Part 10 - A Lost Summer?

My old friend, Gene from Tennessee, had invited me to co-drive the Hagerty Silver Summit Rally in Colorado, USA in May 2020.  He has a sizeable, eclectic collection of old cars, but the main focus are 60s/70s/80s V8 American land yachts...those XXL-sized automobiles we used to laugh at from this side of the pond, but nevertheless secretly coveted. His collection is undocumented, but back of the envelope calculations indicate around 30 vehicles (but my guess is that there are few forgotten beauties still to be included).

One of three garages on Gene's property (plus an undisclosed number of storage facilities!)

Gene had just purchased yet another classic, this time in almost perfect condition with a full log of work completed over the years, in Denver...the stepping-off point for this adventure:  700 miles over three days through the Colorado mountains in a 1969 Oldsmobile Toronado, with a 425 cubic inch (7 Litre) engine with 385bhp powering the front wheels only.  Apparently, the drive-train was so tough that it was later used in a GM motorhome.

Gene's 1967 Toronado

This journey was to be followed by another 700 mile boy's road trip across Utah and Nevada to Las Vegas in the Toronado; where the car would be put into storage awaiting another event in August 2020.

Then came COVID-19, which sent our plans into a tailspin...but roll on 2021 when we plan to do complete the mission!  

That hasn't stopped Gene...as I write he is driving his latest purchase home:  Another near-perfect oldtimer, a 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass with just 44,000 miles on the clock, from Washington State to Tennessee, a trip of approximately 2200 miles.  He informs me that this was not considered a full size car in the US in 1977 - more of an intermediate.  So far the only problem has been a sticky driver's window.  Keeping my fingers crossed for him.

Gene's 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass - Stopping for a pit stop to fix the driver's window at a friends house in WA.  I'm so envious of the space in that garage!  My own garage was built in 1959 for a car the size of a Hillman Minx!

The only tenuous links I can make with the XJS is that Gene's latest purchases are two door coupes, just like the XJS, the TH400 auto transmission used in the Toronado is essentially the same as used in the Jaguar, albeit in a FWD version, and finally, that Gene does have an XJS in his collection too.

Lockdown in the UK started to ease with many interpretations of what exactly was allowed...so we took out the XJS for a local run to assess the effect of the earlier modifications to the the transmission.  What a transformation!  Now part-throttle acceleration is eager, the 'box changes down with the slightest of hints from your right foot and there is easy access to the rev range from maximum torque at 3000rpm up to maximum power at 5500rpm.  The box does still change up before maximum revs, but by that stage you're going too fast to worry about getting to the red line at 6500rpm.  

Adjusting the modulator appears not only to have moved the gear shift points higher up the rev range, but has changed the dynamic nature of the gear changes, resulting in a far more responsive performance from the car.  I don't yet know enough about the TH400 gearbox to understand why, but I really love the effect.

All this exuberance from the engine is wonderful, but it did expose a few issues that required immediate rectification:  As part of the front end overhaul, we replaced the front subframe mounting bushes, but had failed to pay attention to the workshop manual which states that the weight of the car must be on the wheels before tightening the very large nuts and bolts holding the body to the subframe via the bushes. As a result, the bushes were under stress at all times.

Before lockdown we had given the car a good run and now with more spirited driving, the bushes sheared, allowing the front of the subframe to move around in extremis, so much so that the engine driven fan contacted the body mounted radiator cowling - it sounded awful, but no damage was done.

The bushes were quickly, and this time easily and correctly, replaced.  At the same time we released the rear transmission mount and exhaust system to make sure all the components were sitting comfortably.  Once reassembled, the result was also remarkable:  More accurate steering, less vibration through the body (not that there was much before) and a far quieter ride...much, much closer to how this car would have been when new.

However, this car is not new.  It is 30 years old and still a little troubled:  Having fixed a rattling bonnet and boot lid, a clanking front shock absorber, a banging exhaust and a 101 other little issues, there is still one rattle eluding us.  We think we may have tracked it down to either a radius arm bush or, more likely, a rear shock absorber bush.  

Now knowing more than when we started this project, this may turn out to be part of a larger issue:  We've been working through the car from front to back.  The only major component not to have received any real attention from us has been the rear subframe and rear suspension.

