Sold Dollywobbler's Dodgy Daimler - Dead

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

It does look to have a fair bit of rust. I think you are right to call time on it now. XJ40s don't seem to be easy things to sell so if you want a better one and this Daimler hasn't put you off, that does hold down prices. If ever there was a 'car for life' it is the old '40 - it takes a lifetime to sell one!

 

Bizarrely though, they seem to shift relatively easily and for decent money if they are mint. I find that disparity a little odd and I wonder if this is because people are scared of them when they're a bit tatty.

 

The rust site on the top of the scuttle under the windscreen isn't one of the more prominent rust spots, so I wonder if the car has had a new windscreen rather badly fitted some years ago. That said, I have seen rust there before. They generally rust on that panel under the front wing - this is the most common rust site which causes water to leak into the footwells and on to the electrics. I think it is a racing certainty that your Daimler will have this rust. Here is a link to the resto thread I did on my XJ40 - the plenum top was rusty there on my car: http://autoshite.com/topic/11485-xj40-rust-welding-a-cat-with-management-skills/

 

I enjoyed the video.

[cort16]

I'd get the gaffa tape for the crusty bits and get it for an mot. If it can scrape a years ticket then you're laughing else it could be a hard sell.

Still worth it for the recovery mission from Glasgow.

[dollywobbler]

Oh aye. I enjoyed the capers very much. Even if it didn't feel like it at every moment of said caper...

 

I may yet have a rethink.

[Timewaster]

I'm just wondering what you could do with a wonderful comfy leather interior?

 

Best I have come up with so far is to rip all the seats out of the nippa and just have one super armchair for the driver.

 

I've not been drinking. Hence the lack of really good* ideas. I'll get back to you Friday evening possibly.

[Bobthebeard]

The thrill is in the idea forming, buying the train tickets and doing the road trip home! That, to me is the fun of buying chod. If it turns out to be useless then so what?

The fun is in the doing.

Nobody gets money back from a holiday but they enjoy it non the less!

Verdict.

You had a good time.

In a nice car.

[dollywobbler]

Indeed. Then the reality is that things are a bit shit.

 

However, I'm feeling more upbeat today. I'm going to order up an oxygen sensor, so it runs nicely, then I'll stuff it in for an MOT next week and see how things fare from there.

[stuboy]

being a spaz cant just buzz on a plate with a mig cover in lashings of undergarment seal?

[RobT]

Will it still be featuring in your Jag mag, as a counter to all the cheque book restoration examples? I'll buy a copy if it is!

[richardthestag]

Indeed. Then the reality is that things are a bit shit.

 

However, I'm feeling more upbeat today. I'm going to order up an oxygen sensor, so it runs nicely, then I'll stuff it in for an MOT next week and see how things fare from there.

 

that's the spirit.

[richardthestag]

being a spaz cant just buzz on a plate with a mig cover in lashings of undergarment seal?

 

up near the screen? doesnt sound very glass friendly.

 

Reckon nibble the rust out to stop any further spread, wedge a bit of metal up behind the screen lip where it has rotted out and pop rivet it to teh sound metal and then fibreglass it over the top to seal it from water ingress. 

[dollywobbler]

Will it still be featuring in your Jag mag, as a counter to all the cheque book restoration examples? I'll buy a copy if it is!

 

Oh yes. The collection caper will be covered in full detail.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

All this rust and general decay will rather confirm the negative stereotype the poor old '40 suffers in Jaguar enthusiast circles, so the readers will enjoy it!

 

I once got talking to an E-Type owner at a car show - a genial chap straight from central casting - about his old Jag and an equally magnificent Series I parked next to it. I was trying to get a recommendation for a body shop for mine. After talking about his car for a bit, he asked me if I too had a Jaguar. I replied that I did - an XJ40. He looked suddenly aghast, muttered "Oh dear..." - and walked off!

