Behind the Workshop Doors: Our 2026 Technical Seminars

It was a pleasure hosting the E-Type and XK Club members on the 9th of May at our P&K Thornton workshops for our annual Technical Seminars. Starting at 10 AM, the day was comprised of 5 interesting and informative technical seminars covering metalwork and coach building, electrics, engines, dry ice blasting, and rolling road tuning. Our attendees were split into 3 groups, alternating between each of the workshops. We served fresh coffee and tea throughout the day from our barista-grade coffee machine and a small buffet selection at lunch.

We began hosting our Technical Seminars for the E-Type and XK club members in May last year. The event was very successful, with great engagement and conversations between our staff and the attendees. The Technical Workshops worked well with a captive and technically savvy audience. After last year’s success, we decided to host the seminars again this year. With another good turnout of E-Type and XK club members, we enjoyed meeting new people at this year’s event.

The metalwork and coach-building seminar was once again presented by Darren Edwards, our lead panel beater at P&K Thornton, who has over 37 years of experience working within the trade. The workshop included demonstrations showing how classic cars arrive with us after the blasting or dipping process, and explained how our team assesses and plans the required restoration work. Darren also discussed the different approaches we take depending on whether a customer would like an original restoration, a Concours finish or a bespoke restomod build. This year’s demonstrations featured current projects within our workshop, including a Jaguar E-Type restoration and other specialist fabrication and metal shaping work being carried out across our sister businesses. Guests were also able to watch traditional wheeling and panel-shaping demonstrations, providing insight into the craftsmanship involved in hand-forming body panels.

The electrical seminar was presented by our workshop manager, Paul Fletcher, also known as “The Wiring Wizard”. The session explored the common issues found within original classic car wiring looms, including the causes of electrical failures and why poorly maintained systems can sometimes lead to vehicle fires. Paul discussed preventative measures to improve reliability and safety, whilst explaining the warning signs owners should look out for. The seminar also covered the design and manufacture of bespoke wiring looms tailored to individual vehicle specifications, alongside the integration of modern ECUs, power distribution systems and fuel injection technology. Guests were given an insight into how these modern upgrades can significantly improve the performance, usability and reliability of classic cars whilst retaining their original character.

Our managing director at P&K Thornton, Ciprian Nistorica, ran the engine seminar sharing his extensive knowledge and experience in classic car maintenance, restoration and engine rebuilding. The session explored the key stages involved in building a reliable engine, from initial inspection and preparation through to assembly and testing. Cip discussed the importance of careful planning, correct component storage and thorough inspection procedures, whilst also explaining what makes a well-built engine and how attention to detail can impact performance, reliability and longevity. The seminar also covered engine operation, routine maintenance and best practices for keeping classic engines running at their best, providing guests with a valuable insight into the craftsmanship behind every engine build.

Visitors also had the opportunity to experience our rolling road workshop, where restoration technician Brandon hosted this year’s dyno tuning demonstration. One of the most popular sessions of the day, guests were able to see a vehicle being run on our state-of-the-art dynamometer whilst learning how the equipment is used to analyse engine performance and diagnose issues that may only occur under specific operating conditions. Brandon explained how dyno testing allows our team to fine-tune engines for optimum performance, reliability and drivability, whilst also demonstrating its importance in race preparation and post-restoration testing.

Our final seminar rotation was our new dry ice blasting and ceramic protection session. Hosted by our apprentice technician, Rob, who handles all our dry ice blasting in-house and recently attended a 2-day training seminar at Feynlab just before the technical workshops, which went into detail about applying their industrial protection coating. Rob used his recently acquired knowledge to deliver an interesting and educational seminar, which discussed what dry ice blasting is, how it works, what it does and doesn’t do and its benefits. Along with a breakdown of the industrial protection coating that uses high-build ceramic technology to help protect your vehicle for 10+ years.

The technical seminars once again proved to be a fantastic opportunity to share the knowledge, skills and craftsmanship that underpin every project undertaken at P&K Thornton. We would like to thank everyone who attended and helped make the day such a success. We look forward to welcoming enthusiasts back to future events and continuing to provide unique insights into the world of classic car restoration, engineering and performance.

 For any classic Jaguar race car build, track support, rolling road tuning and preparation, please contact us via the usual channels.

📧 info@thorntonrestorations.com

☎️ 0115 926 2266