that is a pic of the front sub frame,the top has got to be shaved off to clear the v8 sump,
engine needs to sit as low as it can and more so with mine being a 4.2 ,

 

Good show, Doug, and good luck.
Lin

 

Awesome thank you! That will help a lot to get them stamped. But did you use any special tool to bend them to shape?

I read that the MK2 could benefit from better heat management and venting in the engine bay. Was just wondering, in your Jag, did you make them functional or more cosmetic?

 

The project has taken a back seat to the recent install of a new hip - I'm sort of a human restomod these days.

Regarding the Callum louvers, restoring the curve (after stamping) to match the fender profile was a manual process. I think I worked the panels over a piece of 2x4 - just go slowly until you get the correct profile. My louvers are functional and used as fresh air intakes for the HVAC blowers. The Callum car reportedly used them to help vent the engine compartment. Before using them as intakes I calculated the vacuum effect from 1/4" louvers and it was pretty negligible, so not sure I'd go to the effort of ducting them into the engine compartment (but it couldn't hurt).

We did manage to get the beast back on all fours just before the holidays. Not a lot of drive time yet but with all of the suspension and drive train issues now sorted I'm happy to say the beast has been transformed. It's effortlessly quick - while it lacks the low-end grunt of a pushrod V8 (why is that about a twin cam?), it delivers a smooth and relentless surge of power as the revs build. One of the things I love about the XJR motor is that it seems to be just as happy at redline as it does at idle. The XJR trans and IRS seem to work perfectly in the Mark 2, though we haven't yet found its cornering limits. Cornering feels dead flat with the larger front and integrated rear sway bars - will try to get some pics cornering at speed once the weather improves. All that's left is to install the front door window frames and glass to see if we've achieved the ride comfort and quiet we hope for.

Next step is to shoot and polish the wood and get the interior buttoned up. I'm still using a 35 year old Binks siphon gun, so I'm thinking this might be a good time to upgrade to a nice HVLP gravity cup setup. Any recommendations as to particular guns would be appreciated.

Doug's Product/Service Award Of The Year - I've previously mentioned how pleased I am with the LED tail light upgrade I purchased from XKs Unlimited- high quality and extremely bright. It wasn't until checking the flashers recently that I discovered the clear LED bulbs illuminate red - even through the amber turn signal lenses I'm using they appear red and the same color as the tail/brake lights (they're that bright). Since XKs doesn't list an amber turn signal option I searched the internet for replacement bulbs and came across XK's supplier - Classic Auto LED. I contacted owner Brian McCullough to see about obtaining replacement bulbs and he offered to exchange my red for amber flasher boards for the cost of shipping - this on a 3 year old wholesale transaction. It doesn't get much better than that. If you're interested in this upgrade try brian@bmcautos.com (no I wasn't able to negotiate a commission/override). Happy New Year to everyone - until next time.

 

Nice to hear the new ball and socket is now installed and operational Doug.

Sounds like you have it mostly buttoned up well now, just fantastic work, ans thanks for posting all the updates.

Re Gun, I have a Devilbiss GTI Pro gun with 1.0mm Trans tip for basecoat and Clear, I can't fault the gun, great spray pattern, easy parts availability, many tip options easy to clean, not sure how available they are in the US.

Rear lights look great, I will look at that option, thanks for info.

Hippy new year

 

Doug,
Congrats on the car and the body! Best wishes for quick recovery and successful therapy!
Lin

 

I have spent the entire afternoon reading your post's. That is a truly impressive machine. I have done a few restorations over the years but my hat is off to you. Your a true craftsman.
Happy motoring and best wishes for s speedy recovery.

 

Doug,
Here's to a speedy recovery and a great new year.

 

All the best for the new year and new hip Doug. Your build is an inspiration to us all on this forum and I am sure I can safely say on behalf of everyone here that we all wish you a speedy recovery.

The service on your taillight replacement is remarkable and they look great!

I am just wondering what else you can do that will make the machine even more spectacular?

 

This is the gun I used. Worked well for paint

Fairly good balance between performance and cost.

 

I have not seen that gun before, it doesn't look like it's supplied generally in the UK, and the Gti Pro I use does not seem as easy to get in the US, but the internet searches are always biased to where you live, so I may be talking rubbish, but I can't find your gun with any UK sellers, looks like a nice gun.

I also have a Devilbiss FLG which I use for primers with a 1.8 fluid tip for thicker filler primers.

Steer clear of the Devibiss SLG, although it is cheap, you need to pay more if you get my drift.

 

Thanks everyone for the well wishes - I expect to be crawling around under the beast in no time.

