Rolling restoration: 1989 3.6

Otto …

What was going on with the right rear hub that made you change it. Drag ? Noise ?

Dennis,
one stud was broken.

A cosmetic issue which has bothered me since the beginning is the bubbling below the left bottom corner of the rear screen.


Finally I decided to bite the bullet and removed the screen’s trim and seal which were very easy to remove. I also removed the side trim. The chrome can be pried off and then the three rivets must be drilled off. There is also a seal in the cabin. It just pulls off easily. Both seals are in good condition. Before removing the screen, I cleaned the area a bit.

Before removing the screen, I taped four small pieces of masking tape both to the screen and to the metal frame. Then I marked lines with a marker to the tape pieces. Once I glue the screen back I can align these lines together. You can see the tape pieces on the metal frame in this picture. The screen has corresponding tape pieces.

Before the actual removal, I consulted a vehicle painter and he suggested to use a windscreen wire removal tool. However, I had read that someone had removed the XJ40 rear screen easily with this tool.


I used this tool as well. The blade can be pushed through the glue from the bottom corner of the glass. It took around one hour to remove the glass. It requires patience, but you also need to be confident. Just make sure that the blade is enough far away from the glass all the time.

Next I cleaned the damaged areas well with a Scotch-Brite type disc. In order to also clean the underside of the metal, the fuel filler latch box needs to be removed. Still there is not too much room. I applied two coats of POR-15 to the cleaned areas. Before that I roughened the areas with a 40 grit paper and cleaned them well with isopropanol. Of course, you could use brake cleaner as well.

Next the vehicle painter will smooth the visible area with filler and then paint it.

Otto, thank you for sharing the story of your restoration work, you are an inspiration. You are more courageous than some of us (read: me) tackling some of these tasks. It appears there is perforation of the metal in a few places and thinning as well. Does that metal not need replacing?

Mike, thanks for your feedback.

The metal is not too bad. It is crucial to clean the metal thoroughly with Scotch-Brite type disc and then seal it with Miracle Paint or POR-15. Miracle Paint is not easily available in Europe, even if there is one distributor in Sweden. POR-15 is easier to get here. I have used both successfully for years and have not noticed any difference between them.

By the way, here is an interesting video of the many possibilities of Miracle Paint/POR-15:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UKPNaBAKFs

It looks like you caught that rust just in time. Usually when you see rust at the rear screen corner it has already spread from behind the C pillar. It’s great to see another XJ40 being saved and appreciated. Now would be the ideal time to replace the headlining if it has begun to sag, it’s much easier with the rear window removed.

1 Like

Casso, luckily the rust has not spread.

When this car was on sale and I went to see it I expected to find a sagging headliner. :laughing: However, it did not at all. I did change the headliners on my 1984 MB 500SEC and 1988 MB 300CE.

3 Likes

I finalised the rear screen project two weeks ago, except fitting the trim pieces. The car looks very good now.

Next I will replace the rear brake hoses and brake pipes. The right brake pipe is still available from Jaguar Classic Parts, and it was rather cheap, 12,6 € (12 $). The shorter left pipe will be locally tailor-made for the same price including shipping. For brake hoses I chose stainless braided ones.

I will also replace the seals of the master cylinder. I already dismantled a used master cylinder for that.

I have been working on the rear brake line and master cylinder project. My advice is: use a crowfoot wrench when removing the lines from the master cylinder. The lines can be very tight, and hence a wrench may just give you a rounded nut. It is easy to remove the lines using a 11 mm crowfoot wrench with a 3/8" ratchet. Overall, it is rather straightforward to replace the seals of the master cylinder. By the way, you can see in the picture the bracket I made for the header expansion tank during the brake booster conversion project two and half years ago.

The new original right rear brake line was not too difficult to install. However, there was a bit of stretching when pushing the line above the drive shaft since the car was on jack stands.

The left side was laborious. I had to make a new bracket for the brake hose/line connection.

A thread stripped of the 3 way connector. The mounting hole location of the new standard connector is different from the original, so I fabricated a mounting plate.



When it was finally time to bleed the brakes the thread of the right front caliber stripped when tightening the M10x1 bleed screw which I had renewed two and half years ago. I ordered in a M10x1 thread insert kit (aka Helicoil) to fix the thread.

Nice but are some of those lines copper or cupronickle?

Robin,
yes, the left rear brake line and a short line going towards the engine from the 3 way connector are cupronickel (CuNi). The short line was replaced most likely by a local Jaguar specialist garage in the past.

1 Like

I got the new bleed screws today. I tried one of them to the brake caliper with a stripped thread and the screw fitted well and was tight. So, the thread is fine, actually. No need to make a helicoil thread. I bled all the calipers and checked for leaks.

Overall, I would say this job was rather laborious, especially without a car lift. However, I knew that sooner or later I must renew the rear brake lines. Better to have preventive maintenance in good time!

As preventive maintenance I renewed the joint between the fuel return line and the fuel hose from the tank.


I have been mainly driving and enjoying. However, I will replace the differential output bearings and the propshaft aka Jurid coupling. I have pretty much done my homework and the task should be quite straightforward. But let us see how it goes. :sweat_smile:

Just make sure when you replace the Jurid that the ‘Fat’ areas are in compression when the car is under power.

Sorry for being a buttinsky but how does one do this?

You can see on this photo the difference between the holes the thick area needs to be under compression when the engine is driving the car.

OK , more specifically - aside from one hanging beneath the car whilst it is in motion, how is one to know whether “…the thick area [is] under compression when the engine is driving the car…”? Not trying to be a smart-arse here, just trying to understand.

One would rotate the prop shaft to determine which way it turns to make the car go forward, looking from the front of the car it would generally be clockwise, same direction the engine rotates.
I say generally as not all cars have the engine rotate the same way, some Honda engines are counter-clockwise.

Basically, wouldn’t a person install a new unit in the same aspect as the one being replaced?