The old school method to join the front fenders as well as shaping the body was lead. Lead besides being a hazard for your health/environment, is not an ideal method for a performance Jaguar as the lead will flex over time and create cracks in your paint. I should have removed all of the factory lead but found out the hard way that the front fender seams had both cracked the same on both fenders.


To eliminate this from occurring we got rid of all of the lead and they used lead not just on the seam but all around that section around the front grill. New steel was cut and made to weld and provide an even stronger connection to the body panels than stock. Here are some of the shots during the repair/upgrades. It did take about 60,000 miles but those cracks look so annoying so if anyone is doing a full paint you might want to consider removing all of the lead welds. I did the same thing on most of my Datsun 240Z's but they used less lead; the Jaguar used it on the seam and it seemed like they used it instead of filler?

 

Not too big of a deal and with some buffing and assembly it will better than before. These Jags are not areo-dynamic so they will always get rock chips in the front over time but when you re-spray the front I would get rid of the lead as that will crack over time.

 

Looks like a great job Primaz.

 

It looks really nice. But I absolutely would not get rid of the lead. It is a much better seam sealer and filler than any plastic body filler. I have never heard of lead cracking- the metal seams under the lead perhaps, but not the lead.


Any yes- Jaguar and all the other car manufacturers of that era used lead to seal seams and fill imperfections. It is not used in manufacturing today because the tolerances are better, and it is too time consuming. It is used in high end restorations because give the choice between plastic and metal, it is an easy choice.

 

I agree if you are comparing it with plastic BUT I am NOT using plastic. I would recommend using steel and welding over lead. I have other cars with lead seams and you always chase those cracks. For example 90% of every Datsun 240Z will have lead cracks at the rear quarters. Lead will crack over time and if you have a higher performance set up they will crack even faster. Datsun 240Z cars with big HP will have cracks at the windshield lead seams often if the lead is not removed and the metal is not welded.


I drive my cars a lot and drive them hard. If you baby your Jag and do not put many miles the only thing you are doing is delaying the inevitable cracks. Many Jag owners do not drive their cars that much . My car is a lot more horsepower than most but if you drive it a lot the cracks will show up. I drove over 65K miles in the first two years after this build. For me I own my car to enjoy it not collect dust and keep it in the garage and put very few miles on it.


The only way to not have that happen is weld with no lead and no filler/plastic. Doing it without lead is more work than using lead as you will often need to fab a bit of new steel contoured and then weld before you are ready to do the final body work. I am mainly talking about the seams. On all seams I would NOT recommend to use lead but instead weld with steel. If you want to keep the lead they use for non seams that is up to you but if that part can flex I would not keep it lead.

 

I suppose if structural stresses are breaking the metal seams between the chassis and fenders, then yes, you would have to remove the lead to get at the metal panels to weld them. Lead was never meant to be a structural component, but a filler to seal and smooth the welded seams (lead is less porous than steel). It is also used to help with gaps around doors.

 

Looks very nice, Alan. I know when I was shopping for paint and body work for the beast one of the high end jobs included removing all lead and welding in all seams. That quote exceeded my budget for the entire project as I recall. If we ever get the darn thing finished it will be driven and not pampered - will keep my fingers crossed I don't experience the paint cracking in the nose, but if I do I now know the fix. With big sticky tires and 400+ hp, these old tubs are seeing stresses that weren't possible back in the day. Still I'm amazed how rigid the old monocoque is - my garage floor has a 1/4" variation from the left front jacking point to the right rear one and I have to shim a jackstand to keep it from teetering - the tub is that stiff, even when fully loaded. Guessing the nose is another story since the forward rails are pretty nominal and spot welded sheet metal and lead don't help much. Another fix would be an Art Morrison chassis but I don't have Clyde's budget. We do what we can. Regards.

 

Doug, I think only the nose seems to be the weaker spot. We fabricated a piece of steel with basically the same shape as the upper 3" or so above the grill bent it into the channel and welded that. Seeing your mad fabrication skills I am sure that is a walk in the park for you I drive this Jaguar pretty darn hard so since I have not seen any other cracks, this might be the only weak spot as I never realized the factory use of lead was so loose. I am picking up the car tomorrow so I will post some completed pics. You cannot worry about little chips as the nose of these cars are like a brick. I found that after 65K miles of hard 0-60, and periodic drives up to 125 MPH that I also got some darn rock chips so maybe after another 65K I might need to touch up the nose again?


Doug when are you going to post more pictures of your fabulous Jag? Your car is pretty incredible!

 

 

Beautiful. That is such a lovely color on the Jaguar!

 

Thanks! This is my first British car and I assumed I would buy a car and paint it either British racing green classic or the new British metallic racing green used on the 2003 Mini Coopers but once I saw the color of this Jaguar's factory silver/blue metallic it really grew on me. I then decided to color match it and paint most of it with newer two stage metallic with nice smaller flake than the Jaguar factory but still the same color.


