CAR SOS

Restoring an XJS V12 only just out on YouTube

Only just started watching but I think you might enjoy it

VIDEO LINK REMOVED AT OP's REQUEST -GGG

 

Great Video Alex. That looks like a very late Pre HE, with a different fuel rail than the Pre HEs, and I just wonder if the engine is one of the few hundred more powerful, later "just before the HE" fuel injection ones?
As for the plastic chroming, very good to know! By the way, the "suspension mods" were just springs and adjustable shocks.

 

Maybe if they stopped the scripted comedy routines and put Tim out to graze they could show people how they got the head's off. Etc.

 

I agree Greg. The car was first registered in Aug 1980. IMO, it's a Pre-HE, with HE bumpers added, lattice wheels, an early XJR-S-type rear spoiler with aerial cutouts on both sides(?), some added internal veneer and replacement twin headlights. So a real mix 'n' match. However, it seems to be a P-Digital car which used the later HE-type fuel rail.

Being a P-Digital Pre-HE, that makes it really collectable, arguably the most sought-after Auto XJS. So, I think it's a huge disappointment that after clearly spending so much time on bodywork, paintwork and engine, that they didn't strip out the veneer etc and reinstate it to the original Pre-HE bumpers etc with a set of Kent alloys. That would have made it a much better car. And as, you say, the hype around the suspension upgrade as per the E-type, seemed to merely amount to new springs and Gaz shocks.

As with all the Car shows, there's way too much puerile humour that really detracts from the quality of the car restoration activity, but probably somehow makes the show attractive to non-car enthusiasts? I've never met a real car enthusiast who thinks the show is better for the pointless distraction provided by Tim Shaw. However, I have met Fuzz Townshend briefly a few times and he's a very knowledgeable dedicated car enthusiast who originally left classic car journalism to set up his own restoration business. I have a lot of time for his knowledge and capability.

So notwithstanding it should (imo) have been put back to original spec and specifically lost the HE bumpers, at least it's one more XJ-S back on the road.

Paul

 

Hi Paul (ptjs)

You might be one of the very few if not the only one who knows the Full Story, so since its just hit YouTube it might be worth a Comment on there from your good self

As for those Net Curtains, it would be Curtains if I put them up as I would hate depriving both You and the Moths of such a Collectors Item, as 'Shabby Chic' is now in Vogue and I have already got one of those (aka) the GF who is obsessed with Watching 'Below Deck' on (BRAVO) Amazon Prime

And now responds to every question by Saying 'Copy That' which is driving me mad! but at least She now calls me Captain, which makes a change from some of the other names that she has called me in the past

 

Ok Alex, copy that

Paul

 

watched it . bit disapointed , not enough technical stuff. always the problem with car resto programmes. engine gets sent off , then returns brand new with no information

 

Oi Paul (ptjs) Nooooooh!

 

Car SOS is actually my favorite car-themed television show. And I find some of Tim's antics funny. Without a huge budget and a big staff of writers, there's bound to be a lot of duds and you have to watch all nine seasons to find the few comedic gems. Still it sure beats the heck out of "Overhaulin". If I ever found myself unable to finish an project car and my family took it away in secret to get done, I'd have a stroke or heart attack on camera when Chip Foose surprised me with it in some candy-apple paint color on 21" wheels. And if that didn't kill me, watching the episode where they fake all the tension and animosity in the shop as they try to get it done in a week surely would.

But I've actually learned a few interesting bits of tech from Car SOS, tho I never expect it to be a how-to show. As an example, I've forgotten now what car they were doing,but it had a cracked cylinder head and they showed a little bit of a repair process called "cold-stitching". I'd never heard of it before but they showed just enough to know it existed, what I might need to use it for and I now know some search terms that quickly pull up more detailed information on google if I ever need it. If they tried to film a real "how-to" show, they'd have a little youtube channel with barely a few thousand views and certainly wouldn't be on the National Geographic Channel or streaming on Disney Plus.

But that brings up a question maybe someone here knows the answer to. "How is it that episodes are periodically showing up on youtube?" I cut the cable/ditched the dish some years ago, but I was able to stream the previous two seasons on Disney Plus. Then this year, all the latest episodes were posted to youtube by somebody in July or August. Those disappeared in September and now they're all posted again by at least a couple of different accounts. They are not under the official Car SOS channel (where they do post a few clips giving more detail on some projects). I'm thinking these episodes are not supposed to be on youtube, but I don't know. I'm perfectly happy to pay $7.95 for a month or two of Disney Plus to stream each season. I figure it's got to be a ridiculously expensive show to produce just from the restoration costs alone and I'd hate for them to have to quit doing the show because everybody has already seen it for free on youtube.

 

In this video I saw a very interesting thing. That was the Differential aluminum housing. And it was a very light body. Does anyone know where to take a closer look at this?

 

Admin,

Suggest that last post should be a new thread.

Paul