[Junkman]

Hmm, when you say siren, is it a horrible constant high pitched shriek? When we picked up the Jag, we somehow triggered such a noise (we think by adjusting the steering wheel). It was also constant whether the ignition was on or not. 

 

Jiggling the wiring around the steering column sorted it, and it has never returned (even when I've adjusted the steering wheel).

 

Actually, what really sorted it was wiggling the wiring around the expertly* installed tow bar electrics in the boot.

 

Don't ask.

[Guest Hooli]

Ahh a trailer indicator buzzer.

[Bren]

Video was very enjoyable.

 

If the car was mint there woyld be no video and there would not be five pages of posts.

 

This site is about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Ha yes! - It took me five years to get a four page thread on mine!

[egg]

DWs and RobTs experience with old Jags has made me reappraise having an XJ40 on my 'must own' list. One must accept ones position in life eh?

[dollywobbler]

DWs and RobTs experience with old Jags has made me reappraise having an XJ40 on my 'must own' list. One must accept ones position in life eh?

 

My advice would be to get an X300 quickly. They're built better than the XJ40s, and are massively plentiful for bugger all money. Buying a cheap Series or XJ40 is asking for trouble really. 

 

I have one major advantage that I can get parts on a somewhat friendly basis, but I'll still need to exert a fair bit of effort on it. However, in a bold step, I have ordered up a lambda sensor, which should give it a fair chance of cracking the MOT. Oh, just remembered the washers don't work. I may need to wire in a new button...

 

Genuine MOT query. If the indicator warning light flashes double-time, but the external lamps flash as normal, is that an MOT pass? Just remembered that one of the sidelights is duff as well. I might rip it out and fit a 2CV one...

[Junkman]

Ahh a trailer indicator buzzer.

 

I wouldn't call it a buzzer. It was a mixture of dentist's drill and Gibson ES-125 feedback through a Valvemaster.

There was no way to switch it off, it persisted even after the car was shut down.

[pompei]

Love the Gibson reference!

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

My advice would be to get an X300 quickly. They're built better than the XJ40s, and are massively plentiful for bugger all money. Buying a cheap Series or XJ40 is asking for trouble really. 

 

I have one major advantage that I can get parts on a somewhat friendly basis, but I'll still need to exert a fair bit of effort on it. However, in a bold step, I have ordered up a lambda sensor, which should give it a fair chance of cracking the MOT. Oh, just remembered the washers don't work. I may need to wire in a new button...

 

Genuine MOT query. If the indicator warning light flashes double-time, but the external lamps flash as normal, is that an MOT pass? Just remembered that one of the sidelights is duff as well. I might rip it out and fit a 2CV one...

 

 

I'm not sure I entirely agree with this. Buying a cheap anything risks trouble - a cheap X300 will be no better than a cheap XJ40.

 

The X300 is very similar to the XJ40 underneath - it is a testament to the quality of Ford's marketing that people think they are an entirely different car. The X300 shares most of the XJ40's inherent problems with rust and, as with any old car, can also suffer electrical problems. Many parts are interchangeable between the x300 and XJ40 - though they may have different part numbers.

 

Very late XJ40s (the ones with twin air bags and flush side repeaters in the front wings) were built on the X300 production line and have considerably more panel accuracy than the XJ40s which were built on the old Jaguar production line - and are much more 'built by robot' as a consequence. They enjoy most of the advantages of the X300, whilst still feel like an XJ40. These very late cars rust far less than the earlier XJ40s - indeed, their bodies probably last better than the earlier X300s which have considerable problems with rusty rear arches. There are a disproportionate number of 'L' and even 'M' reg XJ40s left.

 

I like the X300 and agree they can make an excellent buy especially at the low prices they sell for, but I don't feel they are a vastly safer purchase proposition than the XJ40.

[dollywobbler]

I'm not sure I entirely agree with this. Buying a cheap anything risks trouble - a cheap X300 will be no better than a cheap XJ40.

