DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

Messrs Parr and Carter, I imagine that when someones does what I'm about to do - suggests another website to look at - you cringe, BUT, have you looked at monocoque-metalworks.com for ideas and inspiration from a gentlemen in Maryland/USA who must be to E-Type bodies what Barry is to 911's? John/CT/USA

Hi John

Too late....first looked at Chucks site years back.... ..good isn’t it...!....shame he doesn’t keep up the web site updates...and I don’t do Facebook..so I don’t keep up to date with Chucks work any more....

Next update is coming soon....

All the best
Jonathan

Jonathan,
Yes, I can only assume he (Chuck) is too busy to blog nowadays, because he clearly enjoys writing. I first heard mention of him on BringATrailer.com and shot him a quick note of compliment to which he quickly and courteously responded. I've learned much new-to-me about E-Type construction from poring over his site...and wonder if the Brown's Lane bodyshop was staffed by blokes who'd made Spitfires and Lancasters in the War, such do the assembly techniques remind me of aviation practices. I also enjoy his descriptions of traveling across the US to retrieve dead E-Types and deliver finished parts...channeling his inner Peter Egan.
Barry's work continues to blow my mind; who else makes metalwork look like no one's ever been in there before quite like him? Looking forward to your next installment.
Best, John

so, whilst i managed to be distracted by life and the onset of what has been a great summer, just like the elves and the shoemaker….down in the den….the magical work continued….

there are those that say an E Type sometimes leaks…..and there are those that say it always leaks…..its just a case of which part more than another


sadly the rear hatch is one of those such places

this was the hatch area once I had the car dipped with the rear/lower inner area of there hatch left bare....



not just because of a poor seal…but the basic design that a single compressible gasket held in a continuous concave profile is bound to gather water….at the low point…...and if the seal doesn’t then actually allow adequate drainage, (there is just a single outlet at the low point that is covered by the gasket) that water is going to find its way inside the car….

…...and sit….

…...causing mischief


oh....there this was a minor USA modification that needed sorting first....before the real work....













in that last image you can see the peppered lacy condition of the lower channel










but before that could be tackled the inner structure needed attention, another classic example of multi layered minor pieces of metal, that do wonders to trap moisture...








so firstly shapes the repair pieces









remove offending rust





and insert as required







this then established the upper edge to guide the remedial work to the gutter channel, which conveniently Chuck makes repair sections for these areas, so whist tricky as a replacement, with the rot neatly removed, and a degree of fettling it was straightforward to rectify...












the damage from ingress of water sadly doesn't just stop there







so the offending damaged metal had to be removed and bespoke repair sections carefully crafted, to replicate the stepped join in the original metalwork

























you can never have too many mole grips can you....








and the repair panel has a return curved edge....












.....then rinse and repeat....note how subtle the compound curves are...










this repair work was also addressing damage as a result of the design of those delightfully skinny rear bumpers…..not only are they pushed into the bodywork at the slightest moment of an impact, but as per the apocryphal story a sacrificial set were sometimes mounted and used to literally press them into the body at the factory using “the special wall” when new to ensure a reasonable gap between them and the rear body prior to fitting the rubber seal, such that all E Types carried a degree of “damage” from day 1....

now whether that story is true or not is follow….but this time round the achievement of a perfect gap was going to be sought in a logic manner…..scribe and then grind each bumper (prior to re-chroming) to achieve the perfect line

a)….just because
b)….we are going to do some custom touches…..

Oh dear ...... Louvres?

Yes! custom touches....

Louvres....
Nope....subtle is the word....

Got to wait though....

The art of metal restoration is a highly skilled one, as we all know, so when Barry told me he had a new technique for the approach to the rear hatch I was intruiged......

What he also said was he hadn’t told me about his new approach until after he had completed the work....

What happened in the past is a mystery, perhaps the hatch had been opened too far and bent back the hinges....either way is was twisted....and although the hinges were/are ridiculously flimsy that hatch itself is a stiff old thing and needed brute force to ease it back into shape....

The rational thing could well have been to source an original hatch but that was not an option as the original body serial number was crayoned on the inside....

the pictures pretty much tell the story.......























gorgeous isn't it....




and whilst so much attention was being lavished on the rear a minor detail (another mystery) became apparent, which was a slightly deformed petrol filler nozzle.....well we can have that can we....









......which then meant we noticed the petrol flap wasn't fitting perfectly.....






and now its the best fitting one in history....





and for a spot of light relief we elected to modify .....(first of a number of subtle refinements).....the seats


the Jaguar bucket seats are a classic.....they help definite the essence of an early E....and helped establish a legendary complaint about comfort, especially from the US customers, which pushed Jaguar to design and replace the early seats with the first reclining versions which appeared later in 1964 in the 4.2 litre cars

not a lot of people know that in fact there were 2 generations of the early seats in addition to the more commonly known design that varied for the roadsters and the coupes

thankfully for me I do not have the really early seats as they were even more upright, and I do have the wider seats as I have a coupe.....(roadster seats are more tapered and pointed at the top when viewed in silhouette than a coupe....)

however I wanted to increase the rake on the seats .....so we sliced the lower side panel, and bent the seat back to open up the joint about 25mm....and then Barry rebuilt the profile up....beautifully....

whether this means I need custom leather coverings remains town be seen...but what the hell....

before.....




during.....












and after.....






they are actually pretty good....and once I modify the foam padding in the base will fit me even better......

Love it, beautiful!

Love it, beautiful!

Superb Jonathan. I am already looking forward to the launch party!

Great work.

What Stephen said, twice

Do you want to rearrange your barry standing photos - it would be better to see the high/low markings first and then see Barry's handmade shoes afterwards. Just sayin'

Stunning work as always. Puts me off owning an E-Type for life!

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The degree of twist in the rear hatch couldn't have been that great knowing Barry's weight !

Nice idea modifying the rake of the seat backs - I'm surprised that (AFAIK) nobody has offered this on an exchange basis - must make the driving position much more comfortable - even for a driver of average height,

Keith - remember how much E-Types cost new compared to anything else of even vaguely similar performance - they were built down to a price - nobody expected them to still be around 25 yrs later - let alone 50+ yrs !! ...

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True – I guess you could say that about a lot of stuff back then. I've only been 'up close and personal' with one other E-Type resto, but this makes that one look like a walk in the park. Fantastic attention to detail, as one has come to expect from Barry!