Back in early October, I did a trip out to Michigan, and called the blog entry “Fast Forward to Fall!” because that’s just what it was like. I guess this one could be called “Rewind to Fall!”, since I did this trip at the peak of the Fall colors in our area. I had made arrangements to purchase this car a couple of weeks earlier, and then just bided my time until a day of good weather came along – partly for the ease of the trip, but in truth, mostly because I just wanted to enjoy the scenery. And let me tell you, that worked out GREAT – I had a ball on this trip!
The E-Type we picked up is a total disaster, and has been sitting outside unprotected for close to 20 years. But it was a great donor for two different cars we have here. One is an incomplete Series 2 roadster, which is mostly just a shell and a title. That project will get the entire drivetrain and suspension from this car. If the engine turns out to be seized, we have a nother rebuilt SEries 2 4.2 short block we can use that we picked up in Ohio. Then, all of the “coupe” pieces – 1/4 windows, door windows and channels, etc. will all go to another Series 2 coupe project that donated all of those items to a customer converting to a Coupe from a 2+2.
I don’t like to part out E-Types, but in this case, we’re basically using 3 incomplete, disaster E-Type projects to put together two complete, restorable projects.
Anyway, here are some great shots from this adventure – maybe the great photos of Fall color will warm you up on this cold Winter’s day!
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- Starting out – looks like it is going to be a beautiful day!
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- Headed up through prime Amish country – Strasburg and Lancaster, PA.
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- Lots of buggies out on the road!
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- The sceneray in this area is truly right out of a Norman Rockwell calendar!
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- This is an Amish girl on a scooter. There are lots of things that Amish people aren’t “allowed” to have – like cars, tractors, and apparently, bicycles. SO – they created these scotters to get around on, and you see them all the time! Their mix of what IS and IS NOT allowed is very strange – I once saw a boy using 4 draft horses to tow a farm wagon in a field, but mounted to the wagon was a 5 HP Briggs and Stratton motor running a conveyor belt!
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- Here is an open carriage – it’s just like going back in time – I often think maybe these guys have the right idea…
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- This is an Amish one-room Schoolhouse.
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- Another picturesque Amish farm.
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- These open slats in the side of the barn are for letting in air to dry tobacco leaves, which are hanging inside.
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- This is the STrasburg Historic railroad. It looked like some steam engines might be out and about, so I pulled in to check it out for a few minutes. I’m usually very “go-go-go” on these trips, but on this day, I was just taking it nice and easy…
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- Now that’s a BIG restoration project! I can’t even imagine the work that goes into upkeep on these engines!
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- What a magnificent piece of vintage machinery!
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- Here comes another one!
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- This was truly awesome in person and up this close!
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- Very cool – even if it’s not exactly environmentally friendly…
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- Back on the road – this is downtown Strasburg, PA.
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- This is the Strasburg Country store – they make their own fudge, candy and ice cream – NOT a place I can just drive by without stopping!
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- The inside has wooden floors, and is a step right into the past – this has probably been there for 200 years… It is early morning, so not alot of activity, but on a Saturday afternoon with lots of tourists in town, I have seen that stone table covered completely in caramel corn, peanut brittle, etc. – hot and fresh!
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- The shelves are lined with all kinds of homemade pickles, jellies, candy, etc.
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- Here is another shot of the shelves, from across a vintage coffee grinder (I think). This store is about 30 miles from the shop and a beautiful drive – it is a favorite destination for “test driving” E-Types…
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- Back on the road, and coming up to the “Steamboat Hotel” in Lancaster, PA – probably there since Robert Fulton was born in nearby Strasburg.
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- Here’s a close-up.
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- Back on the road – I think this is somewhere out near Harrisburg.
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- Go West, young man…
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- A typical small Pennsylvania town.
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- What a great day!
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- Starting to get more mountainous!
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- I just couldn’t get over the crispness of the colrs contrasted with the blue sky!
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- OK – we’re headed up over a small mountain pass…
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- And back down – taking our tiume with the trailer, and behind another truck up ahead that is doing the same. As long as we stay out of the runaway truck ramps, I don’t care how slow we go!
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- We’re up higher now, and up here, Fall is just about over.
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- More mountains.
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- OK – it’s starting to turn into a long day now – are we there yet!?!
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- AAGGGHHHH! – Another town to go through!?!
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- OK – we’re getting REAL close now! Hope this car is worth the trip!
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- What a beauty! Now don’t panic – I knew what I was getting all along. Of course, it’s usually worse in person, and this was no exception, but for the price we paid, I knew there would be PLENTY of salvageable pieces. Even from the blurry photos I had whenI agreed to buy the car, I know we’re getting a complete suspension, and E-Type Oil pan, bellhousing, tons of little brackets – there’s alot of stuff that just doesn’t go bad…
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- And these little beauties are a nice bonus! With any luck, they’ll be restorable.
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- And hopefully, the roof will prove to be straight with no filler. Pretty sure the body is a write-off due to the heavy rot inside the front bulkhead.
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- We did get a hatch and the doors – loaded with their internals, but it was all pretty rough as well.
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- E-Types are getting harder and harder to find, and so you’ve got to take what you can get. And like I said, the parts in this mess will help us rescue two other, restorable cars.
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- The Steering wheel has seen better days, and the entire dash and all gauges are a total write off, but we’ll get a complete steering column assembly, and a 4-speed, synchro trans.
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- By the time we got the car winched up onto the trailer, it was dark, and we didn’t make it back to the shop until after midnight. Now it’s the following morning, and it’s time to unload, and stuff this eyesore inside until we have a chance to disassemble her. If you’re looking for a project E-Type, give us a ring – we have several, and we are going to find them new homes this Spring so we can have the new shop completed inside and move in. If you call early, you might get a great deal – let’s talk!