Thanks Jon and Chuck for the gun recommendations. I see the GTI Millennium goes for around $300 here - with multiple fluid tips and a single HVLP air cap. I also see a Tekna Pro Lite which looks like it may be the closest equivalent to the GTI Pro? This goes for around $450 with multiple tips and 2 of 3 air caps - TE 10 (LVLP), TE 20 and HV 30 (HVLP) options. For someone who's been shooting anything and everything with an old Binks 7 and a giant tip for decades it's a little confusing. I did try a cheap HVLP gun about 8 years back (I think it was a Devilbiss FinishLine?) - I think it even had a plastic body - went in the garbage the same day. Jon, I think your comment about paying enough is spot on. Let me know if one of these guns vs the other makes more sense for a DIYer like me.

 

You could also talk to the store where you buy your paint. They may have some suggestions. Kind of depends how you are planning to use it. If you are going to shoot a metallic, definitely go with the better gun. What my shop recommended was about $750, so I took the middle ground with the GTI. But I was spraying a single stage eurathane in a solid color. There was some “orange peel”but that could be mostly addressed with color sanding. Not sure the better gun would have made much difference.

 

I grew up with the old style guns and Cellulose paint, when I got back into painting a few years back when some friends asked me to paint a few race fairings I started off with the FLG which is an entry level gun, wasn't too bad and I was happy with the results, got a smaller tip for basecoat and clears and was quite pleased, but with the awkward shapes of the fairings was struggling with runs in the clearcoat, I put this down to my capabilities !

I then splashed out on the Gti Pro, and boy did that make me look good !

I get on better with the TE10 trans air cap the best, but the atomisation of the gun is superb, personally I would fully recommend it, you will get some orange peel, but up the PSI and thin the clear a little above normal recommendations and this is pretty minimal. Devilbiss do a digital pressure gauge that fits directly on the gun so you can set the actual tip pressure, I don't have one, but that will be my next addition to my spray arsenal after I have updated my filters and regulator.

Chuck is right in that you can get away with more on a single stage paint, but if you want a really great gun I would highly recommend the GTi Pro, with a range of tips this gun is superb, but as I use the FLG for primer, the smaller tip and TE10 cap stay on this gun except for cleaning.

 

I needed some light duty work and ended up reveneering the dash pieces. This time the bookmatch on the dash top is centered (I knew if I didn't fix that it would bug me every time I drove the beast). This veneer was more highly figured than the last batch so we redid everything for consistency. Just a little patchwork and finish sanding on the crossbanding and we'll be ready to shoot. Can someone tell me how the ends of the gauge and glovebox panels are finished? I'm assuming the outer ends are burl and the inner ends are crossbanding.

Chuck and Jon, I ended up purchasing a Devilbiss Tekna Pro Lite, which came with a nice digital regulator. I think I've asked before but would it help to purchase a lamp for curing the clear? I see some portable units that are 2 and 3 feet long - thinking if this was the difference between minutes vs days for cure time between coats it would be worth the investment. Thanks.

 

If I understand your question right, Jaguar didn't worry about those areas because in the normal setup, the gauges covered the edges up and the glove box edges were not touched at all. AFAIK...

However in your case, you may do what RR/Bentley did.

They coloured the finish and simply painted over the lamination edges. The edges have to be sanded very smooth, allowing them to fill with finish once you start building layers.

I used Blend-All powders when I did my 51 MK6 Bentley.
Medium Brown Walnut matched the original, but I never liked that colour, it was too light, so used Extra Dark Walnut.
The darker colour matched the over-all pallet of the veneer and gave a nicer contrast to the banding.

The powder can simply be added to a small amount of finish and brushed on before the first spray.
I used a good quality sable hair brush for water colours bought at an artist supply store _ cost about 35 bucks.

Blendal® Powder Stain (Pigment Type) - Mohawk Finishing

 

Doug, if I understand you correctly, the sort of triangular ends of the dash and glovebox panels are all burl with crossbanding on the chamfers, does that make sense ?

The UV lamps do take cure times down to minutes, bake times are 30 mins at 60 deg C and air dry full air cure 2 - 3 days, so do make a big difference, but you must check your clear is suitable for UV cure otherwise it's a waste of money, most are, but check to be sure.

 

Now that I read your post Jon, I think I understand what Doug is talking about.
My car is not burl in those places, just simple walnut straight grain veneer, no figuring.

I think your car is so heavily modified Doug, does it really matter ?
Why not just go with burl ?

 

Not sure a heat lamp is necessary to help cure the paint. I have never used one as it cures well enough without one. Might want to wait 48 hours before color sanding. But I always ask my paint supplier for the spec sheets on the paint for guidance. Pro shops use heaters because for them time is money

 

I looked at mine again, you are right Jeff, much plainer, but as you say, just go burl if you have some for sure.