Meet my new to me Jag! lve been after a V12 for a while. lm not the most traditional of buyers, so we defiantly didn't buy the best available. l like cheap, avoiding suicidal cheap.

The car has been sitting for about 18mths and the fuel pump is seized, the pictures in the ad did it no favours as it was sitting next to a garage with grass growing up underneath it, most would run at that point.........................................dig a little deeper. The PO is a retired mine maintenance manager who had owned the car for 16years it was the love of his life, last winter in the middle of a move he had no space and put it in a car tent, wind lifted the tent and the poles scratched the paint. After that he couldn't forgive himself.

The car itself not running due to seized fuel pump, it is very rust free (im 52 and from West Sussex i remember how they lasted, my Fathers, about 3 years) i suspect due to being Ziebarted , and spending its life in the Praires ( not from where i am in the mountains) theres basically not much rust at all apart from one area above the rear bumper on the wing................im guessing where they missed. The interior isnt bad, the seats need restitching and some veneer repair. Mechanically we shall see, all the fluids are the correct colours. Electrically everything seems to work as far as i can tell with a non running car.................

So, i have a fuel pump, fuel filter and a full injector rail rubber rebuild kit from Mr injector winging there way to me, when they arrive i will do all that first and the plugs and then try to start it. All the old fuel has been sucked and drained out, the last of it from the bottom of the separater tank, it was just rotten smelling, not rusty, now the tank is full of ethanol free 91 oct with some elixirs . lve checked the filter system and in the Vee for mice nests all good. All the rubber lines , hoses and belts are supple.

ln the mean time i have a list of stuff to do and no doubt while doing them i will find more.

Sort wet passenger footwell
Both front windows need ''help''
Passenger mirror will not go ''up and down''
Wiper stalk sticky/hard to move
Right lower interior light
Seats
Veneer
Number plate light holders
Boot plugs
Flush brakes
.................................................. ....and my favourite, ID odd wires and connectors that are , well there but not doing anything LOL.

l would appreciate any tips on things that should be checked, when the car is running the ''Forth Bridge'' maintenance schedule will begin, but first we must have life!

Cheers

 

Chestnut over Biscut............or brown over magnolia

 

Lovely car, the best interior colour too!
List at random:
ALL coolant hoses (14)
New thermostats
New belts
Free up distributor advance springs (remove dizzy cap, the rotor should turn about b15 degrees nd snap back, if not lubricate the shafy bottom with synthetic oil - not too much - and gradually work the spring-back free. Change cap and rotor while doing this
New HT pleads and plugs gapped to 25 thou
New brake flexibles and pads, ensure callipers are not seized
Wet footwell: remove all carpets and dry it out, go right round the windscreen with bitumastic roof and gutter sealant, both the bodywork side of the rubber and the screen side; shove a LOT in, and clean off the excess with white spirit. Check the door rubbers and renew/add foam strip if shot/no longer making proper contact down the leading edge.

 

Thanks for that Greg, a great help. The next ''big'' little project after the fuel system and getting it running is the Grant Francis cooling system cleaning method, will do a bunch of it then. lve added the rest to the schedule.

Made some progress on the car Cleaned the scuttle and serviced the wipers, they are much happier in their work now. l was hoping to find more of a blockage, im not sure that was the cause of my water, so i have the talc out and will take the garden hose to it. Went on a aftermarket wiring rampage, that always feels good! Gave the inside a basic clean and fed the starving leather. Happy days.

 

Nice Jag! I have the same exterior color (code BEA, I believe. Or maybe BAE?), but different leather color inside.

Good luck with your restoration project!

 

Nice looking survivor. It's rare to see the driver seat without any tears. Always liked the starfish wheels, and the Euro headlights are better looking, IMHO. Windshield gasket has seen better days, though.

 

Thanks, having fun with it

BDA Chestnut metallic something or other

ADE, Biscut

Cheers

 

Been making some good headway on 'Arfur'. Bled and checked brakes, 16 grease nipples...lovely. Lots of cleaning, oiling and basically learning about the car. Lots of little issues sorted and more to sort out along the way.........................

As expected as i get stuff done, more gets added to the list. after its a ''driver'' ive got this to do on top of all the usual maintenance.

Front ball joints change, still good, but rubbers had it, probably orig as have nipples.
Rear IRS rebuild, can see perished bushings.
Cooling system rebuild
Driveshaft new UJs (no nipples, hate no nipples)
New (brighter gauge warning light bulbs)

..............................some engine bay wiring loom replacement, if i get some brave pills for Crimbo.

Cheers AOI
Doors and windscreen new rubber.

 

AOI
For nthe driveshafts be sure to get the correct UJs, the propshaft ones will fit, but they are not man enough for the job.
Only fit lemforder ball joints to the front suspension, the bottom ones are a pain and require the upright (hub carrier) and spring to be removed to change them.

 

l did NOT rewire the distributor-IA wiring, i disassembled and inspected it, i gently pulled the wires through the grommet about 1/2" into the dizzy and used a touch of that liquid rubber wiring insulator on the 2 insulator fractures i found, i also did the area where the wires go into the connector block. Reinstalled, and a whole bunch of little stuff

Fitted new fuel pump and filter.
Replaced all injector hoses, checked injectors for function, flushed injectors and replaced screens, tips etc etc.
Fitted 12 x new plugs

............................still waiting on dizzy, wires, rotor arm, air filters and coils. But i got bored waiting and really, most importantly wanted it moved undercover and dry before it gets cold. lt started first try went to a indicated 1400rpm and then dropped to around 1200rpm, nice oil pressure and charging, the temp gauge only got to in between the bottom and the N after 20 mins high idle probably due to the fan on full time as the car is currently hotwired, or the thermostat which will get done along with the pump 14 hoses and the rest of the boys in the band. lts runs very well considering, no untoward noises, it has a intermittent miss which given the state of the wires and cap im not at all surprised about, im surprised it goes as well as it does. Starts instantly when hot. Goes forwards, backwards, left, right and even stops, the future is bright.

