project Broadsword's Fleet Thread

[r.welfare]

I reckon auto.

[The Moog]

Postman pat red!

[anonymous user]

Postman pat red!

Sure it's not Scrap-dealer red?

[Broadsword]

Right. It has been a long day, but well worth the effort. The train from York was heavily delayed so I got to the car about 90 mins late. At least that earned me a £40 refund. Then it was a four hour drive home. Lucky for me the weather was fine and the M40/M1/M18/M62 remarkably free of trouble.

 

Yes it's an auto, but this is one very clean XJR6. The strange colour is special insofar it's very rare on an X300. It's Signal Red (i.e that red they used on the E-type). My understanding is that it was only available by special order for the X300. In the photos it doesn't look good, but in the metal it works in a very caddish sort of a way.

 

So the bodywork is really very good. It's had rust cut out of it in the past and repaired/painted very well indeed. It looks fabulous. Also, unlike the others I've had, this seems to have every optional extra going. Cruise control, heated front screen, power folding mirrors, memory seats, electric steering wheel adjustment, electrochromic rear view mirror, subwoofer, headlight washers, toolbox present, everything I can think of.

 

IT HAS WORKING AIR CONDITIONING! (this is quite a novelty for an X300 from my experience at least).

 

It has plenty of good service history and feels pretty tight (relatively) to drive. It really was a very pleasant cruise home and it managed to not be too wayward as these things are pretty sensitive to tramlining due to Jag pushing the X300 chassis perhaps a little too far in an attempt to compete with BMW with the XJR. The tracking is dead straight, which is a good start. Having cruise control really helps. Somehow it managed 25 MPG.

 

I need to investigate the situation with the exhaust manifolds. They have been off in the past according to a receipt. This is good news because the manifold studs will likely be new. The rest of the exhaust appears to be a specialist stainless steel job, observe the slightly oversized rear pipes. There is a slight catch in addition to this. I'm told it uses some oil. The diagnosis is worn valve stem oil seals. I will monitor the oil consumption, but it didn't use any on the way home and I haven't seen any blue smoke. A dead cold start may inform further. It would be a bit of a job getting that sorted, but a repair kit was supplied with the car.

 

The stereo is excellent. It's had £500 worth of kit thrown at not long ago.

 

Other work that wants doing is relatively minor usual X300 bits. Clock dead, aeriel not going up, dirver's set bolster worn, a few odds and ends to sort in terms of trim bit. The interior is about 85%. I want to make it 100% to match the excellent exterior. I also think the transmission filter could benefit from changing. The gearbox is fine, but it could be slightly smoother, being picky here.

 

Other bonus features are that the headlining is good and that the dreaded lower radiator hose (the so-called octopus) has been done not too long ago.

 

So this perhaps explains why the Red Bike was sent on it's way again. I like this XJR. I like it A LOT as ruinous as it will be. It was one of those cases that the moment you sat in it, you just knew it was good.

[Jazoli]

Looks great, I'd have put off the roffle of the bike until I had swapped all the worn interior bits and the chrome grill

[SRi05]

Red car is very red

[Broadsword]

Looks great, I'd have put off the roffle of the bike until I had swapped all the worn interior bits and the chrome grill

That would have been slightly mean I felt. Also the interior's aren't the same colour in my eyes. I'll have to check the the, the ... it needs a name.. the Red Rocket. Anyway I think it's cream leather. The Red Bike has an oatmeal interior. I do have a leather dye repair kit left over from ELA in that cream colour.

 

I don't know about having a chrome grille surround. I kind of agree the front might need a subtle bit of contrast. I'll have to try and figure out a way of photographing it better. It looks nothing like the pictures in person. The leaper needs to go. Maybe one of those small, modern Jag R badges for the grille just to give it something at the front. Shame about the cup holder thingy going AWOL. It will be a pain to find a replacement.

[Fat_Pirate]

Looks great, I'd have put off the roffle of the bike until I had swapped all the worn interior bits and the chrome grill

It would have been a crime, but I reckon I'd have done the same!  

