Australian
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23 Nov 14
13:58
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Date Joined:
09 Apr 12
It's no secret that I have been on the search for my next project. It will no doubt come as a relief to fellow forumites that the search has ended. I am now the proud owner of a V12 Jaguar!
The seller has owned the car since February 2011 and despite telling me how much he loves Jags and how it's his greatest desire to see this car restored he has left it neglected in a paddock for three years. A $100 car cover would have done wonders. Anyway,cash was handed over and I drove the old Cat home. First I got an unregistered vehicle permit from the RMS for $29. I have been caught by the Fuzz driving unregistered cars so often that nowadays I dare not push my luck. It's a potential $1800 fine. After I drove out the gate of this cxnnt's joint at Cobbitty my immediate thought was 'I wonder if I turn back now will he give me back my money?!' I knew he wouldn't. His wife,who was not a bad sort for an old girl,looked like she would do anything to get rid of it. I realised I had made a dumb error in assuming a car that hadn't been driven for three years could suddenly be expected to get on the M5,M7 and M2. But I had no choice. Happily I can report that she made it without missing a beat. One muffler is shot so she makes a terrible racket. I went about 90-95kmk. When I got home there were no oil leaks on the driveway or any exploding radiators to deal with.
The seller has owned the car since February 2011 and despite telling me how much he loves Jags and how it's his greatest desire to see this car restored he has left it neglected in a paddock for three years. A $100 car cover would have done wonders. Anyway,cash was handed over and I drove the old Cat home. First I got an unregistered vehicle permit from the RMS for $29. I have been caught by the Fuzz driving unregistered cars so often that nowadays I dare not push my luck. It's a potential $1800 fine. After I drove out the gate of this cxnnt's joint at Cobbitty my immediate thought was 'I wonder if I turn back now will he give me back my money?!' I knew he wouldn't. His wife,who was not a bad sort for an old girl,looked like she would do anything to get rid of it. I realised I had made a dumb error in assuming a car that hadn't been driven for three years could suddenly be expected to get on the M5,M7 and M2. But I had no choice. Happily I can report that she made it without missing a beat. One muffler is shot so she makes a terrible racket. I went about 90-95kmk. When I got home there were no oil leaks on the driveway or any exploding radiators to deal with.
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The GOOD.
The body is straight with no sign of damage. The motor is strong. Compression test is good. Even suspension is in goo order. Interior is immaculate. Headlining,which is a problem for Jags and not simple or cheap to fix is excellent. Leather seats are old but not cracked or split. Have that wonderful antique quality about them. Leather seats on new cars look very muck like vinyl. Not with the Old Girl. This is antique style. Smells like an old saddler inside. Dash is good. Dash pad has two cracks. Neither are visible when driving. But they're still there so I gotta fix 'em. |
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The BAD
I told my wife I bought her a Jaguar. She loves Jags. E-Types,Mark II's, XK120's. Not a big fan of Series 2. I told her this is the Arthur Daley version with a motor twice as big!! She looks sceptical but I know she'll love it one day. Problems? Where do I start? Rust around some window sills. Not too bad. Driver side floor rust. In the boot where the spare wheel goes. The boot in general is not good. I'm worried about the transmission. Hopefully a flush and new fluid can sort that. 90% of everything on the car looks and is decrepit and needs replacing. Fluids, filters,radiator hoses,sensors,drive belts. I'm fairly sure the entire exhaust system will have to be replaced. Obviously it needs a respray. I don't like the yellow colour I think I'll change it to dark blue. That makes extra work. The rocker cover gaskets are leaking something shocking but to get to them requires removing two inlet manifolds. It's a fckking nightmare. This car is a V12!! I love that! Makes me happy in pants. Also means it has more of everything. More horsepower. More air filters. More rocker covers. More thermostats etc etc. Did I mention all the chrome work is in excellent condition? Should have put that in the 'GOOD'. I could tear that stuff off and put it on ebay and recoup what I paid for the car. Got under the car and discovered oil leaks. I expected that. Steering rack and rear main seal the first culprits! Hey! Looks just like my Commodore Ute from under here! |
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WHAT I'VE DONE SO FAR
Day One I'm just checking it all out. Absolutely relieved the big Jag made it back to my house. Ironic I drove past three much younger cars broken down on the side of the road! Anyway,I've put her on ramps and had a good look underneath. It's pretty bad but nothing I didn't expect. Tried to change the oil but was THWARTED by incompetent Indian cntts at AutoBarn. Asked for oil filter Z113 and they gave me Z133. I should've checked. I changed the fuel filter. Air filters (2) are on order. I removed the air filter boxes from both sides. Fair dinkum,the air filters look like antiques!. Took the opportunity with the air filters off to clean the (2) throttle bodies. Like every car in existence they were filthy. Clean your throttle bodies Forumites!!. Brake Master Cylinder appears to be leaking. Gave the car a wash. Cleared years of spider webs and leaves. Treated half the seats to Leather clean and Leather Balm. Polished about half the chrome. And about half the windows. I've never seen worse windows. 'Mothers Chrome Polish' is the best glass cleaner I've ever come across. Have spent hours staring into engine bay and trying to figure out how a 1976 Fuel Injected V12 Jaguar actually works! |
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Help Needed
This thread really needs lots of photos. Can someone please explain to me how to get photos on here? Thanks. |
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Origins of my Jag Love!
