As our 1990 Jaguar XJ6 will eventually be won through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, Jonn has been investigating and assessing the car as well as making some repairs. Here are his notes:
Start inspection. Check all lights and levels and top up where required. Raise in the air and complete inspection and start repairs.. Remove wheels and clean and inspect brakes. Wire brush rear subframe mounts and underseal black. Refit wheels. Refit engine wiring loom to bracket. Grease drive shaft joints. Strip centre console to refit lid trim. Find support bracket that had dropped underneath armrest. Start reassembly.
Continue reassembly of centre console and armrest. Screw under trim in place and fit support bracket and test. Fit new trim clips to lower dash panel beneath glovebox and secure. Lubricate and g3t electric aerial working better. Wire brush and paint lower radiator support where had gone rusty.
Jonn, one of the Bridge Classic Cars in-house restoration technicians, has been working on cleaning out the engine block of the 1971 Jaguar XJ6 currently in our workshop.
In the last update, Jonn had discovered the block of the straight-six packed with brown sludge.
Jonn has been working on thoroughly cleaning out every passage inside the engine as well as cleaning up the threads of the head studs. Jonn has methodically worked his way through the entire engine from front to back, cleaning and flushing through any remnants of the dirt.
With this complete, Jonn is confident that the engine block is now completely clear and ready for the next stage of the work to begin.
As with any classic car, you want to try and exercise a certain amount of reserve and caution when working on them. Try to be sympathetic to their age and their condition. So, when the 1971 Jaguar XJ6 that we have had in at Bridge Classic Cars developed a misfire our in-house restoration team did everything they could before having to dive deep.
The XJ6 has had its fuel tanks replaced, new fuel lines and was tested by our technicians. Before the tanks were replaced this classic Jaguar had real trouble staying running. Now though, it will run for as long as there is fuel in it. However, now that it was running long enough, Dave noticed a misfire on the big straight-six.
Originally Dave thought it to be connected to the ignition system. It would arc out to the nearest metal point. We also discovered exposed wires in the connectors that join the condenser. Those were all then replaced along with the HT leads but to no avail. It had got marginally better but the misfire was still rather prominent.
With that, our in-house engine guru Ady was called in to take a look at the straight-six. The only thing left to do was to gently remove the cylinder head. Carefully and patiently, Ady eased the head from the block to expose the pistons but more importantly the head gasket. On the cylinder closest to the firewall, the gasket was in tatters. The XJ6 had blown a head gasket. Also, Ady had noticed coolant marks down the side of the block. Another sign that the gasket is not sitting correctly between the cylinder head and the engine block.
With that, it also damaged the chamber of the corresponding cylinder in the head. A large chunk of material is missing from between the leading edges of the valve. But, all may not be lost. The head is currently in the process of being stripped down and assessed so that a plan can be made to get this wonderful straight-six back in action.
Once the plan for the XJ6 engine has been confirmed, work will begin to get the car back to its former glory.
The wealth of knowledge held in our workshop is incredible. Centuries almost of combined experience allow Bridge Classic Cars to look into a wide spectrum of issues on classic cars.
Take for instance this 1971 Jaguar XJ6. Recently it had its fuel tanks replaced with us but during the setup, our in-house restoration team noticed that it had a pretty bad misfire. This needed to be looked into more in-depth. Dave, one of our most experienced technicians, began to dive deeper into the straight-six.
Dave had noted that the HT leads and the coil was arching to the closest metal object. So, with that and his experience he elected to replace the leads and the coil as the first port of call. However, after startup, the misfire was still prominent. At that point, it was decided to perform a compression test. 5 out of the 6 cylinders were all within spec. However, 1 of them was suspiciously low. With the classic cars, it can be a myriad of things that can cause this.
Dave then pulled the rocker cover off of the intake side of the engine to gain access to the rockers and more importantly the valves. With the help of our in-house engine builder Ady, Dave checked each of the valves for the correct lash. Originally they would have been between 10-14 thousandths of an inch but on Ady’s guidance, he is happy to see them between 8-10 thousandths with a vehicle of this age and mileage. All of the valves however fell within those guidelines. Nothing was noticeably out of place.
With that, Dave then found the leads had begun to arch again. This time through a set of pliers and straight to the cylinder head, which was worrying. So, Dave is going to rebuild the distributor with new points and condenser along with a completely new set of HT leads again.
Expect to see more of the progress of diagnosing the misfire on the 1971 Jaguar XJ6 at Bridge Classic Cars very soon on the News Page.
The replacement fuel tanks are now secured in their new home at the rear of the 1971 Jaguar XJ6 at Bridge Classic Cars.
After much hard work and careful approach by our incredibly experienced technician Dave, the XJ6 can now start to be fitted back together. As you may have seen previously, Dave was working on converting a set of later style tanks to work on this earlier car. Some of the fittings and placement for a series of vents and inlets were in slightly different places over the production run of these wonderful cars.
As you can see from the photos, the tanks nestle up under the rear quarter panels in a very tight fit. Dave worked his magic gained from years of experience to ensure they were safely fitted and secured for the owner.
There’s more to come from the XJ6 so keep an eye out on the News Page of Bridge Classic Cars.
