DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

You are all too kind....there are definitely others amongst you who lavish equal passion on their cars....

As a heads up...I can tell you .....the engine works....
A certain gentleman came up to Surrey to direct the procedure.....with no exhaust it was amazingly loud....in true Spitfire fashion...

More later.....

Fantastic Jonathan, you are the epitome of ‘if a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing well’, as my dear old engineer Dad used to say!

Freakin’ weirdo!

Utterly fantastic work Jonathan You will need to do a book with the car to explain some of this stuff

Great work as ever and I think the bumpers in particular looks spectacular. You are definitely a bit weird though.

Were you ever tempted to make more practical upgrades to things like the wiring, cooling, brakes etc or sticking with largely standard spec?

Keep the pictures coming, fascinating to see the car come together.

Hi Feroz

Upgrades so far are

LED lighting throughout, absolutely everything
Modified headlamp units to incorporate an additional daylight running light system
Additional integrated extra brake light into the lower rear position of the current reverse light
Additional relays to ignition switch for safety
Volts gauge not Ammeter gauge for safety
Upgraded and direct wiring of headlamps direct from battery plus use of relays
Upgraded heater matrix

Upgraded/OE spec aluminium radiator
Upgraded aluminium heater tank

Vented brakes and bigger discs to the front
Rear brakes upgraded to use slightly bigger pistons

Fully balanced crank/clutch and flywheel
All pistons/rods machined and matched to be equal weights

New pistons, timing chains, valves, valve guides and bearings used in engine build

Later 4.2 series style clutch design

New loom throughout

Enhanced sound insulation dampening

Modified rake to seat and reduced padding to lower seat base

Intend to use slightly wider aluminium Dunlop style wheels (6”...probably...we will see)

Front and rear over rider delete and bumper profile modification

Perspex headlamp covers in lieu of OE glass type

Use of Dynamator to replace alternator within body of original Dynamo

High torque starter motor

Later XJ specification of solid state fuel pump

That’s quite a lot....!!..i didn’t Realy appreciate it until I typed this...!

So pretty stock then

Good call on the dunlop wheels

That's quite a list and you aren't even done yet, I should pay more attention to the thread!

Love your work. Definitely do the wider wheels

The E type has a very narrow rear suspension and can look a bit too narrow when on the road with stock wires, the Dunlops will be fabulous, knock-on hubs too?

Hi Graham

Yes..knock on/off...probably the 3 spoke carriers too...not standard as my Jag ones are twin ears...but the 3 looks cool..!

This is a recent image from the new owners of JD Classics...Woodham Mortimer.....jumping on the retro mod bandwagon....the 3 spoke type is supplied by Real Engineering, and has been used by them..mine will be similar to this....their bumpers are not as well made as Barry did though..!



Best
Jonathan

Yum yum ..... that looks gorgeous! And I know yours will be better.

Where do we sign the order form?

Sounds good, car above has the 'lightweight' bubble flared wings so allowing the narrow/wide wheel difference, very very nice, Eagle are on the same format too.

jtparr wrote:
You are all too kind....there are definitely others amongst you who lavish equal passion on their cars....

As a heads up...I can tell you .....the engine works....
A certain gentleman came up to Surrey to direct the procedure.....with no exhaust it was amazingly loud....in true Spitfire fashion...

More later.....

Hi Jonathan

I have been watching your build with both interest and awe at the attention to detail, and on holiday in the last week have been reminiscing a bit, and whilst a real long shot wondered if you might be able to help...

When I was young I was a very keen cyclist, and competed all over the place before cars took over my life. I grew up in Hampshire, and a guy in our local cycling club in my last couple of years cycling used to restore E-types. He was a big influence on my car passion, and your thread made me want to make contact with him and say hello.

Now clearly the E type world is fairly small and is therefore thought I would be able to find him really easily, but seemingly not! I suppose 30 years have elapsed though....

What I can remember;

- His name is Michael (no idea of surname)
- He was a native Canadian, and moved over here c40 years ago now
- His workshop was in a tiny village called Hawkley in Hampshire, near Liss
- A one-man band, I can only assume he farmed out paint and trimming
- He was an incredible metalworker / fabricator. He made many panels which were not available (I recall him showing me a door latch panel he fabricated from scratch which was pretty complex) On one visit he showed me a roadster that arrived on two pallets (front half / back half) which he imported to restore. He also did the odd MkII saloon

I haven’t really got anything else to go on, but I wondered if you had come across him. So much time has passed he could have moved home, given up and gone to work for someone else or retired early.

Please don’t put any effort in, I just wondered if you paths had crossed....

All the best, and am looking forward to seeing that bonnet on the chassis!

Regards
Wayne

You could probably try Thruxton Classic Restorations, local to the same area who raced early E Types, they would know of him, if any help?

I know of a Michael Ballard (most recently based in north Hampshire) who was big into Jag restorations for many years. Not sure that he did the metalwork himself though.


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Thanks both. I don’t think his surname was Ballard, I am hoping it will ‘click’ in the database upstairs! I spend a bit of time in Thruxton so will drop by next time I am there, thanks.

Sorry for the highjack!