It only took slightly longer than painting the Forth Bridge, but I have the new headliner installed in the Jaguar. I also rebuilt the headrests and re-glued the fabric on the back of the front seats. I think it all looks fine though, as with most things I do, doesn’t bear too close an inspection.
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The GT left today on its journey to the Finger Lakes region of New York state, where it will live with its new caretaker. (The car was actually sold a month or so ago, but I had a few things to take care of and transport had to be arranged, but it’s gone now.)

This is a very nice machine; I’m sorry to see it go. I hope the new owner is happy with the car–long distance sales are tough. I have high standards and try to describe things accurately, but it’s difficult to tell what other folks may be happy with and what they might find disappointing. Hopefully lots of the former and not much of the latter, in this case!

Warning: Unless you like mechanical stuff, this will be the most boring post ever.

The exhaust on my “new” XJ6 leaked pretty badly where the manifolds joined the downpipes, and for good reason: The studs that were installed (in one of the few bodges on the car) were at least an inch too long. There was no way for the “donut” gaskets to be clamped tightly, and (surprise!) they leaked. In the process of removing the too-long studs, I discovered three of the tapped holes were stripped, one on the front manifold and two on the back. Shown above are the repaired manifolds with new studs (temporary, see end note). Below we’ll take a peek how I repaired the threads.
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I have wanted an early “low bumper” XJ6 for a long time, and this car caught my eye on the local CL. Despite having had two owners in the last six months, both quite young, it was a one-owner car before that. Even in the crappy photos it looked pretty original. I like original!
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I have the GT on eBay at the moment, moving it would be very helpful to seriously get the E-Type restoration moving again, sadly. I’m not sure eBay is the right venue, but it’s worth a shot, eh? You can see the auction here.

My friend Matt and I dropped by Paine Field on the 6th of August to watch the Flying Heritage Collection fly one of their Focke-Wulf FW-190s along with their Messerscmitt BF-109 for “Luftwaffe Day.” This video, in its short, shaky glory, was shot from my Canon S95 pocket camera, so keep that in mind when eyeballing it.

My friend Brent came over early Saturday morning to drive the GT to the All British Field Meet in Bellevue, and I rode the BSA down in convoy with him. The trip was relatively uneventful–only a couple of easily retrieved pieces fell off the BSA and the MGB seeped some oil from the oil cooler, but that was the extent of it.

The BSA took first place…out of two bikes. Can’t say I’m proud of that one. The GT, which took third last year when entered in the wrong category (MGB roadsters), this year was entered in the right category–and failed to place, out of eight GTs entered. It’s the curse of “shiny primer” and red wheels, by gum.

Those the big-end bearings from a couple of the rods. You should not be able to see copper, and you definitely shouldn’t be able to see big chunks of it flaking off. This bearing had also spun, I believe. (more…)

It turns out the misfiring cylinder was nothing more than a bum spark plug. Took a nice ride this evening: Less comfortable than the BSA–but a heck of a lot smoother and faster! It’s funny how power can affect your perceptions; there are some dotted-line byways where driving the MGB or the F250 you think “there’s not enough road to pass, what were they thinking when they striped this?” On the 955i: “there’s plenty of road to pass here, nice of them to be so generous!”

Nice to see the car back on its feet again. My friend Paul is coming by tomorrow at mid-day to help with the start-up of the fresh engine. It’s always nice to have an extra pair of eyes to watch for gushing fluids while the oil and temp are monitored from inside. The engine also has to be run for at least half an hour over 2000 rpm on initial start to break in the new camshaft, which would make a one-person start even more difficult. (more…)