History
Having spent the first 9 years of my working life in the refinish and restoration industry and still in the coatings industry as a technical consultant today, I needed to prove to myself that I could still restore a car and started to look for a suitable car to turm my attention to after restoring a 350 single Ducati and Honda CB250 - you could say I was bitten by the restoration bug which whetted my appitite for something a little more complex....
Trawling the classifieds of a well known online auction site I managed to find a suitable project that "floated my boat". I've had crazy mad motorcycles (Ducati's, Yamaha's and Aprilia's) a muscle car (Camaro) and classic convertible (MG) in the past (which didnt need any restoration) I needed something with a little more class that was in need of restoration.
I've always been a fan of Mk2 Jaguars and 250 V8 Daimlers, so the decision was easy providing it measured up. Although after some research I did find that Mk2 Jags and Daimlers and water arent the best of friends - fore warned is fore armed they say....
One of the benefits of working in the coatings industry gives one access to a range of tools and gadgets in assessing the condition of a car body. Prior to my final bid, I managed to visit the seller and give the car a once over with a micrometer or film build gague.
Very little rust was noted (only 6 spots actually) and it had appeared that the car had been resprayed at some stage in its life with random crazing and humidity blisters - good old acrylic lacquer - amazingly only around 120 microns of paint was noted and only a small ammount of filler - Job done and I made an offer which was accepted.
Still being registered and getting a RWC done at the time of sale, most of 2011 I spent driving the car and enjoying the "experience" - a mobile Downton Abby with all that wallnut and leather, and the sound of that hemi V8.
Early 2012 started with a blown head gasket and both heads being rebuilt. After talking with the mechanic, and inspecting the bores and the fact that the heads had never been removed previoulsy (still the OE head gaskets) it is believed that the milage is to be the original (although this is still a best guess and I am realistic) approx 34,000 miles.
Following shortly after the top end rebuild a few months later, a full refurbishment and bare metal respray ensued.
This "old girl" had good bones and the fact that there were only 6 spots of rust over the entire car I felt it appropriate to do it justice given the original brief of a projet car to prove a point to myself. Sad I know.
The main focus for the restoration was to retain as much originality as possibe so the chrome work is all original, the interior bar the carpets and some vinylwork were replaced. Door trims and leather seats were only partially (the basis of all of these components were quite good) refurbished and redyed to original colour. The engine bay remains untouched with the original flaking paint left to retain some level of patina and the timberwork.... the bloke who had the car before me started to strip the old lacquer off and managed to retain all of the original veneer. Making it exceptionally easy to strip and relacquer the timber trim.
As a final point of the restoration, the colour of the car you see on the image was matched using the original paint on the coated metal behind the chrome centre pillar moulding. The match is as close as modern pigments will allow and is based on a Sikkens water base technology for environmental benefits and longevity - all rubbers, furflex and trim clips were replaced with new items (thank god for the internet) - Thanks for reading. MG
