You're telling me! It's shocking how much dirt was on there, but I'd hate to have black seatbelts that would hide the dirt.

Just about to dash outside and fit the front under tray.

 

That is why I like my brown belts... They don't look dirty. But they also aren't dirty Regular wipe down with a damp cloth and done... I've had the interior in pieces and cleaned all the belts before... "Fun" job

 

Looking great Stu keep it going.

 

Thanks!
The latest news is that yesterday I took her for an MOT test and she passed! So now she is fully street legal. I needed this so I'm able to drive her to my parents house 25 miles away where the rest of my tools are and I'm able to work on flat ground. My drive is sloped so it's dangerous to try and put a car on stands on such an incline. Also the guy I use for transmissions is near my parents house, so there's another reason.

Driving my XJ to the MOT station was an interesting journey. Yesterday we had Ice, Snow, Rain, Wind, Clear Skies, Sun, More Rain, Sun, Even More Rain then Sun again. But in the middle of all that my freshly painted, highly waxed XJ was shining like a new diamond amongst all the other traffic. The MOT inspector was very impressed with the car too.

The wheels go off to be refurbished on the 13th March and then she'll really look the business!

 

I guess that is worth a big congratulations for the most vocal x308 lover on this forum, well done Stu!
But do you know this thread is low on updated pictures?

 

Well, truth be told the MOT station wouldn't let me take a picture of the car at their station, paranoid I think. But yesterday I took the car on a 40 mile round trip as I had to visit my doctor, she ran well and it was nice to be back behind the wheel of a 308.

I'll be taking some photos Sunday hopefully when I've given her a wash outside.

 

I've not driven my XJ since the last post I made as I'm trying to keep the mileage down until I've had the gearbox serviced and the modified valve fitted. Then try and get me out of the thing!!

But on Saturday I took the car up to a family friend's farm where he has a barn used as his race shop. It's normally used for building racing cars, but he lets me use the ramp when I need it. So I gave my Jag a nice service with fresh oil, plugs and air filter.

The oil I used was Castrol 5W30 Magnatec, OEM Oil filter and a Fram air filter. The plugs fitted were Bosch Super 4's which I've used in a variety of my cars with great results. They have 4 electrodes on them.

My Buddy helped me out on the day and in addition to the service the Throttle Body was cleaned, Full and Part Load Breathers cleaned out as well as the MAF Sensor. We were going to change the Thermostat tower for the aluminium one, but it was discovered I've been provided with the incorrect thermostat so I'm holding off until I have the correct Thermostat.

Yesterday I took the wheels off the car and placed her on 2 space savers at the rear and stands at the front. This morning I took the wheels to the place that's going to be doing the refurbishment and will be getting them back on Wednesday hopefully. After spending 20 minutes studying colour swatches and trying them in different lights, I've chosen a nice shade of silver which will hopefully make the wheels "pop". They'll look better than the amateur attempt at painting them the previous owner made anyway.

 

That'll be little ol me Stu's car looks better than the photo's suggest, a credit to him - pity it's a 3.2 lol!!!

 

Nice to see forum members helping each other.
Stu's car must be a jewel once finished, and surely has one of the most vocal x308 loving owners, can't wait to see the final result.

 

Yes, Sean and I met through this very forum when he offered to help me fit a tow bar to my original XJ. He lives in the same area as me, we've had some interesting adventures and projects since then.

Anyway, I went to fetch my wheels from the refurbishment place today. I'm very pleased with them!! They've been acid dipped twice to remove the original finish and all the crap the previous owner piled on top. They've had 6 coats of primer and 6 coats of paint, and it was cured in a proper paint shop oven. I came home and fitted them straight to my car, I'm impressed. The finishing touches were polishing the wheel nuts and fitting brand new wheel centres from Jaguar. They sparkle in the sun now instead of looking permanently dirty.

