Automatic garage lights

In the little bit between Christmas and New years eve, we had a visit from one of Lindsey's friends. She bought her own ankle biter, kept the kids busy... I decided to escape to the man lair and get a job done!

Its been frustrating having to turn the lights on in the garage when we arrive at night. I fancied a motion sensor. Ordered one from Amazon for £20.

I thought it would attach nicely to the steel cross beams.



Moved all the cars out of the garage so I could work.



Found a central place for the sensor, in front of the roller doors.



Opened up the light switch to lash it in. Noticed how the electrician had also smashed this back box...



I ran new cable, and set it so that the light switch was an override. In normal conditions the sensor brings on the lights, but I can turn them on permanently with the switch too.




It works really nicely, and I set the timer to about 30 seconds. Seems to give us plenty of time. Oddly the roller doors do not activate it when they raise, but luckily the car does when it gets to the opening.

 

Finally.... the Daimler

Yesterday the weather looked cold… but at least dry, so after a quick negotiation with my wife, it was decided she could look after the ankle biting pests in the warm indoors, while I gave that Daimler the clean and going over it needed.

So I took it outside, and cleaning commenced!



I will not bore everyone with lots of mid-clean shots… mainly because I was too disorganized to take any… but here are some with the car wet, glistening in the light.





It was cold, and more to the point the neighbors kept popping over for a chat… so I dried it quickly, and moved it inside to finish it off.
I did a nice relatively thorough job, cleaned the glass, gave it a wipedown with a quick detailer, and dressed the tyres. I am very pleased with the way it is looking now.









The bonnet and front bumper look fantastic now, no stone chips or DIY paint areas anymore I am pleased to say.









It is exactly what I have wanted from the start, something really tidy that does the Daimler brand proud. When shined up the car looks almost like it has just rolled out from the factory! Every panel now shines beautifully!

I walk around the car, and it really does look amazing, I don’t think I have ever been so chuffed with something, but perhaps that’s because so much energy has gone into it, and it has taken such a long time.

 

Sadly it is not an absolutely perfect car, as even though I cannot imagine it is desperate, the MOT testers advisory comment suggests the underneath will need some welding in the coming years. But for now it has a years ticket and is good to go. I am pleased as punch!

I am also frustrated that the first bodyshop I used did not do a particularly good job on the rear bumper, so that could ideally do with another respray. I think they have touched the paint before it was dry looking at the inner most corners, and there are some visible sanding marks on the flat faces too. It only notices if you look closely, but it bugs me because I know it's there!

I love this interior, classic old school Daimler. Looking at it makes me grin from ear to ear, and I almost don’t want to sit in it and get it dirty!



















The elephant in the room is this sagging headlining… I’m not brave enough to take all this down and re-glue it. I think I’d rather have someone retrim it if I did get it sorted. Of course I could pin it, and I have seen the pins they sell online. But that only reduces the appearance rather than fixes it, so I don’t really think that’s worth it.



The engine bay still needs more cleaning if I want it immaculate, but for now it does look quite eye catching again. I do like the look of these early supercharged engines before Jaguar started covering them with black plastic.



So that’s the Daimler back on the road again, and looking pretty amazing. I took it for a little run around the block Sunday afternoon, and I felt like a president.

There are still a few things that are bugging me…. Yes it’s time for a list…

• That saggy headlining needs to be sorted.
• That rear bumper needs another respray due to the previous bodyshop doing a bad job…
• The brake pipes advisory on the MOT will need attending to.
• The two front tyres are old and look it, so I’d like to change them for brand new Michelins to match the rears.
• The passenger side front bumper chrome has a slight crease in it. I kick myself for not giving the bodyshop a new one to fit as they are not very expensive for a good used part... but I did not notice it until now.
• The drivers side lambswool mat has slight wear to it… but I may never find a perfect one as they are no longer manufactured new.
• The lacquer on the rear picnic tables has gone slightly dull.
• I think the gearbox oil could do with changing due to the age of the car.
• A DIY repair around the rear screen is starting to go dull, and would benefit from a professional respray.
• There is a technical bulletin on getting rid of the “chirp” the aux belt makes when cold. I would like to implement this (I think it’s a pully change).

But even though I look at the car and part of me wants to start doing more, I think I am going to leave it here and someone else can have the job of finishing these last niggles off. I really think it is time I draw a line, and now turn back to the Mercedes CL so I can get it off the axel stands!

