Sort the block out too Thorsen, you know that you should....!

 

I likely will - it's just the start of a really slippery slope and I am not naïve enough to pretend I don't know what's going to happen next. Like - as long as I have to put in a camshaft I should put in one that makes more power right? And surely a new intake manifold will be more efficient and make more power than this old one. And there's no way I am going to bolt this beautiful fresh engine to a 3 speed automatic transmission, so let's put in a 4 speed overdrive. And while everything is apart - I don't really like how the radiator is set up so let's fix that too. And as long as I am this far in the game I might as well address the HVAC system since whoever put this together used hose clamps on the AC hoses and while those worked OK with r-12, r-134 runs at a higher pressure and will blow them off. And since none of the gauges seem to be accurate let's fix all that while I am here.

I guess it's a good thing I like a project.

 

What makes the most sense to me is that after you pull the block out to work on you slip in a nice XK...

 

There you go Thorsen, your project plan all mapped out!

 

Or, you could run HC-12a, straight across change over, lower head pressure than even Good Ole R-12 so everything lasts a Lot longer. Requires NO equipment changes At ALL, compatible with ALL known equipment, lubricants and refrigerants, and, as the molecular structure is bigger, leaks less than R12, (there are always microscopic leaks over time) and WAY less than R-134.

Alternatively, as you like projects, you could mess around changing out Everything to be 134 compatible and be highly disappointed with the cooling results.

I and several others who live in Warmish climes and have experience with these Elderly systems can tell you how we know that.

Of course, if you Create one like you did with that XJS Climate Control last year, it's all rather moot.
(';')

 

LOL you have a great memory. That's certainly one of the options but the Mk II with it's whirring servo has an old-school charm to it. I'm thinking about keeping the Mk II box but updating the evap and heater coils to something more modern and efficient - but that's down the road.

 

I had a busy day in the garage but there's only one picture today.


Both heads are at the machine shop. The radiator, water pump, and AC condenser are now sitting in the pile of items that will eventually be discarded. The transmission is drained, all the connections to the transmission are severed, and the bell housing bolts are all loose. Tomorrow I can drop the driveshaft and pull the transmission, then I can pull the remainder of the engine and get that to the machine shop on Monday.

 

Dont we all?
Haha? Just kidding. Im working on my S3 so I have to drive this kind of XK instead

 

I knew it! Good for you Thorsen.

 

I was thinking about a nice AJ - something like this. But without the donor car sitting next to it I think my frustration level would quickly exceed the amount of fun I was having.
I was reading someone's thread about their XJ6 with a triple SU engine and manual transmission. That would be the way to go but I haven't found the right one yet.

 

Yes.
There are 2 reasons to do something like this:
Because you want to,
Because you HAVE to.

If you HAVE to, can it be made, if not "fun" at least enjoyable?
If not "enjoyable" at least not an Ordeal?

Ordeals are Never fun.
(';')

 

It was an incredibly long weekend in the garage but I have everything out and disassembled.


I nicknamed this TH350 "The Glitter Maker" after I dropped the transmission pan and found a lot of glitter in the bottom. Not just glitter but what looked like larger than a grain of sand type debris.


This is an interesting picture. Here's the top compression ring from the #3 piston sitting square in the bore. The ring end-gap is more than 3x what it should be.


Here's the block at the end of the day ready for a trip to the machine shop. I was lucky that the crankshaft was in great condition and I don't have to have it turned.


Here's the outcome of the last battle of the war. The passenger side block drain is on the left side of this picture and came out easily. The driver's side block drain is on the right side of the picture and the head rounded out when I tried turning it. I tried a bolt remover but that didn't work. In the end I welded a nut to it and used my impact driver to unscrew it. I'm sure the machine shop could have pulled it but what's the fun in that.


Now we see what the machine shop says.

 

With the engine block at the machine shop for the next 3 weeks, I'm keeping myself busy moving forward. One thing that needs to be addressed is the paint in the engine bay - it looks pretty ratty. There will never be a better time to deal with it so tonight I sprayed it with degreaser, scrubbed it thoroughly, dried it, and wiped it down with acetone to remove any residual grease.


I found that Rustoleum Gloss Almond is a pretty close match to the exterior paint so tonight I brushed it onto a section to make sure I was happy with the match. It's not perfect but it will make the engine bay look much better.
I found the same paint in a spray can but I think for this I want the control that a brush provides.


Tomorrow I will treat the areas of rust around the battery then seal it all up with a coat of paint.

 

The engine heat should help to cure the new paint that has no hardener in it. Making the guy who restores it in the future less pissed off. Bonus!

Since you're using a can, for your final coat you could try tinting it to get a closer match.
Looks like you have fluorescent lighting so maybe push it outside. I'm seeing more blue in the original, but again, fluorescent.
You may find that outside the match will likely look better than worse, I bet.

 

My 2cents
Go with a 700R4 with that 350 engine. For the converter electrical lockup, tap into the cruise control switch at the brake pedal to make it function properly.

 

While I wait for the machine shop to do their thing, I've been keeping myself busy. I pulled the engine/transmission from my dad's car and have been making some minor tweaks to my MGB for an upcoming road trip. Tonight I got back to my Jaguar. The only pieces from the engine that won't be replaced or cleaned up at the machine shop are the water pump and crankshaft pulleys.


I ran both of them through the sand blaster and sprayed them with some Eastwood Silver Cad paint.


It's supposed to replicate the look of silver cadium plating but I'm not sold on the look. I'll see how I feel tomorrow and decide if I want to repaint them.

 

It's not a bad idea, and since I'd have a carburetor that is designed to work with a 700r4, I could reasonably expect the TV cable to be tensioned properly. An early 4L60e has similar dimensions to the 700r4 but replaces the TV cable with the need for an aftermarket stand alone controller. There are plusses and minuses to either option.

I'm still undecided and since I've resigned myself to not being able to drive it again until the spring I still have time.

 

I'm still waiting for the machine shop to finish the heads and block. In the meantime Jet-Hot finished ceramic coating the exhaust manifolds. I spent some time with a flapper wheel on my grinder to clean the casting marks off before I sent them in and that was time well spent.


I also picked up a new oil pan and gave it my traditional metallic black paint job. It's just one of those things I like to do on something no one will ever see.


Tomorrow I'm driving over to the machine shop to find out where they are and what's a reasonable timeline. I'm also a few days away from pulling the trigger on a transmission.

 

This morning I pulled the dash and center console from the car for a few upgrades. I took advantage of the Labor Day sale at Speedhut and got 15% off a new set of gauges to replace the Smith's gauges. Some of the existing gauges were relatively accurate and others had no basis in reality. This will solve that issue.

While the dash is out I'll also take a look at the Delenair Mk2 and see what needs to be done while everything is accessible.

Finally, while the wood is in good shape there is some light cracking of the clear coat. I'll strip that down and re-clear it.

 

The bad news is the machine shop found a crack in one of my heads. The good news is that a used-but-serviceable head core is only $75 so not a show stopper.



The really bad news is that their shot-peen machine broke and my block is next in line for that. So I don't know when I'm getting that back.