She's going in to have her gearbox serviced on Monday. New filter, fluid and pan gasket. She's also having the modified Transgo valve fitted. Then I'm taking her on a long drive!!

 

Stu, those wheels look awesome after treatment.

Please take your camera on your trip next time, and post some real good pictures of your car, I will be more than happy to look at them after all work you have done so far!

 

I dropped the car off last Monday afternoon at my mechanic and I picked her up on Thursday morning after she'd had fresh fluid, new filter and the Transgo valve installed. I drove the car home via my parent's house and she drives a lot nicer now. I've not put my foot down yet, I'm allowing time for things to bed in. To be honest, I've not had the inclination to put my foot down since owning this car, I've got nothing to prove so I don't feel the need to hoon around everywhere like modern Audi drivers do.

I took a photo of the car on my parent's driveway for ericjansan, I've not had a chance to get out on a drive yet as I mentioned in a previous post.

Today was the first day of daylight savings, I decided to tidy up my garage a bit and sort out my X308 spares. I had wanted to do the thermostat tower on the XJ, but I wasn't in the mood for that truth be told. I just replaced the thermostat for now, I'll do the tower in a few weeks when I have to drop the oil pan off and replace the leaking gasket. Grr.

 

Stu, although not too much can be seen, that car looks GREAT!

Beautiful on those rims, love the concave design, flows beautiful with the rest of the car lines, especially on the rear.
Now I hope you found the exhaust tips when you were sorting your stuff yesterday

Job well done!

 

I just knew you'd notice I'm running round without exhaust tips on the car, but there is a reason for that. The OEM tips that came with the car were rotten and oval, two things that irritate me. There is a plan in place for the exhaust tips, but I'm not made of money so it'll have to hang on a couple of weeks.

Don't worry though, I'll have everything looking as it should by the time I go to Belgium in May and then I'll have many photos for you. The last shot was taken as a quick pic through the window, although once the tips aspect is sorted I'll take her to a more scenic area and take some snaps.

 

Car is looking great. Quick question, why did you choose to use those plugs and not OEM Iridium the car calls for?

 

Good Question, one that a lot of people are probably wondering about.

Well basically I don't like NGK products and I prefer Bosch or Champion plugs and ignition products. I've used them since I had my first car and I've never had an issue.

 

I've tried telling him

 

See it this was Stu, NGK basically ONLY make spark plugs. So their main competence is spark plugs.


Bosch makes everything. So their main competence isn't spark plugs


My 3.2l has some Beru plugs which I don't like. As soon as I have the chance, they will be changed to NGK irridiums. Best plugs possible. My V12 only gets NGKs too. Even Jaguar only uses NGK (the original plugs for my V8 was NGK as well).


For me: NGK all day!


Btw.: try not to use your car too long with the old valve in it. The valve causes the A drum death... I waited too long

 

The old valve in the gear box is long gone and the Transgo replacement is in. I'm still running it all in, a bit of mechanical sympathy on my part. Some may say it's unnecessary, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Jaguar only fit NGK plugs to the cars because they clearly have a good deal going on, like sponsorship almost. I'm sure that if Bosch or Champion had offered a better deal they would've gone with them. That's why Renault recommends Elf lubricants and Ford are advocating BP fuels, they have a deal.

I'll use what I prefer, hence why I don't fit the noisy Pirelli Tyres or use a old fashioned style wiper when, Bosch again, produces a far superior retro fit flat blade. I used these Bosch plugs in my 4.0 engine for 50,000 miles and they did their job perfectly well.

Moving back onto the subject of the renovation project, she's doing ok. I used her all weekend for a few things and it was great. I gave her a two bucket wash yesterday with Auto Glym Shampoo and finished off with Auto Glym Aqua Wax. She's currently sat underneath her cover out the sunlight whilst she waits for her next journey.

 

Brand is one thing and I get we all may have our preference, but what I am saying why not stick with the same type of plug like Iridium vs using inferior plugs that isn't correct for this engine?