[Broadsword]

More thoughts on the reported oil consumption. I wanted to see what the state of the exhaust emissions were from a dead cold start so did that today. Nothing visible comes out the pipes on startup. Video:

 

 

You can hear the exhaust manifolds are a bit on the loud side there. It still runs great like that by the way! The oil level hasn't gone down and there are no leaks. I'll double check the state of the coolant, but a blown head gasket on these is beyond unlikely (and it doesn't overheat anyway). Not a lot pointing towards engine issues as it stands. Warp drive is available on demand as usual. The previous owner was convinced something is amiss, I can only monitor what happens.

 

The lighting was just right at one point to get a photo better showing off the colour, so I did that.

 

Rummaging through the parts that came with the car. There is a spare clock thingy, nice. There is a full head gasket set including the valve-stem oil seal, if it came to it. A nice addition in the boot is a cutout above a battery terminal, pull and below you will find a battery isolator switch.

 

[stuboy]

that bloody lovely

[Shirley Knott]

That does look rather nice... Also, very considerate of them to paint it in VW 'Flash Red' so that it matches the Lupo.

 

You know, I had no passion at all for Jags of any description a month ago (The Prescott association didn't help) but the more I see of them here and elsewhere on AS the more they appeal. There's actually something quite nice about them I recon, I'm still a long way off giving any drive space to one though!

[Isaac Hunt]

Ferkinell, that is Red is that. I’d be looking for signs of holes in the roof from when it had blue lights up there as a Silverstone Fire Tender Car. Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb must all be former keepers.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

It sounds great (Don't they all  ) - but blimey - that is RED!!!!! Glad you're back in another and will shower it with the skill and care it needs. I'll confess - I initially thought the turquoise one was a bit bright, but this makes it positively restrained!

Will this make the FOTU?

[Broadsword]

On 4/30/2019 at 7:17 AM, JoeyEunos said:

That does look rather nice... Also, very considerate of them to paint it in VW 'Flash Red' so that it matches the Lupo.

 

You know, I had no passion at all for Jags of any description a month ago (The Prescott association didn't help) but the more I see of them here and elsewhere on AS the more they appeal. There's actually something quite nice about them I recon, I'm still a long way off giving any drive space to one though!

I've somehow turned into a bit of an evangelical Jag enthusiast, spreading the good news from Browns Lane. 

It's really a very bright red, nearly requires sunglasses! Not sure it would make FOTU though, not sure it's their cup of tea.

In other news the forum Red Bike went on it's way to Scotland yesterday. I'm sure it's in very good hands!

Slight cockup on the Range Rover P38 front. It started leaking diesel today. First thing I jumped to was the injector pump, it was bone dry. Then I noticed the fuel is dripping down the side of the injector. A bit more looking revealed fuel was coming out the leak off pipe on injector 5. I think the lines are pretty brittle old plastic by now. There is a good guide to replacing these bits online, which I will follow.

https://www.land-rover-blog.co.uk/how-to-change-the-injector-leak-off-pipes-on-a-range-rover-dse/

I had a quick look at the XJR exhaust again. Didn't have time to check the manifolds, but I was admiring the full stainless steel system on there (the cats are stainless too!) and noticed it's blowing out of the joint between the manifold and down pipe. The collar is loose. It might have snapped a stud or something. I think what with it being a custom setup, they way it's bolted to the manifolds is a bit of a compromise.

By the way does anyone want to buy a 1999 S-type 3.0 V6 manual?

[Broadsword]

Today I did a minor service on the Lupo. Didn't quite do it on the exact date due, but did as soon as the service indicator came up. I used the excellent quality Petronas oil that came with the XJR6 and a MANN oil filter from ECP for like £3.50. The XJR will be fed 10W-40 anyway. Very pleasing that the oil filter came off easily on the Lupo, someone torqued it up perfectly last time! The oil filters are interesting on these. There is a slot in the base for some sort of tool presumably. To finish things off I fitted some padding to the front grille. It rattles pretty bad at idle and makes quite a noise. Even the VW badge makes a loud rattle. With everything cushioned the car is now quieter (but still loud obviously). It's just at idle that is quite loud, it settles down at speed. I've learnt with the Lupo that you need to drive it hard at regular intervals to blast the clag out, this keeps it happy.

