I've had this car a little over a month and decided with such low miles, I would fix the minor nicks and keep it a while. This weekend I did four repairs/modifications.


1. Lug Nuts. Excited to take the old junk off and put on the new. Amazon said they were right, but members here helped correct that. So, took off new lugs and put old back on and ordered correct product.


2. Install new stainless grill. This was not nearly as simple as the instructions. Extreme care must be taken not to break some of the black plastic pieces or drop any hidden screw into the front abyss. With care, I got it all done. Cutting the grill bars out with a sabre saw with a very fine blade was tedious and I brushed black paint on the bare plastic so nothing would be seen behind the grill. I like the look.


3. Install a new coolant reservoir. One tough job. Followed the directions I got here and it went ok, but putting the hose under the power brake booster and then clamping it, is a BEAR with teeth. I did use a screw down clamp on one end to make it easier. Reinstalled a ton of stuff and bled the air and it works. The old tank was cracked on two sides and only lost fluid if it was above the hot line. Glad to get that done.


4. Change the rear view mirror. Ordered a used mirror. Arrived but was the wrong housing but the same mirror number. Because they are hard to find, I ordered another one from Canada with the right large housing. I decided to see if I could make the wrong one work so I took mine apart and the wrong one apart. I removed the electronic board from the mirror and re-glued the good mirror to the board. I cleaned the joining surfaces and then used single stage epoxy for plastic and assembled it. Works perfectly, so now I'll have an extra mirror if this one quits.


That was it for my day. Next is to order the new leather seat covers. I also got the samples today and know what color. A local shop here will take off the old and put on the new and this car will be ready for anything.


Total cost was reasonable


Tank: 83
Mirror: 100
Lugs 20 + 31 for the correct ones.
Grill 88

 

Keep up the great work David! She looks fantastic!

 

David, the paint looks brand new and what a great colour-I don't remember seeing that paint on an S type before-very nice! Have Fun!

 

That is the original paint. I was pleasantly surprised when I went to look at it and wala!! The paint code on the sticker is CGG but I don't know what it is called.


Turned 47001 miles today.

 

Love the grill. And look how clear those headlights are. The lenses on my '01 are starting to look like the eyes of an old dog with cataracts. Yours look brand new. Paint is awesome too! This car appears to have led a very sheltered life. Keep up the good work.

 

This ST is HOW old? You've got it looking showroom new! Great job!

 

There is another way to upgrade the grill. They make chrome covers that go right over the current bars. I ordered this, but the mesh got here first so I never tried it. The look is real good this way too.

 

It is really a 2000. I got the car in fair condition. It sat most of the time over the past years and we just filthy with tree sap, oak leaves, and other tree junk. The secret to this is wash in more often and the sap comes off. Most of it was inside the vents, under the doors, inside the doors, etc. What I have left to do is order the new leather for the front seats (minor cracking) and we are going to paint the trunk lid and top of the right rear fender. (The man who sold it to me put compound on it and "thinned the clear coat". My brother owns a body shop, so no big deal with this. He specializes in restoring 50 year old cars to perfect. L A Custom sells a chrome original 10 spoke wheel, but the cost is more than the car is worth. $$$$$$$$$$$. So I'll wait on that.

 

Wow, a 15-year-old Jag with only 45k on the clock. Looks absolutely gorgeous as well. I do have a slight preference for the grill with chrome bars, reminds me of my long-gone XK-150S.

When all your body and leather work is done, check the age of the tires and see if the plastic tensioners have been updated. Then you should be good to go.

 

Timing tensioners? I bet this engine has had zip done to it. Just not ever used enough. I'll read up on them.

 

It might a good idea for you to remove the wiper arms and plastic cowl. There are 2 "wells on either side with drain holes that need to be cleaned out periodically. The wells usually fill with all kinds of debris.

 

I did take all the covers off, even underneath . You are right, it was nasty in there, but I got it all cleaned out. Everything is draining well now.

 

And rodents like to get in there and eat stuff too if the car was sitting outside for any period of time. I found a pack rat living under my bonnet way back in the right rear corner abyss (facing into bonnet) behind the master cylinder. He caused quite a bit of destruction to some of the rubber parts.

 

Rodents? Say it ain't so. Mine is garaged and I've only had one varmit in 15 years. A chipmunk came in while the doors were open. He ran out pretty fast.

 

^^^Very good looking vehicle!^^^

 

I had to put my sunglasses on just to look at it. Really nice!

 

CGG paint code is Carnival Red I believe.

+1 it's looking good

and +1 on tensioners!