So I live in Townsville, which is a tropical city in Australia. It's about 1300kms away from the nearest capital city and it's surrounded by various farming enterprises including sugar can and cattle grazing.

About 70km away from Townsville is a little one horse town called Brandon. If you're driving south you cannot miss it as the highway goes straight through. I noticed a little Wolseley 15/60 sitting in a shed on the way past one day and decided it would be a good first project. I normally do motorcycles as I have a limited budget.

Anyway, for $500 I picked up Wilbur Wolseley and it looks like a nice little car. Now a little bit further along the road you come to two towns very close together, Home Hill and Ayr. They are very much sugar cane farming communities and most jobs are related to the sugar mill. My wife hadn't seen the Wols in the flesh, so we decided to drive down and just say hello. That done, we noticed an ad on Gumtree for an S-Type Jag in Home Hill for $3500. It's the 3.4L straight 6 auto.

We called the owner and managed to find the car as street addresses are open to interpretation a little. They were an older couple who had bought the jag 10 years prior to do up, but time and money got away. They are now planning on doing other things in their later years, so the jag needed to go. It's been sitting in a shed for all that time. The car has 14000 kms/miles on it and it looks very original.

The only problem is that at some point, someone has taken the head off to inspect the valves and not put it back on. As a result, the cylinders have a bit of rust on them and the pistons look a bit dirty. Likewise the radiator inlet looks pretty feral too, so who knows how badly it's gummed up. All the parts however are in the boot and it looks like it should be possible to get it back on the road. Cleaning and sorting out the good from bad is going to probably become expensive, but we'll see how things go.

Now my wife and I are not Jag purists - not even car people really, but we know a good looking car when we see it. In fact, we never thought we could possibly own such a nice looking vintage car for not a lot of money (so far). We are very excited to have the opportunity to have this piece of history in the shed.

No doubt I'll be picking your brains for information. I've included photos in my intro thread (as all good forum citizens do). Can't wait to get it delivered to our house in the coming weeks. Good times!

 

Looks like lots of fun ahead.
Might as well do the engine right and overhaul it.
You can either overbore it with bigger pistons or sleeve the bores and go back to standard.
Don't just hone the bores with new rings, that leads to piston slap and excessive "blow-by".
I'm sure the valves need doing too _ get it done correctly at a machine shop, just don't "lap" the valves in.

What's the interior like ?
Can the leather just be fed or is it cracked and torn _ or just about to go ?

Wood ???

Secondary systems _ generator _ brakes _ steering _ suspension... ???

Any car that has sat that long will probably (most certainly) need a brake overhaul.

There will be lots of advice here when it comes to brakes.

When the engine is out, now's the time to "detail" the engine bay.
Take lots of photos and either clean up or replace all the bits as they go back in.

If it does only have 14,000 km's on it, you can probably just get away with an oil change in the trans and the rear end.

If the trans is an "auto" it may be a good idea to have it serviced.

Almost forgot, the independent rear end has the in-board disc brakes.
The seals on the rear end should be replaced to keep the oil from getting all over the rotors.
They're probably quite hard by now.

EDIT:
It's an automatic, should be serviced and the linkage to the actuator on the trans will need to be disassembled and cleaned.

Paint looks a little tired but not too bad, I wonder of you could get away with a good buffing compound and a wax _ if no rust.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/n...0/#post1492929

 

Thanks JeffR1.

I was leaning towards the 'do it right the first time' with the engine. We might not have this as a daily driver as such, but we certainly want to drive decent distances with it and it to be mostly reliable on said trips. I think an oversize would be my preferred option. We might register it as a wedding/hire car when it's back up to shiny, so having done some good work on the engine will be money well spent.

Interior is actually really good. The seats have no tears and the leather is still pretty supple. Might need some precautionary feeding, but otherwise it's quite good. The dash and woodgrain seems to be in good nick as well. Seems to be a little starring on the steering wheel plastic bit, but gauges etc are all OK.

