Thorsen
That brake backplate looks astonishingly good.
As to the fuel, I do not like the look of that, definitely been crushed/twisted, short pipe braised into the feed pipe of the float chamber. Worth a careful look, maybe it is actually OK?

 

Your eyes must be better than mine, Greg! I saw that and thought someone just gorilla-wrenched it and tweaked it, so I went back out and took a close up picture. It looks like it was probably leaking at some point and there was an attempt to "fix" it.



That looks like a glob of JB Weld and while that will hold up to gasoline, it's not the quality of repair I am comfortable with.


I have two new M16.5 banjo adapters on the way. Nice find Greg - thank you!

 

Well, I hope to shout, considering what we've seen of your work!
It's a wonder they didn't try Duct Tape......
(';')

 

Today was one of those days where nothing goes right. The banjo adapters I found for the carbs were close but a couple thousands of an inch too small. Back to the drawing board on that.


I cleaned up the front wheel hub and was getting ready to press in the new bearing races when I realized they were not close at all. The races and bearings that came on the care are the Timken brand and cross-referenced to a Mark IX. So I ordered up a new set.


Furthermore, my shipment from SNG got delayed and I'm not getting the last valve adjustment ship and head gasket needed to put the engine back together. I know when I am beat so I spent the rest of the afternoon in front of the sand blaster cleaning up parts and prepping them for reassembly.

 

Today was a long day in the garage but we have a couple of victories to celebrate.

First, I got the rebuild kit for the wheel cylinders and finished rebuilding both on the front left wheel.


Then I pulled out my roll of cunifer brake line and made a new line from the hose the the lower wheel cylinder, and a line from the lower wheel cylinder to the top one.
If you remember when I pulled this apart, the line from the lower to top wheel cylinder was plumbed into the bottom port of the lower wheel cylinder. I felt this would make bleeding difficult so I moved it.


I'm still waiting on wheel bearing but the drum is back on to save space in the garage.


After that, I decided there was no better time to address the lack of space for the AC compressor than right now before the head goes back on. So I cut a 6" x 6" hole in the inner fender.


Using some sheet metal, I started fabricating a bump out for extra room.


Testing to make sure this gives me enough room...


After welding it up and a couple coats of black paint it's hard to tell there was a modification. I need to pick up some seam sealer but this should give me enough room to mount the AC compressor.


By them the UPS man delivered the last of the valve shims and the head gasket, so I finished assembling the head. After that I reinstalled, adjust the valve timing, and buttoned everything back up.


The starting fluid was mostly empty, but it was enough to get the engine to run for half a second. I'm convinced this is the most the engine has run in the last 20 years.

Tomorrow I'll fill up the fuel bowls with some gas and try a longer run.

 

Exciting to hear it run, even so briefly! Can't wait to hear a longer test run!

Cheers,

Don

 

This morning I put a couple ounces of fuel in each float bowl and started her up. This is without the starting carburetor wired up and I was pleased to see how eager it was to come to life.
There are no fuel tanks, fuel pumps, or fuel lines right now so it only runs a few seconds. Also remember the exhaust system is more of a concept so it's pretty loud.

After satisfying myself that the engine can run, I resumed working through the list. To address the fuel line to the carbs I picked up a pair of 3/8" British Pipe thread to 6an adapters.


These thread into the float bowl lids and are a perfect replacement for the banjo bolts. From here I can use standard 6an hoses to connect the carbs to the rest of the fuel system that only exists as a concept right now.


I wore myself out in the heat yesterday so I tried to stay inside today. A few weeks back I picked up the under-dash AC unit and haven't had a chance to look at it. It's a decent sized unit with two twin blowers on the back. This should provide plenty of cold air inside the car.


I like how the louvers rotate.


I also started testing the layout of the new gauges.


I stayed in my office most of the afternoon working on the water pump project. I decided to go with the Davies Craig electric water pump and controller. I'm not doing it for any performance gains or because I think it will be more reliable than the Jaguar pump; I'm doing it to free up 2.5" of space between the front of the engine and the back of the radiator.

