It’s really nice reading how you see both the XK120 and the E-type.
I concur: adding that the ride and straight line stability of the E-type is almost modern, a really good car… and let us not forget fresh-air heating, over-drive (in some cases), which I really miss… and yet the XK120 has something vintage to it that, would you fit inside, is really impossible to resist, it’s just a wonderful car, where the E-type, for me, is well… great.
Also the 4.2 is almost brutish, the best of both worlds being perhaps the 3.8, but I haven’t driven one since 2005 or so.
Frankly, going to Spain on holiday now, I guess that I will be driving my bother’s SI 4.2 FHC, and no matter how much fun I will have, I will miss driving the XK for a while… plus its glorious pre-war, post-war identity.
Nick before you go in the direction of a seperate switch, once you are comfortable that the engine will run without the hisser, try a quick off/on of the ignition switch.that used to turn off the hisser in my 3.8 ‘S’.
Now that would be convenient. I’ll give it a go once I get things sorted. The hisser seems to work well. The engine fires right up but revs high for a few minutes before the hisser cuts out, long after it’s really needed.
I drove the E well into December last year while the roads were still clear, and I usually get it back on the road in late March once the rains wash off the salt, but I’ve yet to drive it in January or February. The 120 will be the same. My main difficulty will be choosing between the two - nice problem
I fitted a 3 position switch (a generic off-parking lights-headlights switch) with its pull-knob replaced by one that says CHOKE. The positions are Hisser off, hisser controlled by Otter switch, hisser on. I find that ideal for any situation, including defective Otter. But I realize that you might prefer to not modify the interior.
Hi Nick, replacing the seal is an economical way to go while you source an alternative pump. Any xk engine pump will fit the block, but you’ll have problems finding a wide belt pulley and a fitting to match the bypass hose.
I expect you’re right, Paul. Turnaround time is the question mark. I’ve had things tied up in either US or Canadian Customs for weeks so I’d have to make a couple of trips across the border to send down mine for repair then to retrieve it. Still comes down to how long it sits in the queue at the repair shop.
A) When you get it back from them, it’s done correctly.
B) A sent them my water pump off my obscure Japanese import tractor, and in two weeks and $210 plus shipping later, I got back a perfectly restored water pump.
I’m willing to bet that’s no more and probably less than some of the usual replacements, and I’m willing to bet that when Egge does it, it’ll be a better rebuilt.
My problem is transitioning from live people to the internet. Amongst folks I know personally, my humour is known and appreciated (?) for being deadpan–no change in locution–facial or verbal–to suggest in advance that a pun or joke is in progress. The smiley face is the internet opposite of deadpan and contrary to my lifelong “style.” I often forget that trying to be deadpan on the internet doesn’t work.
Not to interrupt your conversation, gents (insert appropriate emoji here) I’m having no joy troubleshooting the voltage regulator. I suspect it’s toast, though I may keep tinkering for chuckles on this rainy afternoon. @Rob_Reilly will remember this conversation from a couple of years back
where I posted this pic of the back showing where a conductor got hot enough to melt when something shorted out
