Las Vegas 3.8S project
 

Wow! Shipwrights disease is rampant! I started out to convert the ratty front suspension to PAS rack and pinion. That's stalled at the moment because I hate the wiring offered from the supplier. I'll work through that.

At the same time, I had to fix the rear brakes where the exhaust pipe has fallen and after a few minutes of driving started lock the brakes on. Simple enough, eh?

But, as the car is laid up I might as well get Madera Concepts to do the wood right? That's coming out just now.

While the rear suspension is dropped I'm going to replace the AC hoses with modern barrier hose so as to use 134A.

I'm good at managing projects, love the juggling to keep all moving forward BUT;

I am not gonna consider paint, less considerate of replacing the ratty leather and will only address the crumbly rubber as required.

Yeah, he says.....:icon_angel:

There is a lot involved to restore these Jags but it is worth it in the end. Madera Concepts does very impressive woodwork. The wood really is a hidden big expense but to me is one of the key aspects that makes these cars unique and cool. I know what you mean I went into upholstery with the intent of just painting the seats and putting new door panels/carpets but to do it right and last I went ahead and splurged and had all new leather on all seats and it was worth it.


Steve we will be shaking my car down next week but I think it will take the next few weeks right before my first schedule weekend drive on 9/20 to get her tuned enough for the drive to Yosemite. The last minor bits seem to take forever! but I am sure it will be worth all the effort and hope you will be at that stage soon...

WooHoo!



Or maybe "are you freakin nuts?"


I just committed to an interior kit from BAS AND have all the wood ready to package for Madera to do the reveneer. Looks like I'm gonna have one hell of a pretty nonrunner. Oh, also ordered the SNG Barratt rubber kit.

The rear diff assembly is on the ground with new rubbers on order as well as a front diff seal. It truly appears to be the first time it's been out so lots of archeology ahead.

Again, I swear! (hope) I'll not get sucked into paint as I want to drive this again in my lifetime!:icon_wink:

Steve,


It's only money, now you cannot take it with you so my suggestion is splurge like I did on the seats and paint it the color you want

Las Vegas 3.8S project
 

Come on Steve,
It is just a little paint! Well there is the blasting, the zinc phosphate, the primer, the bodywork, and etc. :-)

Lin

Having placed the order I'm now fretting on the headliner replacement. This is about the only job that frightens me. I'll likely be doing it alone.

Anybody seen any good postings or guides for this important project?

Hmmm, better order a case of upholstery adhesive.....:icon_wink:

I would recommend that you get an upholsterer or someone experienced to install the head liner.
I ordered mine as kit from XK's at the time _ it was sewn and ready to go in.
The rear windshield has to come out so the headliner can be ticked in around the rubber _ so with that said a new rear window seal is a good idea.
A new one will be pliable and clean, the old one will be oxidized stiff and dirty.


When the old headliner is removed, most times there will be a thin film of rust on the underside of the car.
You will want to deal with some how, so the rust doesn't flake off and come in contact with the mew headliner.


If you get the headliner form a proper supplier it will be wool English broad cloth as it should be. I shouldn't have to say not to use "tacky" velour.
There's nothing worse then finding an old British car with modern materials in it.


Oh... don't forget the mohair welting around the doors...


************************************************** **********


EDIT
Sorry, I forgot that you're talking about a 3.8S _ totally different animal.
I was going to delete this post, but one of the mods will have to do it.

Two clocks, one from the S and one from the E leaving for Mike Eck's tomorrow for his crystal upgrade. I've never seen a working auto clock in my life so this will be a new experience....:icon_headbang:


In addition, I was waiting until the rear suspension was out to start specifying the AC hose replacement so I gotta get on that this weekend. I'm thinking to pull out the old hose (though I hate that approach) to measure it before I order the Oh So Precious barrier hose. I'll make a point of puttting each halfassed hose clamp back into place so I'll at least be near original.

I wanted to replace the six foot runs of hose with hard tubing but it seems no one on the Internet comprehends that concept. Oh well, we just gotta keep moving forward. Like a shark?

Steve

Clocks away, Wood away, deposit sent for interior, gettin' busy here....:icon_user:

Las Vegas 3.8 project
 

Steve,
Not half as busy as your gonna be when you get all that stuff back!
Lin

I also agree that for interior work to use a professional. In my area I found a great shop, Super Auto Upholstery and they like many other good quality shops often do a surprising amount of jobs where the owner tried to do the interior via some kit only to find that the kits never fit right and a lot of the work is beyond most people. I think interior is like the wood, you can do it yourself but it often looks like a DYI job and not as often looks as good a shops like you are using.

