S940061...'Liza Doolittle Becoming My Fair Lady
Home Page: Steve Thornton
Princeton by the Sea, CA, USA
Total Posts: 3 | Latest Post: 2018-05-17 |
Table of Contents | RSS Feed |
It's been almost five years since the last update here. Five years in an old Jaguar's life turned out to mean a new fuel tank, a new fuel pump, a new steering shaft coupler, resurfacing the head, new valves and guides for the unleaded world, a new paint job over new body-work including cutting out some rust from the areas just behind the rear wheel cutouts, proper installations of the ready-to-fall-out front and rear windscreens.
The new color is the same as the old, old color. It is now a nameless (and not easily described) rendition of what you get when you apply Golden Sand and then let it age on the car for 38 years. It's golden (sort of) in sunlight, and silvery under the clouds and fog of coastal California. The original equipment full spats highlight the fact that this is an early 'Mark 1' 2.4 Litre Saloon, one of only 2464 LHD's so built.
The new color is the same as the old, old color. It is now a nameless (and not easily described) rendition of what you get when you apply Golden Sand and then let it age on the car for 38 years. It's golden (sort of) in sunlight, and silvery under the clouds and fog of coastal California. The original equipment full spats highlight the fact that this is an early 'Mark 1' 2.4 Litre Saloon, one of only 2464 LHD's so built.
It's a bad news/good news kind of story...the oil pressure at near-zero...definitely bad news...the good thing was that the failure in the oil system only occurred when then engine was shut down, so pressure held until then...then when started up again, no pressure...turns out the oil-pressure relief valve had been installed backwards...it was bypassing on the next start, and only ran a few seconds as the problem became apparent...so, we got a new oil pump, new, properly installed relief valve, changed out all the engine bearings because one got scuffed in the incident, and took care of the rust and rot in the left-front frame member above the suspension...bad news becomes good work needed and done...life with a 50+ year old car, eh?...
We are throwing down the gauntlet...is this the oldest 1956 LHD Mark 1 still rolling under its own power?...We think it could be...anybody know an older one?...hello, Australia...France...
We are throwing down the gauntlet...is this the oldest 1956 LHD Mark 1 still rolling under its own power?...We think it could be...anybody know an older one?...hello, Australia...France...
Member Comments on Journal Entry: More Improvements Of The Invisible Kind ↵
No comments have been posted yet...
Want to leave a comment or ask the owner a question?
Sign in or register a new account — it's free
From the records that came with it, we assume that since its 1980 (ish) overhaul and restoration, "Double-0 Sixty-one" has not had serious mechanical work. Running strong in spite of that, it finally found its way to the shop, and into the hands of a professional Jaguar tamer (mechanic) recently.
Was it true that the 10K-mile-ago engine rebuild had never been revisited? Maybe so, as the initial assessment found some valves with zero clearance...so, adjustment done, with a new pan gasket to boot.
That tricky shifter turns out to be the result of severely worn forks ("never seen wear like this before," the tamer said...so, rebuild and service with salvaged parts and replace the top cover ("remote control", in the manual).
A little pull to the left when braking will happen when the front shoes are a mismatch...so, new or rebuilt cylinders, turned drums ("maybe the first time for them", and proper shoes are going in.
A working vacuum advance on the distributor will probably add 20 horsepower (we can dream)...and may boost the surprising 21+mpg we got on a 90-mile hwy/city-mixed driving.
New shock absorbers, on all four corners, will not scrape, rattle or clunk, and make this unbelievably stable little saloon ever more so.
All fluids are being replaced...coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid, transmission oil and rear-end oil (the windscreen washer is not functional yet).
When we get it back I'll be back to finishing the refinishing of the interior wood trim. We found what appears to be a working oil/water guage that will replace both the in-panel and the 'emergency', under-dash-in-the-way-of-the-ashtray temp guages. Having the wood instrument panel all there will be nice.
The visit with the frame and body shop is being planned.
*because it's #S940061, you see...
Was it true that the 10K-mile-ago engine rebuild had never been revisited? Maybe so, as the initial assessment found some valves with zero clearance...so, adjustment done, with a new pan gasket to boot.
That tricky shifter turns out to be the result of severely worn forks ("never seen wear like this before," the tamer said...so, rebuild and service with salvaged parts and replace the top cover ("remote control", in the manual).
A little pull to the left when braking will happen when the front shoes are a mismatch...so, new or rebuilt cylinders, turned drums ("maybe the first time for them", and proper shoes are going in.
A working vacuum advance on the distributor will probably add 20 horsepower (we can dream)...and may boost the surprising 21+mpg we got on a 90-mile hwy/city-mixed driving.
New shock absorbers, on all four corners, will not scrape, rattle or clunk, and make this unbelievably stable little saloon ever more so.
All fluids are being replaced...coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid, transmission oil and rear-end oil (the windscreen washer is not functional yet).
When we get it back I'll be back to finishing the refinishing of the interior wood trim. We found what appears to be a working oil/water guage that will replace both the in-panel and the 'emergency', under-dash-in-the-way-of-the-ashtray temp guages. Having the wood instrument panel all there will be nice.
The visit with the frame and body shop is being planned.
*because it's #S940061, you see...
Member Comments on Journal Entry: Time To Catch Up On Things For "Double-Oh Sixty-One"*. ↵
No comments have been posted yet...
Want to leave a comment or ask the owner a question?
Sign in or register a new account — it's free
No comments have been posted yet...
Want to leave a comment or ask the owner a question?
Sign in or register a new account — it's free