For things to work the way I want need them to, I need to remove the water pump and fit a plate to the opening in the block where the water pump lives. Once I do that I will weld a -16 bung to that plate and plumb the water pump through that.

To make taking measurements easier, I spent $2 and got a new water pump gasket.


I'm no engineer, but I know enough to be dangerous in AutoDesk.


It took me 4 tries designing the prototypes and 3d printing before I was happy with the positioning of the holes. I still need to tweak the top half-moon and the farthest left edge but I am very close to a final product.


I still need to decide what I am going to have SendCutSend make these from. 316 Stainless steel would be about $35 each. Mild steel would be about $20 and would be the closest match to what the block is made from which will limit thermal expansion concerns. 6061 aluminum would be about $20 each but I'd have to worry about it expanding more than the block. It would also be the hardest to weld. None of the options are budget busters and it's not a decision that has to be made now.

 

She defnitely sounds eager!

I love that A/C unit - anxious to hear how well it works.

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Thomas,
I'm know you know this but the water pump bolts up to the timing cover which is aluminum and not the block.

You sure work fast! What blasting media do you use in your blasting cabinet? What the brand of hydraulic A/C hose crimper do you use?
Thanks,

 

Good point, Bob. That makes my decision easier!

I use Black Blast for steel parts, mainly due to availability and cost. For aluminum I empty the blast cabinet into a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with glass beads.

To crimp AC hoses, I use . It's not expensive and is easy to use even if the hose in still on the car.

 

Thorsen
That engine sounds really nice when you revved it a touch. Congrats on that.
What make is that under dash unit, it looks really smart?

 

It's just a generic under-dash unit I found on eBay. What sets this one apart from most generic under dash systems like this is that the one I have doubles up on the fans. I tested it out yesterday and it moves a significant amount of air. I don't see it struggling to keep the cabin cool.

 

Thomas,
I'm Fascinated that your clean surface of choice is Priority Mailing sleeves, by the Dozen apparently.
No. Stinkin'. Chance. any errant foreign matter gets into your project!

Engine sounds downright snarly. No mufflers will do that.

 

Ha! I buy bags of terry cloth towels that come 60 to a pack. My rough measure of the size of a project is how many packs of towels I have to buy. I started with 2 packs and thought that would last me through the entire project. I was sorely mistaken as I am now up to 5 packs or 300 towels.

 

Thanks Thomas!
Have A GREAT WEEK!

 

Tonight the focus was on putting the left rear axle and brakes back together. The rebuilt wheel cylinder and brake adjuster went back onto the brake backing plate.


I got interrupted by a neighbor who wanted to check my progress, but I was able to put the left rear brakes back together, get the wheel hub back on, and put a tire on so I could check clearance to the fender skirt.


I gave myself a goal of being able to push it into the driveway and wash it down by mid-July. Today I had the tire shop mount the remaining tires so I am good there; the only item standing in my way is the left front wheel bearings which should be here this week. It would also be nice to clean out the garage because this project has been something else.

 

I decided I was not happy with the plate, so I put the water pump gasket on my scanner, turned it into a JPEG image, and imported it into AutoDesk. I made sure that it was scaled correctly but now I had a template that showed the exact size, shape, and location of the holes that I needed to replicate.



Once I was satisfied I printed it at .25" thick. This will let me check the clearance of the radiator/fan and determine the best routing for hoses before I commit to having one cut from aluminum.

 

Great work, as usual, Thomas!

Do you have an owned version of AutoDesk or do you have to pay a subscription?

Cheers,

Don

 

I use the "for personal use" version which is free. But I am not allowed to sell what I produce using it. So I give the designs away for free which is what I would do anyway. I'm not here to make a profit, I just want to learn and share with others.

Thomas

 

Hi Thomas,
Just a thought, you may want to ask the Coventry Foundation if Jaguar did anything special to the MK IX when A/C was added. Jaguar NA designed an A/C system for the MK IX and all the cars afterwords including the series I E-type. That could help prevent any cooling issues and/or blown core plugs. My understanding is that the cooling system is designed for a 3-4 lbs rad cap.