Those words came out of a recent edition of the R.M.Williams Outback magazine and referred to a 1927 Chevrolet utility, which had featured in a story on the Deneliquin utility gathering. The owner was in fact treating the vehicle sympathetically and is applying reasonable cost control in returning the vehicle to roadworthy condition whilst maintaining the originality and ethos of the project.
It left me thinking that here is a lesson that we should seriously consider in handling many private restoration projects. I have seen many vehicles of assorted makes where the owner has stripped them out with the concept that they are “going to restore it one day” and in the end they loose enthusiasm and all to often lack the money to go any further. I call them “Gunnados”. [one of these days I’m gunna do it up”]. Invariably they end up on the market as partly gutted hulks of little value compared to an intact vehicle
Very few people properly estimate the costing of full restoration on a motor vehicle. This is a fairly normal human phenomenon where enthusiasm overcomes common sense. It is commonly compounded by a lack of technical expertise and the right workshop equipment. In addition some specific areas do require specialist skills such as upholstery and when it comes to Jaguars that spells big money.
Another factor is simply your time available. It is not unusual for a restoration to take years and that requires patience and determination. There is no way things are going to happen quickly unless you have a cheque book with almost unlimited funds available and you have just retired from your full time job
Do not become enamoured of concourse systems unless you have a large amount of money, time and enthusiasm. That is a special hobby and I do acknowledge the dedication displayed by persons active in that discipline even though I give them a hard time occasionally. You are far better off aiming at having a serviceable roadworthy vehicle that you can enjoy. One of my cars which has now been registered for over a year still lacks a hood lining and carpet. The Department of Transport is not even interested in such modern conveniences for a roadworthy [now called “safety”] certificate. They are concerned primarily with a vehicle’s integrity to operate on the road and not it’s comfort.
There is a reasonable medium approach that anyone can adopt and will allow a steady improvement in a vehicle without breaking the bank. It is probably best expressed by the concept put forward by the owner of the Chev Ute as “reviving”. Please note that the following remarks do not apply to your everyday transport vehicle. It is difficult to restore a vehicle that has to be used in those circumstances.
To start with, be very careful about your choice of vehicle. If you don’t have good basic bodywork and panel beating skills stay right away from the “rustbucket”. Be prepared to look around until you find the right body etc. At this point don’t get too excited about the mechanical condition of the vehicle. You can spend $2500 on a complete XK engine rebuild but that is peanuts compared to a professional body restoration and repaint where you can easily quadruple that amount.
Immediately write off the tyres. Most older Jags sitting around for some years will have ancient tyres and the only solution is to budget the cost of a new set into any revival. You can however put that cost off to immediately prior to roadworthy inspection and registration. Don’t forget that you can purchase second hand and retread tyres providing you don’t want high-speed long distance capability. [the majority of taxis use retreads.]
Avoid buying any vehicle that has been a “christmas tree” which has had bits taken off to provide presents of parts to other cars. Invariably the bits taken are difficult [and expensive] if not impossible to replace. That’s why they were taken in the first place. It is OK to buy a bargain “christmas tree” as a source of spares for your own car. My $200 MK 1 I pulled out of the swamp has paid for itself many times over and there is still a lot of useful gear on it. A club member friend was around on the morning of Australia day extracting a window winder primary gear for his MK2.
Having ascertained that this is the car you want you should put into place some plans to get the revival under way. I have found that there are two priorities that should be attended to immediately. in a revival. They are the ability to make the vehicle go and the ability to make it stop. In other words get the power unit and transmission working and get some brakes working. There is nothing more soul destroying than having a vehicle in the home workshop, which has to be, pushed everywhere [a lead sled]. It also helps your enthusiasm when the vehicle is a "runner".
It does not mean that everything has to be overhauled. Simply concentrate on getting some basic serviceability into the system. In fact in one car I got the rear wheel brakes including the handbrake working quickly and had the front wheel system isolated for over a year until I could found the solution to a parts problem by getting the front hydraulic wheel cylinder pistons modified to accept modern seals.
Give the car a thorough “survey”. That is take some time to go right over the vehicle and note all of the work you believe is necessary to bring it back to level you wish to achieve. Note that you may wish to establish several levels. Level one as roadworthy to be established ASAP, level two as desirable after some time on the road and level three as ready for concourse.
