Early Javelin Restoration

[Chris Spencer]

Bit more pogress today

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More lead loading to the O/S/R wing and door in order to start matching / blending the lower profiles

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[Chris Spencer]

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I could really do with my DA sander being returned from warranty repair so that I can just complete the final profile for this area - but it is very close - really pleased with the aperture gapping too - I just need to slightly shim the front door out on its hinges and we will have equal gaps on the off side of the car (taking into consideration that the apperture gaps on every Javelin I have ever seen are very poor). I also manged to start dressing up the offside front door which revealed a quite thin area in the door skin so that was cut out and replaced with fresh metal - the door is now ready for removal so that it can be laid horizontal for lead leading (which in turn will make the task so much more straight forward)

[Jack]

Hi Chris,

Question on lead loading: we didn't media blast the panels on the car due to risk of distortion from the heat. When lead loading the material must presumably get fairly hot for the lead to melt and to get it to stick to the steel nicely. Why doesn't heating it for lead loading distort the metal in the same way? Or is it the combination of heat and blasting that distorts the metal?

Sadly not around yesterday to help with stuff due to builders being very keen on fitting the bathroom TODAY. So I spent all weekend tiling the bathroom, which was no fun at all, only to leave at 9:30 this morning with no sign of the builders turning up at all...

Jack.

[Forumadmin]

The reason for not grit blasting was it would not clean inside the chassis tubes or other areas behind doors. We did grit blast the area around the rusted parts before welding before sending for chemical dip.

Blasting would be unlikely to distort the panels due to heat, if the blaster knew what he was doing and did not blast at 100 psi in one spot for too long. It could work harden the metal and make it brittle if too much force was used or, if it did get hot, the force of the grit would push the metal out of shape.. However, you can see the metal turning red sometimes on thin panels.

Of course, we would need to use a different chemical or blasting process to clean aluminium. Although not affected by rust, aly still oxidizes or sulphates, particularly when in contact with steel.

You still need to be careful when lead loading not to apply too much heat. I think the melt temp of lead is about 320C which is way below melt temp of steel 1500C. You have to be careful to heat the area evenly so expansion is even.

[Keith Clements]

This Javelin's engine and gearbox has now had a good test on the roads of Holland and some A roads and motorways of England. The engine oil is still clean and the plugs are not too bad, although the prolonged slow travel in Holland did leave deposits on a couple of plugs. This was probably some richness and was subsequently burnt off on the extensive motorway run home. Since I intend to change the carbs, I will revisit.


I had to change the distributor in Holland as the programmable unit was not set up for low revs. This took me only a couple of minutes before breakfast as it was all marked up to be dropped in. However, this too was not too good on low revs as the springs were based on MG curve but with stop set for 24deg max centrifugal advance. But also I think the marking was not in the right place and needed less advance at low revs. I retimed and marked it again today but it now crackles a bit at high revs.

Out with that distributor and back in with the programmable one after checking the wired up weights had not come loose. This too seemed to have its markings not quite correct, so more advance was given at idle revs and this considerably improved low revs pick-up and high revs crackle.

May take for a road test tomorrow, if weather is not wet. I suspect more advance at low revs can be programmed in. This engine might also benefit from more advance at high revs but I will leave that until new carbs are installed.

[Forumadmin]

Managed to dodge the showers this morning to take the SA for a test with the Javelin engine and programmable dizzie advanced by 5 degrees static .
A little lumpy when cold at low revs, which got better as the car warmed up but still not satisfactory below 2000rpm. Crisp and powerful from 2000 to 3500 rpm but started to run out of puff above that. It managed to pull 4000 in top ( not overdrive top ) and cruise at 130kph in overdrive top. Nowhere near as good as the engine it replaced that had Delorto carbs.

Good enough though for now.

The SC needs a new keyway in its water pump shaft, so it is now in the workshop after a swap around of the three Jowetts.

Rogert and Coleen back from a tour of Ireland this evening.

