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Ok, I have my car. Its a 1964 cheery red 3.8L manial with overdrive and wire wheels. The body is in very good condition. No rust that i know of (bare metal respray a few years back). Engine is in ok condition, not great but ok.
Does not have PAS. Current steering box feels a bit loose/vague.
Leather is worn but not ripped. The vehicle has what is thought to be a factory sunroof.
All gauges work. Gearbox feels good with good syncro into all gears.
Electrics are ok but some lights are dim or dont work or some switches work after a couple of clicks so I suspect the connections have dirtied with age.
Took it in for a registration inspection today. There are a dozen or so things that the mechanic has identified as needing tp be done. Still waiting on a full list but includes both front wheel bearings, 1 rear wheel bearing, oil leak from diff, a few oil leaks from motor, most of the ball joints and several bushes in front suspension, front shock absorbers.
I am quite comfortable with this list as most of it involves safety aspects and control and i would prefer to have these components in good condition than not.
I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to drive it from the vendors home to my home - a distance of 1,400km. She went beautifully. Sat on 95 to 105kph (55 to 65mph) pretty much the whole way.
The horn is a bit touchy and the speedo occasionally made a whining noise but apart from that all good. Day of collection The old girl on display Some years ago during body work
Last edited by wouldbeowner; 10-01-2019 at 12:37 AM.
Looks a very nice car indeed ! Apropos ball joints, the later Lemforder ball joints at the top and bottom wishbones can be swapped with the later Lemforder joints originally fitted to the XJ40 series of XJ saloons. These are a simple swap-out and the new design lasts almost for ever. I'm surprised it's not PAS as I thought all S-types sent to the USA had it fitted. It is now possible to fit PAS and kits are available, but are not cheap. There is now even an electric PAS system ! There is also the option of fitting the old-type PAS using used steering box and pump obtained on the internet. The later steering boxes were of the Marles Varamatic type, made by Adwest in the UK.
This is a beautiful car - and renovating it as needed will be a rewarding process. Fraser: the car is in Australia, not the US, from my reading, no?
Doh !! Yes, you're right, 'nsw' is indeed the state of New South Wales in Australia. I just wish posters would be more descriptive for us with poor eyesight !
Great ~ Lovely car. Delighted you finally got what you wanted & rust free!
Rear wheel bearing is a pain to replace & shim hub as is a side shaft seal on the diff. Pinion seal can be done in place with care not to disturb pinion bearing preload.
Keeping fluids in our old girls is always a challenge.
There is much that can be done to rejuvenate the leatherwork.
Enjoy!
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 10-02-2019 at 06:54 AM.
Thanks Glen. I am very excited about the car. What leather products do you recommend?
as far as keeping fluids up to these old girls goes i always seem to be buying gin, white wine or oil
Thanks Glen. I am very excited about the car. What leather products do you recommend?
as far as keeping fluids up to these old girls goes i always seem to be buying gin, white wine or oil
LOL!
The Gliptone Leathercare system from the UK ~ not to be confused with a company of the same trading style in the US. These guys know more about renovating leather than Connolly does.
I didn't find it too difficult to replace the rear wheel bearings in a Series 3 XJ6 I had in the 90s. There is a spacer and the workshop manual emphasises the need to check the allowed play after the new bearings have been fitted, and possibly fit a different thickness of spacer. Actually I found the play was exactly right with the old spacer put back in. The fact is that bearings are made very precisely, but Jaguar's machining of the hub carrier not so precise, so new bearings essentially match the old ones, therefore the existing spacer makes the right clearance. As for replacing diff drive shaft oil seals, I've never done it myself, but did have it done by a Jaguar specialist. I would think it is a PITA with the need to remove the drive shafts, brakes, discs, and the drive flange just so one can get to the oil seal !
The old style 60's IRS hubs can be a real pain to disassemble. The wire wheel hub can cause endless grief to take apart. Depends on how tight everything is. Without the Churchill Tools we had to build a jig for my hubs to get them apart. They were ridiculously tight & stubborn. In my case after new bearings the shims were way out for correct setting of the hubs. Grease the hubs well with very long life Polyurea or Lithium Complex grease. You don't want to do the job again. Just a little grease top up from time to time.
Hope you have better luck.
Its worth the trouble to get right ~ both diff & hub setup. I have a dead silent rear axle.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 10-02-2019 at 06:47 AM.
Suddenly all this sounds frightening. The seal they think needs replacing in the diff is under the large rear plate of the diff. Maybe thats just their best guess but i hope they are correct. I dont fancy having to do the drive shaft seals myself or pay someone to do them.
