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What did you do to your car today?
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Started looking at the replacement rear panel for my project. Turns out this is another badly-made panel, perhaps why it's never been used. The rear panel for this car is made in two halves spot-welded together, and these have been welded in the wrong place. The effect is that either the light aperture lines up, or the top of the valance, but not both. So I've spent some time carefully drilling out spot welds so I can fit it together the way it should have been. Had to do the same on my previous project, too.
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6282
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Sun Dec 27, 2020 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I spent time trying to figure out where to put the thermostat for the electric fan. (I had considered re fitting the original blades but they failed the crack test.). The annoying thing is that I had tightened all the hoses for the cooling system and heater before I realised I hadn't put the sender in the top hose.!GRRR.

The radiator also needed to be released from the cross member, however before fitting the sender bulb the thermostat needed to be mounted somewhere relatively inconspicuous. As the tool box has a lid it seemed like a good option.

The capillary tube from the sender and two wires from the fan will eventually pass through a spare hole in the bulkhead then connect to the underside of the thermostat which will follow the same idea as the heater in that it will protrude through the bottom of the tool box. As I have mentioned before; the box has rusted through so I will not loose sleep for making holes in it!

Interestingly, the wire the fan uses is 14 awg or 2 sq mm. I have some of the correct gauge wire in black and blue but I wanted to keep with the braided type so will be ordering a bundle from AES.

I have also found a nice old bakelite fuse box that I can clean up. It has 4 glass fuses and a neat domed cover that is held by a central screw. I expect I will also add a relay although I understand it is not strictly necessary.
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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 1733
Location: Above the snow line in old Monmouthshire

PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 3:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not today but Friday - only day off this week - was a somewhat melancholy one. I've come to the reluctant realisation that the Herald won't be moving from the lock up on the far side of town any time soon, due to a persistent lack of time and other far more important jobs taking up what little time there is. Thus, I went over there and siphoned the remaining fuel into jerrycans and put a little oil down the bores, having taken a battery along to spin the engine over for a few seconds. Next job will be to get it up on blocks, once I've found some suitable timber that I don't mind cutting up.

I've done a heck of a lot better workwise than a lot of people since c'virus burst onto the scene earlier this year; but why does it always have to be feast or famine? I'm not greedy, I just what enough to get by, but it always seems to be either flat out or the crumbs from the table, there's never a happy medium.
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lowdrag



Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 1585
Location: Le Mans

PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Frankly, nothing. I am awaiting a doctor's appointment for Achilles tendon problems, the rain is horizontal, the temperature hovering at 7C, the virus meaning that yet another depressing day will drag on meant that all I did was go and look at them, check the humidity level and that the dehumidifier was fine, and seeing that the level was a reasonable 56% went back indoor and had a cup of coffee, then got on with finishing scanning all my negatives, a job I have been meaning to do for years, and which is now finished. Getting on for 3,000 of them. A few boxes of slides from the 60s and that job will be behind me. I suppose that Covid has at least been beneficial in one area.
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

lowdrag wrote:
Frankly, nothing. then got on with finishing scanning all my negatives, a job I have been meaning to do for years, and which is now finished. Getting on for 3,000 of them. A few boxes of slides from the 60s and that job will be behind me. I suppose that Covid has at least been beneficial in one area.


Snap! Same here, looked into slide scanners but decided they were too slow and too low in quality so bought a slide duplicator (a tube with a slide carrier on the end) and mated it to a digital camera that I no longer use. This works quite well.

Peter
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1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon
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lowdrag



Joined: 10 Apr 2009
Posts: 1585
Location: Le Mans

PostPosted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 8:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was lucky in that a friend from the golf club has recently retired and was given the top Epson scanner which he has kindly lent me. The V850 model that scans and at the same time repairs imperfections. Yes, it has taken me weeks but then I have the time. I put the three strips of negatives in the carrier, place it on the flat bed, press the button and come back later. I certainly couldn't afford the scanner, which is the thick end of £900 I believe, so it was a very fortuitous moment! As for the rest, I have about 50,000 photos, so I will now slowly weed out those I don't want to keep. The problem used to be, with motor racing, that one chose (and many times lost!) the moment because film and developing was dear. Now, I see a possibly interesting moment and in two seconds I have 20 shots! So I probably have about half of my photos to throw away. Onwards and upwards!
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 3785
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 8:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Moving on with the restoration of our 1942 Commer, the gearbox/bell housing is ready to drop out, we have to replace the starter ring. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions over Christmas I have worked on my own without my usual partner in crime, my old man!

The gearbox needs two of us so I will wait to remove that, in the meantime I have been trying to remove all the U bolts securing the body. They have been difficult to say the least but the last one was removed this morning, so with a call to one of my farmer mates we should be able to lift it off with his front loader.
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Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
Posts: 2680
Location: New Brunswick. Canada.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rootes75 wrote:
Moving on with the restoration of our 1942 Commer, the gearbox/bell housing is ready to drop out, we have to replace the starter ring. .


Best wishes for 2021.......... Not trying to teach Grandma about sucking eggs, I have in the past, (1960/70 Fords grrrrr) fitted quite a few starter rings.

