About one hundred years ago, a group of British drivers formed The Automotive Association (AA) to figure out ways to mitigate speed traps set up by local British police. They employed scouts on bicycles to patrol suspected traps and warn AA members. The notion of marking cars who were AA......
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Spinner tool sleeves
See also spinner tool enhancement post. The 3D printed sleeves work just as intended; they hold the wood “paddle” in place without hands so one can swing the hammer accurately....
Continue reading...Spinner tool enhancement
See also hub spinner tool overview. The polyurethane mirror finish on the wood spinner tool has kept its surface clean, but the performance of the tool hasn’t meet expectations. The problem is that once in position over the hub, the wood piece tends to move off the ears at an......
Continue reading...Lucas wing mirrors
Our Jaguar left the factory with twin Lucas wing mirrors, but the mounting bolts rusted to the body so the bolts had to be sacrified (both were cut off) during disassembly. Fortunately, excellent replica Lucas mirrors – missing only the back name plate – are readily available. The original back......
Continue reading...Oil filter leak remedy
See prior post about the oil filter leak. After removing the entire oil filter housing and getting the spin-on adapter loose (which took considerable twisting, tapping, and wiggling), the oil filter leak culprit became clear: the inside diameter of the adapter was just a bit too narrow for the inside......
Continue reading...Microphone holder
The Alpine double-DIN unit includes a small cylindrical microphone to communicate with Apple Siri and other apps. A black plastic clip (for a visor or steering wheel) comes with the unit, but it is not appropriate — from both an esthetic and functional viewpoint — for the Jaguar. The microphone......
Continue reading...Heater upgrade, part 4
See also heater upgrade part 1, part 2, part 3, and the 3D printed valve mount. The OEM water valve is another vulnerable point in the problematical Jaguar heater system. The Four Seasons 74000 replacement valve should make a significant difference in the flow of heated coolant (but it works......
Continue reading...Heater upgrade, part 3
See also heater upgrade part 1, part 2, and the 3D printed valve mount. The heater upgrade includes a more powerful motor with a choke, a new squirrel cage fan, and an electronic control module to control motor speeds and performance. The fan motor replaces the prior unit, but the......
Continue reading...Machining the damper
View prior post about the damper-water pump conflict. As described previously, the rubbing between the damper and part of the water pump housing could potentially be resolved several ways. We started with the simplest remedy first: sanding off a little of the offending water pump housing and adding a chamfer......
Continue reading...Rear axle thread repair
The left thread on the rear axle, which looks undamaged, was 30 thousands of an inch (0.03″) too high! This could have been caused by heat stress or compression force when we pulled the rear hubs. The castle nut just refused to go on. Bruce suggested running a die along......
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