[Keith Clements]

Whilst Peter was driving the SA around Goodwood on Sunday, the gearbox that had been partially rebuilt in Germany locked up and I was called to assist. I disconnected the propshaft at the diff as the selectors could not be moved. A Goodwood Jeep , part of the transport fleet, towed the car back to the Stables and Amy arranged collection the following morning. Scott drove the Javelin and Amy drove the SC back to KL whilst I had the plan to take Chris's Jav to his home followed by Rupert driving Richard's Jeep and trailer with Richard's Javelin aboard. However, the problem on Chris's Jav recurred and, after changing the leads and distributor cap to no avail, the decision was taken to trailer the Jav, with me driving Richard's Jav leading the way through the country roads.
A couple of crashes on the M4 caused the sat nav to divert us a couple of times so we took an extra hour to get back to KL having swapped the Javelins on the trailer at Chris's home.

The next day James and Scott first took off the cover to discover the problem which was a displaced 3/4th selector with a ball popped out. The box was then removed to the bench. Three of us managed to get the ball back in but the selector would still not function. I noticed there was excessive movement in the dog J50024 and the operating shaft J50097.




After going to the JOAC event and to a World Cup Rugby match, we took a couple of days to dismantle and inspect the box to discover an overheated and scoured synchro on the input gear and a sleeve and dog that would not slide. The operating shaft and casing were worn so the case was reamed and a bush inserted and reamed. A new shaft was fitted.




Adjustable stops for the selectors were added to try to prevent recurrence of the over travel of the sleeve.



Inpection showed the layshaft had been rotated to use the unworn surface for load and new rollers were fitted.



The box was assembled with a new input shaft with new roller bearing. Another sleeve and dog which was less worn than the one we took off still showed excessive movement between 3rd and 4th. After much measuring and thought, an additional washer J50038 which normally sits in front of the rear bearing was also put behind the front bearing and J50016 oil thrower. Trial assembly with an additional J50016 made the assembly too tight, so this was removed.
Now satisfied the box selected all gears, the unit was reinstalled and gear selection adjusted on the lift. A test drive showed that a little care is needed to get into third, and reverse occasionaly popped out. Both of these might be adjustment although the former might be caused by the additional washer.

The car is quite drivable and the box may get better as things bed in. Anyhow I will revisit the play in the dog with other boxes.

[David Kemp]

How are you progressing ?

[Keith Clements]

26 march 2017
Fitted the offside doors and then spent a fair few hours sorting the check straps out - had to custom make the clevis pins - everything ready made was too long for the strap aperture in the doors. Spent a couple of hours polishing the front wings & bonnet to stage 3 - then put the car outside whilst I sorted the wheels.



Got the tyres taken off the rims which had been shot blasted & repainted in the last few thousand miles - but the paint was a little thin and of the wrong colour - prepped 4 of them up but when I started on the fifth one I noticed a stress crack in the rim that was circa 200mm long


I cleaned the area up and drilled a hole at each end of the crack - then turned the juice up on the mig and welded both sides up prior cleaning the welds up (Did not want to take too much off the welds but then again did not want to end up with a row of wheel balance weights on the opposite side either) - I spent a fair while carefully cleaning the weld up on the inner of the rim - the tyres run with tubes and the last thing I want is anything that will abrade against the tube - I will get these into primer this morning and hopefully basecoat & lacquer late afternoon along with the bootlid which all being well will be the last of the refinish work with the green (still have the interior trim to do in Old English White yet) Getting there but still a mountain to climb

27 march 2017
Prepped the metal trims for the interior then hung these up along with the wheel rims ready for painting with a 2 pack wet on wet primer


Bootlid & one of the rear lamp housing were sprayed with a isolating primer just as a preventative measure against reactions - these had both been basecoat & lacquered but I was unhappy with the finish so wanted to refinish them - then got them into basecoat


Followed by the lacquer - net result - still a mountain to climb but getting there - then again so is Wednesday when I need to be loading the car


28th march 2017
Wet flatted all the metal trim for the interior and got it painted into Old English White


Refitted the bootlid (only just manageable on my own) flatted & polished to stage 3 - Tyres refitted to the rims and the rear wheels fitted - still loads to do and I had had better head back into the workshop :scared:






A few things have been done over the summer including some more welding on the doors, fitting of new door hinge pins and balls from JCS, and replacing the seal on the steering box. Hopefully work will start again next month, so keep watching.

