If you have to replace the bolt in the accelerator organ pedal, don't go over size. The pedal should have plenty of free play in its hinge, definitely not a tight fit. The throttle action is smooth, but has a short stroke so friction or binding have to be avoided.

 

I concur with Pete and Jeff, relays are not required on the original components but if you are adding Halogen lights, Spot lights, AirCon or some other item which is going to draw more current then I would install a new wiring loom to that item and add a relay to power it as the original wiring loom and switches were not designed for these extra items. I have added Halogen lights and rigged my fog lights up as driving lights on the front. I can have them as stand alone fog lights or have them come on as driving lights when on full beam. For this I added a new wiring loom to the lights and a relay to power it off the original switch.

 

Relays are seldom used in modern cars due to CAN Networks & SAMS (signal acquisition modules). There is a fraction of the wiring in modern cars due to this & considering complexity & features and everything talks multi-way. e.g the alternator talks to the ECU & vice versa. Demand WOT & the alternator cuts out etc. Throttle is fly by wire/fibre optic. No direct contact.

No more point to point wiring. We are in the computer & microprocessor era. Fibre optics can carry a huge multitude of signals/data and tell a brake light to switch on via a SAM etc. From a single power source/BUS that serves the entire rear or front of the car as an example. All this controls blind spot warning or lane wandering , rear view camera, PDC, self parking and a list as long as your arm. All lighting is going high intensity LED which draws peanuts.

 

dsnyder586
A small word of caution as I have been involved in heaps of restorations and revivals. Most of the 24 Jags I have or had were distressed vehicles on which previous owners had given up. In addition, I have helped a numbers of friends get their cars into operation. Their current projects include an E type, a MK7and an S type
Don't modify anything.!!!
Aim at getting some motion from the engine/transmission and some braking (even if it is only a handbrake). That stops it from being a "lead sled" so you can move it around.
That helps your enthusiasm.
Beware the concourse route. I admire these cars but unless you have heaps of money plus being prepared to put in the amount of time and effort involved is something which requires extreme dedication.
Make up your mind at this stage how far you want to go.
Stage 1.Get it running and driveable. No repaint and current upholstery
Stage 2 Repaint, new interior, woodwork etc modifications for lights, radios, and similar goodies
Stage 3. Pull it all apart and go concourse.
I hope this gives you a bit of a balanced idea of how to go about this sort of project.
Cheers

 

Excellent advice, and thank you- I am going for a color change (I think I know the answer) Should I paint the interior when I do redo it, or wait until I paint the car and stirp the whole thing? What do you think?

I *may* go 80% Concourse, as I think the rarity of this model warrants a much higher future value and I plan for this to be my driver.

 

I don't want to dishearten you but please do not think that your 420 is a gold mine waiting to be found. Although classic car prices increase and that includes the 420 I am afraid to tell you that most classic cars increase by approximately the same percentage. So the future value of the car depends on its start price. Not the new purchase price but the value of the car when someone deems it to be a classic car. If you had three models of Jaguar all in the same condition the Mk2 would be worth £30k. The S type would be worth £17. Unfortunately for you, the 420 would be around £12k. Please be careful that you do not spend more money on the car than it is worth.

ps. There are 420s out there selling for £30 plus but they are for sale not sold and there are others for less than £7k. One of the reasons a 420 is rare is because no one can be bothered or afford to restore them. I am sorry if this offends you or anyone else reading this, it is not my intention to offend, just stating facts.

 

You are correct Rob. For some reason the 420 that only had a 2 season run along with the Sovereign has never interested classic car owners nice as it is. The good thing is that it will likely maintain it's value rather than drop like a new car would. I spent far more on my concours S Type than the vehicle is worth because I like it. (Nice to be able to call it that now that it's been judged at 100> points). But all you get is a good feeling. No goldmine.

 

I guess my 99 Mazda truck is not considered a modern car anymore, it has at least 5 relays in the large fuse box under the hood.
But still even a very up to date car would have one for the starter ? (getting off track here again)

 

It's ancient! No offense. Starter only possibly if it's made in India or Indonesia etc. It will for now have an engagement solenoid switched by a SAM from the main power BUS. No relay necessary. The high current is sitting there already waiting for a SAM signal. You only need one high current BUS running throughout the car but usually split into front & rear. Lower current for rear.

 

10 years ago you could buy a 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider in good, driveable condition for 2-5K. Nobody wanted them, they were neglected and rust buckets. Cheaply made throw away sports cars. Heck, I bought one for $300 in 97 and drove it home.
Today? Restored examples $20-$35K.

