Merry Christmas and here's to 2021! - Workshop update
This has been our last week before preparing to close down for Christmas. We will be closing on Friday the 18th of December and reopening on the 4th of January. This gives us an opportunity to carry out some site maintenance and paint the workshop floors. If you wish to contact us during this period please email us at twyfordmoors@jagxk.com or call 02392570900 and leave a message.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers, followers, suppliers and staff a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2021. We have been overwhelmed with the support we have received throughout this most difficult of years. We are looking forward to all the projects we have planned for 2021. There is so much to look forward to next year and we are hoping to be back at Classic Car shows. In particular we are looking forward to E-Type 60 at Shelsey Walsh celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type.
We have remained busy in our final week whilst getting into the Christmas spirit. In this weeks' update we will have a look back at a photo of our workshop in the 1950's, a finished Jaguar XK120 restoration, a Triumph TR4A with a gearbox fault and a host of other classic Jaguar action.
Jaguar XK120 speedometer recalibration
This early XK120 roadster came in for an extensive programme of work including a five-speed gearbox upgrade. As part of a gearbox change, we remove and recalibrate the speedometer to ensure it is accurate with the new gearing. On this occasion the owner opted to have one of our dual MPH/KPH speedometer faces fitted as pictured here. This is a very useful upgrade for international touring. The unit is now reinstalled in the car and giving an accurate indication of speed right up through all five gears.
We offer a comprehensive range of gauge repair services from speedometer recalibrations to upgrading ammeters to operate safely with an alternator. If your classic car has a wobbling rev-counter, inaccurate speedo or a gauge that simply does not work please get in touch.
Our workshop back in the 1950's
We recently came into possession of this cracking photo from some point in the 1950's. This shows our workshop back in the day when it was owned by a Mr Don Pinhorn. We understand that Mr Pinhorn ran this site as a village garage and filling station. He also was responsible for developing several properties in the area. The building pictured here still stands and is the main part of our workshop although it is almost beyond recognition now having been extended and added to extensively over the years.
We have been trying to identify the cars in the photos but if you can help or think we have got any wrong please let us know. Working from left to right we think the cars are something from Roots Group, perhaps a Hillman Minx, a Ford Popular van, a Ford 103E Popular and an Austin 10. You can also see in the photo a large sign for Exide batteries which we still fit today and are our choice for 6v battery for XKs.
Triumph over a faulty overdrive
As ever it is not only XKs and E-Types which grace our Hampshire workshop. This week we had this Triumph TR4A in with an overdrive gearbox fault. The overdrive unit in these Triumphs in the same Laycock De Normanville unit as is fitted to XKs so we are well versed in their foibles. The interior had already been removed when the car arrived with us by someone trying to fix the fault without success. When we begin testing, we always start with some simple tests to rule out the obvious before getting too involved. We quickly found that the electrical system was operating perfectly but that the adjustment on the solenoid was a tiny bit out. These adjustments only need to be a tiny bit off for the overdrive not to engage. We also found the oil level was a tad low so this was topped up to the correct level. With these two tiny faults corrected the overdrive was back to smooth operation in no time at all.
Jaguar XK150 left to right conversion
We have looked after this fully restored XK150 OTS for a couple of years now. The owner lives abroad so the car is kept in storage with us and we then get it out and ready for when they visit the UK and use the car for touring and general transport. When the owner first purchased this original left hand drive model it was completely standard and he used it as it was. Since then, we have carried out a programme of upgrades bringing the car up to a great touring specification including five speed gearbox, electric power steering, electric cooling fan, alternator and electronic ignition. This has made the car a very enjoyable motorcar for longer distances. The owner has now decided to take the final step and convert it to right hand drive and import it to his home country as he enjoys the car so much and they drive on the correct side of the road in his native land!
Jaguar E-Type Series 3 fuel leaks
We collected this V12 E-Type in a hurry for the owner who was very distressed by overwhelming fuel fumes when driving the car. It was so bad that they had to leave their garage doors open for some time to air the car out. We were able to recover the car from the owners' home with our covered trailer and get it into the workshop to investigate the problem. As it turns out the fault was perished old O-rings on the bottom of the carburettors. When we reported this to the owner they were surprised as the pervious owner had only had the carburettors rebuilt last year. It is so important to use new parts when carrying out these kinds of rebuilds, particularly when it comes to fuel systems. We have found that the current E5 fuel which is in the UK petrol pumps is having an effect on older rubber components and this effect is only worse with E10 fuel which is already available throughout Europe and will be coming to the UK soon.
Jaguar XK120 fully restoration delivered
One of the best parts of what we do is handing a fully restored car back to the owner. This XK120 was particularly special as it has been some 18 years in the making. The owner had carried out much of the restoration himself but it came to us for some finishing touches including the electrics, a fully check through and, most importantly, to be started up. We also set up the suspension, road tested the car and put it through an MOT. The car is finished in a unique Supermarine Spitfire blue which the owner sourced the colour for from Duxford. The car was one of the last XK120s to leave the factory and was originally supplied in primer so does not have an original paint colour listed. It is also a nod to the previous owner who was a Spitfire pilot. I think we can all agree the end result is stunning.