Tomorrow I should try and fix the Range Rover. I got slightly distracted when someone walking past was very impressed by the XJS and asked whether it would be for sale. I said yes and let him have a good look around. He seemed rather taken by it. Oftentimes the enthusiasm vanishes when it comes to committing to a purchase though! I probably just wasted my time. Nice idea though.

No XJR fettling yet, it waiting it's turn patiently.

I have asked around as regards a auto to manual gearbox conversion on the XJR. It would be a very exciting project to make the car quite special indeed. It IS doable. The difficult bit is finding the donor car. An XJ Sport manual is what you need because you will want the black wood ski slope for the manual (not the same as an auto). Then you need to change the flywheel, clutch, gearbox, prop, pedal box, etc. They are all a direct fit. There are a few wires to deal with apparently. I suspect that if I had a donor car, I could get to a mechanic who has done the job before for the work perhaps. No way it could be done at home. Apparently the clutch cover is not the same on the S/C as N/A car and the part is NLA which is where you hit a snag. The solution would be to get a competition clutch. I think if you could get a donor car for £500, the rest of the process might be doable for £600-£700. Just an idea. I need to test drive one. On that score I do have a slight change. There was a wreck of an XJR6 manual for sale on eBay in February. It sold for £2200 odd and by chance I've been in touch with the buyer since he bought a throttle body and seatback off me for it. Anyway there has been some chat back and forth. The car might get finished in time for summer and I might get a change to try it. I suggested I drive down in my and we test both back to back. That would be awesome!

By the way what do we think of this?

[Shirley Knott]

53 minutes ago, Broadsword said:

 Very pleasing that the oil filter came off easily on the Lupo, someone torqued it up perfectly last time!

 

Yup, the master tech at Eunos motors has very gentle hands *blushes*

That service indicator pops on every 10k although I tended to do it once a year/5k as it's a dirty little brute. You'll no doubt have found instructions online RE how to turn it off (Very simple) You're spot on RE giving it a good blast every now and again, it needs to be reminded what work looks like to keep it breathing well.

 

59 minutes ago, Broadsword said:

 

By the way what do we think of this?

I actually like that, like really like it.

Slowly but surely I think the worm might be turning for me taste wise.

[Broadsword]

It's a good little package that S-type and means I have now ticked off yet another model on my adventure through the Jaguar range. The 3.0 V6 manual is a good combo, and can get a decent shift on to boot. This one has rather excellent service history and a new ticket.

The funny thing with the Lupo's exhaust is that the tail pipe points sideways into the inner rim of the rear wheel. The occasional exhaust smoke means that tyre is very black. Really the deal is that occasionally you see the exhaust misting up a bit behind you. You can then either do a hard sprint through the gears to blow the soot out or sit parked up, floor the throttle for about 5 seconds, observe a cloud of death, then it just suddenly clears again.

[straightSix]

Lovely looking xjr that. Never seen an X306 in that colour before. There is a signal red xj40 r that's near to me that I often see

Couple of years ago a turquoise manual xjr came up for sale, really regret not getting it but it was in too good condition for me to not be able to keep in a garage. And I think it was last year(?) a guy called Rob Jenner ( not sure if you've heard of him) sold off one of his manual xjrs. He has another immaculate one in turquoise as well.  So they do come up for sale though often seem to have lived a harder life than the autos

How's the s-type? Part of me has always wanted a manual to turn into a drift car...

[Broadsword]

Not much posting recently. I have been busy mainly with the XJS, which I have now taken as far as I can, and it is now for sale. Far form perfect, the main objective was to make it usable and mostly one colour. Having done that it went straight on an eBay auction. Initially things were fine. The first thing that went wrong was that the auction was set up so that it was a no-reserve 99p start and offers would be considered. eBay, forever tweaking the site to make it more prone to being hacked and far, far harder to use, made it so that yes there was a box to enter offer. Someone did that, then someone else put a bid on it and the offer feature was immediately removed. What rubbish!