I have a good relationship with a local brake guy who will probably be the best option. I don't know if the brakes work at the moment, but will probably fit stainless hoses if I can get away with that. I'll locate some seals and advise the brake guy.

 

Maybe you can just get away with feeding new brake fluid through.
What happens is that the bores on the calipers become rusted and seized from the some-what "imperfect" Dunlop brakes.
The brake servo can leak internally and the engine (in severe cases) sucks up brake fluid with bellowing clouds of white smoke when the fluid is burned.

If it comes to this, it's easier just to install a new unit rather then rebuilding the old one, but you can rebuild the old one if you want.
If you get someone to do the brakes, the it will be less expensive to get a new servo unit.

See this thread for tire info.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...e-size-116157/

I eventually spent some money and went with these from Longstone Tyres.

Set of 4 180HR15 Michelin XAS | Longstone Tyres

However, you're in Australia, so there would be 185/80R15 van/trailer tires available.
You should be able to find some where the side wall and tread are not too modern at a fraction of the cost of the Michelin's.

 

OK, so I touched base with the local Jag group and they've been pretty helpful so far. One of the gents suggested instead of spending potentially big money on cleaning and assembling the 3.4L engine, I could just pop in another engine. One of the members has a 4.2L out of an XJ of some description, but we are still determining price.

Apparently the engines were practically the same in dimensions, though the 4.2 has a longer stroke. It sounds like a good idea as I can then take my time getting the 3.4 sorted in the meantime if I ever want to make it original again in the future. I can also direct funds to get rubbers sorted and probably a new radiator. I am new to auto transmissions, but it seems that a service is just changing the fluid and filter and seems pretty straightforward.

The guys have a workshop too, not sure if its a formal business or a shed on steroids.

Can't wait for the weekend to make a space for it and get it delivered!

 

There is so many different ways you can go about getting it running.

I think what you do is set yourself a budget and a timeframe.

If you have a week and unlimited budget like some car TV show, buy everything new and be done with it, but I think thats not the case here.

So it seems the driveline is the main issue from sitting for so long opened up and unused, and brakes are an area you cant skimp on, or shouldn't.

How much work can you do yourself? Have access to tools and space to strip the car down for a while or do you have to outsource your work?

I'd be at first trying to bleed the brakes, on the off chance you might get pedal feel back, however usually after 10 years of no use, things like master cylinder seals, caliper piston seals and brake hoses start to perish and/or go hard, possibly budget in either replacing all seals and caliper rebuilds or upgrading parts to more modern equivalents.
Jaguar XJ6 rear calipers bolt up and are a more modern design. Same as front setups too, the upgrade vs a rebuild of the original stuff will probably cost about the same.

Again, this depends on how much of the work you outsource or do yourself.

As for the motor, remember that it was pulled down for a reason, and factor in that you are unsure of why it was pulled down.

It could have been a headgasket, or worn valve guides, or even worse, a cracked block, maybe have a quick inspection of the cylinder head as well as the block for any obvious signs of wear or damage, clean the block mounting surface up and inpect for cracks around the head bolt holes.

Sourcing a 4.2 litre XK motor from an XJ6 S1/S2, or an S3 with the EFI swapped for a set of carbs, would probably be the nicer thing to do, mated to a more modern auto as well, would be a very easy swap and probably the cheapest option.

A full motor rebuild very quickly adds up, with machining costs of the block, sourcing new oversized pistons, balancing the roating components, a rebuild of the cylinder head, full gasket kit, bearings, bolts etc again if outsourced, you probably wouldn't see change from $5k at the absolute minimum, doing it yourself would probably set you back $2k, where as a 4.2XK from an XJ6 can be sourced for as little as $500 in a running condition, swap the required parts over to make it fit, I think the sump needs changing and a few other small things, not sure whats required for the auto trans swap though, and then you have a more modern driveline.

 

Well Jenny Jaguar arrived at my place last night and I'm still pretty happy, though I discovered some new issues with a quick going over.



