Paint is complete on the 66 "S" Type. I didn't want to do it but now I'm glad I did. Chrome is going back on slowly. Now if I could just get something from BAS Jaguar Interiors. It seems like they've been at it forever but I know I didn't ship the seats until September:icon_rolleyes:

Patience............

Las Vegas 3.8S project
 

Looking great Steve! Progress.
Lin

I mentioned earlier that I was pondering something dramatic with the parking lights using modern bits. Last week I found a Halo Fog light assembly that would fit the hole and bought it.

Playing around with it tonight I'm very impressed. Now I know what a halo light is;-))

I'll have to cut the recessed portion of the parking lamp to fit these and I'll warrant they'll be obsolete well before the stock lamps but, so will I....

I'll play with them some more this weekend and post a pic. Steve

The car looks wonderful! Good on ya!

Below is a link to the lights I bought. I'm thinking now to remove the high intensity fog lamp and replace it with a conventional lamp for less intensity than the 55W fog lamp. Don't know yet.


I may have mentioned this before But,


Years ago, for some unknown reason, I was driving a new Cadillac. At one point I was startled when two red eyes appeared in the rear view mirror. This was about the time of " Amityville Horror" so those two red eyes were fresh in my mind! Turns out they were fiberoptic cables to the brake lights to ensure they were operational.


Long story short, I've bought some cable to replicate that system on this car. When the headliner comes out I'll figure out how to incorporate the indicator end....




Welcome to Extreme Dimensions :: Inventory Item :: Fog Lights - Small - 2 Piece

Steve,


You still have to do some cutting of the body right to make these fit? I have been looking into replacing these but my body shop said that all of the ones I found and the ones they researched required body modifications. Let me know it these will replace the stock 3.8s without mods or if so what is needed.

Yes, the recessed hole has to be opened up to put these in. I'm not real enthusiastic about that but it's easily rectified if I want to go back to stock.

But then...I bet I can modify the cheapy lamps easily and not affect the body, thanx for that prompt....

taillight to body gaskets??
 

I'm working on the rear taillights this week. I've done a bifurcated fiberoptic line to bring a taillight indication as cadillacs have. It's viable but I'm stuck right now finding the chrome body to body foams for these cars.

I am looking for some 3/8" black foam to cut them but I wonder if anyone has a source? I can't find them frommthe usual vendors...

Found the perfect size and density foam to use for these taillight gaskets. After several hours of careful cutting and trimming to fit, the tailights are reinstalled. Only to find new factory cut films a half hour later, in the wrong box!

A corollary to that, I've been fettling the rear bumper for fit these past two weekends. Accident damage was repaired in the past but poorly aligned before welding brackets into place. The final stage yesterday required I find the 3/8" cage nuts for the flank brackets. I was pleased to find them readily at Fastenal and ordered ten for the price of the four from a major supplier. I'm so pleased with myself after placing the order I put the bumper away and go to another project. Fitting lights on the front. And what's the first thing I spot? Missing cagenuts for the parking lamps!. Doh! Another order and another $8.00 for shipping:icon_laugh:

And finally, BAS is shipping my interior kit this week so the tension should ratchet up soon. Will keep you informed....

the fog / auxiliary light buckets in the 1963-1968 S type are 5.25" in diameter compared with the 4.25" diameter of the MK-2. Is the S type the better car or what?

I had a pair if spot lights custom made by Rock Browning of RetroAir / Mr. Jaguar. They have 100 watt bulbs each and they can "convince" any jerk on the road to lower their high beams, including truckers who think they own the road.

go to your local Joann's Fabrics and to their Crafts Dept. and you can find the right foam sheets in various thicknesses and colors. Please do not use the Hot Pink for the gaskets. Yellow would be nice.

Just an update, random thoughts.

The rear bumper has been quite a challenge as it's been cut and rewelded in the past, presumably to accomodate body damage???? I can't see the issue but the left rear rubber mount was MUCH too tall for a fit. After many attempts modifying the original bits to fit I machined a 1/2" aluminum plate to match the mounting pattern. This with a 1/8" piece of rubber is the new left rear mount allowing all of the others to align and fit well.

The front bumper had similar issues but a bit of fettling made it go back in properly.

