coefficient .32 Jaguar S Type X200 - One year on...

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

I should have took a pic of all the cables! It was like spaghetti junctions mother from another brother. Given more time (not having a busy household where spare time is gold) I'd have chopped and soldered the connections to rid the install of the plugs of which there are many.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

I've decided after some months of thought that I don't like the amount or shade of the wood effect in the car.  It's too light, maybe faded and there is a lot of it. After spending so much time sitting next to a nob, I certainly don't like the gear selector knob which is a wood item, standard, and looks unfinished. Armed with the power of ebay, I got hold of this:

 

I hope that this eliminates the issue with my current knob. This knob is inserted tightly through a nice ring and the feel should be satisfactory.

 

EDIT: I have to put ebay away... this is becoming addictive...

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

 

Erm... 

Last Saturday I had a look at the weather... It was wet... A lot... So I checked the phone to see if Sunday was a better prospect for wearing my mechanic hat. Sun all day and 15 degrees! Perfect.

Sunday morning, 6am...

Rain, misery and moar wet. What the? I checked my phone and discovered that the sun was still out in Cambridge, Cambridge USA! Realising that I must have turned off 'my location' at some point I prepared to prepare preparations to prepare to think about venturing outside wielding spanners.

It was grim. So was the car. I was armed with some new parts and upon deep excavation and investigation realised that the jags rear suspension was teetering on being totally fucked. My handful of new parts were dwarfed by the list I was producing of worn out shit that really needed attention immediately.

I contemplated repair to some of it, maybe radical modification, race spec, budget build and the like. Maybe I should just knock it on the head? This is not a case of just fixing something, we are talking serious repairs here. AND THIS IS JUST THE BACK END!

I decided to strip it all off, all the nasty fucked bits, the bits I now know are there, lurking in the darkness. I ended up with a fair sized pile of metal and expired rubber at the end of it. 

Then I thought that I'd sleep on it, the situation which has made itself quite apparent. Today the calculator was held up to the daylight so those little solar panels could get enough charge for it to operate. After doing the math I can only see one way this needs to go, the only way that makes sense on a £400 car, the shitters way...

 

Genuine jaguar rear suspension!

Well, the old kit lasted probably 17 years and has blagged another 3 years past being well expired, long story short, there's about £200 quid in it from fitting unbranded parts or rebuilding the arms to fitting the real deal, so the decision was made. Saving has commenced.

 

[Andyrew]

Pure Madness. 

Carry on sir.

[Six-cylinder]

58 minutes ago, BoggyMires said:

Then I thought that I'd sleep on it, the situation which has made itself quite apparent. Today the calculator was held up to the daylight so those little solar panels could get enough charge for it to operate. After doing the math I can only see one way this needs to go, the only way that makes sense on a £400 car, the shitters way...

 

Genuine jaguar rear suspension!

Well, the old kit lasted probably 17 years and has blagged another 3 years past being well expired, long story short, there's about £200 quid in it from fitting unbranded parts or rebuilding the arms to fitting the real deal, so the decision was made. Saving has commenced.

 

I am so glad you took this on, without you it would have died at some point.

[beko1987]

That's almost exactly the scenario that greeted me with the 406 5 days before the mot was due. 

Head swiftly ruled me on that one, much saluting for giving it a go! 

[Skut]

2 hours ago, BoggyMires said:

 

I prepared to prepare preparations to prepare to think about venturing outside wielding spanners. 

Lol Brilliant. Exactly my process of psyching myself up to do car repairs. 

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Well look who it is! (it's me... after my short break...)

So, what do we know? I'll tell you...

Things are good, the sun is out and the birds are singing, but I can't hear them up in my office. Have a picture of pollution soaked London to lighten the mood.

Now, the Jaguar. Things didn't go to plan with that car, one thing came up then another and so on and it was tough but...

I totally frickin sorted it! Jesus, that thing ate some cash and you can actually see what kills these cars off. I drew the line at Christmas, enough was enough and impulse bought the rear suspension. It was then or never. Swallowing the brave pill and with a firm middle finger up to things like bills, food and keeping children alive, I financially assaulted myself. Figured so long as the missis never knew the true price of Jaguar rear suspension then we'd swerve this one and no one would need to know that anything had happened.

