the cat is out of the bag . . .

[Bfg]

On 4/28/2026 at 3:46 PM, Bfg said:

. .

     

^ The end of the valve stem is seen when the bucket and shim is removed.  ^^ Refit the correct shim into the recess in the valve-spring cap, and check that it cannot slip / be easily displaced sideways. The tappet bucket then sits over this. 

Tappet Shims ; Asking a Hillman Imp specialist engine rebuilder - Reg Patten, and he advises that those he uses for the Imp engine (same as for Lotus) are +/- 0.625" in diameter (15.875mm) whereas those for my car measure at 0.680" (17.27mm).  The diameter of these shims isn't a critical dimension as they sit / are located in the valve spring cap ..I wouldn't have thought so, but will their being slightly less than 1/16" (1.4mm) smaller in diameter going to make any real difference ?   ...apart from in their price ? 

QED motorsport say of theirs ; Suitable for: Lotus Twin Cam, Lotus 900 Series. Diameter between 0.610″ and 0.630″

I have otherwise read that shims are now made to be 0.610" in diameter so they fit a wider variety of engine ..including these old Jags, but then I've also read that the shims used with the Triumph Stag and the TR7 also fit, but according to Robsport - they're too large in diameter. 

So back to my previous question ;  Is being about 1/16" (1.4mm) smaller in diameter going to make any real difference ? 

Thanks, Pete

 

 

 

Edited April 30 by Bfg

[Bfg]

p.s. Are Neilsen Tools good ?  I heard most are good quality but others are less reliable. I need a new 3/8" drive low-torque wrench  

[trchris]

Hi Pete l would use the correct tappet shims unless someone can confirm they are suitable,have you researched the jaguar forums ? maybe someone has spare shims or knows an alternative 

Chris

[Ian Vincent]

My view is that as long as the shim fits over the valve comfortably and is the right thickness, then it should be ok. And in any event, even if one does fail prematurely, how big an issue would it be to remove the camshafts and replace  it?

Rgds Ian

[stillp]

On 4/29/2026 at 7:48 PM, Ian Vincent said:

But at least, once you’d got them right, you didn’t have to revisit them for a few years. 

Rgds Ian

 

The valve seats, cam followers etc still wear.

Pete

[Ian Vincent]

12 hours ago, stillp said:

The valve seats, cam followers etc still wear.

Pete

In my experience of driving an Alfa the wear was pretty minimal. 

Rgds Ian

[Bfg]

May 2nd & 3rd - Carmen's Work In Progress - rear Brakes . . .

Taking a break from engine rattles. . . a long overdue task on the list was to try and improve the brakes.  Although this car's main brakes worked very well ..with discs all around and a brake servo - they were slow to release after braking to a junction. This then necessitated more revs and clutch play when you wanted to pull away smartly. 

A car which free-rolls is something that many newer car owners take for granted, but with these older classics it's worth checking their free-roll (declutching and rolling along a flat road) to assess whether the car's brakes are binding just a little ..even if only for five seconds longer than they should after being released.  Not only are performance and fuel economy compromised but driving is actually harder work.  Judging by the variances in fuel mileages and feedback regarding driving experience ; I have to wonder if many an owner just assume there's friction in the gearbox, drivetrain, differential and rear axle ..and so that how things are. Whereas their car's brake pads (or brake shoes) and/or handbrake are also dragging slightly.?  

I suspected this car's brake lag was due to the vacuum pipe, between the servo and its reservoir, internally collapsing (..sucked in by the servo's vacuum).  I had this with Burble's (my Daimler 250 saloon) brakes.  I inserted a stent (tube inside that pipe) to prevent that from collapsing ..which sorted it out.   I tried the same last week on Carmen's vacuum pipe, but I'm not sure it made any, or much, difference.  Certainly it didn't cure the problem, but then this car's pipe between this servo and its reservoir is in three parts ; rubber +copper pipe + rubber, and I could only get to one of the rubber pieces.   

I also needed to address this car's poor handbrake ..and that would be at the rear discs.  So, before going any further, along the 'investigate-the-servo' route, I took the opportunity to delve-in under the arches.. I had other jobs to do while under there anyway, which I'll talk about later. 

 

^ Working environment, is outside the garage, amidst other people's garages and parked cars, so what-ever I do has to be respectful of their access, not too filthy, as well as putting the car away at night. 

    

^  First thing to check when buying into someone else's disc-brake work is that the brake callipers are evenly spaced to the disc. ie., the gap between the calliper bridge is the same on either side of the disc.  I could see that this was not ..it was a little too far outboard.   What the dimension was is not important, it's the difference in gap that needed to be known.  I used a stack of feeler gauges down the wide gap, and then tried the same on the other side of the disc.  The same feeler gauges only fitted, in the tighter side, without the 0.023" blade. So, the calliper is sitting half-that-thickness off-centre  .. ie., to one side by  0.023" / 2 = eleven or twelve thou".   

The caliper bridge is bolted to the axle's hub flange and needed spacing out (under it's bolt fastening) by that eleven or twelve thou"  ..which would move the caliper inboard by that amount and centralise it . . . 

