The priority this evening was taking care of a sick dog, but I was able to get an hour in the garage.

First up was mounting the 10 micron fuel filter to the chassis rail.


I also spent some time cleaning up wiring that is no longer needed, like the power feed to the overdrive switch on the automatic transmission that now lives in Iowa. I also started scouting good locations to mount the engine computer and accessory fuse panel.

 

Tonight was a fun night in the garage. I got the aluminum mounts for the accessories and start roughing out the alignment.



The black triangle between the AC compressor and alternator is one of the proof-of-concept brackets I re-purposed to keep things from flopping around.
I will use heim joints when I have everything lined up.


For some reason aluminum spacers are ridiculously expensive so I will buy some aluminum rod and create my own.
I am waiting for a part for my lathe but I hope to be able to start making them this weekend.


I also had SendCutSend cut a set of exhaust flanges out of 3/8" thick 304 stainless steel. These will last forever and are thick enough to never warp.


Next up was mounting the 14" Spal fan 30102042. 1,800 CFM at 17 amps will keep things cool.


I did a quick test to see how well it performed.

Last up was the fuel surge tank. Here it is out of the box.


I removed the lid and flipped it over. You can see the holders for the fuel pump as well as the connection points.


Here are the pumps wired and plumbed before I tighten up the bracket and reassemble.

 

My wife was under the weather yesterday and today so I kept most of today's activities indoors so I could keep her company. I started by cracking open the 4" thick factory service manual with wire diagrams. This is the second time I have been down this road so I pulled up the spreadsheet I made for my last project that lists all the circuits required to make the LT1 run.



After that I brought the engine wire harness inside and started removing the factory tape and corrugated plastic cover. I have several circuits that are no longer needed so I will trim the wire harness down.


After that I laid the harness over the engine to make sure I was happy with where things lined up.


I also decided on the harness cover I was going to use. I am not a fan of the corrugated plastic cover but the black fabric looks at home.

 

I worked on several different items today, including starting to wrap the engine wire harness.


I also threw the transmission tunnel cover in the sand blaster and sprayed it with some 2k paint. Then I put some more rust conversion paint on the floorboards. The floors had gotten wet at some point and had a light coat of surface rust; this will protect it from worsening.


Next I spent some time mounting the ignition coil and the ignition control module. The coil is mounted on the front alternator bracket.


It's hard to see the ignition control module but it is mounted to the back side of the front alternator bracket. There is an aluminum heat sink between the module and the alternator bracket; mounting it this way instead of on the cylinder head will allow the entire bracket to act as a heat sink.


With the warmer weather Dad has been busy refinishing the wood. This is the dashboard section on the left side of the car; the steering column fits through the upside-down U and the automatic transmission gear selector goes through the hole above that. To the left is the door to the glove box.


Dad refinished the glove box door today. We also talked about the round hole for the automatic transmission gear shift lever. Since I am converting to a manual transmission I don't need the hole in the dash. I thought about putting a clock there but decided at the end of the day I'd rather have nothing. Dad made a plug to fill the hole and will veneer the whole piece. I'm not sure if he is planning on veneering the door but I think he will need to so the grain matches. I'll ask him tonight.


The rest of the day was spent on smaller tasks, like plugging all the holes in the firewall and mounting the bulkhead fittings for the AC lines. I had hoped to start plumbing the fuel system today but before I can do anything I need some hose for the fuel filler scuttle drains.

 

That refurbished wood looks Wonderful!
(';')

 

Tonight I needed to find what size belt I needed to order. To do that I needed to get the AC compressor and alternator close to their final positions.
For the AC, we have an adjustable rod with heim joints on each end.


For the alternator, I have a rod going from the top of the AC compressor to the alternator. I don't love this and will likely change this to a smaller vertical rod very similar to what is holding up the compressor.


I don't love it but it was good enough to get me a measurement. I measured 70.6" around all 3 pulleys. Convert that to millimeters (1793), round it up (1795), then search for 6PK1795 at RockAuto. 6pk is the preface for a 6-rib pulley.


I can order that and move on to the next item on the list.

 

Work has been super busy this week but I left early this afternoon and spent some time in the garage. I wanted to finish the spacers for the alternator and AC compressor adjusters. Here you can see the AC compressor all together.



I custom cut most of the spacers so I had the exact right length. I am pretty happy with how it turned out.


With all the bolts tightened, there is absolutely no motion - both the alternator and the AC compressor are rock solid with no movement. The belt comes tomorrow so I can see how well I measured.


After that it was more clean-up of wiring. I wired the brake lights to the new switch on the brake bias adjuster and removed all the wiring for the Davies Craig water pump controller I used on the XK engine. I also ran a new fused & switched wire to the front of the car for the electric water pump on the LT1. I have a few more things to clean up like the high beam switch. The clutch pedal is where the original high beam switch was so I need to see what my options are for something mounted under the dash.

 

Maybe use an XJ signal switch/lever assy? hi beams on the stalk... cruise button too

 

It's not a bad idea but the Mark VII has a steel tube for the steering column and no elegant way to mount something like that.

