Hello, I’m new to Jags and I’m looking for advice on brakes. The 1956 Jaguar mark 1 I bought has no brakes right now. I was told it had electronic brakes but I’m unable to find parts in Canada. My local auto parts store recommended I upgrade to hydraulic breaks, I was wondering what your thoughts all were? And if anyone had any suggestions as to how to go about that. I’m really struggling to find any information on this Jaguar in regards to repairs and modifications.
Thanks in advance.
Find a new mechanic. NOW.
They are yanking your chain. It never had electronic brakes, nor did any other Jaguar. Except for cable operated mechanical brakes in the 1930’s they have always been hydraulic.
The only pure brake by wire systems I know of were the 2005 & 2006 Mercedes E class and CLS which used the ill-fated Bosch Sensotronic system.
Modern electrics and hybrids use energy recovery braking, which is not the same thing.
Ditto for “electronic brakes”. They’re just humble hydraulic brakes. Perhaps get a dowload copy of the Mk1 manual and parts book. The latter should have good pictures and details (by part number) of the braking components. You can work your wat frrom there with some help from all of us.
Hi…what do you mean “has no brakes”…brakes not working…or it dosent have tbe parts?..Steve
Hi @MGCJAG I have worked on cars for years but brakes I don’t tend to deal with. I’ve never seen brakes that look like this, I think it’s missing parts? Also no brake pedal.
Photos of what you have will help…but you need a Jaguar service manual so that you have the basic knowledge of what parts should be on the car
Have a look here…SNGB parts supplier…lots of diagrams and various options depending on you model/version…manual/auto…drum/disk brakes…servo? Etc. …Steve SNG Barratt UK | Keeping your Jaguar on the road
Maybe you have wireless brakes. Get a workshop manual and a parts book (suppliers‘ websites also have good parts drawings).
The only electrical component in Mk brakes is the “hill holder” device in automatics.
As above have a look at the SNG Barratt website.
The 4 wheel disc brakes fitted to the MK1 and 2 are excellent. This is why the cars were so popular with bank robbers as getaway cars in the 1960’s.
1956 2.4 Litre (Mk1’s didn’t exist then) could well have been an all drums car, as is mine. Which brakes well under normal driving conditions. But may have been altered to something else, like folks putting EZ steering in, and pointless distributors and such. It’s 67 years old, a lot of time and owners have since passed. Best is we get to see some pictures of the actual situation.
Welcome to the Forum ! try this link for a parts / service manuals !:Contact: Classic Jaguar S type
Best of Luck,
Cheers !
Schmitty
The 1956 2.4 Mk1 had hydraulic drum brakes, which, according to contemporary road tests, were perfectly adequate for the performance of the car. With the introduction of the heavier and much faster 3.4 version, road testers were pretty much universally agreed that the car was too fast for its drum brake setup, and their criticism generally hastened the introduction of ( on the Mk1,both 2.4 and 3.4, optional) disc brakes. They became standard on the Mk2. FWIW, as a nutty teenager, I had a drum braked 3.4 auto Mk1 and never experienced brake fade.
IMO, it’s unlikely your car has beeen converted to discs, and if it still wears its drum, overhaul of the complete system should be completely straightforward, new or resleeved wheel cylinders, new shoes and flexible hoses, etc. Normal stuff. If it has indeed been converted to discs, the same applies, although to some degree the difficulty will only depend on whether it has MK1 parts, or, more likely, MK2.
All straightforward stuff, just don’t try any shortcuts, do it properly.