   

^ I didn't have shimming washers to fit this bolt size, so I quickly made a couple from the lid of a tin, whose steel is 0.009" thick.  I would have preferred 0.011" thick but centralising the calliper within 0.002" will, I'm sure, be fine.  I left the one side with a tab extended ..for easier handling / fitting inbetween the hub flange and the caliper bridge (with the bolts through them). 

   

^ Removal of the brake pads revealed they were not many miles ago new, but already one of the back plates had come off.  It can happen when monkey-mechanics try and lever the pad out ..levering against that backing plate.  The surface rust on this suggests it had become detached some time ago. 

The Jaguar's caliper pistons have a flat-headed pin (like the broad head of a nail) which engages in the slot of that plate, which serves to withdraw the pad off the disc by a few thou" when the brake pedal is released.  Of course when the back-plate becomes detached - the brake pad's friction material is not withdrawn and its free to rub, perhaps even rattle / vibrate against disc.   

JB Weld  is simply an epoxy adhesive, and epoxy is pretty good at dealing with heat, and so after linishing the face of the steel backing plate, both to thoroughly clean it back to bare metal, and to add a little key to the surface bond, and doing the same with the friction material, within its horse-shoe like recess, I simply bonded the two pieces back together again.  Epoxy resin typically takes 24 hours to cure, at normal room temperature, and so I used a fan heater (very close but on its low setting) to accelerate the initial cure (so it could be handled carefully) and then, although refitted, I didn't drive the car for another 24 hours. 

The other pad's backing plate was still attached, but having moved the caliper closer to the disc by just 0.009", the pad was then too tight to withdraw from the caliper.  I had this before, on several cars, when new (thick) pads have been fitted ..the piston cannot retract deep enough into the caliper.  And so the brake pad is not withdrawn clear of the disc. This was the case here and so the caliper was unbolted from the carrier bridge ..to enable the removal of the pad.  I could then use the angle grinder's linisher to remove a mm off the pad's thickness.  That was enough, and it now works fine. 

A good thing about these old calipers is that they are bolted to the carrier bridge, but their brake fluid pipes are external ..meaning they can be removed from the carrier bridge without then needing to re-bleed the brakes.  Conversely, many modern callipers combine the caliper and the bridge, and have internal fluid routes.. so when you remove / split the bridge they do need re-bleeding.   

As with everything else on this car ; each of the bolts were fitted dry, and although the car has been most unused for many years, those bolts and the holes were corroded.  Not enough to warrant their replacement but enough to make every one a chore to undo.   They were all cleaned (power wire brush on the bolts) and put back together with Copaslip. Excess Copaslip was wiped away after they were tight and each bolt head was liberally painted over, to help seal the moisture out.  Like much of what I do, it takes a few minutes longer, but in the long term ownership it saves hassle in the future and the cost of replacement parts (which might have otherwise corroded and seized together).        

     

^ Handbrake mechanism on these Jaguars is very similar to the later ones (..as fitted to Burble, which was a 1968 car).  The main difference is that the later brake had a spring and ratchet arrangement for automatic adjustment, to take up wear, whereas this simply has a screw adjuster.   They work like pincers, hinged on through-pins at the top, and a high ratio pull-lever acting at the bottom (adjacent to the brake-pads) draws the offside pincer to the inboard one.   When the handbrake is released, the fork-tong spring, held in place at the top opens up to lift the pads off the disc.  It's very simple and, when in good order and lubricated, they can work very well indeed.   The issue with this car, was again .. lack of lubrication.  

   

You'll have noted previously that there's oil down the inboard pincer arm. It's not from a leaking bearing hub, but is where I'd tried to externally lubricate this mechanism from underneath the car. That attempt / the oil had been partly successful, but still the mechanism needed to be dismantle to lubricate the hinge pins and ^ the spring at the bottom ..within what looks to be a square box with the adjuster screw going into it.   That adjuster screw goes into a square nut, and behind that nut is a small but stiff spring. The nut has to slide (within the carrier) ..to pull the pincer arms together (when applying the handbrake) and then to allow the adjust screw to ease apart again (when the handbrake is released), but it was sticking.  Perhaps I should have pulled it all apart, to clean out the crud ..but brushing oil in there and working it back n' forth freed the spring and the nut up sufficiently.  I then squeezed grease into it, for longer term lubrication.  

Clearly owner's / mechanics are (overly) wary of applying oil and grease around brakes and their friction material, but I've found mechanical parts which are supposed to move ..need lubrication ..both to prevent their seizing and limited length of travel (through corrosion and/or crud), and to facilitate a smooth action.  You just have to be careful not to have floods / runs of oil, or blobs of grease that can get onto the friction material or steel disc.  And if it does.. then you simply need to clean them off again with brake / carb cleaner and a paper towel.

   

^ reassembly, and before those hinge pins are all the way in - the fork tong spring needs to be adjusted (bent with pliers).  Firstly, as seen from the side ; the ends of the spring should be bent to go squarely into the holes in the pincers.  And then from the end view, with the pads are against the disc, ^^ the sprung forks need to be bent so as to be half a hole-width wider than the closed pincer's holes.   When the brake pads are eased away the prong spring is fitted which holds the pads away from the disc by about 1/16" (1mm) on either side.  The adjuster screw is then wound in .. just enough to allow the disc to turn freely by hand.  That's now correct and the hinge pins (which have been lubricated) can be tightened and their locking tabs bent to secure them. 

