Really? I still think I am not going fast enough ....

I am still soaking the center armrest in leather conditioner, I have the impression it is improving.
Probably need some hot sunshine for a day, that's what we are missing a bit this year so far.

I actually removed an antenna switch (and all wires going all the way from the steering column to the antenna itself) the PO installed.
I hate the look of this "soooo aftermarket" things, it needed to go
If I will ever do this, it will be a neat switch, located under the center arm rest.

By the way, love the stance of your car on the Montreal's, very nice.

 

Well, an other (temporary) failure.
Tried to attack the sway bar bushings from the side as I lack the extensions to do it from the top.
Knew from the forum that it was controversial, and failed due to a lack of space to get any momentum on those little bolts.

With the fender liners out, I was able to to do some clean up work though.
So I cleaned the fog light lenses (totally fogged up with dust from the PO respray job), fixed the height adjusters (were not connected), reconnected the overflow bottle for the coolant (all hanging loose), and rearranged some of the wiring and hoses.

Today seems to be a beautiful day, so maybe just some driving first

 

@Eric,

Your speedy progress puts me to shame. Keep it up and keep us informed of any tricky problems you managed to solve.

I bet your particular Cat is the only one prowling the streets of Taiwan.

 

An other reason I want to speed things up a bit are my less than perfect working conditions.
I am working in B2 of our apartment complex, which is of course always a bit dark, and requires a clean up after each day of work.
Well, it is never cold, that is maybe the upside ...
And yes, I have 4 jack stands, but prefer to keep the car as low and horizontal as possible, always afraid of earthquakes here.



And here is still a pic of the lower shock bushing, it fell in pieces when we applied some force on it to press it out.
The uppers were reasonably OK, surely replaced at some point not too long ago, and it is beyond me how they can do the uppers, but fail on the lowers.



Finally, with the front wheels off, I had them in the shower (while the wife was out of course ), and they cleaned up rather well.
They have some rash, and I will certainly refurbish them at some point, but for now they do OK at anything more than 1/2 meter ...

 

Thanks David.
I actually managed to track down an old 'friend of a friend' yesterday, who happens to have the same car but convertible, very very low milage.
I knew he had it, but failed to get in contact with him for a long time.
I guess a meet-up will be in the books soon.
But for the rest, yes, they are rare, like in your case I guess.

 

The pic of the wheels reminded me to suggest a switch to solid lug nuts while you are at it. The original ones will eventually start to fall apart after a few off/on cycles. They will also become noisy (kind of clickety clacky) as the outer covers loosen from the underlying steel nut. It happened on all four of my cars so far. Others have had issues with them too.

 

I was busy on the wife's car the last 2 weeks, so not too much news on the XK8.

Did however manage to replace the front sway bar bushes and the rear shock bushings.
The last remaining suspension noise is gone, that's always nice as I hate such a nice car with those cloncks ...

Also, the last parts arrived from the UK, chrome splitter, overriders, seat belt buckles, chrome trunk plinth and a 6 speed shifter assembly.

Hope to finish up the first phase with these this week, then only the small front suspension issue left.
I long for a longer ride in this car.

 

Where did you source the front buckles? I am going to need a couple of those eventually. Outer plastics have started to crack.

 

I found that most used ones are more expensive than new.
So, considering that plastic ages, I bought them new from British Parts.
They do around 80 GBP each, come with the bolt and the connector, but not the leather sock (which is 1 minute work to change).

 

Cleaned up the front, installed the new splitter (old one was damaged and the chrome held with tape) and the overriders (missing altogether and replaced with some stainless steel brackets ...), then fabricated a holder for our weird seized license plate.
I love the look of grill, and don't feel the need for any mesh on this car.
Just need to modify the holder if I have really nothing else to do any more.




​​​​​

 

I see you, Eric....It took a minute to figure it out though!
Why are your High Beams Blue?

Billy Clyde

 

The car came with aftermarket HID lights in 6000k on the dipped beams, and I think it looks odd if all others are still yellow.
So I changed the highs, the fogs and the parking light to 6000k as well, but those halogens have a blue coating.
That's what you see reflecting.

 

So the first phase is coming to an end.

I replaced the broken seatbelt buckles with the new ones.
Thought a 10 min job like on my XJ, but the wires are more obstructed by other stuff, and not having too much room doesn't help there

Then replaced the chrome trunk plinth with a new one without a camera-hole, and with a complete button.
The trunk button still did not work after that, and I found the wire to be straight broken at the hinge section.
Took the loom out, soldered a new piece in, and an other issue off the list ...

​​​Then yesterday finally took the car for a first ride to Taipei, then made some pictures on the way back.

It's time to update the TO DO list, lots of issues can be crossed out, time for a serious ride ...







​​​​​

 

Your Console Glove Box looks real good....Tell me more on the process you used to get the Leather smoothed out and clean......Mine looks just like yours's did with the wrinkles and dirt! I think they looked pretty much alike and I would like to redo mine...

Billy Clyde

 

Well, it surely looks better than before, but it is not as smooth as the picture suggests ...
If you take the console out of the car (2 screws), you can carefully remove the leather after removing the plastics and cup holder.
The glue is old and lets go easily.
Then it is a combination of moisture or re-condition, heat (hair blower or an iron with a damp cloth), and some stretching to get most of the wrinkles out.
It is vinyl, not real leather, so heat works well, just be careful.
Then glue it back on the cushion, working your way from the front to the rear.
Just watch out that the sewed parts line up with the shape of the cushion.
​​​​​​Mine is tighter than before, taking some of the remaining wrinkles out.

 

So this morning I fixed my suspension imbalance temporarily.
I went through an other round of inspections, but will be damned if I can pinpoint the cause.
Everything seems tight and solid, no bushes or ball joints with a lot of play.
I presume only a full suspension job will bring the culprit to light, but I prefer to delay that to next year.
So this morning, after some trial end error, I added a 12.5 mm spacer on top of the left upper shock.
It raised the front left some 20mm, the right some 10mm, and equaled the rear.
Whole car is now running at 390mm ride height.
Have to admit it is not a solution I favor or recommend, but it will help me through the summer.
Will check alignment next week, but I presume that is not even too far off.
Car drives perfect, no pulling, no noises, and the steering wheel is in the middle again.

 

 

Yesterday I removed the rear silencers, then cut off the tips.
Installed some Rezistanz tips I had on my X308, and which I always considered a tat too large.
But they look great on the XK8.





Today I just took the car on a tour on the north coast of Taiwan, as a little reward for myself for all the work done.
You see the left front came up almost an inch, looking as it should on a non lowered car.

 

Eric,

During the last Month you have made a nice looking Car a Beautiful Car!! I really like the new Exhaust Tips! They really make the rear look aggressive!

Congratulations on all the work you have done, as it really looks nice!

What have you replaced the rear Mufflers with?

Proud of you!

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

Didn't do much the last weeks, other than loosing all my technical documentation and sample pictures for all of our cars ... First crashed the laptop, then the backup ... what a bummer ...

Anyway, had to bring my wife to the middle of the island for some family stuff today.
Decided it to be the perfect try-out for the XK8, and she performed perfectly.

The XK8 is definitely a bit more sportive orientated than our super cruiser Vanden Plas, with a bit harder drive, and a more sporty intake.
Still very very comfortable, and an absolute dream to drive.
And she looks sooo damn good...