QuestionQUESTION: I am e-mailing you with a question. I will be objective with this question but really need your feedback on this. I had a restoration done on my XKE from a known Jaguar restorer in Cleveland Ohio. He quoted me price to make my car a 100 point car. However he is very inaccurate with his pricing. His workmanship quality is acceptable, but I should have done a better job in determining who I selected. But here I sit with my XKE Roadster V12. What's been done: The entire body is at a 100 point level in which he has done. I.E. re-chromed bumpers new paint and metal infused body work up to and including the firewall the body is perfect. The issue I have now is that 1/2 of my engine has been installed in the roadster. (the reason is he quoted me a price , I gave him more money than he asked and he did not finish what he committed to do. From what I see based on the fact that I want this to be a 100 point car. The engine is 1/2 done and installed. Meaning one head is on and the rest of the engine is left to be completed. Again this XKE Roadster V12 has air conditioning . In your best estimate how much more do you think it would cost to complete the engine so I can walk away from this deceptive restorer. I will be receiving some money within the next 3 months. I think with this money I can get him to finish it. It's not like I have a 1980 Chevvy and I can go next door. Therefore could you please estimate for me on how much more I will have to pay this individual. And if I have not given you satisfactory detail, then how much does it cost to install and restore a V12 with all parts that were working to a 100 point car. Just the engine because the rest of the restoration has been completed.Please call me or e-mail me if you have any further questions. Frank Trust The car had all of the engine parts and was running when I turned it over to this individual company.
ANSWER: Hi Frank,
Sorry to hear of your plight. A lot depends on what you and the shop are calling a "100 point" restoration. It sounds like each of you were thinking of something different. I was factory trained on the V-12 when it first came out and I can tell you for sure you can't do a complete engine overhaul in the car. So how did the engine get in the car with only one side done? This engine is a "Wet Sleeve" engine, meaning that the cylinder sleeves are loose and the only thing that holds them in place is the head. Head work can be done in the car but it is very dangerous to the engine. When a head is removed, it is very important that the crank not be moved and that a cylinder must not be moved either because trash in the bottom of the block in the cooling system will migrate in under the sealing surface of the bottom of the cylinder and thus will not reseal in spite of what jaguar did to prevent this. jaguar has hold down clamps that hold the liners in place when working on the engine with a head off. (if a shop has them or had made their own.)
You can do a partial engine overhaul in the car but not a complete overhaul. It is hard for me to believe that a 37 year old car can have a perfect crankshaft that does not need turning or at least polishing. You can't remove the crankshaft with the engine in the car.
It is true that many mechanics do install the finished block in the car and then install the heads and this may be what they did. You should have asked what was done to the crankshaft and are the hold down clamps in place holding the cylinders in place now. It normally takes about 9 to 13 hours to R & R a head so just to install a head that is already off, it would probably take from 6 to 10 hours to install one head. You would need to figure what his hourly rate is.
Many Jag dealers are now around $150. per hour. It does not make sense to me why he would have put the block back in the car and one head on and then stopped. In every dealership and shop I have worked in and run, it was a standard procedure to finish a job and hand the customer a bill and if he or she couldn't pay the bill at the time the car would be held until they could pay the bill. It a few cases the shop would start charging storage after a certain time limit.
A lot depends on what your original agreement was with this shop.
Good luck,
Howard
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
XKE roadster
QUESTION: I'm no technician when it comes to engines, however when he took my engine apart and out of the car (he is a certified judge in Jaguars...Growlers if you will) I could see the ground because the pistons were removed. The engine was completely out of the car and everything on the engine was either reconditioned and made to look like new. I gave him $19,000 when he asked for $15,000 and he is just half done. Could you please if you will call me at . I just do not have the confidence he is acting on my best interest. Just call me please I need advice on this, I have a hard time trusting his pricing, not his work!
AnswerHi Frank,
Your picture looks like a complete "frame-up" restoration. So it boils down to what kind of deal you made with him. And what was his quote for the job? if the rest of the job looks like the picture, it looks good.
We just had our British car show here and a friend and I built a show class MGA and he has $35,000 in the car. Him and I did most of the work so that don't have our labor included. It won 1st place last year. I am building an MGB GT V-8 conversion and I have $9,000 just in parts at my cost not counting the body work, paint job nor the car itself and no labor so for a frame-up restoration on a V-12 E-type, my guess is that you have a ways to go yet, especially not doing any of the work yourself.
Didn't he give you a quote? I don't believe you can get a complete restoration on an E-type for $15,000.
Sorry, I don't call anyone on problems. Use this program and I will help with what ever I can.
Get a written quote for the finished job with an itemized list of what that includes. Most shops will quote a little high to cover their tails in case they run into unforeseen troubles. You should have gotten that before you started.
Howard