I think this color is classic yet unique and turns heads as a clean/classic. Jaguar was ahead of their time as I do not think many car manufacturers came out with metallic for stock cars. The factory Jaguar sky blue metallic is a great color but I think back in those days they just used one step paint where the color, flake, etc. was all shot in one coat; the only flaw with that was the flakes to me seem too large and it does not have as nice of a shine as smaller tighter metallic flake or the depth of a two stage. I did not repaint the entire car but the majority as this is a daily driver and I did not want to go crazy on the paint. If I every were to repaint the car I think I would stay with this color but strip all of the old paint off so every inch including the jams, under the trunk lid, etc. would look as good as the large panels.


What color are you going to paint your car? You have been doing some very nice and time consuming body work on your restoration...

 

I am going with the original Old English White for the 1960 I am working on now. Will go nice with the lobster interior. However, I am with you on the British Racing green, and assuming I get to restoring the 67 MK 2, I will paint it the BRG. Might consider and engine upgrade for it two, so i love hearing about updates like yours.

 

Failure of lead leading to cracking is mainly due to the lead not being allowed to move freely, you may think I'm going mad, but bear with my thought process.

A lead roof must have movement joints, if it does not it will fail early as the lead has a high expansion coefficient so it expands considerably when it heats up and shrinks when it cools, if it is allowed to move it will last for 100's of years. However thinking about your issue Primaz, ( and I know that this is not experienced by everyone) I am wondering if with the higher HP engines, driven as they should be,have larger and/or faster swings in temperature leading to the cracking ?

Lead is very ductile and will withstand a lot of vibration and torsion, but it really does not like temperature swings if it has restricted movement, bearing in mind that the lead is bonded to the car on one side, could this be an explanation of the problem, and would it effect all high HP conversions, and is the front effected more because it is directly above the radiator ?

Just a thought, but if this is the case it may well effect Doug and others ?

 

Jon,


In my experience with other cars like the Datsun 240z's which also used lead in the same manner to join some of the panels together, they all end up cracking. I have seem hundreds of stock 240z's all share the same cracks as Z's with big HP engines. Sure the larger HP engines will likely speed up the process but they all end up cracking due to the nature of lead as it flexes and the paint will end up cracking.


To me any lead seam will end up causing the paint to crack over time. These Jaguars are so old that I would recommend eliminating the lead so you do not get upset after spending thousands on a new paint job to then find unsightly cracks in your fancy paint job.

 

Good info Primaz, for interest is it the paint that cracks or does the craking go right through the lead too?

 

awesome job, can you email me I have a few questions? vmotorworks@gmail.com

 

What happens as the lead gets old is that part of it starts to lose the bond and cracks partway. Even just a tiny weakening of that bond will make the lead flex even more as the temperature changes which is beyond what any paint can handle and thus cracks will form. That to me is just an inevitable thing as these are dissimilar metals and is never as strong as a true welding of metals. Like I said cars like the Datsun 240z will all crack at their rear quarter panels as those like the Jag are panels seamed with lead to appear as if they are one piece. It was hard to tell on the Jaguar as they used so much lead that it did not appear at a glance that there was lead joining a seam. On a 240z the amount of lead they used was small so when you strip the car to bare metal it is more apparent. I have seen many Z car owners upset after a new paint job that they get cracks at those spots and then need to redo that section of the car after welding or re-leading with new lead. I plan on keeping this car so to me that then makes welding more of a no brainer.

 

Here are pictures of the new improved front lower control arms. The old ones worked but did not allow for enough adjustment of the front camber. This new set has been created to provide a better geometry and improved camber adjustment with the standard use of shims.


Going out to powder coating next week and hope to install them in 2-3 weeks. This should be one of the last improvements. This was built by Michigan Metal Works, Michigan Metal Works
You can ask for Travis and with a little persuasion he can build you a set. This front custom lower control arm is for the 1963-67 Jaguar 3.8s but I believe the MK2 uses the same front suspension set up. These will enable you to use the QA1 adjustable coilovers and this will enable better handling, ability to lower the front and still adjust the camber with good geometry. Also this new A-arm design should work just fine with no need for a drop spindle. We tried to build a custom drop spindle but that was way too difficult. This new design will correct the geometry which was just a little off and basically eliminate the last tweaks needed to make the suspension ideal. Other than welding and grafting a completely different front end this to me is the best front suspension setup as you keep the rest stock and with this A-arm, coilovers, and sway bar the car will handle great, fit big brakes and big wheels, etc.


This was a big ordeal as nobody makes any performance suspension for these cars so I had to get custom ones made from scratch and while the first set worked these will work way better and be the perfect setup. On the 3.8s the QA1 coilovers can be used in the rear IRS thus enabling the Jaguar 3.8s to have full adjustable coilovers. This setup is a great street ride that is still smooth not overy harsh, yet handles great.

 

watching with interest

 

can you tell us how they differ from the slandered ones,
not just the shocker mounts,
is the upright mount moved,is so in what way,
thanks,