Bill McMonagal

Bill McMonagle's Jaguar NUTS and BOLTS

Members of the Jaguar Drivers Club of Queensland will know that Bill McMonagle is a regular contributor to the Queensland Jaguar Driver, the club's monthly magazine, under the heading Jaguar Nuts and Bolts. His articles keep the readers up to date on his progress within his stable of cars and provide many useful technical tips and advice on matters Jaguar, including sources for parts and service.

With his kind permission a selection of his contributions are reproduced below. If you wish to contact Bill with any comments and questions, send him an email or phone [07] 3882 0903.

Index Click Spark Plug to go to article. Click here to return to Tech Torque
	Air Compressors For Restoration And Maintenance Of Your Jaguar (Nov 98)
	Tips on Polishing Metal Alloy (Apr 98)
	Castings - An alternative in restoration.
	Electric Fuel Pumps
	Sourcing hard to find electrical bits
	Reviving; not restoring (Dec 99)
	Leaking Electrics
	Safely fitting batteries
	XJ6 head studs
	A Bit Of Background On The Origins Of The 2.4
	Basic Electricals in your Jaguar
	Keeping up with the Joneses
	Woodwork
	More Metal Polishing
	Cleaning Carburetors
	Brakes
	Welding
	XJ6 bites back
	Of gauges and electric things
	A Mark 10 joins the fleet
	Jaguar 420 Series brakes
	SU Carby identification
	On the subject of windscreens
	Recolouring Interior Trim
	Hood lining in a series 3 XJ6
	Carpet for the MK 1
	MK1/2 Rear springs
	The rear end ride height of a Jaguar.
	Tachometer Repairs
	Nuts and better sources
	How to identify your MK 1 and MK 2
	Finishing Woodwork
	Torque Arms in MK 1 and 2 cars
	Braided Brake Hoses
	Metal plating
	Rubber things
	MK1 Wiper problems
	Getting a better spark at the start
	Hard metal brake lines
	Whither goes thy oil pressure?
	The brushes you don't use for painting
	More generator electrical problems
	A Bouncing Speedo
	Why won't it start ?
	Mk 2 Gearbox Problems
	Paint. Black enamel for your chassis
	MK1 2.4 cooling woes
	Electric Radiator Fans
	Drum brakes – are they in good shape?
	Caged Nuts

Air Compressors For Restoration And Maintenance Of Your Jaguar Bill McMonagle

Most of us equate air compressors with spray painting and don't realise what a handy item they are for general maintenance and restoration of our vintage and not so vintage cars.

Air compressors come in a multitude of sizes and shapes ranging from simple little $20 tyre pumps which connect to the cigarette lighter up to huge diesel powered devices you see being used to drive jack hammers on road and building construction sites. They all use the same principle of compressing air and using it to perform a function. Somewhere in between you can make a choice of a compressor which will suit your needs. The criteria or measurement of an air compressors capability is expressed in cubic feet per minute which is generally abbreviated to CFM or sometimes CM. This expresses the compressors ability to produce the amount of compressed air. This by the way has nothing to do with the size of the receiver which is the tank which holds the compressed air after it is produced. I will refer to the combination of the air compressor and the receiver tank as a "unit".

Most air compressors of the type we will talk about generate around 120 pounds per square inch [PSI] air pressure which will then need to be passed through a regulator to control the pressure to lower levels eg 40 PSI for spray painting. They also need a water trap to eliminate water from the compressed air.

The first important principle is to make sure you purchase a unit which will do the job you want it to. Don't buy the cheapest one around as you may be disappointed with the results. The general rule is to buy as large a unit as possible. It is better to have a unit which can handle the load on an intermittent run basis rather than something running flat out all the time and failing to deliver air that is needed.

If you intend to do some spray painting as well as running air tools such as air drills and sanders I recommend you look seriously at a 13 CFM unit. To go any larger generally requires some special wiring in your house or shed as you will need a 15 amp electrical outlet. The standard household electrical wiring system is for a 10 amp outlet. You can pick the difference on the 3 pin electrical plug as the earth pin is significantly wider on a 15 amp plug. It is interesting to note that you can now buy 13 CFM units for around the $800 mark which is over $100 cheaper than the price I paid for the same brand unit about 9 years ago.

The size of the receiver is also important. Even a 13 CFM unit with a small receiver may be a problem to you in that it lacks reserve capacity to keep up with very large intermittent demands placed on the unit when spraying whole cars or operating some air tools for long periods. I note that some of the imported units which appear to be made in Italy have relatively small receivers.

There are numbers of units for sale on the second hand market. Be wary, as a lot of them are pretty well worn out having been used by builders as a source of compressed air for nail guns. Many have had a real flogging having been used for 8+ hours a day for years. The majority of these are 8 to 10 CFM units. There are quite a few of these coming onto the second hand market as the building industry is currently changing over to "gas guns" which electrically ignite a gas charge from a small cylinder held in the gun. [much more portable]. It is better to go for a new unit as it should last a hobby type user for life however you might pick up a bargain unit from a builder.

My own unit is a 3 cylinder 13 CFM Airmac which is Australian made and has not given me any trouble during the 9 years I have had it. There are also a number of imported types on the market at similar prices but I prefer to keep the money in the country and at least spares are available if I ever need them.

When shopping around be a little wary on some of the "deals" which include air tools and spray guns as well as air hoses. Many of the spray guns are cheap and nasty and a lot of the tools are not much better. Remember that in this business you "pays for what you gets". Do make sure that the unit you are purchasing comes complete with a pressure regulator / water trap. You will also have to make a decision on what type of fittings you are going to use on your air pressure hose connection systems and how much hose you will need. Don't be tempted by the self coiling "spring type" hose you used to see in service stations. Unless you have a specific use for it, self coiling hose is a real nuisance when working with spray guns and air tools.

If you need a very long hose they can be an absolute pain to roll up and unroll just like your garden hose. A tip is to install a metal garden hose reel on the wall in your shed or workshop adjacent to the compressor. You can plumb the air through the reel just like water. It sure makes winding up and unwinding hoses simple We have used them for years in the aviation industry.

Now onto spray guns and tools. Spray guns come in several types and several prices. The panel beating industry standard is the Japanese IWATA series but they don't come cheap starting at around the $130 mark and going up of course. There are a few other types in competition such as the Binks made in the USA which are good but pricey. DeVilbiss and Wagner are also well known. As a general guide in guns you will need a 1.2 mm orifice nossle for spraying enamels, a 1.8 mm for 2 pack paints and a 2.2 mm for lacquers. For more information on spray guns talk to an automotive paint retailer. I also recommend Al. Probert's book "Spray Painting And Panel Beating In Australia".

In the cheaper guns there is low pressure/ pressure pot gun which typically retails for around the $30 mark which is very useful for spray putty, underbody coat and spraying fences with acrylic fence paint. Super cheap also sell a general purpose high pressure gun for about $69 which is quite good for undercoat and reasonable on lacquer. Their $39 high pressure gun is not recommended. Their touch-up gun around $55 is satisfactory.

Some of the air tools I have accumulated and found very useful over the years include-

Tyre inflation tool - built in pressure gauge - just like your local service station

Air duster gun - to blow dust and rubbish off the job. Blow out the workshop floor etc.

Kerosene pot gun. - degreasing engines; cleaning down major parts; spraying anti-rust. Also useful for spraying the weeds in the yard

Air ratchet spanner - really speeds up pulling things apart - be wary about use in assembly

Air impact wrench - wheel nuts off and on in a zip and very useful when removing head bolts or trying to undo large nuts on the suspension etc.

Air powered grease gun - simplifies the process when lying under a car. Better than trying to use the old mechanical grease gun in confined areas. Be careful as you can blow out seals on universals and rubber boots on steering components such as tie rod ends and ball joints.

Air chisel - invaluable for the serious restorer and I also use it to cut out the tops from drums etc. It can also be equipped with a bit to "buck" solid rivets.

Some other useful tools available include air powered drills and die grinders but as I have electric tools to cover these I haven't bothered to purchase them. I have drilled a few thousand holes in my time with air drills and they are excellent devices but hungry on compressed air. Their main value is in safety particularly working around aircraft where fuel vapours may be present.

A word of WARNING when using compressed air. Never point compressed air nozzles at yourself or any other person particularly in relation to body orifices as permanent damage to the human body can result. In addition small objects can be picked up and blown at high velocity and will penetrate the human body. Do take appropriate safety precautions applicable when using compressed air such as wearing a mask while spray painting and safety glasses when blowing out dirt and dust.

A small tip if you regularly use compressed air tools and then decide to use the same air lines for spray painting. It is worthwhile blowing some 50 mils of methylated spirits or methanol through the hoses prior to spraying to get rid of any possible moisture in the lines. The high pressure use of airlines associated with air tools appears to allow hot air from the compressor to bypass the typical water trap and carry moisture into the lines where it condenses. I have standardised on this procedure in my workshop and no longer get nasty moisture surprises when spray painting.

At a MK1&2 Jaguar workshop being held at Sid Robinson's I produced a some SU carburettor parts to illustrate the point about SU diaphragms which included a dashpot which I had polished. This dashpot seemed to attract a lot of attention and the question was asked " where had I got the polishing done ?".

The answer was I did it myself in a few minutes with a relatively simple and cheap buffing machine on my own workbench. I had learnt a little about metal polishing from a professional in the aviation trade many years ago and applied it for my own purposes.

Most of us admire the concourse cars' engine bays with those beaut polished alloy cam covers and carbys etc. without realising that we can achieve quite good results without resorting to expensive professional treatments.

My own buffing machine consists of a six inch [150mm] bench mounted grinder which has had the emery wheels removed. These grinders vary considerably in price and I have seen them as low as $29 but expect to pay more like $50 to $70 for a reasonable quality item.

I have attached a six inch wire wheel on one side. Once again these vary in price but average about $15 to $20. You don't need the wire wheel for polishing but it is a boon when removing old paint, rust, scale and all the other rubbish encountered when involved in Jaguar restoration.

The other end has a spindle screwed onto the shaft which mounts the cloth polishing wheel. Note that the standard bench grinder has a left hand thread on the left hand side and a standard right hand thread on the right side. This acts as a self tightening system for the nuts retaining the emery wheels, so when purchasing a spindle ensure you get the correct thread for the side you intend to mount the polishing wheel. Spindles cost typically $15 to $20. The six inch cloth polishing wheel is simply screwed onto the spindle. Once again prices vary depending on grade and quality and somewhere between $10 and $20 should buy one.

Finally you will need a compound stick sometimes referred to as jewellers rouge. This is the actual material which will do the polishing. They come in a number of grades and some assistance should be sought from the retailer on suitability for alloy etc. Most cost about $5 to $7 per stick. I am currently half way through a stick after 2 years of use so it does go a long way.

Before you launch into polishing with this setup there are a few things you should know about the nature of the material you are going to polish. Cast aluminium alloys can be surprisingly porous and do corrode. Have a look at the effects of corrosion on old thermostat housings and cylinder heads

If the aluminium you intend to polish has a lot of black embedded in the surface that means you have a case of corrosion and you should take steps to remove this corrosion which will be embedded in the surface of the material. There are a number of commercial alloy cleaners on the market and you should investigate the use of one of these. A good source of supply is from truck specialist shops who sell this cleaner for use on alloy truck trays.

Another way to get rid of corrosion is to use of "wet and dry" or emery paper. You can quite easily rub the surface back to a clean "white" finish. If you don't have this sort of finish it is a waste of time going on with buffing unless you are prepared to resort to heavy grades of compound stick to cut the corrosion out of the surface. I would not recommend using anything coarser than 280 grade paper and work back up to at least a fine 600 grade paper before attempting to polish with the buffing machine. Another useful trick on large surfaces such as cam covers is to use an orbital sander with these grades of paper - it sure saves a lot of elbow grease.

Now before you get stuck into polishing with the buffing machine lets get in a few words about SAFETY. All machinery is potentially dangerous and requires due care, attention and protective measures when being operated. Please read the manufacturers recommendations before operating a bench grinder. In addition the following recommendations should always be followed.

1. Wear protective goggles. Bits of hot buffing compound in the eye are not funny.

2. Wear gloves - preferably leather to protect your hands from hitting the wheel and remember the items being polished will get hot from the friction of the buffing wheel.

3. Don't wear loose clothing including scarves and ties. A pair of overalls with the sleeves fastened is recommended.

4. Be extremely careful when polishing small objects or pieces of sheet metal as the wheel may flick them out of your grasp. If possible mount them onto something larger on which you can retain a good grip

Warning. The professional polishers use large wheels [up to 12 inch diameter] with very powerful drive motors. If you do have or can get access to such equipment be very careful and get some proper training in its use. You will find that the six inch system I have described is relatively safe and in fact the typical 1/3 hp motor can be stopped by excessive pressure on the buffing wheel.

To actually use the buff simply turn it on. Allow the machine to come up to full speed. Hold the compound stick against the buffing wheel to allow it to pick up a thin layer of compound. Hold the object to be polished against the wheel and work it around. As the compound wears off reapply the stick. Finally, be patient and take your time as you are acquiring a new skill and will need some practice to get it "right". The process you are using is fairly slow and the light equipment means it will take time to get a good finish.

You will notice that the object you are polishing will get a build up of black "gunk" which seems hard to remove. This is only the residue of a combination of metal polished off and used compound which contains a wax. Any number of solvents such as petrol, turps etc will remove this.

As a last point you might like to experiment with this buff on some old chrome. I have achieved surprisingly good results in repolishing old chromed items including hubcaps, headlight rims, trim strips, acorn head nuts etc. Practice on some old parts if you can before attacking bits of your best Jaguar.

I have been involved in the restoration of a MK VIII [8] sedan for approx. 9 years. It was really a good idea at the time but is currently a bit of an albatross in that it has gone forward very slowly. The body has been de-rusted and straightened up but there is no doubt it is still a tough project to take on. Then MK8 is to my knowledge the lowest number of sedans ever produced by Jaguar post WW2. 6202 being quoted by Phillip Porter as the numbers made.

The place where I live is only about 2 Ks from the Petrie Country markets where we have friends involved in the normal retail trade of selling food etc in their business of a Sunday. Please note to Register persons planning an outing that this is not a trash and treasure place. Everything associated with the markets is carefully vetted to ensure local content and standards.

A recent introduction into these markets which are fairly extensive is the Trade Guild Building. This is apparently a group of mostly retired tradesmen who have gone into a co-operative to promote trade training skills and experience and to promote that to then public. I addition they plan to give trade training days for groups who are interested.

I noted that they were doing a very active promotion in regards aluminium castings and I have been chasing a set of taillight housings for the MK 8 since 1990. After establishing my bonafides with Fred Lowin who is the leader of the casting group I gave him a couple of Taillight housings Part nos. Lucas 53340A and 53341A. He then proceeded to thicken the diecast walls with cardboard and beeswax before making a sand based mould.

