Aluminum doesn’t rust (the good news), but it is extremely hard to keep looking bright and shiny (the bad news). While aluminum is the most common metal (about 8% of the earth’s crust!), it’s never found in a pure state in nature. It oxidizes quickly, loves to show fingerprints, likes......
Today’s beautiful fall weather was perfect for rolling out the engine on its stand and power washing it. After the POR 15 degreaser and metal prep application, the engine was hosed off again and then left to dry in the sun. A few metal pieces were highlighted on the engine......
Achieving better performance is a complex process of small incremental changes that all must work together in a sort of mechanical ecosystem; a higher grade component offset by a weaker one often proves fruitless. Spark (British say “sparking”) plugs may provide some gains. Original specification and alternatives The Jaguar Parts......
With the front seal replaced,the timing chain cover plate is ready to be bolted back onto the engine block. However, the cover plate gasket is no longer available for the 2.4 engine; we ordered a 3.8 engine gasket anyway to see how thin the material needs to be. The photo......
Cad plating batch #1 is back from Plating for Electronics – all in beautiful “white” cad. The first task is sorting nearly 500 pieces back into component or assembly groupings. Very tedious, and it took most of the day!...
See also Oil pan restoration, part 1 (September 8, 2014). With the first batch of cad plating back from Plating for Electronics, we can complete the pan restoration. The timing pointer was painted red to make it easier to view, and bolted back on the mounting bracket at the end......
From a collectors viewpoint, matching numbers equates to greater value because it indicates a cohesive vehicle that hasn’t been modified, or needed replacement parts (usually due to an accident). From a restoration perspective, numbers relate to important specifications and parts. We obtained production record trace 39635 from Jaguar Heritage and......
According to the Jaguar Service Manual and Parts Catalogue, our 2.4 liter engine should have two flexible semi-circular seals on each half of the arch-like end piece. These seals, once made out of asbestos, were notorious oil leakers, and Jaguar forums suggest a number of remedies, from machining the crankshaft......
Replacing the crankshaft front seal, housed between the oil pan and the front timing chain plate, is the most involved task of our planned engine restoration. The challenge is the multi-step process required to access the seal … once reached, actually replacing the seal itself is trivial. Damper hub After......
The Jaguar shell has been transported to Beaver Brook Restoration for a complete body and paint restoration. With the body shell blasted down to raw metal, the true history of the Jaguar is revealed. There was an obvious front collision with repairs to the right wing early on in its......