 

The X300 is very similar to the XJ40 underneath - it is a testament to the quality of Ford's marketing that people think they are an entirely different car. The X300 shares most of the XJ40's inherent problems with rust and, as with any old car, can also suffer electrical problems. Many parts are interchangeable between the x300 and XJ40 - though they may have different part numbers.

 

Very late XJ40s (the ones with twin air bags and flush side repeaters in the front wings) were built on the X300 production line and have considerably more panel accuracy than the XJ40s which were built on the old Jaguar production line - and are much more 'built by robot' as a consequence. They enjoy most of the advantages of the X300, whilst still feel like an XJ40. These very late cars rust far less than the earlier XJ40s - indeed, their bodies probably last better than the earlier X300s which have considerable problems with rusty rear arches. There are a disproportionate number of 'L' and even 'M' reg XJ40s left.

 

I like the X300 and agree they can make an excellent buy especially at the low prices they sell for, but I don't feel they are a vastly safer purchase proposition than the XJ40.

 

I'd say you stand a much better chance of bagging a decent X300 for £600 than a decent XJ40, purely because they're younger. Sure, they have many of the same issues, but they haven't had as long to develop. The interiors do feel a lot better on the X300s. Sub-grand XJ40s have become very rare, because most of them have dissolved. Sure, some of the cheap X300s will be utter shitters too, but not all.

 

Anyway, in other news, I went around the engine bay with a can of electrical contact cleaner, and that simple task has got the horn working. I can also hear the relay for the screenwash working, but the pump appears to be dead. That's an MOT fail right there, but getting at the reservoir looks like a right pain in the arse. Job for another day. I don't really have time for tinkering this week, but needed to escape the laptop for a bit.

 

I did try starting the engine, but it is now running like a sack of shit. I'm pretty sure I haven't disturbed anything in the engine bay to cause this. Quickly pulled the plugs and they're blacker than the ace of spades in a black hole. Not surprising if the lambda is kaput I guess? Which leads me to the next question. Anyone know where it is? Please say the engine bay. If it's underneath, I'm a bit screwed given it doesn't bloody run...

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

The lambda sensor is on top of the exhaust downpipe.

 

 

It is not a nice job on the XJ40, since for some reason Jaguar put it in a recess which makes getting a spanner on it more difficult. I have heard of people accessing it from the top with one of those lambda sockets on a long extension. The nut is 22mm, IIRC.

[twosmoke300]

Lambda sensor won't affect the running from cold .

[egg]

Without wanting to go too far off topic - this looks a reasonable sub £1k X300. Not that I'm at the market at the mo when there might be a part share in a beige BX on offer! Lots of rust advisories in the history though at this price. I like the sellers write up too, clear and straightforward.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152530005788

 

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Lambda sensor won't affect the running from cold .

 

 

Temperature sensor perhaps? That is on the front of the engine on the thermostat housing - the one with a two pronged plug.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Without wanting to go too far off topic - this looks a reasonable sub £1k X300. Not that I'm at the market at the mo when there might be a part share in a beige BX on offer! Lots of rust advisories in the history though at this price. I like the sellers write up too, clear and straightforward.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152530005788

 

 

 

I love the half timbered solution to the perennial headliner problem. Paint them black and you could imagine you're in a Tudor cottage! In the right light, the drawing pins could be stars.

[dollywobbler]

Temperature sensor perhaps? That is on the front of the engine on the thermostat housing - the one with a two pronged plug.

 

I wondered that. Had it off and gave it the electrical contact cleaner treatment, as one prong was a little crusty. No difference with it disconnected, but would it make a difference to bridge the contacts?

[dollywobbler]

I told you they were black!

[billyboy406v6]

If the temp sensor is cheap, bung one in. What state is air filter, mass air flow etc ? Quick clean ? WCPGW ?? Wish I had a Jaaaaag !!

 

 

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