The final result is a brilliant piece of work. In all honesty I am quite ready to bolt on the aluminium castings which are now polished instead of chromed but I would not wish to worry the concourse judges . Aluminium can be chrome plated via a system of using copper deposit and finally chrome and will last as long as diecast. I will make a decision in the future about how I will tackle this aspect.

The group at Petrie country markets are rightfully concerned at getting involved in trade and patent rights however if a patent holder cannot deliver the goods then their patent is pretty suspect. I have used the “net’ to chase these parts for a couple of years without success. An English firm offered me these taillight housings as reproduction items at 90 English pounds sterling per pair. Roughly Aus 225 dollars + postage.

I believe we can do it a little better by promoting home based reproductions a t better than half the price and keeping the money in Australia. If you do have a too hard part and you believe that it could be done in aluminium Fred Lowin can be contacted on 3269 4505 or just go to the trade Guild workshop, at Petrie country markets on a Sunday morning. Fred who is 82 did his apprenticeship prior to WW2 with Rolls Royce as a metal caster and knows a lot about the trade. They are setting upto do brass castings in the future and would appreciate enquiries in the non ferrous casting area.

Readers might remember an issue a couple of years ago when my subject topic was a replacement fuel pump for the SU pump fitted to the early model [pre fuel injected] cars. I proposed at the time to trial the "electronic" pump in one of my cars. I installed it in my MK 1 3.4 auto as the SU pump in that car had been a real source of trouble in spite of a complete overhaul.

The electronic pump has been very reliable and has not caused any problems whatsoever. My only remark is because it is not mounted on any noise insulation it is noisy prior to engine start. Once the engine is running you do not hear the pump.. Don't forget that the SU pump is normally mounted on noise insulating rubbers. I believe if I devised a noise insulating mounting there would not be much difference between the two types.

In the meantime I have discovered that there is an electric low pressure [3 pounds per square inch {psi}] rotary fuel pump on the market that is designed for carburettor cars. Electric rotary fuel pumps are normally used by fuel injected cars such as the Series 3 XJ6 and your current model Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore. However these pumps are very high pressure [typically around 30 psi] and unsuitable for carburettor vehicles as the float valve to control fuel level in the carby cannot handle the pressure. The pump is "Carter" brand made in the USA however AKSES who advertise in this magazine advise that they are having difficulty getting stock at the moment.

By sheer luck I ran across a chap named Kev Baker at a swap meet last year. Kev runs a business called K B Classic parts at 2 Margaret St. Witta via Maleny and describes himself as an "Automotive Electrical Parts Consultant and Supplier."

I had been chasing a couple of those fine thread nuts for my Lucas spotlights which are standard on the MK 1. Every avenue seemed to be exhausted when at a swap meet Kev was pointed out to me by a Victorian electrical parts stall holder as the "Giru of Lucas parts in Australia". I approached him and described my problem. Within a couple of weeks I had the brand new nuts at $ 3 each. Another club member had been chasing a new distributor cam for a MK1 with no success. I contacted Kev and he immediately came back with a confirmation of availability and price.

While I urge support for the suppliers who advertise in this magazine you might consider using Kev Baker for those really hard to find electrical parts. He specialises in mail order and is available on phone 0754 944 221 and fax 0754 944 114.

Those words came out of a recent edition of the R.M.Williams Outback magazine and referred to a 1927 Chevrolet utility, which had featured in a story on the Deneliquin utility gathering. The owner was in fact treating the vehicle sympathetically and is applying reasonable cost control in returning the vehicle to roadworthy condition whilst maintaining the originality and ethos of the project.

It left me thinking that here is a lesson that we should seriously consider in handling many private restoration projects. I have seen many vehicles of assorted makes where the owner has stripped them out with the concept that they are “going to restore it one day” and in the end they loose enthusiasm and all to often lack the money to go any further. I call them “Gunnados”. [one of these days I’m gunna do it up”]. Invariably they end up on the market as partly gutted hulks of little value compared to an intact vehicle

Very few people properly estimate the costing of full restoration on a motor vehicle. This is a fairly normal human phenomenon where enthusiasm overcomes common sense. It is commonly compounded by a lack of technical expertise and the right workshop equipment. In addition some specific areas do require specialist skills such as upholstery and when it comes to Jaguars that spells big money.

Another factor is simply your time available. It is not unusual for a restoration to take years and that requires patience and determination. There is no way things are going to happen quickly unless you have a cheque book with almost unlimited funds available and you have just retired from your full time job

Do not become enamoured of concourse systems unless you have a large amount of money, time and enthusiasm. That is a special hobby and I do acknowledge the dedication displayed by persons active in that discipline even though I give them a hard time occasionally. You are far better off aiming at having a serviceable roadworthy vehicle that you can enjoy. One of my cars which has now been registered for over a year still lacks a hood lining and carpet. The Department of Transport is not even interested in such modern conveniences for a roadworthy [now called “safety”] certificate. They are concerned primarily with a vehicle’s integrity to operate on the road and not it’s comfort.

There is a reasonable medium approach that anyone can adopt and will allow a steady improvement in a vehicle without breaking the bank. It is probably best expressed by the concept put forward by the owner of the Chev Ute as “reviving”. Please note that the following remarks do not apply to your everyday transport vehicle. It is difficult to restore a vehicle that has to be used in those circumstances.

To start with, be very careful about your choice of vehicle. If you don’t have good basic bodywork and panel beating skills stay right away from the “rustbucket”. Be prepared to look around until you find the right body etc. At this point don’t get too excited about the mechanical condition of the vehicle. You can spend $2500 on a complete XK engine rebuild but that is peanuts compared to a professional body restoration and repaint where you can easily quadruple that amount.

Immediately write off the tyres. Most older Jags sitting around for some years will have ancient tyres and the only solution is to budget the cost of a new set into any revival. You can however put that cost off to immediately prior to roadworthy inspection and registration. Don’t forget that you can purchase second hand and retread tyres providing you don’t want high-speed long distance capability. [the majority of taxis use retreads.]

Avoid buying any vehicle that has been a “christmas tree” which has had bits taken off to provide presents of parts to other cars. Invariably the bits taken are difficult [and expensive] if not impossible to replace. That’s why they were taken in the first place. It is OK to buy a bargain “christmas tree” as a source of spares for your own car. My $200 MK 1 I pulled out of the swamp has paid for itself many times over and there is still a lot of useful gear on it. A club member friend was around on the morning of Australia day extracting a window winder primary gear for his MK2.

Having ascertained that this is the car you want you should put into place some plans to get the revival under way. I have found that there are two priorities that should be attended to immediately. in a revival. They are the ability to make the vehicle go and the ability to make it stop. In other words get the power unit and transmission working and get some brakes working. There is nothing more soul destroying than having a vehicle in the home workshop, which has to be, pushed everywhere [a lead sled]. It also helps your enthusiasm when the vehicle is a "runner".

It does not mean that everything has to be overhauled. Simply concentrate on getting some basic serviceability into the system. In fact in one car I got the rear wheel brakes including the handbrake working quickly and had the front wheel system isolated for over a year until I could found the solution to a parts problem by getting the front hydraulic wheel cylinder pistons modified to accept modern seals.

Give the car a thorough “survey”. That is take some time to go right over the vehicle and note all of the work you believe is necessary to bring it back to level you wish to achieve. Note that you may wish to establish several levels. Level one as roadworthy to be established ASAP, level two as desirable after some time on the road and level three as ready for concourse.

You should consider making out a “job sheet”. This is a method used by most workshops to ascertain the amount of work and effort and expense required to achieve a desired result. As an example when you go to a panel beater or an engine rebuilder for a quote this is the method they will use to arrive at a price for their work. While you don’t need to establish an overall cost [you may be horrified and give up particularly if the wife finds a copy] it does lay out a systematic method and allows you to assign priorities particularly in your financial handling of the project. You may be surprised to find that numerous items become “nice to do” i.e. not necessary for roadworthy [does the bumper bar really need a re-chrome immediately?] and other items will become “must do” such as steering, brakes and other safety related items. I usually hang the job sheet in the workshop, as it also becomes a check sheet for completion of specific tasks and a reminder to chase up parts etc.

It is not necessary to immediately rip the engine out [and apart] unless it has some really major problems such as a broken crankshaft or conrods. The early XK engine is remarkably robust and apart from oil leaks the major problem always seems to be bent valves in the head due to rusty valves sticking or incorrect assembly techniques by previous owners. If you are getting the engine going don’t forget the commonly used HD series carburetors need new diaphragm/jet assemblies. If the engine smokes and rattles a bit don’t get too excited. Leave it till later. A set of rings and big ends is no big deal [allow $300 including gaskets] and unless the engine has been run out of oil or done enormous mileage the crankshaft should be reasonable. I had a 3.4 litre MK 7 that had 250,000 miles on it. It was still on the original mainbearings and had one set of standard rings and big ends put in at 150,000 miles.

Do remember that if you are doing up the engine for an historic vehicle registration you will not normally be using the car for everyday transport. Budget the proposed mileage and apply the finances accordingly. A friend of mine persisted for some years with a clapped out FJ Holden gray sideplate engine in an ex taxi. You could push a matchstick [without the head] between the piston and cylinder. He reckoned on replacing the rings and big ends every 10,000 miles. That would amount to many years in an historic registered vehicle. My Mk 1 3.4 auto which I sold recently had only done about 1300 miles in the 6 years that I had owned it. Another method of handling engine problems is to buy a cheap “heart transplant” second hand engine from a rusty wreck. It sounds dodgy but the rustier the vehicle the more chance the engine will be OK as the car became unroadworty due rust not mechanical problems.

As another example many people get excited and want to do complete rebuilds on Jaguar front ends [been there done that]. It is far better to do a careful examination of the state of the front end and identify any worn components. Tie rod ends are basic to any car and should not be neglected however you don’t have to replace them just because the rubber grease/dust cover has decayed. New dust covers at $2 to $4 cost only a fraction of the price of a new tie rod end. Similarly upper and lower ball joints can be checked for wear. Don’t forget that many of the early Jag ball joints were adjustable by shims and new dust covers can be fitted. In addition there are a number of businesses that will recondition shock absorbers. They are after all a simple hydraulic device that is sealed at manufacture. Overhaul is not unreasonable and much more cost effective. However rubber suspension bushes are worthwhile replacing especially those associated with upper and lower wishbone arm pivots. Those are just some examples of what can be achieved on a major component without breaking the bank.

Don’t be afraid to sniff around for reasonable alternatives. As an example the MK 1 door seal rubbers were quoted to me at some astronomical price amounting to hundreds of dollars. I eventually found some ½ inch square rubber at Universal Engineers at $2.00 a metre and although it won’t win a concourse it is eminently serviceable and the total cost for a car was under $30 (3.5 metres per door). The original MK 1 door seal was roughly ½ inch square with a small raised 1/8 inch bead on one edge.

Be prepared to compromise in the short term whilst funds are low. It is far better that your car is out and about and being enjoyed with vinyl on the seats rather than grounded while you save up to recover them in Connelly hide leather. Note that Australian and New Zealand produced leather is available for much less than the price of Connelly hide. If all else [including finance] fails simple homemade slip on cloth covers or commercial after market seat covers will keep the seats going until the future allows something better. [Please lay off the leopardskin seat cover patterns - they look awful]

Another approach is to replace the original seats with later model second hand seats that fit. One club member is running a 1974 Series 2 XJ6 with XJ40 seats. In fact if my attention had not been directed to this I would not have really noticed. This conversion only cost a fraction of the price that re-upholstering would have set him back. I have also seen MK2 cars fitted with XJS seats fitted in the front. The bonus in this case is a more supportive seat especially in cornering. You can always put the original seats in storage until finances allow for proper refurbishment.

Finally don’t pay too much for the project car in the first place. There are legendary numbers of old, often non-running Jags out there and the owners all want Rolls Royce prices for them. The people who own them must scan the papers or Unique Cars for similar prices and then arrive at the conclusion that their car is worth that much. Occasionally it may be true but all too often it is not. One of my favorite remarks applied to many of these cars is that the decimal point in the price is one place too far to the right.

Buying an old Jag to restore is a bit like buying a horse. The cheapest part is the initial purchase price. In the horse’s case you now have to feed it and pay the veterinary bills. In the Jag you have to restore it and pay the repair bills. I know because we have both horses and Jaguars.

In relatively quick succession two family cars decided to have flat batteries namely the MK 1 and the Datsun 120Y. There was no basic reason for this problem as both vehicles had relatively new batteries. Both were recharged and the MK 1 had the battery lead removed from the battery terminal.

About two weeks later I went to start the Datsun but only got a very weak starter and no inclination to fire. I promptly hit it with jumper leads and it started and run normally. However this loss of electrical power was a problem that needed solving. I connected the multimeter on amps range between the battery and the lead and noted a very slight drain of under 1/10 of an amp. In fact it was about 80 Ma. Now that is not a high discharge as 80 Ma equals 80 thousandths of an AMP.

However there are 168 hours in a week and 80Ma would mean a loss of electrical storage of about 13-ampere hours per week. The battery in the Datsun is a 7 plate 260 CCA which is more than adequate for the task but the overall capacity is about 35 ampere hours i.e. 1 amp discharge at 12 volts for 35 hours. What that meant that even a fully charged battery would go flat in approximately 21/2 weeks.

What was causing it was very simple. The electric clock was the electricity thief. I pulled the clock fuse in the Datsun, which also disabled the cigarette lighter. There was no other drain on the battery and the subsequent discharge on the multimeter was zero.

Heartened by this discovery I attacked the MK 1 and found out that the clock was also the culprit in this car. Now I had been very successful in even getting a MK 1 clock to go and was rather proud of it. But there is little doubt that these devices are power hungry. So I resorted to fitting a quick disconnect to the battery post so that I can easily disconnect the electrical power drains prior to the car going into a typical couple of weeks of storage between being used.

There is another power drain commonly missed in the more modern jags fitted with alternators. This is the residual or diode bias flow which occurs in modern alternator electrical system which use diodes rather than cut-out switches. Note - no matter how perfect a diode is it will always have electrical leakage. This means that if you park your XJ6 for a month or two there is a chance of the battery going flat.

I just about have a heart attack when I see people incorrectly connecting or disconnecting batteries in vehicles [or aeroplanes]. Do yourself a favour and read this carefully. I will refer to the batteries “live” side being the terminal above earth and the “earth” side as being the terminal, which connects to earth. This is because the original polarity of a lot of early Jags was positive earth and later models were negative earth. In addition a lot of early models have been converted to negative earth. The use of the terms positive and negative is inappropriate in these circumstances.

