POST 10 - JULY 2011 - XK NUMBERS LORE

When I bought the 120 I was aware that the engine number W3370-8 didn't match the entry on the plate - W2142-7.  Also, it didn't have a "smooth" set of cam covers which early XK's should have.  ( the front of the cam covers did not have the normal three studs each, and tended to leak oil)  an easy "give away" that its not the original engine for an early steel 120.  What is not so easy to work out is that according to Porter, the additional studs to cure the leaking where not introduced until engine number 4691, so why has my engine, very clearly stamped W3370-8 on both block and head, at around 1,300 engines too soon, got them?

The certificate from Jaguar Heritage confirms all other numbers and I pretty well concede that I haven't got a matching numbers car.  I can just about remember that at eighteen, I couldn't have cared less.  Now at sixty three, I'll probably wake up in a cold sweat, engine and cylinder head numbers flashing through my mind, financial ruin and JDC, JEC and XK club peers whispering behind my back - never trust a man whose numbers don't match - probably has a stash of pictures of non matching numbers cars tucked away on his hard drive.

Maximum effort must be made to remedy this. The http://www.xkdata.com/ site is a wealth of information and I easily establish that W33## engines were typically fitted to 120's around June / July 1951.

Looking back through the xkdata records, I spot my original engine number!  A strangely exiting moment.  Its now ensconced in chassis number 660232, another 120 OTS with modified bodywork.  Further research  reveals that this car was auctioned by Bonhams in April.  www.bonhams.com/eur/auction/19280/lot/348/   Sold for £52,100 including commission - wouldn't even cover the cost of the initial purchase and the bits, and just think of the fitted kitchen you could have bought with that sort of money !  But it must be correct.  Bonhams would surely have checked it out thoroughly before publishing the catalogue.

Just as this intrigue is reaching its peak I receive an email from Tom at http://www.classic-car-heritage.com/ who has been following this blog, an ex Jaguar employee from many years back, with access to original XK records.  He tells me that the factory records clearly show the engine swap from W2142-7 to W3370-8.  This is really great news.  Not some mongrel old lump from an ex banger raced MK7 in my 120, but a pristine new replacement engine fitted by the works, almost certainly built and blue printed with great care by Hassan and Heynes, overseen by Baily and signed of by William Lyons himself, then road tested to at least 125 MPH by Mr Dewis.  I just need to find the signatures, no doubt secreted away on some dark and rusty panel. 

To ensure a good nights sleep, I call Anders Ditlev Clausager at Jaguar Heritage.  Anders confirms the numbers as he has access to the same records and also adds some interesting points.  It was normal in the fifties for the Jaguar works service department to re-condition broken engines taken from customers cars and re-fit them as replacement units in other cars.  So it is entirely likely that W2142 was fitted to  660232 after being removed from 660295 which then had W3370 fitted.  I wonder whose car W2226-8 originally fitted to 660232 now resides in?

My final email of the day goes to David Bentley of XK Gazette fame.  If anyone knows the new owner of 660232, then David will.  I don't particularly want W2142 back but would just like to know for sure where it is and that its being properly looked after. A bit like an ex wife I would think - or not.



ID plates, now removed from body



Engine Number

and double stamped matching number on head,
 with 11 cam cover cover  studs, not 8

I would think that the smooth head puzzle is quite simple really.  At some time after the change to 11 studs on the cam cover the head was replaced with an un-stamped head by the works, or a main dealer with access to a proper number stamp, but they weren't happy with the first hit, so did it again.



POST 9 - JULY 2011 - GEARBOX AND AXLE RATIOS

Early 120's had ENV axles fitted instead of the Salisbury axle as fitted to my 140.  However, a little research indicates that the ENV unit is very robust and was fitted to Landrovers and some Armoured Cars.  I can only hope that it is in reasonable condition but will only really know on my first drive.  I would be happy to have it checked over by a specialist if could find one and be sure they genuinely knew their way around the ENV unit.

That old expression "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is King" is, I have found to my cost on several occasions, very apt in the classic car restoration world.  How can I determine who really knows these units when I am clueless?

Two other advantages of the ENV axle are the apparent ease with which wire wheel hubs can be fitted and its 3.643 ratio. 

Some time back I was trying to decide the best gearbox solution for my 140.  The Moss Box was in a pretty bad state and the overdrive unit needed some attention.  After comparing specs for a number of different gearboxes I opted for a Classic Jaguar (CJ) 5 speed, based around the Tremec T5 WC (World class) unit.  The T5 unit with its 0.77 5th gear is excellent in the 140, but when coupled with the ENV diff will provide even better motorway cruising speeds nicely within the XK engine torque range.

 http://www.classicjaguar.com/  This is a brilliant site if you are not already familiar with it, mainly E types but XK's also, with literally thousands of detailed pics.

