A Mk2 Jaguar En Deshabille

An argument can be made that the Jaguar Mk1 & Mk2 were the first true European sport sedans which combined great looks with very high performance, and while the rest of the world has done a pretty good job of catching up with them in the last 50 years, the fact remains that many of us still prefer them to their more modern equivilents.   This particular example, a right hand drive 3.4 Mk2 from Maine is a late car with a Jaguar built 4synchro overdrive transmission, and although you don’t see much of the paint, it’s very smart-looking, I think, in its shiny black livery.  Our job is to get it back in running order.

series 1 E-type OTS

Yesterday we shipped this series one E-type open two seater (that’s one down, two to go).  While repairs were essentially all done just after the first of the year, we were constrained in our sign off on it because the highways, heavily impacted by road salt, simply would not allow for any form of road testing, much less a definitive one.

This was finally accomplished on Tuesday, an overcast but dry day, and after verifying that repairs were in fact complete with his own road test, the owner loaded it into his trailer for the return trip to Massachusetts and promptly blew out two tires on the Interstate when debris from one burst tire took out the valve stem of the 2nd tire on the same side of the trailer.  Butch grabbed the floor jack and went out & rendered roadside assistance.

Pozerycki & Company critique Dave's Morgan +4

Late last week Dave Pozerycki put his Morgan +4 thru its paces on a 40 mile extended road test.  He is seen here behind the wheel conferring with his chase crew, his son Joe and Sandy, his wife.  Quite apart from atmospheric conditions more appropriate to March than late April, the only mechanical quirk which exhibited itself was a growling noise like a water pump going south but which was in fact the exhaust flex-pipe making frame contact, a simple fix.

The BN7 departs, destination Hinesburg

About half way back Dave spotted an Austin Healey headed north which was crewed by two people much more appropriately dressed for the occasion.  This was David Haber & company, his separation anxiety finally at an end, although not so much with his car as the contents of his wallet.  But all’s well that ends well, as the Rolls Royce salesman once said, although William Shakespeare may have summed it up better when he said, “The value will be remembered long after the price is forgotten”.

Departing New Orleans from E. Hartford, Connecticut

Repairs completed and fully tested, I ran the Texas-tagged red TR3 down to East Hartford, Connecticut for a pick up by Passport Transport for the trip the rest of the way to New Orleans, Louisana.

It’s en route now and we’re waiting on a full report from the owner.

Rubber Bumper MGB A-Arm Bushings & Brake Hose

In our experience rubber bumper MGB’s beat the snot out of the lower A-Arm bushings in as little as 30,000 miles because of their taller ride height.  This is much less of a problem with MG TD’s, MGA’s & chrome bumper MGB’s which all use exactly the same bushings.  The change in geometry is distinctly unfriendly to them, and the simple & permanent solution is to replace what’s left with the much harder “V8″ type bushing which also has a metal inner sleeve.

Upper Trunnion Bushings, other side

These need to be “preloaded” or tightened down with the normal weight of the front end exerting its influence.  This is because the steel inner sleeve is pinched up on the lower pivot pin once the castle nut is tightened and that can put twist into rubber part of the bushing.

However, we just jack up on the spring pan and take an educated guess.  Take note of the split in the brake hose at the mounting bracket, another problem common to MGB’s.  This hose has already been replaced with a chrome bumper car brake hose hasa spiral coil around it.  Also take note of the pounding the upper trunnion bushings have received.  Changing them when the shock absorber was (recently) changed would have been a good idea, too.

An early E-type goes thru its paces Thursday

Right now we have seven E-types in the house, slightly skewed towards series 1 cars.  This white E-type is going to be Florida-bound soon, part of a permanent relocation, and we’re encouraging the owner to have some fun and  drive  it down.  That means we have to be highly confident that it will make it without any hicups, so we’re heavily involved in the drudge work of driving it.

TR3 on test

The weather has finally broken and although the roads are still heaved by frost, they’re clean enough and they’ve settled down enough so that we’re able to get some testing done.  This photo is from a clear but brisk say last week, and today with the temperature headed toward 60 Butch is washing up this red TR3 in advance of a rendezvous with Passport Transport in Hartford, Connecticut later today for return to the owner in New Orleans.

MGC on test

After the photo was taken Butch put it thru its paces on a windy day out on the Interstate and pronounced himself Completely Satisfied.  We’re hoping Middie O’Malley will be, too.

Also on test last week was this six cylinder MGC tourer which had its vital fluids changed, the tuneup freshened and the exhaust replaced in stainless steel.  Usually, an MGC is an exceptionally pleasant car out on the road.  Because of their torsion bar front suspension the ride quality is completely different than its MGB siblings, but this car’s handling was badly marred by a rear tube shock conversion more suitible for the racetrack.  I drove it and came away with the sensation that all of the suspension compliance was in the tires !

HD 8 carbs before

HD8 carbs after

Yesterday morning a large package arrived from Grand Rapids, Michegan.  It was the HD8 carburetors & manifold for the series 1 4.2 E-type which is in final paint after a long ground up restoration.  We overhaul carburetors all the time, but because this is a very special car, we decided the carbs needed a very special detail job, and we’ve been consistently impressed with the high level of work that comes out of University Motors in Grand Rapids.  They don’t get nicer than this !

This is not a test

Lastly, this picture is less than ten days old, although in Vermont it can sometimes represent late April, too.

Our phone is ringing and we’re rapidly ramping back up to very fully involved.  If you’ve been waiting spring to get some service work scheduled, now is the time.  Before long our ten day lead time will turn into a 30 day lead time.

Perfect for Liquor Store Heists

A recent change of circumstances brings this unusual car on to the market just in time for spring.  Well known to Police Departments throughout Long Island, it is the soon to be former property of a pair of stick up artists with a particular focus on liquor stores.

Because of its size and very high manueverability, this is the ideal vehicle for negotiating clogged suburban streets and highway arteries in hot pursuit situations.  Possessing unique provenance and fully serviced & very recently fueled it is ready to resume it’s wayward career in the hands of a sympathetic new owner.

Serious offers in excess of $25,000 entertained on behalf of owners who have recently relocated to the Clinton Cooperative housing facility in Dannemora, N.Y.