Rust and where it starts

An E-Type carries its loads in a pressed steel centre section with a tubular front frame bolted to the front bulkhead. The bonnet, doors and rear panels hang off that structure. Corrosion in a wing is a panel job. Corrosion in the centre section is a jig job, which is why inspection starts underneath and works outwards.

The places to look first

• Sills, inner and outer, and the box sections beneath them. These carry the car and are commonly covered by an outer skin that hides what is behind it.
• Floors and their seams, particularly where they meet the sills and the rear bulkhead, and where a leaking screen or hood has let water sit.
• The front bulkhead, sometimes called the picture frame, where the front frame bolts to the monocoque. Rust here affects how the frame is located.
• The rear radius arm mountings and the surrounding floor, a loaded point where failure is a safety matter rather than an appearance one.
• Boot floor, spare wheel well and the rear valance, which collect water from above and road spray from below.
• The bonnet, especially the lower valance, the front frame areas around the headlight bowls, and the seams of the centre section.

Why filler and fresh paint change the order of work

The E-Type has compound curves that are expensive to reproduce, which makes filler tempting and makes it common. A magnet, a torch and a look from underneath tell more than the paint does. Where a car has been restored, ask what was replaced, by whom, and whether the shell was supported or jigged while the sills and floors were out.

What good repair looks like

Correct repair means cutting back to sound metal, replacing with panels of the right shape and gauge, and restoring the seams rather than plating over them. Documented work with photographs of the shell during repair is worth more than a smooth finish, because the finish can be bought in a week and the structure cannot.