On either side, there may only be only a few thou" clearance between the pads and disc, but it's not dragging.  I lubricated the handbrake cable's return spring (I liberally paint over such things with clean gearbox oil, which is more viscous and feels more slippery than engine oil)  ..which takes up any slack in the cable outer and then again readjusted the cable under the car, where it connects to the handbrake lever. I sought to achieve just a little working slackness but not too loose. Close tolerances are important for short travel at the handbrake lever, as for the foot brake. After all the adjustments, the brake's disc can still be freely turned by hand, with the resistance only within the axle, diff and drive train. 

   

Before I put the wheel back on, I power wire brushed the surface rust off the inside of disc and gave it a quick coat of paint.  I did this because I don't like rust. Only later did I realise that you can see through wire-spoked wheels, so it brightens things up too.   NB. the plastic bag (held on by elastic) is just to cover the greased wire-wheel-splines, while I'm working under the wheel arch.  

- - -

That part of the job was done, on this side of the car, but while under there I wanted to check and possibly adjust the Koni shock absorber. 

      

^ While under there - its worth keeping your eyes open for other potential issues.  In this case the exhaust pipe with how much +/- from the damper.?   Yes, the damper does go vertically upwards when the car's back on the ground, but the exhaust is on rubber blocks and can wobble and possibly clonk. And similarly the axle is on springs, which are rubber bushed and it too can move sideways around a corner.  It's easy enough to sort out ..rather than be annoyed by an illusive clonk 'from somewhere under the back of the car, around left handers'.

^^ the bottom mount for the shock absorber, was caked in rust, so I'd painted it a week ago, with oil, in the hope that its split-pin might actually come out, rather than break off inside the hole.  Withe the rubber compression of the damper mount making things awkward (what with my only having two hands), I had to use grips to squeeze the washer in, and amazingly that pin did come out easily enough. 

 

 

         

^ Koni absorbers are made with one of three different means of adjustment, Their 'Classic'  is adjustable on the car, but you need to release the bottom mounting first.  ^^ Then you push the bottom of the damper all the way upwards and feel to engage internal teeth.  Once engaged you can turn the damper's internal valve for a firmer or softer rebound.   

I wound the damper screw all the way in (turning the bottom half clockwise) and counted just half-a-turn.  Still pushing upwards, to keep those teeth engaged, I turned it anti-clockwise a little more than three-and-a-half turns - where it stopped.  This damper was close to being on its firmest setting ..which is what I had hoped / suspected from the car's ride being jolting.! 

    

^ I turned the bottom half of the damper all but a quarter-of-a-turn anti-clockwise, to lessen its damping action, and after de-rusting the thick washer, refitted its bottom bush onto the pin.  Squeezing again the washer against the rubber bush with grips, I managed to get a straighter pin back in.  Another JOB DONE ..on this side of the car.        

Again before refitting the wheel, I painted copious amounts of oil into the rear leaf spring.. I'd done it before from under the car, but having the wheel off allowed easier access to do the outside of the spring behind the brake.  Sometime, I'll get spring covers to help keep the lubrication in and the dirt n' wet out.  The car cannot ride smoothly on its suspension, if the leaf springs are full of grit and rust, nor quietly if running dry metal on metal.    

- - -

Repeat on the near-side rear brake, handbrake and damper, 

    

^ the nearside brake caliper was already centralised to the disc, but once again.. one of the pads was too thick and it needed to be taken down a mm before it released fully.  The handbrake mechanism hinge pins were tightly locked in with crud or corrosion and literally had to be prised out.  After cleaning up, lubricating, refitting while adjusting .. it all went back together again, and the bolts then sealed with a coat of silver paint.  The handbrake cable underneath was similarly lubricated and adjusted ..with the disc now being free enough to turn by hand. Likewise the leaf spring was brushed with oil from underneath and from its outside. 

The bottom split pin, securing this side's Koni damper, finally cam out in five pieces.  Better not re-use that one !  And the damper was found to be already on its least firm setting. I matched the number of turns to the offside and put it back on.  

3-1/4 hours work condensed into eight sentences.!

- - -

I mentioned before about observing other things that might need attention or be kept an eye on. Here are a few examples ;

    

^ 1. Body to chassis mounts ;  This one is under the offside rear wheel-arch. That under the offside front wing has its shims similarly half in half out.  I'll not do that for the time being but they all ought to be investigated and corrected. 

^^ 2. Interference fit / chafing / scraping ; this being the nearside rear leaf spring rubbing on the chassis. The chassis there is double thick and the wear is possibly just 1/32" deep, so not critical at the moment.  I've slapped grease over it for the time being, but without dropping the spring, to reverse the bolt through the spring shackle, there not much else I can do.  Job for winter workshop time perhaps,

     

^ 3. Fuel tanks sender & its wiring exposed - under the NS wheel-arch.  This really ought to have a water tight cover over it.  Another task for the job list.  In the meantime, I wire brushed it off, liberally coated it in red-oxide primer, smeared Vaseline all over and around the wiring connections, and then painted it glossy black.  I'll make a cover for it sometime that can be glued to the side of the tank.