When I was a little boy my friend lived across the road in what is doubtless the best house in the street. His Dad was an eye doctor and he had a Jaguar Mk II or an S Type. Then he got an XJ6 Series 1 and then a Series 2. I spent my entire childhood envious of their possessions from the Jaguars down to the entire room devoted to their train set. My Dad was a lowly Engineer who had to make do with Holdens. I recall we had station wagon versions of HK,HQ and HZ. Dad was also supplied with a work ute.I learnt to drive on a HQ ute at Union Carbide,a company as big as a suburb back in the day. For me,at the time,the Jaguars of my neighbours were so much cooler than boring old Holdens. Ironically,today those 70s Holdens are worth bucketloads more than old Jaguars!! |
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Enjoy. It's good for you o;d fellas to have a hobby.....keeps your mind active.
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*old
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Plenty of room in the boot to get the big fella out and ground and pound a little stray you cut one from the heard at the drive inns
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To get photos you click on my profile on the left, then photo gallery/manage photos and go from there.
You need to upload them and need they need to be approved. |
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All that stuff you did on your car makes your hands dirty. I hope you washed them properly before entering the house. I hate dirty finger marks on things.
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You never mentioned what sex the "herd" was, Crow. Guess drinks are cheaper there than those at The Blue Oyster
 DA, you've made a fundamental error on the drive home.  You should have stopped and helped those three "much younger cars broken down on the side of the road!"... an old Jag !!!!  ......the wheel will turn, my friend....the wheel will turn |
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Like Da Judge always says it's not gay if it's a three way
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Have replaced crusted up non functioning air filters with brand new ones. Now I can hear the V12 sucking in some oxygen. Autobarn continues to disappoint re oil filter. Alarm bells went off when I saw the joint was run by people from the sub-continent. What the fckk do they know about cars? Also I notice the staff are always babbling to each other. I am trying to explain to this cnnt what it is I need and some other cnnt just butts in with something totally irrelevant. Unbelievably rude. This has happened twice. I ordered the correct oil filter over the phone on Monday. The cheeky cntts made me pay for it upfront! I called in Thursday to collect-not there. Cntt apologised 'sorry for your bad experience.' Next day he rings me up to say it won't be here till Monday. FCKKKKK!!
Sent Cathouse Spares an email on Monday. No reply so I called in to see them on Thursday. The bloke says,'oh did you send me an email? I was thinking about replying to that.' Small business Australian style. No wonder they're all going broke. Anyway he's got some coolant hoses and drive belts that I want but not all. Talks me in to paying $46 for a cam cover gasket. V12 has two. Says they'll be here Friday and he'll ring me. Guess what? Never called. |
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Realistically there's no point in changing the oil. This project will take at least a year but I just can't stand the thought of sh1tty old oil in the Big Cat. Oil is not cheap either. I'm using Nulon semi synthetic 20-50. 10 Litres!! Once the coolant hoses and thermostats are replaced I'll be putting in new coolant. This Jag holds 21 litres! It aint cheap!
Removed the interior trim from the boot to inspect the rust and it's even worse than I thought. Took off the rear bumper and the bottom guards that cover the fuel tanks. Will have to remvove the fuel tanks and exhaust to get proper access to cut out rust and paint everything inside and out with por-15. Am tossing up whether to do the hot stuff myself or get in a thieving lazy bloodsucking tradie. I can weld and do sh1t like that but would have to buy equipment such as a mig and a folder. Would also take me a very long time. A scumsucking bottom feeder tradie could do it in a fraction of the time but how much would the cntt charge? I'll get a quote. Get some pictures up next week. |
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The ride in the old girl is sublime exactly what you would expect from a luxury cruiser (albeit a 70s one). A good inspection of the suspension reveals that all components need replacing. The rubber on the upper ball joint literally disintegrated when I touched it with my fingers. I'm thinking if the suspension is so good when it's shot how good will it be when I've replaced everything? All these components are still being manufactured. They're no more expensive than any other car. The front brake calipers are huge. Four piston jobs. They are virtually seized up though.
The transmission is leaking and a bit clunky. Have had a good look and I'm sure it's a Borg Warner. Was hoping it was a TH400. Better trans and cheaper to replace. Will replace the filter and seal. Has no drain so have to take off the pan which makes a huge mess. Access to some bolts are restricted by exhaust. I'm thinking the exhaust is shot and has to be replaced so I may as well just cut it. I'm a bit worried about the neighbours though because when they hear the V12 without mufflers they might think I've got a Spitfire in the driveway!! |
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One of the things that worries me as a car owner is diff oil. I like to change it more than the manufacturer suggests. When you buy a second hand car it's a good idea to change the diff oil. It's taken me over an hour to figure out how to do it on the Jag. Some cars the filler and drainer is the same hole but a car as old as this I doubted that very much. Pounding google and youtube wasn't helping. I had the rear end up on ramps and crawling under it with a torch but fckk me I couldn't figure it out. One site said there was a panel in the boot that if you removed it gave access to the fill hole. Not in mine. I could see the drain hole that was easy. Big nut at the bottom of the diff but I couldn't find the filler. Back to google for another suggestion. Bingo! 9/16 spanner and I've got the plug off. Dip the little finger in the hole and I'm a bit disappointed. Diff seems to be full and the oil looks fine. Great!
