Told my wife to pick anything she/kids want (unlikely) and call these three people (in order) the rest put on the internet for FREE. It's the only way.
Told my wife to pick anything she/kids want (unlikely) and call these three people (in order) the rest put on the internet for FREE. It's the only way.
I see posts like this on the machinist's and wood working forums. Guy hoards stuff up to his dying day and then the widow or the kids have to try and clean it all out. They have no idea what the E36 M3 is worth or where to unload it.
I've gone through a few hobbies and when I've decided that I was done I promptly unloaded everything I had that was directly related to that hobby. I've known a few people that held on to stuff because they might get back in to it later and wound up with a garage full of useless E36 M3. A lot of the time even if they get back in a few years later the stuff they have is obsolete anyway.
I had a conversation with my brother about the fact that no matter how big your house is eventually you will fill it up with crap. We were both trying to clean out closets and garages at the time. He comment to me was "Do you own the stuff or does it own you?"
I'm so sorry for your loss Frenchy.
I started clearing things out and giving stuff away a few months ago and have a dumpster coming for my vacation.
We just had a british car club member pass away that was in his upper 80s at least. He was a very interesting guy and owned a lot of cars. He never sold anything until he finally turned loose of a non-running MGA a few months ago. His health had gone down recently, but this guy had beat throat cancer 20 years ago. He had gone to assisted living, so he may have gotten rid of everything. The kicker is he owned a Mk l Tiger that a lot of people are going to be drooling over. I think he bought the car new and it still had its original 260 engine. RIP Ron. You were a pleasure to know.
Frenchie, thanks for posting. I'm sorry for your loss.
frenchyd said:Yes! That's exactly the sort of things that happen. Buyers will pick that stuff over at scrap metal prices, Something that provided him with a living and raised his children.
Is the equipment obsolete? Probably but likely there is a niche market for someone. The difficulty is finding that niche.
Indeed, and employed 3 other people during in his prime. He died in '09 and was still getting jobs subbed out to him. Even with his ancient equipment he was good enough that he had regular customers asking him to come out of retirement to help them out.
My cousin and I have fired up the giant rotary phase converter, and turned on the little machine in the past 4 or 5 years. It's still got bar stock in it, and it'll still make whatever the little part is he was making when he passed. The machines obviously work, but like you said, how microscopic is the niche market that will want to use them, let alone transport the massive things. If I remember right, one of the machines was bought as government surplus from the Navy, and was making parts for WWII efforts.
frenchyd said:There is an informal E Mail chain I belong to with just Jag V 12 racers. We share tips and tricks etc. it's Global US, New Zealand, Australia, England, France.
Only 12 er 11 of us now. One of our members failed to wake up one morning. His widow came on today trying to find buyers of her husbands stuff.
She's tried the local Jag club but they are polishers and collectors not racers. Nothing has value to them.
While I'd love to buy some of his bits shipping from England would make everything too expensive even if she could build crates for the stuff. Her only hope now is a scrap metal dealer will treat her fairly.
My advice to all racers is keep a contact list of buyers of stuff you've got if the unexpected happens.
Thanks for posting this topic Frenchyd - My condolences for you losing a member of your fraternity. While a sad topic, it is very good advise to share.
bigdaddylee82 said:frenchyd said:Yes! That's exactly the sort of things that happen. Buyers will pick that stuff over at scrap metal prices, Something that provided him with a living and raised his children.
Is the equipment obsolete? Probably but likely there is a niche market for someone. The difficulty is finding that niche.Indeed, and employed 3 other people during in his prime. He died in '09 and was still getting jobs subbed out to him. Even with his ancient equipment he was good enough that he had regular customers asking him to come out of retirement to help them out.
My cousin and I have fired up the giant rotary phase converter, and turned on the little machine in the past 4 or 5 years. It's still got bar stock in it, and it'll still make whatever the little part is he was making when he passed. The machines obviously work, but like you said, how microscopic is the niche market that will want to use them, let alone transport the massive things. If I remember right, one of the machines was bought as government surplus from the Navy, and was making parts for WWII efforts.
I'd be willing to bet that if you posted about this on Garage Journal you would find a bunch of folks only too happy to pay you something for these and take care of moving them. As mentioned here, monetary value might not be much, but someone would love them. If it's time to let them go.
In reply to ultraclyde (Forum Supporter) :
The little New Britain is the size of a compact car and the big New Britain is the size of a mid size truck, I'd guess they weigh ~8 & 10 tons respectively. I have a passing familiarity with Garage Journal, but can't imagine what someone would do with one? They're for mass manufacturing of stuff you'd make on a lathe.
There's a giant (think adult white rhino) N/C Bridgeport bed mill with tool changing carousal, that's punch tape and pneumatic controlled. Yes N/C, not CNC. Also, not just like pneumatic controlled locks for the ways and tools, but instead of a bunch of wires and relays to control the mill, there's a ~100 miles of tiny little air line spaghetti, valves, and manifolds controlling everything. I have a pipe dream of converting it to CNC with some big steppers and Geckos, but I need my own shop first, and I can't begin to imagine moving the thing.