      

^ 4. Corrosion of Brake pipe connections. Likewise clutch and fuel pipe connections. and all the clamps that secure those pipes front, rear and at the master cylinders.  They're something that needed to be addressed when first fitted. I always use Copaslip on the threads and then paint over the tightened connection to seal it from moisture.   However now that they are fitted and already starting to corrode - as I work within reach of them ;  I'm either cleaning them up (wire wool works well) and painting over, or coating with oil or grease for attention later. 

And that's about it for today, I've noted surface rust / lack of paint / l;ack of wax injection within the chassis, which will be a lot more under the car, dirt in my face tasks for another day. 

Around the block test drive suggested the rear brakes are now not binding after being applied, which makes the car easier to drive smoothly when negotiating junctions.  The clutch pedal's long travel doesn't help, but we are moving in the right direction.  The handbrake now works and actually retards the car from 30mph (albeit slowly).  I know it can (and will ! ) be better, but that's from inside the car, where it has not been correctly mounted, or has sufficient clearance.   The rear suspension damping I couldn't really assess in suburban streets, but just possibly she does ride just a little smoother and quieter  ..which means I can hear the engine's tappets more clearly now 

They're all little steps in the right direction, both to be a nicer car to drive and towards reliability and longevity. 

The job list though doesn't seem to get any shorter though.

I bid you a very good day. 

Pete 

 

 

 

  

Edited Friday at 08:18 AM by Bfg

[Bfg]

4th May - Coffee and Classics at Needham Market  

   

 

    

Overcast but the weather stayed dry, there must have been over two hundred cars and a modest number of auto-jumbler stalls.  Eric came along in his Rover P6 V8, Dave who I went to Rickenshall with a few weeks ago was in his GT6, Martin was there in his beautiful blue Daimler 2-11/2, and my friend Andrew (who bought a Sunbeam S8 off of me years ago) came with his good lady friend. He has an E-type and lent me the valve timing tool to help me set my own engine up, and so we spent a good time looking at a visitor's gun-metal grey E-type. 

   

The gentleman had spent just 14 months restoring the car, to immaculate condition, including he doing his own preparation and paint (superb workmanship inside outside, under the bonnet and under the car too), but he also admits to spending nigh on twice the value of my XK150 on parts and consumables !  He's subsequently used the car for a 3000 mile tour of France and the Le Mans Classic.  

Andrew had hearm my engine run before I changed the water pump and adjusted the timing, and commented on how much better it sounded. His lady friend whose been around old cars all her life, likewise thought she sounded good ..that was until we asked the owner of this E-type (4.2 with long duration cams) to start his engine. which in comparison to mine purred.  Only then could she understand why I still felt the need to do more, correct the tappet clearance, etc.    That chaps was really down to earth to talk with but his car was up there with the best. 

    

I also had a chat with the owner of this Auto-Union, not least because my Dad had one when we lived in Nairobi, East Africa.  I was 10 years old when we came back in 1966, and I remember driving in that car to the beach at Mombasa, along a very long red dirt road.  As it turns out the car here also came from Nairobi. Apparently they were very common there as the, according to the chap who owns this car, the principle behind Auto-Union was Jewish, and they split off from DKW Germany for obvious reasons.  I'll have to look into that tidbit of history sometime. 

The Mk10 Jaguars, I love.  I wanted a Mk9 and nearly bought one before I had the Daimler, but for the fact I had nowhere to garage it.  The Mk10 is I think just a little bigger.  The old Fergi was ploughing the sunflower field. Steadily working back and forth it made a pleasantly relaxing petrol head sound. 

   

Graham is a classic Vauxhall man, he has a few and I suspect is an authority on them. He used to work for Catamole's Garage in Ipswich, which I used from my car's MoTs. Sadly that garage has now gone too.   The Opel Manta SR is in total contrast, but I've always thought they were really nice looking cars and an all round practical motor. I reckon I could be happy with one as a daily driver. 

    

^ very tidy indeed, if not necessarily to my taste, I'm sure it would look right at a race circuit.  Reaching to work on that engine would I'm sure pull my back.  Again a beautifully presented car. 

I'll leave it there, plenty more photos of all the cars on Facebook - Coffee and Classics group. 

I'm pleased to report that Carmen, after I'd spend quite a few hours over the weekend adjusting her brakes and rear shocks, rode better than she's done to date.  Smoother to drive, and a smoother and perhaps slightly quieter ride around the town and smaller country lanes.  There's still a long way to go, but she's getting there.   

Pete

[Bfg]

7th May - Carmen - Work In Progress

Slow progress this week, but the tappet shims have been ordered, and I attended the local TSSC meeting at the Sorrel Horse, Barham on Tuesday evening. . .

   

    

  

Justine took the photo, and a few others were absent without excuse  so not quite a full house, but still a pretty good turnout.  There were also couple of other Triumphs as well, Brian's Spit-6 and a very nice Vitesse, but they parked at the front and I omitted to take their piccies.

- - -

Work In Progress this week was ; back to the brakes ..as they are still a little slow to release. Albeit far better than they were, but still not right, so this week I looked at the other vacuum pipe to the servo tank / reservoir, and also checked the front brakes weren't dragging. . .   

    

^ a prior owner had crudely cut these square holes, through the inner wing .. I presume to fit air intake rams for triple carburettors ..the file of receipts suggest he once tried.  Inside the rear-most hole is the servo's vacuum tank / reservoir.   