There is a little rust in one of the doors, the rubbers are all perished or missing and weirdly, the steering wheel shaft seems to wobble a bit in the dash. A couple of small dents and cosmetic imperfections round out the picture.

I'll give it a wash on the weekend air it out as is smells like an old man's wardrobe lol. The tyres hold air, but probably not for very long!

 

Looks good and complete.

the wooble at the steering column is normal when the upper and lower horsehair bushes deteriorate. You can replace them with modern bushes made of vinyl. Not a very difficult job to remove the INNER steering column complete with steering wheel after you loosen the pinch bollt at the engine compartment connection and spread the joint apart to release the splined end of the inner column.

make sure you park the car on a flat surface, front wheels straight ahead, and that you mark / SCRIBE the exact position where the splined shaft entered the pinch bolt joint, so the steering wheel will be at the same place when you insert it back after replacing the bushes. The bushes cost under $6.00 US.

Removing the front driver's seat makes the job a lot easier, and removing the upper and lower "nacelles" (plastic covers behind the steering wheel), is necessary to get to the upper bush.

also join the forum at the S type Register:: http://jagstyperegister.com/

 

Horsehair? Mmmm, thats right it was the 60s after all... Good to hear there are cheap replacements.

The father in law and I had a look over it last night. I think the more we looked the more we found, but nothing to weep over. The FIL is really excited as he had a bad experience with car restoration recently and lost his pride and joy to a shady panelbeater. Anyway, he wants to pull the whole thing apart and fix it up again bolt by bolt (which would take a decade on my budget).

I want it serviceable and safe and get it out on the road! You can always paint it later!! Not much point in being in an auto club if it sits in the garage without an engine.

I managed to decode the numbers in the engine bay and it is indeed a 3.4 with the BW auto so nothing extra-special. Once I have the chassis number, I'll put it up on the register.

I've included a pic of the horror lurking inside the engine bay. Hopefully the electrics haven't been eaten somewhere. I pulled a cap of a fuel tank and oh boy, it smells like varnish. They're going to be fun to clean out and treat (POR15 on motorbike tanks has taught me a lot).

 

If you're going to paint it, don't cut corners, nothing looks worse then a hokey paint job.
Remove the front and rear wind shield, trim and do the engine bay etc.
It's one of my pet-peeves is when the rubber windshield seal is simply masked off and you can see where the new paint has met up with it.
The seals probably need replacing anyway, I'm sure they're hard as rocks.

When you put the engine bay back together you can replace all the rotten grommets and paint all the bits that go back in.

It doesn't have to be concours, but there shouldn't be any rusty and dirty surfaces.

I know if you don't take care of the engine bay now, you will regret that you didn't.
The outside will look really great and there will always be this ratty looking bay.

It's very difficult to clean it up with the engine in place.

 

Good point Jeff. It certainly makes sense to do it while there is no engine in there.

The seals have basically gone to plastic. The door and boot rubbers seem to be a little expensive ($350AUD). I wouldn't mind seeing if I can find generic replacements for a local trim store.

 

Look at the complete rubber kit from SNG Barratt. If you are going to end up replacing all the rubber anyway, it might be more cost effective to buy the whole kit. Around $500 US dollars. I have one on the way, so can't comment on it yet, but it seemed like a good idea to me.

 

oh oh!! better get another engine and keep the 3.4 to rebuild later. From others I hear the 3.4 is a "sweeter" running engine than the 3.8. I have driven both and I noticed little or no difference in horsepower. (here again with the horses!!).

FYI: only around 24 thousand S type were made for the entire world Jaguar market between 1963 and 1968, it is a rare Jaguar. Not many left in driving condition, most have been junked / parted out / destroyed. Worth restoring as an investment for the future.

The ride is definitely more refined than a Mark 2, due to the independent rear suspension adapted to the S type from the E-type. Twin tanks, twin exhaust system, roomier interior, reclinable front seats, more elegant dash, and other improvements.

