Pagoda SL Group
Off Topic => Other cars => Topic started by: Garry on May 31, 2011, 12:52:39
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I thought i would start this thread to document the purchase of a car (other than a Mercedes ::)) to use at PUB and its final return to Australia, starting from Atlanta Georgia, trucked to Joe Alexanders pending PUB and the follow on drive from Blacklick to LA, its conversion from Left to Right Hand drive by Tom Colitt in LA and its eventual shipping to Australia late in 2011 to sit in the shed beside the 1969 280SL Pagoda.
The following are a couple of photos of the advertisement that I saw prior to purchase. When I tried to get someone to do an inspection of it prior to purchase, from EBay, I kept getting referred to the seller as a collector with good knowledge of Jags who could inspect it. Eventually after two notations of highly recommended seller from previous buyers, I gave up on getting an inspection and decided to go with it anyway as time ran out on the EBay auction. The price was good, I felt reasonably comfortable with the seller and the Australian dollar at its highest exchange that it had ever been.
Last week it was trucked from Georgia to Joe's using Passport Transport. Joe was away and Mary took delivery. Using Passport was an experience in itself and another story but it did arrive safe and sound and in good condition awaiting Joe's final assessment of the quality of the purchase ;D So far it sounds like I have had good luck with a decent purchase.
Insurance has been arranged with Progressive Direct together with getting temp registration in July from Ohio State Bureau of Motor Vehicles, both who were really helpful over the internet and in email exchanges.
I am in the process of negotiating the purchase of a Hard Top from Philadelphia, Yet to be confirmed and transport yet to be arranged to get it to Blacklick and on the car. Another potential headache.
A brand new steering rack from the UK for the LH to RH conversion has already arrived at Tom's workshop in LA and the workshop manuals at Joe's place. New taillights to meet Aust compliance are on their way to Joe's for changing over and the old ones already sold off on EBay today. The rest of the parts needed for the conversion are on order and will accompany me to US for PUB including such things as new dash wiring loom, engine bay wiring loom and other bits and pieces.
Next to be done, Joe to go over the car to ensure it is in decent shape for the drive across the States.
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Well Michael Salemi has seen the car and sent a photo of it in good company. Called it that English thing (From now on known as "The Thing") mixed with the Pagodas of Alfred's on the left and of course Michaels red "item" in Joe's shed.
Parts are starting to arrive from UK, Joe has received the new tail lights to meet the Australian standards with orange indicators and Tom in LA has received the new steering rack for the RH conversion and new wiring loom for engine bay and dash board to be converted when we get the car there after PUB.
So far so good. Have ended up with three repair manuals after Joe found one in the car, I ordered one and got two by accident sent to me, one of which I sent to Joe before I knew about the spare one in the trunk.
Still waiting for the remaining parts needed for the LH/RH conversion that I will bring with me to USA whilst attending PUB.
Next thing, the final report from Joe on what I have bought :P
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Garry,
Is it a 12 or a 6? I couldn't tell from the one photo with the bonnet up. It looks lovely. I'm looking forward to having a look at the PUB. BK wants a ride.
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...one thing Joe noticed is that anyone 5' 7" or taller (1.7 m) will be donating their head for use as the roll bar. Head will stick out a bit.
She is a beauty though--so nice to see something OTHER than BRG!!!! What a beautiful blue. This will get more looks than a Pagoda on the 2K trip to LA.
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"I am in the process of negotiating the purchase of a Hard Top from Philadelphia, Yet to be confirmed and transport yet to be arranged to get it to Blacklick and on the car. Another potential headache."
Gary,
I'm about an hour or little more from Philadelphia depending on the address there and could possibly tote your hardtop from there to PUB in the back of my 4Runner if you need any transport assistance. Of course you and Tom would have to drive from PUB to LA with the hardtop in place.
Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Regards,
280SE Guy
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280Se Guy thanks for the offer. Awaiting info from the seller, PM sent to you.
Michael, Lucky I am a short short of guy, its the wind in the hair for the rest!!!
Raymond, its a 1970 4.2 litre six, the earlier and later cars were all too expensive for me
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Hello Gary,
The Jag already has a Delco alternator fitted. So that's one Lucas gremlin you will not have to deal with !
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Yes Joe, but he still has the intermittent wipers and 3 way headlights (on-off-flicker). ;D
Gus
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I might have them Gus but the switches probably don't work!!! Mind you it doesn't have a fuel switch in the brake reservoir
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Garry,
Rest assured and let out that big sigh. Your hard top is in the back of my 4Runner now. I picked it up this morning (07/17/11, or as you might think or say it 17/07/11). It was a interesting trip to Jerry's house. I didn't realize there were so many large hills in his area. It's got to be a real pain in the winter.
We resettled with it trying about 3 or 4 different methods of getting it in back of the car (truck). It finally ended up top side down and cross ways in the back. Even though everyone has said it should fit in the trunk of my W108, Anthracite, I don't think it would. Therefore Anthracite will not be attending PUB.
Below are a few pictures of your hard top in the 4 runner.
Let me know if you or Tom would like some additional up close detail shots so you guys can get thinking on what needs to be addressed.
The gasket at the rear needs to be re-glued, there might be other issues that I'm not aware of. I did notice that there were some front to back scratches on the top of the roof but they will be abled to be smoothed out I'm sure. You are probably going to have the whole top refurbished any way.
Regards,
280SE Guy
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...one thing Joe noticed is that anyone 5' 7" or taller (1.7 m) will be donating their head for use as the roll bar. Head will stick out a bit.
She is a beauty though--so nice to see something OTHER than BRG!!!! What a beautiful blue. This will get more looks than a Pagoda on the 2K trip to LA.
Garry,
You are going to be one busy guy at PUB giving rides. Did you think this through, bringing such a unique car to the PUB? :D
If we start lining up for rides, can we get in order by height? Shortest 1st preferably. 8)
Seriously, it looks great. I will enjoy seeing it in person.
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Thanks Bob for picking that up for me, it will certainly make the long drive easier for Tom and I after PUB.
Now as for drives, well I have to get it registered next week, and given that i will be driving it some thousands of miles the following week, you will just have to drive it yourself. I'll leave it at the front gate not to divert attention from PPPUB ;D
Look forward to catching up with you all at PUB. I Leave Australia in five days and not looking forward to 24 hours of flying.
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Your welcome Garry,
I'm looking forward to meeting and talking to all of the people at PUB also. I will want to have a ticket to drive the XXE, doesn't matter what sequence it is, just a chance to see how it drives..
When I first started thinking of buying a car "to save" it was between a Porsche, a Volvo P1800, a Jaguar XKE, and a Mercedes Benz. It came to my 280SE, and I'm glad I did.
I knew you and Tom wouldn't want to drive the distance without a hard top so I couldn't refuse your request.
Regards,
280SE Guy
Below are a couple of more pics of the hard top for your review. It will stay in the back of the 4Runner until PUB.
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Picked up all the remaining parts for the Jaguar to carry over to USA with me for the conversion to right hand drive. Blanking plates, accelerator linkages, brake lines shaped and trial fitted in Aust etc.
Meanwhile my back gives up the ghost and I find my self in hospital for a week with an infection in the spine. Got out 10 days ago and just to add to the stress levels, purchased a House at auction and then put my house on the market to be auctioned in four weeks. My wife complains that I always get a bad back when we are about to move and to avoid the cleaning etc.
Three days to go to departure and get a spinal injection with some goop to get me thru the flight. My wife and I arranged for the house to be painted last five days and photos taken for advertising last night.
5.30 this morning, it's drive to the airport to catch a flight. Now sitting in the lounge with a 2 hour delay. Now only 30 hour trip. Had to fast talk my way through with the SS brake lines I was carrying.
Had a win and got an upgrade to Business at the airport. They must love me or they took pity on me and my poor back.
Flying to LA then change to Phoenix then on to Columbus. Arriving at 11 at night.
Hopefully the car is ready at Joes for the Australian attack. First up on Monday is to get a permit for the month to enable the drive back to LA with Tom Collitt.
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As a suggestion, you might want to take Mrs Garry a half bottle of sherry or something nice like that on your return ;D
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Tosh,
Only a half bottle? Should be a full bottle or at least a case.