More intrigue daily...

I just dropped out the two long AC hoses so as to order modern barrier hose replacment. The evaporator in the boot seems to be made up of TWO seperate evaporators with T's and hoses interconnecting. Also got a good pic of a pristine Coolaire serial number plate. If anyone cares...

But in the process I found the capillary tube temp control cut in half about midway so who knows what effect that had on the AC.

I'm about to order a laser etched duplicate of the foil Coolaire control plate stuck onto the center console. I'm 50-50 about putting it back in the same spot. With a nice plate it could work but the crap mylar decal does not!

I see the factory service manual has no instructions regarding headlining removal/replacement.

Is this another way of them saying "Do not try this at home":icon_wink:

16' of Dash 6 and Dash 10 hose BTW. I'll buy twenty feet of the -6 for connecting the condenser and drier. Fittings list is to follow so someone else will have information before they start. Kind of like Lin is doing with the lamps:icon_arrow:

OK, movin' along. AC hoses on order all the other bits mentioned above progressing so now I turn my attention to this monster, greasy, complex hulk of the rear.

I've done two of these before, long complex projects in their own right. This time I don't have the lifting, cleaning and support structures I've had before to do this heavy work.

Is there a trick to remove just the rear brakes for rebuild and leave the rest intact?

I mean really, how many years do I have left? The factory stuff is easily up to my remaining lifespan? Again, this is a repair, not a restoration (I keep saying, I keep saying):icon_nut:

Never mind....I knew the answer all along. The bottom plate is off as we speak.:icon_crackup:

GRRRRR....taking more things apart to move forward! Trying to replace the condenser from the front isn't working so it looks like the rad has to come out. Damn it, I want to move forward, not ever backwards!

My back and hair are full of antifreeze at the moment so maybe that's making me grumpy....

Las Vegas 3.8S project
 

I hate brake fluid and anti freeze!
Lin

While the rad is out I took the opportunity to replace the ragged and chipped Flex-o-lite fan I had. This is how I reduced the depth of the blades to clear the AC pulleys. This is what I do at night when I should be sleeping. That and annoying sleepy barmaids......

In addition I've started fitting the new R-134A condenser. Despite being virtually identical dimensionally to the original it seems to fit the space much better. I want to build a respectable mounting as this one is totally alloy and shouldn't have to support the big electric fan on it's own.

In addition, as the rad is OUT, I'm pondering attempting a proper shroud in alloy. I've got the tools if I can find the skill.


[IMG]http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...psf965cfd4.jpg[/IMG]

Just placed an order to have the original AC control plaque redone in 1/8" alloy. The original is a thin foil piece glued to the leather console. Pretty cheesy when new but the 40 years have really hurt it. Can't wait to see the result. If the piece is as nice as I expect I'm thinking to put it back in the same spot. Opinions Please....

Attachment 157103


While I was there I asked about reproducing the round black switch plinths on our dashes. I want one to read "CHOKE" for the switch I use in place of the thermal switch. They said "no problem" so I'll take a sample down when I go next.;)

Damn! It seems there's a bit of -8 hose between the compressor and the condensor. I'll have to spec that when I order all of the fittings.

My twenty feet of -6 and -10 R134 hose arrived and is now installed. Twenty feet is way too much but 1 inch short is way too little.

Wizard rad is on order as I found major fin damage on mine when I pulled it out. I know it was a freshly rebuilt rad and I know the stock fan is bent up and laying in a corner so I assume the two are related. I have no recollection of an event however? Getting old is really a mixed blessing....

I've been on vacation for the last week and devoted it to the rear brakes. After ditthering for days on moving the giant rear end I finally broke down and started disassembling where it lay. That got me down to just the diff assembly and I was really stuck how to deal with that. After a while I hoisted it with a fixed engine hoist and bolted it to an engine stand. Voila! I can work on it. Where I was initially concerned the diff was dry, as there were no leaks, it has more than compensated since I've rolled it around.

Inspecting the internals went well as the gears looked good and I discovered I had a powerLok 3.79 diff {49/13}.

Finally got to the entire point of this megaDollar excercise, I had to fix a dragging left rear brake. After a few miles it would get hot and seize the brakes.

