davearkley

Hi Guys Just thought I would post an update of my efforts to get this S Type functional. So far so good - brakes are now all done and the rear axel is back in the car - I needed a new master cylinder as I was only getting half a pedal. While I was waiting for the cylinder to arrive - new carb float chamber bits arrived - so new floats, needle valves and seats fitted - when I started her up she was running really lumpy 5 cylinders - not good. New dizzy cap leads plugs and caps fitted so she should have been ok - anyway I was on with the braking system and I needed to remove the servo at this proved to be on its way out. When I stopped off the vaccuum hose after removing the servo - the engine sorted itself out - now running smooth as silk - so there must be a leak somewhere in the circuit that affected the carbs - thats another job to sort when the new servo arrives tomorrow. - Has anyone had the same problem. Next job - fitting the LHS petrol tank after having the gunge cleaned out. The RHS tank has been cleaned and back on with a new copper filter fitted + new fuel pump and sender. Then new fuel and oil filters + clean oil. Body prep for paint then its refitting interior - new carpets + reconnolised seats and refurbed woodwork. New furflex and all new body seals and rubbers. She should be ready for MOT in about a month or two. I would like to have her ready for christmas if poss. I'm looking forward to next year - getting her out onto the Northumberland country roads and over to the Lake District.

Advice required Who can supply good quality full carpet set for my S-Type to original spec. thanks

Hi David I have found a company called chrome london that can supply vintage style radios. I will give them a call. The S-Type is progressing slowly - all interior is now stripped out and I am refurbing all the woodwork and centre console and transmission tunnel. I have refurbed the seats - I thought they were grey when I got the car but when I wiped them down I found they were red leather - just 25 years of dust. They are looking very good now and I didnt want to have new leather so I was pleased they weren't cracked. Sometimes its the small jobs that take the time and finding the right parts takes a while. I'm trying to refurbish as much of the original vehicle as possible but you do need to replace some parts - ball joints suspension bushes etc. I have had the clock fixed with a new battery powered digital movement fitted in the original case so it looks authentic. I have also found the missing components to complete the tool kit. I need new carpets so am looking for a good supplier and I also need the paint code for Warwick grey. But its a long slow process to get it properly right. Back axel coming out to refurb braking system and a new stainless steel exhaust to fit. - lots to do but worth the effort - hopefully! cheers Dave

Hi folks, I'm getting on with my restoration of my 1966 S-Type - so far so good - interior is totally stripped out and seats are getting slowly restored etc but the old radiomobile radio was blown up by someone putting a battery on the wrong way. So I'm looking for a radio - preferably with FM - any ideas - I'm on 07850 653250 if you have a set on the garage shelf. I have restored all the internal woodwork and was really upset to find the radio blown as I was just starting to re-assemble the bits. Just a side note - I have been cleaning and polishing wire wheels - just fitted splined hubs - Its a long slow task to clean and polish the spokes. - Anyway, I had a spare set of wheels that were in very poor condition so I sent one away for chrome powder coating and I am quite pleased with the result. While its not as good as new chrome, its very near and workable as an everyday solution - you can just pressure wash them and it only cost £65 so I have sent another 3 wheels that would have needed re-chroming. Better than spending £1000 + on new chrome - the good wheels are to be kept for show days. The car is positive earth. Please ring if you have a radio with cost and postage to sunderland. Thanks Dave

Just wondering if anyone out there has a bolt for the steering column lower joint. 5/16 UNF that bolts the column to the UJ. Someone has used a standard bolt instead of the correct bolt I know its a bit pedantic but I would rather have the correct bolt if poss. cheers

Hi Paul Hope you have success with your respray - you can save a lot of time (and hence money) by stripping off as much of the brightwork as possible yourself. This takes ages to do and the paint shop will charge by the hour. Stripping down should shave as much as £500 off the quote - so get two prices from them. If you strip off all the chrome bumpers tec - you can then get these cleaned up and polished or re-chromed while the car is being sprayed saving time and money. The other thing is - if you change the colour it will be much more expensive than respraying the original colour due to the amount of prep inside the door shuts and cills. So same colour respray will be cheaper. cheers dave

Hi Paul 10-20k for a respray is well over the top. Yes a bare-metal respray would be the best thing to do but you can get a great finish without going to those lengths. I'm up in Sunderland so a bit too far away and I'm swamped with my own stuff at present. You can get really good rust treatments and if you take the paint down to get rid of the micro blistering you may find rust. Once this is treated you can do a normal respray at a fraction of the cost. Its not difficult to do some of the prep work if you have the time - this will save the bodyshop time and you money. Dont spend more than £5k for an excellent job including a pair of good used doors. (even £2k would do a decent job) You will find a good local body shop - call in and talk to a couple of them and look at the level of finish they achieve. Discuss the problem with them and let them know you are shopping around for the best deal. Sorry I cant do this for you. regards Dave

