Update! The poor XJ6 Donor Car is being dismantled to give life to the Mark V. The engine will be pulled by next weekend. Sad for a beauty like this to go to the bone-yard, but at least it is for a worthy cause. The entire drive train and suspension will be used in the Mark V project;

 

BTW, this is what she looked like before the disassembly process began;

 

I have this in another thread, but since it is related to the restoration of the Mark V, I will post it here. Anyway, since I am using the gauges of the XJ6 (12 Volt, instead of 6 volt like the MkV), I have extra gauges so I need to re-design the dash. Also, the use of Air-Conditioning requires venting. So, the dash has been completely redesigned as the "photo-shopped" dash below demonstrates. Also, the small drawer in the center of the dash found on all MkV (unless someone jammed a radio there) will be used for a Smart Phone Dock, and will be used as an MP3/Radio player for the car.

This is the original Dash in it's current state;



And this is the "re-design" (with standard XJ6 gauge faces, see my later post about gauge face re-design);

 

The one major difference of the dash plan that will differ from the pic above is that I will be using "book-matched", African Mahogany crotch wood veneer. It should be a knock out. Also, since the XJ6 Auto Transmission will be in the vehicle, I will be making a shift selector which will look like a tradition "gear shift", inside a leather boot.

 

And since I am "rebuilding" a comprehensive thread that is all about this Mark V project, here is a before and after photo-shopped "vision" of what the final car will look like. The first is a stock Mark V (not mine, but a good profile shot);



The second is my PhotoShop customization of what the final car will look like. I am very concerned about keeping this car era sympathetic, and will be striving to make the vehicle look as if Sir William Lyon had designed this vehicle as a performance coupe MkV. Since the engine, drive train and suspension were all missing from this vehicle, it will all be updated with XJ6;

 

And for the record, this is where I am at with the MarkV at the moment. It has been completely stripped, and all body panels and parts are currently being cleaned, rechromed and/or painted;

 

Man, I can only dream of ever taking on a project like this.

I love to drop by here and see where you're up to and what the latest update is.

Thanks for sharing.

 

So today, I had to get down to "Brass Tacks" with the body plans. Here are the diagrams of how the process will roll out;

The car will be lowered approximately 4.5"



Next, the roof will be "chopped" by 2.5"



And finally, the cabin will be moved backwards approximately 8". The front door will be lengthened, and the rear door will be eliminated. Both the side and top engine cowls will be lengthened to accomodate the 4.2 Litre XJ6 Engine. Lovers will be cut into the Side Engine Cowling (the former roof line can also be seen in this shot).



And this will be the end result of the body modifications;

 

Today, I also designed the Steering wheel, which will be made of 3/8" aluminum plate, sandwiched by two pieces of African Mahogany (there is a goof on the plan saying it is 3/4, but it is actually 3/8"). This is the digital "sketch" that went to the Water Jet shop for a quote (accompanied by an Auto-Cad file)

 

Looks good, but make sure you won't bang your head on the lowered roof. This job must be costing serious money !

 

It would cost serious money if I wasn't doing most all of the work myself! Just for clarification, the roof is only coming down around 2.5 inches. Even if I did bang my head, there is nothing there to hurt anyway! hehehe

 

So, I now have the gauges removed from the XJ6 to integrate into my new dash design for the Mark V. If someone knows how to remove the retainer/bezel rings, please let me know (I will be painting them British Racing Green, and applying decals to give it more of a "retro" look. Also, does anyone know of a nice small clock (like a Smiths or Jaeger) that would work for this dash? I've been searching ebay and not had much luck (unless I want to spend over $200.00, which I DON'T!)

 

A long time since I had early XJ6 instruments apart but if I recall correctly the outer bezel needs to be twisted anti clockwise to release it from the body and is a very tight fit because of the rubber seal. (the trip reset on the speedometer unscrews)

Graham

 

Thanks Graham. Just tried it with the little gauges with no luck (since they were sitting next to me). I'll try it with the speedo and tach later today.

 

More progress. The XJ6 is almost entirely dis-assembled now except the suspension and engine. I am a bit behind schedule as I thought I would have the engine removed by now, but removing all the parts has taken a very long time. My hope is to recover the cost of the Donor car via parts sales, which should be entirely possible since my investment in the car in the first place was only $800 (with only 72,000 original miles!);

 

I love seeing the progress--looks like a lot of work and a lot of fun

 

Yep, it is a lot of fun, but it has been miserably hot here in So. Cal. That makes it a little "less" fun for sure. But I love the sense of forward momentum and accomplishment!

 

New Gauge Face Designs!

I just spent 2 days designing these gauge faces to replace the graphics on the stock XJ6 gauges. I went with a design that I feel represents the era and spirit of the car. I am also preparing a design which will be on a pearl white face, with black characters. I'll post those soon.

Here are the stock gauges,



And after (the new designs);

 

Outstanding Cybersib..........lovin the new gauges.

Please keep it coming

 

Cybersib,

They look excellent. I particularly like the font and kerning you've chosen for the smaller gauges.

Did you get the gauges apart yet?

Graham