On the flatter pieces the preferred method seems to be heat gun to warm up
and then peel the clear coat off. Could be a very different story on a shift knob.

 

That sounds like it'd be a lot easier. I'd try it, if I had the guts to try redoing ALL of the wood work in the car, I don't think I want to take that challenge to be honest. Haha, but I figured for the cost of a new knob (About $90) it was worth my time. Probably could have come out a little better, for some reason the top (end grain) just didn't want to take the stain as evenly as the rest, so it's much darker on top than I would have preferred, couldn't quite tell what type of wood the knob was either. But it defiantly didn't match the rest of the wood work (straight grained vs the rest of the car which is burled walnut)

 

Washed him, took him shopping and then filmed my drive home

 

I found time to waft over some of the coast roads of southern Phuket. Here are a few photo links:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gzovgemdsv...20Dog.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fktmnjwdy5...Shade.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7yacedidks...Shade.jpg?dl=0

 

Fitted a new trip computer button assembly. I can now finally get my fuel consumption calculated! YAY!

 

Don't be in too much of a hurry Daim, it might depress you. Some things are better left alone.

 

I like computers working. It isn't precise but a good guesstimate when driving

 

I'm going to replace a warning light and illuminate light on the dashboard over Easter any advice ?

 

Always disconnect the battery before working on any electronic part of the Jag!

It is quick and easy to do and may save you lots of fried sensitive electrical/computer components.

A search will turn up lots of threads on replacing the lights. Driver's portion of the dash is easy to remove and replace once you get the courage to firmly yank out the wood veneer first, lol!

Vector

 

Thought I'r wrap the mirror caps in a dark anthracite metallic

 

Sanded and polished one of my fog lights, will do the other one later.



Not like new but a lot better than before

 

4 nice new tyres on Thursday 26th. Rides much better now.

 

Downloaded and installed JTIS21 64 bit on the laptop this morning. Then I adjusted the shifter linkage on the XJ8 - got tired of going half-past "D" to get her moving. Nice precise detents now, slop is gone!

 

Drove to Work , ran errands and came home. No warning lights, no noises. Everything
worked correctly. 196,500 miles on it so far.

 

Re-installed the rear bumps after modifying them, needed to accommodate for the 275/40/18 rear tires.
With the wheels off, checked for rust (nothing), and all bushings (in decent condition).

Then did the same for the front, glued the shock-gaiters back in, sprayed some penetration liquid at the end of the springs.
Not sure it were the gaiters or the springs, but the very annoying rattle seems to be gone.

 

Removed and painted my door mirrors. I don't have "before" pics but they were pretty badly chipped and scratched. Note to anyone planning this - those plastic covers need a good coat of primer - just sanding back the existing paint/clear coat won't give good results. I'm really happy with the way they came out though.

 

Replaced the front rotors. Took care of the pulsation when braking above 70 mph. Seems to have improved balance as well.

What a bitch of a job: first the 17mm bolts holding the calipers had rusted on (HT Blaster and a half inch drive Impact wrench socket on a long bar); then the ^^^^ing rotors had 'rusted' to the back plate (HT Blaster, CRC Freeze-OFF, and twenty minutes per of tapping with a 10# BFH).

Hoping I didn't damage the bearings beating on the rotors.

 

I had the chance to open the throttle wide on the Autobahn today... That 'little' V8 is so quiet, I thought it was off! Vmax: 246 kph by GPS. So it isn't that bad... Just need to put a bit of attention to the brakes. The car doesn't pull anywhere under normal braking but when stamping on them, the car starts to turn hard right...

 

By my calculation that's 154 mph - out of a 3.2 V8? Are we exaggerating a little?

 

No, we're exaggerating a lot.