Anyway a fair number of bids flooded in innitially, also many nuisance users sending messages. Later on everything went in reverse. Bids started to get retracted and conveniently the highest remaining bidder was the same user who made the initial offer. What people seem to do is bid on something, get their friend to bid against the same item, then start bidding the auction down. The auction was pulled before the point of no return as it was going to make less than what I paid for it before all  the work. That same person was pretty quick to get in touch and ask what happened, conveniently. A real shame. An auction for the XJS is a no-no going forward, as is any prospect of a quick sale, which I was really hoping for. What a mess. It's on Car and Classic and is the cheapest running, MOTd example by a long way, but cars are hard to shift right now.

On to something more positive. Time to have a look at the wonderful XJR6. First to have a good look at the blowing exhaust. The previous owner assumed leaking manifolds as they had recently been welded, hence me being given a spare to go. With the heat shied off the manifolds are apparently fine. It's just leaking out the rear down-pipe. If I had to guess the manifold repair was successful, but refitting less successful. The studs are ok I think. Maybe the gasket is damaged. All in all this is good news as the amount of work required is less than anticipated.

[Broadsword]

More XJR6 fettling today. First off the exhaust. Long story short, all four bolts for the two down pipes were loose. Unsurprisingly this allowed the exhaust to blow. Everything nipped up and also the manifolds studs inspected (they all move so any future work here will be easy), the exhaust is now fixed. Excellent result. Let's just hope those bolts don't shake loose again. They are a bit of a pain to do up if you don't have a good selection of stubby ratchet's/sockets/extensions, but it can all be accessed from up top if you think it through. I think it was just the last garage that worked on it rushed the job. Flicking through the long list of recent work, a Peugeot specialist fitted the repaired manifolds. Maybe they weren't so keep on the big cat, it don't know.

I had a scan through the engine bay armed with my collection of X300 knowledge. There were two pieces of black trim missing from the front corners. I had those in a stash so they went on. The side lights were hanging out the lights for no apparent reason. They work, just not fitted. Strange. A decent tidy up of the rest of the engine bay, polish up the exhaust heat shield, fix an earth strap going to the bonnet and that was about it.

Next the leaper was removed. Just a 24 mm plastic nut holding it on. The paint underneath is ok, just there are two holes. I have a box of plastic grommets and two of them fit plug the holes perfectly. I've got two more like them painted red to provide a slightly better temporary solution while I come up with a better solution.

The exterior got a good clean as there was some sap on it. It should be good enough for a proper polish after a couple more washes. The paint is pretty damn good.

Finally some prodding around in the boot. The aerial doesn't do anything. I'm wondering if it is just dead or not working because it has a fancy non-factory head unit. The fuse is ok and I've cleaned up the earth. I don't know  which relay controls the motor. Finally the number plate lights needed tidying up and the battery clamp was backwards and not holding the battery at all. It really sums up the sort of work the car is throwing up. Nothing serious, nothing difficult, just lots of small things that haven't been done quite right.

[The Moog]

That's a shame about the XJS. eBay keeping messing about with options drives me mad - setting ridiculous postage costs automatically etc.

XJS is unlikely to be an impulse purchase for most people.

Good to see the xj fettling continue.