I found the left side caliper pucks glued in place with old fluid and the big side seals burnt to a crisp from dragging. I won't pull the other side until I get this one reassembled and back in place but I suspect I'll find similar.

When complete we can start reassembling this car for the 2020 driving season....

As an aside, I've been driving the 69 E-Type lately, so sweet even in it's so worn state:icon_bike:

Turns out the other side caliper was burnt up even worse! Semi metallic pads crumbled when I pulled them out? All better now and the rear is 99% reassembled. I have to fab one brakeline tomorrow as I cut it with wirecutters during disseembly.

Should have the thing rollable again this weekend.

Madera concepts shipped my wood Monday or Tuesday so that's a big move forward.

Last weekend I finalized the new condenser mounts and that's in with a solidly mounted fan. Gotta sort out the drier/trinary switch as well as mount a bigass trans cooler with fan in the front of the fenderwell. The Alloy rad guys forgot to give me a trans cooler so I have to go this extra step.

Also, starting to cave in to my beautiful bartender friend, I'm starting to think it needs painting while it's apart.....:icon_hide:

Wow, freakin Wow! I got my wood back from Madera and I'm flabbergasted. I've only unwrapped the center dash piece so far but that one piece is astounding. It's thicker and glossier than I expected and the color is darker and more gray than I expected but that's not complaining. That's just a quibble. If BAS sends back seats anywhere near the quality of Madera's work I'm going to have way more than I deserve.

And with that, I'm coming around to the idea that I must repaint this ostrich egg surface to be worthy of the interior....

Dammit, you all knew this was coming didn't ya?:icon_dunce:

Las Vegas 3.8S project
 

Congrats. happy to hear that the wood turned out so well.

Lin

Steve,


You only live once. I have seen the quality of Madera Concepts and they are one of the best so you cannot have a show quality wood interior with a old paint job :) go for it!


I was almost going to paint the leather but when you go that far it was well worth the extra money to redo all of my interior with new leather and I was able to get it at a very reasonable price at Super Auto Upholstery and never regretted it.


I am glad you had a quality company do the wood. I was lucky to have a friend whom used to do high end automotive wood. I have seen some people try to do the wood themselves and it never is close to the level of places like Madera Concepts and the wood on a Jaguar is one of the distinctive areas people look at.

Hushmat and Dynamat extreme????
 

Hmmm...With the rear assembly bolted back in I'm poking around the interior formulating the next steps.

The headliner is a mess but I'm loathe to disturb it. Even more so, I'm scared of attempting repair of the rotten window seal. Is new glass even available for these cars?

But the real question...I bought a big box of Hushmat when I started clearing out the interior. I was surprised to get sheets of 1/8" thick rubber sound deadening material. OK that'll help with noise but I need insulation so I ordered a box of the famous Dynamat extreme. Ummm, another box of the same material arrives. Now I'm confused.

Do I reuse the old smelly jute pads or is there yet another product I need to be buying to get that seamlessly perfect foil floor all the websites illustrate? Or is this black rubber stuff the magic to keep Las Vegas asphalt heat outside the floors?:icon_dunce:

Hmmm, looks like I need to send many more hundreds to Dynamat and get their Dynaliner to go on top of the Dynamat....

Steve,


The glass is available so definitely put a new headliner or have an upholstery shop do that for you. XK's Unlimited sells the new glass both tinted and non-tinted.


I used that liquid sound deadener paint then I applied Dynamat over it and the car is very quiet. What I recommend is to add extra layers of Dynamat and/or any special version for heat on the firewall. When you stuff a decent horsepower V8, etc. and with the close and tight fit of the headers you will find the firewall and the steering column can get a lot of heat that can warm the interior.

Las Vegas 3.8S project Reply to Thread
 

Hi Steve,
Rack and pinion linkage:

I had looked in the Jaguar Forums for the part numbers with no luck, but I just waded through the archives on the archaic Saloon Lovers sight and found the following:

Borgeson Universal Co.
1- 409418 3/4'' DD Shaft, 18'' long $25.00
1- 409536 1'' DD Tube, 36'' long $46.71
1- 034937 Vibration Ujoint, Steel, 3/4''DD x 3/4''-48 $116.03
1- 015237 Ujoint, 1'' DD x 3/4''-48 $ 79.71
TOTAL $267.45 PLUS SHIPPING

I think this came from Richard Oliphant. Are these the parts that you ordered and did you find them to work or did you have to make adjustments?

