Looking forward, looking back and looking cool - workshop update

The phones have been ringing off the hook the last week with customers old and new getting in touch to book their cars in for work or to enquire about cars we have for sale. It seems the classic car fraternity across the country are getting themselves in gear for a summer of classic motoring. We are delighted to help. If you want your car prepared after what may have been a prolonged period off the road, please get in touch. We can provide covered transport to and from your home address so no need to worry if your car is a non-starter and this way, we can keep everyone safe and maintain social distancing. 
In this weeks' update we look forward to E-Type 60, look back at an XK140 restoration and look cool with an update on our XK140 air conditioning upgrade.

Cool hidden air conditioning controls

Progress continues with fitting air condition to a Jaguar XK140 drophead coupe. This car is undergoing a full nut and bolt restoration to the owner's specification including many upgrades. Most of these modifications are quite commonplace for us such as a fast road engine, five speed gearbox, electric power steering and disc brakes. Air conditioning however is an upgrade we have not fitted before. This is partially because we like to keep cars looking original and because we aim to ensure that any upgrades we do are easily reversed. Many of the air conditioning conversions we have seen in the past have not looked great and have involved significant alterations to the bulkhead.
These days the parts are much more compact so we finally felt that we could undertake such a conversion and do the job justice. Pictured here is dashboard with the original drawer front modified and fitted to a hinge to hide the central air conditioning vents and controls behind when not in use. There are a few more minor adjustments to do here but we are very pleased with the results. 

Jaguar XK150 in for a check over

We are seeing a lot of our regular customers cars coming in having covered very few miles over the past 12 to 18 months due to the pandemic and lockdowns. This Jaguar XK150 dhc is no exception having covered approximately 100 miles since we serviced it last year. The car has come back into us for its MOT and a thorough check over ahead of being able to get back out on the road as restrictions are eased. Clearly these cars which have covered so few miles over the past 12 months do not need a fully service and we are not in the business of wasting perfectly good engine oil just for the sake of it. It is however imperative that classic cars are checked over thoroughly after being stored for prolonged periods. Fuel hoses, fuel seals, brake hoses and brake seals are favourites for deteriorating when cars are stored over winter and it goes without saying that it is vital that these items are checked over before heading out on the road.

Localised corrosion repairs

Generally speaking, well restored XKs do not suffer badly with corrosion. It is however also true that the way XKs were designed and constructed leaves some areas where moisture can become trapped and cause rust issues. When we restore a car we mitigate this by painting in areas not have painted originally and using cavity wax before fitting panels such as the splash guards and rear wings. All that said sometimes moisture can still find its way into seams and cause localised paint bubbling.
This car came in with some minor paint bubbling along bottom edge of the boot opening. In this area there are two panels which come together and overlap to form the bottom edge of the boot. Clearly being in that location leaves it prone to having water in the area and in this case it had worked its way between the metal and caused corrosion. We have now taken the area back to bare metal, cut out all the affected material, welded in fresh metal and now the car is being painted. She will look good as new again in no time and the problem has be repaired properly.

Quarter light mirrors

Have you ever found yourself looking over your shoulder on the motorway trying to see if it's safe to overtake? Do you sometimes wish it were easier to see down the side of your XK when parking? Have you seen XKs with mirrors fitted to the doors or the wings and felt it ruins the look of the car and that it is such a shame to drill into the bodywork? We have many times and that is what lead us to develop our quarter light mirror upgrade.
These mirrors fit neatly to the quarter light and allow you to see down the side of your XK for parking, manoeuvring, overtaking and merging. They make driving an XK a much easier experience and provide rear visibility when the hood is folded down which blocks some of the view from the rear-view mirror. There are no unsightly fixings inside or out and they are securely fixed so they do not wobble or fall off which many of the 'bolt on' solutions do. Unsurprisingly this is one of our most popular upgrades. Please get in touch to book your car in to have a pair fitted.

Jaguar XK140 full restoration

Sometimes it is nice to take a moment to look back at past projects. We restored this Jaguar XK140 drophead coupe some years ago, but it still stands out in our minds as a particularly lovely and unusual colour combination. The car was a full nut and bolt restoration from a car which started in a sorry state. Fortunately, it was largely complete which really does make the process much easier for us and saves significant amounts of money in the long run. It can be a very costly business having to source a hood frame or gauges these days so the more complete the car is the better. That being said no project is impossible, and we have certainly restored some cars which provided very little to work with.
The beautiful example pictured here was restored to the customers exact specification including the very striking colour scheme. The car benefits from several upgrades including fast road engine, five speed gearbox, power steering, bucket seats, colour matched seat belts, quarter light mirrors, a hidden stereo system and much more.

E-Type 60 at Shelsley Walsh

E-Type 60 at Shelsley Walsh is fast approaching (12th and 13th of June 2021). Celebrating the Jaguar E-Types 60th birthday this promises to be a very special event and will certainly mark a welcome return to classic car shows. The event held by the Jaguar E-Type Club is being organised by the same team who put on the fantastic XK70 event in 2018 and will incorporate the XK Club.
The show will include many stands with specialists and traders, an unrivalled gathering of E-Types, other classic Jaguars and Minis, live music and even a competitive hill climb. If you would like to enter and drive your car up the historic Shelsley Walsh hill climb, please book as spaces are limited.
Twyford Moors are proud to be sponsoring the event and will be on hand to chat all things XK and E-Type. We will have a stand in the main show area with several cars around the place and we our director Nik is hoping to be running his D-Type replica in the hill climb. Please visit the E-Type 60 website to book tickets.