Front bumper Assembly of the front bumper is rather straightforward: two front studs and two bolts on either side provide a robust mount. Rear bumper See also mount modification and bumper seal. Apart from getting the nuts and bolts into position given the limited space between the bumper and chassis,......
Body shell
Grille mount
See also prior front grille and bumper test fit. The front grille attaches to the chassis with four retaining clips that resemble those used for storm and screen windows. Over the years, the metal opening around these clips eroded somewhat, leaving less and less metal for the clip to grip......
Roof vibration dampening
See post about the insulation plan. Applying CLD to the inside of the roof requires about 25% coverage, and the initial layout contemplated ten 11×6″ rectangles. There is online discussion about whether it is better to sandwich roof insulation between the cant and the metal roof (there isn’t much room!)......
Jaguar hood mascot
The iconic Jaguar hood mascot mounts on the hood with two screws. The mascot has a rounded slot for the short chrome extension that runs to the edge of the hood. The finished end of the chrome extension is held in place with a stud piece that slips into the......
Boot seal
The boot has a rubber seal that fits into a surrounding channel on the body. The open side of the seal faces the outer edge. This allows water to run off the lid and trickle down the channel without leaking into the boot itself. The seal comes to two equal......
Paint celebration
After the final buff and glaze, the paint phase of the project is finally done. Time to celebrate! The drive back to the Kriss Motors garage was easy – just a few miles – even without a windscreen. As a sort of exclamation point to mark this milestone, the little......
Wire wheels
One distinctive feature of classic British cars are their stunning wire wheels. Wire wheels come from a racing heritage and were adopted for their light weight (this was before the introduction of aluminum/magnesium alloy wheels) plus the advantage of quick change knockoff spinners on spline hubs. But there are disadvantages,......
Exterior paint
We were expecting the exterior paint job to be completed by the end of May, but it’s difficult to accurately forecast this kind of work. Now, after lots of sanding, adjusting, masking, and filling, the final BRG exterior paint is on. The surface still needs buffing and glazing to remove......
Rear bumper finish seal
The rear bumper features a long chrome tipped rubber seal that serves to close the gap between the bumper edge and the body. The seal must be attached before the bumper is installed (there isn’t enough room to manage this otherwise). The replacement rubber comes a little oversized, and must......
Exterior door handles
The chrome on all four door handles was acceptable, but not up to the better quality of all the other chrome (see chrome assessment), so the handle bodies were re-chromed. After cleaning, the innards were lightly blasted to get rid of old caked-on road grime. With a little grease and......