[bangernomics]

More XJR6 fettling today. First off the exhaust. Long story short, all four bolts for the two down pipes were loose. Unsurprisingly this allowed the exhaust to blow. Everything nipped up and also the manifolds studs inspected (they all move so any future work here will be easy), the exhaust is now fixed. Excellent result. Let's just hope those bolts don't shake loose again. They are a bit of a pain to do up if you don't have a good selection of stubby ratchet's/sockets/extensions, but it can all be accessed from up top if you think it through. I think it was just the last garage that worked on it rushed the job. Flicking through the long list of recent work, a Peugeot specialist fitted the repaired manifolds. Maybe they weren't so keep on the big cat, it don't know.
I had a scan through the engine bay armed with my collection of X300 knowledge. There were two pieces of black trim missing from the front corners. I had those in a stash so they went on. The side lights were hanging out the lights for no apparent reason. They work, just not fitted. Strange. A decent tidy up of the rest of the engine bay, polish up the exhaust heat shield, fix an earth strap going to the bonnet and that was about it.
Next the leaper was removed. Just a 24 mm plastic nut holding it on. The paint underneath is ok, just there are two holes. I have a box of plastic grommets and two of them fit plug the holes perfectly. I've got two more like them painted red to provide a slightly better temporary solution while I come up with a better solution.
The exterior got a good clean as there was some sap on it. It should be good enough for a proper polish after a couple more washes. The paint is pretty damn good.
Finally some prodding around in the boot. The aerial doesn't do anything. I'm wondering if it is just dead or not working because it has a fancy non-factory head unit. The fuse is ok and I've cleaned up the earth. I don't know  which relay controls the motor. Finally the number plate lights needed tidying up and the battery clamp was backwards and not holding the battery at all. It really sums up the sort of work the car is throwing up. Nothing serious, nothing difficult, just lots of small things that haven't been done quite right.

More modern round jaguar badge over the two holes?

[Broadsword]

A growler badge is probably the easy way out. Something like this maybe...

[Isaac Hunt]

Good lateral thinking.  

[Broadsword]

2 hours ago, snagglepuss said:

That's a shame about the XJS. eBay keeping messing about with options drives me mad - setting ridiculous postage costs automatically etc.

XJS is unlikely to be an impulse purchase for most people.

Good to see the xj fettling continue.

The business with the XJS is a pain. Car and classic is probably where the most serious buyers for it are I guess. I’m still mulling over where else to advertise it. It owes me money so I’m hoping to see it sell it soon, which will allow me to push the blower Jag into full service. Terrible time for selling cars I’m finding, especially with the Xantia. I’ll keep the XJS on the road till the end of the month probably.

Other exciting things to do with the XJR involve fitting the Andy bracket. In the case of the XJR engine you should really notice a difference in concert with the good exhaust. I want to do a video of back to back 0-60 Mph pulls with and without the bracket. I still have a boost gauge sitting on a shelf ready to try. I’ll put that on too.

I’m so impressed with this XJR being such a solid and presentable base car, that I’m really thinking it deserves the manual gearbox conversion. Going through the work done over the past few years the only thing to keep an eye on is the fuel pumps as they haven’t been done. Everything else has been kept on top of, even the dreaded octopus coolant hose has been done so no need to fear that bursting. The other usual FTP causing bits can be carried in the boot.

I’m on the lookout for a full sized matching spare wheel. Might have a lead on one, but it’s in Somerset, so waiting on the possibility of meeting up when the vendor is on his travels.

[somewhatfoolish]

Most leccy aerials I've seen don't have a relay controlled supply, just the switched feed from the boombox?

[The Moog]

Xantias are just pretty unloved - I used to buy loads of them as they were 1/3 of the price of anything else cause of the green blood. 

[Broadsword]

21 hours ago, somewhatfoolish said:

Most leccy aerials I've seen don't have a relay controlled supply, just the switched feed from the boombox?

Yes, now that I have looked into it you are of course correct. The XJS is ancient enough to have a separate relay, not the X300. I took the aerial out today. It takes about 2 mins, just remove the side trim panel in the boot, unscrew the collar at the top, one screw below, the earth, coax and multi-plug. No continuity on the plug base on the aerial. With the motor case opened up everything is surprisingly clean and there is no rain water contamination. The mast still goes up and down perfectly. The problem seem to be the control board since the motor will take 12 volts to it direct, just not via the control board. I tried cleaning the plugs and the circuit board. No dice. Annoyingly my spare from a dead X300 at UPullit (a generic part, but quite fresh looking) also appears to be a dud. I can make a relay inside it click, but that's it.

