I could place the bonnet on the car and work from below to manage the clearance part - or at least set the max height allowing a gap for the bonnet to move (although I don't think it will that much).

Tempted to get the tank (this one) and see how it goes - I wonder how many washer bottles I'll be buying before I hit on one that works - I long for the days when you could walk around a vehicle breakers yard with a tape measure -

that is a summary of several conversations .... at least in the US there are places you can still go and poke around - so now I'm reduced to poking around ebay and other sources ...

 

That tank looks fine, Ben

 

Ben
Why not just fit two aftermarket reservoirs?

 

I have been looking at options for locating these things and it isn't looking that promising. I found an ideal tank but it is 60mm too wide - height and depth fine. There are places to locate a tank but there is no easy remedy for locating the filler. The health and safety BS in this country sucks, I have yet to encounter a vehicle recycler with anything more than a single digit IQ, there is no way to go on a scavenger hunt and I'm not delaying the rebuild for it - this car MUST be back on its wheels and mobile by the Autumn (it is a pain in the hole where it is currently parked and is preventing any work taking place on the other cars).

I don't have the money to burn or the space for buying stuff that I'm not 100% sure is going to work - there is so little useable space despite the car's size.

 

@Greg in France Do you think the expansion tank from a 4.0 would work - this way I could use the later washer 'stuff' and the expansion tank - looks like it might be tight on the air box though for a V12.

Anyone know where does the later 4.0 keep their vacuum reservoir ? If I could relocate the vacuum reservoir that would allow the use of the later washer bottle etc.

Thinking about this I could relocate the vacuum vessel to behind the left wing where the recovery tank would be - wonder if it would fit there ?? ...

 

No idea what a 4 litre expansion tank looks like.
People have moved the brake vac reservoir from the RHS front to the LHS front (you just run a good quality decent bore flexible vac tube across the bottom of the rad), and then fitted the OEM washer stuff in the RHS front. This is the easiest fix for you.

 

I am going with that solution. Bits ordered - except the hose - I am first going to explore putting the vac tank in the rear space of the right hand wing - no biggy if it is too big for there but it doesn't look like it is. I have some 8mm kunifer pipe (can't recall why I bought it now) so I'll run across the car with that if I need to.

I need to source the cross pipe for the front of the engine - so if anyone spots one or has one please let me know - I've drawn a blank so far on this part. I may see if some kind soul will make one up in stainless - it's only two bends and a teensy bit of work to include hose retention ridges.

 

The only hard part is the central inlet up from the water pump; but nothing a decent guy cannot do. Stainless is a great idea!
Out of interest, Ben, I have just had my radiator bleed fitting fail on me. I was looking for something and my hand just pulled slightly at the hose attached and "click" it broke the fir-tree piece. I fixed it better than new with a 6mm steel hose joiner cut in half and expoxied into the fitting nut, miles stronger than new. Pics attached. I suggest you do the same in advance!

Broken fitting unscrewed from the 90 degree fitting. By the way, fibre washers are far better than copper in this application, IMO.

Close up of the broken fir tree fitting, the walls of which were was less than 1mm thick. The broken end was just a press fit into the nut and was easily driven out

6mm connector cut in half

It dropped into the nut perfectly and the wider part stopped it coming right through

Epoxied in with top notch marine epoxy, if I need to remove the fitting the entire thing will be unscrewed from the radiator as a unit

All ready to connect to the flexible

 

Way to go Mr MacGyver ... I reckon your garage must look similar to mine the way you can lay your hands on stuff like this - especially that barb insert - I have all kinds of stuff like this laying around but don't ask me if I could find it without emptying every box in the garage - or house come to that - I can totally empathise with squirrels and nuts.

I am looking at this sort of thing - I'm retaining the original rad - these aren't what I am buying just part of the hunt Banjo Tails but I think banjo is likely to be the path I follow.

I also found a place that does brass fittings like this



and this but I can get similar in brass with an 'o' ring seal.






Not sure about sealing a BSPP though - which is why I started chasing down banjo's and fittings similar to those I use on hydraulics n such. I do plan to run from radiator to expansion mostly in 8mm kunifer similar to what you did, I'll keep it at a high level on the inner wing and nr the top, bent to suit and with only a couple of short hose links. I haven't 100% committed to a tank yet - I'm still exploring - I do have some irons in that particular fire - found a really nice looking thing for a Landrover TD5 - but it is a lot of money if I can't make it fit -




Other than the final selection of expansion tank and bleed fittings I have now sourced everything, Ben @ Simply Performance has been super helpful and patient. I didn't manage to get a cross pipe in stainless but since they're making the filler neck version this should be a breeze for them so it is on the wish list.

 

This:

Could be ideal, as long as it does not foul the bonnet. What is the thread on the rad, by the way? BSPP?