[Forumadmin]

As some maybe aware, the reason for the silence on JowettTalk about this project was to make it a surprise for the car's Swiss Owner. So here is an update.
6th Feb 2017 Have been looking to move a bare metal bodyshell 60 miles back to the workshop and inquired with several vehicle transport companies about covered vehicle transport but the quotes were galactic (£500 +) - then inquired about a covered vehicle trailer but would also have to hire a tow vehicle - so lots of messing about collecting a tow vehicle from one hirer and the trailer form another but at half of the above price - then at the suggestion of one of my fellow Jowett members resolved the issue with this idea - Transit Luton box van with a tail lift - cost was £70 for the hire + £30 in fuel

Net result of the transport logistics in the previous post is that of this evening this is in the workshop - anyone remember it ? - Yes it's the early Jowett Javelin that has already seen a massive input from me - now virtually untouched for the last 3 years since we relocated to the country - it's time to get cracking with it - it needs to be in in paint before the end of March so here goes.

7th Feb 2017. So got stuck in today - the shell has minor surface rust from being stood in storage (even though there was a dehumidifier running 24/7) - so spent much of the day with the DA sander with P80's discs & a rotary wire brush on the angle grinder in the difficult to access areas - just concentrated on the offside - still plenty to do on the inside / underside etc - but wanted to get the panels up to speed - straightened these up as required with a panel hammer & dolly prior to skimming with filler - I appreciate that most of the panels will have to be largely skimmed - it is the only way to get the minor deflection out of them - but it is only a skim - all body seams and larger areas of deflection have been lead loaded prior to applying the filler - the chassis tilter certainly makes an easy job of getting to the roof & underside.

09 Feb 2017 Work progresses albeit slowly - the front wing reprofiling is now complete with the other panels on the offside at various stages - I tend to stick to working two to three panels at a time - that way drying times can be allowed for - if you try to run too quickly and work too many panels at once the progress becomes very slow and it is very easy to loose your way - although the wing has a skim of filler to circa 80% of the surface area - it is literally just a skim - I always get my panels to a less than 5mm tolerance of true before skimming - but with the vehicle heading for 70 years old and this being the second restoration along with no new panel availability there is no other way of correcting the panel profiles

15 Feb 2017
So fast forward a solid week of skimming, blocking and flatting in order correct the profiles and that is just the one side done but includes all the apertures - will move onto the nearside tomorrow - still have the rear shroud between the rear quarter glass and the rear wing to do - but need to remove the wing first and cannot do that until I remove the chassis tilter and support the bodyshell on to axle stands (bumper irons fasten to the tilter but travel through apertures on both the front & rear wings)

16 Feb 2017
Yes I appreciate the fact that it's heading for 70 years old - seen a poor previous restoration along with several other bodged repairs combine that with the fact for 60 years it was a resident of New Zealand and have you seen the state their roads ?

More progress today I found a supplier for door hinge pins sets which included new brass bearings (turned out the series 1 Land Rover has identical door pins) so with these fitted I had to make a few minor adjustments to the aperture gapping - Then cracked on straightening up the panels on the nearside and started skimming up - the rear door is being left for a photo shoot / article feature for PC which happens on Monday

22 Feb 2017
So work continues apace - started to sort the bonnet which split on the edges where the cutouts / rebates allow for clearance of the front wing screws - I made up a couple of angles then fastened in place by spot welding - once done I used the mig to weld the splits in the bonnet before cleaning back gently with a flap wheel on the angle grinder

Also spent a little time adjusting the bonnet and checking that the catch / striker plate & keep worked, then on to the boot lid - these are awkward being of an alloy inner frame with a steel outer skin (means I could not get it dipped with the rest of the panels) - got the fit has good has I could (they tend to spread on the wrap round to the upper section) - now needs stripping of paint & some of the drilled holes will require welding up prior to any making good / re-profiling, further to this I need to repair part of the alloy fame on the underside of the boot but this is all hidden by a liner cover. Meanwhile the re-profiling continues on the nearside - I am about 60% of the way through it at present

