Amazing XKE Restomod- Air Dam 10/23/24

[BBShark]

Door Skins

Chuck from Monocoque Metal Works says E-type doors are the bane of his existence. Fitting them to the body shell and getting the gaps correct can be quite a challenge.
When it came time to installing my after market door skins on my repaired door shells, I could see something wasn't correct on the right side. After conducting a survey of the two, I found the one skin had the crease line stamped 1/4" lower than the other. My supplier in the States graciously offered to do an exchange, but considering shipping costs, I elected to hammer form a higher crease line to match the shell and the other skin.

Two door skins:


Measurement discrepancy, 2 5/8" VS 2 7/8"


Shells siting on skins:


End view showing mismatch:


Had to shrink and stretch skin in various places:


Primed, painted and applied sound deadener at this time:


Installing skin, folded over edge with hammer and dolly:

 

[BBShark]

Setting Door Gaps

Apparently, when these cars were made in England, as the car body went down the assembly line, they would have a row of completed doors available, and would choose one that best fit the car in front of them. After mounting the door, they would lead in the body to fit the door.

Well, not in my case. Here it was a matter mostly of making the door fit the opening and doing some modifications to the body shell where needed.

With a good reliable door hinge, I was looking for a 1/8" to 3/16" door gap. With the doors mounted, there was very little length where I needed it. Adding or removing metal would fix it.

The left side bulkhead between the bonnet and the door was sitting proud of the door by more than 1/8". This could have been compensated for by adding filler to the door but that is never a good option. I opted to cut and section that area to bring it in line.

- first, remove the factory lead in the seam.
- second, cut and slice
- third, weld back together
- fourth, grind weld


The upper front section of the E-type door has never appealed to me. The weather seal often doesn't sit right and a crisp, clean door gap is seldom achieved. I'm taking a chance on improving this.

- photo of red car shows weather seal mismatch
- set 1/8" rod in place
- weld rod to body
- finished door gap to 1/8"


The gap at the bottom of both doors was too small. I took it to 1/8" by cutting back a 2" length, welding and grinding then moving ahead another 2". My pace ended up at 6"/ hour.

Example of one 2" length:


Finished door gap:

 

[BBShark]

Door Window Frame

Fitting the window frame into the door shell is a matter of making it fit the best you can in the space you’re given. Much like getting the door shell to work with the hinges and latch mechanism, the door frame must work with what it comes in contact with. A lot of variance of fit can be taken up with the door seal that this car comes with, except for one area and that is the contact between the rear edge of the window frame to the ¼ window or rear side glass window. This is a double seal that requires a gap tolerance of 1/16”.

Keeping these two windows in that relationship really limits how much you can move things around.

The ¼ window attaches to a B post that mounts with a limited amount of adjustability, top and bottom.

Using the rebuilt door shells and new door skins, I set about to try and make the window frame fit in the space with the correct gap to the ¼ window. It took a lot of study but I came to the conclusion that the mounting screws for the B post were never installed correctly from the factory to allow for a correct gap. This is especially critical since with the window being 24” long, a small angle changes the window position a lot. I knocked out the captive nuts and enlarged the two holes enough to move the B post to where I needed it. If it never fit properly before, it’s going to fit properly now.

Laid out, window frame and ¼ window relationship:


-¼ window installed
-lower mount
-enlarged holes
-B post seal


Installed correctly:

 

[BBShark]

Back To The Bonnet

Having taken care of two major areas of concern, the rear fenders and the doors, I returned to the bonnet. As previously documented, all the metal work repairs have been done, it's hinged and sitting well. But it's far from complete.

On the job list are covered headlight lenses. Out of curiosity, I spoke to the previous owner about the fact that the right fender had the Series I flanges to mount the lens yet the left fender and center section was straight cut metal, as if open headlights had been installed. He knew nothing of all that. Odd arrangement.

So starting from scratch, I needed to keep to a similar plan form to original for the lens and make both sides the same, mirror image. I got one chrome headlight trim ring with the car so from that and sizing up the opening that was there, both sides, I came up with a CAD piece to represent the flange I needed to fabricate.

My plan was to bend 3/16" rod to the shape needed then weld it to the opening edge. I would add a sheet metal flange, stepped down after that, to match a formed acrylic custom formed lens.

-CAD piece in place to trim metal
-3/16" rod bent and in place
-rod split at fender/center section
-shaped rod


Welded in place:


Bonnet Assembly

With all the metal work completed on the four bonnet panels, I was looking forward to finally getting it assembled. After a good cleaning, I sent it out to be epoxy primed.

I was willing to add a reasonable amount of filler where the panels join in order to get a smooth transition from one to the other. In order achieve this and still be able to separate the panels, I slipped thin sheets of aluminum between them. The flange surfaces were finishes as well.

-panels cleaned
-louvers=time
-work area
-panel dividers


I also took this opportunity to final shape the lower valance. This would be very difficult to do while it's on the car and flipping the bonnet on its back is cumbersome.

