This past Sunday, I drove up to Connecticut to pick up a Series 2 roadster shell. We bought this shell a few months ago at the same time we purchased a Series 2 Coupe to be used as the new shell for our 2+2 customer.
The gentleman we purchased this shell from had intended to use the coupe as a donor car to build up this roadster shell. He purchased the roadster shell from a bachelor in New England who apparently had the shell stored in his living room for decades! That sounds like a tall tale, until you see the shell – it is VERY solid.
The shell is stripped, primed with zinc chromate, and then had some work done on it and was in-process, so there were some bare patches, etc. We will strip the outer surface of the shell bare, smooth any dents and repair any suspect areas, and then convert the tail to Series 1 specs. Once completed, the shell will be crated and sent to Canada, where it will be used to resurrect a 1965 OTS whose shell is being repair.
Here are some shots of the trip:
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- Here’s what we’re after – this photo was taken earlier this year when we purchased the shell.
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- The floors are virgin and excellent!
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- You just don’t see shells like this any more – this was a real find.
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- Boot floor is perfect. The rear lower valances had a few issues that had been patched in the forward areas, but we will probably just pull them out and replace them with Series 1 pieces that come all the way back and don’t stop short like these Series 2 versions.
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- More excellent original metal – we have worked on several cars lately where everything in this photo is gone!
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- Factory fresh all over the place!
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- And having it stripped and well primed is a big plus too!
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- On the first trip, we just brought home the coupe. This car will donate its body as a new body shell for the 2+2. This shell has some roof issues, but that is OK because it is getting a Webasto sunroof and most of the roof panel will be removed, so it is a perfect donor for that project. The yellow shell will then be replaced with an identical, but better Series 2 coupe shell, and the car will be offered for restoration early next year. – Swapping the roof-damaged shell out is a win-win for both projects.
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- The OTS shell is loaded up on the trailer, and we’re headed home.
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- This is the same Park-and-Ride lot where the photos were taken of the coupe. On that earlier trip, I had to turn around here because I missed the ramp to I-95 South, and it must be really badly marked form that direction, because I missed it again on this trip!
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- I had intended to put this on a cart for the trip, but we ended up just setting it on the trailer on the wooden frame that was already screwed to it. In the end, that was probably not the best plan, as I wasn’t sure the best way to strap it down, and re-strapped it about 4 times on the trip to be sure it was OK.
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- The previous owner had collected many E-Type parts over the years, and we bartered for some while we were there. This is an almost complete 1965 3.54:1 E-Type rear. We traded two loaded Series 1 2+2 doors and a straight 2+2 roof panel for this rear and a few other pieces.
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- We also picked up a complete set of 6-cyl front suspension arms and the mounting blocks. I actually do have a spare stering rack, torsion bars, and uprights at the shop already, so this was a nice find. This, combined with the rear, will allow us to turn a ’64 coupe shell we also just purchased into a roller – bringing that car one step back toward being re-born. One of my friends commented, “how crazy do you have to be to cut a loaded torsion bar like that? – YIKES!” I just thought it was ignorant and a waste of a pair of torsion bars…
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- I make alot of trips with the inside of the truck looking like this – packed with E-Type parts.
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- This trip has been postponed for about 6 weeks due to weather, and now it looks like this is going to get wet anyway – AAAGGGHHHH!!!!
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- Down into New York City, and so far, so good – no rain yet, but it was very threatening!
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- This is coming up onto the George Washington bridge.
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- I just took this photo by sticking the camera out the window and hitting the button a few times, so you take what you get… I think that is Mid-Town Manhattan on the left?
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- Coming across the middle – the way the suspension cables curve in this photo is cool.
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- The tall building in the distance is the new World Trade center.
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- I have to admit that I don’t know what this stadium is – Giants stadium? The Meadowlands? It sure was big…
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- Another shot of lower Manhattan – the whole time I was headed down this section of I-95 in New Jersey, I couldn’t get the opening theme of the Sopranos out of my head…
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- Coming up onto the Delaware Memorial Bridge to cross from New Jersey into Delaware.
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- Looking North – Philadelphia is out there somewhere about 25 miles up.
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- You never know what you are goping to get with the photos since I don’t take my eyes off the road. This one was interesting.
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- Here she is back home in the new building. We are starting to get serious about moving in, so the Devin Shell is on its way out – we are moving all of the MM-owned shells and sheetmetal to an off-site facility. Yes – it’s true, we outgrew the new building before we even had a chance to move in…
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- Ready to be spruced up and shipped to her new home!