Delivery day.

Not long after, I painted the arms in black and stuck them on.

What a sight to see the car no longer held up by some wood. With the MOT and Taxation looming, I set off to see what else needed my attention. Dreading the thought of looking at the front suspension really and anticipating the right royal financial shafting in exchange for more bent metal. Wheels were removed...

What a pleasant surprise! The front suspension was in remarkably good condition and largely of original manufacturer parts. 1 track rod end was odd, but they were both seized according to tracking man so were going to get swapped out for yet more Lemforder parts. It all cleaned up rather well. 

Now with 4 working track adjusters all this needed was to be aligned. But first I noted the pads were pretty shot so I got some replacements from TRW, a decent name, decent price and OE supplier to many. 

Then the headlamps needed a revisit. Last year I removed them and fitted new adjusters and clips but the lenses were milking up and were deteriorating quite quickly showing the war had been lost against the UV rays. I got a box of stuff and followed the instructions. It worked.

A bit of effort required but the results were bang on. Then I set to cleaning the leather seats, feeding them and re-colouring worn bits. The leather was quite crispy so appreciated some work and it was hard, boring toil x3 and the results were meh. But at least it got done and yes, the seats feel a little softer now.

Attention to the body was also given to assess the overall condition and a mop was purchased in order to brighten the car up a bit and get rid of numerous paint defects and scratching. I had to go easy on the assessment remembering that the car is 20 years old, she's gonna have some issues. Nothing too bad really and I reckon a good once over will produce some nice results. A particular area that is poor is the rear bumper and area around the number plate. It feels like it's got hit with over spray so if any of it's previous custodians could enlighten me as to what has been done here, I would appreciate it and it'll save me having to poke too hard into it only to discover a repair.

I got two new Goodyears put on it as the fronts were running in odd directions due to appalling wheel alignment and had lost their shoulders and cracking was evident. Although they would have scraped through a test, I would have been embarrassed to offer them for it. Problem gone.

MOT day arrived yesterday. 

I don't need to say the result. The car is spot on. Then I took it for some 4 wheel laser alignment treatment which wasn't cheap and didn't really need to be that expensive either. I used to do that shit and I no wot it's wurth M9, $$PROFIT$$. It's not fun being on the other end but life is swings and roundabouts and I needed straight wheels. The car got a fair bit of admiration wherever it went which is nice and just to have some good feedback makes all the effort worthwhile.

The car itself gave thanks by riding really well and performing great. One thing noticed during the MOT was that the emissions contained 0 CO and 0 HC's showing that the engine management fueling and engine burning is 100% efficient.

So, mechanically all that is left to do is inspect a power steering fluid leak which appears to be coming from a union by a pressure sensor. Trouble with that is that it is directly above the AC compressor and below the Steering pump and is virtually inaccessible. Something has to come out which means belt off. I have a replacement belt to go on, a water pump to fit and a pully to replace AND that suspected noisy alternator needs to go or be repaired too. I'm planning to do all this in one hit and hopefully the union will take a bit of tightening. If not then I'll have to get parts and do it another time.

I've put a new battery on it, some Exide 3 year jobbie as the old battery, despite a good 'off the car' charge over 3 days, still continued to mess around with the ABS light and eventually fell flat as soon as the temperature dropped. 

What's this car owe me then... including purchase and all the stuff in this thread so far, about 1550 quid roughly. That excludes the head unit and Mods. And there is mods. Exterior, engine and running gear remain unchanged as all the mods are taking place inside. Totally reversible  with respect to the car but will make the interior more personal to my tastes as I really don't like the light, almost faded looking wood or the amount of neutral colour, it really is quite bland inside. It is also a chance for me to have a little play around which is something I can't do on the BMW or the Discovery and is something I haven't been able to do for years. Wotch this space!

 

 

 

 

 

[sutty2006]

It’s the Xtype that’s based loosely on a Mondeo, the Stype is loosely based on a Lincoln Continental I think. 