There's plenty of marketable stuff, Clausing lathe, a smaller turret mill, a few drill presses, surface grinder, big optical comparator, and I'd guess he had $100K+ in tooling. I'd like to re-home a lot of the more normal machine tools, to my place eventually.
Sorry for the thread jack/pile-on Frenchy.
In reply to bigdaddylee82 :
No problem. If I were closer I'd come and see what I could take advantage of. I started with a pre war ( WW1 ) converted overhead belt drive vertical mill. And a pre war (WW2 ) lathe.
In reply to frenchyd :
Sorry to hear about your friend. Also consider the lost of knowledge he had that could have helped others that get an interest in XJS long after he's gone. I showed my behind in the Cadillac LaSalle Club by pointing out that once they were gone not only would their knowledge be gone but also the love of their cars would go also because they weren't trying to attract new younger members. I've asked you at least once to do a thread here with your Jaguar V12 knowledge. Not a rambling Jaguar V12 is the best thing since sliced bread but more of what combo's work. A logical thread passing your knowledge to future generations because we all will pass at some point. Let your words and knowledge live on.
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
He was a young guy maybe in his 30's? He inherited his Grandfathers car and wanted to race it.
England had Spec Jaguar XJS class. A couple of clubs actually. V12 6 cylinder stock and modified.
I digress.
What can I share? Speak about rambling? What kind of racing? What budget?
The last V12 I built with a bigger budget was my XKE. Everything thing I've done since has been really restricted budget.
I've listened in with guys with big budgets and sorta know what actually works. My one real weakness is EFI. I had a friend help me with my kludged up Twin turbo but hopefully you'll want better than that.
frenchyd said:In reply to bigdaddylee82 :
No problem. If I were closer I'd come and see what I could take advantage of. I started with a pre war ( WW1 ) converted overhead belt drive vertical mill. And a pre war (WW2 ) lathe.
There's an overhead belt drive lathe in the shop too, it has had an electric motor adapted to it, but wasn't ever used for any serious work. Another "story" I've always been told, is that it came out of the Wright's bicycle shop. I have no way to prove its provenience, but there's one that looks just like it up above the entry to the Wright Bros. wing at the National Air & Space Museum.
bigdaddylee82 said:Huh, I döstädned when we downsized and moved to Ohio.
What part of ohio are you in? I live in shelby county.
gearheadmb said:bigdaddylee82 said:Huh, I döstädned when we downsized and moved to Ohio.
What part of ohio are you in? I live in shelby county.
We aren't any longer, in Fall of '10 we took a drive through Columbus so SWMBO could get her PhD. If you drive slow enough through Columbus they just hand those things out. 
We lived in Reynoldsburg for a little over 3 years, then as if it were meant to be, she got a job near where we both grew up, so we moved back home.
frenchyd said:sleepyhead the buffalo said:I'd think the Goodwood members association would have someone that'd find a place for that stuff... if it's in the UK somewhere?
The XJS is too new for Goodwood. There are active groups who race the XJS but the widow doesn't know who to contact.
Wow. If none of the rest of you even know where to start, then that is a tough one.
frenchyd said:In reply to Stampie (FS) :
He was a young guy maybe in his 30's? He inherited his Grandfathers car and wanted to race it.
England had Spec Jaguar XJS class. A couple of clubs actually. V12 6 cylinder stock and modified.
I digress.
What can I share? Speak about rambling? What kind of racing? What budget?
The last V12 I built with a bigger budget was my XKE. Everything thing I've done since has been really restricted budget.
I've listened in with guys with big budgets and sorta know what actually works. My one real weakness is EFI. I had a friend help me with my kludged up Twin turbo but hopefully you'll want better than that.
No rules. Share your knowledge. Come on man I don't want to pull teeth here.
In reply to frenchyd :
Frenchy, tell us about the car you want to build. Not unlimited budget, but if you had the time and just a few more parts. Forget any racing class for the moment. What Jaguar would an ex-racer build for himself to be reliable enough for road trips and still be able to embarrass the younger fellas. Start anywhere in the car, but walk us through the whole car. What parts scrounged from what car to build something Jaguar could have built, but didn't. Tell us why one part is on the car and another isn't. List the components you start with and tell us how you would put them together. Give us examples of what is almost good enough or what you would recommend as a starting point for someone who hasn't built a full shop, yet. Imagine you are the friend that just passed, but a couple years ago and he decided to set some young kid up with a car that he could take to track days. Walk around your shop. Tell us what you would have that kid start putting together.
The rest of us will grab popcorn and tune in.
Also, sorry I missed the condolences in my first post; I dropped the ball. When friends are lost it sucks, but one o a dozen left on the planet is on its own level.
