Hi Richard, I thoroughly agree that it would be ideal to save the original paintwork as it is so wonderful. However, as you gradually get into making the various weathered areas good I think you may ultimately take the decision to renew it. On balance, (and because the interior is so perfectly amazing), I think the owner will secretly desire better paintwork-just to do it justice……
I'm inclined to keep this one as original as possible. Overhaul the mechanicals, a new wiring harness for reliability along with replacing anything rubber that has perished over time. The interior is remarkable. Get an expert to scuff and blend in the paint issues and then just enjoy it. Guaranteed to attract the same or more attention than a restored E-Type these days. A sympathetic rejuvenation, similar to what was done to the Kjell Qvale lightweight E-Type would be my goal for this one.
I'd restore it back to the original opalescent gunmetal grey(assuming that was the colour) , with the tan interior, you can see a number of blemishes and the paint currently doesn't shine very much. It definitely should be brought back to it's former glory. On the glass it is original as there is a dot under the O in the word Toughened indicating it's 1962 glass. With regard to the paint defects I would guess it was driven in the snow and rocks and salt have had their way with the paint. The logic behind my "restore" comment is you obviously will replace all the wiring harnesses or you will get a fire and your re-chroming this will look out of place if you do not restore the car. IMHO
Hi Richard . This is tricky . It' s where do you start and where do you stop ? If you really think logically it's already been part restored. The engine and irs. It's not just the door the "A"post has been painted . There's a sizeable dent in the right rear roof. ( keep the dent !) But it's the bonnet that's the real problem . Where gravel has chipped the paintwork water and salt has invaded the paintwork and caused "spidering " or in Jaguar parlance "poor hospitalization ". You have to admit it does look , at best ,unsightly and will probably continue to deteriorate. I would almost certainly find an "old school "painter and repaint the car in cellulose . Definitely NOT basecoat /clear ! If you want to keep the provenance then why rechrome anything ? Someone has wisely suggested you replace the loom and l would do that for safety ! So it really is a catch 22 . The engine and irs already compromise the provenance. I guess the owner is the one to make the choices Richard . If it were mine l would replace the seals . Rechrome everything . Cadnium the front suspension and repaint the car in cellulose . Provenance is one thing preservation is another . Thanks Richard .
There are many beautifully restored E types around. You have a once in a lifetime opportunity to keep it as you have received it, and sympathetically attend to some detail that will allow you to safely drive the car. I doubt that you will ever regret keeping it as it is now but will always regret the total restoration. When will this opportunity come again?
Yeah, noticed that aswell but people in the US use these stickers to show their heritage not as here in Europe where they were mandatory if you were driving abroad 😄
Hi Micheal, I would do exactly what you are doing. Leave the paintwork alone. It is what it is. Just do your mechanicals and get the car running. The wiring loom looks salvageable. Perhaps a bit of tidying up as necessary. The car will be a very rare gem. Regards. from U.K.
Fads. Bloody fads. Forget "hotness" and all that other nonsense. Full restore it to the 1962 car. New gun-metal gray paint will be unique enough. Someone said restored E-types are ten a penny now. I beg to differ! Esp. a 1962.
The "O" in JSO refers to the gear ratios. I believe they are 3.37, 1.86, 1.28, 1.0 on the Moss box. -9 on the Engine number is 9:1 compression ratio. (That's the easy one!!) Hope this helps!
A beautiful survivor car Richard, preservation rather than restoration for the cosmetics, mechanics need to be "top wazza" so it can be used on road but PLEASE, PLEASE, don't repaint, re-chrome or re-trim, it's far too precious for that, it deserves to remain as "original."
I wish my Father was like yours, into British cars, any cars. I see pop’s eating a sinker and drinking a cup o-joe. Lol. Keep up the great work, The whole world is watching.
No replate, no rechrome, just clean every element cautiously and reassemble with all mechanics and electrics working. This will make a truly outstanding car. And it should be preserved as a whole. Putting rechromed bumpers on would devaluate in my opinion.The concerns about the rust are not substantial it is just surface corrosion that will not continue if you treat the car well. Considering the mechanical work done yet I do have some doubt, seeing the spark plugs painted and one head nut loose.
A Danish car? (DK) I would do as little as possible, leave it as untouched with patina. There are too many restored E-types around, and as this car is matching numbers and all original, I would just leave this as much as it is now, just making sure that the spidering and rust does not get worse. I am even conflicted about the re-chroming as it might stand out too much on the car. Amazing find! Congratulations!
If you’re going to re chrome bumpers you should restore the car otherwise leave the outside alone and clean it as best you can. Do it all or leave it alone.
There are several dents that are obvious and since the engine transmission and the suspension have already been redone, and you are going to rechrome why not just correct the dodgy paint on the bonnet with a respray of the car with some bodywork to fix the dents? Im for a restoration since it is mostly been done anyway.
Strip, clean and polish. Re chrome when absolutely necessary, you'll be surprised what a buffing wheel will do. Can only be that original once. Awesome find and a privilege to do 👏
Reassemble, fix what’s broken, clean it up and leave it alone. Careful with the re-plating, it just doesn’t fit with the other survivor patina. Just my opinion.
My Raleigh International (full Campy) has a Reynolds 531 stickered frame (double butted circa 1970). Light and strong! I'd leave the car stock as is but fix the bad paint, chrome, etc.
Reynolds tubing was also used in British fighter an bomber aircraft of WWII. Bike racing frames and aircraft are both areas where the high strength to weight ratio of Reynolds tubing were valued as the cutting edge technology available for the time.
Love to leave it, but how do you stop the rust? A total rebuild with a respray would protect it best, but please don't do the normal and cover it in bondo. If you need it, use lead..
