Discussion
The XJR sounds like it's had everything done that I would want to have done to be honest, crucially the timing chain tensioners. There's a few bodywork scabs in places on mine and some lacquer peel on the roof so in the new year I'm going to have them done. That would probably take me up to around £3200 total spend so far so £2800 for the red car having already had bodywork done seems a big plus too.
Hi Lew,
A very nice addition (I like your style) I like your comparison between XJS/XJR,having owned neither I can still understand and appreciate the way you put it.
I had a soft spot for your XJS,if you remember I spent more time looking at your car at the Jaguar Sunday Service than any other car that attended.
Nice to hear that the Chimaera is hitting the spot,taking the plunge into TVR ownership can be a worrying prospect but if you get a good one then they do take some beating for the money.
Good luck with the XJR
Jas
A very nice addition (I like your style) I like your comparison between XJS/XJR,having owned neither I can still understand and appreciate the way you put it.
I had a soft spot for your XJS,if you remember I spent more time looking at your car at the Jaguar Sunday Service than any other car that attended.
Nice to hear that the Chimaera is hitting the spot,taking the plunge into TVR ownership can be a worrying prospect but if you get a good one then they do take some beating for the money.
Good luck with the XJR
Jas
Thankyou4calling said:
I would fully expect a shotgun across the backseat, be dissociated nott to find one and I'm surprised Jaguar didn't offer as an accessory.
I've always loved these cars.
I admit I did have them on the back seat but unsurprisingly had to stop for fuel on the way. Suddenly that didn't seem such a good idea! I've always loved these cars.
TVRJAS said:
Hi Lew,
A very nice addition (I like your style) I like your comparison between XJS/XJR,having owned neither I can still understand and appreciate the way you put it.
I had a soft spot for your XJS,if you remember I spent more time looking at your car at the Jaguar Sunday Service than any other car that attended.
Nice to hear that the Chimaera is hitting the spot,taking the plunge into TVR ownership can be a worrying prospect but if you get a good one then they do take some beating for the money.
Good luck with the XJR
Jas
Cheers Jas that's kind of you to say! How's your Chim going? I've kept mine on the road over winter, when there's the odd dry day it's such a pleasure to take it out! I'd like to run it up to Joolz at Kits and Classics in the new year for a tune as I suspect it's not running quite as spot on as it should. I put a new cam in from V8 Developments and a few other small mods like cats out, smooth hoses and bigger throttle trumpets etc so with some expert attention it could throw out a few more horses hopefully!A very nice addition (I like your style) I like your comparison between XJS/XJR,having owned neither I can still understand and appreciate the way you put it.
I had a soft spot for your XJS,if you remember I spent more time looking at your car at the Jaguar Sunday Service than any other car that attended.
Nice to hear that the Chimaera is hitting the spot,taking the plunge into TVR ownership can be a worrying prospect but if you get a good one then they do take some beating for the money.
Good luck with the XJR
Jas
Mine has been very kind thanks Lew,last big bill was in June just under £800 for a 12k service + a few other things (It's all in my blog).
Like you I keep my car available to use all year round but the weather hasn't been that kind (Not Yorkshire unkind though poor lot) but have only done 187 miles in the last Eight weeks.
I'm not from the "will not get it wet or dirty under any circumstances" brigade,but if I need to go out and it's wet and miserable then I jump in the old shed Nissan as I don't see the point as i much prefer driving with roof off. Saying that though I have done some driving with roof on and I quite like it I feel quite snug in my little cabin and I especially like driving roof on at night because of the way the dash lights up
I know it's not everyone's favorite but I continue to wax oil treat the chassis and for a 1997 still all original outriggers etc it's looking ok underneath (Time will tell I guess)
Hopefully bump into you at one or more of the TVR events next year if you're into the car events scene.
Regards Jas
EDITED: I put mine on a rolling road back in July,I'm not chasing figures just wanted to know where I was at and it achieved 212.3 and was told with a few tweaks could gain another 20-25. One of those tweaks was going Full decat,but I have a straight through box and my personal taste is it gets a bit to loud going that route. The main objective of the test was that I was told I have a good healthy engine for a pretty much standard 400.
Like you I keep my car available to use all year round but the weather hasn't been that kind (Not Yorkshire unkind though poor lot) but have only done 187 miles in the last Eight weeks.
I'm not from the "will not get it wet or dirty under any circumstances" brigade,but if I need to go out and it's wet and miserable then I jump in the old shed Nissan as I don't see the point as i much prefer driving with roof off. Saying that though I have done some driving with roof on and I quite like it I feel quite snug in my little cabin and I especially like driving roof on at night because of the way the dash lights up
I know it's not everyone's favorite but I continue to wax oil treat the chassis and for a 1997 still all original outriggers etc it's looking ok underneath (Time will tell I guess)
Hopefully bump into you at one or more of the TVR events next year if you're into the car events scene.