23Feb2017
So got the boot lid stripped (paint stripper) then sanded back with the DA - can't believe the amount of rust that they just clagged / painted over - although the panel is sound - god has it had a life - the pot marks are where the outer skin has been punched down due to the fact that skin is stretched - fair bit of lead loading here and there - it's going to end up completely skimmed with filler to get it right but this is a very rare panel

Going to have to weld several previously drilled holes for number plate mounting / non original lamps etc, meanwhile the nearside profiling is now close to completion - this has taken longer than offside due to the state of the panels especially the doors

25 Feb 2017
So here is the underside of the boot lid - it's just a pressed frame from a alloy sheet - really odd is the fact that its alloy frame / steel skinned - the steel being stronger tends to spread the frame - normally it's the reverse i.e. steel frame with an alloy skin - in reality neither works as two dissimilar metals in contact with each other - hence the alloy tends to corrode

More progress - nearside panel profiling now complete - just the roof edge / gutter rail to tidy up - both front and back door apertures profiled on the nearside and the bonnet reprofiling was also completed - so bonnet off and engine bay / bulkhead & inner wings cleaned up

With the rear chassis tilter removed to allow for the fitment of the boot lid - I also removed the rear bracket & bumper irons to allow access to the rear panel area which was straightened up - boot lid now well on its way still needs a little more profiling but nearly there

27 Feb 2017
So - rear panel & boot lid now reprofiled - there is a wing piping that goes between the rear wings / rear panel / rear shroud - problem with the boot was that the aperture was too close in the bottom corners with the back panel - although there is adjustment available on the hinges if I bring the bootlid up any further it will close the aperture in the upper corners - so time for some radical surgery - I used the flapwheel to reduce each lower corner and then rewelded the edge - cleaned it back again with the flapwheel and skimmed over the top - sorted

Quite a few odds to sort / check through - glove box frame had been hacked about so needed straightening up and some non original holes welding up, steel dash board had some holes drilled for non original warning lights so these were plated up and reprofiled

One of the rear lamp housings had a sheared stud so a new one was welded on and the housing checked for fit, rear wings now removed and upper radius edges can be profiled has can the rear shrouds - really pleased with how the rear panels have come on given the amount of damage that they retained before I started

Meanwhile - front panel profiled / trial fitted (after some adjustment) - there is a piping bead that fits between the wings and the front panel - All Javelin individual panels were numbered to the car - this being a early model is well down in the numbers of the 24,000 in total that were built - and this particular Javelin being quite rare in the fact that it retains all of it's original panels

28 Feb 2017
Jowett Javelin panel fit was hideous - you can drive a bus through the top of a door aperture - yet at the bottom it's so close that it will be taking paint off the wing every time you open and close the door - Having said all that Jowett did not build the Javelin body - Briggs Motor Bodies at Doncaster did - they delivered painted & trimmed shells to Jowett at Bradford where the drive train was fitted - I don't know of another Javelin that will have a panel fit / aperture gapping has good as this one when it is finished - it won't be perfect but they never were.
All moral support is greatly appreciated - It may appear that I am top of this one but it's so easy to under estimate the amount of work still required and I have a strict timeline - this body shell needs to be in basecoat & lacquer, polished and looking fabulous - 100 miles up the road at the NEC on the 31st March - Just to maintain the pressure - I have some other work booked in March which is likely to clash with the Javelin progress

Alongside this I must 'MUST' progress works on our large 20 sq metre kitchen + separate utility (new everything floors / damp proof courses / ceilings / plaster / rewire / plumbing / stone mullion windows etc) otherwise SWMBO will dissect my nuts - I have only being dragging this out for the last two & half years - so I have no more excuses (Yes I have tried to get building trades in to undertake the work but I am completely pi**ed off with paying good money for sub standard work - I always end up rectifying what they have done / haven't done and should have done right in the first place) That said - I am the worst person in the world to work for BUT in my defence I always tell them that I have high standards and expect the best before they start - and still they go and make a pigs ear of it - then expect paying for it - I now put it in writing before they start that if it is not to the expected standard they don't get paid - needless to say most of them book the work in then never turn up / never answer the phone to me - I wonder why that is then

Then outside is two motors that I bought for sale stock that remain untouched along with my Javelin & the Rover that also remain untouched - SWMBO has stolen / taken ownership of my 18 month old Mokka (great car by the way) after her 9 year old Corsa (owned from new) developed early signs of head gasket failure - so I now need to find a motor for the business

