[xj] What's the Dumbest Thing a Previous Owner's Done to an XJ6?

XJ
21

In reply to a message from wosmo sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

War stories? I’ve got one.
Many years I was driving around Colorado in a Mercury comet-
you know, the one with the might 202 straight six engine.
The carburetor was a little tricky on a cold start, so I
took to using a screwdriver to hold the choke plate open to
start it. One morning after sleeping in the car in the
mountains, when I went to start the engine, the screwdriver
slid down the barrel of the carb when it started, and held
the throttle plate wide open!
The engine gunned, and then clanked to a stop abruptly.
After a bit of work, I found that a piston had been ripped
off the crankshaft bearing- and the rod was keeping the
crankshaft from turning.
So, having a lot of time, and my car tools with me, and not
wanting to pay for a tow, I opened up the top end of the
engine. I applied a dab of epoxy to the top of the
stationary piston, and, with a nail glued to the piston
head, pulled up the piston and removed it from the block.
Then, I put the top end back together again.
The engine started up, but ran very rough and I couldn’t go
over ten miles an hour as I drove back into Fort Collins-
about a twenty mile drive.
Then, I stayed a hostel, ordered the piston for about 25
dollars, gaskets for about ten, and in a week had the engine
put back together and on my merry way.–
BudFox
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22

Good one! Shows imagination & courage, maybe made easier by knowing no
one relly cares about a Comet!

We can practice the driving experience on our XKs by just flipping any
two spark wires.
;]–
Alex
79xj6L SII (BRG + wires)
86xj6 SIII (Black)
61 Sprite MkII (Red)
Menlo Park, Calif.

BudFox wrote:

In reply to a message from wosmo sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

War stories? I’ve got one.
Many years I was driving around Colorado in a Mercury comet-
you know, the one with the might 202 straight six engine.
The carburetor was a little tricky on a cold start, so I
took to using a screwdriver to hold the choke plate open to
start it. One morning after sleeping in the car in the
mountains, when I went to start the engine, the screwdriver
slid down the barrel of the carb when it started, and held
the throttle plate wide open!
The engine gunned, and then clanked to a stop abruptly.
After a bit of work, I found that a piston had been ripped
off the crankshaft bearing- and the rod was keeping the
crankshaft from turning.
So, having a lot of time, and my car tools with me, and not
wanting to pay for a tow, I opened up the top end of the
engine. I applied a dab of epoxy to the top of the
stationary piston, and, with a nail glued to the piston
head, pulled up the piston and removed it from the block.
Then, I put the top end back together again.
The engine started up, but ran very rough and I couldn’t go
over ten miles an hour as I drove back into Fort Collins-
about a twenty mile drive.
Then, I stayed a hostel, ordered the piston for about 25
dollars, gaskets for about ten, and in a week had the engine
put back together and on my merry way.

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23

Nahhh, that’s been beaten to death long ago, Chris.–
Alex
79xj6L SII (BRG + wires)
86xj6 SIII (Black)
61 Sprite MkII (Red)
Menlo Park, Calif.

wosmo wrote:

In reply to a message from wosmo sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

Hey, I just got an e-mail making a great suggestion! How about
a ‘low rider’ XJ? Way better than turning it into a pick-up. Oh,
oh, or how about a 4X4 XJ? Big ‘monster’ tires under a raised
suspension? I’m not the PO yet, but I could definitely make this
thread hop!
:slight_smile: Thanks to Jim for the idea!

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24

In reply to a message from Alex Cannara sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

:frowning: Awww… I thought I was on to something.–
The original message included these comments:

Nahhh, that’s been beaten to death long ago, Chris.

–
Chris '83 XJ6, '78 XJ6C
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25

In reply to a message from wosmo sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

Chris:

Yes, the metallics had the aluminum inely ground and well mixed in
a reasonable proportion.They looked good.

Yes, I have an idea of what happened to yours. And, indeed some of
the boats used that glitter finish. multiple reflections of light
do hide surface flaws, also done with texture in construction.
It could have gotten a ‘‘popcorn’’ finish!!!

Maybe Skip Foose of ‘‘overhauling’’ would be tempted to resusitate
your Glitterjag.

i’ll stay away from the lowrider-4x4-red neck truck syndrome.