Garry,
Welcome to the USA as you arrive tonight at 11:00 at night in Columbus. The weather is warmer here than it is in Australia I'm sure. Maybe that will help your back problem.
When I picked up your hard top from your seller last Sunday he was just comming out of a back problem himself. Is that indicative of XKE owners?
Lately every time I get into my 4Runner there is a strange wild cat like oder inside the vehicle. With the warm weather here maybe it will be disipated by the time we meet up at PUB.
Regards,
280SE Guy
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He doesn't want to spoil his Sheila with a full bottle! ;)
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Yes Joe, but he still has the intermittent wipers and 3 way headlights (on-off-flicker).
But, did it come with a smoke injector for the wiring harness? When they lose their smoke everything stops working!
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Forgot to add that I did include a bottle of Locus Smoke for the car and have put a note in my phone to buy Mrs Garry, Kate, something special to take home as a peace offering for leaving here to do all e house cleaning and set up for sale whilst I swan around the USA.
Landed safely but very late out of Australia so missed the correct connection and so last night got to see Charlotte NC? for an hour before on to Columbus. Did get my luggage just as well as most of the spares for the car were in the bag. Rest day today, picked up a temp hire car.
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Finally got to look at the car that I had purchased several months ago.
What can I say, it's not a Pagoda, wish it was and I would probably understand it better, however it' looks a good driver and will take a bit of getting used to.
First thing today i went to the BMV to get registration, glad i did my homework, passed all the paper work over and in five minutes i was out of there with a 30 day tag. It was so easy i was worried what could go wrong.
Joe and I worked on the car fitting Euro tail lights and finally we then each had a drive. It is much harsher than my 280 SL and I would call it rawer and harder to drive but it is a bit of a stunner. Tomorrow more work greasing up the car and ensuring all ok for the trip then Wednesday take it for a longer drive for three or four hours and see if alls well.
I have been reading about people on the forum driving an hour or two and a couple of hundred miles at max. Well last PUB, Art Daprano from north of San Francisco drove to pub and we then drove back again. Now that's a trip but it all went smoothly and had given me the courage to try to drive the Jag to LA after this years PUB. At the moment I am not sure if I have taken on more than I
can chew. But there is always a trucking company and AAA when things go wrong.
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At the moment I am not sure if I have taken on more than I
can chew. But there is always a trucking company and AAA when things go wrong.
Garry,
That is true about the AAA, but to me it just sounds like you need some rest.
I've read you've been through a lot in the last few weeks (months?).
You and Joe will check the car out some more, you'll go for a few short drives to build confidence, and off you go on another journey that you will not forget.
Enjoy the ride !!
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Garry
Co-incidentally - well, let's be clear, it's a safe bet this summer -Octane magazine have devoted much of their current issue (#99) to the 50th of the E-Type. Not much more there is to write about it that they've not done numerous times in the previous 98 issues but hey ho
Would you like me to save you my copy once I have poured over the adverts it and mail it on?
:)
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Well PUB has all but wrapped up and about 20 of us are about to head out for the last supper.
I have done all I can to ensure the car is ready for the trip. It wasn't much but changing some filters and a coupler of adjustments this week and a fair amount of test driving to see how it ran. Some spares in the trunk and some spanners etc just in case together with the AAA card, the credit card and a trucking company number. Tom Colitt is here ready for the return trip to LA. The space in the trunk is minimal at best and with parts for conversion and tools, there is not much room for anything else like luggage.
Just filled it full of petrol and hopefully we will be out of here first thing this morning. Only decision to make is the route to be taken. Tom and I did not come to agreement last night over dinner, will have another try tonight to agree, it's highway 70 or 40 or something in-between.
I am planning to post each night on the days travels, unfortunately only having an iPad, I will not be able to post photos as Apple and Flash player do not agree to allow this to be done on an iPad,unknown to me until this week. So photos will come later.
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Get your kicks on Route 66?
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66. Anything else is an opportunity missed
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Good luck Garry and safe trip, a thermos of black coffee might be worth making room for and remember, no sleeping on the run.
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Good luck and Godspeed Garry and Tom--we want a story about "Garry and Tom's most excellent adventure" regardless of chosen route. Head West and South and you'll find L.A..
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If you want to have some fun, go to maps.google.com and ask for driving directions from Blacklick to South Melbourne.
They route you through Hawaii and Japan. Step 30 is to kayak from Seattle to Hawaii. Step 46 is a kayak to Japan, and Step 107 is a kayak ride to Australia, slipping in between Indonesia and New Guinea. Stop at Alice Springs on your final leg and send us a picture!
Should be the trip of a lifetime!
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=blacklick,OH&daddr=South+Melbourne,+Victoria,+Australia&hl=en&ll=-23.686032,134.071655&spn=1.199738,1.117859&sll=7.362467,-157.324219&sspn=117.104905,160.488281&geocode=FeNIYgIdamYQ-yl5QpTNomY4iDH-B16LkqjcEg%3BFUW5vv0dseujCClhnBsE_GfWajFQ6IwhdVYEBQ&mra=ls&t=h&z=10
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It's now just on 7 pm and we have stopped after covering around 560 miles. We actually don't know what the town is but it is on Route 70. We did not agree on any particular route and as I was the first driver we went on route 70. After 2 1/2 hours Tom took over and soon we were heading along Route 74. As I pointed out that that was going even further north, we returned to 70 and continued along for the rest of the day. We sat on 70 - 75 mph al day
In side the car the temperature had to be 120 or more, a lot of heat coming up from the transmission tunnel that is making it uncomfortable but with windows open it is livable. However looking forward to getting toward Denver and some height to cool it all down.
Now for how the car ran. It went with out a hitch until about 5 pm when it just cut out and we had to pull over. Opened the bonnet/
hood and it was very quickly obvious what the problem was. A wire had fallen off the coil hence no electrical to the engine. Pushed it
back on the lug and we were off again for a couple more hours.
Tomorrow we probably need to buy a map as the reality is that we have no idea where we are going but probably more of highway
70 I think.
Garry
Ps. Tom said that it was me that sent him on route 74. To me the evens go east west, what would I know. Tom said he is going to
the pool to wash off the grease from working on the Jag :D
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You guys were right on your scheduled departure this morning. I saw you pull out of the hotel parking lot at 7:28, 2 minutes before your intended departure.
Safe driving for both of you.
Regards,
280SE Guy
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Just let us know when you get to New Orleans! Glad to hear a loose wire was all the Prince of Darkness had in store for you on Monday. May he have expended all his tricks!
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Day One: Was confined to a small moving space inside the hot box for 11 grueling hours. The owner only let me out occasionally when he went to refuel the small moving space. He trained me to operate the small moving space so that he could crawl into the other small moving space from time to time. It was easy to operate, but the owner told me not to exceed 3500 on the hypnotizing device in front of me. I managed to do it, but I have meanwhile secretly increased the number on the hypnotizing device by 50 every hour. This long confinement could be tolerable if it wasn't for the intense heat. We will see where the owner takes me tomorrow and hope that conditions improve. He did give me water one time today. If I can I will try to send another message tomorrow....
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Garry:
Cross country with Tom. Having met Tom Colitt for the first time at PUB, I recommend you restrict him to speaking a maximum of 15 minutes each hour otherwise his enthusiasm (and knowledge) will give you an earache and a headache :)
Regards and the best on the trip,
Richard M, NYC
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Well, we did another 800+ miles today without any problems. We are not in Kansas any more. passed Denver about 6pm and have stopped at some small mining town called Idaho Springs in the Colorado mountains.
Started the day with temperatures at well over 100f and ended the day at over 6000 feet and temperatures at 65f and raining.
The co driver is having difficulty in traveling in a Jag and the tight spaces and the heat is getting to him. We still have not got a map yet and decided tonight not to bother if we keep the sun behind us in the morning and in front of us in the afternoon.. We are going to try for Los Vegas tomorrow night.
I think Tom is going to add his tweet soon.
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Day 2: I was confined to the small moving space longer than usual today. I'm not sure why. I followed the owners instructions to follow the yellow brick road and stick to keep the hypnotizing device at 3500. Maybe my daily upkeep is becoming too costly and I suspect I was brought to an old gold mining town to pan for gold in order to pay for my passage to California. Now there is talk of making additional money in Las Vegas. We will see how that goes...We also saw several signs by the road: Hit a worker- $10,000! I'm not sure if you get $20,000 for two, but Garry said ge didnt need any money....