Do not connect the earth cable first. Fitting the earth cable first means when you go to fit the live side you are actually working on a live terminal. It is all too easy to short the live side of the battery to some part of the vehicle with subsequent molten bits of melted spanner flying about etc. This is a very real risk in the confined area between the bonnet and battery of early jags including Mk7, 8,9, Mk 1, Mk2 and S types. It is also easy to short the live terminal to earth in an XJ6 courtesy of the metal battery box surround. In addition if the battery has just been charged and is still venting hydrogen there is an extreme risk of an explosion from the sparks generated from the shorting to earth and you [and you vehicle] can suffer horrible injuries from this explosion as well as being sprayed with acid. I kid thee not.

Whilst I was an apprentice a trade-training instructor using an old battery and a remote switch purposely demonstrated this. Even though we were over 20 metres away, the explosion and battery destruction left a lasting impression on the apprentice group that included myself.

The correct method is to fit the live side first. Even if you do touch the earth with a spanner while doing up the battery cable clamp nothing will happen, as there is no circuit for the battery to discharge, as the earth side is not connected. The earth side is then connected to the battery. If you touch a vehicle earth while doing up the battery earth side nothing will happen.

A fellow club member who regularly drops in to my place had been having some trouble with a series 3 XJ6 blowing head gaskets. He eventually checked the engine block and found the typical warp which in this case was about 9 thousandths of an inch [.009]

He finally bit the bullet and removed the engine for some serious machining work to get the engine block re-decked i.e. ground back to get rid of the warp. . Along with that he had a typical problem with a broken head stud when he removed the said studs for the machining work. He requested the workshop carrying out the machining to extract the broken stud.

He was put onto an alert by the workshop that he should also check the length of the old head studs as they do have a history of stretching. When he did this he found that they had in fact stretched. This may not sound serious but it is a problem in that Jaguar use a domed [acorn] nut to hold down the head.

If the stud has stretched the nut may feel as if has tightened down onto the head but it may have only tightened down onto the stud and may be exerting little or no pressure onto the head. This is a condition known as becoming “thread bound”. I.e. the nut is tight on the thread but is not holding the parts together with sufficient pressure.

Upon checking the head studs he found that they had all stretched beyond limits and a new set of studs was definitely needed. The XJ workshop manual does give guidance on checking the stud length but how many of us amateur mechanics read the manual before tackling the job?

In fact one wonders if the stretched head studs were not the problem in the first place as the engine had not really done any serious distance since an “overhaul” by a previous owner

In discussion with this member who like myself has lived in remote areas we agreed that if we struck this stretched stud problem well away from any reasonable engineering facilities we would either add an extra washer onto the head and use the Jaguar acorn nut or ditch the acorn nut and use common plain nuts. That would at least allow us some chance of carrying out a repair sufficient to get us home.

To get things into context you must remember that Sir William Lyons was attempting to break into the domestic sales area of the UK market when he first came up with the small 2.4 saloon which subsequently became known as the Mark 1.

At the time the Mark 7 was in production however it was viewed by the British as a large car. In fact the Mark 7 was aimed squarely at the export market as steel supplies in Britain were still rationed under a quota system. You could only get steel if you were in the export trade.

Sir William was no slouch in recognising that he needed a car which would be acceptable to the home market as being reasonably economical, fast and still be of a size easy to manoeuvre and park in the congested streets of that island continent. He also had to consider that in the UK domestic economy petrol was very expensive. Petrol rationing had only ceased in 1952 and nearly returned in 1956 during the Suez crisis.

It should be noted that in 1955 when Sir William introduced his MK 1 Australia was involved in a love affair with the FJ Holden which only ceased production in late 1956 It’s replacement which was the FE/FC series Holden was no faster. Sir William gave the world a twin overhead cam vehicle producing 112 Horsepower out of 2.4 litres or approximately 144 cubic inches, which did 100 miles per hour and easily did 100,000 miles without any overhaul. What General Motors sold to Australia was a vehicle called an FJ Holden with approximately the same capacity in a pre war pushrod GMH engine design that produced 60 HP, did 83 MPH and had a life of 50,000 miles between overhauls if you ignored the gudgeon rattle which started at 20,000 miles. In those terms alone the 2.4 Jaguar was no slouch. You could not compare the brakes and handling. The Jaguar was so far in front that it is like comparing a T model Ford to a post world war 2 car.

Anyone who has owned a 1950s British car will understand that the British paid slavish attention to fuel economy. The MK1 2.4 was no exception. It had a deplorable pair of Stromberg downdraft carburettors to miserly feed the fuel into the engine and a whimsical narrow tailpipe/exhaust system to get rid of the gasses. The early model also had very small valves. After all that, it is remarkable that the car did so well as to make 100 MPH. Some British reports claimed an economy of 26 MPG however in practice 22 to 23 MPG from a MK 2.4 is more realistic. By the way the MK1 2.4 was officially about 2MPH faster than the MK2.

Many 2.4 Jaguars imported into Australia are also saddled with automatic gearboxes, which further reduce performance. The old DG [Detroit Gear] series box, which is really, a Borg Warner 35 series in disguise does a good job but is very wasteful in power. They are also notorious for developing oil leaks.

What Are They Worth? Currently 2.4 litre sedans are very cheap and even an excellent example only brings a fraction of the value of a 3.4 or 3.8 litre car. I note that The Australian Jaguar magazine [edition 91] quotes

The April edition of Australian Classic Car is a little more circumspect in quoting top price for a MK1 2.4 as $11,500 and a MK2 2.4 as $14,000 while the top price quoted for a MK2 3.8 is $29,000.

Better Brakes? Having faced up to the fact that a 2.4 litre sedan will never be worth as much as a 3.8 you still have a number of options if you feel that you want more performance. However before we go down that route there is one important aspect to remember particularly if you are dealing with MK1 sedans. It is no use making it go faster if you can’t make it stop. The drum brakes on a 2.4 sedan are “adequate” but on the MK1 3.4 are generally acknowledged as being at or even getting beyond their limits. If you are going to increase power then you should give serious attention to the brakes. There are kits available to install later series Jaguar disc brakes to the front of a MK 1 and I recommend you get in contact with suppliers such as Geoff Widdicombe , GBC, Jag World, British Cat Components and Don Milliner all of whom advertise in this magazine for advise, expertise and general cost of this conversion.

Heart Transplants Some of your power options include an engine heart transplant. If you can access a MK1/2 3.4 or 3.8 engine this is a simple and relatively cheap way to go. Unless the chosen transplant engine has really major problems you should be able to fully overhaul it for somewhere around $2000 to $3,000. If you are a do it yourself person you may get out of it much more cheaply. 4.2 motors are quite plentiful however you may have problems in sorting out engine mounts pulleys and other accessories.

I note what looks like a late model [4 litre?] fuel injected engine under the bonnet of a MK 2 in edition 91 [page 69] of Australian Jaguar. I also knew of a MK 1 with a Holden 179 engine, which lived in inner city Brisbane and regularly towed a trailer to the family weekend farm. Jaguar also put a V8 Daimler engine into the MK 2 body shell and called it a Daimler 250. From that point of view your options are pretty open.

Staying with the 2.4 and originality. A relatively cheap way to go is to look at the upgrades available on the 2.4 engine. Jaguar did offer a number of options in both manufacture and aftermarket products so you could make a number of improvements and modifications and still be “original”. It is worthwhile noting that Jaguar quotes the following HP figures of MK1/112 hp: MK2/120hp and 240 saloon/133hp. The 240 was fitted with the 13/4 SU carbys.

If you have one of the very early 2.4 engines it has small valves and as such the head is hopeless for any upgrade in power. A “B” series head with the larger valves and higher lift camshafts is needed. These are amazingly plentiful once you start looking as the majority of later 3.4 motors had them. [I have found 3 lying around my place.] Experts talk about “C” and “D” heads but they are rare, expensive and probably an overkill on a 2.4 engine.

Along with the B series head a MK1 or MK 2 3.4 intake manifold and SU HD 6 1 ¾ inch carburettors along with the starting carby are needed. These should preferably come off a MK1/2 3.4 or 3.8 engine. That will allow you to use standard plumbing for the cooling system and standard carby linkages. Another possible source is the S type sedan. The original 3.4/3.8 engines used a thermostat to control the starting carby. Most owners have modified them with a switch under or in the dash panel to allow direct control of the starting carby. One cunning place to fit such a switch is a push off/pull on switch fitted in the bracket just above the bonnet release knob and operating in a parallel direction with the knob. Somebody had done this to my MK 1 “hotrod” and you cannot see it or find it without being in the “know”.

Finally the crummy little narrow single pipe exhaust system used on the 2.4 should be replaced with the 3.4/3.8 dual exhaust system or at least a much-enlarged single pipe system. Note that the 2.4 exhaust system will not fit a 3.4/3.8 engine, as the increased height from below the vehicle to the exhaust manifold becomes a problem. There is about a 2 to 3 inches difference in pipe length due to the deeper motor, higher block and increased depth to get below the vehicle floor.

Jaguar also recommended 9:1 pistons. In view of the current environmental lobby and phase out of leaded petrol this may not be the best way to go. 8:1 seems to be about the limit for compression ratio with modern fuels and old engines.

With all of the above modifications including the 9:1 pistons it is suggested that an overall increase of about 45 Hp was possible. This would put the modified 2.4 engine at about 157hp which is pretty much the same as the original 3.4 engines rating of 160 hp as fitted to the XK 120 and MK7 sedan. Even without the higher compression pistons 20 to 30 HP should be achievable and would make a significant improvement to the performance of a 2.4 saloon.

Cooling the engine. I have had queries as to whether the 2.4 radiator would need modifying. As yet I have not been able to establish any difference between 2.4 and 3.4 radiators. I would suggest that if you have a marginal 2.4 engine that tends to overheat you would have problems if you did anything to increase performance. It would be best to have the radiator cleaned at least. John McDonald from Stafford Radiator Service who advertise in this magazine assures me that standard cores are readily available and special high capacity cores can be ordered for cars with specific problems such as air-conditioning added on etc.

If you have an early MK1 2.4 with a cast alloy four blade fan remove it and replace it with a late model MK 2 multiblade fan. The 4-blade fan is hopeless in the Qld. environment even when the engine and radiator are in perfect order.

Getting rid of the Slushbox [Automatic Gearbox] As previously mentioned the DG automatic gearbox is does waste a significant amount of power and ultimate performance will only be gained by replacing it with a manual gearbox. This is serious stuff as there are numerous areas that need to be addressed in such a conversion. [Been there - done that]

The simplest approach is to get a MK1/2 manual [moss] box and bell housing. However an engine previously used in an automatic car will need a flywheel and clutch plates. A slave cylinder, a different [single piece] tailshaft as well as a manual pedal box setup with clutch master cylinder and flexible lines will also be required.

There are also a number of other Jaguar manual boxes available however the gear lever position might take some working out as well as gearbox mounts. Don’t forget or overlook other conversions such as the 5 speed Toyota Celica box conversion developed by Ron Moore.

Differential ratios I refuse to enter this minefield. There are undoubtedly experts out there who may be able to assist. Limited slip differentials and their ilk sound great and have their uses but I think you need specialist expertise to get involved in those areas. If you have a diff that works OK for you then leave it alone. If you need some better ratios after a heart transplant the find out what original type was fitted to a 3.4 or 3.8 vehicle and use that as a starting point.

If you are a qualified electrician or a member of an allied trade/professional then don’t bother any further with this article. However if you are a non technical person who is occasionally baffled by electrical problems and their associated terms then the following may help you understand the basics of car electrics.

I also pay my respects to the anonymous author who first wrote the famous ditty on “Joseph Lucas - Prince of darkness - or why the poms drink warm beer” where to my knowledge the concept of electrical energy as smoke was first published..

As a 15 year old apprentice radio/radar technician I still remember how hard it was to come to grips with the concept of electrical energy. You can see it in lightning and sparks; feel it in an electrical shock; smell it in ozone; actually taste it by putting a 1.5 volt battery on your tongue [it tastes salty]; hear it in electrical spatter across insulators, bangs in thunderstorms and the zap of an electrical spark. But in the end you are still left wondering what it is, as all of the foregoing are actually secondary characteristics of electrical energy.

They used to attempt to teach us by using the concept of water storage and flow but this did not “gell” too well with we apprentices. However one enlightened instructor introduced us to the idea of “swarms of electrons” doing their thing and the concept stuck. It was very close to the concept I am about to expound which is simply to visualise these electrons as smoke.

I repeat if you wish to visualise electricity simply think of the electrons as smoke.

Volts refers to the pressure under which the smoke is produced and used. Amperes commonly shortened to amps. refers to the amount of flow of smoke being produced or used. Watts is an expression of the overall quantity of smoke being produced or used. [It is simply volts multiplied by amperes]. These are important concepts to grasp before you read on.

Alternator/Generator Produces the smoke typically under a pressure of 12 volts and a quantity set by the ampere rating. Generally the faster a generator spins the more smoke that can be produced. Alternators produce smoke by pumping in a trickle of smoke and which creates a spinning magnetic field and can produce smoke even at the idle Note that they can pull ½ and up to 1 horsepower from an engine.

Regulators Generally control the pressure of the smoke produced by the alternator/generator. It may also be able to limit the quantity of smoke produced by these items to stop them burning out.

Battery Stores the smoke at a certain pressure typically 12 volts. Its cold cranking storage [CCS] indicates it’s capacity to store and release the smoke. The bigger the number the more it will store and release.

Starter Motor Converts smoke into mechanical energy. It consumes lots of smoke very quickly to achieve this. Use it too long and it will consume all of the smoke in the battery.

Wiring Directs the smoke to various parts of the electrical system. The bigger the flow of smoke needed by an electrical part the thicker the wire. The thickest wire is normally the lead to the starter motor. Note that if the wire is too thin the friction from the flow of smoke may burn the wire.

Lights The smoke is fed through very fine tungsten wires in a vacuum creating friction which makes the wires glow white hot to produce light, There are lots of variations types including quartz halogen, krypton etc. but the principle remains the same. Note that your neon or fluorescent light at home works on an entirely different principle of smoke exciting special gases.

Resistors Used in electrical circuits to cut down the quantity of smoke and also the pressure. Commonly found in dashboard lights, variable speed air blowers in air-conditioning and the volume control of the car radio.

Condensers/capacitors Can make a short term storage of DC smoke but will allow the passage of AC smoke. A very important and usually neglected component in the spark ignition circuit.

Spark/ignition coils Transforms smoke from low pressure / high flow smoke to high pressure/ low flow smoke required to make a spark plug work. Note works by converting DC smoke into AC smoke

Spark plug Where the very high pressure smoke jumps a gap and ignites a petrol/air mixture in the engine cylinder. Resulting noise forms the exhaust note out of the tailpipe.

