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Well i've just caught up with this and I must say you win the classic photo competition again.
That back view with the sunset sums up classic ownership for me.
I remember when you had the Spitfire, and there was a photo of it in a cold December with a Christmas tree stuffed in the passenger seat, and I just thought that looked so festive and classic at the same time!
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I've loved the work you've done on this Jag (absolutely epic work to be frank, in my opinion) but the car does absolutely nothing for me (even though it would be perfect for my family - there are 5 of us - as a third car or what have you). It fits the purpose/spec I need but leaves me totally cold so I can understand why you're thinking of letting it go and having something else. I'd take an SD1 for example over the Jag (but that's just me and you might think eurgghhh!)  What are you hankering after? With your skills you could pick up a basket-case and bring it up to an incredible standard - adding the value as you go along. |
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goldnrust
West Midlands
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Posts: 1,887
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Thanks toast00, I don't really think of myself as a photographer, video is my medium, but every now and then a photo seems to just work, which is nice. oioisavaloy, as you say some car's just don't work on an emotional level. For me, and I totally understand why people love them but, German cars just don't connect. Part of the complexity of my decisions around the Daimler, is that it very much does connect with me but maybe more as an object to admire, than really connecting with my soul when I drive it? As an aside, I find that there's a disconnect between the cars I might day dream about when browsing Ebay on a dark autumn night, or I might watch on YouTube, and the cars that I would like when in real life. I guess it's easy to get hyped about fast/loud/wild cars from the sofa, but living with them (and I've done that) is kinda different. When I bought the Daimler, I'd been missing the big old luxury car thing ever since I sold my '96 XJ6 (and before I bought the XJ6 ever since I sold my Alfa 166), but after the XJ I knew that running a car like that as a daily again wasn't something I wanted to do. So by getting the Daimler as my 2nd car I'd be able to enjoy cruising around in a big old barge and pair that with the classic car hobby side of things and I'd have my modern Fiat 500 to be a practical daily and the be able to rev hard and row through the gears if I wanted to 'drive' something a bit more. I've essentially been wondering if I've got things backwards! I've had the idea of a classic Fiat 500 (tuned up and tweaked to my taste) in the back of my mind for several years on an off. I've been wondering if pairing that, as a super simple and small car that can be a proper 'toy' with no expectations upon it other than Sunday afternoon fun, with a more modern luxury car, like a Jaguar XF, as a daily would solve my 'problems' with my current pairing. I actually went to look at a 1971 Fiat 500L project last week, but sadly it was really more rotten than I was willing to take on, and for once I did the right thing and walked away. But then in the days since, I've also been reconsidering whether I've just got a bit disillusioned with the Daimler after all the unexpected problems. I'd put so much pressure on my self to love it on the first drive, that the reality could never really live up to that dream, especially after the frustrations of the engine and gearbox. I don't want to be too hasty to sell the Daimler and end up regretting it, as I did with my Lancia Fulvia. To follow on from that relationship analogy from the previous page, there's a lot of baggage in the relationship with the Daimler, and it's easy to see the grass as greener on the other side. New projects are a clean fresh start with none of that emotional baggage, no expectation that it will overheat in the back of your mind every time you drive it, no nagging doubts of 'whats that tapping sound, I'm sure that wasn't there yesterday, I don't want to rebuild the engine again' and so on. If I stick with the Daimler then now the restoration is 'done' (well once I've painted the roof) then if I want new challenges I can jump on some of those ideas I had in mind right at the back of the project that I know I'd enjoy. Things like fuel injection conversion, forced induction or upgrading the gearbox. On the other hand, will those mods really make me enjoy driving the Daimler more? If I don't end up enjoying the drive any more then I'll probably just be back at this crossroads in a few months time. As you can see some of this stuff I've been turning over in my head for months/years, I'm still torn and my mind has changed back and forth seemly weekly. With the new lockdown, there will essentially be no buying or selling in the next month so that forces me to take a step back of consider.  |
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,355
Club RR Member Number: 64
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I know where you’re coming from. I spent seven years “improving” my Rover P4. Each step forward was invariably accompanied by an unexpected backward one. Each successful tweak highlighting a weakness elsewhere. In the end, when my wife was expecting and we really did need to rationalise the fleet, I pretty much jumped at the chance to let it go. Even with the eye-watering financial loss, I was relieved to see the back of it.
