Jaguar Tales

  Using All 12 Cylinders! December 2020 After what has been for much of the globe, an annus horribilis, there was a ray of sunshine in the world of historic rallying:  HERO, having cancelled its two blue riband events, Rally of the Tests and Le Jog, managed to put together a one-day event in mid-December, entitled Per Ardua Ad Infinitum (Through Endless Adversity) from their new base at Bicester Heritage. The route was being changed right up to the start as newly announced Covid Tiers meant sections in Buckinghamshire were no longer viable, but nonetheless it was a wonderful Christmas present to the 70 crews that managed to get to the start.   The event was categorised "Red", which in the HERO lexicon is "Advanced", a higher category than we had hitherto attempted. Rather than start in class order, this event was seeded:  The top 15 crews were all past winners of HERO events and we started 53rd, which we felt was reasonable given our limited experience. Graham, ...

October 2020 and it was time for our second HERO event in the Jaguar XJS, the Hero Challenge 3.  The car had been sitting on the drive untouched after the last event.  I had meant to look at the HVAC system, but it was now two days before the rally and too late to be taking out the dashboard.   I remembered that there had been a strong smell of petrol in the cabin after the HERO Challenge 2, but a cursory check underneath the car and in the boot found no evidence of leaks.  Whilst I was there I attended to the many grease nipples in the rear suspension and driveshafts and a quick wipe down of the oily bits underneath the engine. Trying to go in the right direction It appears that the oily bits are oily due to a weeping camshaft cover - but this does need further investigation just in case it is not that simple (I don't want to tempt fate here).  The engine needed a small oil top up, as did the cooling system and power assisted steering reservoir - as should...

After six month's delay due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we were finally able to complete our first UK HERO (Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation) event at the beginning of September 2020, albeit under the shadow of Covid-19 infection precautions. There were a few last minute rectifications to the car...that irritating rattle was traced back to the very first thing we fixed on the car:  The front shock absorber mounting.  We had replaced the bushes and reassembled all the washers and cups in the position we found them.  Big Mistake!  Given all the other bodges we found on the car, I should have thought to double check the assembly earlier.  Doing so now, it was obviously wrong.  It was a 10 minute job, that changed the car from a rattlely old banger into a swish, silent Jag.  The power steering fluid is slowly disappearing (I know not where), so a quick top up and we were ready to roll. Prepped & Ready To Go I met Graham, my navigator, at the s...

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.  Ap...

I was preparing the XJS for its first proper event in March 2020 after 18 months of restoration work on the car.  With a few days to go the fire extinguisher was installed, together with a map light, harnesses, rally clock, timer, spill kit, OK board and a fair few tools and spare parts, just in case.  Stickers and paint for the towing points, tow rope, hazard triangle, tarpaulin...there is a long list of requirements. Not Yet Finished, But Getting Closer to the Line (literally) The only thing left to do was a permanent fix of the windscreen washers...something that had been perplexing me for 18 months.  Just as I managed to finally find a route through the firewall for a new electrical feed for the pump my phone pinged.  It was Graham, my navigator, with news that the HERO Challenge had been cancelled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.  It was scarcely a surprise. A few days later we were in full lockdown and without the deadline of the rally, we had an opportun...

My wife and I were returning from a long-promised shopping trip to Bicester Village without the teenagers.  My wife is not a frequent shopper, but when she sets her mind to it, I know we are in for a full day of perusing, selecting, trying, rejecting and buying. Driving back down the M40 my 'phone rang.  It was our eldest, Max, who was eagerly racking up miles in the XJS as a reward for getting it through its MOT.  The car looked rough and ready, but was mechanically safe, and though some of the minor ancillaries had yet to be repaired, he felt it was a very cool car to swan about in for a week in his gap year, despite the cost in fuel. Looking a bit rough, but it has it's MOT He explained that after collecting his brother from school, the engine had cut out in the middle of a roundabout in Bishop's Stortford and would not restart.  He was sure there was sufficient fuel in the car (despite one of those slightly non-functioning ancillaries being the fuel gau...