Ignition distributor Distributes the very high pressure smoke along special wires with very thick coatings of insulation [called ignition leads] to stop the smoke escaping to the engine and body of the car.

Switches Very simply starts and stops the flow of smoke by forming a cutoff or a closure in the wire along which the smoke flows.

Fuses Pieces of wire of a predetermined diameter in a glass tube or a plastic gizmo. Rated in amps[amperes] meaning how much smoke can flow before the fuse does it's job Due to the friction developed by the smoke flow the wire will melt if too much smoke is used. This stops the car wiring getting burnt out. Note circuit breakers do the same job but are much smarter. They detect the excessive flow of smoke and turn themselves off like a switch before the system burns out.

Electrical circuit For the smoke to flow there must be a complete circuit. This is often a difficult concept to grasp. It is best remembered that once the smoke particles have done their work they must be returned to the original source. In most motor vehicles this is done by earth return through the metal of the body of the car. Don’t forget that dirty or rusted earths and wire connections can be a major problem in the circuit of older cars.

AC/DC smoke [no we are not getting kinky] The majority of electrical devices in a motor car use DC [direct current] smoke. That is a steady pressure from a smoke source which is typically a battery or an alternator[or generator]. AC smoke is different in that it pushes from one end and then the other end of a circuit very quickly. It is not commonly used in vehicles except that the ignition system including the coil, condenser etc. converts the low pressure DC smoke into high pressure AC smoke that produces the spark for the spark plugs.

If you have managed to get this far you may have grasped some concepts of what car electrics are all about. As one family member remarked after watching a television documentary on major brain surgery “it looks very easy” and it is not that hard until you have to try and track a fault when it can become very difficult.

If you intend to do electrical work on your own car might I suggest you purchase a simple multi meter. Basically one with a needle commonly called “analogue” is best. The digital ones are very good but too complex and accurate for the average persons needs. Remember the pressure of the smoke is in volts, the flow of the smoke is in amperes and the quantity of smoke is in watts. Multiply volts by amperes to get watts. Eg 12 volts X 5 amps = 60 watts.

Xmas Wish List With Christmas just round the corner here are a few items that the Jaguar enthusiast might like to request from Santa. [you can always ask Santa for the impossible]

The editors tell me that this is the last issue for the year 2000. I would like to extend my compliments of the season to all of my loyal readers [ both of them!] and wish you happy and safe motoring in the forthcoming real millennium.

I walked into a major aircraft maintenance hangar some time ago and was surprised to note the number of expensive lockup wheel around toolbox systems stacked up against one wall of the hangar. There were at least 20 of them. In discussion with an aircraft engineer acquaintance I have known for decades [he is as old as me] he mentioned that the toolkits belonged to aircraft engineers and apprentices who were on night shift.

The majority of the toolboxes were one particular brand. My acquaintance explained that there is a certain amount of “snob” value amongst aircraft engineers over tools and equipment and some, particularly the apprentices, are up to their necks in debt paying off these tools to this specific brand's traveling van operators who call on a weekly basis. He estimated that most of the toolboxes with contents had cost over $3000.00.

When I asked him what he personally used he showed me a relatively modest toolbox with an assortment of well-maintained spanners etc. that bore a number of brands. One point on which we both agreed was that early Australian made “Sidchrome” spanners were as good as anything the rest of the world had produced. He reckoned it would cost less than $1000 to replace his toolbox with all new items.

Isn't it strange how people get hooked into unnecessary expenditure when trying to "keep up with the Joneses"?

Spanners My engineering acquaintance also privately helps maintain some early English aeroplanes such as Austers and Tigermoths, which used BSF [British Standard Fine] spanners. A full selection of these spanners was available in his toolbox much to my envy, as you need them to work on Jaguar Mk5s and earlier models.

When pressed as to a source of these BSF spanners he then admitted to a deep dark secret that he regularly checks out pawnshops. I have been doing this now for some months and have steadily accumulated a range of BSF spanners. I have also acquired some of the better brand SAE [standard american engineering] usually known and marked as AF [across the flat {of the nut}] for some remarkably cheap prices such as $1 to $2 each

If you decide to check out these sources of second hand tools don’t let the rusty appearance or tarnished chrome put you off. As long as the spanner is not worn out it will be OK and a clean up with a rotary wire brush and a coat of clear lacquer or light machine oil will keep it looking good.

It just goes to show you that you don’t need to spend a fortune to accumulate some very good tools which will probably last the hobby mechanic a lifetime. I can identify spanners that I purchased over 40 years ago from a deceased mechanic’s estate and are still in good working order.

As a tip keep an eye out for brands such as Sidchrome, Dowidat, Proto, Snapon and Starwillie. Don’t let the name Chrome-Vanadium swing you as this appears to be a common generic name for tool steel and bears little guarantee as to quality.

Screwdrivers Whilst on the subject of tools most people are still using general screwdrivers that get worn and relatively useless for their designed function over a period of time. Although I personally have several sets of el-cheapo screwdrivers for light general work I have primarily 2 screwdrivers, which are called into action when I have tough jobs to carry out.

One is an ex-army wooden handled large flat blade screwdriver with a shaft 12 inches long. This is ideal for dealing with engine hose clamps. The other screwdriver has a magnetic socket with a 6-inch shaft and is capable of taking replaceable tips. These replaceable tips are ¼ inch hexagonal and come in a wide variation of types ranging from flats to Phillip heads. Most people think of these replaceable tips as being used in electric screwdrivers.

The beauty of these replaceable tips is that are throwaway items. If a tip is damaged you don’t throw the screwdriver away. You just fit a new tip. A new tip costs between $1 and $2 and you always have the perfect screwdriver rather than battling on with a tip that is damaged and damaging the screw head.

Another advantage is that you can carry an assortment of various types of spare tips with you so the same screwdriver can attack a multitude of screw types. You can also get a fitting, which will allow ¼ inch sockets to be driven by the screwdriver as well as specific tips for Allen keys, and other security bits used on car radios etc. Another advantage is that the magnetic part of the screwdriver holds the screw to be held by the head both when inserting and extracting the screw which is very useful when working in a one handed situation.

Don’t buy an el-cheapo handle with a number of tips supplied in a molded plastic packet from a typical supermarket system. It is worthwhile purchasing a good handle and tips from a proper tool supply house. The handle I currently have is about 17 years old and the previous one was 13 years old when eldest son lent it to somebody who never returned it.

I am currently involved in refurbishing the wood in my MK5. It is original but had some pockets of lifting veneer where time and moisture have done their damage. I have been able to salvage most of it but have had to completely strip the walnut veneer off the upper door rails as it was just too far gone and had suffered badly from previous attempts at refurbishment by unknown Canadian persons which included enthusiastic use of sandpaper.

The other night while doing some basic veneer repairs I grabbed the micrometer and measured some old [removed] and new veneer. It all measured in terms of 20 to 25 thousandths of an inch. I.e. 1/50 to 1/40 of an inch or in decimals .020 to .025 inches. Pretty thin isn’t it? The moral of the story here is don’t use sandpaper to remove old lacquer and varnish on Jaguar woodwork Paint strippers or acetone are better options for that job.

I had another problem while spraying some of the MK5 timber. I kept getting “fisheyes” in some panels even though they had been thoroughly cleaned with acetone and prepsol cleaner. This fisheye denotes a reaction between silicones or oils in the timber and the lacquer I was spraying and appears as a spot where the paint retreats from the surface leaving a hole in the finish. It is a common problem in the automotive spray painting trade.

I asked club member Ben Stafford who is a bit of a giru on timber if he had any ideas as to how I could beat the problem. He suggested it was most likely due to silicon products similar to “Armourall” having been used on the old timber and penetration having been made due to cracks in the old finish. He suggested use of an additive used in the motor trade and generally known as “ anti silicon drops”. I obtained some but it was not cheap at $8 for a 30-ml bottle. However it only requires 2 to 3 drops per litre of paint and it did work as advertised.

Ben has also discovered another source of burr walnut veneer on the northside of the Brisbane area. It is Veneer and Timber products, 28 Kremzo Road Strathpine. On the south side burr walnut veneer is available from Sharp Plywood in Wacol.

While working on the MK5 I made an accidental re-discovery of a simple, cheap and effective way to get aluminium polished without resorting to power tools. I have previously mentioned the use of wet and dry sandpaper of various grades starting with quite coarse grades and then finer grades to cut the surface prior to polishing on a buffing wheel.

That is all very good if you can remove the part from the engine however in the case of the MK5 Jag there is an alloy water manifold which would require a major effort to get off the engine and I only wanted to clean it up.

Serendipity intervened and part of the water manifold was wet with penetrating oil when I rubbed it with some wet and dry. The results were quite spectacular and it subsequently took only 10 minutes to convert a grotty looking piece of alloy into something of which you could be reasonably proud . It took me back to my motorcycling days and some of the tricks I used on my “Beeza” [BSA 650 cc sprung heel Golden Flash] to keep the alloy engine and chain cover polished.

If you need to resurrect a bit of alloy such as a cam cover I suggest spraying it with penetrating oil and getting stuck into it with initially 400 grade if it is very rough and corroded.You then and work up through 600 grade and finally 1000 or 1200 grade paper cutting ” wet” all the way i.e. replenish the penetrating oil regularly. The final finish with 1000 or 1200 is reasonably good and from that point on a good shine can be achieved with cutting compound or metal polish. Note-You will get heaps of black “gunk” coming off by this method. That is OK as you are removing oxidised alloy as well as base material. Hint- where possible use a rubber sanding block to support the wet and dry paper and to avoid a “wavy” uneven surface. In short treat alloy like paint.

In previous articles I have always quoted using “dry” cutting techniques. I should have previously mentioned /evaluated wet or lubricated cutting techniques because they are usually more efficient. By the way you don’t have to use penetrating oil. Just about any petrochemical fluid will suffice for aluminium alloy including petrol, diesel, kerosene and mineral turps. For safety it would be best to use diesel or kerosene to reduce the risk of fires etc. Penetrating oil is preferred because it has a very low rate of evaporation and the oil assists in lubricating the cutting area.

Old carburetors and their associated linkages get very grotty with age, general dirt accumulation and fuel leaks/weeps. They can end up covered in black gunk and looking like they have been barbecued. Degreasers and most similar products won’t shift the black gunk which is a residue composed of fuel dye and evaporated hydrocarbons.

The answer is quite simple. Use lacquer thinners or acetone to remove this grunge. Use an old retired [shaggy dog] tooth brush or a similar stiff brush and scrub the carby whilst keeping the brush wet with the thinners or acetone. If the carbys are still mounted on the engine spread a good thick layer of news paper under the work area to catch the drips etc. as you don’t want to splatter the painted areas inside the engine bay with these solvents.[they will eat the paint]

You will be genuinely surprised at how easy it is to clean your carbys using this method. Note that in the end the toothbrush will eventually fail, as the solvents will destroy the plastic handle so don’t use the one with which you are currently brushing your teeth.

Please take the usual precautions when using highly flammable solvents. Use a well ventilated area with no smoking or fire sources in the vicinity and personal protection for your eyes, lungs, skin etc.

The MK1 was inclined to pull itself into the middle of the road and make a Kamikaze attack on any oncoming traffic whenever I hit the brakes. It was definitely not the best way to drive and tended to worry oncoming drivers. After some serious analysis over a 6 pack I went after the possibility of failure of the left front calipers, however my mind said both left front calipers were rebuilt to new specification and a double failure/freeze up would be most unusual.

A simple check by cracking the brake bleed valves while my “dearly beloved” pressed the brake pedal showed little flow or pressure to the pair of LH front calipers. Further investigation revealed that the left front brake hose was blocked. When I put the brake system together a couple of years ago I had checked the hose was OK by passing a piece of wire through it. I had no knowledge of the history of the hose but it had looked and checked out OK. In fact due to age it was developing a severe case of a blocked artery over a short time period.

The offending hose was extremely difficult to remove especially at the body bracket end of the system. I resorted to the “hot spanner” i.e. oxygen/acetylene torch and after successfully setting the MK 1 on fire three times finally resorted to grinding through the retaining nut with an angle grinder. That got it off the car but my problems were not over. I then had to get a replacement hose.

Every retail source was checked and I kept getting the reply “not in stock”. Interestingly enough all the suppliers could quote me prices between $59.00 and $67.00. In desperation I contacted Graham Deahl who is the Victorian MK 1 register giru and explained my problem. He advised that they had similar problems with brake hoses and I had best contact a hose manufacturer.

Serendipity prevailed because a local parts supplier had suggested the same thing and had recommended a company called Brake Parts Australia [BPA] at 109 Links Avenue, Eagle Farm. For readers remote from Brisbane their address is Ph [07] 3268 2211. Fax [07] 3268 2533 and Email sales@bpa.com.au and they also have a web site at www.bpa.com.au

I approached BPA and put the problem to them. The reply was laconic. Gary their technical fitter said

“ They had never been stumped by a brake hose” After examining the remains of the MK 1 hose said it was no problem to make me a new one with all new fittings. He also said that they had never had a hose returned after failure as their equipment was checked regularly by [transport?] authorities.

Me; How long for delivery? [Believing fittings would be a problem and may need to be ordered in]

And that readers was what took place. About 10 minutes after the start of the conversation I had in my hand two brand new brake hoses to the exact and original specification for a MK1. I might add that I had spent almost two weeks trying to source a replacement brake hose.

I dropped in next day as I had a problem with the 5/8 inch 26 TPI nut at the body end. I had destroyed the original with the 4-inch grinder just to get the hose off the car without destroying the mounting bracket. Nobody could supply a nut however Gary sorted this out by re-cutting the inner hose retaining thread for a SAE national fine] NF] nut. I noticed about 150 new [after market] hoses he had just turned out for distribution into the retail market. He remarked that the hoses had been ordered the day before and he expected pickup at any time. In other words this company was seriously involved in after market supply.

Somehow I think we Jag owners believe that English magic is used to produce parts for our cars and it must be “original” to be any good. After market organisations like BPA turn out a product standard which is controlled by Australian government authorities and are more than willing and able to support our old car cause. The important thing for we restorers is that they can supply “one off” requests at short notice and within the normal retail price range.

I don’t apologise to our normal retail suppliers. Having copped the trauma of “unable to supply” or “not in stock” it is only fair that alternatives should be readily available to club members.

Brake Boosters Another issue came out of my visit to BPA. They are equipped to overhaul brake servo power boosters. This was qualified by remarks that parts are difficult to obtain on some types but the customer should liaise with them and they would make recommendations on the best course of action i.e. repair or replace with an Australian made product.

Like many apprentices I learnt basic welding and have used this skill from time to time. But like a lot of skills they can get rusty without regular use. A few years ago I did a basic panel-beating course at Bracken Ridge TAFE and they accepted my previous training in lieu of the otherwise mandatory oxy acetylene-welding course prior to the panel-beating course.

