It's amazing what a coat of paint will do for the apparent condition of items! Everything looks better when it's clean and all the same color.

I have wondered from time to time exactly what happened to your car, Clarke, but only just now found my way over here. (It's a very long way from California to Oz!) I'm *Very* glad the damage is not as bad as you feared.

I'm always interested when someone takes the cradle out of their car, as I will be looking at that process sooner or later I'm sure. I appreciate all your Excellent quality photos, showing the Good, Bad and Ugly. I think I might be able to pull this off when the time comes.

My work environment is much like yours except for the experienced help. You're very fortunate to have such generous, willing friends.
(';')

 

1. Thank you for the clean picture of the IRS. My park brake is inoperative and, I'll have an idea s to how it works so as to try to fix it. I had the rear calipers replaced and provided park pads, but I suspect the non Jag mechanic butched the park pads. He got the calipers in just fine.

2. Still curious as to the "cause and origin" of the fire. The phrase is from my past career in insurance claims. Same for the interest!! Even if I retired in 2005, a 50 year exposure does not go away!!!

3. In USA insurance, the usual interpretation was that the mechanical issue that caused the fire was excluded, but the resultant damage by fire is covered. Subject to deductible, in later years.

4. The redone IRS should be as good or better than new!!

Kudos

Carl

 

Glad u ok. I need to check my extinguishers!

 

Anyone got advice on the best way to get melted oil seal rubber off metal without heating it(maybe paint stripper?)

Thanks LnrB, Everything has been taken back to bare metal stage. The advice comes from 3 retired mechanics, a very useful resource to have on hand. Only wish I had a hoist in my garage,would make things a lot easier. My Dad had a pit in his garage when I was a kid(it was a great play space), now I realise the value of him digging it by hand and retaining it with blocks before the slab was laid. He still has it but no good to me as he is on the other side of the Tasman Sea.
A friend has a hoist I can use,but wouldn't be good to be at his place all day every day while I'm doing this rebuild. His wife wouldn't see the funny side of us sitting on stools drinking beer while looking at the XJ6. Will be putting it up there to take pics of the finished product though.

 

That's a pretty good paint job after consuming two bottles of RM.
Looks like you didn't spill either of them.

For small quantities of burned rubber, acetone (a.k.a. my wife's nail varnish remover) helps cleaning without having to use heat.

Graham

 

I'll give the nail polish remover a go,thanks.

Yep, 2 hours sleep and handful of headache tabs did the trick. Not the best combination for a day of painting.

 

Graham, the acetone worked thanks.
All painted and ready to re-assemble. Except for the calipers,haven't touched them yet. 37 hours in the garage in the last 3 days.
Just waiting on parts to arrive now.

 

Clarke... I must say you are making wonderful progress..... I really admire your dedication and determination.
It really is looking good.... I would love to have the facilities available to carry out these kinds of repairs, even tho there is nothing wrong with my baby at this time.... I would still consider doing what you are doing just to make everything fresh and new.

There really is something to be said about a fresh paint job.
I would love to dismantle everything, then clean, paint and reassemble as good as or better than new
I long for the time I can actually take my cat off the road and completely strip, cut out rust, repair, respray and generally do a factory quality finish to her.

I am happy the damage was not as bad as it initially looked and long to see her all back together again....
keep up the good work mate.... an inspiration to all.

 

Hi Robert, thanks for the kind words. I don't have the facilities for this kind of work, It the determination that gets it done with what I have available. A double garage at the the top of a shitty drive with 1 car space,1 box trailer,bike,work benches,storage and a dog bed. And divided by fence to stop the dog chewing rubber components like footpegs and brake hoses(really, she destroys any rubber connected to a vehicle).
You wouldn't believe the projects that have come out of this tiny space with a low ceiling. You just have to work methodically and clean up after every step, I even degrease the floor after each days work in there.
All the pics below are in the space the XJ6 is squeezed now.(the bumper is touching the wall so I can get the bike out past it.)

 

Bet there's an interesting story about the Tardis!

 

YES - I think all the rest fits in here.

Graham

 

Great progress, great post. Very inspiring, Clarke!