Ho and did I mention that I am the stand manager for the club at the NEC show ? - no pressure then Chris

Sometime it pays to have the workshop within 30 seconds of the bed
More done today - so rear shrouds & upper edges of both rear wings profiled - refitted the wings for final fitting check - the joining gap is hidden by a piping bead once the shell & panels are painted

Then rear wings back off and inner rear wing areas prepped for paint - primed the area that bumper irons mount to so they can go back on in the morning and the bodyshell can then go back on to the chassis tiliter to allow me to rotate the shell and access the underside of the chassis for prep & paint

Front wings off to allow for prep of the underside of the panels along with the inner wings & bulkhead area, again I primed the bumper iron mounting areas in advance of refitting to the chassis tilter - then spent an hour or so vacuuming / blowing out the two chassis box sections (loads of debris in them) - doors can come off in the morning prior to rotating the shell over and prepping the underside and there is about an hours work sorting out a weak panel area adjacent to the offside rear shock absorber mounting


1st March
Back on to the tilter - and over to complete the last of the profile work on the nearside roof edge / gutter channel - meanwhile the underside of the panels were prepped - bonnet & boot - took the opportunity to template the boot liner for the inside of the lid which will be cut from milboard

Last of the welding - this is the rear upstand to the back seat but immediately to the rear of the dodgy looking / hacked panel is the rear upper shock absorber mounting which are a weak point on the car - so cut it out - replated, strengthened and cleaned back

The all the way over on the tilter to clean & prep the underside ready for primer - and not quite on target has I had aimed to get the polyester on it today - however it is ready to go - just a quick clean up in the workshop in the morning and I can start to coat it up :thumbs:

2nd March 2017
So shell now in polyester spraying filler & several panels coated up this evening - just leaves both back wings & both offside doors plus a load of minor parts to get to the same stage tomorrow

8th March 2017
Guide coat applied to panels prior to them being setaside / guide coat applied to bodyshell

Then a all day marathon flatting / blocking back session of the polyester on the shell, seam sealer applied as required - plan is to get the shell sprayed with epoxy primer this morning and then whilst it is curing make a start on flatting / blocking back the polyester on the loose panels - my arm / shoulder already aches just thinking about it

9th March 2017
Plan failed on Weds to get the shell in to epoxy primer, I instead I concentrated on getting all the loose panels flatted / blocked back - 4 wings, 4 doors, boot, bonnet & front panel - fortunately I have a dustless abrasive system for the DA sander and the hand blocks otherwise the workshop would have looked like an explosion in a flour mill ! Once completed I sealed all lapped edges with a fine seam sealer

Progress today was thwarted with disaster Got the bodyshell and several panels into epoxy primer / guide coat only for one of the unpainted panels (bootlid) to fall off it's stand when the airline got tangled with the base the stand - in falling off it damaged the lower edge of the bootlid - that would not have too bad in itself had the said panel not clipped the rear wing on the stand next to it - said wing being covered in wet primer and landed face down - damage to the rear wing is just within the primer and I sanded it back before packing in for the day - it just needs a recoat of primer - boot lid required some hammer & dolly treatment to the corner - refitted it to the shell to ensure that fitting & panel gap were still ok - I applied a skim of filler before finishing up - I suppose it could have been a lot worse

Ho and the paint / thinners / lacquer / activator for the bodyshell, interior & underbody got delivered - all £610's worth of it

11 March 2017
Sorted the reprofiling on the bootlid first and this is now ready for a further application of polyester which I will do this morning - then spent the rest of the day wet flatting the bodyshell - very boring, tedious, repetitive (I would drive myself mad if the radio was not on in the background) and time consuming BUT hugely satisfying to get to this stage

The final paint is going to have be completed in several stages due to complexity of the bodyshell & panels so current plan is:

Stage 1 - Do the engine bay including the outer edges of the inner wings where the front wings fasten on, leading edges of the front wings where all fastenings are visible and the door aperture edge - the boot space can be done at the same time and probably the underside of the bonnet