Defeated, I put everything back together and put the mast up about 1/3 manually, which I think will suffice.

I discovered I have some red touch up paint, which is a perfect match for the Jag. That went to good use.

I have the necessaries for an oil flush and change. That will happen soon.

Out on a tip run with the Range Rover, continues to get random people comment on it. I had one guy compliment it, then try to sell me fuel from a dubious origin. I really must do a transmission fluid and filter change on it. It takes about a mile for the gearbox to settle down after startup (i.e. not shift at higher RPM). The new fuel return lines have made an improvement to running. You never see the injector light flash anymore.

[Broadsword]

One more small job before I need to swap to the XJS for replacement front shock absorber top bushes. Did an engine oil flush today. I used Liquid Moly engine flush which was added to a warm engine then run for 10 mins. The old oil looked pretty black, but I was glad to see a MANN oil filter used. Getting to the oil filter on the XJR is a bit of a faff as you can only get at it easily from underneath. This gave me an excuse to have a good look for rot under the car. It's remarkably ok, which is pleasing. I managed to drain the full 8ish litres out of the sump and refilled with finest Castrol GTX 10W-40 semi-synthetic. This is exactly the correct spec for the engine. There is even a tag in the engine bay telling you to use it. Obviously I'll do air and fuel filters as well as plugs soon. I have a fuel filter. Correct spark plugs for AJ16 Champion RC9YCC. Right now you can get a box of 10 for £17.85 from Amazon, which is crazy cheap. Air filter is pennies also. All aspects of XJR ownership need not be ruinous, merely most of them.

[Broadsword]

Fleet update:

The Lupo continues to be completely reliable. Brilliant car. One slight hiccup when fitting my dashcam. Turns out the 12 volt outlet is constantly live. This is annoying because you can't leave the camera plugged in all the time. A suitable spliter adapter with switches will make it slightly less of a faff but I will always need to remember to turn it off.

The XJS now has new upper bushes for the front shock absorbers. This was a very worthwhile job since the old foam type bushes are rubbish. It now has rubber bushes. I've put it back on auction, this time starting it at £3000 which is the minimum I'll take for it. Not going to be an easy sell I fear. I've had that many people mess me around potentially buying something recently only to back out saying actually they don't have any cash.

The XJR is waiting it's turn after fettling and cleaning for the XJS to sell so that it can be put on the road. It's going to be great!

The Xantia remains unsalable. I'm not giving it away for pennies as it's a good car that's not broken. The offer's I've had have been consistent with those that have serious problems.

I have that S-type for sale. Nice car, glad I sampled it. Very refined. Two people interested, neither have the money.

Last on the Range Rover. I did some fettling on it today. The objective was to fix the driver's side electric window. I have both a spare outstation and a window motor. After taking everything to bits I found that there is power getting to the plug going into the motor, the outstation is fine. The wiring to the door is also fine. The culprit appears to be the switch. A common problem. The switch operates a metal dome which then completes a circuit. I tried cleaning the contacts, but it just doesn't want to know. This is such a common failure that the moment a P38 turns up at UPullit, the window switch pack is literally the first thing to be removed. If anyone is scrapping a P38, please get in touch if you have a functional window switch pack. I'm interested. Not so interested in the prices on eBay, which I don't trust to work anyway.

The amount of wiring under the carpets is frightening. It looks like what you would see on an aircraft. Also there was a lot of crud down there so I tidied up the area. The car rewarded me by starting to turn the auxiliary cooling fan on at random after it had been put back together and locked. It has done this before. Leave the battery disconnected overnight and the electronics sort themselves out after being perturbed.

I also had time to clean up my extremely cheap replacement headlining. This being a aftermarket one it is very robust. I sprayed some affected areas with bleach and scrubbed the whole thing with water/Fabreeze solution after hosing it down. At the end I used my wet vac to remove excess water and let it dry. It looks really great and remember the headlining only cost about a tenner! The genuine Range Rover mats got a similar treatment and came up nicely too.