Right- exactly what I did, new terminal and cleaned up the clamp with the wire wheel on my bench grinder- works great now. Nice, simple and cheap fix. I was neglect in not taking an "after" picture
Right- exactly what I did, new terminal and cleaned up the clamp with the wire wheel on my bench grinder- works great now. Nice, simple and cheap fix. I was neglect in not taking an "after" picture
This is a picture of the Jag on the chassis jig- you can see a level in the foreground - I now have 6 levels and 4 plumb bobs that I have in place, as I get ready to attach the rear to the main floors/assembly. I am planning on cross measurements and length measurements before the final point of no return.
In the mean time, I have no taillights
Any possibility you know someone you could borrow a tram gauge from? If you were closer I'd let ya borrow mine.
A bit of an internet search, and some helpful pictures from chuck at monocoque metalworks, and I got started on tail lights -
There is a weird filler piece under the tail light on a series I Jag, looks like a total after thought . It is not evident in this picture, as I am "locating" the tail light to its best position. There is no guide for this- the internet research seamed to line the boot seam with the middle of the red portion of the tail light. For the horizontal portion I will use the body seam and the filler piece for orientation...
filler piece welded in, with brackets -
I am going to lead load the bottom, to get a good body - gasket- light assembly interface, although I have my doubts the factory was very meticulous on this point- I could not find a picture that answered to this...
I'll work on the right side tail light next, as I develop courage to get everything plumb and aligned for critical assembly...
I certainly welcome any thoughts or advice -
This is the biggest project I've ever taken on and I am not pretending to know anything about what I am doing. I am completely self taught on this subject....
Proper name for the filler piece is plinth. I think the English design schools have an entire course titled Plinth 101, just as their engineering schools have Bracket 101 through 301....Also what happens when you buy the lamps from a catalog. Lucas designed the lamps without regard to application, and Jaguar picked the one that needed the smallest plinth to fit their car.
erdocmitch said:I'll work on the right side tail light next, as I develop courage to get everything plumb and aligned for critical assembly...
I certainly welcome any thoughts or advice -
This is the biggest project I've ever taken on and I am not pretending to know anything about what I am doing. I am completely self taught on this subject....
I get paid to mangle metal and put it back together. You're doing exactly what you need to- go slow, measure everything like 5 times, contemplate, cut, grind, fill, weld. As you gain experience, your confidence will increase.
As you get set up to marry the chassis and body back together, remember to take a breather. If something is frustrating you, it's okay to sleep on the problem and approach it fresh the next day. If something doesn't seem or feel right, trust your gut. Stop and check it out.
Finally, remember, it's sheet metal. No change you make to it is ever completely irreversible...
Back at it- I did some more work on the tail- still rough, but taking shape :
But the big news is I got my engine block back! I'm still waiting on the cylinder head, but I can do some bottom end assembly work in between doing the body work.
What is the paint inside of the block?
The red paint is "glyptal" It is a cousin of Whitworth tools, Lucas electrics and when facing incredible adversity, making tea. I don't really know if it is worthwhile or not, it is traditionally British. Mr Bill Terry did the preliminary block work, and he is the Jedi master of these engines, so I'm going with it.
I had two hours today, so I was able to do a few things:
1) Clean the block
2) Install ARP main studs
3) Set up the main bearings for a measurement check- I used King tri-metal race bearings with Calico coating...
4) Add oil filter console with spin on filter and takeoff's for an oil cooler (Denis Welch, Big Healy UK)
5) Technical advisor "Kitten" - the incredibly creative name for this 4 year old cat that we couldn't agree on a giving a real name...
Rear main rope seal- After exhaustive research, I'm no closer to an answer in this topic than when I started.
I cleaned everything and checked for burrs - I put a thin layer of sealant in the groove and compressed the rope seal in the groove, facilitated with the factory
tool, (large round cylinder) which I coated with assembly grease. I'm letting it sit overnight (There are variations on soaking the seals in oil, etc.... )
I sorted through the timing gears and chains, and I'll have to order a few bits and pieces . I polished the front cover a bit.
I want to use this opportunity to acknowledge a friend who I have learned a ton about engine building, racing and car set up. I know I have learned a ton because I would not have even noticed these associations a few years ago-
I went to install the distributor bushing and drive shaft in the engine. The factory manual says nothing about this.
The little screw might be thought to lock the shaft in place. It does not. It doesn't even reach the bushing.
Putting a thin dowel through that hole lines up exactly with the oil supply hole in the cylinder. It was placed there to allow oil to circulate around the distributor and the small screw and copper washer is to plug the hole.
There are tiny notches on the assembly 1/4 from top, 1/4 from the bottom. Those allow you to orient the assembly properly in the cylinder. The corresponding oil hole is 180 degrees opposite, to match the block oil. Once you notice this, it makes perfect sense. THese are the things my friend Kip Van Steenberg taught me on one of many garage sessions.... burrs...wear marks, heat marks, clean assemblies, orientation of parts- great lessons
I played with the timing gear - just getting everything sorted out ... IWIS timing chains / Denis Welch tensioner / Rob Beere guides
I had a lot of work the past 2 weeks, so the project moved a little slower, but still moving along.