^^ The furthest pipe is part of the vacuum tube between this tank and the servo unit.  Still hoping the brakes not releasing immediately was simply the pipe collapsing.. I wanted to replace or else fit a stent up it.  You can just about see the underside of the jubilee-clip holding that pipe on to the tank - which is impossible to get to, without pulling a whole lot of very-awkward-to-get-at things apart.   

    

^ Looking at the problem from another perspective ( literally ) prompted the solution.  Jaguar provide an access panel, behind each wheel-arch. On one side there's the battery, on the other side there's the brake and clutch master cylinders, and the brake servo.   ^^ Looking up into that void there are the bolts for the vacuum tank (the Copaslip is my trying to curb corrosion)  ..and the other end of that vacuum tube.. the one I couldn't access from above.  It appeared to be in sound condition but, just in case it was collapsing further around the corner, I wanted to insert a stent. 

        

^ I undid the bottom jubilee clip and pulled the copper pipe down / off, and poked a piece of plastic pipe up inside the rubber hose until it hit the top end.  Marked to the bottom.  Deducted the length the copper pipe pushes in, and that's where I cut this tube.  It's a smaller diameter but for air movement that's not a biggie. Importantly its walls are too stiff to collapse.  Job Done. 

^^  on the top of the servo is the control valve which, actuated by brake fluid pressure, closes or releases the vacuum behind the servo's diaphragm.  On Burble, my Daimler, the valve had a steel pin which was rusty and binding.  Freeing that off sorted the servo's binding on.  Taking the cap off this one ; I found the valve to be plastic and free to move as it should.  The cap includes a spring and an air intake filter. Each were good to go and so they were clipped back into place. 

All in all.., I don't think there's a problem here, but I recall reading that some servos have an adjustable activating pin inside, which if not correctly adjusted can cause issues. I seem to remember that was for servos fitted onto the end of the master cylinder ..rather than the remote ones like this, but I'll dig out my books and check.   

_ _ _

Moving on. . .

       

^ Carmen's front brakes were upgraded to Coopercraft 4-pot front carriers in 2016, and the disc was clearly free of drag.  The pads are now probably a 1000 miles old and no attention appeared necessary. so I turned my attentions to the Koni adjustable front dampers ^^   The bottom split pin didn't want to come out and the rubber bush is perished.  I'll add those items to my job list ..but for today I just want to check the shock-absorbers adjustment and move on. . . 

    

^ Although the bottom didn't want to come apart I could work from the top.  I'd like to celebrate this photo ..as it is the first bolt I've yet come across on this car that was NOT put together dry.  Well done that anonymous mechanic.  May you be rewarded in heaven ..when the time comes, because unlike all the rest that one bolt came out with ease. 

^^ The means of shock-absorber adjustment is the same as previously described, close the damper until the peg engages Turn clockwise to stiffen the ride and anti-clockwise to ease it.  This damper was adjusted to its mid-position ..a little more than 1-1/2 turns out of 3-1/2 turns lock-to-lock (..so to speak).  I've now set it to the softest adjustment.  The NS front damper was already on its least stiff adjustment.      

   

^ With the wheels off I took the opportunity to clean and inspect the taper surface.  My concern here was that when I bought the car, the front near-side wheel was loose on its splines, and last week I happened to feel while driving, and then checked to find the front offside wheel was a little loose.  I'm pretty particular that wheels ought to be tight, but the spinner not hammered so much that its then impossible to change a wheel at the side of the road.  I carry the same lump hammer and block of hardwood in the car as I use when working in the garage,  This (offside front) taper shows rust pitting, whereas the nearside is shiny and smooth.   I'll send the photo to MWS (the manufacturer) and discuss the matter with them. 

That's it for today..  Servo's pipe is stented. Its control valve checked and found to be good. Front brakes checked and found to be good and not binding.  Front Shock absorbers are now adjusted to be the same and are on their softest setting ..which is now the same as the rears. Wheels and hubs checked. Various other bits and bobs under the front wheel-arches cleaned off, painted &/or lubricated to curb corrosion. 

If I keep on like this I'll run out of jobs to do ... in my dreams    

Bidding you a good evening and a pleasant weekend. 

Pete

   

[stuart]

Few observations Pete

1. The remote servo tank originally had a valve screwed into it which we found to be problematical and often would seize up. Also thats an aftermarket servo and we have had a lot of trouble with them dragging the brakes just as you describe, its internal and a replacement unit is the only solution.

2. Have you checked in the front to back brake line to see if they have removed the "Anti creep" solenoid as that car has been converted from an automatic. It was fitted to hold the rear brakes on when you stopped with it still in drive, there was a switch on the throttle mechanism that released it as soon as the throttle was applied. 

3. Looking at the picture of the front caliper it doesnt look to be square to the disc. Jaguar calipers are fitted with innumerable thin shims to line the calipers up and can be a nightmare to refit. Back in the day we had a big row with Coopercraft when they brought those calipers out as there was no addendum to the sales pitch to say that they would alter the brake balance, especially noticeable on MK2 Jaguars. They wouldnt acknowledge it. We always fitted MK9 front calipers to the rear to restore the balance.

Stuart.

[Bfg]

46 minutes ago, stuart said:

Few observations Pete

1. The remote servo tank originally had a valve screwed into it which we found to be problematical and often would seize up. Also that's an aftermarket servo and we have had a lot of trouble with them dragging the brakes just as you describe, its internal and a replacement unit is the only solution.