Enjoy the journey!! parts are available and not so expensive.

 

csbush let me know how you go with that rubber kit. I've got the parts catalog down, so I'll have to take a hard look at what needs to get replaced.

The idea is to get it on the road for relatively cheap, and while it is going slowly refurb the engine. Once the engine is sorted, the car will come off the road and get restored to concourse or close to it. My wife and I wanted to make it a wedding/graduation car so that we could use it and also make a little money on the side. We'll see what happens. I hear that you can get airconditioning setups for these older cars. The tropics are pretty unforgiving in summer, so it might be worth investigating too.

 

Since you have taken the engine apart, etc. what I would recommend is remove the engine/trans, trim, and paint the entire car if you can afford it and then reinstall what you have and get it running then upgrade it slowly.


If painting the entire car is out of our budget then I would still recommend to take everything out of the engine bay, including the trans, driveline, and gas tank, basically most of the undercarriage and then scrape the bottom, and try to get it to bare metal, then use the POR-15 metal prep and POR-15 the undercarriage and engine bay then reinstall it and getting it running.


This way you can do engine upgrades slowly without needing the strip the engine bay again. You can always paint the exterior easier than the undercarriage and engine bay as those require a lot of items to be removed and during that time the car is not a driver. Right now it is not running so you should do the undercarriage and engine bay while it is not running as the other things can always be done while keeping it a driver...

 

It'll still be a long time in coming on the road, but instead of just putting another 6 in it, should I just go a V8? I've always wanted a V8 lol. I notice Primaz has a LS1 in his.... much work mate?

 

This should fit!

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=j...CrO5qrmQ9dA%3D

 

Why not just rebuild the engine that is in there? If you have the parts missing from the picture, why not pull the engine, dis assemble it, get a machine/engine shop to refurbish the bottom end and the head, and put it all back together. It would seem to be the cheapest route by far (unless someone is willing to give you that 4.2 you mentioned) and you will have the satisfaction of doing it yourself. Going any other route will get very expensive fast as it is never "just the engine" as you have to upgrade the transmission, drive train, probably the rear end, brakes, cooling system, electronics, etc ,etc. No reason you can't do it later- and you won't be out that much if you decide to go that route.
By the way, the rubber kit has most everything I need for the whole car, and for a complete restoration, I would highly recommend it.

 

Doing an engine swap is always a lot of work. Thus if you are on a limited budget than I would not recommend it as these are the old sedans where there are no V8 kits, etc. so you will always run into some things that need custom solutions. My LS1 is a dream ride that is super fast and reliable but if you are not a do it your self person, I would estimate that you can easily spend $20-30K just for the mechanical if not more?


Even if you leave it stock I could see you spending at least the same so remember you own a Jaguar so restoring it or restomoding it is not likely to be cheap no matter your preference.


If you do the modern Jag 6 or an LS swap and do the car right with new full paint job, interior, suspension, brakes,, etc. you may spend $30 to $65K or a tad higher but when you are done it would be better than a new luxury car that would likely be about the same or higher in price. Thus if you compare the cost of a new BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Lexus then the cost of investing the money to a classic car is well worth it. You will get a better more unique car but most likely if you do it to a high standard the cost would be a wash.


For rubber use this
You searched for door seal - Classic Motor Cars


DO NOT use the stock rubber kits and I definitely would NEVER use XK's Unlimited for parts as they sold me a kit that had the wrong pieces and they provided the worst service I have experienced which cost me over $750 in labor and wasted rubber door seals.

 

Thanks for the ideas. After posting my original question, I did a lot more research and yes, it does seem to be an expensive route to take with a V8 etc. I'll definitely stick with the XJ6 engine swap for the time being.

Hopefully after October 13 I can concentrate on my bikes and cars as I'll no longer be studying AND working full time lol. I'll probably refurb the Wolseley first as that will allow me to get some general DIY experience with car bits and it's by no means a piece of motoring history lol (might even take my engine swapping shenanigans out on that!).

Counting down the days