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Both of you should be pleased that you are not a 6' 2", 225 pound guys--of which there are plenty. Thank God for your small frames in your chosen carriage!
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Idaho Springs is just the beginning. You have some very nice driving ahead of you.
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Well we are in las Vegas but the prince of darkness has given us a run today. Car started to fire on only three cylinders and we thought we had a fuel problem initially after driving to the highest point of 10600+ feet. Later we thought it was electrical.
So for the next six hours it became a stop start. We are still not sure what is occurring, sometimes it looses power and appears to be firing on half the cylinders and when you touch everything it starts again. We are still think it's electrical but don't know what. Hopefully it will start tomorrow morning and get us to LA.
So over all today, passed the 2000 mile mark, saw some snow on the mountains, nice and cool in the morning and hot on the desert floor in the afternoon. Some rain during the day both outside and in.
At one point I thought I had lost my wallet and decided that I should cancel the credit cards. P half way thru that process, found the wallet. Thankfully only half the credit cards cancelled!!!,
Tomorrow is a short drive and hopefully in LA by lunch time.
Garry
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Garry,
Maybe your engine problem is the coil, it's probably done more work in the last three days than in the last three years, we lost ours in the 280SL coming down from San Ftancisco to LA
Good Luck
Geoff
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Jeez, Geoff--mount a coil like that with no wires and you are SURE to have a problem.
Tom and Garry--don't worry its all down hill to L.A. ;) As long as you roll into Tom's shop or push it in you'll be fine. When you get within 150 miles, you can always call AAA.
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We did not win at the slots nor make any money at craps or roulette but had a well deserved nights rest after a very very long day yesterday trying to work out what was going wrong with the car.
However, we are now finally in LA at Toms workshop.
Started the day by working on the car in Las Vegas at the hotel. We decided it's got be fuel as the front three cylinders were getting spark but no fuel so we opened the Stromberg and found a piece of old rubber crud that appears to have come from the hose and been blocking the float. We changed the fuel hose to the carby and put it all back together and it worked fine from then on.
Got here about 3 pm and have been working on it as it has a sticking throttle and I want to use it in the next couple of day to go to Santa Barba and a Jag shop there to get some other parts for Tom.
All in all we travelled apps 2350 miles with some minor problems with the fuel delivery but overall the car ran extremely well for the trip. It's now going to remain here and Tom will do the conversion of left to right before it then commences on it's next part of the trip across the the wide blue sea.
We are having a celebratory BBQ tonight on getting here safe and sound and the car as well. I will post a couple of photos when I get
home next week.
Some stats for the trip.
Total miles 2350
Oil used 2 qts
Fuel consumption, 17 - 19 mpg us gallons
Average crusing speed around 75 - 80 mph
Days taken 3 1/2
Repair time spent during trip 2 hours
Garry
No doubt Tom will add his bit shortly.
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Garry--We are all so happy (well, at least I am) that all three of you arrived in LA safe and sound. You are an old airplane guy in a manner of speaking, and 2 hours of maintenance en route sounds pretty spectacular relative to time spent driving, don't you think?
Best wishes for the rest of your journey home!
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What an amazing adventure! Glad you guys and the "cat" made it across the US in one of the hottest summers on record in good shape. I wanted an XKE in the worst way when I first lied eyes on one. The most beautiful car ever to come from the British Isles IMO. German engineering (and more comfortable seats) won out. Looking forward to hearing more of your continuing saga and photos that you took along the way.
I might add, as a former Angeleno, watch out for those crazy drivers down there:-)
John
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Please tell me you have photos?
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Thanks for the comments, and yes there are a couple of photos that will be posted on my return to Oz next week.
Have left Tom in LA and am now north of Santa Barbra. Re fitted the exhaust today and a new set of tires as well and picked up a lot of spares for Toms conversion from a Jag Restoration shop in Santa Barbra.
Spending the week end around here on the coast before returning to LA where Tom and I are going to take out the pedal rack for me to take back to Oz for adjustment and trial fitting on a RH Jag before sending them back to Tom for fitment.
Car still performing nicely.
Garry
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This post is a little late, but I thought I owed it to the conclusion of a great road trip with Garry and my first introduction to one sweet Jaguar E-type.... (Garry has probably filled you in already, but here's the rest of my diary)....
Day 3: After being confined to the he small moving space for two straight days now, it/ she started complaining a little today....Coming off our highest point in the Rockies (above 10500 ft), Garry had to slow down and stop and go due to traffic. He said the engine was not firing on one or more cylinders and down on power.
I couldn't really feel anything from the passenger side that suggested any misfiring. The engine seemed to run roundly, but Garry pulled over to be safe and see what was the matter and for about twenty minutes, we checked things out. After I found we had a spark at all spark plugs, I figured we were dealing with a fuel issue, but the timing of the trouble led me to think that maybe the high altitude caused some sort of fuel starvation.
I couldn't find the barometric compensator box on the damn thing, so I thought maybe there might have been some sort of vapor lock or such occurring in the fuel delivery. After playing with the slightly worn and sticking throttle linkage and making sure there was fuel in the gas feed line and filter, the car suddenly started up and ran fine again for most of the day.
I didn't like the look of two short lengths of slightly mushy fuel hoses going to each carburetor (I'm not a big fan of carbs as I'm lucky to own two beautiful oldies with very different, but reliable early fuel injection systems), but it looked like the car had gotten past it's ills and was going to perform as flawlessly as it had until now. A few hours later, I was driving, when the problem reoccurred.
Since I was becoming more certain we were dealing with a problem due to some fuel restriction or maybe limited movement of the carburetor's throttle due to a sticking linkage and since the engine still ran very smoothly, coolly, with good oil pressure and no other worrisome signs, I kept "limping" along between 60 and 75 mph, passing the same trucks on the downhills that caught back up with us on the up hills.
The more I got to drive the small moving space, the more I seemed to understand her. We seemed to become friends and I felt that she was trying to tell me what was ailing her. It seemed like she would make the best effort to keep moving along, thereby giving me time to think about what she was telling me and what questions to ask her the next time she felt a little weak and needed to pause.
The next time we stopped, I decided to narrow down which of her cylinders might be affected and started pulling off spark plug wires one by one to observe the change in idle speed. It turned out that the front 3 cylinders all were not firing despite having spark and since an Otto motor (as the Germans call them) only needs compression and fuel besides spark, my search narrowed to the forward carburetor which feeds the front three cylinders.
The next time she ran out of breath, I decided to look closer at the carburetors, wiggled the suspect fuel line and some other parts a bit and all of a sudden she would run fine again. But not for long. "Tell me more...." I needed to know. The problem seemed to happen when we were running at lower speeds and stop and go traffic rather than at high speeds when the fuel demands were the highest?.... Nevertheless, I decided to pull the plug out of the bottom of the forward carburetor's float bowl. Fuel came pouring out and then the engine started to run on only three cylinders. I used my thumb to plug the hole and she would run on all six again. Ok. That made sense, but no further clues why she stopped when the float plug was in?.... She ran, then she didn't.
I checked a few things. Pulled the float plug out again. This time: Bone dry. Turned the fuel pump on, fuel came gushing out. Plug back in. Ran a few hundred yards. Another stop. Take out the plug. No fuel. Fuel pump on. Still no fuel. Whoa! Why?.... Played around (Garry moved the ignition wires, she ran.) Hmmm. I'm not convinced, but we made it to Vegas for our final rest before heading to L.A.
Day 4. The small moving space, now considered a good friend, didn't want to leave Las Vegas. We were at the Circus Circus hotel and in the parking lot, dressed in my last clean shirt for the final leg home, I decided to get serious. If I didn't finally find out what was the matter, it looked like we would have a very long day ahead of us, even though we only had a few hundred miles left. I wanted to know what it was that allowed gas to get into the forward carburetor, but apparently, not to the cylinders?
