More info on the Ebay seats?
As a guy that has also had his first car for 25 years, im loving this thread.
More info on the Ebay seats?
As a guy that has also had his first car for 25 years, im loving this thread.
The seats are Tillet seats out of the UK. Super light, and I think I would like to cover them in period correct looking red leather. If anyone knows a source in the Central Florida area...
Anyone out there- What does NMNA mean?
erdocmitch said:The seats are Tillet seats out of the UK. Super light, and I think I would like to cover them in period correct looking red leather. If anyone knows a source in the Central Florida area...
Anyone out there- What does NMNA mean?
It's in regards to sale items found on the list of Craigs, etc. - Not Mine, No Association
It means it's a random ad that the poster is not associated with, nor do they own said item.
Thanks for the info. NMNA was not very intuitive. (My google research came up with "New Mexico Nurses Asssociation" which didn't quite fit.
Just did about a 5 hour garage session. I find it very therapeutic. I have a ritual: Iget some tunes playing through Alexa, (I won't let her in the house) and start with a little cleaning, repair or modification to the garage itself. Then I work on the Jag. The hours pass. I feel good. I'm looking at the rest of the body work, and it is going to be a while, but it is looking better each session. At least I have no more rust to cut or grind away and most of the panels have been replaced. I still have the tail section separate as I am working inside the boot and on the bottom simultaneously. I think it is better to do this now then after I attach it and it would mean working on the bottom of the car.
Any one have a method to keep metal from flashing? otherwise I'm going to be repairing this car about 1-3 square ft at a time and having to put some primer on it- which is what I'm currently doing.
Appreciate any input...
I'm in S FL so humidity this time of year has to be dealt with. I clean small sections to bare metal then epoxy primer. Once you get it in epoxy primer you can do bodywork on larger sections.
Cruiser Matt is out four-wheeling in Colorado with the Landcruiser beast, so I have the shop to myself. A bit lonely, but everything is in its place. Cruisermatt and I have a Felix and Oscar relationship in the garage. I act like "dad" maybe once every 6 months. I act like Felix about once a month. I have no doubt he will opine on his own on this topic. He is a great son, friend, comedian and fabricator. The order changes on a regular basis.
Updates on the Jag- This is probably the smartest fabrication set up we use - 4 grinders with 4 different set ups- well worth the investment. It allows you to flip from one tool to the next without change-outs...
sanding disk
grinding wheel
cutting wheel
wire wheel
All the angle grinders work fine. The Craftsman is loud and probably on the way out. I will be replacing it with a Harbor Freight "Hercules" with no second thoughts- The safety guards are removed for demonstration purposes only, and I assume no responsibility for anyone who uses one of these devices with or without a safety guard. I have no doubt everyone on this forum has an angle grinder story/scar.
The Jaguar tail section- lots of this kind of thing -
1 find thin junky metal
2 make a repair panel
3 Cut out the junky metal
4 weld in the new piece, then grind
(this is still in the rough in part, lead loading to come)
I'm pretty sure there were Jensen speakers in these holes...
There was a famous lightweight E type "4WPD" that had (what I thought) was a cool tail modification. I was starting with a series II tail (1969 car) I want to back date the car to vintage 1965
I made these dimple die holes for fun-
Setting up the "soft tail"
I haven't seen it in your pictures, but I suspect you have an English wheel at your disposal.
I do have a Harbor Freight English Wheel. I'm sorta learning how to use it. I find it has a strong affinity for my thumbs.
Chuck at Monocoque Metalworks is awesome. I could not have done this project without him. He made the "soft tail" panels for me .
Next step is getting the tail re-attached to the body.
I am planning this out this way:
1) Level the chassis jig
2) level the body (specific reference points)
3) level the tail section (specific reference points)
4) hang plumb bobs- Measure R and L lengths then cross- measurements R front to L rear, L front to R rear,
5) make sure it looks rights and doors fit
6) Have Melanie look at it. She is a human level. She's detected 1/32" off over 10 feet (Really)
If anyone has any other insights, I would love to hear from you! I have never done anything like this before...
Also, my welder started acting up, so I have to troubleshoot that next...
I love watching sheetmetal repairs. This is a cool ownership story too. Thank you for sharing.
Datsun310Guy said:In reply to cruisermatt :
Molly Hatchet
The Outlaws
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Allman Brothers
Marshall Tucker
and the Don Garlits museum
All good reasons to VISIT in FL!!!
In reply to erdocmitch :
Some folks (like Melanie) are amazing that way. I used to work with a tech that did all his wheel alignments by eye. On Can Am cars...! I would re-check with my tools. He was always correct. It does sound like you are aiming fro a lot better than the original manufacture though. Did Jaguar spec a tolerance? Lola F.Fords were +/- 1/4 inch from day one....
I have no idea what the factory did- might be better or worse than theorized... The jokes about all things British motorsport must have some truth...
The big problem with these cars was that the owners rarely fixed stuff appropriately- Lots of sloppy repairs (Guilty! see earlier posts) and they rusted badly. They were cheap for a long time. Repairs reflected their value. Now they have come up in price I'm guessing that the only people doing this kind of panel replacement work are high-end shops or enthusiasts. I couldn't afford for someone else to do this job. The panels that I got from Monocoque Metal works all fit perfectly- as long as there wasn't existing body damage.