ENV Series One (JHS1398) Diff Label gives ratios as 14 / 51
which works out at 3.643  compared to 4.09 on the XK140







Spread Sheet originally written to compare XK140 ratios shows 120
 with ideal cruising speed of 73MPH at 2500 with CJ 5 Speed.  Perfect!



POST 8 - JULY 2011 - FRONT BODY SECTION REMOVED

The front part of the body looks quite a bit heavier than the rear and the enormous wings must stay in place with very little to support them.  It clearly needs some sort of base to sit on and this idea eventually evolves into replicating the front two thirds of the chassis.  The top surface of which, when viewed from the side, is completely flat, which coincides nicely with my two dimensional woodworking skills.
The steering column is extracted and all body to chassis fasteners are removed along with all pipes and wiring connecting the two parts.  Because of the weight, I decide to build a frame with four lifting points and use my engine hoist for the lift.  It comes off easily and the car is rolled back, the new wood chassis is positioned and the body lowered into place.  I had previously marked out a set of datum points on the car and replicated these on the wood chassis so that the fixing points would be precisely located relative to each other.

Chassis replicated in wood reinforced with inch ply for rigidity 

To ensure that the front bulkhead will go back in exactly the same place
with respect to the chassis I have added these steel bars.  They will
also support the body when the sills are removed.
Note the carefully executed product placement for plusgas



Lifted just high enough to roll the remains of the car back

Now sitting comfortably on the wood frame

Example of datum points previously marked up to ensure
nothing gets out of alignment - still needs a "tweek"

Steel support bars back in place on the wood chassis.
Bogey wheels also added.

Next job is to strip every single bit off the front body section, but not before many more photos are taken and sketches made showing the precise location of every cable route, clip, and many other miscellaneous items.  It will probably be a more than a year before these parts are put back, and as I can't usually remember what I had for dinner yesterday, this seems to be a sensible precaution.

POST 7 - JULY 2011 - DO YOUR WORST DAVE

With some trepidation I take the rear body section to Dave Ferguson at Hutton Rudby, Ace Classic Car restorer and Triumph TR expert, to do his worst with his sand blast equipment.  I know it has to be done and its probably going to make some sound looking bits a lot less sound, but what other options are there.  Some rust inhibitor and a bucket of filler would spare me the trauma in the short term, and after all, who would know?   Fortunately, Dave's been sandblasting delicate classic panels for years so knows how not to ripple those larger expanses of sheet steel.  He also knows that theres no point in "pussy footing" around corosion.  Every vestige of rust has to be completley blown away.  A few days later I return to see whats left. 

Apart from a few expected "perforations" it all looks straight, solid
 and intact. The  B post / shut panels, bottom of rear bulkhead and
bottom of tonneau panel will need replacing, which I already knew. 

 But just look at those fabulous battery boxes.  better than I could have hoped for.
As soon as blasting is completed, Dave sprays the entire, ultra clean assembly,
 with a light coat of etch primer to prevent new rust forming and to provide an
 excellent key for the next process.

Apart from some light corrosion along the top edge, the rear wings

are equally solid.  My 140 was completely rotten for the entire

bottom half.  Just how have these survived so well?

All in all a very satisfactory outcome.  The rear section and wings are now taken to bodywork Super Guru Alex Aitkin at Auto-Bodycraft in Stokesley to be repaired, have new metal let in, and then be honed and shaped to perfection.  The plan is to paint most of the inner body areas in the original factory matt black finish (unique to alloy and early steel 120's)  Other areas, typically under the wings will be finished in body colour Stone Guard.  The final paint finish will not be applied until the entire body is in one piece and in place on the chassis.

SIXTH POST - JUNE 2011 - REMOVAL OF THE BACK HALF OF THE BODY

I cut through the sills just in-front of the rear outriggers then remove the three sill bracket to outrigger bolts and packing pieces on each side.  As I had guessed, the short piece of sill literally falls away from the B post, 45 year old filler being the only thing holding the two parts together.

To ensure that I can put the body back in exactly the same place (if required) I drill a few very small holes to reference the body to the chassis.

The remaining bolts holding the back half of the body to the chassis are removed.  Various brackets, fittings, pipes and wiring are removed until only the bare body remains.  Sounds easy when written down in a couple of sentences but this was actually a good days work.  Finally, with the help of three friends we lift it off.

These are the spacers between the sill bracket and the body outrigger.
The chemical reaction between the aluminium and steel has caused a quite
thick layer of crud (actual name for this anyone) to form on top and bottom
significantly increasing the overall spacer thickness.