We removed the air cleaner housing and as Garry started the engine I could watch the fuel in the rear carburetor atomize and the mist clearly rush upwards into the intake manifold. But not on the forward carb. Wow! Somewhere between the gas line, the fuel fitting on the carb and the float, the fuel was not getting by. I thought of what parts lay in it's path, not really having ever been interested to see much of the insides of any carburetors. Maybe the carburetor float was stuck?
Luckily, the access to the float bowl was quite good and I took out the six screws that held it and cautiously pried the float bowl off. I was worried about damaging the gasket which we had no replacement for and nothing to use for gasket cement other than maybe equal parts each, of the mashed potatoes and a brownie from the all-you-can-eat buffet the night before.
Luckily the small moving space had been well cared for and the gasket was another part that was in good enough condition to survive the dis-assembly. Now I grew anxious as I felt ever closer to coaxing my friend into reveal the last secret of what was ailing her. I wiggled the float a few times, expecting fuel to trickle out of the needle valve. Nothing. What?! Less than an inch apart and the fuel is disappearing? Ok, it has to be the needle valve then. A little bit of luck again. I can get to the needle valve seat with a 14mm wrench since none of the SAE sizes seemed to fit. I unscrew it by hand and I'm convinced the fuel will come running out now... And it does! We've got it!
As I'm examining the valve a small chunk of Black debris falls into my hand long enough for me to suspect that it might have come from the inside of the overly tightened weak rubber fuel hose that I had played with soon after we had our first symptoms. We're done. I told Garry, I'd be very surprised if we had anymore trouble from here on in. Within less than an hour of morning mechanicing, we were on our way, as proud of our new friend as Garry and I had been, all these past days, as she carried us quite effortlessly and in great style, through some pretty intense heat at an average cruising speed well above 70 mph. None of this was her fault. She simply choked a little on a small piece of debris and wasn't quite able to tell us about it....
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This is a very worthwhile read. Thanks guys.
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Great story!! Well told. Keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the outcome of a suspense thriller...
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But wait there is more, a steering conversion to be done and then 15,000 miles by sea followed by 80 km by road before the blue duck gets to sit beside the Pagoda in 'the shed'.
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But wait there is more, a steering conversion to be done and then 15,000 miles by sea followed by 80 km by road before the blue duck gets to sit beside the Pagoda in 'the shed'.
Garry. The greater the bond will be with "The Thing" or as I call her, the small moving space :-)
What will really be weird after 2500 miles of driving on the left side of the car, I'll be pulling it out of my shop sitting on the right side of the car. I have a feeling I'll attempt getting in the wrong side a few times at first. I'm sure your feel the same way once she arrives at your place. I just had a chance to read the whole thread. I didn't even know how bad your back was. You sure toughed it out on our trip....
Look forward to pulling out the pedal box this evening which you're going to strap to your back to take back to Aus. :-)
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To add a couple of photos of the trip across the USA and a final one at the beach to prove that it really made it to California
The car is now in pieces in Toms Workshop. The brake pedals are in another workshop in Australia being corrected to the RHD pattern and additional parts are being collected for Tom to do the conversion.
More to follow as it progresses.
Now off to have a drive in the Pagoda who has been neglected for such a long time.
Garry
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Garry. Welcome home. Not just the Pagoda has been neglected, also Mrs. Garry :-)
Although you were pretty thoughtful along the way, I think...
I'll post pictures of the now "slightly more moving space" NHD (neither right or left) Jag. soon
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Ok. My head has been been stuck under the driver's side of the dash for the past few weeks. I'm sorry, I meant the passenger side. I have... or is it the driver's side? It used...It must be the driver's side? I just spent 2400 miles on and off, driving on that side!? But, there is no more steering wheel and there is still a gas pedal sticking out of the floor on the near side (which is only "near" to me, when I'm on the other side of the car from where the new wiring harness for the speedometer and tachometer illumination is. Otherwise, those folks down under and up yonder call it the far side). Let's just call it the left side for now. I think we can all agree on that!? (except those people that argue: "It depends on which way you're looking at the car". For those people, I only have to say, I suppose you have two left arms too? (depending on which way you look at yourself? ;-)
To be clearer, the small moving space has all of a sudden become a lot bigger!....and a lot messier. I'd say, it looks like a bomb went off in there (don't worry Garry. It's normal....:-)
Things are starting to move over the the right hand side while other things are slowly moving to the left hand side. I keep moving back and forth, sometimes I even get under the car, to remove the LHD rack and pinion steering and to route the main engine harness all through the dash, then through a hole in the most distant corner of the left hand side foot well, then to the engine bay and to various parts in the front that would like to get some power and others that want to send some information back through the hole to the driver. ...Whether he (or she) might be sitting on the left or right hand side of the car.
The reason that this is happening carefully, one step at a time, is that there is no information out there on how the new harnesses should be oriented and routed and it took me a little while to figure out that the center instruments (and all 10 switches- I hope!) all need to swap positions so that the driver in the new off-side (Yes!- right side:-) will be able to get the best view of the most important instruments and switches right away. In hind sight that all makes sense, but when you have an endless Misch-Masch (German technical term) of wires and connector ends all heaped in front of you and running through the dash and between your legs, you don't want to take any chances and disconnect anything until you're sure it is correct. There are still a few loose wire ends that don't readily match up, which is a concern, but I'm sure it will all work out. Recommendations to use the wiring diagram for help were received with a "Thank you very much for that gold nugget ;-), but the wiring diagram for the right hand drive and the left hand drive version is the same one, so.... Studying the old and new wiring harnesses for each wire's color coding and connector and their respective locations in the now slightly larger moving space, was the best way to solve the puzzle. Enjoy the view with these pictures, taken with my trusty LG cell phone/ bore scope :-)....
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Tom, Tom,
Now, I know there is, or was very little room in the small moving space for a person so accustomed to the luxury of the Pagoda and its excessive spaces, but now knowing that the small space is spread all over a workshop in Los Angeles in small pieces makes me reach for a stiff drink, maybe a highball ;)
Should I be arranging for the shipping of a car to Australia in a Roll On/Roll Off ship or as a container load of spares ;D
For the rest of the Forum, I have the cast brake and clutch pedals here in Australia getting them bent to the 'right' way for a 'right' hand car so I know that the small moving space is not going far at this point. They are to be returned for fitting next week.
Now as for driving on the 'right' side of the road, or the 'right' side of the car. depends if you are looking from the left side or right side. As Tom said it is going to be an funny experience knowing that you have driven the car from both sides at some point.
Meanwhile I am about to take the Pagoda for a run of about 300 miles over the next few days to a wine growing area with a group of other car nut friends. Now what spares should i take. Maybe I will just use my USA AAA card and hope for the best ;D :D ;D :D
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Take one of Tom's recent pics of the small moving space and show it to a mechanic. He's bound to feel so sorry for you - and lucky for himself - that any Pagoda issues would be dealt with instantly
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Talk about a misch-masch, look at that picture of your shop.
You've got a BMW, a Jaguar, a 113 hood.
You can't leave those brands together alone. Bad things will happen late in the night.....while you're asleep...
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Noo .. nothing bad will happen with THAT cat watching over jewels.
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Talk about a misch-masch, look at that picture of your shop.
You've got a BMW, a Jaguar, a 113 hood.
You can't leave those brands together alone. Bad things will happen late in the night.....while you're asleep...
That's not counting the 300SL hard top sitting behind the Jag., a Gullwing belly pan sitting behind the Pagoda hood and a 1963 Vette sitting around the corner. I'm in car heaven :-)
Alfred: She's isn't much of a watch cat though.....;-)
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Tom, Tom,
Meanwhile I am about to take the Pagoda for a run of about 300 miles over the next few days to a wine growing area with a group of other car nut friends. Now what spares should i take. Maybe I will just use my USA AAA card and hope for the best ;D :D ;D :D
Yes Garry, you should have a nice trip and a few glasses of wine. I know I would be, if I saw my car in pieces like that and didn't know if it was ever going to come together again. (Just kidding :-)..... Hmmm, speaking of AAA, since you won't be able to use your free tows, maybe we should use them to get the Jag towed down to the docks ;-) I doubt you'll need any spares for the Pagoda. Also, the fuse box doesn't have a mystery location like the E type...
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And so the saga goes on and the wee small space is slowly coming apart and poor Tom is realising that Pagodas are really nice to work on.