2. Have you checked in the front to back brake line to see if they have removed the "Anti creep" solenoid as that car has been converted from an automatic. It was fitted to hold the rear brakes on when you stopped with it still in drive, there was a switch on the throttle mechanism that released it as soon as the throttle was applied. 

3. Looking at the picture of the front caliper it doesn't look to be square to the disc. Jaguar calipers are fitted with innumerable thin shims to line the calipers up and can be a nightmare to refit. Back in the day we had a big row with Coopercraft when they brought those calipers out as there was no addendum to the sales pitch to say that they would alter the brake balance, especially noticeable on MK2 Jaguars. They wouldn't acknowledge it. We always fitted MK9 front calipers to the rear to restore the balance.

Stuart.

Thank you Stuart,  I'll look into each of these factors and see what I might find. 

Pete

[Bfg]

9th May - Carmen's continuing Work in Progress . . .

       

^ as bought the interior looks very nice, albeit with non-standard wooden dashboard, the radio, additional minor instruments, and the box over the gearbox tunnel.  What the picture don't really show is that the handbrake lever's travel is limited by that  box.   ^^ this is as far down the lever would go, because the box is in the way. 

Although beautifully trimmed in leather .. I don't like the box. It's an incongruity, an intrusion among the curves of the interior ..and also because it looks like something from a kit car. When you look at that, you might reasonably wonder if there's a Pinto engine under the bonnet.     I wasn't going to touch it for the time being.  After all - ripping apart an attractive leather interior is a drastic move.. but because of the limited release of handbrake and their still not being as good as they might be - I felt the need to tackle it now. 

        

^ That box wasn't going to come out with the dashboard, gear-change-lever and handbrake in place, but with the dashboard facia out of the way I managed to twist it out.   

     

^ "the quality in craftsmanship is more than skin deep" - whereas economy prevails in places that are out of sight.   As someone who lives at the muddy end of the financial ladder I can understand the need, especially when paying for a professional service.  I'm not sure it really matters ..but it would have to me.   ^^ Getting to handbrake lever's mechanism revealed its warning light was adjusted to suit the lever resting on the box.  The brackets for that switch are home made, but gaining every thread of adjustment did improved matters ..but not enough. . .

    

^ I don't know how the brake light warning bracket is supposed to be fitted but this one uses two pins. The larger pin is to the drop link, which goes down to the brake cables which run along the chassis. The second pin only serves to hold this bracket in place.  Unfortunately that smaller pin limited the handbrake lever's travel.  ^^ with it removed - the lever rested just above the carpet.  I marked the ratchet with the new range of travel.    

   

^ Comparing the marks from where the handbrake lever's lowest position with and without the pin showed three teeth / clicks on the ratchet.  That's a big percentage of its intended travel, and so the easiest way to 'fix' things was to ^^ modify the ratchet quadrant, to allow the pin (seen here beside the newly cut slot ) to swing lower.   That worked. 

    

^ some may recall my frustration, in a previous post, when I could not get the pin through the handbrake mechanism's drop-link bracket's ..through its adjustment upper hole 

^^ shows how close it was ..in the hole but not through it.  With it removed from the car, the hole was easy to drilled out to take the pin.   

    

^ the handbrake warning light switch limits the lower range of lever movement, but its now lower starting position gives the lever a greater range between off and on.  Mostly it'll be hardly noticeable, but when the cables are adjusted - those additional three extra clicks in travel will help lock the handbrake on.

Of course, the box cannot go back in ..because that also limited the lever's travel.  Neither can the handbrake mechanism remain exposed, next to the passenger seat, and so ..as I didn't like it anyway, I (carefully) pulled it apart. . .

    

    

^ the car's interior is trashed but for the time being, the leather is usable as a temporary gearbox cover until I buy new carpets to the original design patten. 

- - -

While ripping the interior apart . . .

   

^ the speedo had stopped working.  Even though its odometer was recording fine - the needle was bouncing all over the place ..rather noisily, and stopping at random speeds, and spinning around to click against the wrong side of the needle stop.  It had to come out to be repaired.  ^^ The replacement I fitted is very lightweight, but even less accurate, and not a very good match ..even to the magnolia minor instruments, but at least the ignition and main beam warning lamps are still functioning.  

- - -

Moving onwards and upwards to . . .

     

^  the next task is to replace these ..Williams SuperSport 4x3 Black seatbelts ( ECE R16 approved 3 point harness) for inertia reel types.  

The p[air of Williams harness are For Sale - if anyone is interested. According to the file + MoT records + my own recorded mileage they've not covered a thousand miles. So ; as new condition - Never been raced nor rolled ! 

Pete

 

 

[Bfg]

12th May - Carmen's continuing Work in Progress - Inertia Reel Seat Belts . . .

12 hours ago, Bfg said:

Moving onwards and upwards to . . .

     

^  the next task is to replace these ..Williams SuperSport 4x3 Black seatbelts ( ECE R16 approved 3 point harness) for inertia reel types.  

The p[air of Williams harness are For Sale - if anyone is interested. According to the file + MoT records + my own recorded mileage they've not covered a thousand miles. So ; as new condition - Never been raced nor rolled ! 