So, happy camper! lm going to wait for those other service parts to come in and find an ignition switch before i mess with the running .....................but like the man said

''Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.''

Cheers!

 

Did some more little things on the 'Time Vampire'' Started first time after -4 at night!

Took it for its first test drive and was greeted with a nasty sound grindy grindy sound, resulting in the back end up and down twice each side to adjust the dust cover positions on the rear axles. Problem solved. So with the high idle and miss to deal with there this little lot as the immediate list of things to do to keep me occupied.

Plug wires, rotor arm, dizzy cap ,coil 1, coil 2, coil 3 replace
Air filters replace
Oil filter and Lucas change
3rd brake light, headlights repair
Exhaust tip
Fuel lines replace x5
Steering bushings replace
Wheel Balance
Oil pan gasket
Handbrake service
Windscreen rubber

Then after that the ''deferred maintenance list''
Then after that the ''major job list''

.......................then start at beginning.

 

Looks like you're making good progress.

 

l do love shipping, its amazing how it manages to get messed up. l didnt get everything i have ordered, but i got enough to do a ''section'', did rotor and lube (well, not quite) new cap, gasket and wires. The blue ''disco '' wires are not my cup of tea, but they make for a neater install.

lt now runs great, no miss, smoooooooooth transition through the revs and that lovely 'woosh' sound.........................admittedly thats not under load Now i can blip it as you should be able to i can see the engine mount is shot, so 2 x, a trans mount and the rear oil pan gasket ''while we are there''. Air filters not here yet so i havent played with the high idle yet. Next i will do the other 7 or so fuel lines in the engine bay, and check the throttle sync's etc.

 

Did a bunch more on ''Arfur''. Front bearings cleaned, greased and reset. While i had the wheels off i had them balanced in town. Fitted the new air filters and adjusted the idle at the AAV bolt and its now down to 900, so more to be done on that area. ''Some'', well to be fair most of the oil leaks have been stopped, which is just as well as the main culprits left are the valve covers and upper pan gaskets. Cleaned the cabin. l adjusted the butterflies using cut strip of feeler gauge but and not happy with that, i want to find some wire of the correct dia, all i have is my oxy tip files and i dont like the idea of using those.

................................and drove it 20kms! The first proper drive lt was a success. Shifts smooth and firm, down shifts fine the only shift i haven't done is the auto from 2nd to 3rd with buried foot as my left motor mount is not up to much The drive also highlighted that the suspension in the main is great,but it will get a bushing refresh at some point as i can see perished edges in spots. The drive showed that the cabin is very quite, the car pulls and brakes straight and is a joy.

.........................but, im not happy with the steering, aaaand the left exhaust has a small blow due to poor fitting aaaand the idle is still high and and and

Cheers

 

.......................................what the preferred method to reattach trim?

Through the back window you can see the trim at the edge of the headliner and at the back of the C pillar where its starting to come away and will not stay in place.

.............................best i can come up with is strong self sticking Velcro

Cheers AOI

 

Where are we...................................

lm not very good at keeping up with these sorts of things. l start of with the best of intentions, mean to take pictures etc etc, but when the time allows i quite simply resent pissing around and just want to get wrenching. So, apologies for that.

That being said i have done a boat load of work, to the point where its actually easier to say what i have left to do on the XJS field find........................that is correct the ''done list'' is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than the ''to do list'', by several times, and tears and trouble and swearing.

This is whats left to get it ready for the 'Out of Province inspection''Sync throttle bodies.

Clean throttle blades.
Sync throttles
Adjust slow running
Fuel gauge fix (sunk float)
Headlight relay replace.
Motor mounts replace.
Steering bushes replace.
Change oil (again)

Obviously, it a Jag, so theres the ''long term list'', but apart from cooling system refresh the list above is all it needs to be a good driver


.........................you just wont have , air, or cruise , yet.

The plan was to have this done and take it Skiing to Jasper AB in the Rocky mountains, which was to close at the end of May this year. Well,in light of current events i will be surprised if its open at the end of the week let alone in May, so thats out. But, i have all the parts i need to finish it up, and well, it gets light very early and the roads are very very quite here ''up north'' in the summer months so who knows

So, truly, what a difference a couple of weeks make.
Stay safe people. AOI

 

Nice looking car good score enjoy

 

lve been doing some more fettling on the XJS, (i need to do some work on RusTy before i can move the cars around and do the steering bushes and engine mounts). The videos are from when i first got it running in the autumn when it had a hi idle and a missfire. lve been poncing around with it over the winter doing little bits, but i dont do spanners for fun below -5 so its slow going..............................i also have the attention span of a goldfish and keep on buying other Tat.


Having done amongst other things the AAV valve rebuild and a new injector loom and a bunch of new relays its now running so much better, still not 100% but better.


Hot or cold always starts first time within 2 seconds (its has good bones, probably why i persevere . Next on the list Throttle body sync and idle adjust, then, after a front end rebuild on RusTy the steering bushings and engine mounts...................................then, head out on the highway. Theoretically.

This is a long distance shot of the passenger mirror of a XJS seen over the rear drivers fender, a reference shot, for scale