The moral, for me, was to not try to make something that was simply too far removed from the starting point. I wanted a swift, sure footed, yet still comfortable and relaxing when not pressing on. I ended up with something that went well, but was never what you could call relaxed. I should have bought a Jag. 🤣
If what you have doesn’t give you the “feeling”, then likely it never will.
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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goldnrust
West Midlands
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Posts: 1,887
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It's a valid point Glen, if it's not right' trying to force it to fit doesn't normally work, and that's one of the points in my mind on the 'cons' of keeping the Daimler.
Thinking of rationalising the fleet, it should also be said that I have limited driveway space, so long term the option of keeping the Daimler and buying a new project isn't there. I also know there's only so many hours in the day, and so much budget for vehicles! So my fleet of 2 cars (at least one of them smallish due to space) and the motorbike is kinda my maximum. I'd be perfectly happy, in theory, to go back to 1 car and the bike (maybe a 2nd bike as I'd have space then....) but I think finding that one car would be even more difficult! haha.
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duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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It's strange to say, but 2 cars is still a compromise when you want something fun and something reliable and comfy, and at least one has to be retro and modifiable. The danger of having a comfy reliable daily and an uncomfortable fun retro is that you may not get much chance to drive the latter (especially if you keep taking it apart!).
Maybe you need 2 retros that are both relatively modern. Then you've got a retro cruiser and a retro plaything, and you could daily either depending on mood? That was my plan, before my wife and daughter forbade me from selling the EV.
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I'm totally in agreement with you goldnrust. Cars aint easy. They get under your skin (for better or for worse) and elicit emotions in you (good and bad).
It's not just metal, rubber and a bit of leather thrown in for good measure.
I agree with what you say (in terms of perhaps turning the thinking around - so having a simple, yet evocative drive for highdays and holidays and a more luxurious day to day). I think that could work.
Complexity makes for a difficult 3rd car. What you want is something that starts, doesn't give you grief and every journey is memorable and most important - when the urge takes you to go for a drive.....you can.....without wasting 15 mins phaffing trying to get her started and then breaking down 20 mins later......
Trouble is, the daimler is that car now (reliable I mean, because of the tremendous hard work and £ you've invested in it) but there's perhaps too much emotion wrapped up in it for you to ever be wholly relaxed in it - I'd be seriously thinking of selling that and finding something like a TR4 or 5 perhaps.
Frankly I'd like an imp but that's my particular fetish this month.
I really, really like E30 bmw's (had two so far) and I find them to be easy to work on and I loved the fact that if the car had been sat around for a while it would be recalcitrant at first but as the fluids warmed up and the engine settled and you started driving her she just got better and better. I had a 325i touring and did over 125,000 miles in - I bought it from a bloke that had bought it at a goodwood Revival auction, after he got back and fronted at a sponsor's lunch!
But I digress.
There's a lot to be said for your way of thinking. Up until corona, I was doing 30,000 miles a year which necessitated frugality and reliability. but now.....I think I'll do no more than 5,000 miles a year. Oh yes! so my car circumstances have changed dramatically and so has my list! Goodbye diesel, hello straight 6 or v8.....!
