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Not today but last week I bought her back! Being reunited with a car that was special to you is a rare opportunity, time for restoration to begin.
I do know what a thrill it is to re-gain a lost treasure. I remember also that there
were times when, repairing the damage that the previous owner did not,
I wondered if it would be worth the effort. In the end, the thrill
of bringing the graceful lady back to "beauty" is very satisfying.
We still can’t understand how the PO has managed to get the car into such a state, but thankfully I got there just in time. The last time I did major work on this car it was a renovation, this time it’s a restoration!
The worst part was when I picked the car up he had his garage open which was full of vintage motorcycles, all of which were immaculate and in good shape.That was insulting to the car given the neglect she’s suffered.
I removed the original Blink Tow Bar from the Daimler last night. The bumper is off to replace a couple of broken cover mounts and deal with some surface rust behind it; I'm never going to use the tow bar so decided to clean up the rear end and remove it.
It came out intact with all the electrics, relays, fuse etc in place. Does anyone need a tow bar for an X308 (I believe it also fits and X300)? You'd just need to source the removable tow-hook which has been mislaid at some point in the car's life. It's a big heavy piece of kit so probably only practical for a UK based owner - I'd just ask you to cover the delivery charges and maybe drop in a nice bottle of Whisky for my efforts ;-)
I'll post later in the X308 section so I can capture the removal install instructions - in case someone wants it or I decide to put it back on at any time. I hope I'm not breaking any forum guidelines here - I just want to find a home for it.
I drove mine to work, first time it's moved in 3 weeks as I've been away on a bike.
Started exactly like normal having been left outdoors as always. Just to prove to people these cars don't need to live on a trickle charger unless they've got a fault causing electrical drains.
The Duchess will take almost a month before she will start
to need a boost. Even then, it's just a little boost that's needed.
I have always assumed there were some electrics that pull
power, all the time. I have noticed that on this forum, there
seems to be many with persistent battery issues.
After engine / trans swap, no AC , no stereo. AC is priority.
Two leaks, at compressor, located using low tech (hillbilly) compressed air and soap water. Proper O rings installed and holds vacuum, I added at little PAG oil and 2 cans of 134 and it's putting out 37 F. Wife getting brain freeze.
I am very pleased with myself.
Stereo is next, will not turn on, fuses (if I checked the right ones) are good. Any suggestions? Id rather not pull the radio head.
It’s not a difficult job to get the radio out of the dash, it only takes a few minutes, it could well be a cable has come loose at the back of the unit or the unit.
It’s always good to have functional AC, I have my systems set to auto all year round. AC systems are vastly misunderstood in the UK and people seldom use it on their cars because of a myth that it uses more fuel. For me though it’s something I can’t live without although I’d never have my system blowing as cold as yours! I tend to float around 19°c to 23°c depending on outside conditions.
What I did to my X308 was to cover her up! Because of one of my other projects taking priority at the moment, Jessie Jag has to wait in line before I can pay her any serious attention. I managed to win this original OEM Jaguar car cover on eBay for £25 ($33 US) to keep the dirt and dust off whilst she sits in my workshop. It’s got a tear in one corner but it can be fixed, but for the price I’m happy with it. I’ve also begun collecting parts for the big restoration and yesterday a job lot of front suspension parts I again won on eBay arrived, all new in the sealed bags.
The plan at the moment is to send her in for bodywork and rust repair around October, that will give me time to acquire the necessary parts and funds for the repairs. Once that’s sorted I can spend the winter sorting out the mechanicals and suspension stuff.
Jag Bag Cover has a clear panel to allow for the registration plate to be visible when covered. Peekaboo!