Possibly a bit pedantic, but I thought it a good idea to measure the spacer pack
before and after cleaning.  Now 3mm smaller and certainly back to the original
size.  Did this reaction have the power to stretch the bolts and alter the body position?
Really must buy one of those new-fangled digital vernier calipers from Aldi for a tenner.



Taken after removal of the the body section, this clearly shows the
cut point in front of the rear outrigger and the level of corrosion at the
joint between the sill and the B post / shut face panel.

Rear body section finally off, with a little help.
You can see from their facial expressions that these guys genuinely believe that I'm totally nuts.

Looking not too bad, but the man with the big sandblast
machine is still to be let loose.



FIFTH POST - MAY 2011 - THE WISDOM OF BOB - OR NOT?

The body front and back parts on the 120 roadsters and drop head coupe's are only held together by the sills and it seems to me that working on the body would be a great deal easier if it were cut in half.  I've mooted this idea to a few knowledgeable people with a complete mix of responses from - :
"You'll never get it properly back together again" to "sounds like a good idea".
Cutting it in half is the easy bit.  My home spun plan to re-assemble it is the interesting part :

• Fit the front part on the chassis, minus sills, in exactly the same place with the same shims / spacers.
• Fit the doors and align the front edges to the A posts.
• Slot in the new sill with attached B post shut panel / front cover and align to the back of the door.
• Fasten the sill to the chassis outriggers.
• Fit the back section and align to the rear part of the B post.
• Tack the sill / B post in place checking all the time for any movement and correct as required.

What can possibly go wrong?
I can almost hear the laughter emanating those Midlands and Southern experts, from up here in the North East.

Before I make the final decision I need to talk to to the absolute experts, the company I intend to purchase my body bits from and who were so helpful when I restored my 140-FHC, Contour Autocraft near Peterborough.  I discuss my plans with company owner Bruce by phone and he suggests a visit as they have a 120-OTS in for restoration - perfect.

This is a 140-OTS being built from scratch.  Whilst not the same as the 120, it illustrates
 very well the relationship between the Sill, B Post and back section of the body.
This must surley be the pinnacle of british craftsmanship.  Is a shame to paint it!

The dash side box sections and hinge plates are clearly shown here before
the front wings are fitted.  I need to be able to get to all of this to resolve any
 rust problems, repair the worn hinge plates, rust proof and paint.  Question is - how.

Easy says Bruce and dad Ian who picks up a marker pen and draws a line on the
120-OTS wing.  Remove the spot welds on the A post and cut along this line
to remove the wing section for full access.  Cutting along the curve of the wing
apparantly makes replacing and finishing to a high standard much easier.

 My plan for a game of two halves is discussed in detail and the consensus is that there is no good reason why it shouldn't work.  Ian spends some time showing me the critical reference and starting points and also the range of adjustments to ensure near perfect shut lines.  I head back up the A1 full of confidence, stopping only at Machine-Mart to pick up a hack saw blade.

Contour Autocraft
Bruce and Ian, thank you so much for your time and willingness to share your incredible depth of knowledge and experience.  When (and if) I ever get to retire, a couple of weeks on one of your metal bashing courses would easily take precedence over a Med Cruise.  I'm sure wife Angie would be up for it also. My web-wise colleagues tell me the abbreviation LOL is appropriate at this point, to add humour to the context.

FOURTH POST - MAY 2011 - MANETTE REFURBISH

Time for a diversion from the main project with something more interesting.  Removing the dashboard meant removing the steering wheel which involved extracting the horn-push assembly (manette in 1950's Jaguar parlance, apparently French meaning control lever - whats wrong with "horn push").   Anyway, as I extracted it from the steering wheel, it literally fell apart in my hands.  The main bakelite disc to which every other part is somehow attached had been repaired before by sticking it to a piece of wet & dry paper, and all the other bits were in a pretty dire state.  Surely beyond repair.
A quick look on SNG Barratts web site - and there it was - Reproduction Manette just short of £600.00 !  "How Much" - reach for the glue. 
My very talented engineer friend Richard Cook called in and carefully examined the remains of the bakelite disc, took it away and reappeared a couple of days later with a brand new one, but made from something much more durable - absolutely amazing. The chrome surround was available at around £45.00.  Richard carefully polished the plastic top and somehow re-silvered the growler.  After much head scratching I finally got it all back together and working perfectly. 

Interesting jigsaw



New disc on the right - made from some super modern material
Refurbished horn push and new chrome surround.

 

As good as new and probably better than the £600 re-pro.