A friend who is a JDCQ club member accepted a transfer to another state and offered me his oxy acetylene-welding outfit at a very reasonable price. I have since used it for numerous jobs, which primarily involved heating but had not got around to any serious welding.

During my last period of holidays I decided to remedy this by getting in some serious welding practice on bits of discarded Datsun 120 Y panels and the remains of a XJ 6 tank cover panel. Finally I felt confident enough to have a go at some rust repairs and skin cracks in one door of the MK 5 and I am happy with the results.

I recommend that persons who have never been involved in welding or panel beating check out the TAFE courses available, which appear to be published every semester. You need to be quick, as these courses are very popular and get filled up quickly.

Tools We had interesting results on my article on “tool snobbery”. One club member quite correctly endorsed the view that if you have to use them every day in business then only the best will do and I go along with that concept. At the same time I have had some club members tell me of visits to their local pawnbroker where they secured tools at very little cost.

This magazine is widely circulated and the readers will involve professionals and amateurs from all walks of life. It is not my role to tell people how to go about their business. The article was intended to alert club members to alternatives in sourcing tools and from feedback it appears to have achieved that result.

Sons XJ6 bites back

While in Adelaide I had a plaintive phone call from youngest son that his Series3 XJ6 had simply stopped on the road and he had to have it towed home. We stated a long-range diagnosis by phone. Put the car into drive and turn to start. Does the fuel pump run? "Yes" says he. Pull the coil lead from the distributor and check for spark. Is there any? "Yes" says he. Disconnect a fuel injector hose from the fuel rail and run the fuel pump in start with the car in drive to see if any fuel comes out. "No fuel" says he. Check the fuel filter can you blow through it? "No" says he. Replace fuel filter with a new one and try again. "Didn't work," says he. All this took a number of phone calls over several days. Finally I said, "I will be home in a few days so hang off until then".

The upshot was that although the fuel pump ran there was no pressure. The pump was opened up and it was found that the pump section had seized but a shear pin system allowed the motor to still run. Another pump was obtained and the car started immediately. So don't be fooled by a fuel injection pump, which sounds to be running OK. Disconnect the fuel line at the outlet and check that there is flow and pressure.

Of gauges and electric things

I have been intrigued by an on going problem in the 1960s model Jaguars such as MK 2, S type, E type, 420 etc. The main area of concern is the oil pressure gauge. This is an electric device that was apparently Smiths first foray into the domain of electrical transmitted oil pressure. Apparently the Jag Enthusiasts Club in

England

has also been following up on this problem.

To say that the Smiths electric oil pressure gauge is an accurate instrument would be taking the truth very lightly. It is one of the most Heath Robinson devices I have ever encountered in any instrumentation. Normally an instrument transmitter contains a device a bit like the variable resistor used in volume controls in a radio. These are generically referred to as "potentiometers". As the temperature or pressure changes the variable resistor feeds more or less voltage to the gauge in your dash panel to make the indication. Simple enough?

However Mr. Smith put a whole new twist on the scene by using a system in his oil pressure transmitter that works as follows. The flexible diaphragm in the transmitter has an electrical contact on the diaphragm. When oil pressure expands the diaphragm this contact connects to another contact on the end of a bi-metallic strip. This makes a circuit through a heating wire wound around the strip which heats up until the bi-metallic strip bends and breaks contact with points on the diaphragm.

The bi-metallic strip then starts to cool down and straightens out until contact is made again and the process repeats. The more oil pressure there is the longer it takes for the strip to heat up and therefore the more electric current runs through the system. This current is measured and shown on your oil pressure gauge as pounds per square inch!

The bi-metallic strip system is well known and is used in the majority of "flasher" units in directional indicators in motorcars. However they do not last forever and eventually they fail due typically the points burning out. It is an electro/mechanical device and as such will never be a stable source of information for a gauge system.

Why I am making this point is that an old oil pressure transmitter can give quite erroneous readings. One club member was really quite concerned with his oil pressure in an XK series motor in a MK2, which only ever got to about 40 PSI cold and was flat out making 20 PSI when hot. The engine was generally in good order and was not rattling or giving any typical signs of distress associated with clapped out Jag engines. On my suggestion he obtained a direct reading after market gauge and coupled it up in place of the electric system and was delighted to find that all of the above pressures were just about doubled.

I have also run across this problem and have had widely divergent readings from different transmitters. In fact I trust the older Bowden Tube direct reading oil pressure gauge used in early Jags like the MK5, 7, 8 and MK 1 any day against one of these later electrical devices.

The good news is that a company by the name of CAREBONT in

England

have purchased the rights and tooling for early Smiths gauges and have redesigned the oil pressure gauge for these 1960s Jags. This kit apparently consists of a completely new transmitter and gauge using modern techniques but looks just like the original. It is not cheap at around 70 pounds or about A$200 [Australian] dollars but the current price for a new oil gauge transmitter to fit the old system is A$130 so it would be worthwhile going the extra dollars for something new, reliable and accurate.

The MK 10 has always intrigued me. Here was the logical follow on from the MK 7/8/9 series where Sir William had taken the latest developments in unitary body construction, independent front and rear suspension, power steering, magnificent furnishing and a modern body line to produce a very advanced car in 1961.Yet it must be the most ignored for restoration vehicle that Jaguar ever produced. Mention of a MK10 has produced cries of derision from most enthusiasts. "Wot do yer want a bloody great tank like that for". All too many of them have been wrecked for the independent rear end so beloved by the hot rodders and quite a few of the 3.8 litre engines have found their way into MK1 and 2 cars.

I have bitten the bullet and purchased a MK 10, which is in what I would describe as "fair" condition. It is pretty similar to a number I have previously seen having been off the road for a few years and now being sold by family children who have inherited the previously loved but now unloved car. In this case it was blocking up the shed and was a non-runner but nobody knew why. The price I paid was fair as I realised that this unique car, which is a manual overdrive model, could yield more from being wrecked than my original outlay. It even has a near new set of tyres that are about 3 years old but are of no use to any other Jaguar model as they are uniquely 14-inch wheels.

I had it delivered home on a flatbed truck. It took about an hour of mucking around to remove the distributor and replace the points and condenser. As the fuel pumps refused to work I rigged up a gravity feed to the carbys. Very soon after I had the engine running – a little ragged but steadily improving and not too smoky. I do however suspect that it has a loose cam bucket.

There are definite problems with the submerged fuel pumps and it is suspected that the clutch plate is "gone" but these areas are still being explored as I write. The fixes to these problems are relatively simple and not too expensive if you do it yourself.

The biggest hurdle was telling Honor that we now have another Jaguar and watching her face go through the many contortions/emotions that involved as she thought that I was into a "Jaguar culling programme". I.e. a reduction in herd numbers. Well I am really - it is just taking time to happen, that’s all.

JAGUAR 420 SERIES BRAKES

A JDCQ member had a problem with his Jag 420 series brakes. The power boost system appeared to have failed and it required incredible pressure to stop the car. We got involved in a diagnosis one morning with the car upon his hoist and to be very honest it took a fair bit of effort to sort out the problem.

What appears to be a dual brake system is not quite what it seems. The master cylinder is in fact a single primary system that then feeds pressure and air information to the remote power booster system where the system becomes dual. Each primary and secondary system has its own hydraulic reservoir.

The power booster system uses vacuum on both sides of the air piston. A remote air valve mounted on the primary master cylinder supplies vacuum on the drive side of the piston but when the master cylinder is depressed introduces ambient air pressure to the drive side of the piston hence assisting the hydraulic brake action. Heath Robinson would have been proud of this arrangement.

The final diagnosis was that the air piston/diaphragm in the booster unit was leaking badly. By serendipity another acquaintance was "parting out" a 420 with a good booster and this was acquired to get the car back on the road while a more extensive overhaul takes place on the original booster.

It should be noted that we discovered that a number of E types from roughly 1965 on share the same braking system.

SU CARBURETTORS

Recently I was talking to a couple of our airworthiness engineers over the lunch table. They are heavily involved in older vehicle restoration including types such as MG TFs and Sunbeam Alpines. I ventured to ask them how you could decipher or make sense of the nomenculture used by SU to delineate the size of a carburettor. As we know a 13/4-inch SU is a 6 e.g. HD6 and a 2-inch is an 8. They admitted they had no idea and I was in no better informed either.

Wandering into the room arrived one of our administrative persons who is also well known in historic racing circles for campaigning a supercharged Austin 7 and being a bit of a devil on hill climbing. The question was put to him and he replied immediately “it is all very easy” and he went on to say: -

“The original SU carby is a 1 inch carby. As they made them bigger they simply quoted the number of 1/8 inches over one inch. Hence the HD6 you mentioned is 1 inch plus 6/8 inch [3/4] inch giving an overall diameter of 1 3/4 inches. A HD8 is 1 inch plus 8/8 inches giving an overall diameter of 2 inches. In addition the H stands for horizontal throat and the D means the main jet is mounted on a flexible diaphragm. By the way always measure the diameter of an SU carby at the outlet end where it joins onto the inlet manifold.”

With that he finished filling his coffee cup and wandered off out of the room leaving three highly technical trained engineering people reeling in his knowledgeable wake.

ON THE SUBJECT OF WINDSCREENS

Very old windscreens are dangerous because they get badly worn with stone chips and general scratching. The windscreen in the red MK 1 looks OK but coming over the rise looking west just before sundown on the last lap home just like driving into a whiteout. I have had to put my head out the window to see forward.

I have also dreaded the possibility of getting a broken windscreen because I have only one spare. Repeated approaches to many sources for a new MK 1 windscreen have met with many rebuffs and continuous mix-ups as I try to explain that it is not a MK2 windscreen and YES THEY ARE DIFFERENT.

In addition some manufacturers have said that they will supply a MK 1 windscreen provided I give them a sample windscreen to make a pattern and order a minimum volume of 10 production screens. Heck there are only about 15 MK 1 cars in the club!

Finally I hit paydirt when I rang a local windscreen manufacturer by the name of “Moran Glass” at Tingalpa. [PH 3390 8855]. Peter Moran after the usual mix-up of MK1 versus MK 2 sorted things out and advised yes they could provide me with a MK 1 windscreen but would need a few days notice as they did not have any in stock. He had the dimensions off pat e.g. the MK 1 windscreen is deeper than the MK 2 and slightly narrower. He advised the price would be around $110 plus GST.

It was only after I put the phone down that I realised I knew the organisation I had been talking to. In fact my family and friends have done business in the past with Moran Glass. They replaced the windscreen in my son’s Toyota 4 wheel drive Ute, the Ford LTD and the Ford XF Ute we used to own and also a number of friends’ vehicles. We were all very happy with the service and the relatively low prices charged at the time. I also suspect that the new windscreen I fitted to the Series 3 some years ago came from there.

I recommend you check with this company if you need a windscreen. At least they are local for the Brisbane members.

A club member contacted me recently about recolouring interior trim items. He had found a set of original door linings for a MK 2, which were in reasonable order but were the wrong colour for his car. Could I advise him if it was possible to change the colour?

My advice was yes it is possible to change the colour. There are however a number of considerations. Are the original backing boards in good order because it is a waste of time and effort to start off with a crook sub structure, New material for backing boards is quite cheap and obtainable at Daleys auto trim supplies just south of Archerfield aerodrome on the road leading into the speedway. New boards can be cut and the old door linings transferred onto the new bases,

I also advised him of the need to clean the old door lining up so that there is no grease or oil on the vinyl. Jaguar did not use leather on the door trims. It is just English vinyl known as "Alamba". Proprietary detergents will do the cleaning trick. The vinyl should also be wiped down with "prepsol" to get rid of silicon that was pretty common in interior treatments a few years ago.

The decision should then be made whether to use "vinyl" paint or automotive lacquer. Vinyl paint is available in basic spray packs and does a good job but has a limited colour range unless you can find a paint manufacturer willing to mix it for you. Automotive lacquer is more easily mixed and matched to the colour of your desire but there are two problems. It is shiny and does tend to be less flexible. These problems can treated by adding appropriate amounts of "flattener" to get rid of the gloss and "flex aid" which stops the lacquer from going rock hard.

The trick I have learned when using automotive lacquer is to etch the vinyl with a rag soaked in thinners just prior to coating.. Immediately after wiping it down and while the vinyl is still "tacky", spray on one thin coat of colour lacquer. The next coat should also be sprayed as soon as possible after the first coat has tacked off. It is important that not too much paint build up takes place, as the "grain" of the original vinyl will be lost in the paint build up.

Whilst not being concourse this system is relatively cheap and the results can be very good in restoring door linings, arm rests, under dash cover plates and front kickboards to a sanitary serviceable condition. Old faded vinyl can also be treated this way.

Youngest son's hood lining in his XJ6 Series 3 was pretty bad. Previous owners had injected contact cement to hold the hood lining up but it looked awful and as it turned out the "card" i.e. the backing piece for the hood lining was quite damaged anyway.

After some months we finally got the tip off that someone in Beenleigh was wrecking a series 3 with a good hood lining. I ripped down there in the Falcon Ute one Saturday morning and the hood-lining card was as good as described. The deal was struck and I also picked up a dash panel upper that was not cracked/crazed etc for a reasonable price.

My son was more than happy that he now had two items which he had been chasing for some time but stated the colour of the cover on then hood lining was not "right". Hr then hived off to Daley's motor trim supplies at Rocklea just immediately south of Archerfield on the road into the speedway and secured enough material of his desired choice for about $60.00.

A couple of cans of spray pack contact later the hood liner was now finished in the right colour and ready to mount. The whole thing then spent some weeks sitting ion top of my MK 2 while he raced all over the country playing in his band.

He then approached me to remove the Series 3 front windscreen to allow the hood liner to be inserted. I refused and let me tell you readers do not fall for the trap of removing front windscreens from Series 3 Jags. They are actually glued into the body and I have spent an hour cutting the thing out of the car by use of a fine piano wire cutter. Leave it to the professionals who typically charge about $40 to $50 to do the job.

With only a moderate amount of bending the new hood liner can be inserted through the left hand rear door provided the rear seats are removed as well as the front left hand passenger seat with the right hand seatback laid flat. This also applies to series 2 XJ 6 vehicles provided they are the "L" series with then longer wheelbase. Get a tape measure and check for the widest part of the opening.

The hood lining was inserted and lifted into the supports and definitely looks much better than the original grungy mess. However youngest son has still not finished the job of putting back the seats that are cluttering up one end of the shed.

A club member advised me that he had a pre-cut carpet kit for his MK 2 that had not been put into his car. That got my attention as I have been to several upholsterers attempting to get a new carpet fitted to the Mk 1 hotrod. When it comes down to the crunch of getting a start date they all seem to find that they are too busy to do it. This has been going on for over 12 months and at the mention of the pre-cut kit I thought here is an opportunity that should not be let pass. I'll have a crack at doing it myself!