All the flanges were epoxy primed again before final assembly.

I had to reconfigure my bonnet lift now that it was in one piece.

-shaping lower valance
-epoxy prime all mating surfaces
-bonnet lifting point
-bonnet on the move


Bonnet Splash Panels

With the bonnet assembled and on the car, I could now proceed with fabricating the inner splash panels. These needed to line up with the lower splash panels already mounted to the chassis. The 1/16" aluminum panels would be mounted to 20 gauge angle brackets attached to the bonnet underside with adhesive.

First step was to project up from the chassis panels and create a layout on the underside of the bonnet representing the placement of the bonnet panels. Along these lines, I cut cardboard, shaped to the bonnet and lining up with the chassis panels.

With these cardboard templates, I fabricated ¾" wide angle brackets with compound curves to match the shape of the bonnet. The compound curve required me to slice the one side of the angle and bend it inwards.

After test fitting the brackets to the bonnet, I fastened them to the panels temporarily then applied adhesive to the bonnet side of the bracket and secured it to the bonnet. Any discrepancies of fit would be taken up by the adhesive.

Originally, Jaguar fastened this type of bracket to the bonnet with a Sikaflex product. With some research within the Jaguar owner's community, I ended up using a 3M product, Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200.

With brackets attached, I drilled through the bracket/panel and used 3/16" blind rivets to assemble everything.

Please note: Particularly with these photo collages, click anywhere on the photo to blow it up to full size - in a new window. This new window can then be maximized for a still larger image.

-shaping angle brackets using shrinker/stretcher and slicing
-brackets next to cardboard template
-aluminum panel layout
-test fitting

 

[bobs77vet]

I am in love with this car, the work is out standing

 

[BBShark]

Bob, Did the original Jag have louvres?

 

[bobs77vet]

Bob, Did the original Jag have louvres?

I think so

 

[BBShark]

Sugar Scoops

Vintage kitchen flour/sugar scoops looked remarkably like the sugar scoops Jaguar used to fill the space in the bonnet ahead of the headlights. It's obvious how this item acquired its name.

The bonnet I started with only had one scruffy scoop which was of little use to pattern off of so I would be starting from scratch. Aluminum was my choice of material.

The basic design structure would be the curved scoop welded to a flat panel, bolted to the flanges on the inside of the bonnet. This flat panel would have a cut out to accept the headlight that would be mounted on its own flat panel. This would enable me to remove the headlight for servicing without disturbing the sugar scoop assembly.

Corrugated cardboard model in the bonnet:


Setting up curvature on flat panel:


Shaping by hand, second scoop on steel tube:


Test fitting before headlight cut out:


Welding L brackets to fasten scoop to panel:


Both right and left assemblies:


Ready for installation:

 

[bobs77vet]

i like those vise grip clamps

 

[bobs77vet]

I just had a time to scroll through this entire thread again and I am simply amazed at this build, what does that guy do for a living? When I grow up I want to be him.

 

[BBShark]

To go from where he started (a crusty hulk), to what looks better than new is impressive for sure.

 

[BBShark]

Headlight Lens Covers

To fabricate my own lens covers, I'd first have to make a mold to form them off of.

My plan was to make the base of the mold from polystyrene rigid foam board then finish it with painted bondo.

I started with a stepped piece of foam, supported from the back and shaped it to the headlight opening.

-rough cut
-shaping
-foam spaced inward
-foam mold



It was essential to support the mold from the back side to set it inward to allow for the bondo thickness. I started with the green fiberglass filler and finished with regular filler.

-backside support
-rough shape
-finished to meet metal headlight opening



Final painted mold:


Forming Lens Covers

With some extensive research, I choose 3mm PETG as my material to form the lens covers from. I built a vacuum former, plans copied from others on the internet. It turned out to be very effective in shaping to the mold but I got way too much "mark off", imperfections from the painted mold, on the lens. I covered the mold with flannel but still had the imperfections.

After a phone call to a shop in California that fabricates canopies for aircraft, they suggested I try a drape form method instead of vacuum form. With some experimentation, I found a reduced time in the oven and concentrated pressure on the perimeter of the mold gave me a good shape and clarity.

In the end, a closely shaped blank, heated, dropped over the mold then pressed down with a perimeter press, worked. Using about 2 minutes in a 300 degree oven, was good.

Vacuum former components:



Drape former components:


Drape former PETG hinged holder:



Drape former set-up:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

so glad you're posting this.... learning so much..

 

[rtj]

Using his kitchen oven. .

Nice.

 

[BBShark]

Finished Lens Covers

Lens cover flanges

Happy with the shape of the lens cover, I needed something to mount them to. At this point, all I had was an opening lined with 3/16" steel rod.

I started by setting the lens in the opening, flush with the outer surface of the bonnet. From the inside, I tacked strips of 20 ga. metal where the 6 mounting screws would go. The trick was allowing for the 1/8" gasket and getting the angle correct to match the lens.

