Fuel leak damage repaired

I recently changed the fuel pump and rear fuel hoses on my Jaguar E-Type.   In doing this change I learned a few things.   Firstly, the old pump had not been delivering enough fuel, as the car was significantly more responsive.   Secondly, fuel had obviously been leaking for a while as the paint had been eaten away in the spare tyre well.

For both these reasons I wanted to take the car in to be checked my by mechanic.   Now the engine was getting enough fuel I wanted to make sure the tune was right.  I also wanted to repair the fuel leak damage.  This meant fixing up the areas where the paint was damaged so rust did not start.

This was done in the spare wheel well so once I got the car home I could replace the spare tyre, tools, jack, and the trim in the boot.  The spare tyre was completely flat so a good opportunity to pump it up again.   While they were at it they replaced the plugs and gave the engine a quick tune.   It drives really well – much better than before.

Earlier this week there was an informal drive with the Mercedes club.   While the E-Type is obviously not a Mercedes, it was too good and opportunity to get the car out for an extended drive before the weather gets too hot.   We had a great drive down to Goulburn on the freeway, then up to Oberon via the back roads and back via Bells Line of Road.    The E-Type is really in its element on the twisty roads between Goulburn and Oberon,   The diff ratio change I did a couple of years ago also makes the car much better to drive.   It cruises happily at 120km/h on the freeway in 4th gear @2900RPM.  It also makes 3rd a much better passing gear as you can get up to decent speeds when overtaking before getting too close to the 5,000RPM redline.

On the drive we had a Mercedes E400 Cabriolet, a BMW 545i and of course my E-Type.   One of the other drivers reported a bit of smoke when I lifted off the throttle of my E-Type.   I guess a little bit of oil is getting past a valve guide or valve seal.   Its not too bad at the moment but something to keep an eye out for in the future.    Overall I was really happy with how the E-Type drove.  With the fuel leak damage now being fixed I don’t have to worry about rust in this area either.

This is the second time I have taken the E-Type to Oberon.   Last time was the start of brake problems that would hamper the car for a while.   Luckily I did not have the same problems this time.