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GBC Autos

Service, repairs and modifications. Specialising in older cars, kits, classics, modified cars, campe

23/11/2025

A small side project over the last few months has been overhauling this Jaguar rear suspension assembly. Eventually it will be going back underneath a Series 2 XJ but for now it's been stripped, cleaned and rebuilt to as-new condition.

03/08/2025

First time we've had the doors, bonnet and engine cover on. Doors were a bit of a fiddle to adjust but overall, the gaps and flush looks pretty good.
The outer sills are rivetted to the inners along the bottom edge.
In order to avoid any waviness between the fixings, the joint was bonded together with polyurethane adhesive and temporarily clamped together with a long strip of wood and bolts to keep the joint flat.
Once the adhesive is set, the wood and screws will be removed and the rivets fitted.

06/04/2025

Some progress on the Europa since the last photos in December. The original paint is now pretty much all off with the exception of a few small inaccessible areas. The underside, underneath the wheel arches and engine bay have also been stripped only paint and underseal.
The last few weeks have been spent making a start on repairs to the fibreglass. The damage is fairly minor, starting with some damage around the front grille, the top of the tunnel and around the bottom of the steering column.
Repairs consist of grinding back the damaged areas before applying new layers of fibreglass mat and resin.

01/12/2024

Day off, day on the Lotus.
Pressing on with stripping off the remainder of the original paint. Most of the bits that are left are tricky areas like drain channels and rear light pockets that are difficult to get in to all the corners.
Once all the red is off, I'll be time to do some small repairs and filling.
The loose black paint also needs to come off but as most of this is on the mat side of the layup, it can't be sanded so some other method will have to be used.

07/11/2024

Now the Lotus chassis is rolling, it's time to put 100% effort in to the body shell.
The car was acquired in parts and the previous owner had already begun stripping the original Carnival Red paint.
The plan is to get the rest of the paint removed back to the fibreglass and then address a few minor repairs.

05/11/2024

Back in today was the VW Caddy for a small job. It's up for sale at the moment, owner is looking for around £5k but will consider sensible offers.
Genuinely interested parties can contact us and we'll pass on details.

02/11/2024

Rolling chassis for the Europa about done. Still waiting for new rear brake drums but they can go on later.
Now that's done, it's time to crack on with the body and get the remainder of the old paint off.

11/09/2024

In today is this Series 3 V12 E type Jaguar.
Quick quiz, does anyone know what the 2 cars in the photo have in common?

18/08/2024

Quick update on the Europa. The engine is pretty much back together, just missing the rocker cover, inlet and carb and exhaust. The gearbox is fitted to the engine and they're back in the chassis.
New brake pipes have been made and there was a bit of a dilemma over what pipe to use. Copper or nickel copper pipe doesn't corroded like steel but doesn't look original so we went for zinc coated steel for a more authentic look.
The springs and dampers are all new and as we wanted an original look, the closest thing available are Spax adjustable dampers with fixed spring platforms in a black finish.
Front suspension is complete and currently waiting for hub seals to put the rear suspension together and steering rack clamps.

14/08/2024

Back in for some work today was the VW T2 bay window camper. The exhaust system was blowing in a few places so it was time for a replacement.
New manifold / collector, J pipes, silencer and all clamps, gaskets and bolts.
Parts were supplied by the team at Auto Craft Engineering UK Ltd in Nuneaton.
Give them a call if you need any parts for air cooled VW's

10/08/2024

How about this for a pretty car. A 1973 Triumph Spitfire MK4 which had been very nicely restored several years ago but was then laid up for a number of years. The chassis and underside are just as clean and tidy as the top but the brakes had suffered from being laid up and needed attention. New calipers, and rear wheel cylinders together with a few other parts sorted them out and while it was in, the carbs needed some small adjustments to improve the running.

15/07/2024

In for work recently was this 2007 Jaguar XKR. It has the supercharged 4.2 litre V8 which puts out 410bhp. This is the Portfolio edition which features special trim, 20" wheels, 6 piston brake calipers and adaptive damping.
The colour is Celestial black, black with a dark blue fleck which appears purple on certain light.
The car had a coolant leak from the top rear of the engine which required the removal of the supercharger to investigate. The cause was a leaking coolant pipe in the vee of the engine.
New hoses were fitted as a precaution, together with thermostat and belts for the supercharger and front end accessories.
These are a definite future classic and highly desirable due to the monster performance and rust free aluminium body. Just make sure you've got deep pockets for any big repairs as they're not a simple car to work on.

Address

Unit 21 Sovereign Centre
Tamworth
B797XA

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