[Cookiesouwest]

Great thread. Total respect to you for the effort you have put in.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Another 150 mile round debut trip today. At some point, I landed in a place called Slough.

And it's dirty again. It needs wipers, they clear the screen but leave snail trails which bugs me... And it's always the drivers side! 

There's something about going into a private underground car park in a jaguar, you get an overwhelming sense of self importance for many seconds.

I've been eyeing up X202 door mirrors... I wonder if they fit?

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Whoa! Driving to work today, the sun was hinting that spring was on the way.... Gawd, I need that sunroof to work, I thought.

Some tinkering later and it's fully operational! Just tight i reckon. Got home, cleaned and lubed all around it and now... IHaZsunRoove!

I removed the bonnet badge yesterday too. The 3L badge on these is silver and dark green and says 3 litre. My dark green bit has gone... Somewhere... A while ago.

I had a look around the Google and replacements are between £30 and £60 odd quid! Awesome.

Being a fan of the red badge over the green, I set about looking for a red one. No dice.

Red is for the 4L and anything with a supercharger as that is what it says on it. Bummer. Being me, I decided to put myself through personal pain and aggro as usual and produce something unique*.

I bought some stuff and had a go. The result was 'OK'. I can get better than just OK!

Here it is having been scuffed up and re-masked for a better paint job today- hopefully!

You can see the silver bits where my previous attempt wasn't good enough.

Then I gave it another hit...

This candy red is straight onto the metal. Although I scuffed that up first. As it dries, it'll clear out a bit revealing a bit of detail under it. I think then ill flat it all and lacquer the entire badge, not sure, so tell me what you think. The badge is a bit tarnished so it might help it a bit?

 

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Tape orf...

Needs a bit of a flat to lose some harsh edges and bleed, but it's better.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

The black bit was thin and didn't put up any fight against a bit of 1200 grit wet sanding so it had to be touched in. Back in the miniature spray booth...

Tape off...

It's got a bit of sticky around the outer edge, I'm just going to let it alone now for 24 hours and then apply a bit of cut and polish and I reckon it's a winner!

[Twiggy]

1 hour ago, BoggyMires said:

 

 

That looks superb !

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Cheers man! Reckon it's the only red 3L one out there, probably, maybe...

Here is a potato before in its very monotone state...

And the new looking one can't be a fake because they never made one!

 

[wuvvum]

I love the fact that so much money and attention is being lavished on my old £400 banger.  Mind you it was bloody solid for an S-type so probably a decent base to start from...

[Mrs6C]

34 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

I love the fact that so much money and attention is being lavished on my old £400 banger.  Mind you it was bloody solid for an S-type so probably a decent base to start from...

Ditto!

It is a really nice car and I enjoyed having it around when Six-cylinder owned it. I'm really pleased to see it getting all the love and attention it deserves.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

It's passed the downward spiral stage and now the only way is up! The fact that it is solid and a short lived early type with a strong core engine has saved it.

I have compiled a list of stuff to achieve* on it this year starting today.

[✓] Air in rear tyres
[✓] Fit replacement locking nuts
[✓] Check fluids
[✓] Repair bonnet rust spot
[✓] Fit refurbished badge
[✓] Adjust head lamps
[ ] Diagnose power steering leak
[ ] Diagnose coolant leak
[ ] Diagnose Central locking
[ ] Repair window regulators
[ ] Wrap wood trim
[ ] Modify and fit glovebox
[ ] Diagnose whine at 1k rpm (it's back!)
[ ] Charge/diagnose AC system
[ ] Paint correction
[ ] Spare wheel tools and tow eye
[ ] Fit poly ARB bushes
[ ] Descale and paint rear frame
[ ] Rust spots on rear doors
[ ] Replace broken dash trim
[ ] Replace NSF int door handle
[ ] X202 door mirrors
[ ] Service
[ ] Replace headlining and fit lighting
[ ] Repair centre console storage
[ ] Fit heated windscreen
[ ] Wash and vac carpets

[ ] Replace rear tyres

[✓] Fit new wiper blades

So, still a bit too do so best get cracking!