^ The new-to-me seat belts were bought via ebay, and were said to previously have been fitted in an E-type.  I didn't know how well they'd fit ..but that would apply to any I'd bought because the XK150 wasn't, as far as I know, factory fitted with them.   However, the box of files shows ; Derek Watson Jaguar specialist - invoice from 1996 which in included converting from Left to Right hand drive also says "Additional tasks included fitting the radio and speakers, and removing the existing seatbelts and fitting inertia-reels."  which suggest that were previous seat belts, of some kind, and that there were probably holes for mounting the inertia reels.  

    

^ Those on the top of the rear wheel arches were obvious ..as they still had seatbelt bolts through them, so their fitting was quick and easy ..although I was later to take them out again  because I didn't like the idea of those bolt going through a crushable sandwich filling of wood.  ^^ I removed the trim and enlarged the hole through the timber and replaced that with a steel spacer. Then I could tighten the bolts firmly.   I'd also used 2-1/4" (60mm) square backing plates for the wheel-arch side of the bolt ..as the previously-fitted washer was just an inch in diameter.   Arguably my collar bone couldn't pull a 1" washer through the steel plate of the wheelarch, but still, for piece of mind - I like seatbelt mountings to be secure beyond question. 

 

     

^ The outboard bottom seatbelt mount couldn't go into the sill, because these cars don't have one.  I could have drilled a hole through the floor besides the seat, but the Williams seatbelt was behind the seat in the kick up to the rear seat / luggage space. So I simply reused those, again adding big and thick backing plates.  

The mounting for the inertia reel was a compromise, insomuch as I didn't want to mount them too high and yet the chassis steps up over the rear axle as a slope, so they couldn't go all the way down.  There had been holes previously that had subsequently been welded closed, so I was free to choose.   These are slightly off the vertical ..as can be seen ^^ when the belt's run is compared to the door shut, but it is close enough to work smoothly. 

The strap doesn't recoil fully at the moment because the fully wound drum is rubbing on the carpet trim.  I'll give it a while to smooth off / settle down and, it proves annoying, then I'll just have to space the drum away from the wheelarch by an eight of an inch.

^ Under the wheel arch you can see the backing plates of these two seat belt mounts. Those plates were cleaned up and painted before fitting, the drilled holes were painted, and then after fitting they were doused in 1k primer again.  At a later date - I'll probably stitch weld these backing plates on. 

    

^ the positioning of the inboard seat belt mountings were restricted by the short length of its strap before the buckle.   I wanted the buckle to sit on the lap and not against a hip and so I estimated the position and compared that to where there are holes through the tunnel, from where the seat belts were previously fitted. ^^ The spike of the small screw driver blade marks that spot.  It was too far back and on too curved a surface for my liking. Second photo shows the chosen position, which is square to the seat's bolt hole and 3/4" (19m) upwards. The steel floor folds up 2" inside the tunnel and so, just there, the steel is double thick.

    

^ Yep, that'll work for me, another pair of big backing plates and we have the four seat-belt mounts in.   The box has been discarded and so you're only seeing its leather over the gearbox tunnel.  ^^ I've left the carpets out for the time being as I'm still playing around with seat positions and the tilt of the seats, and I'll be replacing the felt underlay for closed cell rubber.  I think I'd also prefer them to be cut in half and edge trimmed  ..so the footwell carpets can easily be removed for cleaning, rather than they being bolted down under the seat runners.  mind you I've not finally decided on that point because I also like the clean lines of continuous front-to-back carpets.   

Inertia Seat Belts - Job done, and (for two minutes) the car was back together again. 

- - -

But another little annoyance / minor job was to 'fix' the latches to the boot space hatch. . .

        

^ The hatch is an opening into the boot, said to have been to facilitate carrying long items like golf clubs. On the roadster the hatch is noticeably taller and more useful, but the Fixed Head Coupe has a parcel shelf above it.  I don't know, but I suspect, the reasoning is to make it the same in production as the Drop Head Saloon, when the structure across the back was deemed necessary for concealed boot's hinges, as was the shelf to fold the hood down onto.

On this car, one of the latches was really difficult to operate, and even then it would open itself,  and on the other side the latch didn't work at all.   I pulled them off and found them to be a simple slider bolt, but with a sprung ball which should have stepped into one of two indents in the backing place.  As with most everything on this car it had been fitted dry. There were also a burred edge around the indents.. Removing the ball bearing and greasing the spring inside, filing off those indent burrs and applying a smear of grease along the underside of the slider bolt, sorted them out.  That on the nearside still didn't lock because the leather-trimmed parcel shelf was holding it away from closing fully ..so the catch didn't reach back to the fitting on the inside face of wheel-arch.  Lifting the parcel shelf up, to clear the hatch door, sorted the issue, but the way the parcel shelf was fitted is a bit of a mess.  It's not urgent so just another job on the list.   For the time, all I needed to do - was to keep the boot space (and noise from within it) closed off. 

I removed one of the Williams upper seat bely mounting ring, but was left with a deep indent and hole through the trim, and through to the rear axle space, so I refitted it and it'll stay there ..pretending to be a tie-down ring (also useful .. should I ever get another dog).  

More Jobs done.  The interior is now a mess, needing professional carpet work, but it can wait until I get around to reworking the wooden facia. 