After the 6 sections were in place, I just filled in the blanks, metal finished it, then drilled and welded 6/32" nuts on the back side.

-lens opening
-lens set in place
-mount sections marked and tacked
-welded, mostly from back side



Filling in the voids:


Flange finished:


Finishing Lens Cover

Final trimming of the lens was done with a jig saw and a disc sander.

To finish the lens, I painted the outside perimeter black on the inside. The fastening screws I choose were rather specific, described here:

"#6-32 Phillips Flat Head Machine Screws in Black Oxide 18-8 Stainless Steel featuring a 100-degree countersunk head are often used for shorter length fasteners to allow for a greater threaded length. 100-degree taper screws are often used when fastening thinner materials."

I cut gaskets from 1/8" neoprene and used contact cement, one side only, to glue it to the black painted side.

A small stack of heavier rubber rings went under the screws to allow more fastening pressure without distorting the lens shape.

The screw head counter sank successfully using a ¼" twist drill bit.

Trimming lens:


-marked and painted
-gaskets cut
-rubber spacers under screws
-counter sunk screws


Finished pair:


Lens installed:

 

[acmsal]

outstanding work is an understatement

 

[BBShark]

Prepping for interior work:

The last items to install while the car is still on the chassis table, are the two floor pans under the seats.
I'm holding off on these because with no floor, I can stand up in the car to do interior work such as dash fabrication, A/C controls and wiring. The car will stay where it is for now.

The car sitting on all four wheels, most of the body metal work is finished and some of the filler work is done on the bonnet.

Here it is for now:






Skid plate

I added a skid plate, mostly to protect the steering rack mount which looked like a catch point on the underside.
It's made from ¼" aluminum backed by some ¾" square tubing.

 

[BBShark]

Interior

Independent rear suspension and boot panels

These panels were cut from 1/16" sheet aluminum. The section covering the IRS will be removable for brake servicing.
The panel on the driver's side in the boot area will be made removable for servicing the fuel tank while the passenger side will have some kind of a quick release arrangement.

Before:



Cut and bent panel:


Panels installed:

 

[BBShark]

Dashboard

The original dashboard consisted of three separate pieces. I sold mine to someone who wanted it as it was no use to me. I wanted to use the same general configuration, adapting the components that I've chosen.

The two main components to build around were the instruments and the Vintage Air A/C unit. The transmission tunnel determined the location of the A/C unit, putting it high and not as far forward as I would have liked. This kept my stepped center section of the dash shallow, but manageable. The instrument cluster from the 2001 Trans Am fitted nicely between the GM tilt column and the Jaguar dash pad.

Building the dash in one piece first required a cardboard template:


With a blank slate, I marked the cut out for the instruments using the original plastic surround. The cluster was set back an inch using a formed spacer.

Instrument cut out:


This spacer was located on the back of the dash using 1/8" pins:


The cluster will sit behind a Lexan cover. For the glove box, I formed some 1/8" rod and welded it to the 20 gauge metal opening to smooth the entrance.

Instrument mounted and 1/8" rod:




Heat, Cool and Defrost

I mounted the Vintage Air unit long ago. I just wanted to make sure it would fit. With the dash in place, it was now time to provide the ducting.

Dash area open:


Vintage Air unit hung:

 

[BBShark]

DASH FABRICATION CONTINUED:

I knew the windshield defrost would be the most difficult so I started on that first.

Originally, the Jaguar configuration consisted of a heater core on the engine side of the firewall. They used the bulkhead as a plenum which distributed the conditioned air to the floor and windshield. The windshield had 5 separate ducts and hoses. There was no way I had room for anything like that.

I ended up fabricating a shallow plenum made from 1/16" sheet aluminum, attached to the bottom of the dash pad. This would connect to the A/C unit using a foam gasket.

Fabricating plenum:


Dash pad installed


To connect the A/C unit to the plenum, I cut holes in a piece of ¾" plywood and mounted that to the top of the unit. A spacer and a foam pad completed the connection. There was no need to fasten the two together, just a press fit.

I'll be blocking off the center vents as needed to allow air to reach the furthest vents.

Connection point:


A/C cool ducting

Cool air is provided at the center and either end of the dash.

The center vent was very close to the unit itself. There was no room for a hose so I fabricated a tower from plywood and sheet metal to transport the air up and out the vent.


Center vent and hoses to two eye ball vents:


Floor Heat Plenum

The ducts for the floor heat on the Vintage Air unit dumped straight on top of the transmission tunnel, nowhere near where you need it, in the foot wells.

I looked at going from the rectangular outlet to a round flex hose to bring the air forward but nothing seemed right.

So, as per the defrost vent, I fabricated a plenum to channel the floor heat.

From a cardboard pattern, I made a top and bottom half with folded edges for the sides. I TIG welded some beads to hold it together and used epoxy to seal it.

Fabrication:



The top center entrance captures most of the floor vent outlet:


I added vent directors at each end which can be modified at a later date if needed: