Girl in a million, Thorsen!

nerd that I am, I think the turn/flash/brake relay design is fantastic.

 

Thomas, that's because, she KNOWS where you are and what you're doing, EVERY. WAKING. MINUTE!
(';')

 

Today I had a special guest star in the garage. Dad has been itching to do some work on the Jaguar so him and Mom drove up today. He wasn't here 30 minutes before he had changed his clothes and was in the garage.



Dad had a great idea of bundling all the wires that run to the rear of the car and running them as a package. It was much easier to do with two people.


Before we stopped for dinner we had wired up the full brake light & rear turn signals as well as the rear tail lights. In this picture the brake lights are lit but we also tested all combinations of turn signals and brake lights.


I also picked up my freshly sealed gas tanks today. The plan is to install them but wait until at least next weekend before pouring any gas in.

 

As opposed to the Front tail lights?

 

Only one picture today; Dad had me working too hard. All lights are hooked up except for the right headlight. I ran out of wire but more should be here Monday.

We got the radiator filled with antifreeze and tomorrow we test out the water pump. I'm curious to see how loud it is.

I assume the cool little jewel indicators on top of the fender light are to tell you if your turn signal is on. It's a neat little detail.

 

I think they are there to tell you the sidelights are on, and to facilitate knowing where the corners of the car are at night.

 

Today was a shorter day in the garage. Mom and Dad had to head back home but this morning we got the electric water pump hooked up. I was curious to see how loud it would be and the answer is that it is very quiet. You will never hear it over a running engine.

Dad had so much fun working on the car this weekend he asked if he could take a few pieces of wood trim home so he could try his hand at restoring it. I was more than happy to let him try his hand; we will see how he does.

Finally, I looked at the fuel tanks and started scouting locations in the trunk for the fuel pumps. I like using AN hoses and lines for the fuel system but I could not match the compression fitting on the tank to an AN adapter. I cut the original line, cleaned it, put on a tube nut and sleeve, then put a 37° AN flare on it. Now one end is a compression fitting that will connect to the tank (left end) and the other end is a -6 AN fitting (right end).

 

Nice looking flare, what tool did you use for that?

 

@slofut I use . It works very well but I only use it for 37 flares. I have a better tool for double flares on brake lines.

There are the tube nuts and tube sleeves you have to make sure you put on before the flare.

 

Tonight was busy but productive. I started off with completing the headlight re-wiring. With the exception of the license plate light and the front fog lights, I have completed the wiring of lights. I also wired up the horn and the PWM fan controller.



The end of the wiring is in sight. In addition to the fog lights and license plate lamp, I still need to wire up both fuel pumps and both fuel tank senders. Apart from that I think I am done.

I did try out the dash lights tonight. This is a view of the gauge panel with the purple factory lights on.


This is a view with the purple factory lights off and the integral Speedhut gauge lights on.


This is a view of both the factory purple lights on and the Speedhut gauge lights on.


If I compare my to-do list with the calendar, I am getting very close to an engine start and test drive.

 

Ithink that this commbo loks fanatsic:


A story: back in about 1964 or 5 when I was still at school, agd about 16, I had a school debate to go to at another school at the edge of town, so I thumbed a lift and got picked up by guy in a either a Mark VII or Mark IX; but anyway that style of model. It was nearly dark and it had this wonderful wash of purple dashlights and looked fantastic! Never forgoten.

 

I agree with you Greg. It's the right mix of ambience and the ability to easily read the gauges.

 

Nice vid to keep you motivated...

​​​​​​

 

By my count, I am 6 wires away from being done with the wiring: 5 for the windshield wiper and 1 for the fog lights. The fog lights are a tentative at the moment; when I pulled apart the housings to clean the contacts I found that one of the fog lights was mostly missing. After pricing out a new set of Lucas post-style fog lights I decided to see if I could make the ones I had work. More on that later.

Tonight I did the wiring for the fuel pumps and fuel level senders, but left the tail end of the wires coiled in the trunk until tomorrow when I start plumbing up the tanks. I calibrated the new tach to read correctly for a 6 cylinder engine, and I took advantage of the fuel level senders being out of the car to calibrate the new fuel level gauge to the senders.

I also found a light holder and bulb that would work in the license plate lamp.


