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......
blast
Seat runners
See also disassembly of front seats. The front seats operate on glides that fasten to two runner mounts that extend towards the rear seat. Originally, these runner assemblies had some sort of smelly jute-like tonque-shaped padding, and we decided to use an odor-free felt replacement. The exact purpose is obscure,......
Heater upgrade, part 2
This is the second of several posts about the Jaguar heater. See also parts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and the 3D printed valve mount. The heater unit is attached to the body at five points: three vibration isolators — rubber-cushioned bolts — in the firewall, and two bolts......
Air distributor box
See also removal of the distributor box. The distributor box was blasted and then painted with POR 15. The original box used felt that wasn’t particularly airtight, so a new foam seal was added. This may reduce air leakage and improve the amount of air flow reaching the rear of......
Engine front mount
The front of the engine is supported by flanges on the right and left that fasten to the lower part of the engine bay frame. The flanges support engine brackets that are buffered by round rubber cushion mounts. (Similar, but not identical, mounts are used for the chrome bumpers.) Slots......
Engine/gearbox rear mount
See also Propeller shaft, rear gearbox mount post. Non-automatic Mk2 cars have a rear mount that supports the gearbox (referred to as a rear engine mount). In our overdrive model, the top spring retainer attaches to the end of the overdrive unit while a bottom channel support bolts into the......
Engine stabilizer
The engine stabilizer, at the rear of the engine mounted on the top of the bell housing, reduces vibration and unwanted movement of the gearbox in its cowl (in the passenger compartment). The rubber mount (C) bolts to the firewall. Drawing legend A) nylock nut B) upper flanged washer C)......
Aluminum restoration
Aluminum doesn’t rust (the good news), but it is extremely hard to keep looking bright and shiny (the bad news). While aluminum is the most common metal (about 8% of the earth’s crust!), it’s never found in a pure state in nature. It oxidizes quickly, loves to show fingerprints, likes......
Post-blast body assessment
The Jaguar shell has been transported to Beaver Brook Restoration for a complete body and paint restoration. With the body shell blasted down to raw metal, the true history of the Jaguar is revealed. There was an obvious front collision with repairs to the right wing early on in its......
Blast update
In late August, LaFlamme Towing brought the Jaguar body up to Classic Car Blasting. The work is now nearly complete; the body looks terrific, especially for a 1961 car. Peeling back the layers, Virginia of Classic Car found old body work done on the right side front wing — probably......