I have posted some pics - see members gallery

Here we go again Front brakes serviced and ready for the hubs - Orsons tell ne they will be ready to come out to me after the holidays. Havnt yet dropped out the back axel but work still going on. The garage that started to work on the car had overtightened the steering box so steering was a bit tight. Thats now all sorted and the million new seals fitted - steering box is now back on the car. The column is out and I have stripped the slip ring and cleaned and resited this. The copper wipers have been cleaned and reshaped. hopefully this should stop the horns blowing at random when you move the wheel. Should get the column back in shortly. I have found that someone has used the wrong bolt in the UJ at the end of the column. They have used an ordinary nut and bolt - I cant find a supplier with the correct bolt - anyone out there got one - Its a 5/16 UNF - only threaded half way. The rear seat is looking great and ready to go back in but I will wait until the re-paint is finished. Woodwork is not good - I have removed some and the veneers are peeling off - I have stripped one of the A pillar pieces and will varnish this and see how it comes out then make a decision regarding replacing the wood. If anyone has any nice pieces - please let me know on 07850 653250 - also regarding the steering column bolt. I'm cleaning the wire wheels ready to go onto the new hubs. Still lots to do ...........................

Just an update All hubs are now being changed to accomodate the splined hubs - rear hubs now fitted but front hubs are not yet in stock. The back axel is coming out next week to get at the brakes and change diff oil etc. Work continues on the inside with leather conditioning going on. Power steeing box seals have arrived (only £18) - so its coming off next week New hoses pistons and seals fitted to front callipers - slowly but surely. talk soon

Just an observation..... I also have a Triumph TR7 ...... I know I know !!!! I have had electrical problems with this car (surprise?)and would just like to say that the difference between the Jaguar forums and the TR7 forums is astonishing. I am quite new to the Jaguar fraternity and just starting to contribute, although I had an XJS in a former life I didnt join any of the clubs or forums. The Jaguar members are much more helpful and more informed. There is a greater passion for the Jaguar mark in club members It may be that its only the TR7 that has a smaller membership and other Triumph clubs are better but thats my observation so thank you to the organisers and members for an excellent outlet for info on such a wide range of vehicles. Has anyone else had similar experiences of other car club forums etc.

I think it very much depends on the car/model/make/quality. Its like trying to define what is art. A good guideline is that if its been out of production for 20 years - its safe to call it classic however some early aston martin DB7s are now considered classic and certainly the range rover P38 is regarded as classic and whats the mini all about? The XJ-S is most certainly a classic and epitomises the style of the period. Certainly undervalued but that will change over the next 5 years. best of luck and it will be nice to see restoration pics and have some stories about rebuilding a V12 what a beast. I think you need an award for putting enough fuel in to get it out of the garage. The last one I had would only do 12mpg but I loved it. Quality - it always made me feel special when I took it out.

Hello everyone - sorry I have been off line for a while. We have had a manic festival season and while I'm supposed to be retired - I just havnt stopped. We supply staging sound and lighting so its been extremely busy this year and we are pretty much booked up for next year. Anyway - an S-Type update......... I have been cleaning and feeding seats - they are getting better. Stainless steel exhaust + furflex+ full set of rubber seals for doors etc + motorola radio and a full set of new hoses have arrived so plenty of work ahead. I have bought a 4 post lift to save the old bones from the concrete floor. Tried it out with my TR7 just in case it came down - wouldnt want to damage the Jag eh. Going to get the Jag up in the air and get round with the grease gun (dads old pre-war grease gun - still works fine) Started to strip out the woodwork for re-laquering - need a new LHS rear door wood capping as part of the veneer is missing (anyone got a spare?) There is a leak of power steering fluid so I hope to identify the problem whe I get it elevated.(I thought it was a hose with a big hole in it but I have replaced this and it still loses fluid) There was a line of rust and some holes all along the bottom of the rear window - I have taken the window out and the problem was quite extensive and in a very tricky place. I didnt feel confident in tackling this myself although I can weld. I found a welder that came well recommended and he has just re-built the window frame - what a fantastic job - the man is so skilled - nice to see this level of workmanship. Lets hope theres no leaks from the window. I have just refitted the clock to the rev counter - JDO instruments have replaced the movement and its working fine. The last piece of the tool kit arrives on wednesday so a result!!!! I have been collecting individual pieces for months now and have the full kit now. A few small dents in the front wings to take care of but the body is in great shape - cant wait to get some fresh paint on. I need hubs and spinners for a set of wire wheels I have aquired - please contact me on 07850 653250 if anyone has a set. Cant wait to get it all sorted. Its a great project - nice to work on quality engineering (without a time scale) cheers for now - thanks for reading my ramblings and all the advice and help so far Dave

