Looks great Ray, I have scanned over your thread again, we have indeed tread a very similar path, I'm a way off putting the engine back in, but on the front suspension at the moment, nearly done, then onto the rear axle.

Keep up the fab work.

 

Not posted for a while as I am still living in Germany and car is currently in England. Anyway now got engine running and hopefully will take out for a drive in December 2018, the first time the car will be on the road for at least 12 years!!!

wish me luck

 

Wonderful job! Man am I pleased that my car had a totally rust free body!

 

Impressive job... My hat's off to you, truly!

 

HI Ray,

What jig did you use?

Thanks Grant

 

Grant

Did not use a jig just used the dimensions in the handbook and fitted items to check ie front wheel sub frame.

Ray

 

Car is now complete and has a UK MOT

Ray

 

 

I bought one online for about 60 pounds and it was ok as you had to assemble it yourself

 

 

Good evening Ray, digging up this post from a few years ago. Hope your Jag is running well. It's a very interesting thread, and this (along with a few other notable threads on here) is an inspiration to those of us who are in the middle, or in my case at the beginning, of a restoration themselves. One thing that you briefly mentioned was that you used the brakes from a Volvo 240 as an upgrade on the front. I'm really interested in putting some more modern 'safety related' components in my build, and was wondering if you could share some more information about the model/year you used, and how they have been performing since you completed your project. Regards, Steve

 

Unless you are going to do some track days or racing where the brakes are going to get really hot or your going to tow a caravan down some steep hills or you are going to drive stupidly fast on the public highway or put really sticky wide tyres on your pristine classic Jaguar you would be wasting your time upgrading the brakes. My S Type has the original Girling front brakes but I have added an uprated servo and if I put my foot hard down on the brakes I can lock the fronts up quite easily. They are big heavy cars but I find at the speeds I drive the brakes are more than adequate.
If you are spending money on upgrading the fronts you will have to upgrade the backs as well to keep the balance and if I was to do it to keep the car as original as I could I would possibly go for the front brakes from a 420 Jaguar. Slightly bigger pads and calipers on the fronts but a straight forward swap and they are Jaguar.

 

Hi Cass. I have no intention of doing any of those things. I will be simply be using for sociable and pleasurable driving, no high speeds and certainly no track days. I was only considering a brake upgrade to bring the car up to modern standards, and in a few threads (including this one) I've heard mention that the standard brakes are a little poor. Along with the fact that my car came without one of the front calipers, so I have to make a purchase anyway. What upgraded servo did you go for? Completing the brakes is a fair way off yet for me, so I'll give it some thought and do a bit more research. How do others find the standard brakes (mine's a Daimler V8 250) in general driving conditions?

 

If you are just driving like Miss Daisy on a Sunday to car shows the standard brakes, well maintained, are more than capable. For the 1960s the Jaguar brakes were way ahead of their times. Most 60s car were still running on drums all around. I often drive my friends Alvis with drums and you have to drive with anticipation whereas my S Type stops when I tell it to. I am not saying they are fantastic compared with modern brakes with bigger discs, more surface area on the pads and anti lock systems but they do the job they were designed for and do it well.
I upgraded my brake servo as the old one had a leak. SNG were offering an original standard 3:1 ratio servo rebuilt exchange unit or for an extra £5 at the time I could buy the upgraded 4.25:1 ratio brand new no exchange required unit. Made sense to go for the upgrade and the larger ratio unit means I do not have to stamp so hard on the pedal to get the same results.

 

LOL....Driving Like Miss Daisy! Well, that's probably not too far from the truth. As long as the brakes are good enough, then I may well leave them as they are. I will obviously be giving them a total overhaul so they should have the same stopping power as when they were new.