Jagboi that's perfect - thanks - I located the spot welds where I removed the original bracket for installing the passenger air bag.

Jeff, thanks for posting the links. I see the veneering process has been thoroughly covered in another forum so I won't duplicate things. I will post some pics when the panels are finished. That dash top is gorgeous - is that British Autowood's work? It sets a high bar but we should be able to come close.

The wiring's almost done - included a shot of the box that houses the engine ECU - a far cry from the high voltage coil and low voltage points leads it takes to fire an original Mark 2 - not sure if this is progress...

 

Yes British Autowood.
British Autowood > Dashboards

There's no reason why you can't duplicate that and beyond.
We have something that they don't; time.
We don't have customers breathing down our neck wondering when their wood work will be done.

What other forum did you go to for the veneering process ?
Would you please post a link ?
I'm always interested in what others are doing.

 

attached is a picture of where the release cable goes into the firewall. I can't say if this is correct or not, as you can see the condition of the car... The picture is taken from the right side of the car. That is the right hood hinge in the foreground. The cable is just to the right of the battery.

 

This is a picture of the hood release taken from underneath with the grill removed. Obviously the cable is broken, but you can see where it came from to the far left of the photo.

 

I'm in need of another favor. Can someone jack a front corner and tell me the distance from the top of the fender opening to the hub center with the wheel in the full drop position and resting on the bump stop? I lost the bump stops that limit the downward suspension travel when I modified the turrets, and realize this is probably an important element to restore (not that I plan to get airborne with the beast). I'm measuring about 17 inches where I think the stops were located. Many thanks.

 

On my 66 S Type it measures 19 1/4". As far as I know the front suspensions are identical between Mk 2 and S Type. Mine is completely stock.

 

The new bump stops went in without any problems - simply a matter of welding a perch onto what was left of the turret and using spacers to raise the stock stop on the upper control arm to get the proper drop - not too pretty but works well.

Here are a couple of pics of some aftermarket parts that exceeded expectations - both from XKs in CA. The LED tail lights are very bright - I was concerned the multiple elements might look like a carnival going down the road - but from any distance they're simply one bright light - anything to prevent getting rear ended is a good thing. The hood insulation is a heavy foam covered in a dimpled vinyl - really nice quality and fit - not for the show boys but should help cut down on engine noise.

Hoping to finish some miscellaneous items in the next week or two to get the beast fired up - really anxious to see if the darn thing works. Wish me luck.

 

you don't need bump stops with coilover shocks

 

Just waiting on a couple of items before adding fluids and firing the beast. One of the coolant clips on the overflow tank was broken during disassembly, and after the o-ring debacle I refuse to purchase an entire replacement line from the dealer. Also trying to find the proper sized tubing to connect the intake plenum at the throttle body - it measures just over 3 1/4" diameter and I can't locate any aluminum or plastic tubing that fits properly.

I fabricated a chin scoop that mounts to the forward cross member on the tub - this to force air through the engine compartment at speed. The plan is to install it only if we encounter the heat soak problem that Primaz encountered.

Struggling to find a material and method to close up the forward fender areas that were cut out to accommodate the engine. There are multiple wiring harnesses and fluid lines that pass through these areas, so it won't be easy getting a water tight barrier. I'll have to research bulkhead fittings which I suspect is the best approach, but that's another project in itself. I'm also not pleased with the harness arrangement in the engine compartment, but at this point the priority is to get the beast back on the road.

 

That is a full engine bay! Nice work Doug. Congrats on the progress.
Lin

 

Doug,
you should have been a shoe salesman: you're great with a shoe horn. Sorry, can't resist a bad joke.


Looks great!


I was wondering what the plan was for the removed sections of inner fender. Saw a guy modify a dog house on a van once. He build a frame out of welding wire (the 36" thin kind), then fiber glassed (mat and resin) over his frame.

 

Doug,


Great job!


Looking at your engine bay I would say that it has the same reduced airflow in the engine bay so I highly recommend you use your chin scoop. I think it looks clean and worth it to avoid the car getting stalled in the road. The key to me is to have extra air directed into the engine bay and have increased way for the air to escape after the headers more towards the firewall. I have put over 40,000 on my resto-mod V8 Jaguar as a daily driver which is when these issues pop up..

 

It was a good day in the Dooren garage - make that driveway as the wife insisted we push the beast out before attempting to start her for the first time. We first connected the battery in series with a meter which indicated a nominal draw which was expected with all of the electronics. With the ignition energized (I have to admit I reached through the windshield opening in case one of the damn airbags deployed) there were a few electronic beeps and relay clicks, a barely perceptible hum from the fuel tank (no fuel leaks!), and most importantly no smoke from the many wiring harness modifications. I engaged the starter and the engine cranked fine but no fire - just an Engine Fail Safe message and some error codes including one for Gearbox Fault. I knew the latter was probably a missed plug at the center console shifter, and sure enough with that located and connected the beast fired right up. After 10 or 15 seconds running at just over 1000 rpm the engine dropped down to a rock steady 700 rpm idle. After sitting on the garage floor for 3 years I find that pretty amazing.

