Hutsons have fabricated wheeled trolleys so bodyshells can be easily moved between the body repair, paint preparation and spray booth areas. They’re designed so the shell is at a reasonable height to work on without the need to stoop.
Once completed, the bodyshells are then delivered bolted to the trolley which posed the first problem for the rebuild. How to get the painted shell off the Hutson’s trolley and onto my waiting axle trolleys.
I had initially planned to do the body work myself and had started to make a rotisserie during the dismantling stage. Its base was a rather substantial affair, built out of lengths of 150mm mild steel channel. The car was delivered to Hutsons on the frame, but as I wouldn’t have further use for it, I left it with Hutsons to dispose of or use as they wished.
They’d put it to good use. When the bodyshell was delivered, they had modified their lorry’s tailgate so the long lengths could be bolted on to act as ramps. Their trolley could then be rolled down the ramps in the channels to safely deliver completed shells.
Unfortunately there wasn’t enough manpower around when the car was delivered to lift the bodyshell onto the axle trolleys. It had to remain on the Hutson trolley while I pondered what to do.
Even with the axle trolleys at their full extension, the bodyshell still needed to be lowered by approx. 40cm. None of the local hire shops had anything suitable to raise and support both ends to allow the trolley to be removed and then lower the bodyshell.
I then looked at erecting four columns of building blocks to support timber cross beams. This would also need two other columns to provide a raised base for the trolley jacks. The number of building blocks needed was mounting rapidly, making it a rather expensive solution for a one off job. I was stumped.
The timely delivery of some timber for a workshop provided just enough wood that could be temporarily half-inched to make supporting platforms either side of the car. Also I wasn’t comfortable attempting to lower the bodyshell on my own and drafted in some much needed help.
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An initial recce was duly arranged to plan the lowering however it was soon decided to go for it and the oversized Jenga operation began. The bodyshell had to be raised and lowered a number of times – raise, roll the trolley forward until it hit the platform supporting the jack, lower, reposition the jacking platform. Finally the trolley’s exit route was clear and it could be pulled free.
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It this point the bodyshell was in its most precarious position, supported only by three jacks. Not good for the nerves!! The final lowering was relatively simple. The front and rear ends were raised and lowered in turn with a layer of timber removed each time.
With the sun low on the horizon, the bodyshell was at last resting on the axle trolleys. Phew!
The wiper motor in the S2 is a Lucas Type 15W motor, the output of which drives a connecting rod to the triple wiper rack. From what I can tell the 15W motor essentially works in the same manner as the DL3 wiper motors used in the earlier cars, except that the parking switch is now internal within the 15W. 
The two long yoke retaining bolts were removed which enabled the round bodied section and armature to be carefully withdrawn until the worm drive is free. Unchecked, the action of the worm drive would pull the armature shaft further into the motor gearbox. A threaded stop screw limits the permitted travel of the armature shaft and there’s also flat thrust washer between the armature and motor gearbox.
The armature can then be withdrawn from the yoke. Although a reasonable amount of force is required to overcome the magnetic attraction between the permanent magnets and the armature.
The end of the armature rotates in, what the manual describes as, a bearing housing in the cap of the yoke. However there isn’t a bearing as such. Only a small thrust plate and fibrous washer. I didn’t realise they were there at the time of dismantling so I was lucky not to lose them.
The cover can be pressed back into shape but it immediately pops back, in a similar manner to the lid of an opened jar. I think it’s referred as oil canning and is a result of the centre area of the lid having been stretched.
Somehow the old loom had turned itself into a right old bird’s nest while in storage. It took quite a while to untangle it so that it could be laid out, mimicking how it is routed within the car. Armed with a multi-meter and the wiring diagrams, I set about the simple task of labelling the new looms …
Other issues that, for now, remain unresolved are i) a missing green & brown wire for the reverse light switch and ii) a spare purple & white wire at the centre of the dash. The E-Type forum is very helpful in cases like this as there’s a wealth of knowledge available from the forum members. I was not alone with both the missing and extra wires as one member had decided to use the spare purple & white wire for the reverse light switch. Perhaps I’ll need to do the same.
It’s a well-known phenomenon that as soon as the dreaded ‘E’ word is mentioned the cost of parts rocket skyward, to whatever the vendor and, being of a cynical nature, the vendor community think they can get away with. The fans being a case in point. At the time, an XJS fan cost £15 while the E-Type fan cost over £30 – an eye-watering mark up! So it’s worth finding out if a part was common to other models/marques.
As luck would have it, the base of a garden birdfeeder had exactly the same diameter as the original fan. So this was used to cut out the templates, using the same method above.
The fan could then be rotated until the next blade was under the same section and process repeated until all the blades had been cut to the correct length and profile. The blade ends were then lightly sanded to remove any remaining swarf and were then ready for fitting.
One of the great things I’ve found about the restoration of the various electrical components is that they were designed in an era before our ‘throw away’ society. Therefore overhauling the units is well within the capability of most enthusiasts. As with the fuel pump, the stripping down of the fan motors was very simple.
