Chris,

Thank you.

Welcome to the Forums. When time allows, please do an Intro in teh New Members Area, it keeps the Boss happy.

Shockers, I have used KYB and Gabriel.
KYB is #551022.
Springs, NEVER replaced springs on any of my Jags, never had an issue with them, and the quality and spec available today is pure crap compared to OE. Ride quality is gone sadly. Same with shockers, fancy adjustable blah, blah, ruin that same Grand Tourer ride.
My Gabriel book, in the shed, is hiding somewhere, and all I found tonight was a bloody Joe Blake, I hate snakes. Tomorrow I will look some more for that catalogue. Joe should be gone??
Front spring removal. I had at the time the Jaguar Tool, so lucky me. Threaded rod, LONG nuts, and that is safe. A few threads on the XJS Tech Section on that. Greg in France has a good write up on just that. Be bloody careful with that front spring, and common sense, Navy man so LOTS of common sense, is the key, and take your time.

Efans. Oh dear, the Falcon fan pack I used way back is NLA from Ford (was a Bosch Germany unit), and the chinese copies are rubbish (polite for the Forums). A Scottish member used an X Type fan pack, stated it fit up simply and cheap as chips in the UK. The options for Efans now is endless, and a quick wander around a wrecking yard, with the radiator width and height written down, and a tape measure, should have you sorted.
A thread in the XJS section would be great, and give the Aussie perspective, which is very different to the ROW.
Keeping these archives topped up is the only the followers are going to keep these beast alive when we are gone.

 

Eggleton. Hi mate. I am new here to and am currently restoring a 1988 XJS coupe. I couldn't afford or find a cheap convertible so good on you. Also I wish I had a shed and hoist like yours, mine is on jack stands. Maybe we should set up a current XJS restoration thread. I'd be keen to share my experience with engine, rear and front suspension, fuel tank, LED light conversion, instrument rebuild, relay and light electrics, upholstery tips, issues and findings etc. Good luck BTW. Once you get into them they are quite simple once you understand them.

 

G'day Lachy, many thanks for your message. Yes I was lucky to find the convertible when I did, but as mentioned it is in need of some TLC after I have had it for nearly 10 years. I have already done a fair bit to the car, but I'm waiting for the panel beater to be able to paint the car before I start reassembling the interior properly.
To date I have: restored the door cards, got new skins for the seats, obtained some new wood panels, repaired the convertible hood open and closing hydraulic pump, got all new door rubber seals, and got some refurbished rubber beam covers (bumper bar),.
In the engine bay I have replaced the fuel injectors, replaced the ignition coils, new exhaust system, and all the engine work described when in Darwin including new: cam chain, tensioner, water pump; rear main oill seal, torque converter oil seal. I have also replaced seals in the diff, but they need doing again and I'll get them done when I drop the rear cage out, to do the brakes, the diff still sounds very rumbly and generally nothing like my DSeries 1 Daimler which is as quiet as it is supposed to be. I will try and remember to take more photos as i go and explain any issues and solutions as I encounter them. I have a fair few pictures of redoing the door skins so I'll post them once I have uploaded from my phone to the laptop. Cheers, Chris

 

Chris. Yep great. Great fun hey and expansive (expensive). Hahaha. I just posted a new resto thread. See how it goes.

 

Haven't been on for some time, first thig I see is this. Great informative write up. Thanks for the time you took

 

Grant, can you repost PDF please if possible. Cheers

 

OK, but its still there in Post #1 as an attachment

 

Thanks very much for putting the time into this. With all my injuries including tennis elbow and trigger thumb, etc., reading through your document makes me contemplate "throwing-in-the-towel" on my lovely, 2nd owner XJS. Oh, and I forgot to mention TIME!

I just can't do it anymore and no longer have my vehicles in "backyard" driveway (behind a gate). My small, publicly-visible, 2 car driveway in front of the garage is sloped (and dangerous for jacking), and the HOA and board members have nothing better-to-do than to harass car guys like me.

I have, however met a kid (19yr old son of a master mechanic) who comes to the house to do oil changes. He races and wrenches on his cars. He gave me a reasonable estimate to remove the fuel rail. I'm ordering the fuel hoses from SD Faircloth in hopes that I'll be able to put it together and have the kid re-install it in the evening under lights, hopefully, undetected by the roving, daytime looky-loos...

 

Fantastic write-up. A lot is "typical older car things" but it's nice to see the specifics unique to each marque. This is good stuff to prepare for the arrival of my XJ-S HE; maintenance catch-up is always expected on an older car especially when it's one that is being gradually freshened up. I'll get to making my "Intro" thread shortly, always got to keep the bosses happy