The Duchess is always covered by a premium Budge car cover. It keeps the dust
and pollen off and prevents my having to wash her so often. Well worth the minor
expense and it folds up into the trunk when we go away. Just be careful not to turn
the radio on when the cover is on because on that older Jaguar cover the antennae
will poke right through it. Ask me how I know.
so, P1646 and lame performance were bugging me for a while.
after swapping upstream O2 sensors connectors and checking all the wiring, it turned out that P1646 was related to poor contact in the harness connector to the command module. seems like there was no point of replacing the O2 sensors, which i did a couple of months ago. oh well. some contact cleaner spray did the thing.
bad performance was fixed by cleaning mass air flow sensor and throttle body with specialised sprays.
no error codes now, no CEL and accelerator is responsive again. modern chemistry is truly a miracle!
The Duchess is always covered by a premium Budge car cover. It keeps the dust
and pollen off and prevents my having to wash her so often. Well worth the minor
expense and it folds up into the trunk when we go away. Just be careful not to turn
the radio on when the cover is on because on that older Jaguar cover the antennae
will poke right through it. Ask me how I know.
When I owned this car previously I always kept her under a cover when not in use, because as you say it helped keep her clean. I was disappointed when the guy I sold her to told me he’d “disposed of the cover soon after buying” as he had no intention of using it. That was sad not only because it belonged to the car, but also because of the cost of buying it and having it sent from the USA.
I have no worries about the aerial though, I never listen to radio stations and only stream my music. So I’ve already deactivated the aerial again as it has no purpose being up when my music is coming through my iPhone and into the system via the input I fitted last time.
The last few posts remind me I've got a outdoor cover for a LWB x308 I should get rid of, it came with my old Sovereign and I forgot to chuck it in the boot when I sold it.
I'll have to list it on ebay & deal with all the window linkers that'll attract, or just leave it screwed in the corner of the garage.
Did you use varnish or lacquer? Originally from the factory it would’ve been lacquer and to achieve the deep shine there would’ve been many many coats. When I did fresh veneer for my Triumph dashboard I gave it 35 coats of lacquer with a 1500 grit sanding between each coat. The shine is god but nothing like X308 Veneer shine which would’ve had around 50 or so coats of lacquer.
The steering wheel in my car has suffered from abuse and sun damage thanks to the guy I sold her to in 2019. I had the wheel trimmed in fresh leather in 2017 but he’s managed to ruin the leather and damage the wood. I’m thinking of restoring the veneer or fitting the NOS Jaguar wheel I have in my spares stock.
Did you use varnish or lacquer? Originally from the factory it would’ve been lacquer and to achieve the deep shine there would’ve been many many coats. When I did fresh veneer for my Triumph dashboard I gave it 35 coats of lacquer with a 1500 grit sanding between each coat. The shine is god but nothing like X308 Veneer shine which would’ve had around 50 or so coats of lacquer.
The steering wheel in my car has suffered from abuse and sun damage thanks to the guy I sold her to in 2019. I had the wheel trimmed in fresh leather in 2017 but he’s managed to ruin the leather and damage the wood. I’m thinking of restoring the veneer or fitting the NOS Jaguar wheel I have in my spares stock.
I decided on oil based polyurethane to try give it a bit of longevity- the dash appears to be lacquer as you say but the wheel has all the hallmarks of varnish which makes sense given how much it has to be handled during use.
It's got about 8 coats on. Should be enough to look well enough after a bit of a rubdown. I was just getting fed up of sharp flakes getting stuck in my hands from the top surface.
Phil
With the steering wheel off, I pulled the cowl lower clamshell cover off and had a look up inside.
Reason? When I got the car it remembered tilt and reach on the column, and would automatically move out the way when set to AUTO.
Now it only remembers reach. Tilt doesn't move when a memory is recalled. It moves when commanded by the joystick though.
Presumably if the controller module doesn't have a sane potentiometer reading it'll just not do the memory? If I run it to one end of the travel then hold it, it'll run for a preset time and stop before it hits the limits of travel. If I do the same from the middle it'll hit the end stop.
Per the wiring diagram the potentiometer is built into the motor, not the column tilt itself. The service manual states the motors are a serviceable part of the column, guessing that means they unbolt...
Before I go dig further am I correct in my deduction of this behavior?
