The following actions are required (all work is reversible):

1.      Remove the offending headlight finisher rings, glass covers and rubber gaskets.

2.      Remove the chrome beading from between the mudguards and the bonnet centre section.  (With the finisher rings removed, all four beads are too short.)

3.      Weld closed the holes for the screws which fastened the finisher rings to the bonnet (the captive nuts remain in place).

4.      Prepare and repaint the bonnet.

5.      Make the moulds on which the Perspex headlight covers will be formed.  These are moulded on the original glass headlight covers, but have to be enlarged because, without their rubber seals, the glasses are smaller than the recesses in the bonnet.  I made male moulds.  Proceed as follows:

5.1   Grease the inside of the glass headlight covers and cover them with cling wrap.

5.2   With the concave side up, make a dam around the periphery of the headlight covers.  I used a "ring" of flexible plastic strip wound around the covers and secured with duct tape.

5.3   Pour cement into mould.  I used about 3:1 sand to cement and put some wires in the cement to reinforce it.

5.4   After the cement has set remove the mould from the glass headlight covers.  Remove any cling wrap from mould.

5.5   The mould is smaller than the finished Perspex cover needs to be, so the perimeter of the mould is enlarged using body filler.  Also any imperfections in the surface of the mould are corrected with body filler.  The surface of the mould must be perfectly smooth.

6.      Form the Perspex covers as follows from 2.8 or 3 mm thick Perspex:

6.1   The mould is placed on a brick on an oven tray.

6.2   Perspex, cut oversize, is placed on the raised mould.  It is important to keep the amount of oversize to a minimum.  The Perspex is supplied with a protective plastic film over it.  This is left in place.  A finely woven cotton cloth is also placed over the Perspex.

6.3   A fibreglass flywire is now placed over the cotton cover.  This flywire hangs below the edge of the Perspex.  (The function of the cotton cover is to prevent an impression of the flywire being left on the surface of the Perspex.)

6.4   Apply even downward force all around by hanging steel chain from wire hooks around the perimeter of the flywire.  (The purpose of the brick mentioned at point 6.1 was to give clearance for the hanging chain.)

6.5   Place the oven tray in your home oven.  Bring to 160ºC.  (best done while spouse is absent).  When the oven is up to temperature, the bending of the Perspex can be assisted by a gloved hand.

6.6   Leave the mould in the oven and allow it to cool slowly back to room temperature.  Slow cooling is very important.  Excessive distortion of the headlight cover will result if it is removed from the mould before it is absolutely cold.

6.7   Remove the Perspex cover from the mould.

6.8   Trim excess Perspex and shape the covers to fit the recesses in the headlight apertures.  (The Perspex is cut and trimmed using an angle grinder.)

6.9   You will find that the headlight covers are not exactly the same shape as the moulds.  They will bend down along their sides more than the original glass.  (As the Perspex cools it pulls down onto the mould at its edges rather than shrinking away from the mould.)  This is actually an advantage for the reason given at point 8.

7.      As a gasket, apply self-adhesive closed cell neoprene foam strip to the recesses in the headlight apertures.

8.      Drill the Perspex covers and the recess in the bonnet aperture to suit the self tapping screws which will retain the Perspex covers.  Two size 6 self tapping screws is all that is needed. The greater curvature of the moulded Perspex than the original glass means that when secured front and rear on the main axis of curvature the sides will pull firmly down into the foam gasket.  The sides will flex back to the required shape, and you will find that only two stainless steel self tapping screws are required for each cover.  These can be seen in the accompanying photo. 

9.      Fasten the Perspex covers to the headlight apertures.  (Use hard self tapping screws to cut the initial thread before inserting identical stainless steel screws.)

10.  Purchase two long chrome bonnet beads (BD 19029/1).

11.  Fit the new long chrome beads.  (The beads are supplied longer than necessary and have to be cut to length.)

12.  Use one of the previously removed long beads to make two short beads.

13.  Fit the short beads to the bonnet.

14.  It would be a nice touch to turn up a couple of stainless steel plugs to close off the leading edge of the long beads just above the headlights.  I haven’t got around to doing this yet.

15.  Over a period of time the Perspex tends to craze where it is in contact with the neoprene foam gasket.  This appears to be promoted by the action of sunlight.  To retard this crazing, the outside perimeter of the Perspex over the neoprene seal could be painted with a satin black paint.  Again I haven’t done this yet.  This will happen when I eventually make replacement covers.