Hi Peter. I have decided that you are right regarding the exhaust - These things tend to rot from the inside and I cant see that so on the assumption that if one box has gone then the next one wont be far away - I have ordered a full Bell stainless system - should be with me next week. Plenty to do in the meantime. (one of the fuel pumps has developed a leak from the output banjo - traced it to stripped threads in the valve housing. New pump on the way - will fit this later this week. Still lots to sort with electrics - I have discovered that a high resistance forms between the copper switch contact base and the electrical terminal - a gas soldering iron and it will be sorted - just lots of connections to solder.. I have started to get somewhere with the brakes - The master cylinder was siezed with the valve stuck in the bottom of the cylinder body - got it all out and deep cleaned the whole thing - fitted new seals and refitted to car - the brakes all worked - a miracle. I'm ordering a new master cylinder as its brakes and you cant be too careful but at least I know the system works. I'm stripping the whole system next week and servicing. I will replace anything suspect. I have a local contact (my warehouse landlord) who is going to get all the woodwork for refinishing - this guy is an expert french polisher so it should be mint. Hopefully when the other pump arrives and fitted I should be able to give her a short run as I now have brakes. I'm doing OK so far without involving other people - I can manage all electrics - if I get stuck I have a friend who is a proper motor engineer - rebuilds all the big stuff porsche ferrari etc another mate of mine does bodywork and Angus is the car timmer - rolls bentlys etc. So I have experts round me and their services are pretty much free but I am enjoying this so far and would like to get her roadworthy myself. I'm sick of cleaning seats but they are coming

Hi all just an update for anyone interested. I have resolved the battery issue - the garage had indeed put the battery on the wrong way round (neg earth) After fitting the new battery + earth the generator wasnt charging - I had ordered a new reg box just in case so I fitted this. The forums came good as someone directed me to Mike Martinez at Star Autos California who had clear instructions on re-polarising the generator. After this strange process which included almost welding a piece of copper wire to a reg box terminal - lo and behold the ammeter now goes the right way and the battery charges. I,m working my way around poor connections on the switch panel - I have washers and wipers (slow speed only) The car starts on the button - both fuel pumps work - fuel gauge is only showing RHS tank - its the fuel change over switch. Lights all work, horns work although I have a bad connection through the column somewhere. I have finally stripped down the brake master cylinder and got the valve free from the bottom of the cylinder - now seviced with new seals and brakes are working (dont know yet how good they are) I'm going to completely strip and service all calipers etc. I will replace the master cylinder if its not holding steady pressure when I get it on the rolling brake tester. The next thing is the exhaust -where do we get a reasonably priced exhaust. The only problem is a hole in the middle RHS silencer and someone has replaced a back box recently - the other middle silencer looks ok so replacing this looks like the cheapest option but do we bite the bullet and go for a new stainless system. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

got lots of electrics working - new battery and now positive earth - had to re-polarize the generator and fit new regulator box brake master cylinder needs replacing - I cant get the valve out - piston is OK - new seals fitted but cant get this base valve out piston remains at the bottom of cylinder any suggestions

Just an update on progress on the neg/pos earth situation with the S-type. The generator just wasnt putting anything out and I couldnt work out if it was the generator or the voltage regulator. I suspected the regulator as the points were very pitted on all the relays so I managed to get hold of a new one for £20 - a good price. Anyway - I fitted the new regulator, cleaned and tightened the connections - but when I tested the circuit I still couldnt find the field coil voltage. There had been some talk of polarising the generator after replacing the battery or the regulator and I had tried this after fitting the new battery and before replacing the regulator with no success - I tried this again before stripping the generator(and power steering pump) off the car and would you believe it - the ignition light went out after starting the car - battery showed 12.8 volts and the ammeter went right over onto charge - a big thank you to Mike Martinez at Star Auto Electric over the pond for his very clear but very odd advice - I really didnt think it would work and electrically it didnt make sense - Ive put it down to witchcraft (magnetics I would think). If it works - dont fix it. Electrics are still iffy - clock not working no horns wipers or cigar lighter (this has voltage so a new one is required) I dont smoke so I'm not upset about this. I have ordered new horns and I'm going to strip and refurbish the wiper motor. Replaced a leaking power steering pipe and I now have steering - feels a bit sticky but its been broken for 20 years so will need working and greasing. Ive bandaged the huge hole in the back box - just to quiet it down a bit until I can find a replacement. The big thing to face yet is the brake pedal is flat on the floor - so looks like servo problems. - next weeks job. Bodywork after this. it will be nice to be able to drive the car out of the workshop (and stop it!!!) This is so interesting. Its a great car

Hi Everyone. got a bit of a querie if you have a mo. It seems that someone has changed over the battery terminals and connected it up negative to earth. I have turned it round and re-connected positive earth (I only noticed when I switched on the ignition and the ammeter went the wrong way) The guy did say he thought the electrics needed attention. (car was running OK) Anyway - I have fitted a new battery (positive to earth) but the generator is not charging. The car runs fine (or it will when I get a new SU brass float - the rear one had sunk!!!) - I dont have wipers and the clock isnt working. - the washers work much better now that the pump is going the right way. Strange thing is the radio still works after changing the polarity. Could the generator or regulator have been damaged by the wrong polarity.?? It could do with a new exhaust but I have been quoted £650 for a stainless steel one - a bit pricey and I dont know yet what else I may need so will hold off until the rest of the car works. - no brakes yet - next job........ cheers Dave