THE 100 POINT E-TYPE

Edition 8: Assembly

The restored and resprayed body shell transitions through to the main workshop for the cars mechanical rebuild to begin. In our previous edition of the 100-Point E-type newsletter, you would have read how the engine was rebuilt and prepared to be installed alongside the mechanical team.

In this edition, we look at the mechanical rebuild, including some the newly refurbished components formerly seen in earlier newsletter editions 3 and 4.


The first phase of rebuild see's the installation of components that if left to later in the rebuild, may be a little challenging to reach. These include items such as the washer jets and windscreen wiper mechanism being fitted into the bulkhead as seen above.	Due to the age of #875824, we cannot assume the original wiring loom will be reliable and as a result, a new wiring loom is installed. Whilst a meticulous task, it is important to replicate the original factory finish so special attention is paid to the wiring being neat and tidy.

The original instruments and gauges have been refurbished and function tested before the electrical system can be signed off as complete.	When #824 left the Jaguar factory in 1961, it was destined for the overseas market in America. You will find there are difference in the features seen on a UK supplied car to the US supplied cars. One of which are the nudge bars, along with the side repeaters and all red rear light clusters, all of which can be seen in the image above.

The rear axle has been stripped and rebuilt, ensuing it replicates that of the original factory finish. The original 4HA differential housing has been painted red and the brake lines replaced in steel as they would have been on first supply.	The early style handbrake mechanism is installed with its restored, original bolts back in place.

The heater box is installed with its access panel secured by 9 screws although only 6 can be seen here in the image. Sometime in the earlier part of 1962, the access panel was secured using only 5 screws as opposed to the original 9.	Early cars had their springs mounted in a different location as seen in the above image, later the bracket was moved to the rear face of the heater assembly. This coincides with the change in screws used on the access panel, as discussed previously.

Though it is not known when the production change came in to effect, it is well documented that the vacuum tanks fitted in earlier models were fitted with tanks labelled 'TRICO' as seen here.	With the petrol tank fitted into position in the boot, you can see the correct fuel line route for a 3.8-litre model with the fuse box and decal located underneath the fuel line.

The very early petrol tank sumps were fitted with a multi-piece sump. In August 1961, the multi-piece was replaced with a brass nut as shown in the image above.	A before and after (as previously seen in Edition 4), showing the very rare and highly desirable branded 'BUTLERS' rear number plate lights.

The steering rack and front anti-roll bar are bolted in to place. You will notice that the frame bolts are more exposed by not being painted. This is period correct in the earlier 3.8-litre models. Bolts were manufactured by 'Bees,' 'GKN' and 'Newton'.	The original Dunlop brakes have been overhauled along with the wishbones and uprights.

The early 2-blade style cooling fan is installed.	3.8-Litre left-hand-drive models have their reservoir bottles located on the side frame as shown in the image above. The early style of bottle are round with black plastic tops and the clutch reservoir has an aluminium top. In June 1962, the reservoir bottles changed to a more square shaped design. If you have a keen eye, you will notice how straight the steel brake lines are!

Here we display the brake line following its original route. You'll notice more exposed. unpainted frame bolts too.	The original Nyloc's have been restored and refitted.

In the earlier produced cars, the fuel line would run behind the fuel filter bowl as shown above. Can you see the provisional location for the external bonnet catch? Up until sometime in 1962, the external bonnet catch fixing locations remained on the body shell. The factory would then fit two screws to fill the threaded inserts as seen here.	The exhaust system is made of a mild steel as per the factory. You will notice that the down pipes are different in colour. The factory used 2 different coloured pipes to ensure they were fitted to the correct cast manifold. This helped to save time and avoid production hold-ups.

Lucas PL700 headlights have been fitted with silver buckets. We understand that body-coloured buckets were only fitted to the very earliest of cars. The fitted headlights have been converted for use on UK roads.	The engine has been put into place and the ancillaries have been refitted. You can see the HT lead conduit in red located in the spark plug valley. In February 1964, the conduit changed from red to black.