Although I did like my ‘‘Texas Lincoln’’!!

Carl–
The original message included these comments:

Oh, Carl, if only that were the case. You know the containers of
glitter your kids used with a bottle of paste or glue to make their
construction paper Christmas decorations? Somebody applied a layer
of that over the original rhodium silver and then a fresh layer of
clear coat! Literally a sparkle (or glitter, if you prefer) paint
job. A body guy told me this was probably done to camouflage
botched body work. Didn’t the ‘metal flake’ paint jobs involve
mixing the ‘sparkle’ (or whatever was used) into the actual paint?
The PO before me described the atrocity as a ‘bass boat’ paint

–
Carl Hutchins 1983 Jaguar XJ6 with LT1 and 1994 Jeep Grand
Walnut Creek, California, United States
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26

Ideed, my grandpa left us many tins of various shades of metallic dust
for adding to paint/varnish – silver, gold, bronze… Just don’t
breath it!–
Alex
79xj6L SII (BRG + wires)
86xj6 SIII (Black)
61 Sprite MkII (Red)
Menlo Park, Calif.

cadjag wrote:

In reply to a message from wosmo sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

Chris:

Yes, the metallics had the aluminum inely ground and well mixed in
a reasonable proportion.They looked good.

Yes, I have an idea of what happened to yours. And, indeed some of
the boats used that glitter finish. multiple reflections of light
do hide surface flaws, also done with texture in construction.
It could have gotten a ‘‘popcorn’’ finish!!!

Maybe Skip Foose of ‘‘overhauling’’ would be tempted to resusitate
your Glitterjag.

i’ll stay away from the lowrider-4x4-red neck truck syndrome.

Although I did like my ‘‘Texas Lincoln’’!!

Carl

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27

BudFox wrote:

In reply to a message from wosmo sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

One morning after sleeping in the car in the
mountains, when I went to start the engine, the screwdriver
slid down the barrel of the carb when it started, and held
the throttle plate wide open!
The engine gunned, and then clanked to a stop abruptly.
After a bit of work, I found that a piston had been ripped
off the crankshaft bearing- and the rod was keeping the
crankshaft from turning.
So, having a lot of time, and my car tools with me, and not
wanting to pay for a tow, I opened up the top end of the
engine. I applied a dab of epoxy to the top of the
stationary piston, and, with a nail glued to the piston
head, pulled up the piston and removed it from the block.
Then, I put the top end back together again.
The engine started up, but ran very rough and I couldn’t go
over ten miles an hour as I drove back into Fort Collins-
about a twenty mile drive.
Then, I stayed a hostel, ordered the piston for about 25
dollars, gaskets for about ten, and in a week had the engine
put back together and on my merry way.

Way back a friend got an old Essex 6 very cheaply due to a persistent
misfire. Coming home a cursory examination revealed shorted electrodes
on one spark plug. Gleefully rubbing hands he regapped the plug
correctly and drove of. Then there was this enormous bang…

As the state of affairs made an inspection easy the truth was easily
revealed. #3 piston was missing. Ay least you took remedial actions…

Frank
xj6 85 Sov Europe (UK/NZ)===================================================
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28

I’ve got a stuffed jaguar on the parcel shelf (and another one in the front
yard)… where can I get the red eye enhancement from?
:slight_smile:

Koj

XJ6 S3 Big Red (under repair)
XJ6 S3 Snow White (in limbo)
XJ6 S3 Walter (looking good, running well)

Adelaide OZ----- Original Message -----
From: “Jim Isbell, W5JAI” jim.isbell@gmail.com

Wow, that sounds great. Now to complete the job you need dingle balls
along the top of the windshield, a picture of Jesus glued to the
ceiling surrounded with sea shells and a little doggie in the package
shelf with eyes that light up when you hit the brakes. Then when you
get a little more money you need to put little bitty tires on it and a
jumping hydraulic system and maybe a Mack truck hood statue on the
bonnet. Sounds like a real show stopper to me. You could probably
sell it for a good price in my area!!!