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goldnrust
West Midlands
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Posts: 1,887
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Yeah, lots to think about and consider. I agree duncanmartin sometimes 2 cars does still feel like a compromise, but then I suspect I'm also just being greedy to think that . When you see how people are loosing their jobs and stuff at the moment, I feel lucky to be able to consider extra vehicles as 'toys'. I was trying the modern-retro daily thing when I have my XJ6, and ultimately I decided that I didn't want to do that. I'm self employed and having a reliable low maintenance daily that I can just turn the key and go is important. But you do raise a valid point, I've enjoyed late 80s-90s cars before, and there's no reason to discount modern-retros now, especially if wanting a hobby car that's a bit more 'usable' than my recent 60s-70s cars have been. Driving circumstances do change, oioisavaloy, and yeah I think adapting that that is important. I'm certainly doing less millage at the moment, I could pretty much just run the Daimler and not bother with a daily but hopefully that isn't permanent! I'm still changing my mind every few days about what's right, so clearly a decision hasn't really been made In the mean time I need to get this roof finished, and get back out driving which will hopefully help with the decision making, so normal service is resumed... There was plenty more sanding to after the last update, getting very close here, a final guide coat sprayed on just to check for any hidden low spots.  After that it had a couple of coats of high build primer (just from a rattle can), flatted back again and then a bit of red primer. I've found this Daimler Regency Red to be more translucent than some of the other flat colours I've used before, so getting the right primer colour saves several coats of colour.  And then finally, yesterday afternoon, in that small window we have at this time of year where the mornings damp has gone and the evenings damp is yet to fall, I put the colour on.  I'm pretty happy with how it's come out, as ever it's not perfect but it's gonna look good when it's all polished up. I accidentally mixed the paint a bit thinner than my usual 1:1 mix, closer to 1 paint : 1.5 thinners and it's gone on with less orange peel than I suffer with sometimes so that's a silver lining. It still needs the clear over the top, but it was about 3pm when I'd finished putting the last coat of colour on, so I would have lost the light before I'd got the clear on. I'll probably try to get the clear on later this week. |
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goldnrust
West Midlands
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Posts: 1,887
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Nov 20, 2020 19:25:00 GMT
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Well over the past few weeks I've been thinking long and hard about the car dilemma, and for the mean time I think the Daimler is safe. Idle hands are the devils play things, and getting stuck into giving my motorbike a much needed overhaul has been keeping the part of my mind that want's a project busy. On top of this having a few weeks break from driving the Daimler, while I was dealing with the roof, allowed me to have a bit of perspective on it when I finally got to take it for a run. Finally I started to write a for sale advert, which kinda makes getting rid of it that bit more real, and I think I'm just not ready to walk away yet. So onwards with fixing the niggling problems. I'm very much a 'big picture' person and terrible at those finishing details, but I also think that doesn't help with enjoying a car (or bike!) as it's often those little issues that can grind you down and really irritate you. As mentioned, I got the roof sorted. After the last post I noticed a couple of imperfections in the paint and thought I'd have a go at sanding them out before I put the clear on. This was a mistake, as I went through to the primmer, and had no more paint left.  I took a chance on a custom mixed aerosol from the internet, as I believe my local paint shop wont be open at the moment. I was very relieved to see that it was indeed a very good match.  And then I got the clear on. It looks good here, as wet paint always does. It's dried with some orange peel and imperfections, as to be expected, but it should all hopefully clean up with the usual wet sand and compounding. That will need to wait for a few weeks though.  In between the painting tasks I've been continuing to work on a driveline vibration that's bugged me. Most passengers tell me how smooth the car is, but when it's your car you notice these things. There's two issues, a minor/subtle vibration above 55mph and then a more aggressive but short lived vibration that only shows when pulling away from a stop with vigour. First step in investigating the later vibration, as I'd noticed the problem only really occurs when the engine is up to temp, I thought I'd try a thicker dashpot oil incase it was going a bit lean on throttle transition. I know dashpot oil is one of those hotly contested topics, so let's not got there . I was running ATF as something I often see recommended and I had plenty to hand, and thought I might swap it for some 30w oil. Anyway, the dashpots and needles all looked OK when I popped them off, no signs of dirt build up or any problems in the ~1200 miles I've done.  ...but as I'd rebuilt the carbs separately, as to avoid mixing parts, I'd not noticed that the dashpot springs were rather different to each other, which wont be helping matters!  So I ordered myself a new pair, and a new pair of needles (I'd not changed them when I rebuild the carbs the first time) and dashpot securing screws (a gorilla/previous owner had been at my current ones)  Comparing the old needles to the new I could see some signs of wear, so I've got my fingers crossed that this will also help with smoothness. I've got the new parts fitted and the carbs back on the car, but I've not had a reasonable reason to go for a drive yet. I should get chance to take it out over the weekend so I look forward to see if it's made any difference! Looking forward to the next problems to deal with, I've ordered a coupe of decent exhaust flexis, to replace the cheap/period correct ones that came in the exhaust system I bought and have leaked since day 1. After that I want to look into the fuel smell in the boot. The fuel pump is in the boot but it's been rebuilt and doesn't leak, and the lines are new, but there's still an issue. Either way, when you drive along with the window open, you can get a fuel smell in the car, which I think is being drawn forward from the boot by low pressure in the cabin. |
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Nov 20, 2020 19:51:38 GMT
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About the fuel smell..... what hose have you used? Far too much of the stuff on general sale is unsuitable for modern fuel with ethanol content and actually allows a small amount to diffuse through its walls. There’s no wetness at all, but a constant stench and the hose itself reeks of fuel. Having learned this the hard way (and also that a lot of the SAE J30 R9 rated hose on eBay is fake and fails after a few months), I now use Cohline 2240 from Glencoe.
Nick
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1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend)
1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing)
1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
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Nov 20, 2020 22:04:32 GMT
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I had a problem with a vibration on my MK2 jag and the chap at G Whitehouse Autos said it was propshaft alignment, I was sceptical but checked the haynes manual and made a device to measure and set it (a piece of wood to measure the alignment, nothing technical).
It was miles out and by adjusting the rear engine mount and propshaft centre mount I got it somewhere near right and problem solved. The problem was most obvious when pulling off and felt a bit like clutch judder.
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glenanderson
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,355
Club RR Member Number: 64
Member is Online
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Nov 20, 2020 23:35:09 GMT
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I’ve suffered from clutch judder in my Land-Rover on and off for most of the time I’ve owned it. It’s almost always been propshaft U/Js failing. I carry spare ones in stock now, and a complete propshaft. I’ve got quite adept at changing them. 🤣
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My worst worry about dying is my wife selling my stuff for what I told her it cost...
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logicaluk
Posted a lot
Every days a school day round here
Posts: 1,373
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Last time I had fuel smell in the cabin it was a rotted filler neck may be worth looking at, luckily I have space, so I can have a 3 car policy, 1 daily should be reliable cheap to run and comfortable, 2 classic to drive go to shows etc, 3 classic to work on, may be a runner may be on the road but it's the project car until I think of something daft to do with the other classic.
Looking forward to seeing what difference the new springs and needles makes.
Dan
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,887
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Nov 21, 2020 18:29:22 GMT
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Thanks for the thoughts guys.
On the fuel smell, I'm using a decent R9 rated hose purchased form a reputable supplier, I've experienced the cheap Ebay hose before and wont make that mistake again! I don't think it's the tank leaking, it was solid after I'd used the POR15 fuel tank sealer on it.
Today before a test drive I went over the boot area and found a few places where air could have been getting in from the back and underside of the car, so I've temporarily sealed them up with some tape. I think there was an improvement, so that's promising. More investigation needed.
Definitely sounds like the prop is worth another investigation. I have previously done a rough alignment and checked the UJ, but those descriptions of the 'clutch judder' feeling match exactly what I'm feeling. And thinking about it today on the drive, it does feel like the engines moving around a bit when it happens. So that sounds like a decent lead to follow up on.
The new dashpot springs and needles have made a fairly subtle difference. It possible does pick up a bit smoother than it did, and generally run a touch cleaner, but it's only a small amount. Still, progress is progress!
