leonk

Wow! What a great idea. Everything in my garage is covered in a fine layer of dust despite hoovering and a makeshift extraction system. Would you mind posting details of your new extraction set up. I was going to build something temporarily out of sheets of Kingspan originally. Heating and dehumidifiers have definitely made a huge difference for me although the downside is I have just received a £900 electric bill. A small price to pay though to know it's not rusting away.

There's also Pete or 4RE leather, he works his magic re colouring leather seats etc. http://www.350z-uk.com/user/14712-4re-leather/

A little bit of calculation, and some trial and error but nothing to worry about. You just need an extra pair of hands to get it onto the rotisserie but after that you should manage on your own. What you are aiming for is the centre line through the shell so that you don't get a pendulum effect when rotating it. I see they do purpose made brackets for your shell so that will help enormously. In fact I did look at their site and speak to them before building mine as they have brackets for the E type. They certainly seem very knowledgeable. I seem to remember the loading aid involves a threaded bar that can raise and lower the shell while on the jig so that you could lift it off stands or a dolly for instance. The balancing is adjusted via the mounting brackets themselves. I'll pm you some pics so as not to clutter your build thread with my rubbish

It is a bit nerve wracking first time. I seem to remember Bizz said the same when he spun his shell. Don't worry you soon get used to it. I now spin it round like a hog roast. Making sure you've got the centre of gravity right on the jig is key Mine I can do single handed. As regards a "race", I'm probably still at the qualifying stage!

Very impressive Chris, look forward to some more footage!

Without doubt the most useful piece of kit I have. Make sure they put some heavy duty braked castors on it. The addition of height adjustment was also useful. If you need any pics just pm me. Anyway looking good mate, can't wait to see it up on the rotisserie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dan!!!!!!

Likewise, looking forward to progress reports. I have to say, there are some great build/ restoration threads at the moment on the forum, both modern and classic.

Our experience with powder coating at work had been mixed. While very durable as you say Darren once the surface coating is breached it has a habit of lifting and flaking with moisture finding its way under. For areas exposed to stone chip damage, I am for this reason not convinced it's the best solution. Infact following problems with previous powder coating we now galvanise everything prior to coating. With regards to the car restoration and after much research I will be going the epoxy paint route with my suspension components that require painting. If it's good enough for Eagle E type £250k restorations, it's good enough for me.

Interesting..............

Looking great guys. I've got all this to do as yet. Keep up the good work!!

And it is for this reason you need to tread softly. Is your mum for instance thinking of having some renovation work done that will make the house uninhabitable for a short while, no electricity or water? Perhaps he could move back in (or not!) when the work is done. Unfortunately you are going to have to be a bit ruthless. All the best with it but don't delude yourself it will end amicably.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Have a great day.

Looking good Darren, I notice you have bought stuff to rebuild the SU carbs. Not wanting to worry you but have a look at the ethanol posts I made in my build .Ethanol is now in ALL UK petrol available from the pumps and destroys SU carbs in particular because of the way unused fuel is stored in the float chambers absorbing moisture and becoming highly corrosive. Not so much of a problem on modern fuel injected cars but a major problem for classics and even more so if they are stood. After a lot of research I have found a UK distributor for VP racing fuels. http://www.vpracingfuels.com/ This is an ethanol free fuel that has a two year shelf life. Not wanting to worry you unduly but found this out directly from engineers at the Jaguar factory at a recent engine seminar. Keep up the great work, always look forward to your progress reports and know all too well how hard it is to maintain the momentum of the project.

Just searched e bay for "evoque mirror" 148 items. I'd look on there, might even drop lucky and get the colour you need. All the best getting it fixed.

I know. Not too much of a concern for modern cars with plastic tanks and fuel systems designed to cope with the stuff and used frequently but a major problem with older cars in this country, especially if left to stand for long periods. What annoys me is they put health warnings on most things nowadays but there is nothing on the pumps to say "this might kill your classic car" Every pump you use in this country be it super dooper premium V or standard now has ethanol in it.

I don't feel so bad about my slow progress now! Only kidding, I know you've had a nasty case of Ebola this week. All recovered now?

Very nice, my son has a Kawasaki ER6f.

I think that only caught Red Bull out.

On a serious note, one of the things the seminar did highlight was the dangers of the new green trend of adding ethanol to petrol. this is something the government has signed up to as part of an EU initiative. The problem is the damage this stuff does to your engine and fuel system, especially to older cars. From what I could gather from the talk, was that ethanol absorbs water and becomes highly corrosive. One guy there in the questions and answers section at the end who worked in the fuel industry said that they delay putting the stuff in the tankers as long as possible because of the damage it causes. One of the lecturers warned that they were seeing more and more cases of expensive fuel systems and carbs destroyed by the fuel especially in cars stood for any amount of time. He pointed out an example of a V12 Jaguar that it had caused nearly 10k worth of damage to. The only answer to it at the moment seems to be to completely drain down the fuel system if the car is not used. Now not only do I have to worry about the humidity and rust but the bl**dy government conspiring to destroy my car!

You'll be buying a JAAAAG next...

Just to finish off the last post, the boot lid is now primed ready for flatting down and more fine tuning. Given that I want to strip the engine and recondition various parts I booked myself onto the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club XK engine seminar held at the Jaguar Factory at Castle Bromwich. It was a great day and I met a few fellow enthusiasts. I had to smile in that on the whole, they all seemed to be of a certain age and match the JAAAAAAG stereotype. Anyway a very informative lecture and quite a lot learnt. We even got to have a look at the new XE in the flesh. Unfortunately for me as per a recent thread by someone, I cant say I was wowed by it. They did have an "S" version that was all covered up and we only got a glimpse of that. That looked better though but alas no photos allowed. Lovely F type R in the factory showroom though....... Back home now and more rubbing down!

Bradders, your dad's looks great. As Darren says, it's only at the primer stage. I can only dream of the day it actually has a coat of colour, something way beyond my capabilities. Primer is very forgiving and makes even a novice like me look good. Thanks for all the comments guys.

I'll second that. The dash looks fantastic mate.

Quite a productive weekend and few more pics. Rear end now has a coat of high build epoxy primer. I then set to stripping the passenger door in the blasting cabinet. Unfortunately the boot lid wouldn't fit in the cabinet so a more labour intensive approach was required. Two compressors and enough kit to strip a tanker, the boot lid was stripped. All that to achieve this...... Just finishing a cup of tea and some hob nobs and back in the garage to prime it. Must be mad.