 

I had a busy day in the garage, mostly around wiring. I added an "always hot" fuse panel under the dash for a couple of circuits on the new engine. I also found a spot for the LT1 engine computer and a new spot for my PWM radiator fan controller. I also got both fuel tanks tucked back into the rear wings and have them bolted down.

I pulled the AC condenser and start thinking about how I was going to mount it to the radiator and run the refrigerant lines.


My new 6pk1765 belt arrived and it is a perfect fit. The tensioners are very easy to adjust and I am happy with how this turned out.

 

No pictures today although it was a very busy day.
First up was the annual Chicagoland MG Club parts swap meet. I almost picked up a set of Lucas fog lights for the Jaguar but decided I had more pressing needs. I did drive the MGB for the first time this year and ended up putting almost 50 miles on her today.

After that I boxed up the engine computer for the LT1 and FedEx'ed it to Missouri. There is a guy there that can re-program it to remove the VATS/security feature as well as options I won't be using like the cooling fans. The VATS removal is important but removing the other items is more to keep the computer happy.

Next up was tightening up the steering coupling, reinstalling the horn/turn-signal manette, and rewiring the horns and turn signals. I also spent some time looking for a turn signal flasher that has a Pilot Light terminal so the "TRF" trafficator light on the dashboard will light up when the turn signals are on. Absolutely not needed and probably not worth the $ I spent on the flasher unit but I thought it was cool.

Finally, I did a little more wire cleanup in the engine bay. This time was wrapping the wires for the windshield wipers - it's much easier to do when you can stand in the engine bay.

Aside from that I am waiting for the last shipment of wire harness loom so I can finish up the wire bundle that goes across the firewall as well as the engine wire harness. After that I think I will be ready to put the engine back in.

 

So I was hoping that my experience would be different but I feel like I am being strung along.
On December 28, 2025 I confirmed the 4-5 week turn-around time.
On December 31 2025 I confirmed what color leather and stitching I wanted and Fed-Ex'ed the original covers to them consisting of 13 pieces.
On January 6 2026 the package arrived.
February 10 was the 5 week milestone but I did not email them as I was going to give them more time.
On February 27 I check in and was told they are "almost done".
On March 9 I check in and was told "We will try to complete it tomorrow".
On March 16 (today) I check in and have not heard anything back.

I can't stand being strung along so I decided to keep an eye on ebay for a set of modern Jaguar seats that might fit the part. I like the idea of something like this but these are only 10 miles away from me. I'll let this play out a while longer but having options takes off some of the pressure.

 

In all fairness, this picture was sitting in my inbox this morning.

 

Looks like they just may have gotten busy, great news.

 

The focus tonight was wiring. I finished wire-looming the existing wires in the engine compartment and am pretty happy with how it turned out.


Then I got serious about the wiring for the new engine. First was mounting a 6 panel fuse box in the engine bay.


Next up was the 5 wiring harness connectors for the engine. About half of the wires are to bring power to the computer to run things like the injectors and heated o2 sensors. The rest of the circuits are things like an RPM signal to the tach, a 12 volt signal for the AC, etc.


After that I replaced the parking brake cable that runs from the engine bay to the center of the car. I had noticed there was a slight hitch in releasing the cable and it was never going to be any easier to address that now with the engine out of the way. I used a universal cable and am happy to report that the parking brake engages securely and releases easily.

The goal for this weekend is to have all the wiring complete so that I can put the engine back in the car.

 

Today's update is purely cosmetic but I think it's a great look.
When I bought the car it had wide whitewall tires but they were at least 10 years old and hard as a rock. I replaced them with modern radial tires as I felt the ride quality would be improved over my other options. But I still longed for the wide whitewall tire look.
I finally picked up a set of 16x3" Portawalls and I am very happy with the look. I am curious to see how they hold up especially at 75+ mph but we will find that out in time. For now, I think I will just enjoy the classy look.


For reference, here is what it looked like when I bought it, with (what I assume are) bias-ply white walls.


And here is what it looked like with black wall radial tires.

 

Love the wide whitewalls, Thomas!

I will be anxious to learn how the Portawalls hold up because I have looked at them for my S-Type.

Cheers,

Don

 

My excitement for the whitewalls lasted until I put some weight on the tire and the edge of the whitewall lifted up.



I also did some more research and someone said these were really made for driving around town and were not suited for 75+mph highway runs. Since I'll be doing a lot of 75+mph highway runs I am starting to think these aren't a good fit for me.

I do have another brand on the way and we'll see how those look but I suspect both sets are going back and I'll be back to blackwall tires.

 

hi Thomas,
I think diamond back molds the white wall onto the existing tire. White wall do make the cat standout.

Cheers,
Bob

 

Naa, those Wide white walls are Absolutely Period Correct.
Car looks a bit, um, Naked with just black wall radials!
Those make it look Way Beyond Classy!
Perfect Choice, even if your first try hasn't worked out.
(';')