Club member obligingly produced the kit and I had obtained a couple of sheets of 1/8-inch [or approximately 3 mm] plywood. We laid the carpet components out on the plywood and traced around them with a pencil. Some careful work with a band saw and subsequent sanding and a couple of coats of clear lacquer have left us in possession of a set of templates for a MK1/2 carpet. I went off to Daly's and bought 5 metres of "Fina" red carpet, which is about $20 a metre. It has a particularly good backing, which cuts well and does not need edge binding.

That all took place a few months ago and I have been trying to find time to get at the carpet problem. The Christmas break afforded the opportunity to grab a few extra days leave and after the usual household chores I was able at last to attack the car on Boxing Day. What I did not realise is the amazing number of pieces of carpet need to carpet a MK1/2. The kit contains no less than 17 pieces and even then I cut an extra 4 pieces where I believed carpet should be placed on the centre cross member supporting the front seat and on the face of the pressing supporting the rear seat.

So far I have spent about 8 hours on the job. This included removing the front seat mounting brackets, stripping them clean and recovering them in vinyl. I expect another day of work to complete the job. I am not aiming at concourse but simply want the vehicle to be neat and tidy.

I also have to re-carpet the white MK 1 3.4 and as have I advanced somewhat along the carpet laying learning curve I think it will be a much shorter job. For club members who wish to do their own thing with a MK 1/2 carpet I will eventually be willing to lend the template set.

With two MK1 cars with sagging rear springs it was time to adopt production line methods. Mark Miosge from North Qld. Jag spares in Mackay [ph 4954 1420] mentioned that he had a good pair of springs and offered them at a reasonable price. In fact the freight was nearly as much as the springs. Inspecting them on arrival showed that they were good and did not require any re-setting. I visited Barry the friendly spring man at Pine Rivers Spring works [ph 3285 7383] and got him to fit the new spring eye bushes and rubber mounting blocks that I supplied.

A couple of hours under the car including welding up part of the left hand spring mounting box and the red MK 1 3.4 was back into action. It really does sit correctly and this is emphasised when the two red MK1s are sitting adjacent to each other. There is a really apparent rear end sag in the 3.8 car. The springs that came out of the 3.4 will be re-set and have new hardware fitted before going into the red Mk 1 3.8. I will then have a spare set of rear springs so if anyone is desperately in need of them contact me.

When I acquired the MK 2 the tachometer [as well as the oil pressure gauge] was not working. It became fairly obvious that one of the problems was that the tachometer [tacho] generator had a broken electrical connecting lug. This tacho generator uses the same principle as a pushbike generator to create electrical voltage by rotating a permanent magnet inside a coil. This electrical voltage is then fed to the tachometer instrument, which in reality is a voltmeter. The principle is that the faster the tacho generator goes the more electrical voltage is produced which produces a correspondingly higher reading that we see as revolutions per minute [RPM]

This same tacho generator is also used in the MK9, S type, earlier E types and Daimler 250. Enquiries for a replacement tacho generator part no C14996 resulted in prices in excess of $300. Hmm –it was time to put the thinking cap on and see if repairs could be affected.

An inspection of the terminal cap of the tacho generator, which uses push on spade connectors revealed that the lug had been broken off flush with the surface of the plastic cap. By using my trusty dremel tool I was able to excavate around this broken lug to a depth of about 4 to 5 MM or 3/16 inch. I was then able to cut the male section of a spade terminal down to a suitable size and solder it to the old lug. The whole thing was then finished off by using a dam of masking tape to allow a suitable build up of epoxy resin over the excavated area and the base of the new lug. This all resulted in a now sound lug projecting from the terminal cap.

I had checked the wiring from the generator to the tacho instrument and all measured OK with about 2.5K or 2500 ohms resistance, which indicated a correct circuit impedance existed through the instrument. I replaced the tacho generator [with a new O ring fitted] hooked up the tacho instrument, started the car and achieved nothing. The b.......y instrument was

U.S.

! [unserviceable]. I was also able to check that the generator was working as Ben Stafford had lent me an old battered tacho with a partly broken needle etc. but still serviceable as an indicator and I hooked it up and it worked.

Muttering and cursing I removed the tacho instrument [and a couple of squre inches of skin as well]. I cleaned off the workbench which is a miracle happening in it’s own right and laid out some clean cloth to allow me to dismantle the tacho. It does come apart very simply as the faceplate only needs to be twisted to align the spaces on the faceplate with the lugs on the case. The faceplate can then be lifted off. The tacho instrument itself is only secured in the case with two screws and the clock at the bottom can be left attached to the case.

Applying gentle pressure to the needle revealed that it would move but was rather bound up on the “jewels” or pivots. In my time as a radio technician and later on in aircraft engineering I had been exposed to and qualified to do instrument repairs. One facet of instruments that few people ever consider is that they do need lubrication. More particularly so as they get older and the original lubricants dry out. With an artists brush I applied some penetrating oil to each of the needle pivots and allowed it to take effect. After about an hour the needle was quite free and I applied some sewing machine oil to each pivot. The needle was now quite free and I reassembled the instrument. I made a temporary connection between the tacho generator and instrument, started the engine and wonders to behold it all worked.

Tearing off the usual square inch of skin in the process I refitted the tacho and reconnected the wiring. A quick check ensured that all was functioning and the beer fridge in the shed was raided to celebrate.

One of the biggest pains you can have in overhaul/restoration is trying to use old “hardware” as is a commonly used term in the aviation industry to describe the typical nuts, bolts and screws etc used to hold the thing together. In aircraft many nuts and bolts are “lifed” for relatively short periods more so particularly in helicopters where most are mandated to be thrown away when any disassembly takes place and also at amazingly short intervals where called up on specific service bulletins.

Why then do we restore some 40 to 50 year old motorcar to good condition but use the old hardware to hold it together? Rusty nuts and bolts take time to clean up and will always be suspect as to their integrity. It is easy enough to examine a used bolt by naked eye to establish if the thread is damaged but try looking inside a nut and you will really never know if it was OK. Is it because of the prices you see in local automotive retail sources on blister packs on racks in the store? I noted that a blister pack of 6 UNF ¼ inch nuts cost $2.50 [approximately 42 cents each] in a local retail store.

I recently started on the interior of the white MK 1 and found that there were a number of nuts and associated hardware missing from the wood dashboard panel areas. These nuts are typically ¼ UNF. I dropped into Queensland Fasteners in Robinson Road, Geebung and bought a hundred nuts for $6.40 [or 6.4 cents each.]. Compare the above prices and somebody is paying the 500% mark up in the blister pack.

While I was there I checked on the price of 5/16 UNF zinc plated nuts which hold the exhaust manifold on the XK engine head and they were more expensive due to the plating and worked out at $14.00 per hundred or [14 cents each]. Considering an XK engine exhaust manifold uses 16 of these nuts you would have an outlay of $2.24 to use new nuts when assembling it to the engine head. Pretty cheap isn’t it in the overall cost of engine repairs and overhauls? But you could cut costs by using non-plated nuts if you were really desperate as these are typically 8 cents each.

I also keep a couple of containers of 10-32 UNF nuts and appropriate washers on hand as they are commonly used on trim items in all Jaguars from the MK 7 onwards. The cost is around $3.00 a hundred for nuts and the washers come real cheap at about 1 cent each.

In the front-end department many of the early Jags used Nylock nuts to hold things together. That is a nut with a nylon insert which provides a friction hold to stop the nut from coming loose. I bought an entire set of nylock nuts for the front end of a MK 1 which is basically the same as a MK 2/S type /420 for under $20. In the aviation industry a nylock nut is a one-use device and I will always treat them the same in critical areas of a motor vehicle

Now before you all start phoning me and telling me I have got the prices wrong just do some basic homework and don’t – please don’t tell me the price you were charged in a miserable blister pack of nuts and bolts you obtained from your local automotive retail outlet. Go to a professional outfit and buy these parts at the right price and don’t get ripped off. Please note that the prices I have quoted are standard retail prices from Queensland Fasteners for small quantities and you have to be involved in the thousands of nuts and washers to get better [trade] prices.

If you are getting involved in an overhaul/restoration you may be pleasantly surprised to find out how little it costs to use new “hardware”.

A number of club members have get involved in the ride height debate for a MK 1-2 Jaguar. It appears that 18 1/2 to 19 inches from the ground to the centre of the boot lock is about right.

However members of other registers have also done investigation into their cars and have found some to be well and truly in need of serious adjustments and repairs to the rear end. Malcolm Imrie who wrote an article for the Bits and Pieces section of February magazine on XJ6 rear springs provides a good example of “getting it right”.

The MK 1&2 Jaguar workshop manuals are a little skimpy about ride height for the rear end of these cars. Everybody knows that the correct height for a front end is about 3 finger widths between the top of the tyre and the bottom of the mudguard arch. In the workshop manual there is a specification for the amount of curve in the rear springs but that is about all.

It was not until I had the two MK 1s in the shed that I noticed there was a completely difference in the way the cars appeared to “sit”. The red car was definitely lower in the rear end. With a tape measure I checked the height from floor level to the centre of the boot look . To my surprise I found a difference of 2 ½ inches. The red one measured 16 inches and the white one 18 ½ inches. The difference really becomes apparent when you realise the red one is on standard 185x15 tyres and the white one is on 205x65x15 tyres that have about ½ inch less in tyre profile height.

I would appreciate any feedback from MK1 and 2 club members on the specific height measurement on their cars along with the types of tyres fitted. We have checked another club members MK2 and it appears 18 ½ to 19 inches to the bootlock centre is about right on 185x15 tyres.

I always thought the red car looked to be “dragging its bum”. Once I have established the correct height it is off to the spring works for resetting.

You don’t have to send a lot of money to the Poms to identify fairly closely when your MK1 / 2 was built. There is no doubt that the certificate they send you will give original details on the car which is nice to know but do you really need to know unless it is going to influence the concourse judges or increase the value of the car.

Upon being asked any question relating to age/build of one of these models I immediately reach for the Nigel Thorley “Original Jaguar MK1/MK11” book. This is an excellent publication and one of its endearing features is that it traces each model of car by dates of production changes to the assembly line.

Thus by knowing the chassis number and engine number it is possible to narrow down the production date to within a couple of months. E.g. the Mk 1 was in production from 1955 to 1959 and there were no less than 25 production changes, which average out to one every two months. These production changes are typically dated with a month and start off with “from chassis number so and so” or “from engine number so and so”. Simple arithmetic between the change dates and chassis/engine numbers will give an indication of the quantity being produced and from this you can make a reasonable estimate of when your car was built and more particularly what the production status of your car was all about.

Although this book is expensive at typically $59.95 it is the reference bible for anyone wanting to get their MK1/MK2 restoration correct and the colour photos of interior trim and changes in production are really good. The text is well written and is totally to the point. I.e. no padding-just information. I have read it several times and still emerge with some new snippet or fact that I have previously missed.

Another worthy publication is the “Practical Classics Mk 2 Jaguar restoration”. I wish I had read this years ago. It traces a project car that was professionally restored but at the same time as much as possible was retained from the original trim etc. For example it gives guidance on replacing the door trims by salvaging the original vinyl and attaching it to new backing boards. I have also used the same technique in MK 1s. There are literally dozens of photos of each step along the way and many hints and tricks are explained including how to find the hidden screws that retain trim and also woodwork restoration etc.

For the restorer of a MK2 [and a lot of the book also applies to a MK 1 particularly in the body and mechanicals] it is extremely useful and whilst not cheap at again $59.95 I believe the cost would be more than off set by savings made in the restoration process from the books recommendations on salvaging trim etc.

These books are available from any good motoring bookshop. The prices I have quoted are from a bookshop advertising on page 51 of Edition 101 the Australian Jaguar Magazine. There are also a number of other Jaguar models covered by the "Original " series of books as well as the "Practical Classics" publications. If they are anywhere near the standard of the MK2 publications they should be good investments. You could also enquire with our club librarian as to their availability on loan from the club library.

I have been refinishing old woodwork in pommy cars for most of my life. As I approach the 60 years of age barrier – [on the low side you are middle aged the high side you are geriatric] I have been approaching paint manufacturers about their products and the finish I could expect to use on woodwork.

Most urged me towards two pack finish techniques. From experience in the commercial industry this was not the way I wanted to go. Most two-pack systems are carcinogenic [cause cancer] and the finish looks like plastic.

The ever helpful people at PROTEC paints suggested using their CATALAC system of refinishing before they realised that I was going to use their furniture finishing product in a motor car.

They described their CATALAC product as having almost no ultraviolet resistance as it was formulated for indoor furniture. I responded that if one of my restored woodwork pieces spent 36 days a year in the open i.e. outside a garage I would be surprised. They agreed that a life expectancy of 20 years would be reasonable for that sort of exposure.

The system starts with a clear sanding sealer, which is used in exactly the same way as primer filler on metalwork. It apparently contains filler and about 3 coats are adequate to fill most wood grains. Note that it is very important to strain the filler as I kept getting white spots in my trial wood finish pieces. I thought it was coming out of a dirty spray gun but after much effort in cleaning a spotless gun it turned out to be a paint problem.

After spraying the sanding sealer it should be allowed to dry at least overnight and preferably 24 hours. There is a fair bit of contraction in most fillers and immediate sanding will not allow this contraction to settle into a stable configuration which will sand back and remain a level surface. The problem is known as “sink back” in the motor trade. After the sanding sealer is well and truly dry as previously mentioned it should be blocked down i.e. rubbed back with wet and dry paper supported by a sanding block. The best grade of paper to use is about 360 to 400 wet and dry papers. I have used 280 grade to get a fast cut but then used 400 grade to smooth off the finish.

Note that it can be rubbed wet with water but use it sparingly on Jaguar wood as water may affect the plywood or timber base used under the walnut veneer. Another small word of warning is we have discovered that you really need to rub the sanding sealer right back or very close to the wood. Otherwise there is a slight refractive effect in the finish if too heavy a coat of sanding sealer is applied and not rubbed back properly. It will come through the finished product as a suggestion of “milkiness”.

Once it is all dry the wood can be sprayed with 4 to 6 coats of CATALYC 7500 HG lacquer and a very nice finish results. Trials were carried out with less glossy finishes in this lacquer range which goes from matt to very shiny however we all agreed that the HG [hi-gloss] was the preferred finish.

Probably the best part yet to come is the price of the PROTEC product. A litre of sanding sealer is less than $10.00 and that is more than adequate for one car’s woodwork and it is a similar price for the high gloss 7500 HG lacquer. When I dropped into the PROTEC Geebung branch one Friday afternoon a week ago they were out of stock of 1 litre cans of 7500 HG lacquer but they had plenty of 4 litre cans at $22.00 + GST. I.e. $24.20 retail or just over $6.00 a litre. Since I have other projects on the go where clear lacquer is useful I thought to heck with the expense and lashed out on the 4-litre can.

