My name is Mike. My wife, children, grandsons and I live in a cute small town, just at the bottom of lake Michigan, called Hobart, IN. I was raised by wolves, and disowned by my parents for 6 years, because I dropped out of college to become a doctor, so I could work on cars, and play with the Audi factory race team, that was banned from racing, because they couldn't slow our little 5 cylinder turbocharged all wheel drive car down with extra weight, narrower tires, smaller turbo inlet, etc, so the other makes could compete.

Watch the unfair advantage if you can find it. I am in it. I worked on a few of the Jaguar race team's mechanic's Quattro coupes, when they were located in Valparaiso, IN. in the 80s at the VW Porsche Audi dealership.

I have always wanted a Jaguar, but being a retired VW, Porsche, Audi Master Tech, and working on several older model's electrics, and motors, I kind of shyed away from getting one for a daily driver.

I am on disability, from an accident, but am still able to play with my cars. A friend of mine has a small used car lot, and needed some help on his snow plow truck, because the plow wouldn't raise.(loose connection) He has always liked my high mile 02 Jeep liberty sport.

My cars are always immaculate and I spray all the metal in the wheelwells under the liners, and the underneath parts with truckbed liner. I swapped a leather interior, and all the toys out of a limited, that I paid $250 for from an insurance company into my liberty sport, that I also lit, lifted a little over an inch and some different offset outlaw wheels on to not compromise the center of gravity, and put a locker in.(I always personalize my toys)

He wanted to know, if I wanted to trade, and I told him I only drive 4 wheel drive vehicles, living up here. I couldn't see anything on his lot that looked like a 4 wheel drive, and then he pulled out a 07 Jaguar X Type.

I know a lot of purists don't like this car, because of the Ford influence, but Ford electronics are pretty much bullet proof. I traded my Jeep and a rat Corvette even for it. I also have a 83 Porsche 928S, that I brought home from the factory, as one of my perks, from being a Porsche master tech.

It is kind of rare because it is black with a cocoa colored interior, posi traction, and a sunroof. She likes to fly. I have a problem with speed, and also an affinity for Porsches, MGs, Triumphs, 60s and early 70s Camaros, 49 and 50s flat head Mercurys, Corvettes, Ducati, and Kawasaki super bikes, even though I had a Kawasaki police bike for awhile too as well as Triumph and Norton motorcycles too.

I like pretty much anything with wheels, except the current crop of little throw away cars. My garage is 24x36. I have a huge Snap-on tool box, a scissor lift, and a garage that many say looks like a museum, with old neon signs, beer signage, carbs hanging on one wall, a 70s coke machine, many discarded diagnostic machines and cabinets from old garages, a cash register I got out of a closed 30s Ford dealer, a 70s pinball machine which I rebuilt all the relays in, a 42" flatscreen, Blueray, surround sound playing through CerwinVega and KLH speakers, a VCR, 70s vintage Pioneer receiver, and BSR turntable to play my extensive collection of 60s 70s and 80s vinyl, and a little military stuff from my 8 years as a Seabee.

My wife drives a 2014 Jeep Cherokee, and teaches school, and I love playing with my toys. Pretty much trapped at home, because of 81 electroshock therapy treatments, I like to write a lot on the computer.

Life is good!!!! be cool...Mike

 

Welcome to the forum Mike,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

Follow this link X-Type - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the X-Type forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for info 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 USA Mid West Region forum by following this link USA Mid West - IL IN IA MI MN MO OH WI - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Mike,

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

 

Hello, Mike,
Question: With all those Toys in your garage, where do you have space to work on a car??
Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome to the forum

 

welcome to the forum- enjoy!!!

 

ElinorB...I have plenty of room in my garage, after getting rid of the 93 Corvette, and 02 Jeep Liberty. There was room for 4 cars, without any chance of damaging one. I will use the spare bay, to repair a car or two I get from insurance companies to save up some money and purchase an XK8, before the rest of the world finds out what fine cars they are, and prices skyrocket. I am still able to rebuild cars, except it takes me forever. It takes me 8 hours to wash a car. I am extremely Obsessive Compulsive and am a chronic manic depressive, who was treated 84 times to get rid of my symptoms, with electro shock therapy. They loved me as a master tech at the dealership, and as crisis manager in a steel mill with my OCD. They were never able to get me to seize with the electro shock therapy, and only managed to destroy my memory. I drive almost everywhere with a GPS. I have restored a 58 MGA, small bumpered Triumph Spitfire, and an E Type coupe. I also used to restore and ride motorcycles. I had a Truimph Tiger, Bonneville, and a Triple. I also built a 750 Norton Cafe Bike, with high pipes, Borrani rims, a fiberglass tail and seat section, a smaller sprocket, Thomaselli bars, and a large aluminium tank. It was posted on caferacer.com. I don't know if it is still there. I fell out of British bikes, and into Italian and Japanese Superbikes. I had 2 Ducatis, and one Kawasaki, that were all dynoed at over 130 hp. Not a bad power to weight ratio for 750 pound bikes My Ducati 851 was my favorite, and professionally hopped up with racing cams, pistons, and shaved heads, by Fast by Ferracci. I also had an all chrome eight and a half foot long 1960 Harley Davidson chopper, and a Kawasaki police bike, that got me out of a few tickets, that my chopper got me in to. My white sunroof, automatic X type is almost perfect except for a couple small rust bubbles on the left rear dog leg. It will be cut out, the area treated for rust, replaced by metal I cut out of a quarter panel, and repainted by a bodyman friend I barter with. He is excellent, and has restored a number of Ferraris down to the metal, so I feel comfortable with him repairing and painting my cars. I will then treat all the metal with rust neutralizer, and spray truck bed lining under the car, under the plastic wheel well covers, and in the doors taking care not to plug any drain holes. It only ads a little bit of weight to a car, and damn near makes them immortal, if the drivetrain has it's oil changed about every 2700 miles, paint chips are repaired, leather is regularly treated, and get's it's scheduled maintenance.......So much for rambling on again....Be cool....Mike

 

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"

There are lots of members local to you with the same interests with info on local dealers and possible meets.
Regional - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Need a Manual, a TSB, or General Info' about your Jag? Check out our >> DOWNLOAD AREA <<

I've manually upgraded you to Full forum access so you can better view the site and all its features.