The Result - This photo shows the two size 6 screws which hold the cover. The over-riders and motif bar have also been removed.  But that's another story

BY CLIVE ARNOLD 

The traditional Jaguar lower ball joint is assembled into the Stub axle carrier. The wearing parts (i.e. the ball, the socket below the ball and the spigot above the ball) are separately replaceable. The clearance is adjustable and is set using shims. Wear tends to be localized, so it is possible (although not best practice) to give worn assemblies a new lease of life by rotating the ball and spigot through 180. A grease nipple is provided. The procedure for assembly and adjustment of these old style ball joints is rather tedious, and in today's high labour cost environment it is not economically viable except for the do-it-yourself enthusiast. Today Jaguar uses a sealed-for-life ball joint which can be retrofitted to many older Jags including E-Types. The assembly is pre-lubricated with no grease nipple. Given the high load carried by these joints, I decided to disembowel a modern sealed unit and to compare its ball with one of the original design. 

The most obvious difference is the diameter of the ball. The modern item has a diameter of 25 mm whereas the diameter of the original part is 38.1 mm. All other things being equal, the larger ball will last longer. Notwithstanding the smaller diameter of the modern ball, Jaguar have contrived to have its centre of rotation at the same point as the original, so the front end geometry of older cars is not affected if the modern ball joint is used.

Unfortunately I believe the original specification, chrome plated balls are no longer available. Therefore, those who use the larger balls are obliged to buy an inferior aftermarket copy. Gone is the hard chrome plating and the smooth surface finish. Instead you get a ball turned on a CNC lathe complete with turning marks and various "dings' resulting from careless handling in bulk. These surface imperfections benefit from some detailed dressing and polishing in a lathe. The aftermarket kits also contain a rubber boot which will perish within 12 months. Discard the rubber boot prior to use and replace it with a nylon boot.

Despite all these shortcomings, I continue to favour the larger original style ball.

X300 Engine Cuts Out:

What happened to my 1996 X300 back in January this year is worth sharing as at the time the fix for the intermittent fault had not been recognised worldwide.

The Symptom:

Jan 9 (89,500 km) I am making a right hand turn into the driveway of my home when the engine cuts out. I wait a few moments and restart the car. I am able to drive it into the garage when I notice the Auto Transmission Failure warning light was on. I phoned my service technician Michael Gill-Bailey at the Jag Workshop at Sandgate and arranged to have the car checked the next day. Before leaving for Sandgate my wife Lois sprinkled holy water on the car and during the drive via the gateway I prayed that the engine would get me to Michael’s without incident, I made it safely. Michael explained that it could be a component starting to fail or a fault in the wiring loom, the diagnostic time for an intermittent fault can be huge. To keep costs down and my car on the road he suggested trying a part at a time.

The Problem:

Michael’s initial diagnosis was a problem with the Engine Control Module which he replaced and asked me to check out over the next ten days. Leaving Sandgate on the freeway I lost throttle control at 90 kph, I was able to flick the throttle pedal and regain power. No warning light came on. I continued home with no problem, staying in the nearside lane in case I needed to pull over suddenly. Over the next ten days I had eight incidents of engine cut out or loss of throttle, fortunately I was always able to restart the car and get home. I became very alert, anticipating safe places to get out of the traffic.

Jan 22 – 24. Back to Michael’s and the engine cuts out on the Gateway at the Toombul turnoff, I manage to get out of the traffic flow. My anxiety level is increasing. I continue to Sandgate with the warning light on. Michael runs the diagnostic check and finds Fault Codes P0727 and P1775. He replaces the Transmission Control Module, checks engine speed signal from ECM to TCM and fits another Crankshaft Sensor and I test the car for another ten days. Unfortunately the engine cut outs continue and I have a growing concern as to my safety when driving the car.

The Remedy:

Feb 6 – 9. Car returned to Michael’s for replacement air meter, spark plugs, throttle body and check out of the wiring loom. He is looking for a continuity problem for the engine speed signal dropping out when the wiring was hot. Success, he finds a problem with the P1 Harness Plug (see white plastic plug to the left of the windscreen washer bottle neck in photo). The car runs great again!

It turns out that the good work Michael did in trouble shooting this problem has helped others worldwide. Thanks again Michael (ph: 3269 6363) for your persistence and determination in finding a fix for the problem, my Cat is purring happily again.