My two 75's
 

Just trying to load a photo of my 2 75's taken this spring. I was doing the missus a favour by taking one of her colleagues' to her wedding reception

http://[IMG]http://i263.photobucket....n/DSCF2879.jpg[/IMG]

somehow I don't think it's showing
JYJ

Great looking cars,worthy of the occasion :cool:

thats just plain greedy having two :bowdown:;);):D:D:drool4::drool4:

Oh my both are stunning, what do you use to keep them clean :O

Thanks guys especially Jakg for posting my photo.
I don't know what I'm doing wrong as I copied it from photobucket ok then when it asks I paste it into the box everything seems ok with the photo info there, but on the final post just the red x

I have no problems with the SD1 forum posting photos but this one is slightly different so I could do with some tips :confused:

On the cars our first one the Royal Blue diesel has now covered 111,000 from new and interior is still mint but due to the mileage the paintwork now has a few chips etc.
My own Wedgewood Blue is a minter all round with barely a ding or chip, I only got it in Feb this year and alrady have some plans for it, Unions (got them) extra walnut for the dash and some good lady has promised me a set of pre Pro Drive head restraints.
My other mod is being kept a secret for the time being as I want to stay alive :D
JYJ

http://http://i263.photobucket.com/a...n/DSCF3699.jpg

What am I doing wrong. ?

The above photo I have copied from photobucket and when I paste it into the image box all the info is there but when I click OK it just appears as this red X

Ive tried several times to post photos now but to no avail and will not show in preview therefore I have just posted the red X in the box.

Some help please someone.

JYJ

Watch the video in this thread mate, explains it easier.

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...ad.php?t=60703

Many thanks for that Colin
Here we go :smilie_re:

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

Ah ! luvly jubbly

Seemples init

I was using the icon above the text box but this is simple. I must try this method on my other forums I visit.

Oh! and the photo well it shows my ever growing Rover collection with the "boss's" Royal Blue diesel, my Wedgewood Blue V6 and my fully restored Moonraker Blue SD1 Vitesse.

JYJ

SD1 Vitesse :drool4::drool4::drool4:

That photo shows how low and sleek those beautiful SD1s were - I think that is the best colour for them too.

That's my kinda driveway:drool4:

Really like the vitesse:drool4::drool4:More pics please

Glad to, but best do them on another topic as this is really for 75's & ZT's
But here is one of my V6 and my Vitesse at The Falkirk Wheel taken earlier this year.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

JYJ

I've always kept a good record of photos on all my cars as well as an Exel spreadsheet with expenditure. I even keep a write up which is a better history than any service book as I found out on my second service when the main dealer lied to me about what had been done.

Anyway the missus's diesel was almost at the magical 100,000 mile mark so I cunningly swopped cars with her that day and took the old girl out with camera in hand.
I only recall covering this figure once before in my company van, a Mazda 2000 and I reached the 100k right on the middle of the Erskine Bridge over the Clyde but this time with the 75 it was right outside the main gate of HMS Gannet at Prestwick Airport.
Here she is after I pulled up at the safest well almost safest point just round the corner.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...k.jpg~original

JYJ

Oh! and of course the speedo reading.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~original

JYJ

Stunning for 100k.

The SD1 is beautiful.

Quite a lot of people seem to own SD1's on here, really does show you how the 75 was truely appreciated by Rover vans.

Excellent the cars look really good together.

I purchased a pair of pre "Pro Drive" front head restraints recently and after fitting them I decided to try out the original front ones to the rear seats.

They fitted straight in, after tilting the rear seat forwards and look OK.
They certainly look different and dont block the rear vision too much.

Here is a shot looking back from the interior mirror angle.


http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

JYJ

Maybe another pair of pre project ones for the back:shrug::D

I think I've used up all my" pressy money" ;) at the moment but I would like to add some extra "wood" trim to the dash etc and of course I also require two new tyres in order to get my refurbed Union fitted.

