Where windshields come from (click on pic.)
We’re stockpiling the necessary pieces for a prompt assembly of the Gunmetal Grey series 1 OTS E-type 4.2 as soon as it’s in paint, so I was a bit put out when our principal Jaguar vendor told me she didn’t have a windshield. Since we’ll go to almost any length to ensure complete customer satisfaction, I gassed up my truck Wednesday night after work and scooted down to the warehouse in Columbus, Ohio. O.K. I also picked up a few extras for MG’s, Triumph, Austin Healey and the like. These all say “Triplex” on them because Pilkington Glass is the successor entity and greatly to their credit they’ve kept them in production. Triplex was original equipment on most of these cars and they are most definitely optically superior to some of the junk that’s out there now which makes a simple road test feel like a trip through a hall of funhouse mirrors.
The old & the new
While I was nearby, I also scooted over to Canfield. Ohio, about 185 miles give or take, and took delivery on our new Trailex aluminum car trailer, it’s in the picture here right behind the old one which is going into semi-retirement now, having rolled up over a quarter million miles.
The trip back was not without a certain amount of drama, in as much as tornado warnings were up for Northern Ohio. As it was, the swirling gray & black clouds produced nothing more than some severe thundershowers that had traffic crawling along Interstate 90 at 35mph, which is well below the posted speed limit of 70.
Four cylinder Hemi
Stepped studs for Hemis
Going back to perennial question of Which Came First, The Chicken or The Egg ? for a moment, I spent the afternoon stripping the four cylinder hemi engine seen here. If the tall studs on either side of the valve springs have a familiar look to them, it might be because someone else in Coventry cribbed the design to hold down the bearing caps & camshaft covers on their rather well known DOHC six cylinder engine. Click the pictures for a better look. On the left is 1/4″26 X 5/16″ 22 (tpi)*, and on the right is 1/4″ 28 X 5/16″ 24 (tpi). *threads per inch. More anon.
Adjustable ride height springs
Not all replacement parts are meant to be trim to fit. While I was pulling down the engine, Butch, who drew the short straw on this job, was trying to figure out why the MGB he was working on was listing heavily to port. Since nothing obvious like a racoon jumped out at him, he decided to investigate the new pair of springs which had been installed since we last saw this car. Well now, the curious thing is that the coil spring on the left which comes to an abrupt halt, is just about the same length now as the other one. As a general rule, when the suspension parts don’t fit, we send ’em back. Did Bodger’s Repair need to make a payroll ? Who knows ? We replaced them with a suitible pair of used springs, no alterations necessary.