Thank you for the advice though. The 420 may never see those numbers, but it doesn't matter to me. Restoring vehicles is my redemption story. My work redeems unwanted and "worthless" items into somethin *I* Value and enjoy. Someday I hope to build a true Concourse car, but for now I am happy doing my best and learning craftsmanship that has almost been forgotten.

For me it is like art- I do not buy cars to flip them for a profit, I buy them for the enjoyment of restoring them, first, then my personal enjoyment driving/riding them, and finally the joy of sharing them with friends and strangers alike, like an aged wine.

 

I'm an Alfa man. Had 7 in a row including a Spider. Today's pricing is only because it's a Spider & not trashed due to tin rot. 420's don't fall into that category. You know the story ~ if the top comes down the prices go up.

Now if you had this it would be a different story. One off by Radford ~ recently restored. These are original pics.

 

I used them as an example, because there are full restorations happening with Spiders that DO have rot. And they are fetching these numbers. I should point out that inflation has been playing a very large part in price increases as well.

But we digress. Money is not the motivator for me. If they go up, I win. If they remain, I enjoy the use of a very unique vehicle at a comparably low cost. If they go down, I will still own a very rare car for very little comparable money.

Ultimately, in the next 20 years there will be few gasoline vehicles on the road, so I would expect values to drop precipitously between now and then. *This is not an invitation for people to jump in and debate gas v electric in the future * lol.

Pic of my Alfa restored 2 years ago because Alfa: (Look at those panel gaps LOOK AT THEM) Ignore the garage.

 

Still no pot of gold with a 420. And the restoration cost of a Spider with rot is awful ~ no real profit to be made ~ the man hours required are huge. Apart from being pretty they will never fetch stratospheric prices. They are not a short run Ferrari or Aston Martin.

 

LOL Glyn- fair enough.

 

Hi All,
I would like to disagree on the relay issue. If this had an Amp meter like the early XKE/E-types (3.8L), I would want add a relay to prevent all the current from going through the ignition switch. Some, replace the amp meter with a volt meter and modify the wiring as needed. I might add a relays to the headlight circuit too, unless you replace the lights with LED's or some future low current draw headlights. If I did wiring mod's I would have a clear wiring diagram in the car, probably beihind the drop down center stack door and in the glovebox for the person working on the car

 

I loved my Spider. Scuttle shake & all. They were not particularly stiff.

 

You may well disagree with the path things are taking but it is the modern way & becoming moreso every day. And no current goes through the ignition switch (milliamps at best and it's not really an ignition switch any more. It is the top of a digital pyramid). & no the CanBus & SAM system (as an example. There are other examples other than CAN) is not troublesome. Unfortunately we can't live in the past. This is the digital multicom era. e.g. remote unlocking of a car from an SD card sized device that you carry on a person in a pocket or your "key" fob. It's no longer a hard key by definition. It outputs IR, RF, DAS etc.

There is no such thing as a wiring diagram. It is a series of digital networks interconnected where necessary. You need a digital electronics degree to work on the modern car fully. Not a mechanical one. The mechanical side is dead easy. Fortunately in the modern computer you just plug in boards with Zero idea of what they are doing as a layman.

 

Hi Glyn,
I agree with you, today's cars are a totally different animal. I was answering the original question in the Jaguar Classic forum that asked about adding relays to the 420. One of the previous posters said they wouldn't add relays. I gave the example of the 3.8L XKE/E-type in my post (if you can find an original E-type with CanBus I'll eat it!). Sorry if I wasn't clear.

 

No problem whatsoever Bob. Humbly suggest using "quote" in future.

 

No offence taken; I like keeping older vehicles on the road, ironically that is my newest vehicle I ever had, my first electronic fuel injected truck.
It was daunting at first and a learning curve, it ran, but had no power after a mechanic got it running.
Check engine lights galore _ fuel vent leak _ forgot to put the hose on.
Cam shaft position error _ it was 180 degrees out.
New rad _ sat in the guys yard for 7 years because he was too old to drive it anymore.
Still lots of rust particles in the fuel injectors and fuel rails.
After going through it all, it runs great now _ it was a garden truck all its life in the city, no rust, just a little banged up.

I could never bring myself to buy a new vehicle and something so worthless, I have better things to spend my money on.
It would eat me right up to buy one of those stupid monstrous trucks that barely fits into a parking lot/spot and costs upwards of 50k _ I can do a Hell of a lot with 50K !