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29

In reply to a message from BudFox sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

Didn’t a race team in Europe during the Sixties finish a race in an
Aston Martin under similar circumstances? I had a '76 XJ-6C that
had been converted to manual chokes using the cheap choke
conversion kits they sell at NAPA and door locks that used keys
like they have to open drink machines. I must confess, though, I
was the culprit… I was in college and working on a shoestring
budget. Hey, at least they worked. The guy I sold the car to ran
the gearbox low on fluid and burned it up. My ‘‘modifications’’ were
still working. I realize now I’m rationalizing a bodge…

Ken Edgar
'85 XJ-6
'71 E-type FHC–
The original message included these comments:

So, having a lot of time, and my car tools with me, and not
wanting to pay for a tow, I opened up the top end of the
engine. I applied a dab of epoxy to the top of the
stationary piston, and, with a nail glued to the piston
head, pulled up the piston and removed it from the block.
Then, I put the top end back together again.
The engine started up, but ran very rough and I couldn’t go
over ten miles an hour as I drove back into Fort Collins-
about a twenty mile drive.

–
metalbasher
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
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30

Well, this isn’t on an XJ6 and to be honest I don’t even remember what
kind of car it was on…I guess it could have been a carburetted
XJ6…#:sunglasses:

A friend of mine was driving home when the fuel pump went out. Not
wanting to walk home he decided to connect the windshield washer pump
output to the carburetor and put gasoline in the plastic water
container for the WS pump. I worked… for about 3 miles,… then
on the upper deck flyover on IH35 the plastic container melted through
and the gasoline caught fire. He calmly got out of the car took a
screw driver and removed the license plates and walked away.–
Jim Isbell
“If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space.”

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31

Great to be in a state where plates are owned by the owner & not the car!

An old time racing driver wrote a book I read years ago and recounted an
incident somewhere in our midwest, maybe on The Lincoln Highway (a
Depression Works-Progress project – hmmm, could use some now). I think
the car was an old Model A Ford.

Over the miles, he sensed a bad noise from the engine & maybe some
shuddering of the body. It got much worse, so he pulled off near a
farm. He had/borrowed enough tools to lower the sump and saw that one
or more lower rod bearings were shot so badly that the rods were
slapping up & down. He took off the bearing end caps, pried out the old
bearings, took off his belt and cut the leather to make new ‘bearings’.
Buttoned it all up and continued on, probably to Chi Town. Wonder how
many owners the car had before that was discovered!–
Alex
79xj6L SII (BRG + wires)
86xj6 SIII (Black)
61 Sprite MkII (Red)
Menlo Park, Calif.

Jim Isbell, W5JAI wrote:

Well, this isn’t on an XJ6 and to be honest I don’t even remember what
kind of car it was on…I guess it could have been a carburetted
XJ6…#8-)

A friend of mine was driving home when the fuel pump went out. Not
wanting to walk home he decided to connect the windshield washer pump
output to the carburetor and put gasoline in the plastic water
container for the WS pump. I worked… for about 3 miles,… then
on the upper deck flyover on IH35 the plastic container melted through
and the gasoline caught fire. He calmly got out of the car took a
screw driver and removed the license plates and walked away.

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32

In reply to a message from Alex Cannara sent Fri 10 Oct 2008:

Alex:

  1. The leather belt bearing trick is old lore. It don’t work, tried
    it, busted!

Jim:

  1. ‘‘Walkaways’’ still exist. there is a hulk of something parked in
    front of my daughter’s house, no plates. She thinks it’s a theft.
    Maybe, more likely, just junk.

All:

A friend told me of hunting tripo in his inherited 56 Ford Pickup.
Somewhere in the mountains of Utah, it quit. He and his hunting
companion decided it was a fuel issue. They got the glass bowl off
the fuel pump and dumped out the detritius. But, in replacing it,
they broke it!!! They even considered removing the fuel tank and
strapping it on the cab top and going home gravity fed. The an
epiphany! A can of Vienna Sausages was just the right size. Went
home and strongly considered leaving it be! I counseled fine, but
that tank’s gotta be cleaned.

Frank.

I read of a Hudson 8, closely related to Essex. It was entered in
an endurance race. Whomever completed the most laps in the given
time was winner. The Hudson spun a rod bearing. the enterprising
crew put it on it’s side, pulled the hed and sump and removed 4
complimentry rods and pistons and returned the car as a well
balanced 4.