Engine: I was able to get my crankshaft in, check all measurements with bore gauge, micrometer and plasti-gauge for extra measure- all .002-.0025 clearance. Initially, I didn't like the way the crank felt- I took it all apart and examined every part. I noticed my new race bearings had fine burrs on one edge. I found a few burrs on the bearing shells too. I dressed the edges of all the suspect bearings and re-inspected every part. One of the burrs actually scratched the crank and was the likely source of my frustration. It feels fine now.
I inserted the distributor shaft and drive gear, and had to make a tool to do it. but there was more play that allowed - end float should be .004-.006 , and this is showing .012, So I order a new spacer and bronze gear- hopefully that combination will be .006 -.008 bigger and put the gear into spec.
In reply to erdocmitch :
Those are the things I paid attention to as well. As a result my race engine lasted many hard decades of racing.
The engine was worn and tired when I got it. however by paying careful attention to the little details you pointed out ( and countless others) the stock rods, ground .020 undersized crank survived repeated over reving. (As high as 7000 ) The load of 13-1 compression with a head previously ground .040 and the load of a pair of Piper's billet camshafts.
erdocmitch said:Rear main rope seal- After exhaustive research, I'm no closer to an answer in this topic than when I started.
I cleaned everything and checked for burrs - I put a thin layer of sealant in the groove and compressed the rope seal in the groove, facilitated with the factory
tool, (large round cylinder) which I coated with assembly grease. I'm letting it sit overnight (There are variations on soaking the seals in oil, etc.... )
Have you looked at Rob Beere' s crankshaft conversion? It wasn't available when I did my race engine but I was really careful when I did my rear slinger. Fitment of that is critical to the rear main seal not leaking.
Son CruiserMatt helped me with welding in my roll bar plates I'm taking a break now and will be doing some final measurements before he TIG welds in the roll bar to the plates and the hidden 1x2 purchase point that gets enclosed by the rear bulkhead. Almost all of the E type cages on the internet would not pass an SCCA inspection , according to my study of the rule book. Wrong harness mounting points, missing horizontal and diagonal braces, etc.
I welcome any thoughts on this- I'm going with my best judgment, CruiserMatt's excellent welding, and making sure everything fits.
erdocmitch said:Rear Setup- uprated brakes, vented rotors, shocks, springs, bronze bushings and reinforced cage. Heavy!
This is my rear end on my Series 3 XKE V12 if you notice I deleted the stock cage and rigidly mounted everything.
I did that to eliminate the rear axle steer you get when the whole thing is rubber mounted.
the reason for the inner pick up point on the trailing axle is eliminate the bind you would get with everything fixed in place
you'll notice I used 12 inch 1&1/4 thick vented rotors and aftermarket calipers. I also ducted air to and from the brakes to keep from cooking the differential seals.
Super interesting. Eliminating the radius arms as well, and triangulate to the plate. Gary Hagopian did a similar thing, I have one of his plates on shelf to experiment with. I have heavy duty cage mounts and polurethane radius arm mounts. I read a bit about the rear wheel steering- Have you experienced this? (Is it the cage mounts only, worn parts, body flex, all of the above? more pronounced with sticky tires? ) Have you driven your car on the track? I would love to hear your experiences ...
In reply to erdocmitch :
It's much more pronounced with the torque and power of a V12 than the six cylinder. But once you're aware of the feeling even stock good shape cars can transmit it to you. If you've got urethane mounts remove the springs from your shocks and take a floor jack to lift the rear axle up. You'll only get the movement the compression of the urethane will allow. Basically pretty rigid. Stock the rubber allows decent movement. If you put dial indicators on your wheel rims you can actually measure the degree of steer per inch of travel.
I first became aware of the issue powering over railroad tracks at an angle. we're talking about extremely brief transitory changes as each rear tire slid briefly on the polished rails sending me one direction and then the other. The front end had crossed and the steering was straight as the rear steered one way and then the other.
Lister dealt with the problem on a few of their XJS's but there are even earlier examples once you recognize what you're seeing.
If you look carefully at hot rods with rigidly mounted rear ends the rear doesn't move beyond tire flex and compliance. Usually because of large rear tires that's sufficient with the limited usage they tend to get.
This picture shows the duct work I used to get cool air to the rear brakes. Look behind the seat? See the round curved tube shape? If I had a picture of the interior of the trunk you'd see the duct work from the bulkhead out to the cut out for the license plate on the series 3 it went over the fuel cell in flex tubing. I used 6" curved exhaust tubing welded in. On the rear bulkhead side I flattened the tube slightly to turn it into an oval and let it resume its round shape to hold the flexible ducting over the fuel cell. That was there in case I needed to do maintenance on the fuel cell.
In reply to erdocmitch :
Trailing arm modification isn't the only way to deal with rear axle steering. You can totally eliminate trailing arms completely by reinforcing the lower arm. Instead of a single tube a pair of arms boxing that lower arm will achieve the same effect. But makes mounting the coil overs much harder.
Since my car was patterned after Group 44's car I did the trailing arm mod.
By the way I have a series 1 mold for the front end. if you'd like I could probably make you a carbon fiber bonnet. ( I did for my series 3 and it's finished weight was 22 pounds).
There still are pictures on the web of that bonnet. Rather than have a funky "fiberglass" heat ducts I had a piece of aluminum stamped with louvers
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