I've been seeing a few Jags around down here and wondered if something was going on, then this morning we turned out of our apartment and 100 metres down the road there's a Daimler Super V8 parked up at the side of the road. Other than being Dutch registered and Left Hand Drive, it's pretty much identical spec to mine. I took a photo next to our pretty little BMW then drove off.

I drove another couple of hundred metres and came across a lovely Turquoise Blue X300 XJR driven by an Icelandic gent called Ingvar @Ingvarg on these forums, I think. He turned out to be a real Jag lover and we had a good old chat. Unfortunately, we head home in a few days, otherwise I could have seen Ingvar and I spending some time together. Next time we come down it will be in one of the Jags so that's something to look forward to.

I have to confess that I've had plenty of time to plan the work to do on the two old cars back home so I'm itching to get on.


It made me feel quite jealous... I noticed that this car didn't have pinstripes. I'd intended to try to redo those on mind but this car looked good without them so I might try removing the current tape first and see what it looks like before putting some back on.

 

Yes, you got the correct Ingvar. It was a plesure meeting you and your wife. Maybe we can grab a cup of coffee before you leave town ??
Include a pic of the XJR.

 

Mark,

All three of my Series III had the pin stripes and they seemed to add that last bit of elegance to their flanks.

The X308’s with their bumper surrounds extending to the wheel well arches and the matching strong horizontal line extending between the wheel well arches from the side mouldings seem to break the flank enough horizontally without the pin stripping.

To my eye the pin striping that adds elegance to the Series III’s takes away from the X308’s slightly more aggressive stance and typically more aggressive wheels although perhaps less so with the Daimler wheels.

My XJR also does not have pin stripes. I don’t know if that is how she was originally delivered or if they were subsequently removed at some point but I don’t miss them and she doesn’t seem to either.

 

What a treat, sounds like you are making a name for yourself while you are there

If you peel of the sticky pinstripes you will find there are slightly thinner ones on half the panels. From memory I think they are missing from both of the front wings, the rear passenger side quarter. So you would need a bit of spray work to completely remove them. Personally I really love the pinstripes, but is it of course personal taste. They do look better thinner than the tape I used. Had I kept the car I would have investigated getting a sign writer of similar to put them back to original spec.

 

I just re-read your post for a few weeks back, as I forgot to reply back then.

I can certainly see you intend to care for the Daimler well, you are taking it to the next level from where I left things; it's really nice to see. It is amazing to think that just a few years ago it was rusty and sorry looking, and may likely have ended up at a scrap yard. But it is now being cared for as a pride and joy, and being treated to some of the minor details that will make it one of the best examples on the road.

Annoying to hear you are getting suspension faults, and I seem to remember I did see that once before when I took the car to Cumbria. I think it's somewhere in my thread. But I have not seen it since... might be because I rarely drove it though...

Amazing work on that Aerial, I have never seen anyone do that before, and likewise the dash lights must make it look much better at night. The space saver does indeed create lots more space, and I can see why you did it. Makes me chuckle the amount of cars where I have swapped out space savers for full size wheels for no good reason... but this one actually came with a full size wheel.

I have no idea what the aftermarket boxes are in the boot, maybe an old alarm system?

So what a wonderful update - I am so thrilled the car found you to own it after me!

 

Chris, like you and @Ken Cantor , I do love pin stripes. Like Ken, I can't imagine my Series 3 without them, but I was a little surprised at how much I liked the look of the X308. Having said that, thank goodness that you are following my posts - I'd completely forgotten that the original stripes were only missing on two or three panels. I would have felt a right berk if I'd removed the stick on stripes and only then remembered why you'd put them on!

We live close to several major canels and not far from Crewe (think Bentley and Rolls-Royce) so there a re quite a few highly skilled sign-writers/coach-painters around. I'll be calling around when I get home.

 

I feel privileged to own the car after you, Chris. I'll report back once I have the inspection done on April 4th.

In other news, having got a big European trip out of the way in the wife's pretty convertible, we've accepted an offer on the BMW and will be dropping it off with the dealer on the trip home. Debbie has got all sensible on me and aware of all the gardening work and home renovation we've got going on in the next four months, she's chosen a Japanese import Volvo XC70. I confess that I'm completely smitten with the old Swedish workhorses and so looking forward to using it as our truck in the coming months! It will be my 5th in 25 years.

 

The Series III cars had coachlines (pinstripes, if you like) applied at the factory - tape, not painted. The X308, at least those for the Canadian market, did not have any striping. Ken, I can assure you that your car is as delivered from the factory in every respect.
I am not sure about the Daimler versions of the x308.