To change the speedo cable, the top of the transmission tunnel has to be removed to give access to the gearbox. A bit like working on the heater box in a Pagoda ::)
Well at least most of the parts are now with Tom, Brake and clutch pedals were changed to angle for RHD and with new brake and clutch reservoirs now safely back with Tom from Australia. the conversion begins in ernest.
Shipping company has been selected, a New Zealander that Tom has worked with before. When finished the car will be cleaned so that it can get through our quarantine inspections and put into a container for the trip to OZ.
When that will be is still unknown at this point.
Still lots of questions to be answered for Tom. Thankfully a Jag Restoration shop here is giving some help together with a friend that is also doing one in his shed at home.
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Hi, Garry,
This DVD may be useful for the reassembly process.
http://www.markevans.co.uk/acatalog/A_Car_is_Reborn.html
Naj
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Jags are certainly interesting cars to work on. Too bad we don't have a video camera on Tom all the time to see and hear what he encounters.
Say, my friend here in Michigan has a 1967 Jaguar 420 Saloon. He recently discovered a very rare factory option; this is the "fuel pumps fill the tail lamps with petrol option." Good thing he discovered this during the day. He decided he no longer needs that option and will be removing it soon. I wonder if this was available on the E-Types? ;)
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I think the video would be interesting also, but not with sound...
I know if that was me trying to deal with it, you wouldn't want to hear all that was being said. :-X
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Michael,
Your friend is probably lucky he did not have to break open the can of smoke that comes with every Jaguar. I think it was Smiths that sold the cans. Don't know if they still do!!!
Tom is putting in a new wiring loom to ensure the smoke does not appear unexpectedly.
Rick, I heard some of what Tom would be saying now as we spent four days in the small confined space, at around 120 degrees without air, windows down and frying eggs on the transmission tunnel getting from PUB to LA. As a result I have also asked Tom to put in a bundle of dynamat to try to insulate the heat out of the cabin.
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.... As a result I have also asked Tom to put in a bundle of dynamat to try to insulate the heat out of the cabin.
Hi Garry,
it may come as a shock to you but Dynamat is a very good sound dampening material but a lousy heat insulator. The metal foil provides a little bit of radiant heat reflection, that's all.
For heat insulation use something like Thermozite: http://www.perfectfit.com/15269/154086/Carpet--Padding/Thermozite.html
or better a polyimide material that is used in the aerospace industry:
http://www.evonikfoams.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=69&Itemid=78
Dynamat used to sell a polyimide material under the name Tec-Mat but it is NLA.
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I had some of this
http://www.actis-isolation.com/produits.php?p=3&l=3&rub=41&gamme=0
left over from some building work in 2005 and had it cut/seamed and left under my capets when I had them replaced. It does nothing for the noise but does wonders for the heat in the cabin of Audrey. Footwells and tranny tunnel are covered. It's light, thin and works
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Lead septum from Black Forest works great. Have it in the 190 SL too. Sucks up sound and vibration. Heavy. Not sure BF would ship. And it's not permanent, just lays in. Very moldable and easy to fit.
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Thanks Guys,
Asked Tom to have a bit of a rethink on What we use to insulate against heat. Sound is not the problem :-)
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Tosh,
the TRISO-SOLS material from this company looks very attractive because of its weight and its only about 7 mm thick. I wish the company would provide some insulation values.
John,
the lead septum is a very nice sound insulator but it is very heavy and certainly not cheap at $17/sq.ft.
I have started a new topic http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=15421 in the hope that we can get more and better information on suitable materials.
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On Thelews's photographs above, fitted to the seat support crossmember there is a small metal stop,in the parts list in the seat frame section it is item #39 part# 113 919 00 21. I think it is a seat stop but other members think it is associated with the fire extinquisher.
What is its function?
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Hello Garry,
Sorry to hi-jack your thread re: the Jag: E type.
I am very surprised there has been no feed back as i need to know if it is worth refitting it to my nearly completed car
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Eric,
Maybe John L does not read this part of the forum so I suggest that you copy his photo and then put a new topic in the General area of the Forum directly asking John what the tab is for. I suspect it is the fire extinguisher fixture.
Garry
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Eric,
Maybe John L does not read this part of the forum so I suggest that you copy his photo and then put a new topic in the General area of the Forum directly asking John what the tab is for. I suspect it is the fire extinguisher fixture.
Garry
I do read this forum, but don't know what the tab is for. Does it say in the parts manual?
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Hi Eric,
you mentioned already the two possibilities "I think it is a seat stop but other members think it is associated with the fire extinquisher. "
In the parts list it is called a "Stop angle" and since it is associated with seat parts I doubt that it functions as a fire extinguisher mounting gizmo.
It is present in LHD and RHD cars but, of course, always in front of the driver seat.
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I initially thought it was a seat stop, then changed my mind to a fire extinguisher mount. If a seat stop, why only for the drivers seat?:
Gus
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Because if the driver were to mess with the seat release while he's driving you wouldn't want the driver to "slide off the rails," so to speak and cause an accident. Should the passenger do the same, who cares? Not at the controls and no danger to others.
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At least I don't need one in the Jag then, the brakes aren't good enough to get to get you sliding forward :D :D : :o
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Hi Everyone.
It sounds like you all have kept your self occupied without me for the past few weeks. I haven't been working steadily on the SMS, since I also had a 1963 Corvette to put together, fix and partially restore. But I have worked on it from time to time, taking breaks to try to answer some question or order parts, heal wounds, sometime eat as well....
Well. The small moving space, which had been surprisingly empty for the past 2-3 months, is slowly becoming more and more crowded again. That’s actually not only a bad thing, because what’s being added into the car are such things like electrical wiring and switches and instruments to help you guess whether you will ever arrive at your next destination. Also, sound and heat insulation (because who in their right minds would ever want to drive 2400 miles, cross-country, in August, in a hot and loud small moving space), lighting, tight, fresh new front suspension bushings and linkages, pedals to make the car stop and go, and even a new assembly should allow me to point the space in the direction I want it to go. It is now on the right side of the car. (No really, it’s on the right side of the car! …..Which used to be the passenger side.) I don’t know if this was Garry, the owner’s, reason for spending so much money on switching sides, but it should definitely help to even out the wear and tear, between the two front seats. Well, the only seats, really…:-)
Since the space, as we will call it for short, now that we’ve all become sort of familiar with one another, will be going to visit the Wizard of Oz in just a few weeks, those amenities are the kinds of things that the people down there like to see operational on a car. Things that don’t seem so important in this country, let alone this State…. P.S. I don’t know definitively, whether the wizard actually hailed from down under?.... That would’ve had to have been one heckuva Tornado storm….:-)
On another note: I finally just figured out the remaining wiring issues after I had gotten this cat to growl for the first time again, a few days ago. The problem was, she wouldn’t stop growling even after I turned off the ignition switch. It appears, the Prince of Darkness, Mr. Lucas himself, was trying to have his fun with me, even from beyond the grave. He was aided by his cohorts from XKs Unlimited and SNG Barratt, but it takes more than a few flickering switches, no instructions, some crumbling wires with no longer recognizable color coding and a wiring diagram in which the letter N (for Brown) is reserved for the wires that carry the highest currents, not those that go to the car’s ground, as I had come to accept for most of my life, until now. Do these Brits purposely do EVERYTHING backwards?... ;-)
Naturally, they apparently also have to be the only ones on their whole continent, who chose to drive on the other side of the road, plus they often connect the positive battery terminal to the body of the car, to annoy auto mechanics around the world (not in the case of the relatively late model car “space”, which already came with negative “earth”.) Maybe this is why they still are using the Brown wire for +, as it used to be the ground?...
Anyway, almost all is good now.... It looks like the ghost of Mr. Lucas past didn’t realize how stubborn a German-born engineer could be….
They may have won the war, but I will not let them outsmart me when it comes to taming cats :-)….
Ta….