It's a little tricky getting all the air out of the cooling system on these engines due to heater and inter cooler circulating pumps and numerous bleed tubes running everywhere. Fortunately the XJR site here has a detailed thread on the procedure - the trick is to bring the engine up to temperature and put a head on the expansion tank with a funnel, keeping it full as the engine cools and draws more coolant in. With the cooling system then closed she came right back up to normal operating temp with no leaks.

A brief run in the driveway to check steering, transmission and brakes - all seem to be working fine. I was worried about bleeding the empty brake system because of the ABS pump, but a simple hand pump pressure bleeder using 15 psi seems to have done the trick as the pedal is rock hard.

You'll notice in the attached pic I have a Restricted Performance message along with some other telltales. I'll have to pull out the OBD2 and start sorting through the fault codes. Not as easy as my last Mark 2 first fire, but I must say this one is a lot more exciting. I had a friend romp on the accelerator while I stood at the back to hear the exhaust note - the blown V8 and straight through mufflers sound amazing - can't wait to get the beast on the street.

I found a nice GPS unit for the center dash panel, and once that's mounted I can finish the interior wood. I need to get the bumpers and exterior trim off to the platers - no idea how long that will take and hate to think what it will cost. Till next time.

 

Congrats Doug! Big day at the Dooren household.
Lin

 

You need to post more pics of the completed car! Don't get frustrated during the first couple of months shaking her down as I am sure a number of little things will come up. Once those are all sorted all of the money and time will be well worth it when you start taking drives in your new Jag!

 

Thanks Lin, Clyde and Z guy (some day we're gonna learn your first name). In the meantime Primaz - you're getting way ahead of me. You are current with pics of the beast. It's essentially a running chassis at this point. Because of all the mechanical and especially electrical mods I didn't want the panels and interior installed before I determined what worked and what needed attention. If I did it right I would have built it to a running state before stripping everything for finishing and final assembly. With everything now working we're down to finishing the wood, interior install, doors, hood and boot lid - doesn't sound like much but I know better. Will keep you posted, and as always thanks for everyone's interest.

 

It's been a busy summer so not much progress to report on the beast. For most things we've touched lately it seems to be 2 steps back and 1 step forward.

I had a Restricted Performance status on the engine in which the ECI limits output to a crawl. The 2 diagnostic codes I kept getting indicated a bad knock sensor (simply unbolt and replace - after removing the blower), and a cam position sensor (this usually means scrambled timing gear on this motor). Since I knew the motor was running fine with no codes when purchased I knew it had to be something I did during the build. Sure enough we finally tracked down a short in these circuits where I extended the harness - all it took was a single soldered wire strand to penetrate the shrink tube and pierce another. What a difference without the Restricted Performance mode - and that's in the driveway - can't wait to get it on the street.

I think I've posted previously about difficulties adapting the old wiper motor to the new control systems. The XJR motor has some internal electronics that I simply wasn't able to duplicate to make the old motor work properly. Low and high speed was no problem but the park circuit was a nightmare - the motor would run on after shutoff and cycle a dozen times and stop in random positions. When you can't beat em join em they say, and sure enough we were able to join the modern motor with the push-pull drive mechanism of the original system. This preserved all the modern functionality of the XJR wipers - pulse, intermittent and rain sensor - while retaining the space saving cable drive in the cowl area.

When reinstalling the old tack strip to fit the headliner I couldn't believe the smell - even after sitting in the open for 3 years it still had that disgusting old car smell. We found some convertible top tack strip that was the proper dimension - and odorless. Till next time.

 

We got all of the body panels mounted this weekend. Still a bit of tweaking to do but for the most part I'm pleased with the fit. I've always had panels painted off the car since it's the only way I know to prep and shoot the jams properly. The problem with this approach is the reassembly - it's always a little dicey maneuvering things into place and trying to bolt at the same time without scratching something. A little masking tape around the tub openings helps, and hanging the doors from the engine hoist makes for a very steady pair of hands. With the front doors mounted I need to refit the modified window frames one last time and finally get all the chrome off to the plater.

I'm thinking I may need to resurrect that old antique plate from a former project.

 

Doug,


That paint job looks awesome! I cannot wait to see all of the trim and interior installed. That is a show car build. Keep the pictures coming!

 

the vents in front gards is there special tools for this or a talented panel beater,,i put a s3 wiper motor in but had to change the arm on the cam in motor to get the right length of swing ,