Anyone have any experience with Vintage Jag Works in Blackfoot, ID? I am restoring an XK140 and need to have my Moss transmission (w/ overdrive) rebuilt. An opinion as to VJW’s work and/or a referral to another competent Moss box rebuilder would be appreciated.
BFR
They rebuilt my gear-driven oil pump. Turnaround was quick and Walt, the owner, followed up with a call to talk about what they do with these, installation tips, etc. He came across as a patient old timer who went out of his way to go into these at length when all I was expecting was to simply send it off and receive it back with, at most, maybe a note of thanks on my receipt.
I’ve bought parts from them years ago for my MKII, and just placed an online order with them for some 150 parts. Walt called me back to ensure he was getting me the stuff I needed. A very nice guy.
I had Vintage Jag rebuild my transmission and overdrive about a year ago. Unfortunately, I can’t testify to its performance as the car is still a long way from hitting the road, but it sure looks nice. They were easy to deal with and took the time to answer my questions. Walt has a lifetime of Jaguar experience. The Blackfoot address is a bit of a misnomer. Blackfoot is merely the closest town to the shop which sits in the middle of nowhere. At least you know your money is not paying for expensive real estate.
Bruce, anything particularly wrong with your trans? They aren’t that difficult. If you can do an engine, you can do a Moss box.
I got the car in basket case form so I don’t know what might be wrong with the tranny and od. I’m doing a full restoration and the engine, tranny, od, rear-end, etc. are all part of it. I am trying to do some due diligence since I likely won’t be able to try the rebuilt tranny and od for several months (years?) after they are re-done; way past the expiration of Vintage Jag’s 1 year warranty.
Consult with @Erica_Moss: once you collect the parts you’ll need, it’s as easy a 'box to rebuild as ever made.
Yes, I’ve done four and I found them a pleasure to work on.
Others as well on this forum have.
Post a pic or two like with the top cover off and we can show you where to look for wear.
A pleasure to work on? Mr. Reilly, what about that whole, “it’s stuck and won’t come out of first gear” fix of yours and the part about drilling through a hardened gear with an end mill and fitting a stop – that does not read like pleasure to me. BTW, thank you so much posting that in the archives. I’ve made supersized copies and plan on doing that before my 'box ever gets to that state. As for the rest of my 'box, I wouldn’t know. All I’ve done to it so far is to flush and replace the old seals.
Well lets see, that one was nigh on 27 years ago, so either the little gray cells are starting to get a bit darker gray, or I was remembering the pleasure of identifying the problem, comprehending it, and solving it. 
Anyway Bruce won’t have that problem as I presume he has a JLE box.
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I sent my xk120 box to Idaho in 2013, about 149 lbs in the wood crate.
The box came back looking beautiful – the brass bolts are polished, case is painted shiny back, safety wire in the right places, all looks like new.
Walt works on the individual gears on a lathe so the synchros work again, and sends a detailed list of parts replaced.
Only problem is that the box still pops out of second on deceleration, and once in a while gets semi-stuck in first.-- just like it came from the factory !
Recourse, yeah, just send it back ! ha ha
I got used to holding lightly onto the shifter in second. The car is GREAT !
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Here is the bit I wrote about popping out of second and getting stuck in first.
http://www.jag-lovers.org/xk-lovers/library/gearbox_reilly/gearbox_reilly.html
27 years later it is still shifting fine, never a problem.
If you send a box to Walt, I would make sure he does this mod.
FWIW I rebuilt the DG250 in my Mk2 myself but sent the Moss box from my XK120 to Walt. As others have said, he does high quality work and even re-machines the “synchros”. When I first disassembled my box I found that the needle bearing between the input and output shafts had disintegrated and damaged the shafts. Parts are difficult to come by. Walt was able to repair/replace everything and returned the box in fully working condition at a reasonable price. I wouldn’t hesitate to use him again.