Were 64 E-types undercoated?

I have a 64 roadster barn find which is very, very original 10,000mi original car that has never been dissasembled, wrecked, or rusted. Am taking it apart for it's first repaint. The car has a thin, light undercoating applied to the entire bottom of the tub. I had always assumed this was probably a dealer add on. However I am finding that the coating is applied in impossible to reach when assembled places, like for instance when the rear subframe is dropped. This in combination with the fact that there is no coating mess on brake lines, wiring and the like has me rethinking the dealer application.

Should I leave the coating? or not? If leaving it should it be painted body color or left as is?

Any knowlegeable help and comments appreciated,

Curtis Wood
cwood13ataol.com

Submitted by c.roberts@symp… on Sat, 03/24/2007 - 20:29

Curtis:

Yes, most E-types left the factory with a spray undercoating applied by the factory to the bottom of the car, and on the "nose" in the fender area only, but not on the separate black inner fender/wheel skirts. From my careful inspection of my car, while most of the coating is now just native black, there are a few protected spots, like behind the headlight wiring harness where it runs to the back of the headlamp bucket, that are still body coloured, so I assume that it was all painted with the rest of the body.

I also said most cars were coated. We have a very, very original 1963 FHC in the local club, original owner and original paint, that does not have a spec of undercoat on it anywhere, but this is the only one I have seen without.

I think the "Flintkote" that George Camp is refering to is actually a thicker sound deading pad applied mainly to the bottom of the floors on the inside of the car, and on top of the driveshaft tunnel, but also on other sufaces. This pad is cut to shape before being applied, and takes the shape of the surface to some extent with heat. It has a noticable "honeycomb" pattern on the contact surface side. These Flintkote panels even have part numbers, eg BD.20902 for the propeller shaft tunnel, and BD.20217 for the main floors.

If the car is in good condition body wise, ie no rust, then the undercoat can be left on. If you suspect rust hiding under it, it comes off easy with some heat, putty knife, then clean with varsol or paint thinner.

Cheers, Mark Roberts
Ottawa Jaguar Club

Submitted by SE98-32482CJ on Thu, 01/05/2006 - 07:19

Curtis those cars had "Flintcote" applied at the factory. It was as much a noise supressor as it was an undercoat. If it is not chipping off I would leave it as it is an excellent product. Since you are posting on this forum I suggest you read the Judging guide as under body in not judged. George Camp