As the U.K. enthusiastically adopted the motor car after World War II, a public spirited group of citizen decided to improve upon the outdated police how-to-drive guidebook, and subsequently published one in 1956 with “advanced standards” under the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) imprint. The charitable organization’s goal (they still......
While the Jaguar is safely tucked away for the winter, here are a few books of note for indoor reading: Mk2 Restorer’s Guide by Nigel Thorley Mk2 Essential Buyer’s Guide by Nigel Thorley Sir William Lyons official biography Mk2 restoration Early Jaguar saloon history Jaguar Mk2 collector focus...
The front door features a comfortably effective triangle-shaped “no draught ventilator” that swivels open for fresh air. Since the ventilators have rubber parts that degrade over time, they need to be taken apart, a job that is delicate and somewhat difficult. The first task is to remove the ventilator from......
Like all car doors, the Mk2 has metal check arms that prevent the door from swinging out too far on its hinge. After CAD plating, the arms look like new. Lin Rose generously sent some extra neoprene stop cushions cut out of 1/2″ rubber sheet with a 1.125″ hole saw.......
Other Jaguar models — the early XK series and E-types — are more prized by collectors these days, but the Mark 2 stands as the most popular Jaguar produced during its classic era when the company operated independently under the leadership of William Lyons. Unfortunately, Jaguar has experienced a rocky......
See also the post about gasoline, octane, and ethanol. One ownership challenge about classic cars is that they don’t tend to be driven that much, especially during the winter in colder climates. Gasoline, especially when mixed with ethanol, was a shelf life that is typically a month or two. So......
Here’s the video! Everything works as it should (apart for some minor adjustments like the backup camera angle and the steering wheel which isn’t centered exactly). We drove to a nearby gas station and filled up with 10.8 gallons of premium — there was about 3 gallons in the tank......
The final step in preparation for the first test drive is reassembling everything that swings on the car: namely, the four doors, the front bonnet, and the rear boot lid. Getting everything to fit just right is time consuming and more art than science. Jaguar’s fabrication technology back in the......
In preparation for putting the doors, bonnet, and boot lid back on the car, all twelve hinges — two for the rear trunk lid, two for the front hood, and eight for the front and rear doors — were greased, installed, and tested. The boot and bonnet hinges work with......
As the Jaguar reassembly nears the point of vehicle operation, it’s time to set up a maintenance log to keep track of lubricants, adjustments, and other fine tuning matters. This post was updated periodically between 2015 and 2017 to reflect the initial maintenance period. Routine maintenance after 2017 is not......
