bigrod
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,654
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Theres a decent motorfactors in Chester that is of the old fella guru type which sadly will close one day soon. However, in small towns like Congleton there's still more than a couple of these are the car culture is still alive around these parts. I once owned a horrible little Diesel fiesta and they had almost everything for it, in stock! And they even had an engine lookup database. Just went in and explained "its one of those old 1.6/1.8 ford diesels from the 90s". He swivels the screen in a matter of seconds to show my a perfect exploded diagram of said engine. "that one?" Shame I don't live up that way anymore. Essport in Dunfermline, Fife. Been using them for years and I'm nowhere near one of their best customers, but I guess as I've always gone there for more unusual stuff for myself I guess I kind'a stand out and they realise I'm not some cluelss muppet so entertain my wonts. A few occassions they've even let me rifle through their store to see if I can find what I want, (generic bits of exhaust pipe and coolant hoses etc.), but that's only because they know and trust me. I don't bother with the local Hellfrauds any more unless it's for something specific. Also helps that at least two of the staff have been there 20+ years and the more recent addition is a family friend!! Great place, but they are getting a lot of bling in these days!!
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If I have to explain, you won't understand. Maximum signature image height = 80 pixels
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BiAS
Club Retro Rides Member
Insert witty comment here
Posts: 2,231
Club RR Member Number: 147
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Although I think after all of the exposure in this thread, they need some time off: ;D Quality Amazo, that's been my desktop for a year or so now, Hell, it's even hotlinked from my potato-bucket! ;D And I'm sure I stole it off someone Scandinavian on here in the first place! Re Halfords, seek out your local proper motorfactors, someone there will have the knowledge on how to get the parts even if they don't know what the car is. My local Factors is superb, they've even helped me find discs in the correct diameter, thickness and offset to fit on an EC Civic with EF Civic calipers! If you need to go to Halfords, if it's Sunday for instance, a scan through Autotrader/ebay/classic car classifieds/your own pics from shows beforehand will often turn up a registration plate to go armed with. This makes dealing with the plants more bearable.
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(car+wheels)-rideheight=WIN
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Meh. I was bloody brilliant when I worked at Halfords.
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1989 Peugeot 205. You know, the one that was parked in a ditch on the campsite at RRG'17... the glass is always full. but the ratio of air to water may vary.
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xj13
Part of things
Jaguar XJ13 - Building the Legend
Posts: 11
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Quad cam V12 on six SUs?! What make? That's one of the very few Jaguar V12 prototype engines Fitted with Lucas injection for use in the XJ13 (which never raced). And they fitted 1 or 2 of those prototype engines to a Mark 10 - with SU carbs, for street use. The production V12 however was fitted with a single cam as we know it. Here's a bit more of the Jaguar V12/XJ13 story, some of it pretty new. The guy has just bought a quad cam prototype V12 which turned up in germany, not far from where I live (I missed my chance to see it, sadly...) www.xj13.eu/xj13/default.aspx - very interesting stuff! Cheers, Jan Jan is absolutely correct - I know this because the picture is actually of my engine! Here is a picture of the engine as it is now along with Peter Wilson who is one of the people who built the original XJ13 in 1965/66: The original picture was taken sometime before 1968 and shows the engine fitted with six 2.5" SUs. There are other pictures of the engine in various books - some taken when it was displayed in Coventry by Jaguar in 1972 alongside the 3 litre XK engine which has now been reunited with E2A. The engine is the only one of the prototype engines that was fitted to Mk10s. It was fitted to two cars for road testing of the engine (the XJ13 itself may have been rather conspicuous!). One of the cars was mentioned in Jenks' autobiography where he said he was allowed to road test the car on the understanding he never lifted the bonnet. It seems he was quite impressed .... The dry sump was modified so that it could be installed in the cars and it remains in this state today. The engine is being worked on in the UK as I write this and will be returned to its original competition spec complete with Lucas mechanical fuel injection and dry sump. I will continue to document the progress of my project on my personal blog www.xj13.eu
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Last Edit: Nov 3, 2010 7:58:10 GMT by xj13
I am a long-standing Classic Jaguar enthusiast and racer. Having acquired an original quad-cam prototype V12 engine I now finds myself in the position where I can fulfil a long-held ambition of building and hopefully racing an authentic "toolroom-copy" of the Jaguar XJ13 prototype Le Mans racer - true to Malcolm Sayer's original 1966 vision.
