Today I drove Nix to town and drove her all around, stop & go traffic, AC on, many corners and turns, the works. It was almost 90F.

Sitting in traffic with the AC on the needle creeps up almost to the 'O' in NORMAL which it used to do, but I really thought after I cleaned the radiator it would run cooler. Then it occurred to me that I put a square foot of Trans cooler in front of the condenser and a screen in front of that. I'll have to watch that in our HOT weather next Summer.

Also, the PS oil leak is mostly stopped; only a small drop at the bottom of the high pressure fitting. I'll just give it another whack with a soft hammer and keep doing that until it stops dripping at all.

I sort of overfilled the brake reservoir, and when I put the lid on it leaked down the side. Oops.

I discovered, much to my delight, the turn signals work very well! They cancel pretty much when they're supposed to! I decided not to fiddle with them after changing the rack and finding them 90 degrees off because it just sounded like Too Much Work! It wouldn't be the first thing I drove that the turn signals didn't cancel, I know how to do that manually. But They WORK!!

All in all it was a Smashingly successful second shakedown, showing only one small item to adjust further. Husband bought a home alignment kit from Summit and is anxious to see how well it works. This is because tire shops in this area refuse to touch the car! They're all afraid of Jaguar!!

"Oh No, Oh No!! Don't bring it here! We're Skeered!" Cowards!! So we'll do it ourselves. The tires don't show any feathering, and it drives OK in spite of the latest injury, so how hard can this be?

Famous Last Words!!
(';')

 

All sounding good Elinor ....and yes keep an eye on that temp guage.

 

I suggest using an infra-red hand-held thermometer to get a rough idea of what "O" in NORMAL represents in actual degrees. It's something you should know.

Cheers
DD

 

Thank you, Doug, that's a very good idea!
I'll put one on my hit list.
EDIT:
I just went in to husband's office and asked if we know someone with an infra-red thermometer, and he say, "Yes we do."

Then he reached over on another desk and handed me one! It doesn't look like it's ever had batteries in it! It's only from Harbor Freight so I'll boil some water and see how accurate it is, and then it's going out into the car!
(';')

 

Not bad atall. I thought that the title suggested, "take two aspirin ad call me in the morning".


HF has the IR temp detectors. I got one. seems to work just fine.


When my car was at the second SMOG shop, I got a bit concerned at the extended idle it was undergoing. No outward signs of distress, but, I am very "touchy" about that... No need, a peek at the guage. Just a bit past 12 o'clock. That is where it runs. 90 C, I think. A bit hot, but the LT1s's are designed to do that. The SMOG guy must have read my face/mind. He put a box fan in front of it.


Yeah, the tire shops are interested in done, quick, out the door, the money maker. OK, everyone has to make a living....


But, I've not noted any specialty alignment shops recently. Perhaps in a top drawer collision shop.


Way back in my business career and a bit before, I saw the real guys in action.
They understood and had the gear to get it right.


I used to do my F150 4x4. Measure the wheel base. Better be equal, side to side or something is wrong. Then, a cord pulled taut from front to rear on the wheel center. Deviation indicated toe. Camber and caster not messed with. But, a good bubble level might indicate any really bad camber deviation.


The new toy oughta be fun, huh???


Carl

 

I've had more disappointing experiences with alignments than good (even non-Jag). The so-called top drawer outfits have proven no better.

A well respected local Jag shop I use for the jobs I shy away from (mostly due to lack of facilities, heavy equipment and space) works in with a wheel & suspension specialist close by. They have worked with these guys on the alignment set-up's for various Jag models, so they understand what they're dealing with and HOW to tackle alignments on these cars. My shop guy then road tests after each alignment job, and customer feedback is good. One step better than playing roulette with the usual suspects I reckon, so mine is booked in for next week.

Point is, might be worth asking a local Jag specialist shop who they use or may refer you to for alignments? I'm guessing most will have a place they work in sync with.

 

There are no "local Jag specialists", Tony. The nearest dealership is Niello Jaguar in Sacramento, 200 miles away.

Although I haven't asked, I would be Stunned if they would even consider working on a car that's 40 years old. Most if not all dealerships, and indeed independent repair shops in this area, are *Very* reluctant to take in anything from the previous century. They'll do emissions checks because the computer talks to the Mother Ship and they don't have to think too hard, but anything else, they just don't want to deal with it.

Husband got this tool from Summit Racing, it seems to work at first look, but it will take some time like every other new task we've encountered. The good new is we have a Dead Line! It positively absolutely Has to be done by next Thursday, October 22.

Why is the last week or two before an event Always a big rush to finish?? One would Think, having since January when it was first planned to prepare for this drive, we could have got in gear before this!
(';')

 

OK. I don't know your locale well enough, Elinor, but I get that you're rural. It was just a thought. I would never use a Jag main dealer, even if they were right next door! In metro Melbourne (bear in mind we're about the size of metro SFO) not surprisingly we have a good number independent Jag specialists to choose from, so it's a different ball game for us city slickers.

I look forward to reading how you go with the DIY device, it could solve the problem for many others if you have success!

Good luck with your deadline - your rapidly diminishing time line is something experienced by most of us, it's a law of nature. And if that's not enough, we also have another damned law inflicted upon us by Mr. Murphy to keep us on our toes!

 

Oh boy, now we're gonna see suspension pics, lovely!

 

Alignment will be in a new thread.
It promises to be "Interesting" to say the least.
(';')

 

Great source Summit, I have bought a few bits from them even over here, although less attractive now the exchange rate has turned. They are sponsoring sportsman class drag racing over here.