The interior kit supplier (big famous name) is still being distant and obtuse. I trust the work will be beautiful when it finally arrives but their customer service and communications is abysmal.:icon_deadhorse:

Todays effort is the front white marker lights. I'm probably NOT going to use the halo lights and fogs as delivered by the small kit mentioned above. Today I'm looking at fitting the 55 Watt fogs into the original glass marker lights and run them with the headlights. 25 new 6-32 cage nuts are on the way to replace the originals. I'll have lot's of extras when you guys face that.

I still have to redrop the rear suspension to fix the cracked brake pipe. Dreading that but I've got to get it soon to get the rear exhaust back on and off the floor. If the interior ever shows up I'm gonna need every extra inch of space.

The taillight fiber optics looks like it's gonna be good.

Ooh, gotta order a couple more little plastic inserts for the rearmost chrome spear on the drivers side.....

Seeya, Steve in Vegas

well that didn't work! The standard 6-32 cage nut fts a 1/2" square hole versus the 1/4" square hole we require. So far no luck finding those. Anybody know of a solution? I mean, I can make it work but it would be much more kosher to find the small cage nuts required.

Anybody know any scrap cars for small parts?

Steve,


FYI, I just installed 2 3/8" PIA lamps into the stock hole. I did not cut anything but had to remove the chrome trim piece so that I could adjust the lamp up/down left/right as needed. These are brighter than my headlights and make driving at night so much nicer! Even though there is a gap between the lamp and the hole you really do not notice it.

Hmmm, That sounds nicer than the cheapy chineese haloes I bought. Do you have a pic?

Steve I just posted pics of these lights and a bunch of other pics of the completed Jag on my 3.8 sleeper posting. check it out

WooHoo! Spent the day yesterday replacing the bad rear brake pipe. It was an epic battle cuz the bends are so tight but I made some tools, cursed, drank, fought and twisted stuff but now the rear is hanging again on it's new mounts. AND I've got good brake when pumped. So bleeding should provide satisfaction.

Somewhere during the period the rear was out the brand new side supports for the mufflers sheared and dropped the system. So much for the crap we get nowadays.

As well as that, I bought a set of the driving lights Primaz recommended and one of them went like a flashcube when powered up:icon_confused: You gotta laugh, I don't think this car wants to be modified. I'll call the vendor Monday and see if there's any warranty:icon_snow:

Nonetheless, things are slowly progressing. Still NOTHING from the upholsterer a month after full payment. Worst customer service I've ever seen. There's a bunch of work I could progress on if I had the door welting but that's in limbo.

I saw a nice underhood insulation kit in an XK's flyer the other day. A bit pricey IMHO but I may go for it. I want Louvers but I don't think that's gonna happen. Reality sucks sometimes.....

I need to buy a cheapy can of black spraypaint to touch up some overspray in the fenderwells. That doesn't seem that hard but it never comes to the front when I'm in a store, LOL.

So it's a happy and hopeful Saturday AM in Vegas, we'll get some more done today

OK! Got the first of the interior kit from BAS Jaguar today! Very impressive and quite startlingly beautiful. My old stuff was all weathered and worn to appear a dark blue. The new stuff sparkles! Nothing a month in the Mojave desert can't mute.

I think my first attack must be the headliner. There's a bunch of damage to the rear boards from the bad rear window seal that will have to be dealt with. This will be a new and precious learning experience.

The rest will be fiddly and time consuming but we're at last embarking upon reassembly:icon_sultan:


We need some kinf of rubber "paint" to fill and smooth over the cracked natural rubber on these cars.

would be nice if you documented the headliner disassembly and reassembly in the S type.
(pictures and video).

there is a "sealer" sold on tv, I forget the name, but it is a liquid rubber spray which looks to be appropiate for rubber seals.

I remember that spray stuff! It actually works in a few applications, I wonder about this one??

To the point, Headlining!

I'm carefully removing and photographing bits so as to reveal the actual headlining.

Do I recall correctly that this 3.8S headliner is secured to a thin shell or is it glued to the roof? I think I detect a very thin fiberglass shell at the left rear edge I have exposed so far....

some headliners were glued directly to the roof, some were glued to a fiberglass pad.