First few months with an S-type

[jackois]

Hallo all,

I've owned my S-type, FVO224D, for a few months now. I've spent this time generally having the car checked over, fettled & have put around 5000 miles on the car.

First thing done was a safety check around, fault listing by S & C Motors at Netley by Southampton. This found mostly the same faults that I'd listed plus a couple of steering bits that need to be replaced. Parts have been obtained & hopefully the steering bits & a sump change will take place next month (hairline crack & bodged drain plug).

I've done a couple of bits & bobs myself. The lighting fault (thread in electrics - all advice & encouragemment was appreciated), various lamps replaced (brake lights bulb replacement not pleasant), headlight flasher switch sorted, general greasing & tweaking the carbs for better running.

I have also had the car up to Tom Airey's tuning shop at Cheriton, again near Southampton, where he put the car onto the rolling road, tuned & tweaked the carbs & timing such that it runs hugely better than I managed to get it myself. Very nice chap with a huge fund of tales from his Rallycross & Stock car days.

Next on the list after the sump stuff will be an LPG conversion & a bit of an interior improving, including sorting out the original Pye radio & removing the cd player from the glove box as to use it the lid has to be open all the time.

Lastly, I'm looking for any info members of the forum might have on the car. I know that it was originally a 3.8 auto (numbers & hold switch still on the dash) and was off the road for a few years around 1997 - 2002 (miles 400 according to mot's) & apart from a little spurt in 2006 when it did 1500miles in the year has only done around a 100 miles a year. I'm in the process of tracing the previous owners as I have the grren log book with it's pre- V5 list of owners & one or 2 others with receipts for work carried out since. Any info would be gratefully received.

The usual disclaimers exist with respect to the two garages I've mentioned. I have no connection with either, other than being a satisfied customer.

cheers, Peter

[JAGAZ]

5000 miles in a few months,i am .I only managed 2000 in the 6 months that mine was on the road and that was 9 years ago when petrol was not cheap ,but much cheaper than now.Good to hear you`re enjoying it .Good seeing the pedestrians stand and smile as you pass by isn`t it.

[jackois]

ha ha... typo! 500 miles... I'd have liked it to be 5000 miles, but the golf gets in the way!

sorry all!

[oldtimer]

Hi Peter,
I had a 1966 3.4 S Type from about '69 - '79. Fitted a three carb 4.2 Mk 10 (All right then420g)
engine plus loads of other stuff. The inside was beautifully appointed, have had Jaguars continuously for fifty years and is still in my view one of the best. Hope you enjoy it .
Happy Motoring - Oldtimer

[silverfox]

Hi , S-type newbie here , could u measure from the rear wheelarch height to the floor pls , ta Russell

[jackois]

Hallo Russell,

from floor to top of arch with correct tyre pressures read 47.5cm in new money & 18 & 3/4inches. Both sides within mm's of each other.

hope this helps, Peter.

[silverfox]

Thanks Peter , mine is low at the back , ive had a jack under the diff , i rekon 21" looks about right thats when the arch reaches the top of the rim , what du think ? , regards Russell

[jackois]

Hallo Russel,

I always remember the s-type as being low at the back & quite like mine the way it is...
There are some photo's of mine here:

http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/jackois/Jag/

the side view may be of use to you...

Peter

[jackois]

Well, as spoken of in the first post, the time has come to rectify a few of the larger problems with the s-type.

It's booked in in a week's time to have the engine out.

The main reason for removing the engine is to replace the sump, which has a hairline crack & a bodged drain plug. The clutch seems to be juddering on take off & slipping in top gear, so that will be replaced and obviously any obvious leaks (rear cam covers) will have new gaskets fitted.

A couple of steering bushes will be replaced so that the track can be checked & set up properly.

The question I have is... If the engine is out, are there any jobs worth doing on, either the engine or within the engine bay while there is improved access?

All advice gratefully appreciated!

[jackois]

Hi all,

another update...

engine out, clutch & sump replaced, general service, various steering joints replaced & a fresh MOT...

clutch plate was down to the rivets, so clutch kit fitted along with a new slave cylinder...

leaks have been reduced to one minor from the power steering and what a difference to drive! Between the new clutch & the steering parts, the car is a joy to drive now with bags of power & handling much improved.

Of course, nothing is simple with classic cars, and, this morning, Fort Nelson had to be knocked on the head as the brakes suddenly went pretty wooden, mid week. Traced this morning to the vacuum take off from the manifold... new hose required as the old one was split...

Next up is to replace a front indicator unit, wire in a new original type radio & fit a new vacuum valve for the heater that I've sourced from the US, not original but operates the same way, so the car can be used over the winter without freezing ones bits off.

Jacko.