Tomorrow I'll run the 5 wires for the windshield wiper motor and start running fuel lines. I have fuel lines in place from the mid-point of the car to the carbs. I just need to go from the tanks, through the fuel pumps, to connect to the mid-point of the car. If I am lucky and have the correct fittings on hand it's feasible that this weekend I have a car that will run on it's own, without a jerry can of gas as a fuel tank and the garden hose as a cooling system.

 

It's been a busy 2 days.

Other than the fuel pumps and tanks, the wiring is done. I got the fog lights working but I think my switch is bad because turning on the fogs turns off all the other lights. It's not a deal breaker since I'll likely never need the fogs anyway.



Tonight I got the new fuel senders installed in both tanks and put both tanks back home in the fenders. There was a small struggle to get the new filler hose in place but I prevailed.
According to the manual you can open the fuel filler lid and remove 4 screws securing the filler to the body, then lift the filler up and out of the way. I spent 30 minutes looking for the 4 screws but I never found them.


In the picture above and the one below you can see I started plumbing the left hand tank. I'm using a -6 aluminum line to go from the tank outlet to the front of the trunk.
From there I have a manual fuel **** off valve in the event I need to service a pump, a 100 micron strainer, then the pump (which is not hooked up yet).

I'm not sure I love the fuel pumps at the front of the trunk but there was not enough room near the tanks themselves.


With the wiring complete I reassembled the dash. I need to remember how the slide out drawer attaches and put all the wires in their clips, but it feels good to make some serious progress here.
If anyone knows how the center drawer attaches please let me know


To celebrate the (mostly) end of the wiring, I put the passenger fender mirror on. I had delayed doing that as it would interfere with me laying across the fender and into the engine bay.


300 miles to the south, Dad is working hard on the two wood pieces he took home.


He was happy that he was able to restore the original burl and started asking when I could bring the rest of the wood down



If I can get the fuel system plumbed up tomorrow I stand an excellent chance of being able to do a test run Saturday morning. Once I'm sure the transmission fluid level is correct and the water pump and cooling fans are doing their jobs, it will be time for my first drive.

 

Your dad does Excellent work! That's Stunning!
(';')

 

Very Nice work Dad! Thomas you're so lucky that your dad is around to help, I lost my dad when I was in my early 20's. My 20's are in the distance past.

Oh by the way Thomas, you nice work too!

Have a great weekend everyone,
Bob

 

Turning the foglights on on a MK2 turns off the main lights so your car is probably the same.

 

Today was a super busy day but I was on a mission and didn't stop for pictures.

I was able to plumb up both fuel tanks, wire the pumps and level senders, and put about 8 gallons of fuel in the left tank. After priming the pump I had a steady stream of fuel being delivered to the carbs.

I had to add 6 more quarts of ATF to get the level on the stick where I wanted it but now we are good.

Next up was running the engine to test the electric water pump and fan. I have the set temp on the pump controller at 178 degrees and while today was a humid and modest 88 degree day, the gauge stayed right at 178 for a constant 15 minutes. The after-run is a nice feature as it continues to circulate water through the engine for a few minutes after shut down.



Dad sent me a picture of where he is on the wood with a message "Can't wait to get all the other pieces to work on".


If the rain holds off for tomorrow I will be able to get my test drive in the books and see what needs attention.

 

It's been 125 days, buckets of sweat, a handful of cuts that made me say "should I go to the ER?", and a healthy dose of fiscal irresponsibility - but I now have a Jaguar that runs and drives.



I put about 10 miles on her today, just feeling her out and seeing where she needs some attention. I'm pretty happy with where she is right now - the exhaust sounds perfect and she drives very well. I was impressed with the manual steering box - it has a great feel - and while I did not think it was too heavy I can see why the world went to power steering.


I crushed the wire for the GPS antenna, so I need to pick up one of those. I'm also getting some alternator belt squeal so I am going to try adding some pre-tension to the belt. I'm hoping I didn't get a dud alternator. I also have an exhaust leak I need to attend to. The torque converter needs a dust shield before it sucks a squirrel off the road, and I had a few leaks that disappeared when I tightened up some bolts. I also want to re-bleed the brakes as it has a slight pull to the left when the brakes are initially applied.