1960 Jaguar XK150 - Tribute Rally Car

 The theme for this build was a period correct Rally Car that might have run in the "la Carrera Panamerican" race in Mexico in the '50's and '60's.........similar to the two examples below. The goal was to build a "driver", a reliable car we could drive and enjoy.

Our finished Jaguar XK150 Rally Car

The jaguar for this project was a true basket case. The body was mounted on an old home made rotisserie with everything possible removed and the front fenders cut off with what looked like someone used an ax and a crowbar. The body was also sagging badly and needed a lot of attention.  It came with about 40 boxes of parts, a couple fenders, a broken trunk lid, and badly damaged hood.

The other major issue with the car was that the motor was not correct, the original motor was long gone, along with many many other original impossible to find parts. So the project could never be a "correct" restoration, parts, time  and money wise. Which was why I promoted the rally car idea to the client. He agreed and decided we should "go for it"!!!

I sanded what surface rust I found, seam sealed all the joints, fixed what was needed, then sprayed the underside black. The next task would be to mount the body on the frame. Dave Rosenwinge of Evergreen, Colorado got the motor running and tuned up. This motor is a triple carb 3.8l motor from a '73-'74 XKE, which looks similar to the original XK motor, but can't be passed off as original.  

The frame is all ready for the body. One of the difficult issues here is that these bodies were "shimmed" up off the frame somewhere between 1" and 1  1/2", depending on how the door, clutch & brake pedals, fenders, ect all fit between the body and frame. 

This was also made even more difficult with the front fenders cut off. No way to tell how everything lines up on the front end. Basically what I did was mount the body as it was, where I guessed it should go, then start assembling fenders and such. I spent a lot of time measuring and "eye balling" the way the wheels fit in the fender openings, how everything fit front to back and side to side. I made a handful of body shims anywhere from 1/16" to 1/4" thick. I was constantly adjusting as I progressed with installing the doors and fenders. When everything was to my liking, I torqued the bolts down tight. Again I go so busy and focused that I forgot to take progress photos of all the work.  

Below are the front fender/radiator support and the spare tire well for the truck. I had them sandblasted, and then I painted them black. The other photo is the condition of what 90% of the parts looked like when I got the project.  Rusty and crusty.

Had to replace the lower wood rib on the trunk lid. The whole lid was loose, the wood shrunk and was dry, so I screwed all the joints and used fiberglass resin to stiffen it all up. I used seam sealer to fasten the wood to the aluminum. Did the trick. Whole lid is torsionally firm and secure. Not a fix I would do on a "correct restoration" but on this project it is just fine.

The passenger side inner fender support, the one that support the fender at the intersection of the hood, was missing. When someone cut off the front fenders they butchered these up something horrible. So I made a wood buck of the good side and hammer formed and reserve part for the other side.

The hood was in horrible shape too. Tons of filler and just bend up. Like someone did a victory dance on the hood. Yikes.  

More damage....along with some crappy welding and repairs.

I had to cut loose the sub structure and reform the metal. Sorry I got busy and forgot to take progress pictures. When things get tough I get tunnel vision and forget I am documenting. I did the same thing when I welding in all the louvers. 

Here are the louvers I welded in. Had Lee Wilbourne at Bonneville Bad Boyz in California punch some of his "Speed Bump" louvers in some aluminum for me, the grafted them into the Jag hood. Way too much inner structure in the hood to punch them in place. 

The original gas door just did not fit the Retro Rally Car look, so out it came and in went a vintage style cap I had in my stash of cool parts. Used the english wheel to form a panel to fit the convex shape of the upper fender.  I like to draw tracking lines on my panels so I can adjust be a little more precise. 

Got the shape I wanted and welded it in place.

Part of the retro look was to have these aero headrests, one for the driver and one for the co-pilot/navigator. At first I was going to do metal and weld them in place, but the client wanted them removable, so after looking at my mock-up pasterns, fiberglass just seems to be the best way to build them. 

A little foam, little shaping, sanding, and some glass and resin. 

Here they are all glass'd, sanded, primed and not in some white sealer. 

The car needed a race looking dash too. That and the original one was missing too much stuff and just looked a little to luxury. Used the old part to make a pattern for a new structure.

A aluminum panel would house the gauges and bunch of period correct Lucas toggle switches to control everything including added driving and fog lamps. I added a 12v power outlet on each side to accommodate today's electronic devices no one can live without......or maybe a GPS or radar detector. 

Included a "throw box" on each side for easy access to stuff. Got stop for cell phones?

The first round of the dash I just satin finished the aluminum panel for the gauges. But it looked kind of un-finished. "Machine Turned" or "Jeweled" or even "Engine Turned" is a period correct look for this panel. 
I removed the clear coat and sanded the aluminum in steps up to 2000 grit, then did some hand polishing.

I am using my milling machine to perform the task. I found a semi rigid polishing bit in my stash of porting tools, 1/2" in diameter. It worked out nicely on the mill, each movement is 4 turns of the handle, both directions, which I think is 400 thousands. I then offset the swirls on each row by half of the last row. I use a little oil on the surface to keep the aluminum from galling and sticking to the abrasive bit.  For the pictures I wiped the oil off. 

Here is the car in white PPG sealer. 

I used a PPG white for a Jaguar of a later model, and some PPG Euro Clear Coat. All color sanded and buffed.

I used some products from a "Restoration Supply Company" to build the cool leather and spring straps to hold the trunk lid shut. I need to get some think leather to make protection strap underneath to protect the paint a little.

Made a strap for the hood as well.   I sourced some "J" style headlamps for the main lights, love the look of those. The driving lights are original Lucas rear mount lights and I turned the amber fog lamps into rear mount to coordinate with the others.

The car will most likely be run in some events, so minus the bumpers, I fabricated a tow hook.

Got the interior wrapped up and the period decals installed. It is now off the the owner to drive and enjoy.