1954 Jowett Jupiter Sports - Complete Restoration

Yep - The full works on this one - I've been holding back on posting the progress on it too - Things have been slowly progressing in the background in advance of the build 

They were built on a ERA chassis?

I did not know that.

That is some provenance...

It then revisited the NEC Restoration Show in 2019 and was a centerpiece on the Jowett Car Clubs stand 



Where it was actively stripped as a live restoration project throughout the 3 day show 











Then returned back to my barn for storage whilst other disciplines / areas of the car were attended to 

But perfectly logical to me - although it was built on sort of a production line its a handbuilt car that was fettled / parts made to fit as it was built - its also a unrestored car that has been heavily raced & heavily bodged - having restored a fair number of Jupiters I know the failings of the car and what I'm likely to find but not always - the factory closed in 1954 hence new parts / new old stock is unavailable - add to the fact that its a very rare car with just 400 or so surviving from the slightly over 900 built. Now we Jowett owners / restorers are very lucky in the respect that the 'Jowett Car Club' owns & operates 'Jowett Car Spares' on a non profit basis and they are very good in catering for 30 odd different models of Jowett built between 1910 & 1954 - BUT they cant stock everything - I work with them in order to assist with new lines / supplying patterns etc - That aside until the car comes apart you simply don't know what you going to need and what problems you may come across - quite often with these cars they will need several items that have to be custom made / built to order and this car is no exception - add to the fact I use the services of other specialists for rechroming, engine rebuilding, gearbox rebuilding, final drive rebuilds, wiring harness supplier, water pump supplier, instrument reconditioning, headlamp resilvering, bespoke machine & engineering work, trimming, rust & paint removal (Dipping) etc - Its a small army of talented & dedicated contacts that I have built up over many years and every single one of them are so good at what they do that they are in huge demand with long lead in times - until the car comes apart I cant forward the parts to them or specify the requirements - I don't have the advantage of it being a popular vehicle where virtually everything that's required is kept on a shelf awaiting for my order and for it to arrive in a few days time. So if the car comes apart early its an advantage not a disadvantage - add to the fact that in this cars case it acted as the centerpiece for the club that represents the marque on a live club stand at the UK's premier national classic car restoration show and then the early stripping of the car is well & truly justified 

You're joking - have you any idea how many pints of beer, rounds of drinks & restaurant bills I had ply the team with over the 3 days of the show 

A pint and a pasty and i'd have been at it like a tramp on a sandwich...but then i'm a cheap date!

I think we've established you either fabricate your own comestibles, or find them online?! 😅😅😅

So with the car 70% stripped I had some deadline advance booking dates to meet - 1st up the chromer - its a family run business and they are not on my doorstep - its a 300 mile round trip for me - yes there are closer chromers to me but not as good with the quality, sensible, very fair with the pricing and have a smile on their faces when I turn up rather than just grunt at me like the other chromers do whilst thinking that they can charge whatever they want to charge 



I like to be prepared and I don't like messing them around - I also don't like storing up problems for another day - so many times have I seen others send things for chroming then it come back all shiny but the studs & fastenings have stripped threads or are sheared - its not the chromers job - things like this all need sorting before they go 



I also dissemble any component parts 







Straighten anything up that requires it - redrill / retap any threads etc 



 Make good any loose parts - check for fitting tolerances - adjust accordingly - fettle anything - trial fit etc 



Because its way too late once it returns back from the chromers all shiny to start thinking about drilling & tapping threads or fettling it to make it fit (well its not but the risk of doing damage to your fresh chrome is highly likely) 




 
A little reshaping & making good sees minor dents removed from overridders 



Brackets rewelded & new threaded studs attached 



Everything bagged, labelled and off to the chromers for several months 

Matt - They are up in the North - spoke to them yesterday - racked out with work and only taking work from existing clients (so busy that they have shut their website) long / long lead times but superb work and half the price of others so currently its a close guarded secret - However, I have a batch going up early in the new year and can include yours - I can do the repairs before it goes if that suits - ideally if that's the case I'd like it before the hols because I'll do the repairs over the hols (along with the stuff in my batch I'm sending) - would this work for you ?