When, I blew out the rod bearings in my T in New Mexico, we just
drove it home slowly. It made it. They are quiet loaded, but rattle
like crazy on the over run.

I heard of a country rancher that blew a bearing in his 6 cylinder
Chevvy pickup, he just pulled the rod and piston and plugged
the hole with a chunk of tree whittled to fit.

!!!
-:slight_smile: -:slight_smile:

Carl–
The original message included these comments:

An old time racing driver wrote a book I read years ago and recounted an
incident somewhere in our midwest, maybe on The Lincoln Highway (a
Depression Works-Progress project – hmmm, could use some now). I think
the car was an old Model A Ford.
Over the miles, he sensed a bad noise from the engine & maybe some
shuddering of the body. It got much worse, so he pulled off near a
farm. He had/borrowed enough tools to lower the sump and saw that one
or more lower rod bearings were shot so badly that the rods were
slapping up & down. He took off the bearing end caps, pried out the old
bearings, took off his belt and cut the leather to make new ‘bearings’.
Buttoned it all up and continued on, probably to Chi Town. Wonder how

–
Carl Hutchins 1983 Jaguar XJ6 with LT1 and 1994 Jeep Grand
Walnut Creek, California, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
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33

Great to be in a state where plates are owned by the owner & not the car!

In Texas the plates go with the car. He just removed them so no one
would know who owned the car that was going to have to be hauled away
at taxpayers expense…

Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Alex Cannara cannara@sbcglobal.net wrote:

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34

In reply to a message from cadjag sent Fri 10 Oct 2008:

I remember my dad telling me that he used to make leather
bearings for his Model T during the (first) depression. They
didn’t last very long, and he had to replace them every few
weeks, as I recall. I suspect it was a matter of what you
could afford in the way of replacement parts.

One time as a teenager I rebuilt my friends Volvo and the
motor was too tight to turn over. I had no idea of what to
do. My dad advised that we push the car with another to
turn over the motor–recalling that he had done that each
time he fitted new leather bearings.–
The original message included these comments:

  1. The leather belt bearing trick is old lore. It don’t work, tried
    it, busted!

–
Bob Wilkinson, 72 XJ6
Saint Louis, MO, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
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35

About 30 years ago, I had a hot-rodded non-poptop VW Westphalia camper that would run near 100 mph on level ground.

After a long run toward home at the end of a trip, I pulled off the interstate to gas up and I guess the motor got a little
heat-soaked, for as soon as I started it up, one of the exhaust valve seats dropped out of one head.

After letting the engine cool for a bit, I popped the valve cover off the head, pulled the clips off the rocker shaft and removed
the two rocker arms for the bad cylinder, as well as the push rods. Clipped the rocker cover back on and drove my three-cylinder VW
about 125 miles home.

It was pretty rough getting up to speed, but once it got rolling it ran pretty well!

After that, I never would use rebuilt VW heads again, always new ones from then on.

Best regards,

Gregory Wells 800-331-2193 x103
Coventry West, Inc. Atlanta, GA
Jaguar & Land Rover Parts
(New, Rebuilt & Used) www.coventrywest.com> -----Original Message-----

I read of a Hudson 8, closely related to Essex. It was entered in
an endurance race. Whomever completed the most laps in the given
time was winner. The Hudson spun a rod bearing. the enterprising
crew put it on it’s side, pulled the head and sump and removed 4
complimentary rods and pistons and returned the car as a well
balanced 4.

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36

Got it. Growing up in a state where the driver owned the plates, it was
confusing to me that CA DMV, like TX, never let me transfer them to the
next car.

I think CA makes more $ because even when you lose one plate, you have
to get all new ones, with new numbers!–
Alex
79xj6L SII (BRG + wires)
86xj6 SIII (Black)
61 Sprite MkII (Red)
Menlo Park, Calif.

Jim Isbell, W5JAI wrote:

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Alex Cannara <@Cannara2> wrote:

Great to be in a state where plates are owned by the owner & not the car!

