Jaguar C Types?

[bertie]

lowdrag said:

Sorry, Al Zheimer, you didn't or I would have replied!

Thought so....I'm back on the medication now!!

YHM

[bertie]

bertie said:

Thought so....I'm back on the medication now!!

YHM

Bump....

[baypond]

lowdrag said:

But PLEASE, PLEASE, do not stick those ugly red C-type badges on your cam covers. It is the clearest giveaway that it is a replica and not a real C-type. Those badges were used to denote a hotter engine on production cars, not race cars.

Low Drag - I have a Suffolk C Type replica with a 3.4 litre XK140 SE engine and obviously a C Type head which I know does not denote a C Type engine, but as it is a genuine period engine there is no way I would want to change it. This is probably the closest you can get to a genuine twin carb experience from a production engine, no?

[bertie]

baypond said:

Low Drag - I have a Suffolk C Type replica with a 3.4 litre XK140 SE engine and obviously a C Type head which I know does not denote a C Type engine, but as it is a genuine period engine there is no way I would want to change it. This is probably the closest you can get to a genuine twin carb experience from a production engine, no?

Sod the cam covers, tell us how it drives and show pics!!

[XJ13]

Back to cam covers ...

I wanted to replicate the look of polished cam covers for my V12 engines (all have raised ribs and are painted black) so simply milled off the ribs then polished them. In the case of the V12, there is plenty of "meat" left so the structural integrity isn't compromised at all. I don't have a 6-cyl ribbed cover to hand so can't verify this is also true for the XK-engined cars. OK, they end up being rather more "square" than original but perhaps this is a route for those wanting the look of the early covers without going to the expense of sourcing and polishing a pair (used ones not that easy to come across nowadays)?

Here's what I end up with.









I do miss my Proteus C-Type ....

[epoch911]

baypond said:

Low Drag - I have a Suffolk C Type replica with a 3.4 litre XK140 SE engine and obviously a C Type head which I know does not denote a C Type engine, but as it is a genuine period engine there is no way I would want to change it. This is probably the closest you can get to a genuine twin carb experience from a production engine, no?

Is that the cream car with red wheels that they had at MM73?
If it is I think we chatted about C-type ownership (I have a Proteus) just as you shook hands on the deal...
Hope you are enjoying the car
Ant

[baypond]

epoch911 said:

baypond said:

Low Drag - I have a Suffolk C Type replica with a 3.4 litre XK140 SE engine and obviously a C Type head which I know does not denote a C Type engine, but as it is a genuine period engine there is no way I would want to change it. This is probably the closest you can get to a genuine twin carb experience from a production engine, no?

Is that the cream car with red wheels that they had at MM73?
If it is I think we chatted about C-type ownership (I have a Proteus) just as you shook hands on the deal...
Hope you are enjoying the car
Ant

Hi Ant, yes indeed, I took delivery just over a week ago. I think you were the guy that tipped the balance after talk of your trip to Goodwood.
I love the thing for what it is, not for what people think it should represent.
Thanks for your words of encouragement.
Giles

[baypond]

bertie said:

Sod the cam covers, tell us how it drives and show pics!!

[baypond]

bertie said:

Sod the cam covers, tell us how it drives and show pics!!

[baypond]

bertie said:

Sod the cam covers, tell us how it drives and show pics!!

Bertie, it is like nothing else I have driven. It is built to deliver a 1950's racing car experience that is as close to authentic as possible. Given it is the first 50's car I have driven, i cant say if it is authentic, but what I can tell you is that it is brilliant. It is 100% analogue in a digital, fly by wire era. The feel, the balance, the smell and the noise make for a sensory overloaded driving experience.
Giles

[bertie]

baypond said:

That's a beautiful thing, I think I saw your very car on the Suffolk stand at the NEC Classic.

Is your an aluminium or composite body?

[baypond]

bertie said:

That's a beautiful thing, I think I saw your very car on the Suffolk stand at the NEC Classic.

Is your an aluminium or composite body?