 

This maybe? subject to thread size:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193777705431
or ask these guys
http://macfittings.co.uk/hydraulics/
or something here
https://www.air-way.com/hydraulic-fi...bow-series-124

 

It's a parallel thread so BSPP is my guess since none of my metric thread gauges work on it. The thread diameter comes in at 9.59mm which is spot on the diameter for a 1/8" BSPP (I so wish that sellers would learn to indicate parallel or taper) the pitch is .75mm / .76 and I counted 10 threads per 9mm - which is close to a 1/8" BSPP but the thread pitch doesn't seem to work since 1 /8" BSPP is 28tpi which I calculates as 8.16 threads per 9mm but I'm not exactly following a toolroom standard in my measuring and I have no imperial pitch gauges - something that I am remedying today - been planning to for years but always got by.

They aren't expensive so I've ordered some bits in the appropriate sizes for verification anyway - my rad is still on the bench while I fit the new shroud and fans so I can't test in car yet but I can confirm measurements - I will post all this detail and the materials used once finalised, fitted and functional.

I already have this part which I bought from the same person that rebuilds AAV's and provides the extended banjo's for the oil feeds on the back of the head and the aluminium half moons - yes I have all those too. It even looks the part as it has Jaguar engraved on the bolt - all I need is the barb fitting.

 

Remember I asked how you knew about my OCD - here's some more support - I'm sure that Grant sits back with a tinny and smiles at all those going bankrupt following his lists .... I've stopped adding up the money I've poured into this car and that is just to manage the mechanicals, I've barely scratched the surface on the exterior and interior (new roof lining etc is installed, fully functional original antenna, leather cleaned but needs a specialist in the rear).



Ya can't see the text on the half moons in service but it is there.

 

Never add up what you spend on a project like this. You'll only make yourself discouraged.

Chalk it up to Entertainment Expense and Mental Health. It's a Lot cheaper than some other things and you have something tangible to show for it, even if your neighbors think you're nuts. What do they do with their time? I bet they don't have nearly as much Pure FUN as you do!
(';')

 

Neighbors - try family - the neigbors regard me as the village eccentric - I'm a sucker for the underdog and the rare - I have bought things simply to stop them going to those that won't appreciate or will simply scrap for parts - I have a garage full of in some cases unobtainium. I really need to make sure it gets labelled so that if I shuffle off this mortal toil that those that follow have half a clue what they're holding.

@Greg in France I have 100% confirmed that the thread is 1/8" BSPP.

 

Thanks Ben I am glad to know. And it is mortal coil, not toil! And you cannot have too many bits, that's for sure.

 

You know I wondered about that but coil just didn't seem right - time to learn more about this phrase and what 'coil' means in this context ... just seemed a better way to say snuff it, croaked, checked out ... not a journey I'm in any rush to make but who is.

Edit : One more grey cell consumed ...

16th century phrase used by Shakespeare

 

@Greg in France A question if I may re the pictures of your car earlier in the thread.

I also plan to add drains at the bottom of the windscreen pillar, in one of your references to this you mention blocking something - does this simply refer to blocking the open end under the wing where your drains are or did you do some trickery in the windscreen channel.

I will add an observation for others coming here, it is related to what Greg did on his car and I shall do on mine. The extensive use of self tapping screws by Jaguar is one reason corrosion can get in and get so bad in the areas these things exist, they damage the paint and expose the metal, the rust and corrosion in these spots is guaranteed. Such spots as the reinforcing bar under the wing (where the wing mounts), the wings are fitted with self tappers - they aren't bolts, locations on the car where the trims are fitted, front apron to front wings, front spoiler and chin plate - these things are all over the place. I don't have a eureka solution but these are the spots to focus your attention - flood the area they live with wax or old engine oil periodically, where I can I am substituting nuts and bolts but there are loads of places this isn't possible.

 

Ben
I have blocked off the gutter at the top front corner each side of the car above the windscreen. If you look carefully, there is a slot in the bottom of the gutter that allows rainwater to go down the inside of the A pillar chromes and drain in a pool on the scuttle where my drains are. Just block it with gunk and preserve the A pillar!

 

Work on relocating the vacuum tank commenced, right front wing removed, vacuum tank removed. I tried mocking up the vacuum tank in the rear of the right wing but it would be a real tight squeeze. Whilst I think it would fit it would be a real bear and then it may foul something - two wiring harnesses don't make it easy. As a result it will relocate to the same location but on the left of the car as was suggested, this should be fairly straightforward.

In some ways I'm glad I started this as there was a significant rust patch under the top of the wing near the windscreen, no amount of products were going to fix that with the wing in place - the inside of the wing above the headlight was also pretty flaky. I had to cut out a section and weld in new at the same position on the left wing as the left wing had actually penetrated and blistered the surface. I also found what appeared to be putty between the right wing and the headlamp mount - don't recall there being anything like it on the left - I wonder if this was done by Jaguar or A.N.Other ... I doubt I'll be replacing it.