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.