Dragging my Daimler XJ40 out after 19+ years

[uk_senator]

Its taken me a while, but I`m finally pulling my old Daimler out, my Dad will be over the moon when he gets back from holiday.

 

Borrowed some wheel skates, but even so, its gonna be an arse due to the passenger side being right up against a wall, plus theres a slope upwards in front of it (on rough concrete), then a big slope downwards half way across the narrow alleyway its going into, which will make it roll right into the neighbour opposites shiny new roller shutter if I dont manage to stop it.. Wish me luck!

 

I`ll be scrapping the shell after I`ve ripped out the interior, removed the bumpers, lights, rust free (but rippled) bootlid & the 18" trispokes I paid £2600 for from Ripspeed (the proper Ripspeed) when I got it. I was young & very, very foolish).

 

The thing owes me £13k.. I`ll be lucky to get £500 for it & the saleable parts..

 

If anyone wants any obscure bits that I might leave on it, let me know.

 

*Edit, its been there for 19+ years, not 9*

[dollywobbler]

Sheesh! You've got a bulb out by the way.

[Shep Shepherd]

Got to love the 'Tokyo At Night' dashboard 

[rantingYoof]

The 'Circuit Failure' photo is surely calendar worthy?

[uk_senator]

Sheesh! You've got a bulb out by the way.

Several, & the engines out too, or its been decapitated more accurately.

 

Got to love the 'Tokyo At Night' dashboard 

 

I`m one of the few who loves that 80`s-futuristic dash   

 

The 'Circuit Failure' photo is surely calendar worthy?

Theres plenty more failure displays where that came from.. 

[They_all_do_that_sir]

Done a quick Google of ripspeed thanks to this thread. Didn't realise it had a history beyond Halfords...

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

[oldcars]

That photo with the tree is class. I take it the tree was not there when you parked up the car?

[billyboy406v6]

Will many bits be interchangeable with my 1994 Jaguar Sovereign?

Only the bulb failure message ?

[uk_senator]

Done a quick Google of ripspeed thanks to this thread. Didn't realise it had a history beyond Halfords...

 

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

 

It did indeed, & I worked there, with Keith Ripp, his daily drivers were a Merc  R129 SL (which was new out at the time) & a Mini ERA Turbo.

 

That photo with the tree is class. I take it the tree was not there when you parked up the car?

 

It was, my Granddad planted it about 50 years ago! (The gate is at the other end)

 

Will many bits be interchangeable with my 1994 Jaguar Sovereign?

Quite a lot of it, plus I`ve broken a few others & still have some of the parts.

 

Only the bulb failure message ?

I did laugh reading that! 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

This thread needs a picture of your Daimler in all its 3 spoke 1990's glory.

[uk_senator]

This thread needs a picture of your Daimler in all its 3 spoke 1990's glory.

One TriSpoked Daimler sir 

[uk_senator]

Its worth pointing out, the OSF centre badge fell off within a month of me spending £2600 on those alloys, & do you think Ripspeed could get a replacement?

[RoadworkUK]

I like the Skoda Estelle style bonnet opening method.

[Bren]

Those wheels are from a majorette toy car.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

It is a sad thing to see its final days - I remember your XJ40s from the old Jaguar World Forum about ten years ago!  

 

Still, it had to happen at some point - 19 years off the road is quite a while.

[uk_senator]

It is a sad thing to see its final days - I remember your XJ40s from the old Jaguar World Forum about ten years ago!  

 

Still, it had to happen at some point - 19 years off the road is quite a while.

I`ve been on it all evening, trying to clear a path for it, the underside & sills seem incredibly solid, cant see any rust at all, but the upper body has suffered, normal place on the front wings (shame, I could have cut sections out for my XJR), a couple of the door bottoms.

 

I havent got enough room to get the go-jack skates under the wheels though, as its too close to the wall.. Gonna be awkward jacking the NSR corner enough to get it under.. 

[uk_senator]

Arse..

Front ones ok as I have access, the rear ones gonna be a right pain.

