Outside Bonnet Locks

Sunbeam Alpine

John strips the M/Cyl's out of an Alpine

John is full speed ahead on the Sunbeam Alpine we retrieved last week from Enosburg Falls, right up on the Canadian border.  The license plates in the trunk suggest it came from Alabama, and apart from some so-so new floors, it’s in pretty good nick structurally.

Brakes are always of paramount concern in sports cars which do not have dual circuit brakes, the loss of hydraulic pressure anywhere in the system instantly become a loss of pressure

self-adjusting brake mechanism

Self-adjusting brake mechanism

everywhere in the system, and the Alpine is no different in this regard.

Later Alpines have a self-adjusting mechanism on the rear drum brakes.  In the photo here, John is pointing at the ratchet wheel which is actuated by an arm attached to the handbrake lever, so every time the handbrake is applied, the brakes are adjusted !   Of course the front disc brakes adjust themselves as the wear in the brake pads is taken up by the

Butch tunes an XJ6

Butch adjusts the carbs on the XJ6

displacement of column of hydraulic brake fluid behind the pistons.

With Chris having returned to his day job engineering air bearings, Butch has taken up the cudgel and completed the few loose ends on the series 1 Jaguar XJ6 which stood between it and the road.  Regular readers may recall that an exhaust valve crashed thru #2 piston during the summer.  Not being able to come up with a replacement long skirt

series 1 E-type OTS

LHD OTS 875014

outside bonnet lock

14th open 2 seater built

8:1 piston, we tossed in a complete set of 9:1 pistons  salvaged from a 4.2 E-type, and re-fitted with a new set of Hasting piston rings.

Both Butch and I put it thru its paces earlier this week, and while there’s still some tweaking to do, we’re pretty happy with it.

The early E-type pictured here arrived earlier today.  We’ll be working over the next few weeks to make it road worthy again.

XJ6 on test Wednesday

XJ6 on test Wednesday

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