The general consensus online appears to be that it is easier to drop the whole rear suspension assembly in one and work on it out of the car.  However, having already spent many hours under the same assembly fiddling with the handbrake calipers, sorting out the complex routing of the over-axle exhaust pipes, draining and re-filling the differential, I am somewhat loath to take this step simply to replace a few bushes...even though I know it is probably the right thing to do.

The first step will be to have a good look and a wiggle with a large pry bar to see what moves!

At the time of writing (June 2020) Motorsport UK is taking its first tentative steps towards re-starting competition but requirements of social distancing appear to rule out any form of rallying for the time being.  Our next scheduled event is in September.  I'm of the opinion that it may go ahead, but Graham, my navigator, is less optimistic. In any case, we can use the date as a time frame for the remaining work to be done on the XJS.

I'm also hoping there will be a local autosolo or sprint before September so we can give the car a proper workout and decide what, if anything could be on a wish-list to upgrade the suspension. My thoughts are turning to a rear anti-roll bar, fitted to earlier and sportier versions of the XJS. That should loosen up the rear end a little to counter that heavy V12 at the front. Luckily, Jaguar in their wisdom, did not do away with any of the mounting points for the anti-roll bar when they deleted it from the HE model. It should be a bolt on modification (but you know nothing is that simple with a Jag).

Whilst enjoying the new-found eager response from the engine, one evening the back end of the car decided to go its own way whilst negotiating a sharp bend.  I once had a TVR that was very wayward at the rear end, but this is a Jag and should be better behaved.  It was a very hairy moment that nearly ended in disaster.  Time to get down and dirty with the rear suspension!

I soon discovered that the rubber bushes in the radius arms (which hold the rear wheels in place fore and aft) were very much past their best and in one instance looked to be almost sheared through.   Having decided that the rear subframe mounting (four metalastic brackets) were sound, I decided not to tempt fate by taking out the the whole cage.  Instead I would simply replace the radius arms in situ.  With Max otherwise engaged with his computer array, I settled down to what I expected to be a frustrating day.

As always, the stories one reads on the internet and on forums, are those where everything that could go wrong, does go wrong.  Removing the radius arms seems one of those occurrences.  On the other hand, you never hear of the (majority) of times when things just go to plan.

I did slightly stack the odds in my favour by buying new radius arms with the bushes already fitted, instead of re-using the existing arms and fitting the bushes myself.  There were two reasons for this.  

1. Although both radius arms were in good clean condition, they were not identical. One had a bracket for a rear anti roll bar, the other did not.
2. I would need to buy a hydraulic press and the correct sized mandrels to fit the bushes. I don't know anything about mandrels, but I do know that those required for replacing Jaguar bushes would be either unavailable and/or hideously expensive.

I had popped into our local independent Jaguar specialist to enquire if I could use his press, but the impression I got was that it was SO much simpler just to buy the parts ready assembled.

And so it was.  Nothing was seized, no bolt heads sheared off and even the feared removal of the radius arms went without a hitch.  A couple of hours later the job was finished and the rear wheels were securely in position.

Curiously, with the rear wheels now tracking correctly, the steering wheel was now 15 degrees off centre, indicating the front toe-in was not correct.  I guess that previously, the sloppy compliance in the rear suspension had just let the rear of the car crab along behind the front!

A few days later I was off to the local car service centre.  After a longish wait, the XJS was on the ramp to have the tracking adjusted, only to find that their laser guided tracking device would not fit the car.  Not only that, but they did not want to balance the wire wheels either.  

Waiting My Turn at Formula One Harlow

Tesla X vs V12 Jaguar.
Question:  Is it greener to keep an old car running rather than use new resources to build an electric car?
Does anyone really know the answer?

I had half expected this and had already researched an alternative tracking specialist used to dealing with old/modified/track cars.  Forty five minutes later, I was at Tyre-Smart in Witham, Essex.  The lads immediately descended on the XJS like a well trained Formula 1 pit crew (unlike the motley crew at Formula One, above).  With a trolley jack and a mechanic at each corner, the wheels were removed, dynamically balanced and refitted in just a few minutes.  Up on the ramp, the Hunter Engineering alignment system measured the toe, caster and camber of all four wheels.  With the toe carefully adjusted and re-checked, the XJS was ready for the road.

Taking a longer, high speed route back home, the car now felt stable and tracked straight & true.  It seems we're getting closer to the end of the mechanical repairs....if only I could find that rattle!