I am so thrilled to have the car looking like this, but some interesting (and perhaps scary) figures:

Since summer 2017 when I bought the car, I have totalled a spend just shy of £12,000 on the car and yet only covered 4,094 miles!

Worst still, since the last MOT in April 2020, I have covered just 1,589 miles and yet spent a scary £4,621.27 on it on all sorts of bits and pieces.

I might say my story could serve as a warning to others who look to take on badly abused old cars, as the repairs total far more than the car’s worth. I know it should be obvious, but it is clearly much better to buy a car that is already in good condition and just maintain it. But then again I have had good fun working on it, so it is swings and roundabouts.

But I also have to admit that now I am a father I don’t really have the time to spend on a car like this anymore. It also does not really suit family life, and I think that's why I have hardly driven it. I think I’d be better to also finish the Mercedes CL before it too costs me a fortune, sell both these cars, and buy something more sensible I can use every day; like a nice clean (more modern) luxury barge that I can treasure as a daily driver. I’d perhaps keep the Citroen as a runaround while fuel is so expensive, and do some of my commute in it to keep the bills down.

We shall see… in a few months time I’ll probably have something else rusty and sickly in my garage as I never seem to learn!... I would love a SIII XJ...

 

I always enjoy your updates, Chris. For the headlining, have you thought about the Myrtle products:

https://www.myrtleltd.com/product-pa...r-v8-headliner

My headlining is beginning to sag in the rear and this looks like a good DIY option but I'm looking to see if I can find anyone who has some experience of using it. At the price shown, I'm tempted to just buy one and try it.

Cheers

Mark

 

That product looks perfect Peter - the price looks pretty good considering it is a one piece solution.

I am pretty sure I'll leave this for the next owner now, I am going to try to resist the temptation to do any more to the car, as it will not likely affect the value much.

Right now, I just enjoy going in and just staring at the Daimler... now all the chips are gone from the bonnet and front bumper, and the last bits of rust are gone, I just think it is so beautiful... I think the X308 may be the most beautiful all round Jag ever made.

 

I completely agree - the last of the beautiful Jag saloons - although I put it equal to my Series 3. Please DM me when you do decide to sell....

 

Mark, I gather from your post in the "What did you do your X308 Today" thread that Chris did DM you and with a satisfactory conclusion for both you and Chris (and Aston). I'll look forward to your ownership thread adventures (all good ones I hope) and to seeing some Series 3/X308 stable-mate photos (they do make good stable-mates ).

Chris, I hope you don't abandon this thread in its entirety - I'm thinking someone should start a pool on how long it will be until you and Aston acquire another X308 or that Series 3...

Best of luck to you both!

 

Hi Ken, yes Chris and I managed to make contact and, luckily for me, the person in front of me in the queue to buy the car dropped out.

Expect photos in the coming months as the Series 3 emerges from the garage where it's currently hiding from the construction we have going on. In the meantime, here's two earlier photos of the Series 3 with the XJ8 I sold to buy the Daimler:



Fortunately for the next owner, I removed that big clunky leaper before selling the car.

 

Well what do I do with this thread now eh?

As above, Mark came and collected the Daimler last Friday, and there was left a big empty space in our garage.

It was a strange conversation with Aston, as we always call the Daimler "Aston's Daimler" and I was not sure how he would react when I told him it was sold.

But I explained to him that we never used it, and now that we had finished working on it we were giving it to a nice man who would drive it, look after it and treasure it. Aston gave me a big smile and said "Yeah". I confess it made me a little emotional when he did that. Young Aston is always so understanding of his crazy father!

But Aston and me got to say farewell to the Daimler together, as I put his seat in the front passenger side of the Daimler when we took it to Peterborough train station, to meet Mark. It was a lovely trip, and little Aston was chattering to me the whole way. A memory I'll never forget.

So I have also told Aston that when we finish and sell the Mercedes CL500, we can look for another project we can do together... I am not yet sure what. I like the Series II XJ, Series III XJ, and XJS. But I have always wanted an Aston Martin too... or maybe a Bentley Arnage... or a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow Series 1.... who knows?

I'll find somewhere more neutral on this forum to continue our (non X308) adventures in, and I'll post a link to it here. Is there a non Jaguar or general section anywhere here?

 

I think there is aye, down the bottom of the index probably.

 

Not quite at the bottom but aye…

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/n...r-vehicles-81/