That is truly amazing, if I owned something that special I would not touch a thing. Make it operational and safe and enjoy! Either way it's an E type, everyone likes them no matter what condition
What a wonderful example and how amazing that it’s in such good condition for a 62 car. It must have been somewhere very dry. I noticed the DK sign on the back of the car which may indicate that it spent some time in Denmark?
Yeah, I would be concerned that whatever strange corrosion is going on under the paint, especially on the hood, would continue to worsen, potentially ruining that really amazingly preserved body shell.
What a great car. If it was mine, I would take it for a daily (after mechanical restoration and some rubbers and parts). Yes, I know, some people would burn me for this sacrilege, but after all it's a car and it had learned to be a car. It should be on the road and any new scratches or dents are no problem.
Another fantastic Owen project looking forward to watching with great interest!! Cheers from Down under. (P.S. I am with you Rich and your plan for this classic)
What a find. I would keep as original as possible. The interior is incredible. Some of the rubber seals are going to need replacing. I look forward to future episodes.
I wouldn’t even rechrome the bumpers, I would truly leave it well alone. But it’s your car to do with as you wish. I liked the comment ‘tempting to restore but then it would be the same as all the other e-types’ so true
What a gem! If you re paint the car it will just look like all the other restored S1's, What's incredibly rare about this car is that it must be one of a few un welded S1's with 90% original paint, It really deserves to just be sympathetically cleaned up and perhaps get a better job done on the drivers door paint as that is the only panel that has been repainted so you've nothing to loose and stand a good chance of improving it a lot as that door is the biggest let down on the whole car, I would rather drive this as is with that Patina over a shiny over restored one!
if you can find an old can of Karskin Reconditioner, you may be able to hand rub out the oxidation down to an almost like new paint job! MY DAD AND I RUBBED OUT A 68 BEETLE AND THE PAINT CAME RIGHT BACK!. YOUL POBABLEY NEED TO REJUVINAT THE KARSKIN WITH KEROSENE. BUT NOT SURE. KARSKIN IT WAS THE GREATEST! LOTS OF LOVE TO THE OL GIRL. BYE!
This body shell is in pristine condition! I would respray the bonnet and resprayed door, and then maybe spray the whole car with clear lacquer to preserve the old paint.
That one looks a lt like my car Opalescent Silver Grey with Red Interior. I think the paint is too far gone on the bonnet to save it. Also the interior panels have faded and glue has let go, so I'd renew these too.
4:44 Richard Michael Owen and his father send a Jaguar to "An expert here in town". LOL. If they aren't THE experts who the heck is this other "Expert"??!! LOL. Crazy!
My 62 OTS (876993) is awesome as well. I did as little to it as possible to keep it all original. I talked to the original owner before his death. As said so many times, the car is original ONLY once. It can be restored a 1000 times! You are "right on" in what you are going to do!
Oh, how hard is it to get the fuel tank out? I was 16 when I bought a 67 XKE, sadly, it had an LT1 V8 with a Muncie rock crusher, with paper route money. I had a terrible time removing the fuel tank.
You do a wonderful job of describing the car. Please please please leave it as is. I’ve had three XKEs, I would love this one, re chromed, new rubber where necessary. Mostly, what I would want is the underside, seams etc cleaned and repainted. I l love that you ask questions of your audience, that shows, both, that you are kind, and, more importantly that you are not an arrogant jerk who knows everything, no one knows everything, so, thanks for being human! Great job!
With all those major parts out of car Why not RESTORE, I know some say the price is less on a car refinished but it,s a beautiful car bring it back 100%
As others have said "It's only original once"... but rust/corrosion never sleeps. You've got an unmolested original that needs a refurbishment, NOT restoration. It'll be very hard on where to "draw the line" as to where refurbish or restore is. IMO, do the necessary bodywork and repaint. Stop the rust/corrosion and save it from further damage. Do the respray to original quality - not Pebble Beach level. As far as the brightwork goes, find "survivor" parts (patina'd) that are better than what's on the car and replace (saving the originals). Rubbers/Seals/Gaskets are a no-brainer, and are to be expected.
Deal with the rust,and keep her as she is...I've noticed at the shows here in the U.K. people give way more attention to 50yr old cars that are driven to the show than the 50yr old £50K restored one that arrived on a trailer..Beautiful,best of luck,watching with anticipation.🇬🇧
I'm in two minds re paint. Everything aft of the doors seems salvageable but the bonnet and wings? How are you going to deal with all that surface rust and whatever caused that spidering?
I think that a lot of cars that are re-sprayed and detailed end up being Museum queens, private or public. This Jag wants to be driven; the original paint job is perfect for that, warts and all. Makes it more real. Cheers,
In 1962 cars weren't built to last, the rust protection was non existent and the reliability of things like wiring looms Was aweful, the cars done 67,000 miles by 1962 UK standards it's a scrapper that tan interior will have been red it's faded, is it origin and and unrestored? No it's old and crusty if you're going to fix it give it the works, it's a child of the sixties it was made to party and looking at this one it looks as is it lives in a retirement home and wears a nappy! Please give it it's dignity back.
So the car is salvaged and appreciated for its originality and then taken to a body shop where they take such little care of it they cover the interior in filth?
Enough new rubbers to keep the weather out and blend a bit of paint around the front hood and left door, like you say chrome bumpers and cad plating, job done IMHO.
If you look at the joining plate between the right hand front wing and the bonnet centre section, early E Types had the body number stamped on it. This is the plate at the rear of the bonnet secured by two bolts each into the wing and bonnet.
I wish we had the climate in the uk that you have there to save all these absolute classics the pity of it is anything of that era will have melted with the weather
I fully restore it the engine has been recorded and painted plus rear end and diff also plus you are rechroming all the bumpers too so why not do a full rebuild