 

Nice to have confirmation on the coach lines…

As to the “in every respect” assertion, in regard to the timing chains and tensioners and water pump and a number of other bits and pieces, I’d have to say she was sold to me in better condition than as delivered from the factory.

 

The pin strips seem to be a bit random on British Jaguar models, as my older XJ40 cars always had stick on pinstripes, but all X308 models I have owned had painted pin stripes.

Mark - I'd recommend putting the pinstripes back, as I am sure I remember noticing that the old pinstripes were just visible under the surface of the paint in some places, so would need new paint to get rid of them.

The pinstripes were applied by the bodyshop in Wisbech, and they seemed to apply them with a spray gun rather than by hand painting them, as I noticed a lot of silver overspray in the door shuts; which they clearly seemed to have missed.

Oh... and congratulations on the new Swedish battle tank. I have only heard good things about modern Volvos and if anything they seem to be some of the best value cars on the road.

 

My first Jag was a XJ40, it had pinstripes on one side only. I suspect this wasn't as it left the factory! I did prefer the side with the pinstripes for what it's worth.

 

I've had a busy couple of weeks since getting back from Spain and put a few more miles on the Daimler but in the last week, I've managed to attack my list. I've had an hour or two to do some "stuff" but also had the car with a local specialist with a subsequent visit to the bodyshop. More of what they found in my next post after I've had the feedback from the body shop but, in the meantime, three small victories.My first job was to fix the cd-changer which was failing to load CDs. Chris told me it had been working fine previously so I hoped it would be an easy fix. I removed the mechanism without, surprisingly, losing any of the small mounting springs and could straight away see the problem - a big lump of hard lubricant or grit which was jamming the gear between the motor and the loader. A quick clean and relube and it’s working perfectly. A bit of a waste of time, really, taking into account the next job but I like things to be working.

One of the few things I miss from a modern car is Digital Radio - a must now in the UK. I’ve got a Pure Highway 600 which I’ve used in previous cars and it’s a wonderful device, but to work properly it needs an aux-in port which I don’t have on the Daimler. I’dread @Gopi Hira 's sticky on splicing in RCA cables to the CD-Changer cable so embarked on that. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ctions-144735/. I didn’t want to hack about with the integrated cable on the CD-Changer itself so I bought an ai-net extension cable on EBay and hacked a female aux lead into that instead. I have now lost the use of the CD-Changer (although I can plug it back in at any time) but I’ve got DAB and Handsfree calling, and I don’t need to put a tape into the drive to use Bluetooth. Chris has a great YoutTube video on how to add Bluetooth to the tape output on the head unit and I presume you could use the same hack to add an Aux socket if you don’t have a CD-Changer fitted.

I'd begun to notice a massive flat spot at between 2,500 and 3,000 rpm under hard acceleration. It was like being back in the 80's in my 1983 Saab 900 turbo - surely you're not supposed to have Turbo lag on a supercharged engine? A quick read through the forums and it seemed the first thing to try was to clean the MAF sensor. I carefully removed it and gave all the sensors a good spray of contact cleaner, then left it to dry before reinstalling it. The response is transformed - no more lag - and I had a wonderful test drive on fairly empty roads blasting through the rev range. At one point, without my knowing it, I was tailed by a friend in his modern German Audi - he called me up later to tell me he couldn't keep up with me to say hello. He also confirmed that there wasn't a hint of smoke from the exhausts as I dissappeared into the distance.

The news from the mechanic and bodyshop isn't quite so positive although there's only a couple of items that were a surprise to me. I'll post that later as I need some guidance....

After two months and 3,500 miles in the incredibly capable and efficient BMW, it's a joy to be back in the Daimler. I love it more than ever.

 

Hi. I'm glad to find the new home of Aston's Daimler, and I will be following its continuing adventures with some excitement.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I came away from the mechanic with a list that was not overwhelmingly positive and, indeed, there's a lot to do. I've split the work into two categories - mechanical and chassis, and bodywork and welding(!). Since the Daimler is in it's third week in the bodyshop with some local car restorers, I'll start there.

I started with a list from the mechanic following his appraisal. Some of the items weren't news as they were already on Chris's list; some weren't a surprise based on what I'd read in his thread; and some were a bit of a surprise. To be honest, they weren't really a surprise - this is, after all, a 2001 X308 which has done 100k miles and lived through over 20 UK winters. I have bitten the bullet and decided to get the work done straight away. I'd allowed a budget for it and think I owe it to this beautiful old car and to Chris who lavished so much care on it to keep it on the road after it had been written off.

