XK120 Restoration

Hello fellow XK enthusiasts,

Late last year I decided to sell a gorgeous 1953 XK120 roadster (silver paint with red interior) due to the fact it came to me with a small block Chevy engine & automatic transmission. I drove it for a couple of years then bought a used XK120 engine (with a blown piston) and XK120 transmission for the purpose of restoring the car back to original. However, I was bothered by the fact it was not the "original" engine.

So I sold the car for $38,000.00 and by chance, found a 1952 XK120 OTS for sale about 10 miles away for $35,000.00 from an Austin-Healy restorer. The car was literally in pieces - the body was off the chassis, sandblasted and mounted on a rolling frame, the bare chassis & suspension parts were powder-coated, all parts came disassembled except for the engine and transmission. It included two buckets of nuts, bolts, washers, etc. (one bucket contained parts for CAD plating).

I had the body, chassis and parts delivered in December 2011 and put them in my 2 car garage. The first thing I did was to separate all of the nuts, bolts, washers and other doo-dads into about 100 plastic containers on 4 metal drip pans so I could slide them in and out from under the body easily.

I spent the next couple months staring at all the parts laid out on the floor and in boxes, wondering how heck I was going to put it all back together correctly. (In 1985 I restored a 1951 XK120 OTS which came with a 6-cylinder Chevy engine. I did not remove the body from the chassis so it was not as complicated. After a complete restoration in 1 year I entered my car in the 1986 CJA Long Beach Concourse and received 98 points, Bruce Carnachan was the judge).

Not knowing how to assemble the front and rear suspension, I visited several friends with XK120's and took lots of pictures (many thanks to Mike May in Santa Paula who has restored and owns 5 or 6 XK120's. Mike owns "World Upholstery" and has done all my upholstery work so far).

Finally in February 2012 I started out by attaching new rear springs, mounted the rear axel, rear shocks, etc. then moved on to the front suspension, which was daunting. I replaced all the suspension parts (rubber, grommets, ball joints, etc. then installed the A-frames. I rebuilt and attached the steering box. Next I rebuilt all the brakes and replaced the brake shoes. I mounted a new tandem master cylinder, new brake lines, new emergency brake cable, new fuel pump, new fuel lines, new fuel tank and a new fuel gauge sending unit. Finally, I sandblasted & painted my wire wheels (Cream color) and mounted new white wall tires from Coker Tires). 3 months later in June I had an almost complete rolling chassis.

Meanwhile I sent all chrome pieces out for new chrome plating, and sent all aluminum parts out for polishing. They came back fabulous! I also sent all gauges out for rebuilding. They came back looking like new!

In July I started tearing the engine down to rebuild it myself. I sent the cylinder head, water pump, starter and generator out for rebuilding. I also sent the exhaust manifolds out for new porcelain and studs. I have the engine almost reassembled and am currently rebuilding the carburetors, learning how to do everything as I go (my background is with computers and developing software. Not much mechanical experience).

Last month I took the XK120 body to a friend in Ojai, CA to have some welding work done. I recently had my doors repaired by a restorer in Piru, CA and am having my Boot lid repaired by another restorer in Ventura, CA.

I am hoping to mount the engine & transmission on the chassis by October, install new stainless steel exhaust system and have my body back by October 15 so I can start the final bodywork and paint the car by the first of the year. After painting is done I will reattach the body to the chassis. Then comes new wiring, installing remaining parts on exterior & interior (another 3 or 4 months). I am hoping to have the car ready for the 2013 JCNA Concourse season.

In case you are interested, in addition to the original purchase price of $35,000.00 I have spent around $30,000.00 for parts so far and will spend at least another $5,000.00 before I am done. Total investment will be $70,000.00 or more not counting all of my own labor. I can't imagine having to pay someone else to do the all work I have done - no wonder fully restored XK120's are priced at $125,000.00 and higher!

As I mentioned above, I am currently rebuilding my XK120 carburetors and have 2 bad Float Chamber Lids. Mine are dinged, corroded have bad threads and one is broken. Does anyone have a decent pair of chamber lids they will sell me at a reasonable price?

If so please EMAIL me at Bob5837roadrunner.com OR call my cell at (909) 267-0012.

Thanks, Bob in La Verne, California (near Los Angeles) - visitors welcome.

Here are some pictures...