1974 Daimler Double-Six VDP (higher axle stands)

Hi WL (Waxy?). I sometimes use magnets but with small pieces like that they can obscure the job. With the little ears I can extend them past the area I'm working on then hold them with magnets.

Anyway. With the IRS cage away for painting my attention turned to the shocks which will be fitted to it.

I was lucky enough to get 2 new XJ shocks from Ebay for £9.99 (just under £20 after P&P) back in March. The guy actually listed another 2 a couple of days later but I missed out on them thinking he'd accidentally re-listed the ones I bought

I can get 2 more the same for around £46 each (usually listed as being for series 3 only) but having got the last 2 for nearly ten times less am not parting with my money yet.

Offering them up to the original shocks they look a good inch shorter which got me thinking maybe the are only for series 3 but I checked the series 1,2 & 3 parts lists tonight and they all show the same part no. which suggests these shocks will fit any XJ model despite being shorter.

I also found that there is a removable sleeve inside the top eye of the shocks (C.17012) that you can transfer to the new shock. Still find it hard to believe the the car was driven about before I owned it with one missing.

Then again I also found out that it was driven with a compomnent missing from the power steering pump! I found it on the subframe and was gonna throw it away. I won't go into the whole thing again as I posted it on this thread some time ago (March 27 entry) retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=107118&page=7



sleeve C.17012 inside top eye pushes out easily



new QH LiP shocks are shorter than originals. 2 more needed



valve from inside the PAS pump had been lying on subframe since hoses were changed in mid eighties

rear cage look nice now shame to fit it back and get it all dusty again, don't forget to run a tap throught the fixings as the treads will be full of paint
I too have ordered all new bolts they are much nicer to work with even though they don't have a lead

What a build! You sir are an inspiration! I cannot wait for this big cat to return to the road!

I continue to be impressed by this thread. I have nothing more in depth to offer, you seem to have it all under control.

Volksangyl Thanks. I appreciate that. As I've said a few times now I think I'm through the worst of the build now and all that's really left is mechanical things and, armed with my parts lists and square eyes, I'm in control mentally taking each section at a time as the next challenge.

naki Yep that picture shows what a mudtrap it can be. One of the reasons I cut the old valance as far down as I could is so that it could be replaced again, if need be. I didn't use the whole depth of the repair panel so if one were to be fitted again there is still scope for it.
As for the engine. Unfortunately it's not been run at all in the 12 years I've had it and I believe it last ran in 1986. I have a pretty firm belief that as the engine isn't seized and it's only done about 60k miles it should be a fine. We'll see.....

In the meantime here are some pictures from Saturday afternoon where I grouped together and laid out all the exhaust parts I have for it. Old and new. Apologies if I go overboard with part numbers etc but I find it quite interesting.

I've been scouring the net for cheap exhaust parts for some time now and recently came up trumps with a LHS front downpipe C.43398 for £5 and a LHS link pipe C.4340 (long one that runs under length of floorpan) for £20. Had to pay for postage as well but considering I paid £42 for the RHS downpipe about 10 years ago it's not too bad.

As there are 6 parts, left and right, in the exhaust system and mine has been stored in pieces in the loft of the barn has been tricky keeping track of what was damaged/missing/servicable. Coupled with the fact that there are also different lengths of link pipes and downpipes and the silencer part no.s changed and can be listed under Jaguar part no's or GEX it was good to get it all out and get a handle on where I am.

A slight disappointment is that the new LHS link pipe is about an inch or two longer than the RH one although the parts no's are correct.

The series 1 and early series 2 V12s had longer downpipes than the later series 2 and therefore had a shorter link pipe but there were also 2 lengths of link pipes, as you had 2 door and 4 door cars. When the shorter downpipes came in longer link pipes were needed and again in 2 lengths for 2 or 4 door.

By the chassis no. my car should have the short downpipes and long link pipes but it was definitely fitted with the long early downpipes as it was only numbered 103 cars later than the change point.

I'll need to offer the parts up to the car to establish if the RH side one is too short or the LHS one is too long.

If it is the LHS link pipe which is wrong I could search for an early short link pipe as I picked up an early long LHS downpipe a few years ago. I think the early parts are very rare now tho so that may be a long search

Anyway. Here are the pics from Saturday



laid out for examination for 1st time. front to back




back to front. V12 exhaust system fittingly has 12 pieces in total - if you include chrome tailpipe trims




later (short) O/S C.43397 & N/S C.43398 downpipes with early (long) N/S downpipe C.37482




passenger side mid silencer replaced with genuine part C.35405 some time before 1986




driver's side back box (top) also replaced some time before car laid up. genuine part C.41591 used



rear ends of long under-floor link pipes all have same angle bends



early downpipe and early link pipe should have same combined length as late downpipe and late link pipe. why is this LHS late downpipe/link pipe combo a shade longer



late longer O/S & N/S link pipes flank remains of early short N/S one. differing lengths of new ones is worrying



driver's side over-axle pipe was at some point twisted under weight of mid silencer and I hacksawed it at damaged bit to get it off car many moons ago



passenger side back box probably the original. short front-pipe has rusted away completely. over-axle pipe was hacksawed to separate it when in-situ. welded back together again tho

Back in the winter I was working around the engine bay and tried not to notice these rusty bits on the inner wings where the front shocks are situated.

To do a really good repair on areas like this you'd usually want the engine out but that would add months (years?) to this project and as it has aircon I don't want to go to the expense of having someone down to discharge the system etc so had to do a quich patch up but they turned out ok.

I basically hammered away the rust scale then cut back the thin parts of the inner wing then sandblasted the strut mount-brackets which sit behind then put a plate over the holes.

It did help that at the time I was removing all the engine ancilliaries - so access was actually quite good.

You could also do them from the other side by taking off the suspension and removing the spot welds on the shock mounting brackets but, again, this would add months to the project.


passenger side inner-wing at shock absorber area




and again



after hammering trimming sandblasting and priming



access not bad when radiator and things out of the way



patch made up for passenger side




same with driver's side





tacking in



finished

Hi naki. I reckon they go here because there was no rustproofing between the inner wing and the shock mount-bracket spot welded to it. The rust then breaks out through the thinner panel, which is the inner wing.

I have got about a litre of the right colour paint (unthinned) which should be enough to do the visible repaired areas (rear valance/sills/rear arches/front wing noses).

It was about £80 so I dare say I could shell out for another couple of litres and do the rest of the car....one day

Anyway. Here's a gratuitous shot of a bit that I did back in the winter. Don't think I've covered the arch repairs yet but after it being without one for years the new one was on in about 2 nights.

Maybe try bolting the mounts to the body and put the cage on after - the slots would make sense then.

Just found this reply I got from a guy in Florida when I posed the question about the mounts on another forum last March

'I got the impression that the mounts are designed to be installed
on the car first. Once installed on the car, the protruding bolt
on the bottom of the mount is pointing down at an angle, not
completely vertical. The elongated slot is therefore necessary,
rather than a circular hole, as the slanted bolt would not go
through a circular hole when the IRS cage is raised into
position.

I hope the explanation makes sense - it's a bit hard to envisage.
Anyway - that's my belief on the reason why there's an elongated
slot when there's really no adjustment possible for the mount
positions.'

Makes sense I suppose.