Greg, thanks!
That was the easiest removal of any part this week, just pulling, and knowing it will not break on a hidden screw .
Those sills are a real piece of art as extrusion profile, no wonder this this car weights a zillion kilo's ...

 

So I got all the interior out, and for a change, it is not in a too bad shape at all.
Most leather was re-dyed at some time, but with a slight color difference between the seats and the rest.
I found a local company who makes leather dye in any color, AND in spray bottles if wanted, that is pretty good news.
I am contemplating to follow my x308 leather color (ivory), with light beige carpets and headliner.
Anyway, that's for next year ...



I also got the roof pump out, what a mess ... everyone who had a leaking pump knows what I am talking about, a thick black slurry of oil and disintegrated sound insulation everywhere, with the oil leaked in the pocket under the seat, all the way to the passenger footwell.



Anyway, it is all cleaned-up.
And as wanted to fix at least one thing on this car, I cleaned up the pump as well.
All de-greased and cleaned, parts newly painted, the label recovered, the electrics with a new layer of tape, and it looks new again.
Now just to add new insulation, waiting for the seal, and see if I can source the hydraulic here on the island.



Tomorrow I will finish the rust treatment inside, and put some primer on the floors.
After that, I will not have any more excuses to delay starting in the engine bay, pffff ...

 

Excellent man cave but where is the beer fridge?

 

Thx, cave at the 12th floor ... the fridge is next to the car on B2, the real cave

 

So all internal steel work is cleaned, rust treated, and in the primer.
Most aftermarket crap is gone, and I can reach electrics where and when needed.
The dash will only go out after I have finished the engine work, hopefully in ~1/2 year or so.





I found out that any of the fancy treatment systems you guys are using are simply not available here, so I opted for the stuff which most fishing boats use on board with salt water all around.
Perhaps not as fancy as PUR-15 and the likes, but I guess it will outdo my own expire date, and it will be under the carpets anyway .

Threads like the ones from Orangeblossom and Daim are a great inspiration, and I should say I am motivated to move a compartment.
Tomorrow I will carefully re-fill the tank, and if everything stays tight, it is engine time!

 

Looks a lovely job Eric, great stuff.
Greg

 

been a while since I checked how you're coming along. Doing great. The car and chrome really came out looking great, as did the seats and other interior. Going as you are, a bit at a time, you will be done before you know, and have an XJS to be proud of. And as you know with all the help and encouragement here, the feeling is good during and after your done.

 

Well, this says it all about the level of workmanship on this car in the past ... and this is only one of the many many many issues I stumbled upon so far .

I had the same clip broken into pieces on my Vanden Plas, took me 3 hours of careful remoulding, reinforcing and repainting, but it came out great and is impossible to spot.
An other 6 hours on the XJ-S it will be ...

 

What else to do during Christmas in a country which is not celebrating it?

So after running the engine on some fresh fuel, and looking for leaks, I checked all injectors by just listening to each of them, disregarding the funny looks of others while you are having a screwdriver in your ear .
Pretty sure I hear 11 of them healthy ticking, not sure on just one of them.

Anyway, after that, took the dive and started disassembling.
It again amazes me how this car is butchered, I mentioned it before, but it is astonishing …

At least 50% of the electric wires in the engine compartment have been cut, and have been reconnected with some tape around them. For most, I have no idea why one should ever do that.

Then at least ½ of the vacuum hoses is gone, either decently plugged, just cut and open, or just not there, including the one to the dizzy.
That will need some more study later, as I am getting to understand what Jaguar did with it, but not sure on each and every correct position.

Finally, the valley was a whole warehouse of clips, seals, nuts and washers, and shiny paper from sweets … all drenched in a thick layer of fuel, oil and dust.

Well, I guess I was looking for a project, and I surely have one …but I really wonder how I ever made it home after buying the car.

For now, the valley is partly empty, and I am contemplating to remove the airco system for now (at least partially). It was not working, and I presume it is empty (is it?).

After that, will first spend 2 days carefully cleaning the engine and bay before removing the remaining stuff. Right now, I don't dare to remove the spark plugs with all the debris around.

 

Good to see you are still at it. I don't know why uninformed people will just yank lines and cut wires. There are proper ways to troubleshoot electrics! When I bought my old Mustang some previous owner had totally messed up the wiring harness. I had to pull the entire harness out twice, to trouble shoot and repair. Luckily an old Mustang doesn't have a whole lot of electrical equipment, especially compared to an XJS! My XJS is waiting for me to swap the transmission, but my other cars' needs have pushed it back on the list. Keep at it. Happy New Year!


This is what it working on the harness feels like!

 

Looking in the V area Eric, I think you really ought to sometime take the V apart and clean it up. Mine wasn't even that bad and I still cleaned it all

I'm still not satisfied with my V area... Needs "more clean" To say it kind of like Clarkson (more powaaaa)

 

Well, before others in this building will do so, I am officially declaring myself crazy.
Started to clean the engine, and even the wife, used to some of my crazy behavior, could not believe I am doing it with a small scraper, a toothbrush, de-greaser, lots of paper towels, and the usual rags.
It is a hell of a job, just by preventing anything dropping in, and by preventing leaning an anything that will break.
Anyway, I guess an other 2 weeks to go, but I can see some results ....

 

That looks Amazing Eric!

Do you own a Car Park or something?

I cannot even begin to imagine what the Parking Fine might be if I did that down here.

 

Great job Eric. I did mine just like you are, toothbrush, solvent, rags, and did not make such a superb job of it as you are! Just a question now that you have everything off, of whether to regasket the cam covers...
Greg

 

Eric, that is looking a LOT better! You can see the engine is made of aluminium agaiin

Now clean those cam covers, replace the seals and fit some new Jaguar badges...

 

It's the B2 of our apartment parking, at the very end, and so far no one has said anything.
I sneak in quietly, do my things, and clean all up before I finish.
But I refrain from using gasoline for cleaning purposes .

Greg, got a long list of parts to buy, partly as advised by you, and the cam cover gaskets are on it.
I thought the right bank was leaking, but the injector had no gasket (found that one in the V just now).
Anyway, I will need to check valve clearances, and hope that is as deep as I will need to go.

Yeah, now you see I got some German blood in me, he?
You will surely beat me technically, you know I admire what you are doing, but I will beat you on looks at the end ... Game on ...

 

Challenge accepted! Though your X308 is a good start...

 

Here 3 more examples of the 'high' quality work done previously.
See the re-invented full throttle switch?

 

Probably works better than the original!

 

The clearances will be fine, basically they cannot change sort of a valve stem failure.
While you have the inlets off though, I do hope you will change the injector rubber hoses and seals, sounds like they will need it. Also look long and hard at the injector loom for deterioration, and I would change the oil pressure sender and the oil light sender while it is easy. Is the vac capsule holding vac when you suck it? if not a good time to change that too. FYI, new throttle rods are still available from JCP and are dirt cheap, amazingly. For reliability, renewing the B bank fuel pressure regulator also a sensible thing to do.
Greg