Rust and restorations - Workshop update

Another week has passed and thankfully the nonsensical fuel shortage we experienced seems to have passed. Our Land Rover and trailer are back out collecting and delivering cars and we have plenty of fuel for test drives once more. As ever the workshop is full of classic Jaguars in for everything from servicing to restoration. We are making the most of this beautiful Autumn sunshine and enjoying being able to have the workshop doors wide open still. This ventilation has been most welcome through the warmer months and has made operating during this pandemic much easier. We continue to practice social distancing on site and invite visitors to wear masks when inside. Although these measures have felt less necessary recently, we feel it is worth keeping them in place in case the situation worsens over the next few weeks. Our priority as always is to keep operating in such a way to keep both our customers and staff safe.
In this weeks' update we have a look at a couple of new restoration projects getting underway, rusty bumpers and more.

Jaguar E-Type restoration

We seem to be taking on quite a number of partially complete E-Type restorations. This Series 1 4.2 E-Type coupe has been a seriously long-term project having been painted some thirty years ago and passed through the hands of several restorers since then. It has to be said the paint is looking great for its age. The owner has now brought it to us to be finished off and brought up to our standards. 
We love an E-Type coupe here. Although the roadsters offer that wonderful open top experience when you're driving, few would argue that from the outside the coupe is one of the most attractive cars every designed. They are also immensely practical with a very generous boot which opens in such a way to offer almost hatch back levels of practicality. We have one customer who brings his bicycle in the boot of his E-Type when he drops it off to be serviced each year and then cycles home. What more could you want!?

XK Gazette XK140

In this months XK Gazette this is a wonderful article by our long-time customer and regular XK Gazette contributor Tony Hall. He has been following the restoration of his XK140 drophead which we have been building for him over the past couple of years and finished some months ago. Sadly, due to the pandemic and other issues getting in the way he has yet to drive his beautiful car. His series of articles were similarly interrupted so this picks up where he had left off some time ago.
If you are not familiar with the XK Gazette it is the monthly magazine published by the XK Club and is included in the cost of membership. It is a great read every month featuring technical articles, contributions from owners and enthusiasts and fascinating dives into the history of the cars we love from some of the most world-renowned experts including Philip Porter and Malcolm McKay. If you are not yet a member, we would strongly urge you to join up and start enjoying the magazine along with the other benefits the XK Club offers.

Tracked and traced

This Jaguar XK150 S has come in to us to have a tracker system fitted. These kinds of security devices are becoming increasingly popular and it would seem that many insurance companies are keen for classic car owners to have them fitted. The system fits discreetly in a hidden location on the car without making a huge mess of the wiring or leaving black boxes and flashing lights all over the place. The tracker can be accessed through an online portal or a very convenient smartphone app. This allows you to see the cars' current location, monitor it as it moves and look back at previous movements. Additionally, the system monitors battery voltage, milage and has many other useful features. Alerts can be set up to let you know if the car is moving without the ignition on or if it leaves a 'safe' location such as your home. The systems piece de resistance is that you can turn the ignition off remotely from the app on your phone so as you walk away from the car you can add this extra layer of security or if you would rather leave it on you can disable the car if the worst should happen.

Rusty chrome

It really is important that classic cars are stored properly. Putting your car away wet and dirty and/or storing it in a damp environment can do a lot of harm which, in the long run, will cost money or devalue your car. This Jaguar XK150 has been stored for some time in what was clearly a very damp environment. As can be seen from the photo there was a lot of corrosion on the chrome work and unfortunately the damp had caused corrosion to take place under the car and many parts had seized. Additionally, both moths and mice had taken up residence inside the car and were causing damage to interior and wiring in the car. The good news is that we are always on hand to remedy these kinds of issues. In the case of these bumpers, we have now cleaned and polished them and they once again look presentable though they are pitted and the rust will return with time. Ultimately, they will need re-chroming.
If you would like advice on how best to store your classic or to enquire about our storage options please do get in touch.

Jaguar XK140 restoration

This Jaguar XK140 DHC is the restoration project which we sold at the Goodwood Revival. We promised to share progress as we got started and this week the strip down has begun. We believe that taking the car apparat carefully, methodically and taking time to examine each component is an essential part of a good restoration. Especially on a car as complete and original as this one. This is an opportunity to properly sort the parts and assess what will be usable and what is beyond repair. If you simply take everything off and chuck it in boxes you risk damaging good parts and create more work later when you come to sort through it.
The car is going to be restored to the owner's exact specification and will include a number or upgrades including a modern automatic gearbox (the car is an original automatic). Everything from paint and trim colours to brake upgrades or audio system can be specified by the owner so they end up with the XK of their dreams. We will keep sharing progress over the coming months.

Windscreen wipers linkage

Like so many classic cars this XK150 has clearly rarely seen rain so the windscreen wipers are not often used. We have just carried out a power steering upgrade to the car and as part of our inspections we undertake on each car we check all electrical systems. We spotted when the car came in that the wipers were parked on the wrong side of the screen. When we then turned the wipers on, we found that there was something very wrong with the linkage and that the wipers wanted to keep moving further around and down onto the body. With the owner's permission we investigated further and removing the dashboard revealed that the first pipe in the wiper linkage had broken where it enters the first wheel box. This meant that instead of the cable moving the wiper blade back it was pushing the tube and motor away from the wheel box. We also spotted that the wheel boxes were new and the motor has been recently overhauled (which the owner confirmed). When this job was done the garage undertaking the work had possibly broken or lost the original linkage so had made the own tubes using brass fuel pipe and had solder olives onto the end rather than flaring the ends. This solder had not been able to hold up under the force of the wipers and had broken. We made up a new tube in the proper material with the correct flares on the ends and have now refitted the system correctly. Job done, wipers work and happy customer.