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...so you'll be shipping Garry's car when??? ;)
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Now Michael,
That is a very good question but one that is undetermined at this point of time. If I stop giving Tom additional things to do on the car and the Ghost of Mr Lucus stops being a thorn in his side, and the Kiwi shipping company is good to their word in having a ship depart every week, then very early in the new year the Small Moving Space will be containerised and start on its trek to Oz where getting it registered onto 'club plates' starts for round three of getting it home and into the shed in a bay beside "Pagode"
Garry
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Mr. Lucas will always rear his ugly head, unless you hire Herr Bosch to chase him away. Just let us know when you get the car!
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Its a race to see if the small space or the "Pagoda Book" gets here first, maybe I could put the book in the glove box!! :o :o ;D ;D
Only problem with that is there is probably no light in there to read it.
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While the Pagoda book is out of my hands (and has been for some time) I suspect it might arrive a bit earlier than the Jag.
This much I can tell you--it won't it in any glove box, not even on a Cadillac Escalade. As for light, if you have a Lucas light, well...
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Garry and Machael
Everything will have to go quite smoothly from here on out to be done by early January. I was hoping for mid-January?...
Maybe tomorrow The Space will stretch its legs a bit and learn how to roll again. Mr. Lucas will probably come along for the ride, but he'll have to hang on tight as it will be without the windshield and passenger seat (old driver seat)....
Cheers...
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Tom,
A photo of that I would love to see, will scare the pants off me.
Garry
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Hi GArry
Yes, I think it would have scared you :-) I drove the space for the first time today for longer than a minute, coolant filled, oil changed, my aviator goggles on. I forgot how good that car feels, even with the steering rod ends only adjusted according to pie times my thumb (a German saying), the car tracked very straight, engine runs great although the idle speed was high. After all that heat insulation work, the car was not nearly as hot as it had been. Of course that could also have something to do with the fact that is was only about 10 to 12 degrees C and the convertible top was down and the windshield was missing....:-)
I felt confidant in my space and all the gauges (except tachometer!) worked. I only had front brakes as I'm still waiting for the rear brake line from SNG, but who needs rear brakes anyway...
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I thought you'd want to see the space as we drove it from the paint shop today. I think it looks a lot nicer without the side lights. Well worth it. Trying to get that darn wiper motor to park in the right spot now.
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Well, since I have the first advance copy of the book in hand, and the rest of them are on a truck on the way here, I suspect that the books will beat the car to Australia. However, as Garry is my friend Tom, don't try and speed anything up on the count of this...do what you plan on doing in the time and budget allotted.
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Please note that the steering wheel is now on the right side of the small space and that the car is drivable but a bit more yet to do.
We decided to take the side lights off the car. The US cars like the Pagoda had to have side markers fitted. They blemish the lines and so Tom arranged to have the lights removed and the holes welded up and the fenders both front and rear repainted.
Planning is actually now occurring for a shipping date to Australia. Just in time for a summer drive 8)
Michael, may even be on a boat in a couple of weeks. It will be a close call between the book and the car ;D
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I especially like the goggles - gives it that real vintage feel.
Could have smiled a little wider so we could see the bugs on your teeth...
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Merry Christmas to everyone!
While I was doing a few things to the space today, whole listening to Christmas songs on the radio, I recalled this variation of the Jingle-Bells tune:
Driving in the Sun,
in a 265 horse open space
O’er pot-holed streets we go,
fearful all the way…
Do we still have brakes,
Will they slow us down,
Will the steering work to turn,
this open space around?
Oh, let’s hope so, let’s hope so,
let’s hope it’s alright,
oh what fun it is to ride,
in a 265 horse open space.
Windshield wipers work,
Although there is no glass,
Engine’s running well,
Yes, it is a blast
I think I’m getting cold,
It must be Christmas now,
or maybe I forgot to hook,
the heater up last night.
Oh, let’s hope no, let’s hope no,
let’s hope it’s alright,
oh what fun it is to ride,
in a 265 horse open space….
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:D :D
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Well the car, sorry Tom, the Small Moving Space, is now in RH Drive thanks to Tom and all his efforts. Tom has got over the Christmas spirit and down to work and has the car ready to go. Well almost.
There have been lots of minor problems with unexpected things such as odd wiring layouts not to spec, seat belt mountings, tacho not going, radios not working or fitting properly, funny noises from the Front Left and some knocking underneath but with Toms persistence, everything is nearly there. We thought it might have been moved today ready for shipping but there appears to be a delay of a week or so, thus a bit more time for Tom to do a couple of other items like change the seat belts to retractable ones.
The shipping time will be around four weeks, then I have to pay some taxes, (10% of cost for Goods and Services Tax) but no imports as it is over 20 years old. I then have to get a roadworthy certificate before I can get it registered on Club Plates that allows me to drive it 90 times per year for a fraction of normal registration.
Its a long drive to Australia from PUB and Blacklick. Fuel costs are enormous :o
Garry
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According to Google maps it's 15,734 miles, travel time is 55 days 23 hours. This route has tolls. This route includes a ferry. This route crosses through Japan.
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Blacklick,+Jefferson,+OH&daddr=Melbourne,+Victoria,+Australia&hl=en&sll=5.35535,-157.333105&sspn=129.498508,226.054688&geocode=FeNIYgIdamYQ-yl5QpTNomY4iDH-B16LkqjcEg%3BFT0Ev_0dpPWjCCmB_REPr0LWajHg54whdVYEBQ&oq=melborne,+australia&vpsrc=0&mra=ltm&t=h&z=2 (http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Blacklick,+Jefferson,+OH&daddr=Melbourne,+Victoria,+Australia&hl=en&sll=5.35535,-157.333105&sspn=129.498508,226.054688&geocode=FeNIYgIdamYQ-yl5QpTNomY4iDH-B16LkqjcEg%3BFT0Ev_0dpPWjCCmB_REPr0LWajHg54whdVYEBQ&oq=melborne,+australia&vpsrc=0&mra=ltm&t=h&z=2)
;D
Regards,
280SE Guy
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The Small Moving Space is still in LA. :o
We were delayed a week and with the extra time Tom was going to fit some retractable seat belts and fix a few other gremlins.
Now you all know how it goes, start something and the next thing you know you are doing more of a restoration rather than just a fix of this or that.
Well each morning or evening, depending on which side of the big blue water the sun is on, I usually get an email from Tom on whats been happening.
I had been getting a couple of emails headed 'Seat Belts' late last week keeping me informed on the hows and whens of getting them and fitting them, but then I got the email with two more words added to the heading, "Seat Belts and Rust".
Now Tom has sent me a loverly photo of the under floor bolting for the seat belt and there in the corner of the sill is rust.
After a flurry of emails we decide that Tom will cut it open and have a look at how bad it is in there. On a Jag there is only an outer sill, welded in place that makes up part of a box section to the floor pan from behind the front wheel to forward of the rear wheel. The panels are readily available, if you want to cut the whole sill out :o :o :o
Fingers crossed it has not spread too far. however its not heading out of the USA this week!
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OK Garry, the clock starts ticking on Monday 23-January. That's when your Pagoda Style books should be handed over from the broker to the USPS and be en route to Melbourne. Which will arrive first? SMS, or Books? :D
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Guess the book won the race to Australia.
Where's the small moving space now???
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I was waiting for that post Michael.
The Small Moving Space is still in Los Angeles. It did get within days of being on the move again but unfortunately, the dreaded "Rust" headed email arrived on my computer one morning, not the "car is on the boat" that I had been hoping for. Whilst fitting some retracting seat belts, Tom noticed that, horror upon horror, a few bubbles in the paint under one of the sills.
Now having removed the US style side lights we had a bit of paint left over and the question was, do you want me to patch over them so that it can just pass the Roadworthy Inspection that it will have to have on arrival in Australia or open the sill and have a look.
No, said I, as though not having learnt my lesson from the Pagoda,' lets take off the paint and see what the problem really is. '
Now Tom, who had previously demonstrated his ability to photograph inside the sills of a Pagoda at 2011 PUB as those that attended can recall, cut a small square hole in the sill and sent me some photos from inside (see attached) that immediately sent me to the bank to seek more money. There was rust inside both sills that whilst not major, was enough to require treatment with waxoyl and some additional metal that had rusted away inside. Luckily Tom was able to cut into the sills to treat it. A decision was made to go for a fix rather than replace as the whole sill is a welded box section that would require major repair to replace.
Thus the next episode of the SmS travels to Australia has been delayed whilst the sills were opened and the rust inspected, repaired and waxoiled.