New ring in the oven, high 20 mins approx and flywheel in the fridge or better still the freezer for 1/2 to ? day.... They would fall on like a dream and 3 beers later could go back on to the vehicle.
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6282
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 11:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Peter_L wrote:
Rootes75 wrote:
Moving on with the restoration of our 1942 Commer, the gearbox/bell housing is ready to drop out, we have to replace the starter ring. .


Best wishes for 2021.......... Not trying to teach Grandma about sucking eggs, I have in the past, (1960/70 Fords grrrrr) fitted quite a few starter rings.

New ring in the oven, high 20 mins approx and flywheel in the fridge or better still the freezer for 1/2 to ? day.... They would fall on like a dream and 3 beers later could go back on to the vehicle.


You used to find an old chest freezer in the back of working garages for just this purpose; that and engine liners.
I bet they don't still have them now. Smile
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2021 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finally got around to swapping the other front hub on the Firenza, so it has new discs and bearings on it now. And this afternoon, I put the rear panel together for the project. It's a bit cold for messing around with metal bits, but it's another piece ticked off the list.
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 3785
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks guys for the suggestions regards the starter ring, I now have to find a replacement. A call to Speedy Spares is needed.

Well, on Sunday morning we very carefully removed the gearbox and bellhousing of the Commer. We had already removed the prop shaft and all the fixings etc so now we reved the cab floor to give us better access. We roped the assembly from inside the cab and made a cradle to fit on top of our large commercial trolley jack. The cradle took the weight really well and pulling the jack back straight it all came apart easily.

Once down we then removed the clutch and found the plate to be in very good condition with little wear. We could now see the ring and the teeth are i an awful state, seeing that easily justifies the time and effort required to replace it.
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another project arrived. A 1972 XJ6 I bought in Canada. It was shipped from the previous owner on Nov 16, was delivered to my home on Jan 5th. I bought it because it was very cheap (a must for me!) and had many good points: new headlining, minimal rust, engine was overhauled by a reputed Jaguar mechanic. Also, as a US export it has all the goodies: LHD of course, 4 electric windows, sundym tinted glass, chrome wheels, air conditioning. Another interesting modification is that it has a more modern 4 speed automatic with lockup fitted. It has the lovely colour of Willow green which contrast nicely with the chrome.

Pretty good condition. Paint has some minor issues here and there but not too distracting. Chrome overall is good and shiny. The wood on the dash and the doors have been refurbished and look very good. Drivers seat has a few rips, a better seat back in the same colour (green) is with the car.

The delivery driver said the car did not run. Battery was empty but this was dealt with easily with jumper cables. Then I switched the key but the engine would not start. Then I heard the electric fuel pump clicking. And clicking, and... it did not stop so no fuel arrived at the floats! I got a can of fuel and after that, with the help of some spray brake cleaner, got the car running. And pretty good as well! Interestingly it has two Stromberg carbs instead of the usual SUs. It also has a manual choke knob which looks very home made but the seller assured me it was factory. It sits between the dash surround and the door and kind of works as I found out.

I have had the battery on a charger and the next morning the car started without much trouble. Good!
There are a few issues to address. I was told the brake servo is not well although it was fitted new only half a year ago. Another second hand one is with the spares. Both front and rear window rubbers are dry rotted. There are new rubbers with the spares, also the chrome inserts are with the car. I have to find out how much of a difficult job this is - I have only once replaced a windscreen on my Imp back in the early nineties or so. That went fairly smoothly using the rope system.
Some of the lights do not work so that is on the list as well.
The front suspension is caked in mud so that is a nice job for cold winter evenings!






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Rick
Site Admin


Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 2:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Love the XJ.

The Series 1 XJ12 has a clunky manual choke lever sticking down below the dash, between the steering column and the door. Maybe the same arrangement? If I remember right, my S1 XJ6 had automatic choke (AED).

This deserves its own thread.

RJ
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sat Jan 09, 2021 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Finally got back into the shed today after a couple of days shielding from the cold weather, all I really got done was to swap the rear shock absorber bolt on the modern car which I'd managed to damage the thread on, which in turn led to the bottom of the shocker coming adrift the other day when I crossed a local "level" crossing.
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 3:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Got fed up with the very slow drivers side electric window on the Jensen. The motor works but does not seem to have enough power. Lubricated the glass guides but had not much effect. The up and down gearing also has much play.
So I took the plunge and removed the motor and gearing system and installed a rear door window motor from a "modern" Jaguar S-type. This took some head scratching. One thing is that I had to shorten the travel, this was oen but cutting and welding the metal guide and shortening the cable The electric part needed thinking about too. It needs 4 wires - a constant plus, an earth, an up wire and a down wire. If one of these last two was put to earth the motor would work. The problem was I had two wires from the Jensen up/down switch (from the dashboard) giving a plus on the up wire or down wire. But I needed a minus on an up or down wire. In the end it was fairly simple using two relays. But I had to feed a live wire into the door which is a horrible thing to do - hours of removing trim, drilling in inaccessible places and lots of swearing. I put two more wires to the door, these are for the the (invisible) electric central door locking.

It all works now, the window goes up and down much smoother and faster. And I have remote central locking now which is pretty useful on a wide car.

Central locking: there is no need for that kind of luxury on a narrow two door car such as my Imp. Just bend over to release or open the door.
Same for electric windows. I am not a fan but the Jensen has it so it must work. I love the Imp manual winders, very quick to lower/raising the window using the lever.
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