I posted a while ago about my 89 V12 COUPE and the work it needed.
Work has begun now and I thought some of you might be interested in how things are going. I've posted a few photographs on photobucket...link attached.
http://s806.photobucket.com/albums/yy34 ... RY%202010/
I hope some of you find them useful if you are going to do similar work.
The first work to be tackled is the rear end...new brakes and shocks. The work is being done by Hollygrove Jaguar near Ringwood. Very impressed by the work and attention to detail so far. I've elected to have boge shocks as per the originals. I don't plan on racing the old girl so thought these would be the best choice.
They elected to drop the entire rear end to do the work. You can see the cage with brake and suspension components on one or two of the photos. I gather this makes things easier. It also gives you the chance to have a really good look at the underside and see if anything else needs work. Fortunately, the underbody is in great condition. The only other things highlighted so far was a leak on the rear hub oil seal...easy thing to replace when everything is off, and the rear sections of the exhaust pipes. I thought I would be replacing the rear radius arms, but these are actually in very good condition and will just be cleaned and coated, with bushes being replaced.
I was really impressed how well Hollygrove know these cars, and the time and expertise in setting up the new brakes etc. Hopefully you can see from the photos. They are also going to take care of any corroded areas whilst the area is clear. There are a few sections of the rear sills that have bubbled in places so it seams like a good time to treat these.
The next thing to do is the replacement auto-transmission. They fortunately have a similar year and low mileage donor car, which they have serviced throughout it's life, so they know it's a good unit. I hope to see some of that work next weekend.
It's great being able to see the work as it's being done. It gives you a much better appreciation of how these cars are built.
After the transmission, they will start on the front brakes and shocks, and attend to the steering. It appears that the track rod ends have not been aligned correctly...with one side only showing a few threads and the other about 24! Once it's all set up it should drive like a completely different car.
They are also going to drop the front section to check out the front sub-frame. It looks ok from what you can see now, but you can only really be sure if you drop it out....again it seems like the best time to do this whilst all the other work is being done.
Will give you an update in a few weeks.
Cheers
Stuart