You should consider making out a “job sheet”. This is a method used by most workshops to ascertain the amount of work and effort and expense required to achieve a desired result. As an example when you go to a panel beater or an engine rebuilder for a quote this is the method they will use to arrive at a price for their work. While you don’t need to establish an overall cost [you may be horrified and give up particularly if the wife finds a copy] it does lay out a systematic method and allows you to assign priorities particularly in your financial handling of the project. You may be surprised to find that numerous items become “nice to do” i.e. not necessary for roadworthy [does the bumper bar really need a re-chrome immediately?] and other items will become “must do” such as steering, brakes and other safety related items. I usually hang the job sheet in the workshop, as it also becomes a check sheet for completion of specific tasks and a reminder to chase up parts etc.
It is not necessary to immediately rip the engine out [and apart] unless it has some really major problems such as a broken crankshaft or conrods. The early XK engine is remarkably robust and apart from oil leaks the major problem always seems to be bent valves in the head due to rusty valves sticking or incorrect assembly techniques by previous owners. If you are getting the engine going don’t forget the commonly used HD series carburetors need new diaphragm/jet assemblies. If the engine smokes and rattles a bit don’t get too excited. Leave it till later. A set of rings and big ends is no big deal [allow $300 including gaskets] and unless the engine has been run out of oil or done enormous mileage the crankshaft should be reasonable. I had a 3.4 litre MK 7 that had 250,000 miles on it. It was still on the original mainbearings and had one set of standard rings and big ends put in at 150,000 miles.
Do remember that if you are doing up the engine for an historic vehicle registration you will not normally be using the car for everyday transport. Budget the proposed mileage and apply the finances accordingly. A friend of mine persisted for some years with a clapped out FJ Holden gray sideplate engine in an ex taxi. You could push a matchstick [without the head] between the piston and cylinder. He reckoned on replacing the rings and big ends every 10,000 miles. That would amount to many years in an historic registered vehicle. My Mk 1 3.4 auto which I sold recently had only done about 1300 miles in the 6 years that I had owned it. Another method of handling engine problems is to buy a cheap “heart transplant” second hand engine from a rusty wreck. It sounds dodgy but the rustier the vehicle the more chance the engine will be OK as the car became unroadworty due rust not mechanical problems.
As another example many people get excited and want to do complete rebuilds on Jaguar front ends [been there done that]. It is far better to do a careful examination of the state of the front end and identify any worn components. Tie rod ends are basic to any car and should not be neglected however you don’t have to replace them just because the rubber grease/dust cover has decayed. New dust covers at $2 to $4 cost only a fraction of the price of a new tie rod end. Similarly upper and lower ball joints can be checked for wear. Don’t forget that many of the early Jag ball joints were adjustable by shims and new dust covers can be fitted. In addition there are a number of businesses that will recondition shock absorbers. They are after all a simple hydraulic device that is sealed at manufacture. Overhaul is not unreasonable and much more cost effective. However rubber suspension bushes are worthwhile replacing especially those associated with upper and lower wishbone arm pivots. Those are just some examples of what can be achieved on a major component without breaking the bank.
Don’t be afraid to sniff around for reasonable alternatives. As an example the MK 1 door seal rubbers were quoted to me at some astronomical price amounting to hundreds of dollars. I eventually found some ½ inch square rubber at Universal Engineers at $2.00 a metre and although it won’t win a concourse it is eminently serviceable and the total cost for a car was under $30 (3.5 metres per door). The original MK 1 door seal was roughly ½ inch square with a small raised 1/8 inch bead on one edge.
Be prepared to compromise in the short term whilst funds are low. It is far better that your car is out and about and being enjoyed with vinyl on the seats rather than grounded while you save up to recover them in Connelly hide leather. Note that Australian and New Zealand produced leather is available for much less than the price of Connelly hide. If all else [including finance] fails simple homemade slip on cloth covers or commercial after market seat covers will keep the seats going until the future allows something better. [Please lay off the leopardskin seat cover patterns - they look awful]
Another approach is to replace the original seats with later model second hand seats that fit. One club member is running a 1974 Series 2 XJ6 with XJ40 seats. In fact if my attention had not been directed to this I would not have really noticed. This conversion only cost a fraction of the price that re-upholstering would have set him back. I have also seen MK2 cars fitted with XJS seats fitted in the front. The bonus in this case is a more supportive seat especially in cornering. You can always put the original seats in storage until finances allow for proper refurbishment.