[RustyNuts]

Seems a shame to scrap it really after managing to keep it on life support for so long. 19 years... to think another few decades and it would put the DeLorean to shame and that sat in a cave for something like 70 years lol.

 

You say the engine has been decapped... can't you just find yourself another engine and chuck it in? - Its a bit of a pain but surely easier than pushing a car about on skates on uneven ground. Just think how chuffed you'd be to get it back on the road again!

 

We got a safrane outside, it's been off road for the last six years and been a royal pain to sort out but i've kept plugging away at it little bit by little bit and I just need another 3-4 hours on it to have it ready for it's mot and this thing was completely dead for the best part of two years - an electronic fault knocked out the automatic gearbox computer and that took ages to get to the bottom of (a connector under the autobox). Since then I've ended up doing tons of anti rust work and various other things - I've had the entire cabin apart (excluding the dash thankfully), fixed a footwell leak (that was coming in from 3 different places - total nightmare), sorted out a dead cd changer.. that wasn't dead, fixed up the intermittent central locking.. and the other fault that would make it unlock / lock itself randomly.... plus a lot more. It can be done as long as you don't give up matey.

 

Trust me.. I nearly did - I called the scrap man a couple of times too only for it to be given a last minute reprieve several times.

 

Rusty.

[RustyNuts]

Arse..

 

Front ones ok as I have access, the rear ones gonna be a right pain.

 

It's resisting its fate. Don't do it... it will come back and haunt you forever lol.

 

Seriously I've broken up cars that resisted at every opportunity, I felt proper guilty watching the shells go knowing they'd be microwaves in a month or two.

[uk_senator]

Seems a shame to scrap it really after managing to keep it on life support for so long. 19 years... to think another few decades and it would put the DeLorean to shame and that sat in a cave for something like 70 years lol.

 

You say the engine has been decapped... can't you just find yourself another engine and chuck it in? - Its a bit of a pain but surely easier than pushing a car about on skates on uneven ground. Just think how chuffed you'd be to get it back on the road again!

 

We got a safrane outside, it's been off road for the last six years and been a royal pain to sort out but i've kept plugging away at it little bit by little bit and I just need another 3-4 hours on it to have it ready for it's mot and this thing was completely dead for the best part of two years - an electronic fault knocked out the automatic gearbox computer and that took ages to get to the bottom of (a connector under the autobox). Since then I've ended up doing tons of anti rust work and various other things - I've had the entire cabin apart (excluding the dash thankfully), fixed a footwell leak (that was coming in from 3 different places - total nightmare), sorted out a dead cd changer.. that wasn't dead, fixed up the intermittent central locking.. and the other fault that would make it unlock / lock itself randomly.... plus a lot more. It can be done as long as you don't give up matey.

 

Trust me.. I nearly did - I called the scrap man a couple of times too only for it to be given a last minute reprieve several times.

 

Rusty.

Why? Because its at my parents house, it causes regular arguments, especially when my Dad has to carry dozens of boxes of grapes past it when he does his wine every year in the shed, we`ve nearly come to blows over it, we`ve stopped talking over it several times, & that upsets my Mum.

 

They were in their 50`s when I left it there & they are now in their 70`s & have both now retired.

 

They are also on holiday till Sunday night, which is why I`m trying to clear it, it`ll make my Dads decade!

 

I did actually take the engine & box out of another rotten XJ40 I had for this, but again, it never came close to going in, I got fed up of tripping over it in the garage (as did my Dad & brother), so I sold it, knowing it just wasnt worth the effort.

 

I have far too many projects on the go, nowhere near enough room, & my arthritis is getting worse. I`m getting fed up of working outdoors when I could be undercover, not putting my back out quite as easily..

 

If anyone wants to buy it as it is, they are welcome to it, but I`m pretty sure the only people wanting it are racers, not anyone wanting a humungus project to resurect it. 

[Bren]

My mate had a D reg 3.6 with the quad round headlights. He was collecting parts for it and I did some welding on it. I doubt it ever went back on the road.