Thanks so much!

Lin

That configuration seems to be perfect. Would've bought a straight shaft but I like the sliding shaft config. I probably have enough of one of the pieces to set you up, one of them is a long piece of stock. I'll have to look and jog my memory on Friday...

Las Veags 3.8S project
 

Thank you Steve!
Is it painted yet? 😀
Lin

Not for quite a while yet...

An out-of-work buddy of mine has been commissioned to do the prep work. This could turn a bit uncomfortable before it's over. I know he knows his stuff but I'm a bit worried our expectations and levels of prep may differ.There's a lot of "ostrich egg" surface where the original paint and primer let go and was simply sprayed over. All of that must go to bare metal or it will be back in a year.
Beyond that, he's a big fan of basecoat/clearcoat whilst I don't trust it at all.

We'll see how things develop:icon_wink:

Everything in my garage has a thin coat of yellow upon it

Bodies looking pretty good though. This guy is good and is quickly dealing with major problem areas. I came home last night to discover a nice right rear flank where there were big ripples. Turns out he'd mixed some of my lovely glasurit high build primer and shot a bunch of the right side. In the flourescent lights it looked identical but today in the sun I can see where he primed. Very pleased so far....:icon_arrow:

Kennard's back this morning assaulting some of the problem areas. The guy is amazing. We're thinking we'll be buying paint next weekend. I'm leaning toward either my old standby Centari for an ordinary job but I have enough Glasurit products left over to justify that expense. I've got a week to stew on it but I'm thinking Glasso just now. A bit scary, he's been shooting the Glasso yellow high build primer without hardener. It seems OK so far but I broke out the Glasurit manual and showed him the half gallon of hardener....

I'm having a real problem getting the Pale Primrose for my 1966
car. Something with lead in the toners.

Does anyone have the formula for this color in Dupont?? Or a
source of decent quality paint in this color?

Any leads appreciated

Steve

Resolved...Ordered a gallon of Glasso to be available in two weeks.

Attachment 156214

This is where we are at the moment... High build primer is on , prepped and waiting for the glasurit 22 to come to America. nOT DOING bc/cc CONFUSED THEM BUT THEY QUICKLY DID THE MATH SO i GOT MY WAY goldderned capslock!!!!!!!!

I wish I could destroy that button

WooHoo!!!

We may be spraying Pale Primrose tomorrow. Thursday afternoon the paint finally arrived so I opened it and did a dab on the lid as I always do. I was VERY disappointed and wondered why I'd spent so much money and so much effort for THAT?

Friday morning my friend came over and said "let's do the jambs". He's a real painter so I'm following his lead....


Wow, Freakin Wow!

While it still looks like it belongs in a kitchen instead of my Jag, it looks Awesome in the small applications. Tomorrow we'll see the rest:icon_beerchug:

Las Vegas 3.8S project
 

Good luck. I am sure it wil turn out great!
Lin

Whoooo, it didn't.

My 700$ a gallon Glasurit is rife with orange peel and a few runs. I should've done it myself. At least then I could've discounted the results as my own ignorance. And indeed, it was my own ignorance,

Now I have tons of sanding, what I wanted to avoid, and then respray a color coat. I hate orangepeel.

Right off the bat I was alarmed as he didn't do a tack coat, simply sprayed heavy onto a 2x2 foot area and then moved on. I figured it was just something I didn't know and watched.

Thankfully I still have a half gallon of paint so I can fix this......

Live and learn:icon_pimp:






And now, many hours later it still looks bad but not as horrific as I first thought. It is still settling or maybe I'm just getting used to it.

I can fix this. It's immensely better than before and the color is actually pretty nice. Ideal for a sunny kitchen but it works on the Jag. Much better than the cadillac yellow that was on it. I'm gonna be very happy in a few months.


Now I've gotta start looking hard for a 3.8 head........

doh!

I've gotta drop the rear end again for a bad brake line. I'll try to just change it but I suspect the bottom of the nut will be flared now from tightening attempts. It,s the long one from the T to the passenger side caliper. I am cautiously optimistic...

Happy Boxing Day...!

I have to say the paint is coming up great. Kennard really knows what he's doing. It's not gonna be concours but I never asked for that nor am I paying for such perfection. We're doing great.

I'd post a pic but I'm limited to my apple prod.ucts these days and don't yet know how. Easy, I'll bet....