Jaguar
One of the cars I have always admired is the Series 1 Jaguar XJ. It was an amazing piece of design, and well ahead of its time. I think the series 1 XJ was culmination of Jaguar in their heyday before they were absorbed into the mess that was British Leyland. In particular, the car I have always admired the most was the Series...
Today was the big annual British car show. For years, this show has been held at the Kings School. This year the show was at a new venue – Hawkesbury Showground. I’ve always regarded the annual British car show as the best car show on the Sydney calendar so I was curious how the new venue was going affect that. The Kings school had...
The 2023 British car show was finally on in Sydney, the first since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 shows were lost to Covid and the 2022 show to wet fields. The 2023 show was still at the Kings School in Parramatta, but not on the same day as the school fete like normal. It felt like a summer day today, with temperatures of around...
Citroen / Jaguar / Mercedes / Misc
by admin · Published December 19, 2022 · Last modified September 15, 2024
With yet another year almost finished, time for an update on the Classic Jalopy fleet. Similar to last year, I will go over what I did with each car, any issues, and future plans. As with last year, I don’t own (or desire) a modern car, so these cars are used as a combination of hobby and everyday transport. Last year I had a...
Today I was supposed to be attending the All British Day at the Kings School. Unfortunately the event was cancelled after the weeks of torrential rain here in Sydney. The grounds keepers judged that the fields would be too wet for the cars and spectators. In lieu of this event, the JDCA organized a replacement event at short notice. The last All...
Citroen / Jaguar / Mercedes / Misc
by admin · Published December 23, 2021 · Last modified September 22, 2024
With the year coming to a close it felt like a good idea to do a 2021 fleet update. A bit of a summary of any issues I had with each car, how much I used it and any future plans. I don’t own a modern car, so these cars not only get used as a hobby, but as everyday transport – regardless...
Today we are used to E-Types being coveted sports cars which are treated with care by their owners. Few of them ever even see a drop of rain on their paintwork. However, for many years they were just old sportscars that were not treated with the same reverence. This is the story of my E-Type before it settled into its post-restoration life. I had...
I was obviously very keen to attend the JDCA 60th Anniversary of the E-Type celebration. My only problem was a few minor electrical issues with my car. My rear tail lights were not working (but the brake lights did work), and my right headlight intermittently didn’t work on low beam. For a day trip this wasn’t fatal, but I could have easily found...
In March 1961, the Jaguar E-Type was unveiled to the world at the Geneva Auto Show. Few other automotive launches have captivated the public as much as the E-Type did. Enzo Ferrari even dubbed it the most beautiful car ever made. The E-Type would stay in production until 1975 across three different series and three major body styles. Sixty years later, the E-Type...
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...
While I was replacing the fuel pump on my E-Type I noticed some hairline cracks in the fuel hoses. This was obviously a problem waiting to happen so I ordered a new set to replace them. It is probably cheaper to buy the raw hose and adapt the original fittings, but SNG Barratt sell a kit with new hoses complete with fittings that is...
A couple of months back, I noticed a bad fuel smell from my E-Type. I was able to trace the problem to a leaking E-Type fuel pump. The car still had the original points type SU pump, which are rebuildable. After speaking to a few people, and doing some research, I decided to purchase a new pump. The new SU pumps are a solid...
I took my E-Type out for a couple of drives this week. The state of NSW has been in lockdown due to COVID19 since March. Until last week, it was illegal to be out and about without a valid excuse. This precluded the use of the E-Type as unlike some of the more modern cars it isn’t so suitable to use to do...
I changed the differential ratio of my E-Type about two years ago. My car was first delivered in the USA, so it came standard with 3.54 ratio. Most of the 4.2 cars were standard with 3.07. When the car was restored in the 90’s, it was converted to 3.07. However, the previous owner converted it back to 3.54. My conversion put...
My E-Type has a habit of eating batteries. I seem to get about 2-3 years out of them before they struggle to start the car when cold. You might be thinking that these batteries are left discharged all the time – but not so! The E-Type is connected to a trickle charger when not in use and is parked indoors in a moderate climate....
At least in Australia, by far the best month of the year to buy tyres is June. Both the tyre retailers and manufacturers offer attractive end of financial year sales. Most people don’t realize, but tread wear is not the only reason to replace tyres. As the rubber ages, it hardens. Once the tyres harden the handling, particularly in the wet is compromised....
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