Stage 2 - With the front wings bolted back on and aligned (critical point here is that the wing fastenings are exposed upon opening the bonnet and are painted in the body colour so they can be put into colour at the same time as the front wings - most would just paint the wings off the shell in one hit then fasten the wings on and touch the heads in on the fastenings with a brush - has you may have guessed it would not pass rank inspection with my OCD status) - so with the engine bay / boot space masked up I would get the front wings, roof, rear shrouds and the rear panel painted possibly along with the outer face of the bonnet

Stage 3 - Would see the 4 doors & the back wings done probably along with the boot lid, plus there are several smaller parts such as the boot & bonnet hinges and the rear lamp housings along with the front panel

Stages 4 & 5 - The dash panel along with a load of metal trims for the interior need painting white and the chassis / undersides need a coat of satin black

So over the next few posts you should be able to smell the paint vapours / fumes when viewing the thread :scared:

Once wet flatted there were several very minor areas that required the slightest wipe of stopper into them - I shall flat them back this morning and spot prime the effected areas

A few days ago I was asked a question about the amount of polyester filler used on the restoration - I have a few that have seen the images on other forums and I get the general impression that they take quite a dim view of the restoration when they view it covered in filler to large areas of the vehicle / panels - so firstly I always get my panels to within a 3mm - 5mm tolerance of the original profile before filling and therefore what is applied is a skim, secondly the car has had a life - it's 67 years old and on its original panels which have seen a previous poor restoration and extensive repair since.

So to answer the question - how much filler well 16KG (8 x 2KG tins) Now before we all fall off our chairs - I run a very efficient dustless abrasive system for the DA, flat bed and hand block sanding - New filter bag in the hover before I started on the reprofiling and the full one after (note the £1 coin on the floor for scale reference) weight of the full hover bag = 10KG - add to this another 1KG of filler dust that was swept up from the fine / detail hand sanding and the total amount of filler used in the restoration = 5KG - still sounds a lot but 20 panels into the amount of filler = 250 gram average per panel - for which I would never loose sleep over - I am all for no filler at all in a restoration / paint job but being realistic the only way you going to achieve this is by fitting all new body panels which are not available in the first place.

12 March 2017
So limited time yesterday but managed to get the boot lid into polyester and the rear wing that landed on the floor when wet with primer back into primer along with the front panel and the other rear door, also prepped the steering column tube & the column gear change tube and got them into primer and the bits of stopper on the bodyshell were flatted back & spot primed also masked up various n=bits of the bodyshell ready for basecoat & lacquer - get ready to smell the paint fumes on the forthcoming posts :thumbs:

Had a solid run at it today - first job was final prep on the steering column tube and to get this into the interior colour of 'Old English White' (cellulose) so that Keith's daughter Amy can collect it late this afternoon - Keith is assembling the running gear / drive train in advance of the NEC Restoration Show and needs the column to build back up with shaft and steering box - but whilst I was at it I also got the column gear change tube in final colour (this has already been rebuilt) I then cracked on with preparing the front wings / front panel and underside of the bonnet for final colour (solvent basecoat / 2 pack lacquer)


Next was the final prep & masking on the boot area & engine bay followed by spraying the basecoat to these areas along with the bonnet underside the edges on the two front wings and the front panel


So at long last here comes the shiny stuff - images will appear a little misty has they were taken immediately after painting


14 mar 2017
More progress - Front wing fastenings sorted / primed & the front wings fitted


Then fitted the doors to check the aperture gapping but the doors were not fitting correctly - rear door has to be fitted in order to fit the front has the hinge forms the centre of the hinge column - soon worked out what the problem was - doors back off and cleaned the hinge sockets of polyester & primer then refitted them - The polyester / primer alone was offsetting the apertures by some 2mm


Doors back off and the shell prepped / masked up for basecoat - couple of coats of basecoat applied but some very minor areas that I am not happy with so these will get sorted this morning - then a scotch up and the shell will be recoated in basecoat prior to the lacquer being applied