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d7uge
Part of things
Posts: 313
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WOW! That post has just made my morning.... I shall be following the blog. many thanks.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,537
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Fantastic XJ13! Thanks for popping in to tell us about it I also like how it looks like you've got an engine in your living room/study ;D
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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I was lay in bed last night thinking along the lines of this thread, i wonder if thats why my classic car insurance policy gives me free breakdown cover?
A) Car enthusiast less likely to run a car into the ground mechanicaly, so changes parts before they bust rather than when u've just been towed home B) If it does bust at the side of the road you're more likely to fix it somehow there and then
lol
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The engine is the only one of the prototype engines that was fitted to Mk10s. It was fitted to two cars for road testing of the engine (the XJ13 itself may have been rather conspicuous!). One of the cars was mentioned in Jenks' autobiography where he said he was allowed to road test the car on the understanding he never lifted the bonnet. It seems he was quite impressed .... Me too. I vaguely remember reading somewhere about the XJ13 prototype engine being fitted into a MKX. Wouldn't mind building one now. 1960's Q-car...
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The engine is the only one of the prototype engines that was fitted to Mk10s. It was fitted to two cars for road testing of the engine (the XJ13 itself may have been rather conspicuous!). One of the cars was mentioned in Jenks' autobiography where he said he was allowed to road test the car on the understanding he never lifted the bonnet. It seems he was quite impressed .... Me too. I vaguely remember reading somewhere about the XJ13 prototype engine being fitted into a MKX. Wouldn't mind building one now. 1960's Q-car... I'm just thinking how cool that engine would look in the front of a 'T' Modified.
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1953 Minor (Long term project) PT Cruiser
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PhoenixCapri
West Midlands
Posts: 2,685
Club RR Member Number: 91
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xj13, thankyou for being a legend and putting the money and amazing effort into building a proper, detailed XJ13 replica - I hope it one day gets the chance to race against the machines it was meant to so we can see how good it really could have been You're and inspiration to us all Speaking of inspiration, how similar are the head dimentions of an XK engine and a V12 engine - i.e. I wonder how much work it'd be to build a quad cam V12 from existing bits
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You must have very little involvement in British engineering then... you have been very much mislead. Maybe its changed in the last 20+ years, but when I finished college top of my class, I couldnt find a decent job. I ended up working for a tinpot company as an instrument maker, then for another as a miller and turner. Utter wibblepoo jobs paying about as much as Mac Donalds! Has it changed much? Engineering is so much more than just mechanics. I'm just coming up to 20, studying mechanical engineering and looking for a placement. The variety of jobs on offer is brilliant, yes competition is high (engineering courses at universities are getting more and more popular) but you can't dismiss the british engineering industry because you couldn't get a job in it. FWIW 20 years ago telecommunications and electronic engineering were the industries to be in...
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1997 TVR Chimaera 2009 Westfield Megabusa
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xj13
Part of things
Jaguar XJ13 - Building the Legend
Posts: 11
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xj13, thankyou for being a legend and putting the money and amazing effort into building a proper, detailed XJ13 replica - I hope it one day gets the chance to race against the machines it was meant to so we can see how good it really could have been You're and inspiration to us all Speaking of inspiration, how similar are the head dimentions of an XK engine and a V12 engine - I.e. I wonder how much work it'd be to build a quad cam V12 from existing bits Thanks for your kind comments I am afraid there are so many differences it really wouldn't be a realistic proposition - however ....... I do know of at least one engine where they used the later 4-valve heads from two 6-cylinder XJ40s. It was a bit of an engineering nightmare and one of the heads had to be turned back to front to get the inlet/exhaust the right way round for a V12. However - it did work and now runs.