Regards Jas
EDITED: I put mine on a rolling road back in July,I'm not chasing figures just wanted to know where I was at and it achieved 212.3 and was told with a few tweaks could gain another 20-25. One of those tweaks was going Full decat,but I have a straight through box and my personal taste is it gets a bit to loud going that route. The main objective of the test was that I was told I have a good healthy engine for a pretty much standard 400.
Edited by TVRJAS on Monday 28th December 13:54
That's not too bad! I feel much the same really, if I get caught out in a bit of rain then ho hum but I wouldn't go out of my way to drive it in crappy weather. Like you say roof on sort of changes the character of the car, roof off feels like a proper old school roadster. I've done a few long journeys in mine and despite the leaky roof seals on the side windows it's surprisingly comfortable.
I don't blame you at all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with preserving the chassis with waxoyl and the like, if anything that and some stone chip on the wheel arch tubes looks quite smart in my opinion!
That definitely seems to be a healthy one, I'm quite keen to get it on a dyno that's for sure. When it was stripped down I was astonished at what good condition it was in inside so hopefully with a few tweaks we should get a good result.
Photo of them both freshly cleaned today.
I don't blame you at all, there is absolutely nothing wrong with preserving the chassis with waxoyl and the like, if anything that and some stone chip on the wheel arch tubes looks quite smart in my opinion!
That definitely seems to be a healthy one, I'm quite keen to get it on a dyno that's for sure. When it was stripped down I was astonished at what good condition it was in inside so hopefully with a few tweaks we should get a good result.
Photo of them both freshly cleaned today.
Edited by LewG on Tuesday 29th December 17:21
Hello Lance, the TVR seems to be one of those cars that looks so much better for a wash and polish! For a while I've been meaning to clay bar the front end, with that and some of our good friend Autoglym Super Resin it looks fantastic.
I've had a fantastic result today courtesy of the Jaguar part of the forum, their advice is much appreciated. Since owning the car the remote locking hasn't worked so you have to open it the old fashioned way on the key. That's all good and well except that it doesnt disarm the alarm so unless you're quick in putting the key in the ignition the alarm goes off. Cue a few embarrassing moments out the front of the house early in the morning half asleep getting in the car for work.
Both fobs generated no response from the car whatsoever so basics first, change the batteries. I then checked all the fuses underneath the rear seats but again they were fine. This morning I tried reprogramming the fobs to the car by doing a set of stalk/button presses but that didn't work either, the next piece of advice I received was to thoroughly clean the inside of the remotes, and a good job I did too:
Following a clean I tried the programming again, and it worked! Both remotes working spot on. Another thing ticked off the list and a total spend of £3 for the batteries. Result.
I've had a fantastic result today courtesy of the Jaguar part of the forum, their advice is much appreciated. Since owning the car the remote locking hasn't worked so you have to open it the old fashioned way on the key. That's all good and well except that it doesnt disarm the alarm so unless you're quick in putting the key in the ignition the alarm goes off. Cue a few embarrassing moments out the front of the house early in the morning half asleep getting in the car for work.
Both fobs generated no response from the car whatsoever so basics first, change the batteries. I then checked all the fuses underneath the rear seats but again they were fine. This morning I tried reprogramming the fobs to the car by doing a set of stalk/button presses but that didn't work either, the next piece of advice I received was to thoroughly clean the inside of the remotes, and a good job I did too:
Following a clean I tried the programming again, and it worked! Both remotes working spot on. Another thing ticked off the list and a total spend of £3 for the batteries. Result.
LewG said:
I've had a bit of a setback in that it's developed a knocking noise from underneath when letting off after hard acceleration or going over bumps in the road. I suspect it could be rear subframe related or even exhaust. The only catch came when I went to remove the wheels... no locking wheel nut key! I had a look at the front suspension just in case, and a good job I did too as one of the lower shock mounting bolts was visibly loose.
If it is still knocking then check that the battery is very secure in the boot. Also I vaguely recall a senior Jag tech telling me that that my knocking noise when letting off after hard acceleration was the rose joint which I think is an alternative to the lower bush in the rear shocks. JMM's post from 30-12-10, 19:59 lists the most common causes of knocking:http://www.jaguarforum.com/archive/index.php/t-198...