The rear axle of the MK1 and 2 is located on the extreme end of the rear spring leaf and is controlled by a torque arm on either side of the car running from a body mounting to a bracket on the axle. This then locates the axle in relation to the body and stops the spring winding up under acceleration torque somewhat like a trailing arm system. The torque arms are fitted with metal/rubber bushes and with age these deteriorate with a subsequent loss of “stiffness” in axle location and general handling suffers. Don't confuse the torque arm with the panhard rod, which runs laterally [across] the car from the right hand side to near the differential centre. It centres the rear axle and suspension.

On the red MK 1 I knew that these bushes were getting pretty bad. Every time I jacked it up I could see daylight through the rubber area of the bushes. I obtained a new set from Jag World [PH 3272 7287] and with some help from a friend who is a club member we removed the torque arms, pressed out the old bushes and inserted the new bushes. Note-I have seen an illustration of this operation in a

magazine using a bench vice. They must be different over there because we used almost all of the force of an 8 tonne hydraulic press to get the old bushes out.

We also found that the right hand body mounting for the torque arm was cracked and required some serious oxy welding to repair before refitting the torque arm. It also helped that this fellow club member happens to have an electric/hydraulic two-post car hoist in his private shed. This made the job much easier.

There was no doubt that as I drove the red MK1 home that evening along a winding high-speed road that the handling had vastly improved

When it came to getting the white MK1 through a roadworthy one item that became obvious was that the rear shock absorber mount rubbers were completely perished and new rubbers would need to be fitted before it would pass. With that in mind I had the car on ramps at home and fitted the new rubbers by the time honoured system of lying on the shed floor and applying much grunting, effort and some amount of cursing.

Whist lying on the floor I recalled what Tony Herald had said about how he cleaned under his concourse car and thought why not start here? So I degreased and cleaned up the diff and the general areas under the spare wheel well and petrol tank area and subsequently applied some black paint etc. It sure looked better.

To my surprise when the car was on the hoist being checked for roadworthiness I noted that a patch of my new paint on the differential had been scraped back to bare metal. I then realised that the odd suspension noise that I had heard was not a noisy/squeaky shock absorber but was actually the differential occasionally rubbing on the body area immediately adjacent to the petrol tank. I did not point this out to the chap doing the roadworthy and he was more interested in tie rod ends etc. The torque arm bushes looked OK but more on that later

After getting the car registered I organised use of the previously mentioned club members hoist. Mark Miosge from North Qld. Jaguar Spares in Mackay [ph 07 4954 6003] had offered me a good deal on a pair of torque arms he had overhauled with new bushes for a customer who had never collected them. I had acquired them “just in case” I needed them. When we removed the old torque arms the bushes literally fell apart so what looked OK was in fact totally “shot”. The new torque arms were fitted with a subsequent improvement in handling and the elimination of the occasional squeak.

I have since noted that the red MK1 has a patch welded on the rear of the diff housing just where it would rub on the body. I presume this is an old battle scar from a previous occasion when the torque arm bushes flogged out.

Braided Brake Hoses

I can hear regular readers groaning “he’s not on that brake hose subject again” however a bit of thought about this one is definitely worthwhile if you are restoring a car or doing a major overhaul of a brake system.

A company called BrakeQuip has gained Department of Transport and Regional Services approval for a Component Registration Number #30886 to manufacture stainless steel braid covered Teflon brake hoses. What attracts me is that teflon hoses have an infinite life in aeroplanes and are miles superior to the old cloth/rubber hoses, which only have a life of 6 years in an aeroplane engine bay.

There are also a number of other claims including less elasticity in the brake system giving firmer pedal pressure without sponginess and therefore increased efficiency particularly under heavy braking. They are slightly more expensive than rubber hoses typically costing around $65 each

They appear to have set up a number of outlets and franchised agents to make these hoses on the spot. . I found two in Pine Rivers, one at Brendale and one at Lawnton.

They make them on the spot to your specific requirements by copying your old hoses. They have a website which is www.braidedhoses.com.au.

Metal plating

I have heard some horrific stories about the costs of re-plating bumper bars and I have seen receipts for over $1000 for a re-plate of a MK 2 front bumper bar. Being faced with the possible cost of replating the MK 1 bumper bar previously mentioned in this column I decided to checkout the local plating people at Pine Rivers Electroplating at unit 3/23 Paisley Drive in Lawnton.

I spoke to Mark who by sheer luck had a Jaguar S type front bumper bar in the workshop. He advised that the cost to replate that bar was $320 plus GST. He also said that they would quote for any bumper bar and prices would vary depending on the amount of work required to do the job. He said their company insisted on doing it the “old way” i.e. plenty of copper plating under the chrome. Failure to do this by other plating shops has led to premature rusting and corrosion of plated finishes.

One very interesting piece of news is that they have now have the process to treat die cast corrosion and are willing to carry out this specialised plating operation. They are also involved in plating in gold, silver, bronze nickel and zinc and are also capable of re- plating early silver reflectors in headlight units.

Overall I was impressed with the way this company presented itself and the prices quoted were within my expectations. I shall certainly be giving them a try in the future.

Rubber things

While there is a specific need to purchase the correct rubbers for certain areas of cars such as windscreen rubbers etc. there are quite a number of commercial everyday rubber applications such as spat rubbers which can be purchased from non original suppliers for a fraction of the cost of genuine articles.

While doing up the Winjeel I had to replace a number of cockpit seal rubbers. Now the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation [CAC] made heaps of military aircraft in WW2 and post war made Mustangs, Sabres, Winjeels, Jindivik target drones etc. Obviously they were military oriented and there is no civil aircraft aftermarket support as you get with Cessna, Piper, Boeing or Airbus.

I visited Universal Engineers in Virginia who used to be M.P.O'Rouke in Bowen Hills. They still sell assorted rubber strips and mouldings primarily to the bus, truck and trailer body building industry. However they advised that Clark Rubber in Sandgate Road Virginia also had a good assortment and would be worthwhile checking out.

To my surprise they were correct and at Clark Rubber, Virginia I was able to obtain all of the rubber sections I required. In addition they were quite willing to give me small 50 mm samples of their rubbers to try/fit against the problem seal area before I finally settled on the section that I needed. I found them most obliging and they also sell in fractions of a metre. Their prices weren’t too bad either

Please note that not all Clark Rubber stores stock the same items as I am advised that they are now a franchise system. The local store near me does not have the range I found at the Virginia store.

MK1 Wiper problems

The grey MK1 project progress hit a brick wall and stopped as I tried to get the windscreen wipers operational. I should have woken up that there was something pretty wrong when I saw the flexible drive cable from the wiper motor to the wiper arm gearboxes disconnected and I also had noted that an attempt at a roadworthy a couple of years ago resulted in a failure because of inoperative wipers and body rust. [The rust is all gone now.]

Removing the Lucas DR3 wiper motor revealed a lack of brushes and some pretty amateur soldering of new flying leads into the motor itself. By luck I had another wiper motor that had a seized armature bearing and I was able to use the field windings and brushes to get a basically serviceable motor running on the bench. But the wiring colour code seemed to be wrong and I could not for the life of me make out the switching system to get the two-speed operation. There are 6 wires running into the motor with the colours of red, green, blue, brown, white and yellow

I resorted to the internet to attempt to sort out the colour codes however there was nothing about internal wiring of DR3 wiper motors but the mention of the name " Lucas" certainly brought a number of jokes about the "Prince of Darkness".

Finally I pulled the top off the wiper motor in one of my other MK1s and established the correct colour codes. Whoever had installed the new leads had certainly got it wrong as only two colours of the 6 wires were correctly terminated I then connected the motor to the car system and all hell broke loose as the supply fuse got blown. What now? A crawl under the instrument panel revealed that in the past some one had installed a wire to run 12 volts from the fan switch to the wiper switch. That is not how it should be done and when the wipers were turned on the 12 volts was being taken straight to earth.

Obviously the system needed to be restored to original specifications and the wiper system is now working. I will do a diagram of this wiring in the future as the leads on these motors are now typically 40 years old the colour on the original wiring has completely faded out and anyone wanting to overhaul one is going to have difficulty without "the knowledge"

Getting a better spark at the start

As a result of the problems I had with the spark on the MK 1 3.4 auto while headed for the display day which I never got to [see Oct 03 Nuts and Bolts] I had a serious think about the ignition system in this car. It is very simple and on a par with the FJ Holden employing a coil, points, condenser and distributor. In fact alongside the modern day electronic systems it is downright crude. I pondered is there a better way?

There are modern electronic ignition system which can be fitted to run without points and deliver a massive spark however I detected some reluctance from a couple of commercial distributors of these devices when I wanted firm guarantees that they would fit a MK1 distributor. In fact they asked what was a MK1!

Using my vast background of Datsun 120Y experience I decided that the simple way was to retain the system, as it was however I would introduce a ballast resistor and coil. As I had lots of 120 Y used components in the parts bin including ballast resistors and coils I thought that a simple no cost experiment would be worthwhile. The results were quite spectacular. This car, which was always finicky on the start roared into life immediately. From dead cold it would catch on the first revolution of the crankshaft. Encouraged by this I purchased a new coil, ballast resistor and relay and the car has not looked back. In fact tonight I had to move it around in the shed and it still stated immediately although it is at least one month since the last time it ran.

How it all works is quite simple. When you are cranking over an engine on a 12-volt system the actual battery voltage drops to about 8 volts. This means your 12-volt coil will not work very efficiently when starting but is OK when running. If you substituted an 8-volt coil it would be good when starting but would burn out with continuous running. However a resistor designed to get rid of 4 volts when continuously running will protect the 8-volt coil. That is the ballast resistor. The relay is used at start up to short out the ballast resistor. The coil of the relay is connected to the starter motor voltage supply and activates when the starter is turning. The points in the relay are connected to either side of the ballast resistor and when they come together the relay shorts out the ballast resistor and full battery voltage is available at the 8-volt coil.

As we get more sophisticated I will try to introduce circuits and diagrams but at the moment I am stuck with a pretty basic computer and you will just have to bear with me on the description. While the foregoing information is not rocket science it appears to be a worthwhile modification to older Jaguars and is relatively inexpensive. Anyone who is really stuck can phone me and I will see what I can do to mail them a circuit diagram.

Hard metal brake lines

Whilst I had the MK 1 radiator out I was having a serious look around for rust and any other problems prior to painting the general area surrounding the radiator. I had a close look at the steel brake line that feeds the left front wheel brakes from the hydraulic distribution block just after the power booster. Overall it looked pretty good however there was one spot where there was some rust for about 10-mm. When I touched this the line started leaking hydraulic fluid. This spot is actually hidden from normal view as a U shaped bracket below the radiator supports the brake line in this area.

I went to make a new line but found that parts of the flaring tool were missing and suspect they were in eldest sons toolbox as he was the last to use it. I was also very busy with work and decided to outsource the manufacture of a new line to Stopmasters in Brendale. They made a new line complete with new fittings for the grand sum of $18 and at that price I have decided that I shall no longer persist in these sort of minor repairs with all the running around to get line, fittings and a working flaring tool all together at the same time.

I also enquired about the possibility of using copper line rather than steel but they informed me that Queensland Transport has ruled copper line as illegal because of problems of work hardening and cracking around the end fittings. That is a little strange as all of the Pommy restoration magazines seem to recommend copper brake line as a solution to their never ending corrosion problems.

Club member and friend Ben Stafford had just returned from Papua New Guinea and dropped in for a beer. I told him of this brake line problem and he said that he had had precisely the same problem in the same line in his 420. i.e. under the radiator. It appears that this "sleeper" corrosion problem may exist in MK1&2, S type and 420 cars, which share fairly similar engineering in their front ends. I'd suggest that next time you have the radiator out of one of these cars a close inspection of the brake line would be in order. It is relatively easy to replace the line with the grille and radiator removed.

Whither goes thy oil pressure?

Ben Stafford had another problem with his 420. There was generally very poor oil pressure of only 20 to 25 PSI when hot and cruising on the open road that dropped back to almost 0 at idle. The engine did not sound "clapped out" and the oil consumption was quite reasonable. The electric oil pressure gauge was suspected but substitution of a hard line gauge only confirmed that the electric gauge was telling a true story.

I suggested that before he did any thing drastic like an engine overhaul he should check the condition of the oil pressure relief valve. I have had two occasions in Jaguars where low oil pressure was traced to relief valve problems.

Ben found that the oil pressure relief valve spring had been bent. This resulted in the valve itself sitting at an angle on the relief hole and a groove had been worn into the face of the valve. He used a lathe to clean up the face of the valve and subsisted a straight spring for the bent one

The results were fairly dramatic with an improvement to 45 PSI on the open road and 15-20 PSI at idle when hot. In his own summation of the situation he "was surprised that such a small gap in the relief valve had led to such a dramatic loss of oil pressure."

MY Mk2 3.8 Auto has had a slightly low oil pressure and I was a little concerned that the engine may have been "loose" i.e. getting worn. I took a trip to Ben Stafford's to use his hoist and get easy access to the pressure relief valve.

Upon removing the relief valve it became immediately obvious that the valve face was not seating properly. A quick trip in the lathe to face off the valve resulted in an increase of 10 pounds per square inch over all of the operating range.

However I now believe the real problem lies in wear on the upper flutes of the valve which allows it to sit in the bore of the valve body at an angle and the final solution will be to replace the valve itself with a new part and possibly even re-sleeve the valve body.

A club member recently acquired a large British car of the better class [but it was not a Jaguar]. Driving it home some considerable distance, like from Victoria he had an electrical problem in that the Lucas generator stopped working. Parts were hard to get but he soldiered on by buying a spare battery and charger and only driving by day and charging batteries overnight.

The upshot was that there was nothing really wrong with the generator except the brushes were totally worn out and he found that by applying light pressure to the brush springs he could get the generator "on line".

A trip to see Kevin Baker the Lucas guru who lives at Maleny [ph 5494 4221] netted a set of brushes for one of the largest generators you will ever see in a car and the problem is fixed.

However I wonder how many of us are driving around with worn generator brushes. Unscrewing the clamp on the generator cover and simply looking at the top of the brush holder and spring easily inspect them. If the brush is well down in the holder its time to get in touch with Kevin.

Sometimes it is the simplest things that get you going (or stopped). One of my MK1s was doing odd things in that the generator and regulator seemed to be all over the place and sometimes not charging. One quiet afternoon I grabbed the digital multimeter and tools and attacked it.