Finally don’t pay too much for the project car in the first place. There are legendary numbers of old, often non-running Jags out there and the owners all want Rolls Royce prices for them. The people who own them must scan the papers or Unique Cars for similar prices and then arrive at the conclusion that their car is worth that much. Occasionally it may be true but all too often it is not. One of my favorite remarks applied to many of these cars is that the decimal point in the price is one place too far to the right.
Buying an old Jag to restore is a bit like buying a horse. The cheapest part is the initial purchase price. In the horse’s case you now have to feed it and pay the veterinary bills. In the Jag you have to restore it and pay the repair bills. I know because we have both horses and Jaguars.
I have been involved in the restoration of a MK VIII [8] sedan for approx. 9 years. It was really a good idea at the time but is currently a bit of an albatross in that it has gone forward very slowly. The body has been de-rusted and straightened up but there is no doubt it is still a tough project to take on. Then MK8 is to my knowledge the lowest number of sedans ever produced by Jaguar post WW2. 6202 being quoted by Phillip Porter as the numbers made.
The place where I live is only about 2 Ks from the Petrie Country markets where we have friends involved in the normal retail trade of selling food etc in their business of a Sunday. Please note to Register persons planning an outing that this is not a trash and treasure place. Everything associated with the markets is carefully vetted to ensure local content and standards.
A recent introduction into these markets which are fairly extensive is the Trade Guild Building. This is apparently a group of mostly retired tradesmen who have gone into a co-operative to promote trade training skills and experience and to promote that to then public. I addition they plan to give trade training days for groups who are interested.
I noted that they were doing a very active promotion in regards aluminium castings and I have been chasing a set of taillight housings for the MK 8 since 1990. After establishing my bonafides with Fred Lowin who is the leader of the casting group I gave him a couple of Taillight housings Part nos. Lucas 53340A and 53341A. He then proceeded to thicken the diecast walls with cardboard and beeswax before making a sand based mould.
The final result is a brilliant piece of work. In all honesty I am quite ready to bolt on the aluminium castings which are now polished instead of chromed but I would not wish to worry the concourse judges . Aluminium can be chrome plated via a system of using copper deposit and finally chrome and will last as long as diecast. I will make a decision in the future about how I will tackle this aspect.
The group at Petrie country markets are rightfully concerned at getting involved in trade and patent rights however if a patent holder cannot deliver the goods then their patent is pretty suspect. I have used the “net’ to chase these parts for a couple of years without success. An English firm offered me these taillight housings as reproduction items at 90 English pounds sterling per pair. Roughly Aus 225 dollars + postage.
I believe we can do it a little better by promoting home based reproductions a t better than half the price and keeping the money in Australia. If you do have a too hard part and you believe that it could be done in aluminium Fred Lowin can be contacted on 3269 4505 or just go to the trade Guild workshop, at Petrie country markets on a Sunday morning. Fred who is 82 did his apprenticeship prior to WW2 with Rolls Royce as a metal caster and knows a lot about the trade. They are setting upto do brass castings in the future and would appreciate enquiries in the non ferrous casting area.
At a MK1&2 Jaguar workshop being held at Sid Robinson's I produced a some SU carburettor parts to illustrate the point about SU diaphragms which included a dashpot which I had polished. This dashpot seemed to attract a lot of attention and the question was asked " where had I got the polishing done ?".
The answer was I did it myself in a few minutes with a relatively simple and cheap buffing machine on my own workbench. I had learnt a little about metal polishing from a professional in the aviation trade many years ago and applied it for my own purposes.
Most of us admire the concourse cars' engine bays with those beaut polished alloy cam covers and carbys etc. without realising that we can achieve quite good results without resorting to expensive professional treatments.
