Thread: What have I done...

Very nice find, you will enjoy it. Had a series1 for about 5 years, then a series2 like yours, as family cars. They are reliable with regular maintenance. If it still has a distributor with points, keep an eye on them, because the material in the rubbing block is not as tough as the old ones, and wears quickly, causing the car not to start when hot. Good idea to carry a spare. Fuel tank not working is probably the points in the electric fuel pump, either adjustment or replacement....easy job. Could also be the tank has rusted and won't hold petrol. The left/right change over switch just activates the relevant pump, which feeds through a t-piece to a common pipe; you can see it at the front of the spare wheel well. The valves in the fuel pump stop fuel pumping from one side to the other. They are just bits of plastic, available and easy fix. Ask PO if he had car rustproofed, but check the sills anyway; they went on mine before I could stop it. That red pipe across the top of the motor is part of the carb air pre-heat. It should have a heat proof pipe connecting it to the air intake in front of the filter. Good idea if you live in cold climate as motor is slow to warm up. They are a joy to drive, email me if you want more info.

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

do they make new ones to suit? or go external?

No idea to be honest - haven’t got that far. If no one makes one it would need to be custom made to fit where it currently goes - there isn’t a space at the back for anything off the shelf. I think between the tanks there’s 95 litres so a decent amount.

Have a workshop manual on the way too so will see what I can glean from that.

Nice one Gav, she looks a treat and I love that interior.

Mine is silver with the black interior and the detail gets lost in all that black. Great car to drive.

They are not too hard to work on and most mechanical parts are easy to come by from the motherland.

Mine had a bit of rust in it so check the front crossmember and the bottom of the windscreen on the passenger side and get lots of fish oil into it.

Such a sweet ride. Please, Please. Please get that silly antenna off that beautiful car. Thanks
Mark

Lucky Bugger , Gav


Here's my new wheels _DSC0858.jpg

You got one with 42,000 verifiable km? Wow.
Owning a Jaguar is sort of like a rite-of-passage. You love it, they're sometimes unreliable, you forgive it when it suddenly goes and runs as it should.
I think mine was in worse nick underneath than I knew - linkages and things - I never got to find out because for Christmas in 2002 someone stole it. I got paid out - more than it was worth, except for the dashboard, which was probably half the value of the car! (Irreplaceable walnut and those big clumsy goofy buttons). It was found much later... Tyres (new) slashed.
Traps for young players:
* If it hasn't got a cruise control, get one! - if your speedo cable breaks you'll find you were doing 150kph.
* If it's got electric fans next to the radiator, check that they are pulling, not pushing?
* shock-absorbers at the back - brilliant design - are vital. There's four of them on the back end.
* don't link the two petrol tanks. For some reason it causes problems.
* Those triangulated struts under the bonnet to the shock absorber towers are essential. (I didn't do this - but driving it for any distance or enthusiastically without them attached - chassis things bend. So I was told...) They're also the first thing you remove if you're going to do any work on it.
* a LWB with good rear shocks - if you've got a 100km trip with 4 adults who like a quiet chat - it's the correct tool for the job.

Pace with grace - enjoy!

Phideaux

Phideaux, You have reminded me of the old Jaguar "Slogan",...."Grace, Space, & Pace". Haven't seen it for many years though.
Pickles.

Originally Posted by MarkinMaine

Please, Please. Please get that silly antenna off that beautiful car. Thanks
Mark

Was the first thing I mentioned to the current owner, and it will be gone by the weekend.