The generator proved quite capable of putting out more than adequate volts and amps. This is a very simple test. Simply attach a piece of wire between the D [dynamo] and F [field] terminals on the generator and start the car. Don't over rev the engine, as 1500 to 2000 RPM should be adequate. Measure the voltage being generated at the generator D terminal. This will be typically in excess of 14 volts and possibly up to 16 or more volts. This is because you have bypassed the regulator. If the ammeter in the car shows a large output that also proves that the cutout is working. It pulls in when the generator volts are typically above 12 to 13.

All this was OK and I now suspected the regulator. I cleaned the regulator points but there was no change and I decided to replace it with a spare that I had. While undoing the terminals on the regulator I found that the screw for the wire running to the generator field was quite loose. Tightening this up was the answer and the generator now performed as Lucas and Jaguar advertised. Moral – look for the simple things first.

A Bouncing Speedo

The grey MK1 2.4 speedo was bouncing a little up to 30 miles per hour but beyond that it really got bad with swings of large variations which meant that at 40 MPH it would flick up to 60 MPH and back again. It looked like a crook speedo cable but as it had a brand new cable I suspected the instrument.

I removed the speedo and on the work bench connected up a drill set to run in reverse with a bit of old speedo cable in the chuck of the drill. I found that the problem was in the instrument as with the drill full on I got 45 MPH with bouncing up to 70 MPH.. I attempted to remove the speedo case and to repair it but was unsuccessful as the trip odometer connection was jammed.

Luckily I have accumulated a number of spare MK1 speedos and I had one which matched the diff ratio for a 2.4. I checked it on the bench and it worked OK but I noticed some serious lag in the indications as it took 5 seconds to catch up to correct speed and a similar time to come back to zero after the drill was stopped. I removed the case and delicately applied with the smallest artists brush a dab of WD 40 on both jewels [pivots] of the speedo needle. That fixed the problem and the replacement speedo was installed and is working as Jaguar advertised.

A club member was having trouble with his XK series engine as it refused to fire up after having the carbies overhauled, new points, plug leads etc. put into the system along with a distributor overhaul. The engine refused to run and wouldn't even do the courtesy of giving the occasional backfire or cough. Club member was getting a bit frustrated with the whole thing

Enter yours truly and a few basic points were looked at. Spark plug removed from the front [number 6 cylinder in Jaguars] and a crank over to the compression stroke showed that the distributor rotor arm was pointing at the lead going to number 1 cylinder i.e. all of the leads out of the distributor cap were 180 degrees out. The spark plug leads were reattached in the correct order but still no signs of life when cranked. Careful checking of the float levels in the SU HD8 carbies showed no major discrepancies. There were lashings of sparks as yours truly got inadvertently zapped while holding onto a plug lead and noting that the spark would jump a ½ inch or 12 mm gap. A rough check on the timing showed it to be within the general running range of a few degrees before top dead centre. The fuel strainer bowl was checked for water and it came up clean so basically we had fuel, ignition and compression but still not a running engine.

When all else fails suspect any thing so I pulled the plugs out which were decidedly wet. I can only presume this occurred as petrol evaporated causing water condensation on the plug insulation. After washing them in petrol and drying with an air gun they were reinstalled. A dash of ether start assistance had the engine firing but refusing to idle. Keeping a fairly wide open throttle setting helped keep it running and eventually it stabilised at 1500 RPM, - still not right.

By now it was obvious there had to be a major air leakage in the inlet system as no amount of fiddling with the main jet enrichment system was having much effect on the idle. By sheer luck while suspiciously looking at the engine running from all angles I spotted a joining hose on the starting carbie pipe inlet system that had become disconnected and had left a significant opening for air to bypass the carbies. Apparently the hose had been installed but the hose clip wasn't tight and a backfire in the inlet system had most likely caused it to come off.

Reconnection of this pipe brought some order into the system and after this final mechanical skirmish we had the car idling. There was still a little leak somewhere in the inlet system as the engine was happily idling with both carbie idle air bleeds completely shut off! The best way to chase these leaks is by using a piece of thin hose held to the ear while the other end is moved around the inlet manifold and carbies. However time was running out and I had to leave this up to the owner to pursue.

Mk 2 Gearbox Problems

The Blue Mk2 gearbox was very stiff to change. Consultations with Ben Stafford the previous owner revealed that it had always been very stiff. He reminded me that he had actually broken a gear stick in my driveway some years ago and that I actually already owned the gear stick in the car when I bought it from him. I had lent him a replacement we had fitted on the spot so he could get home and had forgotten about it.

Ben suggested it might have bent selector shafts, which I had not heard of before, but he assured me it does happen. He had a few gearboxes in parts that he had acquired over the years. He donated a couple of gearbox top cover plates complete with selector shafts for me to try.

It took a short time one afternoon to remove the centre console, gearbox hump cover plate and remove the top of the gearbox. Note that BSF bolts hold down the top of the moss gearbox and not SAE/NF bolts as I expected. The already cleaned up and prepared replacement gearbox top cover plate was fitted and a trial run was made minus the tunnel cover and centre console.

The difference was immediately apparent and the gear gates could be felt and the gear stick easily manipulated. The “proof of the pudding” was when Ben dropped in one afternoon and I asked him to take the car on a trial drive. He agreed that it was a great improvement over the previous stiff system. I have not had time to dissect the previous selector system to find out what was the actual cause of the problem.

Paint

While doing all the right things on the MK2 front end I stripped it out completely and had the major components sandblasted. I was contemplating what sort of paint finish I would apply when an acquaintance of mine suggested a paint I had not heard of before. It is Ronstin’s Rapid Dry Industrial Black Enamel. He said he had been using it for years for chassis and sub frame painting and it stood up very well to the abuse and knocks that come with the under vehicle territory.

I purchased some at our local automotive paint outlet in Brendale and was pleasantly surprised at the price that was a tad over $13 per litre. It did require some thinning to spray but covered very well with a really deep black gloss. The quick drying part lived up to its name, as I was able to handle parts within half an hour of painting. As an experiment I really loaded up some areas with paint, which would have produced runs in a standard enamel, but it did not display any propensity to run.

Some of you may have noticed my wanted ad in last month’s issue of the JDCQ magazine. I was chasing a 12 blade MK 2 radiator fan and a club member has responded with a couple of fans available. The story behind that ad is that the early MK1 2.4 cars only had a simple 4 blade fan which is adequate for normal use on the open road and general use but it is absolutely hopeless when caught in heavy city type traffic.

I attended Geoff and Gerry Underhill’s Australia day BBQ at Tingalpa on Sunday 23 January and it was a typical Queensland summer day with the temperature around the 30 degree C mark. I was travelling from Pine Rivers on the Gateway Arterial and sitting on the 100k speed limit with the water temperature gauge steady on 75 degrees. However I got caught in a surprising amount of traffic and a number of red lights around the Capalaba area and by the time I reached the Underhill estate the temperature was around the 100 mark.

Expecting the worst I let the car cool down and borrowed a bucket for water off Geoff [queries he - not another breakdown?] however it had not lost any coolant. The return trip home was uneventful with the temperature gauge sitting as before on 75 degrees.

I have had this problem before in my first MK1 2.4 in 1986 and the fix of putting a late model radiator fan on the car solved most of the traffic overheating woes. I expect it will make a major difference in this case.

A club member got in touch with me and raised the subject of fitting an electric fan onto a MK2. Some people think they are rather exotic devices however the majority of modern cars use them and particularly anything fitted with an east – west engine except the original Mini is almost guaranteed to be equipped with one. In addition have a look under the bonnet of your modern Commodore, Falcon and Magna and you will find an electric fan doing all of the cooling work.

It appears that one stumbling block for many people is the problem of fitting a sensor to turn the fan on when the engine is starting to overheat. There are several ways of handling this. One is to fit a sensor which plugs directly into the upper radiator hose. I consider this as rather crude and am more inclined to get a new thermostat outlet pipe and have a modern sensor fitted by machining an appropriate hole in the metal.

You might also investigate fitting a genuine Jaguar thermostatic fan switch as fitted to the E types and Series 1, 2&3 XJ among others. These were originally fitted in the cross flow radiator tank. Another access point is the original thermostat switch hole for the starting carbie which is generally redundant as most MK1/2 owners have modified their cars to use a dash mounted switch for the starting carbie function. You would have to do a bit of fettling to make a plate to carry a thermostatic switch

Another method is to fit a manual switch somewhere around the instrument panel. Anyone used to old Jaguars in hot weather will be monitoring the water temperature and it would be a simple thing to turn the fan on when it is starting to get hot. This is done in many competition saloon and sports cars which have had the mechanical fan blades removed. I am told that the only time the fan gets turned on is after the race and when returning slowly to the pits. Note that this switch needs to control a heavy current relay which will do the actual switching. Many modern electric radiator fans could be pulling upwards of about 50 amps while running and you would need an almighty big switch to handle that sort of load.

An electric radiator fan will consume about twice the output of the old Lucas generator. It may be worthwhile to consider fitting a modern alternator to carry the load particularly if you intend to drive the car frequently in traffic. The old Lucas generator has the further disadvantage of being “off line” while idling in traffic while the modern alternator will be on line and supplying power even when idling. I have alternators on two of my historic registered cars [a Mk1 and Mk2] and they are a boon in getting the battery charged quickly and giving better lights in traffic at night.

Drum brakes – are they in good shape?

For many years I drove on drum brakes particularly in MK7s and I did not have any major problems in pulling up. I am of the opinion that a well maintained set of drum brakes is nearly as good as disc brakes however they do have a problem with fade when hot and are darn near useless after being immersed in water while crossing a flooded causeway.

I was happily driving the metallic grey MK 1 which is equipped with drum brakes and knocking up a few Ks when I noticed an appreciable decay in braking effect and the pedal was getting closer to the floor. I almost ignored it as I am getting close to completion of the MK2 disc brake front end which is going to be fitted in the near future. However it is not in my nature to leave a vehicle in a "suspect" state and I also heard a couple of clacks from the front end while pulling up in the shed.

Getting my dearly beloved Honor to actuate the brake pedal while I roamed around outside revealed that there was obviously a fair bit of movement going on in the brake system in the front end. Jacking up the car, removing the front wheels and brake drums revealed brake shoes that were in very good order and brake drums that were smooth and shiny without any scoring. The previous owner had advised me that he had the brakes "done up" only a short time before I acquired the vehicle. When I was preparing it for a "roadworthy" (safety certificate) I had checked the brakes and the shoes and drums were in apparently first class order and they were also checked and passed by the person carrying out the safety certificate inspection.

On close inspection I noted that the automatic adjuster bar was at the limit of its travel. Hold on – what is going on here thought I!. I checked the lining thickness which was the correct ¼ inch and also noted that the trailing shoe on the right hand front brake did not show any sign of contact with the drum. In fact with the brake drums removed you could put your foot on the pedal and get brake pressure even though there was theoretically nothing to push against or to stop the slave cylinder pistons flying out of the slave cylinder.. It turned out that the brake slave cylinders were at the extremity of movement and locked up against the travel limit of the automatic adjuster bar.

The correct internal diameter of a MK 1 Brake drum is 11 1/8 inches. I checked the internal diameter of the drums on this car and found out that one was 11 5/16 inches and the other was very close to 11 3/8 inches. I.e. one was oversize by 3/16 inch and the other was nearly ¼ inch.

The person responsible for turning out these drums to such an amount and refitting them is guilty of criminal negligence. While I have been unable to find out any recommended limits by Jaguar, general automotive industry consensus is that on a drum of this size around 1/8 inch or about 125 thousandths of an inch (.125 inch) oversize would be the limit and after that the drum should be discarded. The problem is that a very hot thin drum under severe braking has the potential to separate the drum brake contact area from the brake drum face assembly leading to a total loss of brakes. What made matters worse is that they had not bothered to consider putting in thicker linings which are readily available by specific order.

I have all sort of good Jaguar things hidden away in the shed at the end of the stables which I have christened "Possum Palace" as a family of possums lives there as well. They have claimed their own paw paw tree which is regularly raided and I can't use the top shelf of the Dexion shelving as they use it for their daytime sleeping site. Anything stowed on the top shelf is promptly kicked off to the detriment of the car parked in the shed! Anyway back on to the brake problem. I found that I had four MK 1 drums which varied from .040 to ,080 inches. oversize and I selected the best two which got a quick hit from the angle grinder cup brush to clean up the light surface rust in the drum contact surface areas followed by a clean up with some 280 grit wet and dry paper.

Resetting the brake shoes and wheel cylinder pistons to the inboard limits of the automatic adjusters and fitting these "new" drums resulted in only a small movement outward in the automatic adjuster bar and the brake pedal returned to a maximum height. The differences in a road test were quite dramatic as I was able to lock up the front wheels on bitumen in a panic stop from 60ks/hr.

My advice to anyone overhauling early model drum brakes [which ceased in Jaguar production in 1959] is to speak to a brake specialist and ensure the drums are properly measured and reasonably legal and that appropriate thickness lining are used to re-line the brake shoes to account for any oversize drums. By the way the correct composition linings for a MK 1 drum brake system are quite soft and the experts at Action Brakes in Nudgee Road, Hendra suggest a maximum life of only 20,000 miles in normal use.

Caged Nuts

Anyone who has removed or replaced a rear bumper bar on a MK1, MK 2 , Daimler 250, Jaguar 240 and 340 series cars would be well aware of the problems of the 5/16 inch caged nut system used to secure the bumper bar to the mounting brackets. It is nearly a sheer impossibility to carry out this operation without the special caged nut which is a spring loaded boxed nut which sits in a slot in the bumper bar and to which the mounting brackets are bolted.

A club member in the country was in dire straits needing caged nuts to mount three rear bumper bars. He had tried every outlet to get these caged nuts but had been totally unsuccessful. It requires 8 of these nuts to mount a rear bumper

Back in 2001 I did some serious research into local sources and came up with a metric equivalent. It is an 8 mm caged nut and uses an 8X20 mm bolt to hold the bracket to the bumper. These nuts are readily available from Coventry Fasteners at 172 Lavarack Avenue, Eagle Farm [ph 3868 3655] for the grand price of 37 cents each and the 20 mm long by 8mm diameter bolts cost about 20 cents each. The Coventry part number is for the caged nuts is 26 8MCAGEN and the bolts are 26 8X20MZPBN

I contacted Coventry Fasteners and was advised that their computer showed negative stock. I have run across this problem before with this company and asked that they check the actual stock bins, Surprise! Surprise! They had over 100 in stock! A quick 10 minute trip from my workplace at Brisbane airport secured 30 for our country member and I grabbed an extra 10 for myself as every time you touch a rear bumper you can expect to write off some of the caged nuts due to corrosion.

Club members unable to get to a Coventry Fasteners branch can phone [07] 3868 3655 ask for sales, pay by credit card and arrange delivery by whatever method desired such as by post or courier etc.