September 28, 2021 1:48 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Another week has flown by! Once again we’ve had photoshoots, new arrivals and spectacular developments on our current projects.
Behind the scenes and sneak peeks
On Tuesday we shot the second half of the content for our 1967 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 race car replica. For this, we took it to the track at Bentwaters where our skilled F1 Test Driver, Mike O’Connor, put it through its paces.
We’ve also shot our new competition car, the Jaguar XJ6. Here’s a sneak peek at the XJ6 in motion. For these kinds of shots, we often get Ellie to drive and Freddie to shoot the car in motion. This allows moving shots to be done efficiently when it’s separate to a staged shoot with a model/talents such as the Jaguar race car above.
The XJ6 has already gone live and has proved to be incredibly popular with almost a quarter of the tickets having sold out in one day! Get your tickets quickly as the launch sale is ending soon!
A stunning Jaguar XJ6 auto and a classic 1979 Daimler 4.2 Sovereign XJ6 Series III Automatic have also arrived this week, ready to be a competition cars. You can find more about the Jaguar and Daimler here!
1957 Grey Jensen 541R
The sill and footwell carpet has been cut and glued down as well as the carpet around the gearbox tunnel. Brian has fitted the front and rear footwell carpets on the passenger side too. Metal rails & air vent covers have been fitted to the scuttle panels. The passenger side scuttle panel and front footboard have both been fitted in place this week.
Although a lot of the carpets and back seats have been made, there’s still the front seats to make and fit.
Upon inspection, we identified some modifications needed on the grey Jensen’s doors to make sure all components align correctly.
Triumph TR6
Our 1973 Triumph TR6 has had new speakers and speaker holders made and installed by our technician Mauro who’s been working exclusively on the TR6. Adam, our auto electrics specialist has also been doing some work on the TR6, changing the sidelights to indicators to comply with UK road laws.
Peugeot 504
The new bonnet has been attached on the 504, the latches have been modified, gaps lined, bonnet painted and now fit! It’s so rewarding seeing this beautiful car looking whole again!
We’ve had a rubber mystery in the workshop, but luckily enough Gordan used his detective skills to figure out a nifty solution! The Peugeot 504 was in need of new rubber sills however we couldn’t find anywhere that sourced them. By matter of chance, in our Amphicar box of spare bits and bobs, we found some rubber extras that fit the 504 perfectly! A tip for anyone looking for Peugeot 504 rubber sills, head over to Gordons Imports and get some Amphicar rubber!
The Peugeot 504 has also been started for the first time in quite a while! This was its debut since being reassembled and its sounding good!
Morris Minor
The Morris Minor 1000 is ready for a test drive! It will be the first time it’s been started and driven in a while so it’s going to be an exciting development! To get the Morris ready for its start-up, our engine technician Ady has cleaned the carburettors and given it a pre-startup service.
December 11, 2020 1:37 pmPublished by Craig Ranson
Some new arrivals into the workshops recently; firstly our 1995 Jaguar XJ6 Auto competition car.
Last month we handed the keys of our 1998 Jaguar XJR Supercharged to Sam Holmes of Cheshire after he was the lucky winner of one of our most popular competitions to date!
Feedback from you all suggested you loved the idea of a modern classic that would not only increase in value as the marque becomes rarer but would also sit perfectly outside your home to be used as an everyday vehicle.
So, with that in mind, we will soon have available the little sister to our XJR, our absolutely stunning Jaguar XJ6 auto.
When we say stunning, we really do mean stunning. Having recently undergone a full respray to the value of £4000, the car has been loved and cherished by its previous owner. Sure it comes with a few imperfections, as you would expect from a car that’s 25 years old but only the uber critical amongst us would be offended by this! With it’s immaculate cloth and leather interior, unmarked original Jaguar hubcaps (yes hubcaps), the fact that it is the basic model means its packed with it’s original character.
As we all know, these Jaguar’s were built to a very high standard and feel every bit a quality heritage British performance car. The ride quality of our XJ6 is outstanding. This car floats along the road with elegance and poise. This beautiful modern classic is ready to be enjoyed by a new owner.
Currently MOT’d until April 2021 but will come with a full 12 month MOT, the car has covered just 74,957 and a service book full of Jaguar main dealer and Jaguar specialist service stamps.
Next up, our 1979 Daimler 4.2 Sovereign XJ6 Series III Automatic has arrived from our good friends at TurnTwo Classics
This lovely Daimler has been with its last owner since 1988, some 32 years.
In that time the car has been cherished and loved and only used occasionally and today has covered just 82,000 miles from new.
Good Series III XJ’s are now becoming very rare and collectible, this car is a very early example coming from the first year of production. A very solid car with a strong chassis and little signs of any rust or rot that is still driving lovely today.
The car specification is still as it was in 1979 with the original radio cassette still in place and operating. The car comes complete with its original owners handbook and a few bills and invoices for works carried out and two sets of keys.
Now tax and mot exempt however a fresh MOT has been acquired prior to to arrival in our workshops. Thank you to TurnTwo Classics for doing this.
December 11, 2020 11:32 amPublished by Craig Ranson
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