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Last Edit: Nov 21, 2020 18:29:58 GMT by goldnrust
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,921 
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Nov 21, 2020 19:19:08 GMT
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Still looking great and steady progress, glad you keeping it at the moment anyway.
Musing on fuel smell, how does the tank vent ? I've had issues with a vent pipe not being fitted at all / correctly. Also what's the rubber like on the filler cap ?
Keep the updates coming.
James
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,887
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Nov 22, 2020 10:32:58 GMT
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The tank vent come out where the filler neck meets the main tank. Originally I had a rubber hose that was just a few inches long and just dropped straight down to the level of the bottom of the tank. As part of my tests I’ve extended this line by 3ft or so to come out under the centre of the rear of the car, thinking it would catch a good air stream here and any smells get drawn away. At the same time I also noticed that someone had fitted a vented filler cap, so I soldered that up.
Sadly neither made a difference!
I think for yesterday’s drive that possibly one half of the puzzle was the holes that were letting air in from under the car into the boot, where the previous owners have butchered the body to get access to some hoses / wiring.
With those sealed, I think the smell doesn’t seem to be leaving the boot and coming into the cabin. At the same time, the boot still smells and with it all sealed up, that can only be the pump and/or hoses. I might look at replacing the big old SU points pump with a small modern solid state one, and find a spot to mount that under the car so no fuel system stuff is inside the body.
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Nov 25, 2020 20:45:01 GMT
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Oh bro! I didn't realise the spray paint was a rattle can job aye. I must have missed that haha. It came out damn well though aye!
I have also had dodgy fuel hose. After only 1 year it was leaking from all over the hose. I'm 80% sure mine came from a reputable company also. Although I could be wrong
Those small modern fuel pumps look very interesting aye. I was tempted to try one as a lift pump for my swirl pot. Definitely keen to see how it performs if you go that way
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Nov 26, 2020 19:17:26 GMT
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Sounds weird I know.... but have you tried sniffing the actual hoses......
I’ve had new hose of apparently reputable make that just reeks of fuel even though it’s dry and looking perfect.
Nick
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1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend)
1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing)
1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,887
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It was only the colour touch up that I did with a rattle can, Hobbawobba The rest I did with my cheap spray gun and compressor. Nothing 'wrong' with rattle cans, could do just as good a job, would just end up a slow expensive way to do big panels! haha. vitesseefi, the hose does smell a bit of fuel, if I get really close and sniff it, but it doesn't 'reek'. It's definitely improved in the cabin since I've been tweaking the breathers and stuff. The only time it smells now is when it's been stood for a few days and I think the smell from the boot works it's way through. So maybe the next step before spending money on a new fuel pump is to try changing the hose. My exhaust flexis arrived the other day, so I think getting under the car to deal with that and to investigate the prop alignment is my next adventure. |
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Last Edit: Nov 27, 2020 11:19:31 GMT by goldnrust
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,887
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Dec 23, 2020 14:07:07 GMT
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Blimey, almost a month since I last updated. Time flies! Progress has been fairly slow, I've been pretty busy working (of which I'm grateful) and enthusiasm has not been high for lying on the floor under the car. Still I've made some good progress, and then yesterday hit a major issue. The first step was to have another go at the prop alignment. There's gonna be some rubbish photos in this update, but that's what you get when lying under the car in the dark!  