In Texas the plates go with the car. He just removed them so no one
would know who owned the car that was going to have to be hauled away
at taxpayers expense…

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37

Jim,

No longer do plates go with the car here in Texas. The law has been changed and when a car is traded, the plates are removed and returned to the seller. I imagine the rules were changed as so many buyers were simply driving the car and never spending the money for sales tax & title fees. This of course resulted in the prior owners receiving all the citations the new owner should have collected from toll gate violations, traffic light cameras and parking tickets.

Earl Kiker— On Fri, 10/10/08, Jim Isbell, W5JAI jim.isbell@gmail.com wrote:

From: Jim Isbell, W5JAI jim.isbell@gmail.com
Subject: Re: [xj] What’s the Dumbest Thing a Previous Owner’s Done to an XJ6??
To: “xj lovers” xj@jag-lovers.org
Date: Friday, October 10, 2008, 2:39 PM
On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 12:42 PM, Alex Cannara cannara@sbcglobal.net wrote:

Great to be in a state where plates are owned by the
owner & not the car!

In Texas the plates go with the car. He just removed them
so no one
would know who owned the car that was going to have to be
hauled away
at taxpayers expense…

Jim Isbell
“If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space.”

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38

Carl,

Unfortunately, I’m going to have to disagree with you on the belt issue. As a mere lad of 17 my dad insisted on making the final selection of my first car, a 1952 Studebaker Champion coupe. Unfortunately, the years of his profession had rendered his hearing seriously impaired. So, he was unable to detect the faint ticking in the engine that I repeatedly asked him about. We gave the man my $150 and I started home with my very own car!! Picked up my girl friend and continued on. Eleven & 3/4 miles down the road from where the car was purchased and quarter mile from my home, it slung the loose rod my dad had been unable to hear. Turned out it indeed had a leather insert installed just to sell the car.

It was a downhill slide from there. Turned out the car had set up for several years after the rod went out. During that time the brake wheel cylinders dry rotted; so did the tires which consequently blew one after the other as well as the battery and fuel pump diaphragm going bad. It was a really fun summer that year. I think I walked and sweat more than any other before or since.

Trust me. Dad NEVER went car shopping with me again!

Earl Kiker

He had/borrowed enough tools to lower the sump> and saw that one

or more lower rod bearings were shot so badly that the
rods were
slapping up & down. He took off the bearing end
caps, pried out the old
bearings, took off his belt and cut the leather to
make new ‘bearings’.
Buttoned it all up and continued on, probably to Chi
Town.

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39

Jim,

No longer do plates go with the car here in Texas. The law has been changed and when a
car is traded, the plates are removed and returned to the seller.

Must have been very recent change because I bought a cvar three months
ago and the
plates stayed with the car. I live in South Texas. Maybe the news
hasn’t gotten this far from Austin yet???

Jim Isbell
"If you are not living on the edge, well then,
you are just taking up too much space."On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 9:05 PM, Earl Kiker ekiker@swbell.net wrote:

===================================================
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40

In reply to a message from Frank Andersen sent Thu 9 Oct 2008:

''Way back a friend got an old Essex 6 very cheaply due to a
persistent
misfire. Coming home a cursory examination revealed shorted
electrodes
on one spark plug. Gleefully rubbing hands he regapped the plug
correctly and drove of. Then there was this enormous bang…

As the state of affairs made an inspection easy the truth
was easily
revealed. #3 piston was missing. Ay least you took remedial
actions…’’

Wow, I never realized that. I don’t think I disconnected the
spark plug wire- I could have blown the entire engine up,
couldn’t I?
Ignorance is bliss!
How did the 1966 Mercury Comet 202 end it’s life, you may ask?
Well, I redid the top end, probably for no good reason, but
found that the junked intake manifold that the guy sold me,
and that he guaranteed would work, didn’t, in fact, fit with
my carburator- the holes were different.
At that time being in wonderment at the strength and utility
of the epoxy glues, I glued the carburator on to the intake
manifold, and hooked everything up. To make extra special
sure that the glue would hold, I let it cure an extra day!
So I took it on the road one day, and it worked fine! That
same day, a friend called from a local strip club and said
that Miss USA was there! So I got in my car to go to the
establishment. On the way there, a drunk Anesthesiologist in
a station wagon made a wide right turn and totaled my Comet.
It was a sad ending to a hale and hearty friend- the
insurance company gave me three hundred dollars for it.–
BudFox
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
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