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Hello all! I bought this series 1 after seeing it parked outside for a year. I was pleasantly surprised to discover she's very solid- a former Concours car, had been parked for a year outside but otherwise a very original pampered show car. I knew that there were leaks in the fuel pumps and lines- looks like the right pump had leaked in the past and the car had run off the left tank only, and then the left pump started leaking. Apparently the carbs need to be rebuilt. The guy who sold the car to me had bought it as a quick cheap flip and lost interest, as it wasn't a car he knew much about. So now I have a restoration project, and I've named her Snowball.
My to-do list so far: new fuel pumps, lines, filters. Right fuel tank may be original to the car, and needs to be replaced due to rust. Change all fluids and spark plugs- engine turns over just fine, and the car still has oil, coolant, power steering fluid, transmission fluid. New battery. New windshield seals- I got the car inside just as the seals failed, and had to do some serious cleanup on the interior. So much more interior cleanup, removing years of dirt and smoke from a previous owner. Remove the ugly old CD player wired in. Probably a lot of electrical work that I haven't yet realized I need. And new tires and brakes, and some paint work.
After a year parked, she rolled on to the tow truck home easily.
The best thing I've found inside the car, a sign that's perfect for our garage.
Both front fenders are now removed, and I've found the one and only rust spot that needs serious work. The floor pans, trunk floor, and around both windshields are solid, at worst some rust converter and repainting. But there's a spot behind the right fender that does have some holes. Any tips for fixing this? I assume it'll require some welding.
Fender off. I peeled the wheel well liner back and found the rust spot.
Had to remove a mouse nest from this area before getting those two hidden fender bolts.
Hello all! I bought this series 1 after seeing it parked outside for a year. I was pleasantly surprised to discover she's very solid- a former Concours car, had been parked for a year outside but otherwise a very original pampered show car. I knew that there were leaks in the fuel pumps and lines- looks like the right pump had leaked in the past and the car had run off the left tank only, and then the left pump started leaking. Apparently the carbs need to be rebuilt. The guy who sold the car to me had bought it as a quick cheap flip and lost interest, as it wasn't a car he knew much about. So now I have a restoration project, and I've named her Snowball.
My to-do list so far: new fuel pumps, lines, filters. Right fuel tank may be original to the car, and needs to be replaced due to rust. Change all fluids and spark plugs- engine turns over just fine, and the car still has oil, coolant, power steering fluid, transmission fluid. New battery. New windshield seals- I got the car inside just as the seals failed, and had to do some serious cleanup on the interior. So much more interior cleanup, removing years of dirt and smoke from a previous owner. Remove the ugly old CD player wired in. Probably a lot of electrical work that I haven't yet realized I need. And new tires and brakes, and some paint work.
After a year parked, she rolled on to the tow truck home easily.
The best thing I've found inside the car, a sign that's perfect for our garage.
Both front fenders are now removed, and I've found the one and only rust spot that needs serious work. The floor pans, trunk floor, and around both windshields are solid, at worst some rust converter and repainting. But there's a spot behind the right fender that does have some holes. Any tips for fixing this? I assume it'll require some welding.
Fender off. I peeled the wheel well liner back and found the rust spot.
Had to remove a mouse nest from this area before getting those two hidden fender bolts.
Color me subscribed.
Looks like a lovely car, and it appears that you may have assumed ownership (custodianship?) before any more serious issues occurred.
Yes, my first Jaguar! Right car at the right time. I think I got her inside at the last moment; the windshield seals were failing and the interior was probably a couple weeks away from catastrophic water damage. The mice didn't eat any wiring (that I know of so far). Only one rust spot that'll need welding. I got very lucky, and this car was clearly well-cared-for if it survived a year outside.
It’s been a while, but I’ve been busy in the garage over the winter. Show season is coming up fast.
I can’t save both fenders. The right one is fine for this year or until I source another one- it had prior rust repair, and then was spot-welded and Bondoed to the sill. The left fender is bad; the Jaguar badge was attached with bolts, and thanks to another thread here, I think that’s the cause of the one rust spot that needs welding.
The carbs are removed for rebuild. The front one seems to be not right; the throttle disc is very loose. The fuel line into the carbs was the one fuel leak I knew about when I bought the car. The line ripped apart when I tried to remove it. The fuel lines in the trunk were rusty and leaky. I have no idea how this car didn’t burn.