TurricanII said:
If it is still knocking then check that the battery is very secure in the boot. Also I vaguely recall a senior Jag tech telling me that that my knocking noise when letting off after hard acceleration was the rose joint which I think is an alternative to the lower bush in the rear shocks. JMM's post from 30-12-10, 19:59 lists the most common causes of knocking:
http://www.jaguarforum.com/archive/index.php/t-198...
Thanks for the link Turrican, strangely the noise stopped a couple of days after I reported it! http://www.jaguarforum.com/archive/index.php/t-198...
Plans for this year are to get some areas of paint rectified and possibly look at rebushing some of the front end as somehow it still feels a bit 'wallowy'. I would go for new springs and shocks but looking at the prices of them, perhaps not! Does anyone know about the auto dimming rear view mirrors on these? Mine is in the constantly dimmed state for some reason, with a line in the glass across the top where it returns to normal. Nothing serious but it's one of those things to tick off the niggle list.
Very true Lance! Any old key or tablespoon will do
Bought myself a kit from Powerhouse Automotive to change the oil in the supercharger so that's a job for the weekend. I keep toying with the idea of the upgraded pulley from them but at the moment getting the bodywork sorted is the priority really.
Bought myself a kit from Powerhouse Automotive to change the oil in the supercharger so that's a job for the weekend. I keep toying with the idea of the upgraded pulley from them but at the moment getting the bodywork sorted is the priority really.
Well driving around in the car is still proving to be enjoyable apart from one main irritating thing, it really does wander over the road and feel quite vague. I appreciate old Jags were never known for feeling razor sharp but it should feel better than this, it feels more like my Series Landy which is akin to being at the helm of a galleon in a gale.
I've ordered subframe mounts, V mounts, track rod ends etc. for the front end in an attempt to improve things. Not cheap but well worth doing with a bit of luck. I always find refreshing a car in the steering and suspension area is quite satisfying because you get an idea of how it should really feel, not worn out and tired. The job does look a total arse though! I thought the ball joints had made a big difference but after loosening up a bit it still seems just as bad unfortunately
I've ordered subframe mounts, V mounts, track rod ends etc. for the front end in an attempt to improve things. Not cheap but well worth doing with a bit of luck. I always find refreshing a car in the steering and suspension area is quite satisfying because you get an idea of how it should really feel, not worn out and tired. The job does look a total arse though! I thought the ball joints had made a big difference but after loosening up a bit it still seems just as bad unfortunately
TurricanII said:
I had to get rid of the Pirelli P Zeros all round in favour of Kumho's. The Pirelli's caused incredible tramlining and pulled the car all over the road if there were any slight imperfections on the surface. Kumho's immediately fixed that and have been durable and give great grip.
Funnily enough, I have noticed a massive difference since I changed P Zeros for winter Dunlops; car feels much happier, much more planted, less vague and doesn't wander about the lane any more.Probably going for Michelin Supersports next summer.
Interesting that you should all mention how different they drive on different tyres. At the moment mine is on Falkens I believe, at the rear they need replacing soon so I'll have to look around. The fronts will come soon after to be honest!
Don't know if I mentioned but I changed my supercharger oil with the little syringe provided in the kit from Powerhouse. The pulley will come in time I'm looking forward to that! I removed the supercharger belt in an attempt to change it last weekend and my God the fixed idler pulley bearing was knackered! Sadly my local bearing supplier had closed by the time I'd stripped it down so I managed to carefully remove the seal from the back, wash it out and pack it with fresh grease then glue the seal back on. A bodge I know but just allowed me to keep using it this week before the new bearing turned up.
The front bushes etc. have arrived too, not hugely urgent so I'll probably do those when the weather comes a bit better, it'll mean using the TVR or the Landy for work whilst it's out of action and I don't want to do that when the roads look like a salt mine. Undecided on whether to do it myself or get a specialist to do it, maybe that's a bit of laziness kicking in. 700 quid for labour is swaying me towards doing it myself!
Don't know if I mentioned but I changed my supercharger oil with the little syringe provided in the kit from Powerhouse. The pulley will come in time I'm looking forward to that! I removed the supercharger belt in an attempt to change it last weekend and my God the fixed idler pulley bearing was knackered! Sadly my local bearing supplier had closed by the time I'd stripped it down so I managed to carefully remove the seal from the back, wash it out and pack it with fresh grease then glue the seal back on. A bodge I know but just allowed me to keep using it this week before the new bearing turned up.
The front bushes etc. have arrived too, not hugely urgent so I'll probably do those when the weather comes a bit better, it'll mean using the TVR or the Landy for work whilst it's out of action and I don't want to do that when the roads look like a salt mine. Undecided on whether to do it myself or get a specialist to do it, maybe that's a bit of laziness kicking in. 700 quid for labour is swaying me towards doing it myself!
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