Patrick resizes Jaguar valve adjusting pallets on the surface grinder. Click to Enlarge
Jaguar valve adjustment is effected by steel pallets which sit on top of the valve and its retainer underneath the cam followers (a.k.a. “tappets”). Adjusting pallets are supplied in a range of .085″, part number C 2243A, thru .110″, C 2243Z. An interesting letter and number coincidence, don’t you think ?
Patrick easily hit the range on the exhaust side of the cylinder head, which is clearanced to .006″, but for various reasons, in order to get to .004″ on the intake side he needed a couple of thousandths more clearance than what is available inside the range. He found that additional clearance on our ex-War Department Reid Surface Grinder. If you enlarge the picture you’ll actually see the sparks flying !
What it should look like: 4.2 E-type head after valve work
This is what it looks like when it’s done right. The valve guides have been replaced with new ones +.002″ on the outside diameter, the old ones were loose! But these are the old valves properly resurfaced, as is the gasket face of the cylinder head. Take note that #3 intake valve was previously replaced, 3rd from the left (A six cylinder Jaguar engine is numbered from back to front). This picture was shot from below the workbench looking up and is also enlargeable.
New head gasket & studs
In our “End to End E-types” report last month there is a picture of Warner helping to wrestle the cylinder head off this engine. It was a situation which was no doubt exacerbated by the relatively poor condition of the old cylinder head studs. These are new studs and also a new Payen head gasket, we won’t use any other. The difference was immediate and obvious: Patrick was easily able to slip the cylinder head back into postition by himself, as you can see here.
4.2 head with Weber intake manifold
Our next steps will be to reinstall the 45 DCOE sidedraft carburetors using a set of soft mount kits. The paper gaskets previously fitted were of dubious sealing quality. A soft mount kit, if you’re wondering, is a plastic spacer block, grooved to take an o-ring on each side, with the carburetors retained on the manifold studs by nylon locking nuts and deformable plastic washers, thereby reducing the clamping loads which sometimes lead to deformed mating surfaces, which in turn lead to vacuum leaks and poor performance.
An Austin Healey 3000 BN7. Click
Next week we’re going to have a few things to say about our two on-going Austin Healey 3000 restorations. Butch is still hard at work on an early BJ8 car, while Warner is just beginning the build up on this two seater.
Meanwhile, earlier today I hustled over to Port Jefferson, Long Island to retrieve an MG TD which last turned a wheel in 1985. It’s a well known car out on the Island, at least to the old timers !
Leaving Long Island on the Port Jefferson Ferry
