edited it greg

 

Just a couple of pictures... I need to process them and make them in an understandable order. Also need to update my "rebuild a th400" thread with all the pictures... A lot of work to do yet but it is worth it

Now I just need the reverse cushion upgrade for the tranny - a simple prophylactic measure to make sure the problem is gone for ever

 

Admiring your work here! Hopefully someday I'll think I'm ready for something like this!!!

 

Personally, after doing this, it is not really complicated. An automatic transmission just looks worse than it actually is... I had done a 5hp24 from ZF a few years ago, upgraded it, made it shift faster etc., but that was a lot more than this TH400 has. The worst part is replacing the parts which are locked together and mostly the stupid seals around the clutch plates... They are a PITA. But otherwise simple mechanics...

 

I just found a pair of pre face glovebox hinges. Now I can finish my conversion from an airbag. Lots of people selling the door. No hinges. What a pain.
Just waiting for the wood trim to com back from Madera concepts and I can wrap it up. Previous outfit had my dash trim for 2 months and sent it back undone.
Should have sent it to Madera in the first place. All that is left inside is redoing the drivers seat and the interior is sorted out.
Next, some paint touch up.

 

Managed to find 2 brand new Sportspack seat base assemblies, still in Jaguar boxes, manufactured in 1988! Not something easy to repeat I think. The foam in the ones in my car are pretty shot, particularly the drivers side bolster which has collapsed.

 

excellent find,

would you be interested in a pair of brand new XJR-s headrests in the same colour and piping ?






a few new seat bases and seat backs have been advertised on ebay recently in different colours, not in your case........ but ensure you buy the correct ones, as some are miss-advertised as sportspack but are standard cushions ,

another point of interest, the seat bases can easily be swapped from the passengers to the drivers side, the only thing you have to do is swap out the occupancy pad from one to the other, very easy to do ,

i managed to find new seat bases for mine many years ago , and it makes a huge difference to the aesthetics and the driving experience, get em fitted asap

BB

 

Today: I changed out my window switches. Left side motor spins. Window goes nowhere. Right motor was drawing current and I was finally able to get the window closed. Good enough for now.
Then I moved on to my seatbelt busted/seat not bolted down issue. Looks like I'll have to pull the driver seat to get the new seatbelt kit installed. I pulled out the old system, which actually still worked. Anybody want it? Or the small pile of interior parts I pulled out to get to it and probably will never put back on?



The whole thing

Restraint controller

 

I haven't seen the bottom of this BOOT for a long long time.
Working in the NYC streets,,, BOOT becomes the GARAGE!

 

Removed and cleaned the rust out of the wiper motor, freed up the seized bushing, reassembled and now I have wipers! Fabricated a water shield from a gallon ATF bottle and painted it black. Will complete reassembly tomorrow.

 

Ordered the Transgo 400 RK reverse bang correction kit...

 

I took another small step on the reassembly path. Got spark plug holes cleaned out with a gentle wire brush and a vacuum cleaner. Filled them up, added new cap and rotor($$$). Studied the plug wire set and the coil stand....Had to come in and re-study my pics.

 

Not bad for a first ever attempt. Little messy, but hey...
Still have lots O loose wires to deal with.

And yup,,,, anyone seen my AC???


Sits in there kinda funny tho,,, lol

 

Looks good! And I presume it works, so much the better! Its something I need to do too.... or buy one. I got my plug wires finished and coils installed. Its Sunday, so I tried not to over do.

 

I got the driver seat back in along with the seatbelt kit. I have seatbelts! They aren't great. They're more than a little weak in the retracting department, but they're good enough for now. I was able to finally take the car for a proper test drive on some local twisties. The car definitely corners harder than my Mercedes. Brakes are in the same ballpark, but I think I felt the slightest beginning of brake fade coming down Six Mile Canyon. I also encountered a Storey County deputy at the bottom of that road. He had his window down, so he must have heard what I was doing. He followed me for a little while, most likely ran my plate, and then disappeared. The fact that I started driving like a person as soon as I saw him probably helped.

 

NEW, well reconditioned, auto box. well, when they can get the parts so no car to play with at home at the moment

 

I finally got my rear halfshafts back from the shop the other day. They were doing my bearings and needless to say I suggested that I remove them from my car to save me some money and make it quicker for them too! Long story short they had them for five weeks and it cost me $400! $180 of it was the bearings the rest was labor. Drrrrrrrrr! Yes I could have bought them for less myself! I finally got to install them this morning and.......... I still have a little wobble! ARGHH! I called them, but they are one of those specialist shops that pretty much never answer their phone, but have been in the business for 30plus years and ALWAYS have beautiful cars sitting waiting to be worked on. This time there was a triumph spitfire, a 70s mini Cooper, a mg, a triumph tr7, an EType coupe, a Healey 3000 and others! They are all in beautiful condition. I'm hoping they call back soon, just hoping they don't say "must be something else" or " well tear them off again and we'll try again". The wife is already fussing about me "working on the cars all the time"! SMH

 

So I ended up taking the xjs back to the shop and they tried tightening up the axle nuts some and it didn't make a difference. Long story short they told me that the left side which still has about an 1/8" of play is fine in their books and that it would pass inspection 😔 however the right side had too much. So if I would pull that side again and bring it back in, they would try again. I talked it over with the wife and decided to just drop the whole car off. I also called my inspection station and they were adamant that the play in the left side would fail. So I told the shop that and also told them about the .003" tolerance, and he said "that seems too tight!" I said that those were the specs given and that if it was over that they were to be repaired according to the jsa. He said ok. So I guess we'll see how long, and how much it takes this time. Smh

 

If you are talking about the rear hubs, then they have left out vital shims and/or spacers because they do not understand the Jaguar system. Do NOT drive the car (except slowly to the garage) until this is assembled correctly, and assure yourself that they have understood this thread and that this next time they have assembled the hub and driveshaft with the correct items installed in the correct order. Show them this thread that explains it, see particularly post 38 towards the end:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ebuild-225834/

If you have any worries or bit you or they do not understand, just ask. The items in this photo, the large silver spacer and the smaller bronze one round the driveshaft spline shaft are the ones they have almost certainly got wrong somehow.

 

I wouldn't think living in the city would be the most ideal place for a car guy and his car. Where do you park your car and do you really work on it in the streets? Just curious as I grew up in Westchester and been around NYC and surrounding areas for many years. Love the city but always thought how I'd be able to play or work on my cars.