Builds · Steve Gilbey Classics
From the workshop
A selection of cars restored, rebuilt and prepared by Steve Gilbey Classics. Each one is finished to the highest degree of authenticity.
Featured build · Full nut-and-bolt restoration
1961 Jaguar E-type Outside Bonnet Lock
One of the earliest E-types built, taken back to a bare shell and rebuilt, nut by nut and bolt by bolt, to the way it left Coventry.
- Year
- 1961
- Model
- Jaguar E-type Series 1 Roadster · Outside Bonnet Lock
- Colour
- Old English Ivory · Oxblood red interior
- Work
- Full nut-and-bolt restoration
- Duration
- Four years, start to finish
The car
The Outside Bonnet Lock cars are the purest E-types: the very first examples, before Jaguar moved the bonnet catches inside the car.
Early E-types are identified by the external locks on the bonnet, a detail that marks them out among collectors and makes originality especially important in any restoration.
The car arrived fully stripped, its parts in boxes and separate from the chassis. Going through those boxes was like digging through a treasure trove, finding every piece we needed to restore and bring back to life.
The biggest challenge was making the car as historically correct as possible, and that is also what we are most proud of. It was forensically X-rayed, as much of the original car as possible was restored, and the result is a stunning example from top to bottom.
Before
As it arrived
How the car looked when it came into the workshop, before the strip-down began.
The restoration
Nut and bolt
Strip & record
Every component removed, photographed and catalogued, so the car could be rebuilt exactly as it left the factory.
Bodyshell
The car had come out of dry storage, so the metalwork was in phenomenal condition. The repairs it needed were for crash damage rather than corrosion, which made the restoration more straightforward.
Paint
Finished in Old English Ivory.
Engine & drivetrain
The 3.8-litre XK six was rebuilt. The gearbox, suspension and brakes were overhauled and restored, with parts coated and plated where required.
Trim & brightwork
Oxblood red interior, hood and chrome brightwork.
Shakedown
Reassembled, road-tested and set up, then handed over with a complete photographic record.
In the workshop
Paint & assembly
Before / after
Then and now
Drag the bar to compare.
Before / after
The XK six
Gallery
The finished car
“I’m immensely proud of this car.”
Steve Gilbey Classics
Discuss your restoration >>Build · Service
1991 De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si
One of the rarest Panteras on the road, in for a service: filters, spark plugs and fluids.
- Year
- 1991
- Model
- De Tomaso Pantera 90 Si
- Colour
- Red · Black leather
- Work
- Service
The car
The final evolution of the Pantera, and one of the rarest examples you will see.
A rare car still needs the basics done properly. This one came in for a service, carried out by hand and to the same standard as every restoration we take on.
The work
The service
Filters
Filters replaced.
Spark plugs
A new set of spark plugs fitted.
Fluids
Fluids changed and topped up.
Gallery
In the workshop
Photography: Steve Gilbey Classics
Build · Rally preparation
AC Cobra Carreras Colombia
A hardtop competition Cobra in Colombian colours, on road and circuit.
- Model
- AC Cobra
- Colour
- Light blue · Colombian tricolour stripe
- Work
- Rally preparation · Tour Auto 2019
The car
A hardtop competition Cobra in Colombian colours, at home on road and circuit.
Prepared at Steve Gilbey Classics for the 2019 Tour Auto.
Film · Rally prep, Tour Auto 2019
Rally preparation
In the workshop
Gallery
On road and track
Workshop photography © Steve Gilbey Classics · Road and track photography and film: DK Engineering
Build · Race preparation
1964 AC Cobra RAC TT winner
Prepared by Steve Gilbey Classics, Olly Bryant’s ’64 Cobra won the RAC TT at the 2021 Goodwood Revival.
- Year
- 1964
- Model
- AC Cobra
- Colour
- Red · Gold stripe
- Work
- Race preparation
The car
Number 1: the Cobra that won the RAC TT at the 2021 Goodwood Revival.
Built to be driven hard and prepared to finish first, by the same hands that restore every car in the workshop.
Gallery
Track photography: DK Engineering
In the workshop
De Tomaso Panteras
Road cars and competition cars alike, the De Tomaso Pantera is one of the cars Steve Gilbey Classics knows best.
- Marque
- De Tomaso
- Model
- Pantera · road and competition cars
- Work
- Servicing · Restoration · Race preparation
The cars
Italian design and American V8 power, in every form.
Panteras are a regular sight in the workshop, and no two are alike. They arrive in every colour and specification, for anything from a routine service to full race preparation.
Panteras
In the workshop
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