[They_all_do_that_sir]

I guess when you can get a running MOT'd one for just over a grand it's sadly not (yet) worth throwing money at.

 

Those wheels are mega. They must have been something else when you bought them, back then sticking 15" alloys on your nova was considered extreme. I remember 17" alloys were pretty exotic at the time, and people thinking they were as big as you could ever go, and having to roll your arches to squeeze them in

 

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[uk_senator]

My mate had a D reg 3.6 with the quad round headlights. He was collecting parts for it and I did some welding on it. I doubt it ever went back on the road.

Well, this shell doesnt need any welding from what I can see, he`s welcome to it if he wants to reshell his.

 

I guess when you can get a running MOT'd one for just over a grand it's sadly not (yet) worth throwing money at.

 

Those wheels are mega. They must have been something else when you bought them, back then sticking 15" alloys on your nova was considered extreme. I remember 17" alloys were pretty exotic at the time, and people thinking they were as big as you could ever go, and having to roll your arches to squeeze them in

 

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Exactly, its not financially viable, & I`ve lost so much money on it I just cant be arsed any more! I`d quite happily have another Daimler XJ40, just not this one!

 

I did get a lot of looks, 18"ers were very rare back then, especially trispokes. These were ordered from Italy & drilled here to fit my Jag, it was, & probably still is, unique   

 

I just realized when I took the centre caps off, its got locknuts on it, think I can find the key? Course not....

 

And I was so looking forward to putting them on my XJR8... lol 

[uk_senator]

10:45 & the mother funkers on the go-jacks.. Only took about 90 minutes to get the NSR one under..   

Completely forgot I had that BMW E30 door there, & the XJ40 sunroof, & the snooker table.. 

[RustyNuts]

Why? Because its at my parents house, it causes regular arguments, especially when my Dad has to carry dozens of boxes of grapes past it when he does his wine every year in the shed, we`ve nearly come to blows over it, we`ve stopped talking over it several times, & that upsets my Mum.

 

When you put it like that.. .and admit to getting rid of the donor engine then maybe it's best to call it a day like you said.

[uk_senator]

When you put it like that.. .and admit to getting rid of the donor engine then maybe it's best to call it a day like you said.

 

By the time I got the engine out of the spares one (which incidentally sat on their 2 car front drive) it was about.. 2005-ish? By then a 3.6 Daimler, even mint, was peanuts, & by then it needed a hell of a lot doing aside from the engine.

 

In 20 years I`ll probably be kicking myself, but right now, I want her moved, both from the car port & my mind!

 

Just trying to think if there's anything I need that would still be on yours.

Drivers side headlight, boot struts possibly if they're still any use? Don't suppose you have the remote central locking fob? Does/did the car have under bonnet lighting?

One of the nuts is spinning on the driver side headlight, we`ll see if I can get the bugger out without wrecking it.

 

Boot struts were ok last time I opened the boot.. About 3 years ago..

 

I have 1 or 2 alarm/locking fobs, somewhere, but I think you need the receiver as well (the white globe by the front ceiling light).. Again, I`ve got one type.. Somewhere..

 

I think they all had underbonnet lights, they should still be there.

[uk_senator]

Ah are they the infrared style fobs? Mine is radio/RF type.

And mine doesn't have underbonnet lights, but I'm reliably informed the cabling will be present

I might have RF ones somewhere, if I`ve not sold them already, the grey ones with the gold strip round the edge?

 

IIRC, the bonnet lights come on the cable, you just have to plug the connector in, I`ll see if I`ve got any if they arent on the bonnet already (the original bonnet on this one went on a salvage one I repaired, not sure if I took them off).

[oldcars]

Looks like hard work getting it out, you should have held a raffle 

[flat4alfa]

I have Daimler XJ40 too

 

I need

 

Rear bumper if not out of shape

main central locking module

screen surround stainless trim corners

key fobs

battery clamp

sun visor clips

cruise control mechanism bellows thing

 

cheers

[Cleon-Fonte]

This is a prime candidate for listing on eBay at £4000 as a GENUINE BARN FIND L@@@@K