All posts tagged: Restoration

Jaguar XKE E-type Restoration: Engine Won’t Run Due to Faulty Low Tension Lead.

Published by

Here is a problem that is is pretty common in 1960’s Jaguars and other British cars with the standard Lucas points and rotor distributor.   You are driving along and the engine simply stops or you decide to go for a Sunday and drive and the engine simply won’t start.  Sometimes this problem can be intermittent, but often it is a sudden failure.  You can hear the fuel pump ticking, see gas in the glass filter bowl and know fuel is not the issue. You then test for a spark on one of the plug leads and there is nothing.  The coil and distributor leads are firm, the coil tests ok and the distributor rotor and cap look fine. What is going on? It is very likely, particularly on Jags of this age that the low tension lead inside the distributor has broken.  This lead is a special highly flexible wire that connects the condenser and the coil negative terminal to the points.  With time this wire becomes brittle and will eventually break – severing the …

Jaguar XKE E-type Restoration: Fitting Bumpers

Published by

The front and rear bumpers on the Series II E-types are pretty easy to refit. This is in contrast to the rear bumper on the Series I which requires removal of the gas tank.  All of the attachment bolts are accessible and can be inserted and tightened from under the car.  The rear bumper is a three piece   section that bolts together and bolt to the body. There is play in the connections that allow fine fitting to get the gaps right. I found it easiest to fit the bumper rear bumper loosely on the car and make sure the gaps were correct before tightening the bolts that hold the three pieces together.  Both the rear and front bumpers take some fiddling to get the fit right. It is wise to protect the body with thick tape near where the bumper fits to avoid gouges and scratches.  

Jaguar XKE E-type Restoration: The Distractions of a Bentley Mk VI and a MG TD

Published by

As I mentioned in my last post – in addition to doing a bit of work on various people’s car I have also been working on a 1949/50 Bentley and a 1953 MG TD.  Of course, there is also my wife’s Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce that needs to be kept on the road for her!  Hard to get time to blog on the Jag. I plan to switch to a more general classic and sports car blog to cover all the bases so watch for that.  In the meantime here are some teaser pictures of the progress on the Bentley and the MG TD –          

Jaguar XKE E-type Restoration: OMG – Almost a Year Since I Last Posted! What is the State of the E-type?

Published by

I cannot believe that it has been almost a year since I last posted on the site!  Too many distractions with a new house and workshop, change in my position at work, travel, and spending time on other projects – most notably a 1949/50 Bentley and a 1953 MG TD.  Well  – just to let you know the E-type is in fine shape and I hope to show it this summer.  After some shake-down driving and tuning there are a few things I have attended to that I will post on.  In case you were wondering – here is the car today.   I will update with more pictures and details on some of the finishing work shortly.        

Motorphile

Published by

Welcome! Motorphile is an online magazine that focuses on classic cars from 1920’s through the 1950’s and sports cars of all types.  Articles include news, musings and events along with the history of some of the cars.  The main focus is repair, refreshing and restoration that can be carried out by the proficient car buff.  

Jaguar XKE E-type Restoration: A Distraction – Work on a Jaguar Series III V-12 – Detailing, Driving and Delivery

Published by

With the rebuilt carbs, new starter and new cooling tank the Jaguar V-12 drove fantastic. It was a 4-speed and had a lot more torque and power delivered to the rear wheels than my Series II with the automatic transmission.  The interesting thing is that for the Series III E-types they used the long 2+2 wheel base for both the coupe and convertible. So, the feel of the car in terms of size, and the interior comfort was similar to the Series II 2+2.   The use of the long wheel base (9 inches longer all in the door area) allowed Jaguar to put an automatic transmission in the cars and also rationalized everything around one platform. Here are some pictures of the finished and detailed car prior to delivery back to the owner. He has told us that he loves the easy starts with the gear reduction starter and that the car has never run better.  It really is a lovely car – long may it run! Enjoy –             …

Jaguar XKE E-type Restoration: A Distraction – Work on a Jaguar Series III V-12 – Replace Radiator Tank

Published by

We adjusted the carbs to bring the idle down a little and had to do little else for the engine to run smooth and sweet. I decided to clean up the engine compartment a little and got after some of the peeling paint on the exterior of the cooling head tank for the radiator – which is separate from the radiator and located a little aft.  In doings so I discovered a big problem waiting to jump up and bite the owner hard!  The filler neck on the tank was rotten almost all the way through under the pressure cap and just waiting to pop off and blast the coolant out of the system and all over the engine compartment. Clearly this is something to keep an eye out for on these cars.     New tanks are not that expensive so we got a new one from XKs Unlimited and installed that in the car.  I was really glad to have caught that before delivering the car back to the owner!