The last email I have got from Tom was headed "Rust, Waxoyl and Fire" :o :o :o
Thats for the next episode of the story ;)
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Well Garry, you are making the right decisions. Don't accept shipment of the car until everyone is satisfied and the work is done top-notch. Some say don't go looking for trouble, but now is the time to find it!
At least you have a book to read while you wait... ;)
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Hi Garry & Tom,
I stumbled across this photo of your car at the Chicago 1963 car show. Same year the Pagoda was introduced. This is the text for the photo:
Despite a large Chrysler sign at the top of this photo, the scene is at the adjoining Jaguar exhibit space. In the left foreground is a Jaguar XK-E (E-Type) coupe. An XK-E convertible is in the right foreground, and a Mark X sedan is in the center. Farther back, on the right, the front end of a Daimler SP250 roadster can be seen. Introduced for 1960, the SP250 had a small (153-cid) V-8 engine.
Who built better cars in those days, Chrysler or Jaguar? ;)
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Hi Guys
I haven't been here in a while. Garry has kept me so busy :-)
It's been quite some time, since I worked on the electrical portion of this job. I finally figured out the wiper motor, although I had to get a little "German-style" on the Jaguar parts sellers in New Hampshire who had just sold me, basically the wrong wiper motor. So they finally agreed to ask one of their tech guys and it only took a minute to come back to confirm what I had already suspected: There was a left and and a right-hand drive version of the wiper motor. Luckily, the answer was simple: Take out the wiper motor for the fourth time. Open the the new wiper motor up too, take out the gear from the old motor and swap it over. The gear has a cam on top of it which activates a micro switch inside the motor. That switch turns the motor off in its resting place (just like on a pagoda), which is different for left and right hand versions. Even the tachometer, which was feared not working after sitting around for a few months finally fell into place. After I had exhausted every other possibility, including frying Garry's electronic ignition (:-( oops), I finally had the courage to swap the direction of current going through the tachometer to the exact opposite direction of what it said in the wiring diagram. I think this was Mr. Lucas' last vengeance and after that he asked the tin worm to take over.
Apparently, when Garry went to the bank, he was either very charming or he mortgaged his new house, because he sure didn't want to have me stop working on the Space. Either that, or he figured he was better off having most of the labor intensive work done in a Third World country, so that the labor costs would be reduced. (We thank you here for giving us the work)…
As he already told you, I started having some concerns while installing the retractable seat belts. I had been hearing that the safety inspectors down under were as particular as those in most of Europe. Even though I thought we always knew that there was a small rust spot at the bottom of the sills, I thought it best that I should maybe put a little paint over it before the car arrived in Australia. Little did I think that would result in the car staying with me for another six weeks and with me doing my least favorite type of repair, which is rust repair. Although the damage was fairly moderate, compared to what I've seen in my prior life in Europe, Garry took the "might as well" approach and kept asking me to open the sills a little further, in order to get a good look. Once again, I felt like a forensic scientist or an archaeologist, unearthing hidden treasures and minerals (unfortunately FEO2 is not nearly as valuable as AU, which I didn't find). I DID find the most unusual looking pod inside one of the sills. I swear it looked like an alien skull that had been deposited there for burial or for a Trojan horse attack on planet Earth.
Anyway, I started fabricating pieces of sheet metal to replace the cancerous pieces and before closing the sills back up, I treated them with the wax like rust inhibitor, Waxoyl. The only problem was that when I started welding in the outer sill, the substance became VERY liquid, even gaseous and it would burst out in flames, thereby igniting evermore waterfalls of burning petroleum distillate from the sills. Luckily, I was prepared and had fire extinguishers handy, but I realized this was not a safe way to work. The only thing I could think of to inhibit the fire, was to run some vinyl tubing into the sill, which I duct taped to a bottle of welding gas, consisting of an Argon/CO2 mixture. This actually worked quite well and I could finish the job without further incidents. As is usually the case, there was a little bit more body filler, than one would prefer, at the upper edge of one of the sills. It had led to a horizontal crack just behind the door and since we were applying the "might as well" principle, we decided that all that filler should be removed before painting the lower sills and eventually the whole rear clip (except for the trunk lid) and both doors. The added benefit of that was that the Space is now more or less one shade of blue…
After I got it back from the painters, I had only two more days to finish the Waxoyl inside the doors and sills, glue in the door weather stripping, install the antenna and the door and other interior panels, glue the sill upholstery back on, apply some seam sealer in the rear wheel arches where I found more open "gaps" (luckily no rust), install the left seat belt and seat, clean the car, tighten the steering wheel and install the horn button, figure out why the horns weren't working (one of the reasons was: "that wasn't the horn button" :-) . Luckily, the answer to that problem came to Garry in a dream :-). The, get rid of a muffler rumble and some other noises and finally put the hard top back on the car and place Garry's Blacklick PUB poster inside the trunk. With a half-hour left to go before the shipper needed the car to entomb it in a container, I was nervous what might go wrong on the drive down there. But all was well. She ran and sounded very well, the blinkers and instruments still worked, fuel was nearly depleted and after driving 1400 miles with the steering wheel of the left, it was now....
Oh, oh. It was STILL on the left hand side.........I was so busy trying to figure out all the other little issues that the main reason for being here somehow got overlooked and I had installed it back on the left side of the car!!..... :-(
(Just kidding Garry. There’s nothing better for the heart, than the occasional elevated heart rate :-)….
I’m going to miss you my small moving space, even though it is nice to have a bigger space back at my garage now. Have a good trip!....
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And so the next phase of driving the Jag from Blacklick Ohio to Hanging Rock Australia begin ;D ;D.
The parting photographs, firstly leaving Toms Yard and the second one at the shippers warehouse with lots of other cars about to be shipped out of the US of A to Oz.
But wait, is that a Pagoda I see in the background :o :o :D The Small Moving Space started out in Joe A's (JA17) shed with Alfred's and Michaels cars and looks like it is going to be keeping good company on the trip by another Pagoda going down under.
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For your sake, Garry--I'm happy that the SMS was not stolen during the 30 seconds it was in front of Tom's place (extremely rough state and even worse neighborhood for classic car thefts, apparently) for the photo op. Happy to see it at the shippers in one piece...
Remember, to pass the time while you wait that long ocean voyage, you can always sit back and read Pagoda Style... ;) That would be the book that made it there first...
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Yes Michael. We know that your book made it there first ;D ;)
They are too scared of me in this neighborhood to think of touching any of my cars! I had a 96 point 1960 300SL convertible in there for over a year and test drove it from time to time with no trouble. It's the better neighborhoods you have to watch out for. That's where these guys go scouting and picking up Pagodas. That seems to be the most popular target of all the classic cars I know. Kind of the Honda Accord of the classic car world?...
Here are some pictures that show the apparently innocent appearance of some rust bubbles, while I was working on the seat belts.....
Guess which side turned out to be much worse than the other?.....
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Answer: The side with only the tiny little pin holes showing on the outside :-) 1st picture....
Also, here are some pictures of the Alien. Folks, this kind of thing only happens in Hollywood :-).... 2nd and 3rd pictures....
There's something about sitting on the center console of a Jaguar that is very appealing to L.A. cats :-) 4th picture.....
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I was not going to tell Michael that the book had arrived until I realized that the SMS was not going anywhere for some time.
Then again, it has not taken some years to get from Ohio to LA and I still have some time to get it to oz to be beaten in those stakes
Tom,
You said there was an odd noise coming out from under the car, you sure that puss did not get into the sill? That cat has good taste.
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Well folks,
The Small Moving Space is in a bigger box and afloat on the water and has been so for 8 days. ETA Melbourne Australia 20th March and then give a week for clearance. I wonder if it is in the same box as the Pagoda that was also part of the consignment for Down Under.
The car is on the move again Yeee haar, looking forward to seeing it again.
Garry
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Hi Garry
I heard from Craig today and he says the car has been shipped for some time now, so could be arriving soon. I can't wait to hear what you think.... I'm curious whether those side marker light ended up somewhere in the recesses of the trunk....
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Word is out that there is a new cat in town. The Small Moving Space (SMA) has morfed from a US LH Jaguar XKE to an Aussie RH E Type cat.