In reply to Stampie (FS) :
I think he has a thread like that about v12 mods.
In reply to emawhilme01 :
STFU
Stampie (FS) said:frenchyd said:In reply to Stampie (FS) :
He was a young guy maybe in his 30's? He inherited his Grandfathers car and wanted to race it.
England had Spec Jaguar XJS class. A couple of clubs actually. V12 6 cylinder stock and modified.
I digress.
What can I share? Speak about rambling? What kind of racing? What budget?
The last V12 I built with a bigger budget was my XKE. Everything thing I've done since has been really restricted budget.
I've listened in with guys with big budgets and sorta know what actually works. My one real weakness is EFI. I had a friend help me with my kludged up Twin turbo but hopefully you'll want better than that.No rules. Share your knowledge. Come on man I don't want to pull teeth here.
OK. Fair enough.
#1 rule I follow is get rid of weight. The manual I have lists the later XJS as over 4600 pound.
my chump car was a 1975 which starts out more than 600 pounds lighter. But still 4000 pounds?
My race weight was under 3000 pounds. There is nothing luxurious about a race car. You have to reduce and eliminate a lot to get it down. For example the front subframe is mounted on rubber as is the rear. It basically duplicates a lot of the chassis in order to give that smooth ride. Goodbye rubber, Hello holesaw and dimpler. Not just the crossmember but also the whole chassis. Any inner panels were likely candidates ( if not completely eliminated). The doors got particular attention. Window mechanism & frames? Gone! Door locks gone! I kept the mechanism for opening and closing the drivers door plus the hinges but attacked them to reduce weight. The passenger doors lost all that. It didn't have the side door beams but if it had they would be gone. ( rollcage affords that sort of protection).
Rear windows were replaced with plexiglass. But NACA ducts were put in to cool the rear brakes.
I didn't do this for the $500 budget limitation but it's so easy to lighten the trunk and hood by taking a splash mold off of them. In fiberglass the pair would weigh less than 90 pounds and in carbon fiber about 40 pounds. That's close to 200 pounds right there.
The bumpers and mounts are history. That's a lot of weight. But the Chrome finish pieces on the front would be remounted. Yes it's an extra 5 + pounds back on but it helps the appearance a lot.
Keep the windshield and wiper mechanism. But lose all the chrome trim.
I don't have any problem making the big flared fenders Group 44 did. With the big NASCAR SIZED tires. But flares get really heavy again a splash mold and fiberglass or carbon fiber replacements. If you use the right 17 inch wheel and very low profile tire you can still squeeze a 9&1/2 up front and 12 inch in the rear by giving up a little turning lock and working with stock fenders a bit ( inner fender is history in weight reduction). In profile it still looks close to stock.
LlSorry, interrupted
there is about 100 pounds of surplus wiring plugs etc. unless you plan on running at night. Then you can still save over 80. The dash once you remove all the HVAC is decently light but I dump it and just use a flat sheet of aluminum ( with a wood veneer glued to it I don't need speedometer, warning lights, turn signals etc. yes it's only nets a few pounds but they all add up.
Sound deadening and undercoating there is well over 100 pounds of that. Crawling underneath and trying to melt/ scrape that off is miserable work. I made myself a cheap rotisserie out of scrap metal and have been using it since the 1980's sure makes working/ painting on and even in it a lot easier. I've seen them made from a pair of heavy duty engine stands and even an old swing set.
yupididit said:I
That thread already exist, let's not clutter this one with v12 stuff.
Yes read that. There is some extra power from the Use of E85. But it's more than just pouring in the gas tank. The later HE really responds to E85 but for full benefit you need the advance curve from the early ones. Or the European ones. The 71-80 V12's used 41 degrees total advance while the 81& later used only 17 degrees. If you're using E85 you can get over 35 degrees which will not only increase power dramatically but responsiveness.
the timing marks are on the bottom of the engine. If you do this I highly recommend you move them up on top where you can see them while moving the distributor.
matthewmcl (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to frenchyd :
Frenchy, tell us about the car you want to build. Not unlimited budget, but if you had the time and just a few more parts. Forget any racing class for the moment. What Jaguar would an ex-racer build for himself to be reliable enough for road trips and still be able to embarrass the younger fellas. Start anywhere in the car, but walk us through the whole car. What parts scrounged from what car to build something Jaguar could have built, but didn't. Tell us why one part is on the car and another isn't. List the components you start with and tell us how you would put them together. Give us examples of what is almost good enough or what you would recommend as a starting point for someone who hasn't built a full shop, yet. Imagine you are the friend that just passed, but a couple years ago and he decided to set some young kid up with a car that he could take to track days. Walk around your shop. Tell us what you would have that kid start putting together.
The rest of us will grab popcorn and tune in.
Also, sorry I missed the condolences in my first post; I dropped the ball. When friends are lost it sucks, but one o a dozen left on the planet is on its own level.
Did you get enough information? I'll gladly add a whole lot more.
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