Some bolts superglued to a spirit level worked as an impromptu prop shaft alignment tool, and I found that it was indeed out of alignment vertically. I remembered at that point that my first attempt at alignment had been before I lowered the rear suspension, which would explain why it was now wrong. It didn't seem to have helped much on my previous alignment attempt, but that was before I'd found the issue with the dashpot springs, so I think that might have masked the problem. This time round I'm pleased to report that the alignment has totally killed the vibration I got when pulling away. So thank you to everyone who suggested that prop shaft alignment might be the problem. In some brief moments of nicer weather I have been using the car still for the few journeys I'm doing. If it weren't for the risk of it dissolving in the salt, I'd say it makes for a good winter car, and a good car for the run up to Christmas, something very festive and cosy about being tucked up inside with old fashioned songs on the radio while the weather is cold and dark outside.   On the last drive I did, I did notice the car behaving a bit oddly when I came to park it, it wasn't creeping forward in drive... more on this later Anyway, having solved the vibration when pulling away, I now wanted to deal with the high speed vibration and get rid of the last fo the fuel smell. I was pretty sure the high speed vibration would be the tyres. Until now I've still been using the tyres the car came on. They had clearly done 0 miles, as they still had all those little rubber 'hairs' left from the moulding on the, but were 15 years old and clearly sat flat for several of those years. On top of this they were 185r15c tyres. with the C standing for commercial, so 103 load rated van tyres basically. 185r15, or 185/80r15 if you prefer, tyres are not easy to come by in the correct 93 load ratings. When I initially looked all I could see were the branded classic tyres, but as much as I'm sure a set of Michelin classic tyres would be great, I don't really want to spend £1100 on them right now. With some searching around I did manage to find that you could still get the odd budget brand in the right size and load rating, and my local tyre shop was indeed able to get me a set. I don't normally go for budget tyres, but in this isn't a sports car, I'm not tearing about at the limit of traction in it, and I think these new budgets in the right load rating will be considerably better than the old van tyres. While I had the car up in the air and the wheels off I tackled the exhaust. The first step was to swap out the period correct style flexis that had been blowing since day one for something a bit better.  While I was at it, I'd never been really happy with how the downpipes fitted up under the car, so in a couple of places I did some small pie cuts to change the angle of the bends.  Now the downpipes fitted much better and so it was on to fitting the rest off the exhaust. Thats when I happened to look down the mid section of the exhaust towards the H pipe....  Great manufacturing process there, a huge restriction caused by the H pipe being pushed almost half way into the main pipe. As I was planning on swapping the Flexi on the H pipe for a plain straight tube anyway, it wasn't the end of the world to cut/grind away the entire thing and put in a fresh tube that's notched to meet the main pipe properly. As it was generally dark and cold I didn't take many photos, but here's one of the completed exhaust fitting nice and neatly under the car.  Last but not least, I swapped out the fuel hose in the boot for the fancy Cohline hose I'd ordered. It's a pig of a job as, to change the line that leads from the tank to the pump, I have to remove the tank. Half of the job was already done though, as the exhaust was already off, so that was bit of a help. No pictures as there's nothing exiting to see from a piece of fuel hose... I think it's made a difference, but it's a bit hard to say as that fuel smell has kinda soaked into the carpets and stuff in there. I guess I'll know for sure in a week or two when the smell has either stayed the same and slowly dissipated. So having not driven the car for a couple of weeks while making these changes, and finally all sorted I thought I'd take it for a test run yesterday out to finish some last minute Christmas shopping... alas it was not to be. Putting the car in drive I had no forward movement, not till I revved the engine up to 2500-3000rpm, then it started to creep. This was the same in all the forward gear positions I could select (D, 2 and L). I checked the fluid level, which was fine. A quick stall test showed a stall speed of about 2800 rpm, which is much higher than it should be. Putting the car into reverse it crept just fine at idle and the stall speed test was about 1800 RPM, so in reverse it was acting perfectly normal. Put the pieces of the puzzle together with this matrix from the BW35 manual...  ... and it's pretty clear that the front clutch is the problem. Going back a few pages I confidently said 'the clutches seemed fine so I didn't bother to rebuild them'. That was clearly a mistake.  As I thought I didn't have any major work to do on the Daimler, I've started the winter rebuild on my motorbike that I'd planned to do last winter... So the Daimler will now have to sit and wait it's turn till I can face pulling the gearbox out and digging into it to see what's up. Which is very frustrating! |
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I took a chance on a custom mixed aerosol from the internet, as I believe my local paint shop wont be open at the moment. I was very relieved to see that it was indeed a very good match. 
