Hello Everyone. Just a few words about me to introduce myself. Quite an elderly old godger I'm afraid. I was born in Liverpool just after the war (that's the 2nd World War) in 1946. I've played drums in a rock band and after many years of proper family life my wife bought me a drum kit for my 60th birthday. I still like heavy beat music as well as classical orchestral, but hate opera. I've had a motley collection of cars in the past. My first car was a Ford Consul in magnolia with the registration TVR 435, before moving to a 997 cc Ford Anglia, to which I fitted a home made supercharger. When the pressure control valve stuck closed it blew a hole in a piston after leaving the Ballachulish Ferry in Scotland. I bought one of the ex competition Group 1 Hillman Imps from the Competitions Department at Chrysler, where I worked. The only new car I've ever bought (before I understood what capital depreciation meant), was a chrome bumper MG Midget. Getting married meant a move to more mundane cars, but when the kids got older I indulged myself in more interesting cars including a BMW 3 series convertible, Lancia Beta Monte Carlo, Maserati 225, Maserati 430, BMW 7 series, and Fiat X19. When I left Chrysler, where I worked on engine design and development I moved to Exxon to test finished fuels and lubricants, before moving to Ricardo the engine and transmissions design company. From there I went to their competitors; AVL in Austria and FEV in Germany, before running a company set up by the government to develop an on board hydrogen from water device for the automotive industry. I'm now actively developing this on a personal basis and am expecting a new patent to be awarded in the very near future.

 

Hello, Don,
You have had some Very interesting cars! Did I miss it? What's your Jaguar?

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome.

Busy boy you have been, and fascinating career.

Agree with Elinor, what Jag you got??.

 

Welcome aboard Don.

 

Welcome to the forum Don,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

Two Maserati's - that was brave!

I can see you've already found your way to the X-Type forum so there's no need for a link to it from me. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.

Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

You can also visit the UK & Eire Region forum by following this link UK & Eire - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

Ooops. Forgot to mention my Jaguar. It's a 2007 Sovereign X-type in silver grey with a biscuit leather interior. As it's based on the Mondeo, I know some say it's not a proper Jaguar. My view is that it's part of the Jaguar heritage because was the entry point for Jaguar to enter the larger volume market competing with the likes of BMW and Mercedes. It may not have been a success in the USA, where it was targeted but it did form the base manufacturing capability from which the current models were developed. We all have to start somewhere.
I also forgot to mention that when I worked for Chrysler I rented a house on the corner of Browns Lane and Burton Close. This was in the days when the V12 E type was under development and there were great problems with cooling. Although the house was only a few hundred metres from the R&D centre, there were regular knocks on the front door from test drivers whose cars had overheated and wanted to use the phone (pre-mobile phone days). I believe I've had more V12 E types in my drive than anyone else.
If you get the chance, I'd appreciate it if someone could try to answer my query about the rear glass on thread "Estate boot glass panel won't open". Don

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Don,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

Hi and welcome aboard, its good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums

Any useful site information you may need such as how to post pictures, edit signatures, add videos, using the
search facility etc, can be found here within the following link Using JF "How To"

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