 

I think the Assessor might be limited in skills and assignment. In the USA they are termed appraisers. Their job is to establish the extent of damage and the cost to repair it.

Adjusters are trained in policy application, and settling claims, either by payment or
a detailed explanation of a declination.

In my past profession, I worked at most levels and in most lines for fifty years.

Damage by fire is a clearly covered peril. If one has what we term comprehensive coverage. Coverage for damage to the insured car. Some exclusions, but very broad.

One such, is mechanical failure or just fair wear and tear. However, if a covered peril results in damage, the policy applies. And, I see that s the case here. Tis up to the insurer to investigate and find the "cause and origin", an insurance phrase also used by fire departments. Example, a stuck piston. No cover to fix that. However, the ensuing damage by fire, oh yeah.

Stick or twig. How incredibly interesting. Think of the primitive methods of starting a camp fire, sans matches!!! Stone to steel to create a spark and ignite dried moss similar. Or a bowdrill aor just a stick on stick vigourously moved to create friction and then heat and then a glow, then a blaze!! That stick got well rubbed by the turning rotor. enough friction to ignite it. I dunno, but a feasible theory in my book. And, absent any other explanation, by a preponderance of evidence, it should govern.
You have a covered loss in my book.

If you wish, I'll expand, here or by pm.

Carl

 

rotflolol!!
(';')

 

This is what the garage actually looks like, I have to move a whole lot of stuff everytime I want to do anything in there. I probably spend as much time moving things back and forth as do working on the car.

Tardis, Well... My wife works in a primary school library and they needed a display for book week(time travel I think was the theme). The kids walked in the front door and out the back into a different time supposedly. If only life was that simple when you get older.
I got volunteered to procure a Tardis?

Carl, It was put down to wear and tear or lack of maintenance (poor maintenance I think not),either way not covered. Have got away with cost of parts being around the same as excess and I get to know my car a whole lot better. Any fight with the insurance is going to cost money while I wait for a long while before it is repaired. This way I part with about the same $$$ and will have my car on the road in a couple of weeks. If all goes to plan.

 

Clarke, I mentioned previously that my work environment was similar to yours, but I take that back. Your workbench looks *Very* familiar, especially the "friendliness" of all the items thereon, but the similarity ends there.

A) My laundry units are not out with the cars,
B) there is no motorcycle,
C) I'm not in danger from a brick wall when I open my doors,
D) I have only a slight incline and not a cliff out the door,
E) there are no animals.

You've shown us yours, I'll show you mine.

My Work Environment:
Index of /~lnrngrj/Pics/Nix
(';')

 

Hi Clarke.... looks like you are progressing wonderfully...

I have mentioned before that I have to carry out all my maintenance in my driveway as I have no garage, carport or even garden shed but after seeing your pics and all the projects you have going on at once, I can now appreciate the open space of working in my driveway lol

the difference being that you can however leave items where they lie after dismantling (as long as they are out of reach of the dog) and I can not..... any repairs I do need to be done within the day and packed up and the driveway cleared again
either that or I need to place the dismantled parts in the car and lock it up.

I would love to have the workspace you have, but if I have to share it with so many other things, I will opt for the driveway every time lmfao

I totally agree with what you say about the insurance..... by the time you take into account the loss of the no claim bonus, the excess and the increased premiums... along with the long wait for the insurance to actually be approved and a payout given, you are much better off doing it yourself.

This way you get the satisfaction of knowing it has been thoroughly carried out to your expectations and the quality you require. Also you get the satisfaction of knowing that you did it yourself and the added bonus of learning more about the car and her workings.

kudos to you on a great job.....
keep us posted

 

LnrB, your workbench is as big as my car space(nearly) ,would love to have that amount of space available.
Robert,I would swap some of garage space for enough flat driveway to work on anyday of the week.

Funny how we all could use a bit of what we haven't got, but all seem to manage with what we have. I guess humans are adaptable.

 

If my car has let all the smoke out, does that mean nothing electrical made by Lucas will work when I replace the IRS.

 

Yabut, Clarke, in its *Normal* condition, which you see there, it is so cluttered that it takes an hour to make space to actually do any work! Things often reach their angle of repose and a slide occurs. I call it Flat Surface Syndrome.
(';')