Category: Jaguar

Ad of the week:  Jaguar Mk2 3.8 0

Ad of the week: Jaguar Mk2 3.8

This ad show the Mk2 Jaguar 3.8 Sedan for the US market.  It is a rather odd ad in that it depicts the car in some kind of storm, but the car is so small you can hardly see it.   The Styling and performance are the two big buying reasons for the 3.8 mk2 and this ad doesn’t really accentuate either of them....

My E-Type rolled out of the factory 50 years ago this month 0

My E-Type rolled out of the factory 50 years ago this month

On the 17th of September, 1965, my E-Type rolled out of the factory in Coventry, and was dispatched on the 5th of October to Fayetteville North Carolina.     The first owner, was Spencer Augustus Folsom, Jr.    It shows how far car technology had come in the preceding 50 years, in that when this car was manufactured, a 50 year old car was a horseless carriage, yet...

Bad Jaguar horns 0

Bad Jaguar horns

In this world of monster 4 wheel drives with inattentive drivers at the wheel, a horn is an important feature of a small, low sports car. However, the horns on my E-Type had not been working. I had previously checked the actual horn units on a 12v battery and got a very feeble croak out of them, so since they looked rather rusty, replaced...

2015 British Car Display Day 2

2015 British Car Display Day

The British Car display is probably the best show each year in Sydney, and this year was no different.   Although the Eastern Creek show is bigger and has a more varied mix of vehicles, plus the parade laps to see the cars moving, The British show has more cars that you keep coming back to have another look and always seems to have...

JDCA run to St Albans 0

JDCA run to St Albans

Today the JDCA organized a run up to St Albans, which is just north of Sydney.   I hadn’t had a chance to take the E-Type on a long run, so thought it would be a good opportunity.   It was one of the biggest car club runs I have been on with nearly 100 sign ups and at least 20 E-Types joining in....

E-Type register new year breakfast run 0

E-Type register new year breakfast run

The JDCA E-Type register had an unofficial new year breakfast run yesterday up to Dural, and a good opportunity to take the Jag out for a drive.   It was quite a hot day (around 34c), but the coolcat fan kept the temperature at or below 90 degrees, even in traffic or going up Galston Gorge on the way back.    As this was an unofficial...

E-Type speedo bezel refitted 1

E-Type speedo bezel refitted

A while ago the E-Type speedo bezel and glass that protects the speedometer had fallen off.   I had tried to replace it in-situ, but the bezel fell off the next time I drove the car.    I later learned the correct way to do this and it is not very hard. The panel under the dash that protects all the wires is easily...

JDCA drive to Bulli 0

JDCA drive to Bulli

I recently attended a JDCA drive to Bulli organized by the Grand Tourers Register (i.e. XJS, New XK).   The drive started in Southern Sydney and took the grand pacific drive through the royal national park.   Unfortunately the event organizers Jag (a lovely XJS convertible) developed an issue and had to pull out of the event, but overall it was a very nice...

Retrosound Model 1 re-installed 1

Retrosound Model 1 re-installed

after checking all the connections, the Retrosound Model 1 is now back in the E-Type and I also replaced the cigarette lighter while I was at it.    The cigarette lighter had rusted internally and was no longer working – and on longer drives the battery in the GPS was not cutting it.   Replacing the cigarette lighter was fairly easy, although the replacement...

Troubleshooting the Retrosound Model One 0

Troubleshooting the Retrosound Model One

The Retrosound Model One I have in my Jaguar had stopped working – symptoms were that the display was lit up in every possible place (i.e. like a digital watch showing 88:88).   This had happened before, and the cause turned out to be one of the 12v lines was not connected.   The Model 1 uses two 12v and a ground – one...

E-Type brake overhaul 1

E-Type brake overhaul

The brakes on the E-Type have been somewhat problematic since I got it.    When the brakes got hot, they would not always release fully.     Over the last 4 years I have tried a number of things to fix the problem but it has always come back to some extent. When I still had the car in the USA, it was worse,...

Alternate route to the Hunter – Wisemans Ferry 0

Alternate route to the Hunter – Wisemans Ferry

On a recent trip to the Hunter Valley I was looking for ways of avoiding the F3 and its traffic.   On the way there, I went via the Putty Road.  On the way back, I took tourist route 33 then over Wisemans ferry. View Larger Map The route is nice with minimal traffic, good winding roads and scenery.   As you drive along...

E-Type differential ratios 11

E-Type differential ratios

What the best differential ratio is for a straight six engined E-Type (Series 1 and Series 2) is one of those topics that generates plenty of opinions. So much so that my car has had two changes over its life. US delivered E-Type started life with a 3.54 ratio, which my car now has.   This is the same ratio it had when new...

The Putty road is the best way to the Hunter 2

The Putty road is the best way to the Hunter

There are two ways to get to the Hunter Valley – the boring way, on the F3, sitting in holiday weekend, bumper to bumper traffic; or you can take a bit of a detour and go via the Putty road. This weekend, I chose the Putty road and to take the E-Type, and this decision was vindicated by a great drive with minimal traffic,...

E-Type register breakfast run 1

E-Type register breakfast run

The JDCA had an informal E-Type register run up to the cafe at Swane’s nursery in Dural.   An informal run meaning that the cars had to be on full registration to attend – not a problem for me.  There are around 140 E-Types on the club register, so a nice variety of cars that can show up to a run.   (I think the...

The E-Type gets a new set of balls 0

The E-Type gets a new set of balls

The E-Type went in for a service this week, and came out with a new set of ball joints for the front suspension.   It will also need new front wishbones at some point as a number of shims were needed to get it all put together right, so I’ll keep an eye out for a good deal on those.    Next time I’ll...

Classic Jalopy