My V12 Sized Gamble
Discussion
I feel the need to continue where LewG finished, but I'm not sure that I can do justice to his amazing thread.
I recently bought LewG's 1987 Jaguar XJ-S V12 after spotting it for sale on the Pistonheads website, and I was introduced to his 'A V12 Sized Gamble' thread, thanks to a friend of mine. Here Lew painstakingly documented all the mechanical restoration work that he completed, pictures and all. So I feel it's only right to continue documenting the Jag's next phase in it's 28 year life.
I don't have anywhere near the talents that Lew has (he is amazingly talented mechanically and has a huge enthusiasm for cars), so owning this car will be a steep learning curve for me, but I have bought my dream car; a car that I have dreamed of owning for 32 years, so I feel privileged to be the next owner of this amazing, beautiful purring machine.
And it really is lovely. It has a beautiful V12 burble thanks to a Stainless Steel exhaust that Lew fitted and it drives with effortless waftiness. It even has that lovely leathery smell inside, too - just like an old Jag should have.
So, once I had the Jag home I made a start by replacing the two front tyres with a couple of new Pirelli P600's (to match the back). I have also replaced the headlight bulbs with Philips Xtreme Vision 130% H4 bulbs (one was out, so why not go for some bright ones) and I've given the car a good polish. Next up, and with thanks to LewG for supplying the parts with the car, I will have the front springs fitted, the bushes replaced and a new a/c compressor installed and gassed, then an oil and filter change before heading off to the MoT station for a new certificate (fingers crossed).
My only gripe is that the weather has absolutely sucked since I bought the car, so I have had little opportunity to fire up that big V12 and go for a wafty drive through the countryside. Still, it's only been two weeks...
I recently bought LewG's 1987 Jaguar XJ-S V12 after spotting it for sale on the Pistonheads website, and I was introduced to his 'A V12 Sized Gamble' thread, thanks to a friend of mine. Here Lew painstakingly documented all the mechanical restoration work that he completed, pictures and all. So I feel it's only right to continue documenting the Jag's next phase in it's 28 year life.
I don't have anywhere near the talents that Lew has (he is amazingly talented mechanically and has a huge enthusiasm for cars), so owning this car will be a steep learning curve for me, but I have bought my dream car; a car that I have dreamed of owning for 32 years, so I feel privileged to be the next owner of this amazing, beautiful purring machine.
And it really is lovely. It has a beautiful V12 burble thanks to a Stainless Steel exhaust that Lew fitted and it drives with effortless waftiness. It even has that lovely leathery smell inside, too - just like an old Jag should have.
So, once I had the Jag home I made a start by replacing the two front tyres with a couple of new Pirelli P600's (to match the back). I have also replaced the headlight bulbs with Philips Xtreme Vision 130% H4 bulbs (one was out, so why not go for some bright ones) and I've given the car a good polish. Next up, and with thanks to LewG for supplying the parts with the car, I will have the front springs fitted, the bushes replaced and a new a/c compressor installed and gassed, then an oil and filter change before heading off to the MoT station for a new certificate (fingers crossed).
My only gripe is that the weather has absolutely sucked since I bought the car, so I have had little opportunity to fire up that big V12 and go for a wafty drive through the countryside. Still, it's only been two weeks...
|http://thumbsnap.com/xUNPhDYH
A little update. A shiny new Hirschmann AUTA 6000 KE-F aerial arrived today, courtesy of eBay, leaving me £115 lighter. Checking out Jaguar heritage websites, these are going for £180, so I got a reasonable deal I think.
I need to replace the dashboard bulbs as the light output from them is patchy and dim. And with a big wafty V12 up front, and a slightly heavy foot, i'm worried that I will get nicked cos I couldn't read the dials at night. I'm thinking of replacing them with LED back lights to give a sharp, crisp, long lasting light. I've seen a few websites that offer the kit, and the light output looks impressive.
I stumbled across this article, which got me thinking about it: http://www.xclusively-jaguar.co.uk/xclusively-jagu...
Has anyone else tried this?
I need to replace the dashboard bulbs as the light output from them is patchy and dim. And with a big wafty V12 up front, and a slightly heavy foot, i'm worried that I will get nicked cos I couldn't read the dials at night. I'm thinking of replacing them with LED back lights to give a sharp, crisp, long lasting light. I've seen a few websites that offer the kit, and the light output looks impressive.
I stumbled across this article, which got me thinking about it: http://www.xclusively-jaguar.co.uk/xclusively-jagu...
Has anyone else tried this?