At least I am covered in muck. |
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My boss in the late 70s had a XJ6 long wheel base. I swear to this day it was the sweetest ride of any car on the open road
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right loggy, one of my bros had one .... ffs cruising up from a hundred to a hundred and sixty and you could feel the mother lowering itself into the bitumen and the scrub on the side of the road started growing taller
 ... bends and hard turns just weren't there even at the big ton.A bit hairy when a mufflers tail pipe falls off though, particularly on the bruce hwy ....... retrieving it i mean !!!   .... very hairy. |
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Not much to report this week. Was hoping to get some pics up but I can't find USB cable and the only child with any clue is not here. Finally changed the oil and filter. As usual when you drain the oil out into the pan it actually looks about ten times worse than the little bit you see on the dipstick. Btw had to use the pan three times to get all the oil out. There is nothing more satisfying that putting brand new oil in your engine. On my daily I change oil every 5k. The Jag is probably going to do 10 metres in the next 12 months but I still feel happy that she's got new oil.
Auobarn oil filter saga turned comical. As mentioned previously I wanted a Z113 and they gave me a Z133. I returned it and got a refund. Then I ordered a Z113. They wanted payment upfront. Then it took them 7 days (an outrageous amount of time in the auto world) to supply. Went to pick it up and guess what? Was a Z133. The exact same one I returned a week ago. FFS!! I took it from the back counter to the front counter and got a refund. The I went to Auto One at Hornsby. They had one in stock. The bloke says 'it's listed at $65 but I can't sell you an oil filter for that much how about $45?' Done. They are 60+ on ebay so I'm happy. Always research the cost of parts on the net before forking out cash. Autobarn in their defence said that a Z113 is interchangeable with a Z133. That may be possible but I'm not buying it. The Z113 is twice the size of the Z133. The Jag holds 10 litres of oil. I think the filter should be big. Truck filters are bigger than car filters. Anyway I wanted the right one and I got it. |
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Went down to Cathouse Spares at Rydalmere and picked up some goodies. Radiator hoses,thermostats,and some drive belts. Waiting on cam cover gaskets.Went out the back and had a good chinwag with the mechanic. They had a V12 engine laying on the floor so I was able to pick his brains about various stuff. They have a HQ One Tonner for sale with a 253 which is currently on ebay for about $1200 which I am very interested in. Will go for higher than that but mechanically is in good nick. Body needs some work.
Wanted to get the oil in first because once I start tearing it apart it could be a while before the Old Girl is running again. Will take the opportunity of a de-cluttered engine bay to get some por-15 in there and paint and detail as much as I can. Will take months. |
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Noticed that the power steering pump is leaking big styles. Also noticed that it's a Saginaw, a GM pump that's used on Commodores. So hopefully that won't be too expensive. Have spent the last two days clearing out junk. Since the arrival of the Jag the Ute has had to stay outside. With thunderstorms every night this week I haven't been too happy about that. I hate leaving utes out in the rain. So I have been super busy rearranging sh1t so that two cars fit in undercover side by side. Was very cool looking at them earlier this evening with the bonnets up while enjoying a beer. The V8 and the V12. Nice!
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Very I enjoyed your post a lot also Loggy. The thing that is most noticeable about the Jag and the ute side by side is how much lower the Jag is. The roof must be 8 inches shorter. When you climb in it's almost like you're sitting on the road.
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kami, I can feel your enjoyment.
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me too at this stage just hoping kami hasn't got dt's when he takes the snaps. (snaps not schnapps btw)
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I'll post up some pics. Hopefully.
http://images.onesite.com/community.betfair.com/user/the_kamikazee_drinking_machine/jaguar_xj12/199e14d04ef83b7d5f707511948a8eee.jpg?v=240600 |
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Well that didn't work.
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Fckk it I can't figure it out.
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You can still see it if you copy and paste the link, but I dunno why it didn't show.
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good looking car Kami .. and donk
anyone wants to see the photos can ... click on kamikaz's name link in this thread ... then choose his photo gallery |
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So how do you get them from gallery to here?
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click on your image/photo in the gallery .. then click the "select phot" icon ... and it should place that link in the thread
(the one you put up before .. but with the correct paging format pre & post tags) |
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Try again
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SUCCESS!!! Obviously that is a rear view. You will notice one of the exhaust tips is off. It was loose so I removed it before driving home. The Jag exhaust tips are a swan shape for a reason. When they were straight exhaust fumes used to get in the cabin for some reason.
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That's Tom the Fox Terrier in the background.
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I've just done a REVS check and you should expect a knock on the door soon.
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 There's quite a bit of rust. |
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