Its composite with aluminium where it is on show, if that makes sense. To be honest, while I would have preferred aluminium, in order of priority, i think the fact that it is as true to the original as possible in other areas that affect the driving experience, that is more important.
3.4ltr period XK140 SE engine
period 4 speed Jag gearbox + override
live rear axle
non servo discs all round
blockley tyres etc etc

[bertie]

baypond said:

Its composite with aluminium where it is on show, if that makes sense. To be honest, while I would have preferred aluminium, in order of priority, i think the fact that it is as true to the original as possible in other areas that affect the driving experience, that is more important.
3.4ltr period XK140 SE engine
period 4 speed Jag gearbox + override
live rear axle
non servo discs all round
blockley tyres etc etc

Fabulous, I've also been told the all alloy cars can get stone chip dings from stones thrown up by the tyres quite easily so the fibreglass ones are more usable.

How's it drive compared to modern stuff?

Do you wear goggles/ glasses? What's the buffeting like?

[daytona365]

Lax Power said:

I have just finished building a Realm C-Type. Its cost me £16,000 so far and its almost finished. It is GRP but when you consider that an aluminium C-Type bonnet is £9,000 its doesnt look too bad! I have a photographic build and can email you the pics if you like.

Here are a few to go on with:

Edited by Lax Power on Tuesday 20th July 16:39

Edited by Lax Power on Tuesday 20th July 17:41

........That looks a fantastic machine for 16k. The chassis alone really looks as though it's been properly thought out.

[baypond]

bertie said:

Fabulous, I've also been told the all alloy cars can get stone chip dings from stones thrown up by the tyres quite easily so the fibreglass ones are more usable.

How's it drive compared to modern stuff?

Do you wear goggles/ glasses? What's the buffeting like?

I wear glasses, not goggles and the buffeting gets interesting at 95mph on the M25, but it wasn't enough to make me want to slow down!

I can't describe how it is to drive compared to a modern car except to explain why I sold my Ferrari 599 and bought the C Type. My son was in his 944 Turbo S, my brother was in my Porsche 930 Turbo, and my brother in law was in his 993 Carrera. I drove my 599 on the 80 mile journey to Goodwood 73rd members meeting and when we arrived, all the other three had big grins from the drive down. I didn't get the same buzz. Why?, because the 599 is so accomplished and so quick, and so under stressed following the other cars, that it just didn't capture the atmosphere that the other guys got driving at 8/10ths compared to my 2/10ths. The C Type will drift round a hairpin at 30 mph and drift the back out. I would have to be doing 80mph on a 599.

I do miss the 599 though, but still wouldn't swap it for any of my other cars.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Lovely cars chaps, out of interest what's the ballpark figure to build a fibreglass one of these (say Suffolk) to a decent standard?

[grumpy52]

Cam covers !
At the restoration company I worked for it was my job when it was quite to polish all the spare ones at the back of the engine shed , about 20 pairs of them .
They went out the door as soon as they were finished and spotted by visitors .

[arn22110]

Being a bit on the large side I have often wondered how big the C Types are. Are there any of you on the larger side that own one?


Thanks

[lowdrag]

When thinking of all classic Jaguars, it should be remembered that Norman Dewis was the test driver in those days, and he was - and is - not of a great stature. My XKSS fits me (just) at 5' 8" and the C-type is a little larger, but not a lot. Taller people will have their thighs splayed around the steering wheel, and in an E-type, especially early ones, large feet are a no no.

As regards building a new car these days, I am rather out of the loop but it seems to me that the IVA rules apply and so keeping one looking original is getting tougher and tougher. Look here for the price list if you want to build one yourself:-

http://www.suffolksportscars.com/suffolk-c-type/se...

A built one is for sale here:-

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C590009

Seems to me that the price of even fibreglass copies is running amok.

[baypond]

lowdrag said:

http://www.suffolksportscars.com/suffolk-c-type/se...

A built one is for sale here:-

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C590009

Seems to me that the price of even fibreglass copies is running amok.

The market is capped by the £80,000 ish charged for a decent 'new' factory car.
The cars that have period component parts seem to have a floor between £40/60,000k.
anything that is FIA registered seems to come in higher.