So, deep breath. Mechanics comments in parenthesis with my comments after.

• "Rear Wheel Arches holed and have been covered in filler" - confirmed by restorer. It was a bit of a bodge job and I know Chris had some issues with the first bodyshop he used; this is probably a legacy. These are now repaired
• Left front chassis leg corroded" - the restorers disagreed with the mechanic’s assessment and I know that Chris had them repaired a couple of years ago. No work required
• "Left inner sill appears to be filler" - there’s lots of filler but the inner sill underneath is sound.
• "Front inner wings have been cut out at the front to make it look as though they are supposed to be like that". This was a bit weird. There’s clearly been some corrosion in the past and rather than replace it, it’s just been cut away and welded. The restorer didn’t see this as an issue as they were well rustproofed, the mudflaps protect them, and they’re not structural.
• "Right floor and inner sill holed with filler covering". Restorer confirmed the front and rear of the inner sill are full of holes when you chip away the filler - this also has been bodged in the past. We've now replaced the full inner sill and floor
• "Rust around the rear screen". I was fully aware of this as Chris had pointed it out along with the diy paint job around the affected area. It’s a screen out job to effect a long term fix so it's been done
• "Rear bumper needs repainting" - on Chris’s original list so not a surprise. I had my fingers crossed that they could get the bumper off without new support brackets but the good news is that it came straight off and has been repaired and repainted

And here's the things I added:

• Some car park dinges on the flanks which aren’t a real issue but rather let down the immaculate condition of most of the body, the chrome work and the lovely interior - my wife has insisted that I get these done so who am I to disobey
• The rust in the scuttle ahead of the drivers side windsreen. I've attached photos below to illustrate but it's clearly a real rust trap and the sponge underneath had soaked up a load of water and made the issue worse

Hopefully, this time next week, I'll have the car back and we can move onto the mechanical items - all of them suspension and steering. I think most X308 owners will be able to guess what they are - brownie points to anyone who can guess them all before my next post!


This is what I'd found. I'd scraped off the worst of the rust and added a bit of paint to try to stop it spreading.



Here's what the bodyshop found when they dug a bit deeper. A rain soaked sponge.

 

Good grief that's scary reading... I'm mostly surprised by the comments about filler in the arches; the original paintshop told me they welded in new steel. It's amazing to read you have sorted most of these things - the car must be amazing now!

This must be one of the most spoilt X308's in existence

 

I seem to recall your not being too impressed with the folk who did the original work, Chris, and I can confirm that they definitely didn’t weld in new steel in the wheelarches - just applied a load of filler and painted over it. I’m guessing it’s way too late to go back to them but i can share photos and the report if you’re interested.

I’ll post photos of all the work next week when I pick the car up but, in the meantime, here’s a couple of photos of the XJ6 S3. I finally got the builder to do without a skip on our drive last week and managed to get her out of the garage. That gave me chance to do a fluid, filters and grease service, and tidy up a few minor cosmetic items. The sun was shining in the UK today so we took her out on her first trip of the year, heading into North Wales to take a trip across the Horseshoe Pass with a visit to the Llangollen Aqueduct and a mug of tea and some traditional biker’s fayre at the Ponderosa cafe.




Took the old girl on her first proper ride out this year. We went in the Jag 😀





In truth, I’d had a quick shakedown earlier on in the week before I’d put the bonnet (hood) back on. Judging by the reaction from the local youth community, it’s really cool to remove your bonnet…

 

I'm hoping to pick up the Daimler on Friday but suspect it will run into early next week. In the meantime, however, a few parts have arrived so I thought I'd post part 2 of the assessment report. It might get a bit wordy so grab a coffee. I'm including everything because I see this thread as a continuation of Chris's story and a way of recording the ongoing ownership of the car for future record. Again, it's the mechanic's record with my subsequent comments.

Firstly, the good news. Engine and transmission are great. No obvious issues to report and the service should see us through the next 12 months. That is good news because at a meeting of our Le Mans Classic organisation committee (OK, four of us in the pub), we decided that the Daimler will be transporting us to France for this year's event at the end of June. I can't wait.

Here's the comprehensive list. As per the bodywork list, it's a mixture of knowns, unknowns but expected, and at least one surprise:

• Driver’s Power Park mirror faulty. I didn’t even know I had this function so it was a pleasant surprise! The mechanic had already fixed it, and that also cured the looseness of the mirror itself. Chris had told me about the loose mirror and actually gave me a spare but I completely missed that he'd told me they were powerfold!
  