Glen, the leather could be a problem. The PO decided some time ago that, due to the dirty and worn state of the leather, he would use a vinyl leather paint to recolour it. Probably a cost effective solution at yhe time but after reading the advice centre info at Gliptone i am thinking that maybe it will make it too hard to access the surface of the ipholstery to actually use their products to rejuvenate the leather. Thoughts?
Suddenly all this sounds frightening. The seal they think needs replacing in the diff is under the large rear plate of the diff. Maybe thats just their best guess but i hope they are correct. I dont fancy having to do the drive shaft seals myself or pay someone to do them.
Glen, the leather could be a problem. The PO decided some time ago that, due to the dirty and worn state of the leather, he would use a vinyl leather paint to recolour it. Probably a cost effective solution at yhe time but after reading the advice centre info at Gliptone i am thinking that maybe it will make it too hard to access the surface of the ipholstery to actually use their products to rejuvenate the leather. Thoughts?
If it's a sideshaft seal the bridgepiece needs to be dropped, brakes off, diff out!
Not knowing what product was used on the leather I would not know. I'm no leather specialist but have seen what the Gliptone system can do & I always keep a Gliptone matched kit for my daily drivers. I would try & find out what exactly was used from the PO & then open a conversation with Gliptone. They are extremely obliging.
She looks neat. Interesting she came via Cycle & Carriage. Now Benz agents.
There was another interesting point made by the PO about tthe car's possible provenance. As far as he knew there werent many other 1964 RHD S Types made with factory sunroofs (in fact he didnt know of any). Some years ago he did see a colour photo of the Jaguar stand at, from memory, The 1964 Paris motor show. It showed an S Type of the same colour that this originally was with a sunroof there on display. Its not definite by any means but it is possible this old girl was that display model.
The old style 60's IRS hubs can be a real pain to disassemble. The wire wheel hub can cause endless grief to take apart. Depends on how tight everything is. Without the Churchill Tools we had to build a jig for my hubs to get them apart. They were ridiculously tight & stubborn.
Luckily the PO has the "puller for the wire wheel splines" which i am hoping i can borrow if needed. I assume that must be the Churchill tool you were mentioning.
I agree with Glyn, although I am more of the performance enthusiast and he prefers stock. The Jaguar 3.8s I personally think is a better looking car, especially the bumpers and the rear fenders look much cleaner. The 3.8s is definitely a better performing car with full independent suspension, and a better quality interior. Right now they are still cheaper often than a MKII and that to me is because of MKII was more affordable and has some racing history but the 3.8s is definitely a better car for performance. I would highly recommend a 3.8s but try to push your budget and do NOT get a car that is a fixer upper as Jaguars are more expensive than other cars for parts and it will always be cheaper if you can find one close to or the way you would want it as it will be more expensive to do it yourself. There will always things you would want to tweak or improve so get one already restored if possible...
That is one nice looking S Type, love the picture as it highlights the stance, wheels and colour.
Almost makes me want to buy one but then I remember my current project and long suffering wife!
Luckily the PO has the "puller for the wire wheel splines" which i am hoping i can borrow if needed. I assume that must be the Churchill tool you were mentioning.
That is indeed good news. The centrelock wire wheel hub puller/extractor is not illustrated in the WS Manual & is different to the bolt on wheel hub puller. All Churchill tools required for hubs shown in WS Manual pages H10 to H13. Extractors, pullers, presses. We had none of them other than a press & dial gauge & in all fairness you don't need the tool for pressing in the oil (grease) seals.
Desperate measures to hold the damn things while extracting, pulling, pressing.
Finished job.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 10-03-2019 at 06:51 PM.
There was another interesting point made by the PO about tthe car's possible provenance. As far as he knew there werent many other 1964 RHD S Types made with factory sunroofs (in fact he didnt know of any). Some years ago he did see a colour photo of the Jaguar stand at, from memory, The 1964 Paris motor show. It showed an S Type of the same colour that this originally was with a sunroof there on display. Its not definite by any means but it is possible this old girl was that display model.
Interesting. Metal sunroof cars were extremely rare. Most owners fitted soft Webasto sunroofs aftermarket.
Here is one with a metal roof in the Czech Republic.
Gday Glen. At this stage I believe all the drain pipes are clear and operational. PO pointed this out that the pipes had been well cleared with compressed air.
Gday Glen. At this stage I believe all the drain pipes are clear and operational. PO pointed this out that the pipes had been well cleared with compressed air.
My Mark VI Bentley has a metal sunroof, I found that if the whisker seal is in good shape, very little water males it's way in, in the first place.
10-01-2019, 12:32 AM
