The Journey Begins - BJ8 restoration

[Westcoast M5]

Hi Everyone,
I did a new member intro a little while back and now plan to share the journey of restoring my 1967 BJ8. Thank you to every poster who has filled this forum with fantastic information. You know once you are re-reading threads for the third time it is time to get away from the computer and out into the shop....

I began taking the car apart on June 1st and am now ready to begin building. My Jule frame will arrive in about a week!

Cheers

 

[HealeyRick]

I'd say from that fourth picture the new frame is arriving just in time. Good luck with your build!

 

[John Turney]

I wish my garage looked that good!

 

[Healey Nut]

Ok Im going to ask a really dumb question .
It looks like those pretty parts in the garage are all painted and ready to install .
Were they test fitted to the new frame/superstructure assembly ?

 

[Westcoast M5]

As best I can tell it was the multiple layers of undercoating that were holding the car together.....

 

[Westcoast M5]

I wish my garage looked that good!

Thanks! It was a project by itself to get the garage in order.
Before:

After:

 

[Healey Nut]

The frame doesnt look that bad to me , way better than both my Healeys after the sandblaster had revealed what the tin worm had done .
Cant help but notice the damaged front outrigger drivers side , guess someone crashed her at somepoint ?

edit closer inspection its jut the cut out for the exhaust that makes it look bent .

 

[Healey Nut]

Frame rails can be fixed .

 

[Westcoast M5]

Ok Im going to ask a really dumb question .
It looks like those pretty parts in the garage are all painted and ready to install .
Were they test fitted to the new frame/superstructure assembly ?

This is what the car looked like before the tear down:



Shiny on the outside....rotten on inside

 

[Healey Nut]

Ah ok , I just was having visions of you taking parts off one car and trying to fit them to basically another car after doing paintwork and them not fitting .
So basically the car was all lipstick and fancy hair but the foundation was crumbling .

 

[Westcoast M5]

The frame doesnt look that bad to me , way better than both my Healeys after the sandblaster had revealed what the tin worm had done .
Cant help but notice the damaged front outrigger drivers side , guess someone crashed her at somepoint ?

edit closer inspection its jut the cut out for the exhaust that makes it look bent .

It had a rear end accident at some point, but i think the front outriggers were just rusted. It had been "restored" previously and the frame had patches welded over patches...covered by about 50 lbs of undercoating. It was also rusting from the inside out, very thin in many areas.
Here is a full set of pics that shows the extent of the frame damage: https://www.flickr.com/gp/53598796@N02/k45QC9

 

[Westcoast M5]

Ah ok , I just was having visions of you taking parts off one car and trying to fit them to basically another car after doing paintwork and them not fitting .
So basically the car was all lipstick and fancy hair but the foundation was crumbling .

Exactly!

 

[Healey Nut]

It had a rear end accident at some point, but i think the front outriggers were just rusted. It had been "restored" previously and the frame had patches welded over patches...covered by about 50 lbs of undercoating. It was also rusting from the inside out, very thin in many areas.
Here is a full set of pics that shows the extent of the frame damage: https://www.flickr.com/gp/53598796@N02/k45QC9

yep been there done that ... I could be looking at pictures of my 64 they look remarkably similar .
So you are getting the full Jule superstructure not just the frame .
I have a full Jule superstructure waiting in the wings for my 62 Tri carb project .

 

[Westcoast M5]

Unfortunately, Martin at Jule Enterprises is not doing the superstructures anymore (due to health reasons), so is only selling frames. He was able to supply me a lot of the sheet metal, but I will be redoing the superstructure myself. 90% of the inner panels will be new. I also decided to go with the steering rack they sell. I'm going to keep it "original looking", but will do the steering rack, upgraded brakes, tremac 5spd, and a fast-road engine. Someone could return it to stock if they wished in the future (except for the Jule chassis obviously)

I assume Martin did the full superstructure for your 62 at his shop?

 

[Healey Nut]

Yes .
I delivered the original to him but once sanblasted there was very little worth slavaging . The cowl top panel and the curved end brackets for the dash and a few other minor parts , the rest went to the dump and he delivered me a new complete superstucture a couple of months later . He did use the original parts that were salvaged .
I have his upgraded rear springs as well for the car when I do it .

 

[Rob Glasgow]

I love the look of all the body panels hanging on the wall. Almost worth just keeping them as an art work....but you've got a great project there and I'm sure you will total enjoy the entire process of bringing it back to life. I did my BT7 two years ago and it was one of the most satisfying things I've done in a wonderful life of 72 years of learning. I know it will be spectacular when you're done.

 

[Westcoast M5]

That is the way to go. You will have a solid, tight car when you are finished. I am doing exactly the same thing, except it will be me, not Martin supplying the labour.

FYI, Martin has done a video (4 hrs) of how to transfer/rebuild the superstructure since he is not doing it anymore. Excellent guideance on exactly how to do it. You need to be comfortable welding and fabricating, but it gives you all the measurements and things to watch for so you can do it right the first time.

 

[Westcoast M5]

Thank you Rob. I couldn't agree more. It's about the journey and "the doing" that I am enjoying!

I could have easily sold it and bought a perfect car, but that's not the point

 

[Healey Nut]

Havent check Martys website in ages .
Just took a look and if you go under projects and look at the BT7 Ontario . Thats my 62 so you can see how bad it was .
Totally shot frame . Main reason I bought the project was because it had the original factory hardtop and the tricarb set up was still together unmolested . When I had the car history searched turned out it was a full matching numbers car and was sold with the hardtop (correct serial number) so I decided to keep it and restore it instead of parting it out and selling it .

 

[Westcoast M5]

You're right, lots of fresh metal required. When are you planning to complete it? I'll look forward to seeing the finished product.