I view windscreens as consumable items on a car, they bear the brunt of it as the car forges it's path along the road and they get peppered with everything. Plus if people are careless about regularly changing their wipers then they gat rashed too.

My XJR needs a new screen as it has a few chips and the wiper sweep is so scarred with rashes that in wet weather you lose 50% of visibility, another reason I don’t drive it in the rain. I will get the screen replaced at some point, better in the summer months though.

 

I'm waiting for a stone chip in my screen to get a little larger. Then I can claim it on insurance & get a working heated screen fitted, I know it's the screen as I've checked power gets that far.

 

Be a shame if that chip were to develop into a crack during the upcoming cold snap, especially If something like the base of a hand we’re to accidentally hit it several times during a windscreen defrosting.

The reason I ended up getting a new screen in my second X308 was because I’d had a small insect flying round all day, then on my last journey of the day it landed in front of me. I saw my chance and hit it with my clenched fist, which also immediately cracked the screen

 

Many many years ago I had a Mk2 Escort with a blob of blutak on the screen. Reason being, if I took the blutak off the crack behind it grew. I'd stuck the blutak on as a joke when I saw the crack but it must have done something as it did stop the crack growing.

Anyway, if the chip in my screen gets worse, I'll claim it in the summer when it's better weather for having the car open to the elements.

 

It turns out the policy says my coverage for glass is 13G. According to my broker - who is a good broker - 13G coverage, which is apparently standard for Alberta, actually means there is no coverage for windshields (and the cost to add it is apparently prohibitive). A separate policy is available that is quite inexpensive but I’m assuming it’s not likely available for an already damaged windshield.

So, on the “nothing ventured, nothing gained” front, it was off to Canadian Tire for a RainX Windshield Repair Kit as the instructions on-line looked simple enough even for me.

This is the sequence from the outside:


This is the “before” photo. The rock chip is just inside the windows frit with a short crack upwards and a longer one down 2-3” and across another 3-4”.

This is with the resin applied.

This is with the clear curing steps placed over the resin and then it was outside to sit in the sunshine for the UV rays to cure the resin.

This is back inside with the curing strips removed and the excess cured resin scraped off with the supplied razor blade. It’s very hard to make out the crack even when looking for it and even then only from certain angles. No one looking at it would see a cracked windshield.

This is the sequence from the inside:


This is the crack when first discovered last week.

This is after the application of the curing strips.

This is after curing, removal of the coding strips and scraping off the excess resin.

From a different angle…

Also from a different angle - the original crack is still visible but the angles at which it’s visible are pretty narrow and for the most part hard to find given originally it was obvious from anywhere.

All in all I’m pretty pleased with the outcome. Now we’ll have to see how well it holds up.

 

That's a better repair than I've ever managed with such things. If nothing else it holds the glass together so the crack won't spread.

 

-19C and 26cm (10”) of snow overnight (twice that where it drifted)…

 

Jealous, haven't seen snow like that in probably 4-5 years. Currently 58F (14C) here in NY state.

 

She almost never gets parked outside but we were babysitting the grandsons last night.

i always wondered what a really snow white Jaguar might look like.

 

Well, now you know what a red and white one looks like!

 

I saw this one in Palm Springs a few years ago (quite a few now ).

 

That's pretty cool. I have always loved the old school flare, and the
wired wheels are fabulous.

 

Doing some errands this morning and had a “don’t mess with me truck” parked beside me when I got back. I didn’t see who parked it but I’m sure she’s a really friendly lady.

 

Trucks are just so ridiculously sized now, but it seems to be part of the modern automotive landscape. Earlier in this thread there were a number of pics of side-by-side comparisons, so I thought I would share a pic I snapped a week or so ago.

On the left is a 2012 Honda Accord Coupe that we have for my better half to use for longer trips. It has all the airbags and safety things included in a car from a 2012 vintage without all the lane assist and the like from a newer car. A silky smooth V6, and just dead nuts reliable. It's great at what it does.

On the right is my 2001 XJR. You know what that car is all about, no need for me to go into that.

What is remarkable is this. That is a freakin Honda Accord! And a coupe, even! I bet we all remember when Accords were much much smaller. According to my google fu, the actual measurements of these two cars are as follows:


Width - The Accord is 73 inches, the Jag is 71 inches. Accord is bigger
Height - The Accord is 56 inches, the Jag is 53 inches. Accord is bigger!
Length - The Accord is 191 inches, the Jag is 198, Jag is 7 inches longer

Amazing that two such different cars stack up this way.

 

It really is very amazing to see how automotive manufacturing has progressed.
However, speaking strictly for myself, I would rather drive the Duchess than the
wife's new car any day. Just look how much more visibility the Jag has over the
Honda, not to mention the more appealing profile.

 

Yes Virginia, there is a lawn, and soon all will be revealed!



And one from the same day in 2013!

 

Swapped the winter Pentas/X-Ice for the Asteroids/Continentals. Hopefully we’ll be good for the next 6-7 months.



Will take a quick spin and swing by the tire shop to check pressures - my gauge shows all of them a little low which has me suspecting the gauge - and then check the lug nuts when I get back.

Then it will be time to take the cover off the fountain and fill it with water.

Along with the birds, those are the three signs of spring around here!

 

Okay, maybe I was a bit anxious but it’s probably taking the cover off the fountain and putting in a new pump that really did it. Snow on the railing looks like a garland!

I’ll probably end up staying at home today and work on some of the to-do list.

 

It’s still a bit cool but things are greening up and winter will soon be a distant memory.


In the meantime the XJR keeps plugging along doing what she was meant to do and looking good while doing it. She doesn’t miss the Michelin X-Ice 3’s or the Pentas.

 

She doesn’t look good; she looks FABULOUS.