I have plenty of other tasks to get on with in the meantime, but I'm feeling a little close to burnt-out ..after three months of almost continuously working on the car.  I'd like to get the tappet clearances close to being correct (when the new shims arrive). And then I think I'll take a break. 

I bid you a pleasant good evening. 

Pete

 

 

Edited May 13 by Bfg

[Bfg]

13th May - Carmen's continuing Work in Progress - Speedo Calibration 

I'm having a day off today  . . .     and so I jacked up the rear wheel  to count the speedo calibration, necessary information to go off with the speedo to be repaired. 

    

I ask my friend Rich C-R .., whom might he recommend for speedo repairs, and he suggested Steve at JDO Instruments, Keighley, West Yorkshire, adding that they're sensibly priced, and have a fast turn around, but repair rather than restore the instrument.  That's what I want, and also recalibration.   I'd noted, when I went to the Norfolk-Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton, Norfolk, a couple of months ago, that the speedo was under-reading by 4-5 mph. and so for the sake of my licence I thought it prudent to have that corrected at the same time as it is being repaired. 

I first asked Steve, whether he thought it might be the cable or the instrument ?  I said how its needle was bouncing around and then would arbitrarily stop at odd (usually in excess to the speed limit) readings and then would chatter against the wrong side of zero, but that the odometer was still recording the miles correctly.  He assured me that it was the speedo.  I added that the speedo had been fine but was under-reading ...and he quickly talked me through how to give him the information with which he could correct that.  Those instructions are posted on his website. ( ^^ above ). 

    

I followed his instructions marking the jacked-up rear driver's side rear wheel, and using a piece of card ^  ..as a substitute needle to push onto the square drive end of the speedo cable.  Of course, from the driver's side rear wheel I could see the speedo as I turned the tyre. 

The process is simple enough in principle, but I suspect ..even a mildly dyslexic person working on their own, it's easy to make a mistake.  With the handbrake off, and the car out of gear - Turn the driven wheel 20 revolutions forward, and count the number of times the speedo cable revolves ..to the nearest 1/8th of a turn.   Knowing me ..and my likely inability to concurrently count two numbers-of-revolutions, as well as man-handling / turning the wheel, as well as watching two pointers at once, I prepared a simple tick box ..to count off & record the revolutions of each. 

    

^ Steve had advised that the speedo might turn about eight or nine times.  I don't know if it says anything about Carmen's rear axle ratio but it worked out to be 13 + 3/16th turns .. which is not far off 1-1/2 turns of the wheel for every revolution of the speedo cable.   I did it / checked it four times (as you see from my ticking off in the check box  / , \ , O and --  )  the first time counted 13 + 7/8th turns, but the following three times were pretty consistent at 13 + 3/16th turns  ^^ Steve also needs to know the circumference of the tyre.  In this case it is  85-3/4" (218cm). 

I understand Speedy Cables ask you to roll the whole car six revolutions of the wheel, while counting the speedo cable's number of turns. I guess that tries to take account of the tyre's flat footprint, but Steve / JDO instruments seemed pretty confident that their system is accurate.  It's certainly much easier.   

I don't think I've ever encountered a speedo that was absolutely spot on accurate, and that may be because the tyres rolling circumferences change according to their temperature, so the speedo will read slightly differently if I'm just popping to the shops around the corner in winter months .. to when I drive 'spiritedly' on hot summer roads.  The rolling radius of a tyre would also change at higher speeds because of centrifugal forces acting on the rubber.  

Anyway, I'll let you know in a week or two's time - how close the repaired and recalibrated instrument is to what Tom Tom tells me. 

- - -

Today, I also heard that Carmen's old water pump has now been received back from E.P.Services, Finchfield, Wolverhampton, who have rebuilt it with new bearings and seals.  That was quick turnaround including postage both ways of just 12 days.  Having just fitted a new-old-stock one, I'll just keep it as an on-the-shelf spare, just in case the new-old-stock seals have perished since the 1970's. 

- - -

^ I also received the new tappet shims today from Chris at Cecag, Burton-on-the-Water, Cheltenham. who amongst other brands rebuild Jaguar XK engines, gearboxes + overdrives, and differentials.  I found Chris through Facebook, when I was asking opinions regarding using a slightly smaller diameter shim, from the Hillman Imp suppliers.  Chris invited me to PM him, as he has 'about 5-kilos of jaguar shims".  You may recall Moss-Rimmers were asking £17.50 each, whereas Chris let me have these for £2.50 each + just £2.50 p&p.  For these ten shims that's £150 cheaper.!   I'm very grateful to him. He could have reasonably asked for more.  

That's it for this evening, I bid you well. 

Pete 

 

 

[trchris]

Hi Pete good to see your slowly getting there my speedometer also reads 3-4 mph slower so l brought a small cheap gps mph reader tested on the other half’s new mini (spot on ) and sits permanently on the dash top well worth the peace of mind 

Chris

[stuart]

3 hours ago, trchris said:

Hi Pete good to see your slowly getting there my speedometer also reads 3-4 mph slower so l brought a small cheap gps mph reader tested on the other half’s new mini (spot on ) and sits permanently on the dash top well worth the peace of mind 

Chris

So does mine despite being rebuilt by JDO twice 😡

Stuart.