Edited by Bodie037 on Tuesday 28th July 18:36
Thoroughly looking forward to following her progress! Sorry I forgot to mention the dials, you're right they are pants, they were the same in my mate's XJS too so it's not this one alone. If you look underneath the dash to the left of the steering wheel from what I remember there's an adjustment knob for the brightness of the dash lights, apparently this can be a problem
LewG said:
Thoroughly looking forward to following her progress! Sorry I forgot to mention the dials, you're right they are pants, they were the same in my mate's XJS too so it's not this one alone. If you look underneath the dash to the left of the steering wheel from what I remember there's an adjustment knob for the brightness of the dash lights, apparently this can be a problem
No worries, LewG. I'm looking forward to the investigating and tinkering part of ownership. And thanks for the tip regarding the dimmer knob, I'll take a look at that, too.Found this, reminds me why I like these so much.
http://youtu.be/pIMQGk4xQqM
I think a road trip is in order?
http://youtu.be/pIMQGk4xQqM
I think a road trip is in order?
LanceRS said:
Found this, reminds me why I like these so much.
http://youtu.be/pIMQGk4xQqM
I think a road trip is in order?
I think you're right, but first up are front springs, bushes, air con, belts and MoT, courtesy of Den (fitting) and with thanks to Lew for the parts. Hopefully I'll have it back in the road early August, then we can plan a road trip. North Norfolk roads are epic.http://youtu.be/pIMQGk4xQqM
I think a road trip is in order?
p.s. I enjoyed the YouTube clip. Not sure we'll make it to Monaco, though.
Edited by Bodie037 on Wednesday 29th July 22:06
Superb video, I love watching Harry's Garage but my god those early cars were ugly! The one trip I always wanted to do in it was down to the south of France or something, just what it was built to do. No doubt it'll be far nicer with working air con! For the whole hour it worked when I had it regassed it was lovely..
LanceRS said:
Found this, reminds me why I like these so much.
http://youtu.be/pIMQGk4xQqM
I think a road trip is in order?
A favourite of mine from Harry's Garage is his XJ12 C complete with rare manual gearbox conversion. Epic car: https://youtu.be/7TMgIkx40tIhttp://youtu.be/pIMQGk4xQqM
I think a road trip is in order?
LewG said:
Superb video, I love watching Harry's Garage but my god those early cars were ugly! The one trip I always wanted to do in it was down to the south of France or something, just what it was built to do. No doubt it'll be far nicer with working air con! For the whole hour it worked when I had it regassed it was lovely..
I'm toying with a trip to Le Mans next year. My cousin went with a friend in his Caterham this year, so I think he's eyeing up a bit of comfort for next year. It has to be done, really.That'll be brilliant! https://youtu.be/95MhCNKf7CA
Have a peek at that when you get a chance, oh the noise
Have a peek at that when you get a chance, oh the noise
LewG said:
That'll be brilliant! https://youtu.be/95MhCNKf7CA
Have a peek at that when you get a chance, oh the noise
Saw this a while ago, still looks amazing. Impressive how fast it looks on a street circuit. I wouldn't try it on the way to Le Mans anymore though, Le plod are always out in force and you'd spend as much in fines as you would in fuel.Have a peek at that when you get a chance, oh the noise
LewG said:
That'll be brilliant! https://youtu.be/95MhCNKf7CA
Have a peek at that when you get a chance, oh the noise
Holy crap, what have they done to that? It sounds like F1 cars in the good old days (circa mid 80's).Have a peek at that when you get a chance, oh the noise
LanceRS said:
Saw this a while ago, still looks amazing. Impressive how fast it looks on a street circuit. I wouldn't try it on the way to Le Mans anymore though, Le plod are always out in force and you'd spend as much in fines as you would in fuel.
I would of course drive in a gentlemanly way en-route to Le Mans and hence avoid 'un ticket de speeding de le plod'. Hopefully I will just be stopping for petrol and not on the receiving end of une fine.
We'll, it's been a few weeks since the last update. The Jag now has 12 months MoT - Happy days. A full service has been completed, auxiliary belts have been changed (the alternator belt was hanging on by threads and hence it no longer charged the car, but all fixed now), electric drivers side window now works, passenger side window switch has been replaced with one that has markings on it, a new electric aerial has been fitted and the Air con compressor has been replaced. Twice. Unfortunately it has a tendancy to catch fire, so we think something else is wrong with the air con that is causing the compressor to give a pleasant fireworks display. No harm done to the car, by the way.
My exBMW master technician mate is going to take a compressor apart to find evidence of the cause, then we'll work back from there. It will get sorted, just needs time and a bit of money.
A couple of things to be done over the next month are to replace the rear radius arms (bushes are past their best) and perhaps tackle the dashboard lights, or lack of them.
The car drives like an absolute dream and I have been rumbling around in it for the last few days. Off to Woking tomorrow morning with LanceRS for a nice drive and a bacon buttie and coffee. Not looking forward to a 06:00 start
My exBMW master technician mate is going to take a compressor apart to find evidence of the cause, then we'll work back from there. It will get sorted, just needs time and a bit of money.
A couple of things to be done over the next month are to replace the rear radius arms (bushes are past their best) and perhaps tackle the dashboard lights, or lack of them.
The car drives like an absolute dream and I have been rumbling around in it for the last few days. Off to Woking tomorrow morning with LanceRS for a nice drive and a bacon buttie and coffee. Not looking forward to a 06:00 start
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