me enormously, and the work has been completed to a very high standard indeed. I'd be happy if mine is half as good.

 

My very first Mk2 was a Daimler V8 on an E plate!! Quickly went on to Jag MK2's as i prefer the straight 6, Your's looks pretty good for a Resto, Check out Homers 2.4!!

 

Haha, TilleyJon. A few of us know about him!

 

Hey Blot, Cool! By 'Very first', sounds like you are a resto veteran, just how many have you done? We will have to agree to disagree about the engine though, I just love the sound of a V8 engine. I know they're not as powerful, but I don't intend to be ripping it up. I have seen Homer's latest project, indeed that was one of the reasons I bought the car I did, I thought if one that bad can be returned to service, then mine should be OK. Hopefully I have at least some of Homer's skills though.

 

Not a 'Resto veteran' at all, Just over the years i've owned 1 Daimler V8, 5 MK 2's, 2 S-Types and a 420 as well as 2 series 1 XJ's and an S2! Happy with the 3.8 MK2 i've got now and my S1 XJ! I think the Resto veteran tag goes to Homer!

 

Hi Voucher Boy,
I was very interested to read your post and plans for your restoration. I purchased a 64 V8 as a work in progress car. It is very original with matching numbers, original owners manual, original leather seats but showing 50+ years of use. Body work is ok some rust in door panels. worst feature engine is in need of an overhaul, blows smoke on start up leaks from the rear main seal but starts every time and is a pleasure to drive since I fitted an EZ electronic power steering kit . It is fully registered so it is our second car.
Enjoy the journey.
David Bruce.

 

Hi Bruce, sounds great. I'm so looking forward to the day mine drives. Will you be overhauling the engine yourself? It's not something I need to consider just yet, but I have seen that many people upgrade to PS. Is the steering that heavy I wonder? I'd like to have PS, but not sure the additional expense/work is worth it. Although, now that the subframe is off for refurbishment, before refitting it would be the best time to make any modifications. I'll give it some thought. Progress on my car is likely to be quite slow, especially for the next three months as all efforts will be directed at my son's classic Mini. It needs to be roadworthy by end of April for him to learn to drive, but hopefully I'll get some Daimler work done in-between. Cheers, Steve

 

And so the welding begins.....

Patched up the hole in the chassis rail (N/S still to do) and also welded a new captive nut and plate on both front bumper mountings at the ends of the rails. The old one's weren't too bad, and I probably wouldn't have bothered if they were only for the bumpers, but as this is where the rotisserie will attach, the weight of the front of the car will rely on these nuts. Also, once the car is on the rotisserie it's impossible to fit the crossmember, so I've tacked that in place along with the braces beforehand. I've measured twice, but I'll wait until more of the car is assembled before welding completely...just in case.

 

HI Voucher Boy.
My car has over sized front tyres which made it very hard to park plus I have turned 80. The EZ p/s was made in Holland and as my car is a column auto their kit had provision for the gear selector lever to be swapped over to the new column. The unit is fitted up behind the dash panel and is not visible unless you get on your hands and knees and look up under the dash. A good friend and I fitted it our selves. The EZ people were a pleasure to deal with sending 30 photos of how to do the job. The hardest part was cutting part of the bulkhead away to allow the power motor to sit in place. As a matter of interest I live in Australia and it took only 4 days to get to me. Best improvement I could make to the car.
Regards,
David Bruce.

 

Wow, respect to you David, still driving a Mk2 past 80. I'm still in two minds about the PS, but will give it some thought. I'm amazed at the following these Jags have in Australia, half of the videos I see posted on YouTube are from OZ owners. One massive advantage you guys have over us in the UK have though, that is the plague of rust.

Only a little work done on the Jag today, I wasn't planning on starting any work on the body at this early stage, but the crossmember/braces/crows feet assembly which I am currently fitting, attaches to the wing corners which are rotten. Also, the wings are flapping about in the breeze at the moment since the old assembly was removed, so I need to add some strength to them before they get damaged. I cut out the rust as far as I dare, the metal is still thin but you have to draw the line somewhere, else there'd be no wing left! I tack welded along the newly presented piece which I cut from a CAD (Cardboard Assisted Design) template. There were lots of blown holes which were fill-welded as I went along, but I managed to complete it with just a small hole on the right which I'll deal with later.

 

Got the car on a rotisserie now and you would not believe how much easier it is to work on. Today I removed half of the O/S spring hanger boxes and a section of the chassis rail. I cannot imagine how difficult that would have been working under the car. So many thanks indeed for the loan from my mate Jon, to whom I am deeply indebted. The downside of course, is that it's now perfectly clear how much needs to be done! I have the new rails which can be seen in shot and will soon order the new hanger boxes (upper & lower), panhard rod bracket and the spring mounts etc. I haven't yet measured the springs to see if they still fall within tolerance, but they rarely suffer so badly that they're unusable. Last week I cut out the rotten floor on the O/S (usual place, above the jacking point) tacked in a repair panel, and also started to fabricate a replacement inner sill. The old one is rotten below the floor but fine above. Given that you need to cut out the door posts to properly replace the full inner sill (which is a real PITA job) I decided to simply replace the lower half. I started with a piece to attach the new floor panel to, and soon a couple more sections should complete the O/S. Prior to that, I also fabricated a replacement lower grille section. Needs a tweak to straighten in, but it's nice and solid once more.
This weekend it's back to the Mini. We have a new flywheel puller now, so we can swap out the gearbox, pop in a new clutch and hopefully start putting the engine/box back in the car.

 

Hi Voucher boy,
I am really enjoying your posts and photos. You are very brave in what you are undertaking, the rotisserie makes the job more manageable. Did you know the car was as rusty as has proved to be? Keep posting.
Regards,
David Bruce Australia.