My own buffing machine consists of a six inch [150mm] bench mounted grinder which has had the emery wheels removed. These grinders vary considerably in price and I have seen them as low as $29 but expect to pay more like $50 to $70 for a reasonable quality item.
I have attached a six inch wire wheel on one side. Once again these vary in price but average about $15 to $20. You don't need the wire wheel for polishing but it is a boon when removing old paint, rust, scale and all the other rubbish encountered when involved in Jaguar restoration.
The other end has a spindle screwed onto the shaft which mounts the cloth polishing wheel. Note that the standard bench grinder has a left hand thread on the left hand side and a standard right hand thread on the right side. This acts as a self tightening system for the nuts retaining the emery wheels, so when purchasing a spindle ensure you get the correct thread for the side you intend to mount the polishing wheel. Spindles cost typically $15 to $20. The six inch cloth polishing wheel is simply screwed onto the spindle. Once again prices vary depending on grade and quality and somewhere between $10 and $20 should buy one.
Finally you will need a compound stick sometimes referred to as jewellers rouge. This is the actual material which will do the polishing. They come in a number of grades and some assistance should be sought from the retailer on suitability for alloy etc. Most cost about $5 to $7 per stick. I am currently half way through a stick after 2 years of use so it does go a long way.
Before you launch into polishing with this setup there are a few things you should know about the nature of the material you are going to polish. Cast aluminium alloys can be surprisingly porous and do corrode. Have a look at the effects of corrosion on old thermostat housings and cylinder heads
If the aluminium you intend to polish has a lot of black embedded in the surface that means you have a case of corrosion and you should take steps to remove this corrosion which will be embedded in the surface of the material. There are a number of commercial alloy cleaners on the market and you should investigate the use of one of these. A good source of supply is from truck specialist shops who sell this cleaner for use on alloy truck trays.
Another way to get rid of corrosion is to use of "wet and dry" or emery paper. You can quite easily rub the surface back to a clean "white" finish. If you don't have this sort of finish it is a waste of time going on with buffing unless you are prepared to resort to heavy grades of compound stick to cut the corrosion out of the surface. I would not recommend using anything coarser than 280 grade paper and work back up to at least a fine 600 grade paper before attempting to polish with the buffing machine. Another useful trick on large surfaces such as cam covers is to use an orbital sander with these grades of paper - it sure saves a lot of elbow grease.
Now before you get stuck into polishing with the buffing machine lets get in a few words about SAFETY. All machinery is potentially dangerous and requires due care, attention and protective measures when being operated. Please read the manufacturers recommendations before operating a bench grinder. In addition the following recommendations should always be followed.
1. Wear protective goggles. Bits of hot buffing compound in the eye are not funny.
2. Wear gloves - preferably leather to protect your hands from hitting the wheel and remember the items being polished will get hot from the friction of the buffing wheel.
3. Don't wear loose clothing including scarves and ties. A pair of overalls with the sleeves fastened is recommended.
4. Be extremely careful when polishing small objects or pieces of sheet metal as the wheel may flick them out of your grasp. If possible mount them onto something larger on which you can retain a good grip
Warning. The professional polishers use large wheels [up to 12 inch diameter] with very powerful drive motors. If you do have or can get access to such equipment be very careful and get some proper training in its use. You will find that the six inch system I have described is relatively safe and in fact the typical 1/3 hp motor can be stopped by excessive pressure on the buffing wheel.
To actually use the buff simply turn it on. Allow the machine to come up to full speed. Hold the compound stick against the buffing wheel to allow it to pick up a thin layer of compound. Hold the object to be polished against the wheel and work it around. As the compound wears off reapply the stick. Finally, be patient and take your time as you are acquiring a new skill and will need some practice to get it "right". The process you are using is fairly slow and the light equipment means it will take time to get a good finish.
You will notice that the object you are polishing will get a build up of black "gunk" which seems hard to remove. This is only the residue of a combination of metal polished off and used compound which contains a wax. Any number of solvents such as petrol, turps etc will remove this.
As a last point you might like to experiment with this buff on some old chrome. I have achieved surprisingly good results in repolishing old chromed items including hubcaps, headlight rims, trim strips, acorn head nuts etc. Practice on some old parts if you can before attacking bits of your best Jaguar.
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