E-Type “Doo-Dads!”

Over time, things just kind of “accumulate” here…  It’s kind of weird, actually – it’s almost like the stuff just “grows” sometimes!  I do buy alot of stuff, and that is of course one way that it accumulates, but some stuff I just have NO explanation for…

And so there is a little corner of one of the large toolboxes where I put cool little E-Type parts that fall out of shells, are found on the floor, are pulled off of rusted chunks of old heaters, etc.  This includes factory bolts, Cheney hose clamps, interior trim clips, door hinge bolts, special screws, etc.  This past Christmas, when we did the “surgical cleaning” of the shop, I took that whole pile which was getting rather large, and dumped it into a coffee can, which I then labeled “E-Type Doo-Dads” for lack of a better term.

Well, the final stop on my Arizona adventure was to Shaun’s small shop where he builds E-Type fabulous E-Type auction cars.  We ahd been trying to squeeze this in all weekend, and eventually, I ended up going there on the way home from Barrett Jackson, LATE Saturday night.  It was kind of surreal – I was tired and it was dark, and by the next morning, the whole thing seemed like a dream almost…

But well worth the trip – because even though the completed auction car was gone, and things were kind of “back to square one” – what was left on the tables, shelves, and floor was what I would call the MOTHER LODE of E-Type Doo-Dads!!!

Shaun has restored countless E-Types over the years, and I think has even parted out a few rough ones in the distant past.  He doesn’t sell parts – or throw anything away – and knows the value of small original parts when restoring these cars.  So over the years, the extra parts accumulate, and he apparently continues to have things cleaned and plated, ready for installation on the E-Types being assembled.

Apparently, what we are about to see below is a combination of “cast offs” from previous restorations – pieces that came back too pitted, etc. to use, and fresh batches of cad plated bolts and clamps, etc. for the two current cars underway – a Series 1 4.2 OTS and FHC.  It appears that when a car is disassembled for restoration, the small pieces and parts are all cleaned and plated, and then added to the pile…  When a part is needed, the best one from the pile goes on, and on and on it goes – for years on end…

And so “the piles” around his shop were an absolute GOLD MINE of original E-Type Nuts, bolts, clamps, brackets, shims, washers, clips, fittings, you name it!  Don’t even ask – it’s not for sale – except in the form of a completed E-Type – you can buy the next one in Monterey, California this August!

Enjoy!