1965 Mk2 Jaguar - progress goes "boink"

Very interested, get posting! Looks a very very nice thing to own.

I adore the look of these but why anyone would prefer a manual over an Auto is beyond me.

Saw a few at the Departure Lounge meet last month in Alton. From Concours to total restoration needed, they ALL look cool as!

Really beautiful car, lucky fella!

No problem Mr Earmuffs. I've got a long reach, high lift trolley jack like this and some tall axle stands like these and basically jacked it up and put the axle stands on the jacking points just behind the front wheels on the Cortina which means the front is even higher. I spent years trying to do stuff under the car with a cheapy Halford jack which just about lifted the wheels off the ground - the high lift jack was the best (car related) purchase I ever made apart from a mig welder! Hope that helps. R

Glad you like it - manual, because I don't really do autos and



Believe it or not the Mk2 was a "sports saloon" so it needs to be a manual!

Do you have a thread for the Cortina as well?

Thank you.

Thanks for all the comments folks.

So, having got the Jag safely home it had to live in a lockup as the garage at home was full of the Cortina which I was desperately trying to get back on the road for Cortinas to Cortina 2012. One day, I decided to take the Jag out - turned the key, pushed the starter button and nothing. So I turn to the trusty Haynes Manual to see what is needed to replace the starter motor, and it says.....first remove the centre console, and lift the carpet, find the access panel and remove, with a socket and a long reach extension bar loosen the top bolt on the starter motor, then go under the car and loosen the lower bolt then maneauver the starter motor out. Hmmmm, methinks I can see this being a right bar steward, I think I need some help.

So I speak to a classic Jag place about a mile from home to see about getting them to do the work. They tell me that while following the Haynes Manual will get you so far, it is quite likely that once unbolted, the starter motor can't physically be removed from the car - as these were hand built cars there is quite a lot of dimensional differences between them so some fit, some don't. Also, there are several different engine, gearbox and bellhousing combinations which means that you can't tell which starter motor you need until you have it all apart and there are some combinations for which there is not a standard starter motor available (guess which one I had!). So I thought it best to let the pros sort it out. This is where the fun begins

My brother in law has a Landrover Defender 110, so I roped him in to tow the Jag to the garage as it was only a mile or so, what could possibly go wrong. All was going well until we reached a roundabout and needed to turn right. Brother in law pulls away and a small hatchback appears from nowhere and proceeds to try and drive between us. I jump on the anchors as I didn't want to be pulled into the path of the car, and small hatchback carries on through the tow rope which acted like a giant cheese wire, slicing through the plastic bumper radiator etc of the hatchback! As we are blocking the road quite comprehensively at this point, I suggest to the hatchback driver that she pull off the roundabout and we will exchange details. So she drives round the corner.....and disappears!

So we proceed to the garage and report it to the police afterwards. Inspecting the damage to our cars - zero to the Landrover and a slightly squashed crossmember on the Jag where the tow rope was attached - pretty lucky really. We never heard from the owner of the small hatchback.

Garage got to work replacing the starter, and guess what, because the car had been converted to manual from automatic it had a combination of gearbox, bellhousing and engine for which there is no standard starter motor. So mods had to be made to make one fit. Anyway, high torque starter fitted and it starts again!

So the expense starts - I bought this car because it appeared not to need much doing to it!!!!

Tune in next time for catastrophic oil leaks, braised up pressure relief valves and oil filters which don't filter.  

awww, man!....I am both very jealous and empathetic!....what I Kurfuffle in the roundabout....just totally not paying attention was she!....then to drive off like that....well too bad....

I guess oil leaks and things needing attention will be the order of the day now...do old cars ever get sorted?

my wagon is fairly new and leaks like a sieve. Bimmers!


Beautiful looking jag...try not to forget how nice it looks when covered in grease!



JP

PS from the last pic, I can see wire ties, new clear hoses, upated electrical connections, some sort of rheostat, new paint....so it at the very least, has been looked after?