Nothing like a deadline for getting the hours in / extending the working day - fortunately I am not the only one - 60 miles East of my workshop my fellow Jowett sparing partner Keith has rebuilt the drivetrain and is now just pulling all the trim together that we have purchased / amassed over the last few years - this includes new trim / rubbers / seals / parts as available & refurbishing / cleaning / checking all the existing - I spent over a week sorting / repairing the chrome before it went for plating (all chrome for the early Javelin is very, very rare) - seats are recovered, new carpets and a headlining await fitting - Keith has assembled most of the drivetrain has sub assemblies to save time when it comes to the fitting up of the shell


That's a beautiful colour and if the shine on that bulkhead area is an indicator of how good the rest of the job will be, you're probably going to have the best Javelin in existence by the time she's ready to go on the road.
:thumbs:
John - Without being arrogant about it the brief is to build the 'The worlds best Jowett Javelin' - pity it's not owned by me - I have assured my fellow club member Peter who owns the car that he can have circa 24 months of bragging rights / trophy hunting with it - by then I will have rebuilt mine and will be out to kick his backside

On another note Peter resides in Switzerland and has no idea that this is happening - I told him that I would try to get the shell painted by the end of this year but no promises - he still thinks that the car is in Watford, untouched and still going rusty - he won't find out until he turns up at the Restoration Show at the NEC and finds it sat on the club stand at end of the month
Did the minor rectification prior recoating with basecoat and then on with the lacquer

All gun finish with exception of the front panel which I have now flatted & polished - I now have a limited time to flat & polish the shell - It looks good but by flatting & polishing I can achieve a more authentic finish to the paint - so that will be tomorrows task - If left any longer the lacquer hardens to it's full strength and becomes very difficult to polish - but pleased with what I have so far - no defects and very few minor specs of dust that will all polish out


17 march 2017
Right - quick update from the last few days - apologies but starting to have to burn the midnight oil so limited time for updates - I have another job booked in next week that will interfere with the Javelin progress - and having Saturday off - I need my fix of petrol / oil / burning rubber and old large / loud engines - so off to Goodwood for the members meeting - so what's got done: All painted bodyshell panels flatted & polished


Dash prepped & masked in advance of painting - chassis rails, underside & inner shell panels prepped & masked for painting


Shell demasked and cleaned up post satin black application to underside / inner panels etc


Dash panel painted, flatted & polished



Transit axles / wheels fitted and the paintwork inspected again but now in natural daylight for any defects


Major delouse / dust down of workshop whilst the bodyshell was outside - round 2 sees the remaining panels put into primer as of last night with along with a load of minor / small metal parts / fittings - this just leaves about 10 internal metal window surrounds which have been bare metaled but require priming at some stage but I need to concentrate on the outer / closure panels first


20 march 2017
Bonnet, boot, osr wing & several minor metal parts prepped & painted


We have a logistics problem with getting the car to the NEC for the show - space is tight in the van so the rear axle - built up as a sub assembly was fitted to the car on a temporary basis it will be removed when we get to the show - same thing for the front suspension - although for movability the transit axle / wheels will stay on the front - the red wheels on the back axle are temporary and will be exchanged for a set of rims that I will put into the green body colour


My fellow Jowett sparing partner Keith was with me on Sunday so I took full advantage of him - once I had fitted the bulkhead webbing & bonnet hinges he gave me a hand to fit the bonnet


Must invite more visitors as the workshop becomes more civilised with tea & biscuits, front bumper bar irons were fitted followed by the bumper & over riders - with some minor shimming we got the fit aligned - bumper was then removed for fitting at a later date


Bonnet was then flatted & polished


The boot lid was fitted along with the rear wings - wings fitted on a temporary basis to check for the bumper iron fit and alignment (these travel through apertures in the wings) the irons required quite a lot of fettling / shimming along with the brackets - the rear of the car had suffered a shunt at some stage in it's life and whilst I had all the panels realigned whilst undertaking the restoration I knew that the bumper mountings / brackets to the rear would require some reworking to get the bumper alignment / end wrap alignment equal to the curvature of the rear wings - The wings need to come back off to enable the piping bead to be fitted but I don't intend to undertake this until the show - again for logistical reasons the wings will go on the car to the show as this the safest way of transporting them without damaging the panels / paintwork - osr wing was flatted and polished - I flatted the bootlid but I have a paintwork defect that I am not happy with hence the boot will be repainted