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I am a long-standing Classic Jaguar enthusiast and racer. Having acquired an original quad-cam prototype V12 engine I now finds myself in the position where I can fulfil a long-held ambition of building and hopefully racing an authentic "toolroom-copy" of the Jaguar XJ13 prototype Le Mans racer - true to Malcolm Sayer's original 1966 vision.
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xj13: good to see you here! Carb related stuff: Cheers, Jan
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hahaha I have had conversations like that too, may as well be talking to the wall! go to get spark plugs for the capper from halfords, wasnt in the list, surprise surprise this is how the convo went "hey, can you tell me what spark plugs you stock for a Ford Capri 2ltr?" "Ford Capri? does it have a Zetec?" "no, its a Pinto" "a Punto? thats a Fiat isnt it?" "no no, the car is a Ford Capri, the engine is a Pinto..." "i have never heard of that, are you sure its a Ford?" *sigh* "can I speak to an older member of staff please?" ;D I have two very different experiences, one similar to yours! Was getting a Mk1 transit ready for test, come the lights check no brake lights. They had been flickering, and now nothing. Fuses OK, I came to the conclusion it was the brake light switch. Luckily it's a 1975, so off I goes to the newly found Unipart place. Completely not bothering to ask for something for a Mk1, for fear of being laughed at, I ask for a Mk2 one (same part) as I think I will get more chance of getting one. Oh says the middle aged bloke behind the counter, that will be the same as the Cortina won't it? I have one of those. I walked out in a daze, he didn't even need to check a computer to find it!!! I needed brake hoses for a Mk2, it was an axle swap. The 'new' axle came off a A reg minibus, and I couldn't remember the reg. No matter, I called a local Ford specialist, I do go in a lot but not recently and there was some (young sounding) person on the phone that, to add another problem, didn't seem to speak English as their first language. Me - I need flexi hoses for a 1984 twin wheel mk2 transit. Them - what's the reg number? Me - (struggling to remember which vans have which discs) A**AHE Them - That's not a reg number Me - (WTF??) yes it is. Try B***RYG (another TW minibus) Them - We don't have anything on the computer that far back Me - OK try E***MMP Them - No nothing before 1986 Me - (WTF??) That's a 1988 reg. OK thank you for your time, I will take my business elsewhere.... I get it with the RAC too, first thing I tell the patrloman is not to look for anywhere he can plug the laptop in. Now I appreciate to know stuff you have to be taught, but as I have no interest in making bread I wouldn't think about getting a job in a bakery. At least, not the bit of a bakery you make the bread. So WTF gives some of these people the idea to go to work at Halfords or any other motoring related shop, if they know sweet FA about cars or mechanical stuff?
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My local Motor Factors is great. OK, a good mate of mine of over 25 years is the owner, but he's not "front of shop" any more.
I sent another mate down to the shop to get pads for his 02 S Type, and then I was going to fit them. He was back in no time, but no pads, and a shocked look on his face.
The most knowledgable "front of shop" staff member in the motor factors is 26 years old. Oh, and female. (Sarah is her name)
"Sir, get Andy" (that's me) "to take one of the pads out and bring it down so I can see it. There are 3 sets listed for those. One is right, one is too big and the other is slightly too small and will rattle"
My pal was gobsmacked!
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speedy88
Club Retro Rides Member
"Nice Cortina mate"
Posts: 2,296
Club RR Member Number: 118
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On the topic of motorfactors, I think my ECP is the worst in the country. Today I spent a whole hour in there at the front of a que of 20 because they'd messed up a delivery. Not the first time I've been in there for more than half an hour. Plus I find the staff cocky and generally rude (and along the lines of "you're young, therefore know FUNK ALL about cars")
Got intoxicated off, left and got to GSF around the corner. Polite, helpful and I was out in 5 minutes with a big smile. Screw ECP from now on!
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Last Edit: Nov 5, 2010 22:38:43 GMT by speedy88
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