Oh and for the first time ever, the spare wheel had its punctured tyre replaced!

 

 

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

When I last put the wheels on, I noticed that the locking wheel nut key was showing signs of giving up. It is an uncommon, two v shaped pin thing which appears to have had some repairs carried out on it previously to keep the pins in.

Luckily I had ordered some second hand genuine units which came today!

I went to remove the first locking wheel nut and the keys pins disintegrated, leaving the nut firmly attached. Can you imagine this on the side of the motorway, cold, raining and dark? Horrible thought.

Using my engineering skills* I had the idea to weld little runs where the pins used to go. It only bloody worked!

You can just see one of the welds ^

The last wheel nut is firmly stuck in there, I'm not wasting my energy on it, it's all straight in the bin.

New* ones have been marked up so I can see what way around the new key fits as it saves faffing.

A big sigh of relief there.

The replacements are much more robust and should last for a while, especially for the amount of times that these wheels come off! 

I accidentally realised I had bid on another, slightly worse looking set which I had to buy, this buying stuff twice seems to happen a lot.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Done.

Because of the little bit of rust under the badge which had manifested itself around the badge locating hole, that job took way longer than it should have done. Even small amounts of paint takes ages to dry! Still, it's done now and luckily like most jobs on old cars involving blood, toil and tears, will largely go unoticed!  It all adds up though.

[Six-cylinder]

This car went to the right man!

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Almost a year to the day right? I saw some memos on my phone last night from this time last year reminding me to withdraw some of the cash for it!

[Six-cylinder]

Looking so beautiful when I had it you would never know how much work it needed.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

It looks more complex but it's pretty basic stuff. Even the back is alright to do, there's just a lot of it and prestige motor car tax.

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

7 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Looking so beautiful when I had it you would never know how much work it needed.

Wolf in sheep's clothing for the wrong reasons! Jokin aside, I'd like to say I saw the potential in it but in reality it was mainly the cheap Jag trap with added enthusiasm to make it work!

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

I didn't even give these a thought. My old man really wanted one bad when they first came out but his car allowance just couldn't stretch that far so he got a Rover 75 which caught fire 3 weeks later. He got one eventually in that light met blue. It seemed very posh but little did we know at the time that the interior trim was made from straw.

In other news, I thought I'd give a local little garage a call today about adjusting my headlamps. I've never used this place but have walked passed it numerous times. I told them that the lights had been rebuilt, I just couldn't aim them properly. "Bring it right down" was their reply. They wouldn't even take any money for the job despite me offering. "Just use us again" they said. 

I might just do that... Little do they know that they are about to get two land rover front hubs in to change the 4 ball joints!

 

[stuboy]

bloody lovey motor

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Easy girl... She's attracting attention... We don't need no baby jags thanks!

[Crispian_J_Hotson]

Today I decided to have a look at this cars notorious central locking system. More of a myth actually as in some past life it had all been 'disconnected' due to running a battery down. That's all I got from it's history, oh, and broken central locking.

I don't know what's wrong with it, so all I can do is basic tests, visuals and try to get it going. I started at the drivers door, removed the panel and from there on, a days worth of mucking about was waiting for me.

Someone had been here. Electrical tape, chock blocks, cutters, missing bits... urgh. The loom to the door lock had been cut and out of 9 wires, 2 were in use- I think. All these wires go back to a 'Drivers door control module' handily mounted in the actual door. It's a programmable unit, looks delicate inside and being shoved in the door, is subjected to frequent banging and shocks. If it sounds like something that was built in the UK, it was. All this gubbins needed to come out and be inspected and by the looks of it, repaired.

Picking it apart revealed the two wires currently in use. I took a picture of them in case it all goes wrong so I can put it back in this configuration. Hell, at this point, I don't even know if I'm about to brick the car!

Finding some handy connectors I stripped back and soldered pins and terminals on and then into the blocks. Worst comes to the worst, I can extract the pins I need and put into smaller blocks.

Then I could tidy up the loom...

Before and after I had done this, I checked all the wires for continuity to make sure we were headed in the right direction!

More in a bit...