Couple of images detailing the torsion bar suspension set up - rears travel horizontally behind the rear seat whilst the fronts pick up from the lower suspension arm and run down the inside of the chassis rails


23 march 2017
Not too much done on the Javelin so far this week as I had a modern booked in for repair - none the less I have managed to get the remaining 5 panels that were in primer flatted and ready for paint - the modern is finished - just have to give it a quick wash off and go and deliver it and I can start to get the remaining panels looking shiny this afternoon


24 march 2017
All 4 doors prepped & painted along with the nearside rear wing


racked on and flatted polished the painted panels -
my polishing process is 5 stage -
1: Wet flat 2000 & soap
2: Machine polish with a medium compound
3: Machine polish with a polymer compound
4: Machine polish with a polymer glaze
5: Hand wax

I normally get everything to stage 3 and complete stages 4 & 5 once the car is fully fitted up - with the shell being exhibited I will complete 4 & 5 prior to the car arriving at the show


Brought the car back into the workshop and removed the bootlid in preparation to repaint tomorrow


Fitted the nearside rear wing prior to flatting & polishing it - then refitted the nearside doors - these just require the check straps fitting in the morning and that gets the nearside to within 90% complete for the show :thumbs:

[Forumadmin]

As well as the work being done on the body, the mechanicals and all the other components needed attention. Over the years the engine, gearbox, rear axle and front suspension units had been refurbished as described in this topic. A few technical days were spent doing the steering box. But many parts were still left to do.

Bill Lock came around and lapped in new steering cones and assembled the brake subassemblies. Bill and I fitted a new horn ring to the shaft.

I blasted and painted the camber adjustment shims.

I completed the front suspension sub assembly, petrol system, cooling system and found all the myriad of fasteners required.

On assembly at the show we found the oil reservoirs had to be exchanged between sides so these images are incorrect!!!


The engine was also disassembled to clean out the sump which had a lot of sludge and sealer in it.

I had previously noted a stripped thread and so the clutch housing had to be removed to repair it. A gearbox with a new 1st gear welded on had been aggressively tested during the summer and seemed to have survived well. Should be good for those Swiss mountains.
As the show approached and Jack's Bradford had been rehoused, four 8ft by 4 ft tables were used to layout all the parts. Various lists were compiled of missing parts or parts that could not be bought new. Hundreds of parts were soda or grit blasted, derusted, phosphated or painted. Jowett used many different threads and over the years many other non-original nuts and bolts appear. So each fastening was checked and, if usable, tapped or died. Any not found or not suitable either had to be found from the depths of the shed or sourced new. Many bolts had to be cut to length.
The parts book is not always helpful in specifying which type of bolt to use. So either Chris's or Amy's Javelin were used to compare or sub-assemblies in the shed examined or robbed of the desired part.


Various parts proved troublesome . First the chrome fixings.


Window trims

Rope square

7/32 whit Bolts for winders

Door strikers were felted and oiled


Then I tackled handle assembly.


But then had to get it boxed up and loaded.


But the airbox was badly damaged and needed repair.


I took the bulkhead sound deadening from the other Javelin as a template.


And finally loaded the car. Bill had already loaded his with the engine, gearbox, exhaust system, spare wheel carrier and workmate.

[p.p.]

i'm still over the moon..... my head still dissy....still dreaming at nigth....
read the forum now the 5. time.....
i was so suprice at the NEC....
THANK'S to Cris and Sharon
THANK'S to Keith
it looks so beautiful my lady "Rhowina".....
i got no words....
and all the Jowetters at the great show you all make on of my best time in live.... THANK'S
i m so proud to be in the Club of Jowett's

peter

[k. rogers]

I'm so pleased for you, Peter! I can't wait to see the finished car - it must look amazing!

[paul wilks]

Yes, this will certainly be a real head turner. Congratulations Peter. And well done to all those who have worked on this restoration/rebuild!

[Chris Spencer]

I am currently working with 'Practical Classics' magazine on a series of articles 'Bodywork Basics' - in my forth article 'Panel Profiling' Peter's car is used to demonstrate the process and detailed in the images utilised for the article - pages 134 - 136 in the current edition (May) of the magazine which is out now