• Incorrect size front discs and low pads with uneven wear. This was a surprise - someone had installed 305mm disks rather than the 325mm which the supercharged cars have. SNG Barret delivered a pair of discs of the correct size with appropriate pads in my delivery today and I'll install these myself
  
• Handbrake shoes bolted on. I can see Chris had these replaced so they must have bolted them in then. The mechanic didn’t seem to think this was too much of an issue so any feedback is appreciated. For now I intend to do nothing
  
• Front subframe upper mountings splitting - unknown but expected. I will ask the mechanic to do these later in the year before the next MOT
  
• Rear subframe starting to split. Ditto - this also seems a standard occurrence and I’ve got my eyes open for a replacement - hopefully a reconditioned one with new rear subframe bushes (see below) to be fitted before the next MOT as it's not dangerous yet
  
• Rear subframe bushes unserviceable - see above
  
• Front to rear brake pipes corroding - picked up on the MOT advisories and in Chris's list so not a surprise
  
• Fuel pipes corroded - not picked up in the MOT but should have been expected
  
• Drive belts worn - age related and I'll get these done before the Le Mans trip
  
• Front brake duct missing - I don’t think this is a problem unless someone tells me otherwise
  
• Rear bump stops fallen off - not an issue but I’ll get them replaced. Hopefully, there is somewhere to mount them after all the work that's gone on in and around the wheelarches - maybe the original bodyshop removed them and didn't replace them
  
• Front drop links and D Bushes excessively worn. Not a surprise based on the loose clonky steering. New bushes and drop links arrived with all the associated fasteners in the delivery today so I'll be doing these at the same time as the brake discs

So, I think I'll do the brakes, and roll bar work in the next two weeks myself. I'll ask the mechanic to do the drive belts and fuel and brake lines before the Le Mans trip, then get the subframes done when we're away on holiday in the XJ6 in September time.

My long term target is to pass the MOT with no advisories in December. The body shop work should ensure that there's no body/chassis related issues and between the mechanice and me, we should deal with the suspension/steering stuff.

The medium term target is to have an uneventful trip to France in June. One of the passengers is a mechanic who trained on Leyland cars in the 70's (and has his own classic bike endurance racing team) so we do have some level of backup but I have total confidence that the car won't let us down. After all, I plan to take her to the South of Spain - close to 4k mile round trip - next spring so a thousand miles to France, there and back, should be a walk in the park!

 

Yes you are right there, the chap took forever to do the work, and he certainly did a less than impressive job of the paintwork, as well as returning the car so dirty that it looked like it had been under the sea. But as I'd "dropped in" time to time and thought I saw a lot of new metal, I assumed that this was at least the one thing he did right.

I remember taking these and thinking it looked like bare metal (obviously with filler to smooth it out) at the time; but I must have been mistaken; I don't know anything about body repairs so it would not be difficult to fool me





But this is perhaps the part that concerns me most now. This bit in white below was made of chocolate when I dropped it off to him. It was pretty much made of filler and he told me he even found a coke can used to shape it in one side. He said he welded in new metal, and that the filler was just to level it off. I banged it with my finger and it seemed like steel to me. I am hoping this was the case as this is a real trouble area for these X308's.



There is no real chance of comeback now, after all everything was verbal agreement and it was several years ago now. It just taught me not to use that bodyshop again. The later work (bonnet respray, and repair to front driver side wing) was done by a different bodyshop, and I am hoping their work was better. They certainly seemed more professional, and were much faster.

It is absolutely wonderful to hear what you are doing though, I am so pleased you were the one to buy the Daimler, as in another life it might have been driven until it got into a state again and eventually scrapped.

 

Now that's a proper Jag! Wow!

I bet the local youngsters had never seen a beautiful engine like that; they are all covered in plastic these days.

 

This is all interesting reading; I am first of all relieved the engine and box are good

I don't remember having any brakes done, so I am not sure about those brake shoes; from memory the car was at a Jaguar specialist in Norwich in early 2020 for the MOT and they might have been done then? - Very scary about the front discs... I wonder how long they were like that.

I am impressed your mechanic fixed the wandering drivers door mirror, I thought it needed a new gear inside, and thought the only solution was a 3D printed replacement or a steel replacement offered by one of the other forum members on here. It sounds like you have a very good mechanic; particularly as he found all these issues that were probably not easy to spot.

Really enjoying your updates, I think its so wonderful what you are doing with the Daimler - I hope you have an incredible trip to France in it!