I sand down to bare metal, drill holes as appropriate for plug welds, use Cleco clamps, and then MIG weld. And then repeat ... I estimate my progress at about 1-3 hours per square foot..
This pic says a thousand words, mainly demonstrating the need for ER doctors (irony? yes!) in the lives of so many. Two things are aiming for blood here: One is the lack of guards; the other is the ability to quickly switch from grinding to cutting or vice versa. Sometimes, the best safety lies in the requirement to just take a minute to think over the next step before you get there.
Apologies for the beotch moment here. I've seen far too many YouTube videos of dingleberries using angle grinders sans gloves, glasses, guards, etc. I've had many thin discs literally frag into my face (mask) . . .
Again, sorry for being a wet blanket. I blame age. Please continue with cool stuff and an awesome car.
erdocmitch said:Cruiser Matt is out four-wheeling in Colorado with the Landcruiser beast, so I have the shop to myself. A bit lonely, but everything is in its place. Cruisermatt and I have a Felix and Oscar relationship in the garage. I act like "dad" maybe once every 6 months. I act like Felix about once a month. I have no doubt he will opine on his own on this topic. He is a great son, friend, comedian and fabricator. The order changes on a regular basis.
Updates on the Jag- This is probably the smartest fabrication set up we use - 4 grinders with 4 different set ups- well worth the investment. It allows you to flip from one tool to the next without change-outs...
sanding disk
grinding wheel
cutting wheel
wire wheel
All the angle grinders work fine. The Craftsman is loud and probably on the way out. I will be replacing it with a Harbor Freight "Hercules" with no second thoughts- The safety guards are removed for demonstration purposes only, and I assume no responsibility for anyone who uses one of these devices with or without a safety guard. I have no doubt everyone on this forum has an angle grinder story/scar.
My experience is that once I weld panels, they move around anyway. Now I just do my best, and accept the results.
From the look of your work, yes, your best is likely to be more accurate than factory.
I take great solace in knowing lots of old exotics were mildly asymmetric.
Thanks for sharing.
Rustomatic- I agree 100% "Go slow to go fast" are words to live by.... One thing that has been helpful is that I'm doing this 2-5 hours at time, With time to think about the hands on portion in between. I haven't gone down to many wrong paths yet. As far as safety equipment- eye, ear and hand protection. The angle grinders seem to have a proclivity for thighs, rarely the face. (ER experience) An under appreciated safety bit is protected forearms from MIG welding uv light.
Wheelsmithy- VERY COMFORTING! Thank you! I'm learning tons.
I have an analogy to make. Weight transfer is to driving like heat transfer is to metal working-
Early on, when I learned about performance driving - weight transfers were what I focused on. I didn't not think about brake zones, turn ins, apex, track outs, I just made the focus different. It helped me to feel the car better, feeling the transfers of weight front to back, side to side, This is best explained by the taller guy with me in the picture. His articles in SCCA magazine on driving technique are top notch. (Chump Car Daytona, April 2017, Randy Pobst- stopped by to visit his friends at ISC Racing) . By the way, if you want to put a roll bar in an E Type, keep the stock roof-line and still be 2" under the bar with a helmet, you gotta be about 5-5. Growing older and shrinking has a few advantages.
Back to the relevant part of working on the Jag. I started thinking about heat transfer, especially with welding, but also with lead loading, grinding and sanding too. Too much heat on the weld and there was burn thru. Too long a time, distortion. You can manipulate the lead loading by adjusting the heat- from watery to pasty- this helps on vertical surfaces especially. The lead can be sanded too, but too hot and you get a gooey mess. Just some random thoughts that popped into my head today
Great project! As for the seats, you might get away with using the padded covers supplied by Kirkey for their vintage aluminum buckets. Popular amongst Cobra owners. Fastens on with a couple of snaps that you'll have to install on the seats. Except it will be black vinyl. Might serve as a decent pattern if you remake it in custom color/material.
I've seen those. I like the snap on idea, not sure how they will fit. I'll look into it . Thanks!!!!
CruiserMatt is doing the Rubicon trail, in the 1990 FJ62 Landcruiser. He already drove from Winter Park, Fl to Colorado and has been out 4 wheeling in the west for 2 weeks- having a blast. He breaks as much stuff as I do on the track, but seems to be able to fix it in the dirt with a collaboration of multiple contacts and ingenuity and go on .... um? I hope he shares the 3 week road trip saga with all of you.
The Landcruiser I speak of is a similar story to the Jaguar. He is the 3rd caretaker in our family, and by far has the most attachment and done the most with it. Purchased originally for Melanie in March of 1998, when CruiserMatt was 2.5 years old. The story has lots of twists and turns, so I'm going to stop there as not to get too tangential.... It deserves a fresh thread by someone other than me.
I did a short stint in the garage today, just a bit of lead loading and sanding. I'm planning the next few, and very crucial steps....
A brief slowdown to troubleshoot my welder, After disassembly, clean up and reassembly, back in business...
erdocmitch said:A brief slowdown to troubleshoot my welder, After disassembly, clean up and reassembly, back in business...
Might want to cut that ground wire back and install a new terminal to reduce resistance. Keep the contact points where it clamps to the project clean if no one's told you.
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