The SMS is being unpacked as I write and maybe available to me by the end of week or early next week. Need to get a 30 day permit to move it to a workshop to get a roadworthy inspection and then put it onto Historic plates and the drive home to the Pagoda Shed.
Garry
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Good on ya, mate!
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Cool. You'll end up being the Top Cat in your town, maybe even the top dog....That was pretty quick. Will you still make that event you were hoping for?.....
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Garry
I've changed my mind about bringing that part over - you can now 'cat' it over next week to collect! Let's have a look ;) ;)
Richard
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Got a 28 day permit, just paid the customs and shipping costs and awaiting approval to go and pick it up. Hopefully in the next couple of days. The rally I was interested is on the weekend after this, will have to see if they will take late entries as I did not enter as I thought it would not get here in time. Was going to use Pagoda of course.
Richard, will try for monday or Tuesday evening if it is off the dock. Will let you know.
Photos of the pair in the shed to follow soon
Garry
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Congratulations! Nothing like a rally to shake things up and out a bit! Good luck...Tom Colitt will be your co-pilot, right??? :D
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Well it has finally come the time to go pick the Small Moving Space up. It will be released to me tomorrow morning.
After a lot of horse trading with Customs who insisted that I pay Sales Tax on everything that I or Tom have put into the car whilst it was in the USA including some shoes I purchased at Maceys!!! that they thought were Jag parts on the Visa statement and the PUB Poster that was in the trunk, we agreed on a figure and I have paid the duties and the SMS is here at last.
Tomorrow some photos of it entering the Pagoda Shed :o :o ;D
Wooohoo, getting toward a year since its purchase in Atlanta Georgia.
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The Eagle has Landed
Down to the Shipping company this morning with my release note in one hand, jumper leads in the other and the Minister of Finance (Kate) waiting to see if I needed the regular car to jump start the Small Moving Space.
Signed the documents and put on the orange safety vest and walked down to the very last warehouse and there it sat with about 10 other cars waiting their owners. Mine was the only one in RHD thanks to Tom. It was also the smallest space that had been shipped across from USA, the rest were Chevys, Mustangs and Pontiac's.
Checked fuel, oil and water and then turned the key in anticipation but not a sound, not even clicking so pushed the SMS out of the warehouse to where the Minister was waiting and we jump started it and the cat purred. Now that brought a smile to my face.. With it going and wife Kate to follow, we headed out of the compound and off toward Hanging Rock, about 100 Km outside Melbourne. A good drive to get the cobwebs from nearly 8 months of sitting in Toms workshop and a couple of short test drives in LA.
It ran fine and other than putting a new battery in it, is ready to hit the road this weekend. Took out the PUB 2011 poster in the trunk to be hung on the shed wall. Nice to have choices to drive.
Now I have one more car space in the shed to fill with the 230SL that is having a heart transplant at the moment, then the day of reckoning occurs when I have to decide on one to go, 280SL 5 speed or the Jag. ;D ;D ;D That should not be a hard decision, but we will see.
Garry
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Nice :) :) :)
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...and what a long journey it has been...finally, congratulations. Sleep well tonight.
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Garry,
Only decission you should have to make is how big an extension to make to the shed and don't forget to leave room for the Aston M.
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Sounds like a tough choice. I really enjoyed the car although, as usual, I am glad to have a big project done. It ended being a lot bigger project than I (and probably Garry) thought it would be, starting with a right to left hand drive conversion and then progressively adding brake system replacement, sound and heat insulation, front suspension bushings rebuild, seat belts, side light deletion, rust deletion (code: !!!) and a little bit of sheet metal, exhaust rumble and distributor repair....
Garry, you haven't said anything about the seat belts yet. I had the constraint of trying to use the factory mounting points in order to avoid trouble with the inspectors. Problem is, the new belts are retractable and the upper / rear deck mounting point interferes with the soft top in its folded down position, so that the friction the retractor has to overcome is greater than normal..... But, for a Jaguar owner that should only amount to a minor annoyance :-)...
I can't wait to hear whether the inspectors approve of the rust repairs and the seat belt mounting too....
Have fun...
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As Tom said the seat belts interfere with the soft top when it is down which is where it stays for most of the time. I have not had an opportunity to see how others are set up but may have to do some adjusting of that.
It goes in for its first inspection on Wednesday and that will be crunch time. They are really strict and the items that I can see that they will ping me on will be most likely the headlights need replacement for left aiming, the indicators can be intermittent so if they work then it will be fine but if its not their day then I may have to do some work. The front turn indicators are orange and in Australia I think they have to be white so that is another item I may have to change over. Play in the steering can be another thing they love to reject and whilst the whole front end has been done, there is still a small play in the steering that I think is coming from one of the universal joints in the system. Am hoping that it will be ok as that could be PIA. The rust repair is excellent and I don't think that they will question that. The other item that they like to find is oil leaks so that can be a never ending process to rectify.
That is about all that I think that they could pick up. They then photograph each item that has failed and I have I think 30 days to correct and they then inspect the repairs and rephotograph and submit the lot to the Road Traffic Authority. If it is not done in the 30 days then the whole process starts again.
Once that is done and I have a Roadworthy Certificate, I then have to have that and a signed authority for Historic Register from a Car Club authorised member and then take the whole lot back to the Road Traffic Authority, pay $100 and they will then issue me with new plates to attach to the car and I am permitted to drive it a maximum of 90 days a year using a logbook system.
A very convoluted system but I guess it keeps someone employed somewhere in the process.
Till Wednesday
Garry
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;D "A very convoluted system but I guess it keeps someone employed somewhere in the process....."
Garry. I had an idea for the seat belt upper mounting tab on your rear "parcel shelf". Maybe you could fabricate some sort of "rollover bar", held in place by the upper mounting tab so that the soft top frame does not make contact with the seat belt webbing?...
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Well the car is still at the testing station, it did not pass the first time, no surprises there. the items are turn indicators intermittent and the flasher switch stuck. So an Auto electricition will look at it after Easter and hopefully a certificate issued. Thankfully nothing else has been rejected so that is a really good outcome.
Not quite home and registered yet but close.
Garry
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Garry-
They probably ran into the same type problems when they were brand new.
So, how did any of them ever get there?? ;D
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its the Prince of Darkness in control.
As Tom said, I should have told them that the intermittent emergency flashers/indicators were how Lucus designed them to be, blinkers. ;D :D ;D :D
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The tale of the Small Moving Space's (SMS) transition from a US XKE Left Hand Drive car to an Australian E Type RHD is coming to an end.
After purchasing the SMS in Atlanta sight unseen, I trucked it to Joe Alexanders home mid last year in anticipation of my visit to PUB. and a plan to drive it across USA to LA for shipping home. After some enquiries, Tom Collitt offered to do the LH to RH conversion, as a bonus, he indicated that he would come to PUB and offered to share the drive back across the US.
Thus the story began on the Space moving from PUB to Australia. What a drive, did a similar drive with another member (Art) at the 2009 PUB and it was just as fantastic the second time around. A great car trip.
With Tom converting it to RHD in his workshop in LA it was then shipped across the Pacific landing in Melbourne at the end of March. It was then prepped for registration and I have finally got the car registered in Victoria Australia as a RHD E Type as distinct from a US LHD XKE. Plates were issued late last week.
Sometimes you get lucky and in this instance whilst Tom found a bit of rust in the sills which was fixed, and hours of frustration on Toms part with the new wiring harnesses, after all it is a Jag, the car has come here looking fantastic and going well. Well not as good as a Pagoda, but I have made some allowances for the Lucus electrics that insist on demonstrating the "Prince of Darkness" theory.
Thus the 'Shed" is now shared by a Pagoda and a Jag with another Pagoda still to arrive.
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Great story Garry, Well done, You are a lucky man, ;)
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Hi Garry:
Love that second pic - quite a contrast in styles.
You're just going to have to get a bigger shed! ;)
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It is sad to hear the story is coming to the end (only because it has been so fun to read about and see in person at PUB 2011), but congratulations to you !!
Those are beautiful cars ... as you know.
I look forward to hear what you are planning for 2013 ! :)
That is a hard act to follow.
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At least the coda will be a picture of the next Pagoda.