Many thanks for the explanation, Thorsen, where on the unit do you plug in the USB stick, please? Somewhere on the front?

 

Greg,
This unit has two USB ports; one on the back and one on the front. I plugged my drive into the rear port as I wanted to leave the front port free to either plug in another USB drive or a phone. In the picture below the rear port is one of the black cables that come off the back. The other two are for a remote microphone (for making calls) and steering wheel controls.



There is also a USB port on the front. To access it, you flip open the 'Media' lid...




And you have access to an SD card slot, a USB port, and a conventional Aux-In



The drive I plugged into the rear port is my "standard" music from CD's I had purchased over the years. I'm partial to because they're very small but still decently sized.

 

Thanks Thorsen. Much appreciated.

 

I have yet another question about your radiator fans. There's a wire going to the sensor in the radiator. I would think that this needs to be grounded to work properly, or for the radiator to be grounded anyway. But its supported by four rubber bushings, which should isolate the radiator from the car. I believe that was the point of the bushings, to cut down on corrosion caused by the brass radiator and the aluminum engine having electricity flowing through them. With an aluminum radiator its probably less of an issue, so here's my question. Did you ground the radiator? Leave it as is and not think of it? Or think of it and decide its fine as is? If it is fine as is, what am I missing about the electrical diagram?

 

Are you talking about this post? If so, the key is to use a two-wire switch instead of a single wire switch. You're right - the radiator is effectively electrically isolated by means of the rubber bushings.

Thomas

Update - while the bushings isolate the radiator from the body, I don't think it electrically isolates it. I just went and measured and there's no resistance from the top of the radiator to ground.

 

The temperature sensor that came with my radiator only has one pole. That's why I was assuming it needs to ground through the radiator. I'll probably get the two pole switch you linked to, just to avoid the risk. Its also a lot shorter.

 

you could also find a way to ground your radiator or sensor if you want to save a few bucks

 

While I was very happy with the look and sound of my new head unit, I felt there was still some room to improve. This weekend I added an amplifier and a powered subwoofer to the system. I should have just done this to begin with but silly me trying to stick to a budget.

I tried putting the subwoofer under the driver seat but there just wasn't enough room. I had to settle for mounting it on the right side of the trunk. It would probably sound better in the cabin but there just wasn't enough room.


I mounted the amplifier on the left side of the trunk. It helps hide all the extra fluids I keep back there.


I still need to take it out on the road but testing it in my drive-way shows a vast improvement over last week.

 

That unit looks so much more at home in this car than the alpine I ended up with a few years ago. I can’t believe that Alpine has no interest in taping into the classic car market at all.





Of course what I really want is the “Retrofit original”Jaguar head unit they offering, but at over 1000 dollars it would need to have wireless Applecar play, which it does not.




But your head-unit definitely works in there.
I just might have to swap mine out for a model like yours.

 

The Jaguar retrofit unit is pretty cool but didn't have the aesthetic I was looking for. I was looking for something that looked like it came from the late 80's/early 90's.
Your Alpine isn't that bad as far as modern head units go. A lot of them have spinning/flashing lights that are annoying.
And I agree - it's amazing that no one manufacturer has really tapped the 80's/90's market. You can find all kinds of units that look like they're form the 60's/70's, but the 80's/90's are largely ignored.

 

My wife and I took the jaguar out for a cruise yesterday afternoon. It's been really hot in Chicago lately but I enjoyed the 40* air blowing from the AC and listening to some good tunes. I was thinking to myself - 'it doesn't get much better than this'. Silly me

Yesterday evening I was washing my cars in the driveway when my widowed neighbor came over. She's thinking about moving and is looking for a home for her late husband's (I think) 1968 Mustang (I think) fast-back. I haven't seen it in 10+ years since her husband passed. Would I be willing to take it? She wants it to go somewhere she knows it will be loved and put back together correctly.

That would normally be an easy question to answer, but I'm out of room. To do this I'd either have to rent storage for the Jaguar (not going to happen), leave the Jaguar down at my dad's house, or sell it. Dad already has enough cars and wouldn't be able to drive it as much as it really needs. The Jaguar is just about done and running great - I don't really want to sell it.

I'm also not super big into American cars but I've never had a Mustang (or any Ford, for that matter) so it might be fun.

It's a good problem to have but I have a few weeks before I need to get back to her. I know which way this forum is slanted but any thoughts?

 

i'll love it!
I'll love it!

 

I vote keep the Jag (obviously). You've put so much work into it so quickly that it would be a shame to sell it so soon. The obvious solution is to build a third bay on your garage. That way you can have everything! Whats the status of the MG? We all know that the XJ-S is going to handle way better than the mustang, at least without serious work. There are cars that I would sell my XJ-S to make space for, but that isn't one of them personally.

 

I like the way you think! I'm waiting for one of my immediate neighbors to sell so I can annex their land and build a mega garage

The MGB was my first car and I've had it for 28 years. Dad and I restored it together when I was in school and I've kept it in good shape ever since. Here's a much younger and thinner me the night we brought it home. It's realistically not going anywhere.

You're right - the Jaguar is a much better cruiser than the Mustang ever could be. They're two different animals (no pun intended).

 

If you sell the XJS you will ever after deeply regret it, end up buying another, but it will be "first love" syndrome, your self-inflicted loss will mean no subsequent XJS will ever feel the same.
Not only that, when you drive the Mustang you will wonder why you ever bought it. So here is what you do:

• finish car
• take the Mustang budget and take Madame on a 2000 mile road trip/second honeymoon all over the places you want to go, free as air, stopping where you like, having an adventure - in XJS comfort.
• stop having silly ideas!

 

I love American cars and think Mustangs are great. I work on 'em all the time. In fact I'm in the middle of a mechanical recommissioning of a '68 Mustang GT convertible as we speak.

From a hobbyist standpoint you'd probably have a lot of fun owning, fixing-up, modifying, and driving the Mustang. There are many good reasons they've remained hugely popular over the decades.

But....if you can't have both I recommend that you keep the Jag. For many good reasons.

Cheers
DD

 

Lots of great information here guys - thanks! I'm leaning towards keeping the Jaguar.

 

I am confident that if you show my point 2 to Madame, she will put you right!

 

Another thought re the Mustang. I'd like to quote the first post of this tread:

You had an XJ-S, you tried something else, and came back to the XJ-S. If you want to make a habit out of spending lots of time and money making really nice XJ-Ss for people, go ahead and buy the Mustang. Because you'll be back. You've already tried it and found out. So go buy the Mustang and fix it up, but you'll be back in a Jag in a couple of years and starting from scratch again. But having spent more on the Mustang than the XJ-S could ever need in that time.

 

did I miss an update on your Ferrari project, Doug?