Turns out, the paint is pretty good! I cleaned up a small spot with quick-detailer after some wire-brushing, and then another spot, and whoa. I can put off a repaint for a while- that paint job is good quality, just old. There’s one dent with some awful touch-up, but I have good scratch and PDR people.
Latest task: re-plumbing in the trunk, rebuild carbs. SU in England had the best prices for new fuel pumps, even with shipping to the US.
Back in the garage, what with better weather and show season coming up fast.
I have new fenders. If anyone needs series 1 parts, there’s a 1973 in Middleboro Auto Salvage in Massachusetts that I pulled fenders from. Interior is trash, but there are some usable exterior parts. For this year, I don’t mind Pale Primrose fenders on an Old English White car. Getting them painted can be for this winter.
Carbs are rebuilt. I cleaned so much ethanol goop and mummified old gaskets and o-rings out of them. They’ve clearly been rebuilt before based on the stripped screws, but I’m thinking it was a while ago, and ethanol gas plus age was why they weren’t doing well.
The boot is somewhat clean! It’s been repainted before, with the most hilariously terrible paintwork I’ve ever seen. There are pine needles, screws, bits of mulch, and other garbage in the paint. I’m not sure when someone painted in here, or what they were thinking. It could use a good bare-metal repaint, but for now, since there’s no concerning rust, new fuel lines and pumps are going in. I’m saving the old pumps and may try rebuilding them at some point.
Next steps: reattaching carbs, replacing all the mummified vacuum lines, new battery. Getting close to first start!
Doncha just Luv striped screws!
How hard is it to turn the screw backward half a turn until it finds the proper thread?!
RE: Paint; 50/50 is good enough for some folks.
50 feet at 50 mph... in opposite directions.
(';')
That trunk could be brought back to looking much nicer pretty easily and for under $40.00.
Clean it thoroughly, give the paint a good "sanding" with a 3M or Scotch Brite sanding pad and then spray with the factory color. I have a body supply store locally that can custom mix the factory paint and load it into an aerosol spray can. While not as nice as a bare metal respray, it would probably be a lot nice than what you describe.
Still working at this car, even if a bit slowly. There was a wasp infestation in the garage.
Currently, the interior is out; I found three more old mouse nests and couldn’t fix all the damaged wiring with the interior in. The floors are solid, though I’ll likely replace the passenger floor in the next few years. What is this material on the floor crossbars, over the metal, but under the glued-on jute insulation? It’s gross, especially the stuff under the back seat. Looks like some sort of plasticky matting.
You did good to find those front fenders! Might want to check the front of that left rocker panel for rust, kind of looks suspect. That's gonna be a nice ser1, they're so cool, deceptively small compared to todays behemoths and oozing with class, not to mention that red interior!
We’re happily back on the road. I’ve put 600 miles on this summer, and this car drives so well. Today I had to stop by work for a few hours and brought the XJ6.
The main headlights don’t work despite rewiring, but the high-beams work great. I discovered this when I was out late one night. The dashboard lighting is so cool!
After a summer of driving, I have a long list of winter projects. The choke mechanism needs work; it doesn’t release smoothly and won’t stay in position unless I have a hand on it. Carbs still need some tuning. The headliner is failing and occasionally spits old foam at me while driving. I’d like to get the air conditioning running again, and I’d like a working radio. I definitely didn’t insulate the front footwells very well, and they’re quite warm. I need to get the other fuel tank working because 12 mpg is not fun when you only have one 12-gallon fuel tank. A cupholder would be very convenient. And the side vent window seals need replacing.
If anyone in the northeast US is going to British Invasion in September, or Lime Rock tomorrow, come say hi!
The photos with the BMW and Audi are amazing! Did I tell you I have the Middleborough car and want the fenders back!!? Headed to FL soon to add to my other Series 1 projects!
Oh wow! I didn't think the car was salvageable; the front floors and interior were destroyed. Did you take the whole car, or just for parts? I tried to minimize collateral damage when I took the fenders.
The fenders from a 1973 aren't a perfect match for a 1972. The bolt holes don't line up!
After your prompting my wife and I went down and grabbed the hood, and I snapped a few photos. She carried the tools, and I humped the hood! After studying the photos like a true S1 weirdo I saw some potential. These vehicles are few and far and getting fewer. They obviously were not designed to last!. I just grabbed a complete 72' in Georgia because it looked like it had the original radio!! I was hoping my travel dates this year would coincide with the British Invasion as I am not that far away while up North. To be quite honest, other than my own projects, I have never seen a Series 1 in person.......Very happy to see yours here!
1972 XJ6 restoration!