Reached two milestones within a week, following on from my 100,000 miles in the Vitesse last night my V6 turned to 40,000.
Pity I didn't get them both down to Troon for a photo shoot as it is a nice spot.
My Vitesse is under the social topic cos its not a 75 :cool:
JYJ

Ive finally got my refurbished Unions fitted with two new tyres to the front.
I've also done my own cruise control resume switch mod and today I've removed the front bumper to do three jobs in one.

1/ I had a very small rust bubble on the front wing just where it meets the bumper. yestarday I used the air grinder to remove the rust down to solid metal but to do the job properly I removed the bumper and have found that the wing is corroded right through on the lower edge i.e. right between the wing and bumper. It must have received a knock to chip the paint right at this spot as I've never seen one like it before.

2/ My V6 has only just covered 40,000 miles andis basically mint other than item 1 of course but I found the shannon tube burst at the bottom so it is being replaced by one from "Jules"

3/ I am replacing both upper and lower grilles with stainless mesh which arrived today from Lockwood International.

I will post some detailed photos of the work as soon as I get them done, oh! and last of all I did not want to get too involved with the bodyshop so I've purchased a made up aerosol of Wedgewood Blue basecoat from my paint supplier so that I can at least get rid of the rusty area on the wing.
JYJ

As regards Job 1/ as above here are some photos of the work I have done.

This shows the rust bubble which was on the car when I purchased it in February this year 2011.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

After using the air grinder I got down to bare metal with no real signs of corrosion.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~original

I brushed on some 2 pack primer to protect the bare metal then removed the front bumper to get at the bottom area and found this.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~original

I then had to do some dentistry work to remove all the corrosion leaving a hole the size of my finger so I put on some fibreglass matting then some polyester filler.
So this is how it looks after 2 coats each of primer basecoat then laquer.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

Not bad for an aerosol job but after the wing is re fitted I may give it another coat.

Now for job no 2/ while the bumper is off I have fitted Jules modification shannon tube as this is what the old one was like after 40k

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...e.jpg~original

And the new one fitted.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...d.jpg~original

I am midway through doing the stainless mesh grille and will post some photos when it's finished.

JYJ

Here's job no 3/

With the grille removed I first masked all the chrome up so that no damage would occur.
Then using a hacksaw blade I cut all the old slats off. Its fiddly doing the first one in each side but that lets you in to cut the remainder off.
I then used my air tool to grind all the stubs down but any multi tool or simmilar will do the job.

Here it is after the slats were removed.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

To get a nice finish I then used sanding paper wet to leave a finish ready for paint.
I had decided to paint my lower grille pieces as well, so plastic primer is essential to get the finish coat to bond. So it was now off with the front bumper to get the lower grille removed. This can be removed without removing the bumper but as I was removing it anyway it certainly made the job much easier.

All the plastic parts were given two coats of plastic primer then left overnight then this was followed by two or three coats of silver then a couple of coats of laquer.

I used stainless mash 24" x 6" for the main upper grille and 26" x 4" for the lower. Removing the lower grille is simply a matter of either grinding or using a heat gun to melt away the lugs securing it.
As for fitting the new lower mesh this is a bit tricky as I spent some time cutting apertures for the securing lugs and for the temperature sensor then with the aid of some bricks to hold it in place I re fixed the mesh to the lugs using both a heat gun and soldering orin to melt the lugs over the mesh.

Here is the lower mesh grille now in place.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

Now to main grille. First of all I marked out then trimmed the four corners to allow the mesh to sit in place. Then I removed the centre badge from the grille, drilled a hole right through the middle of the grille panel then using a small screw and nut I secured the mash into the grille.
To allow it to sit in place I machined the splash guards for the horns a little. I also applied some polyester filler to several areas to help secure the mesh in place but this came undone as soon as any pressure was put on it so basically the mesh is held oon by the one screw then held in place with the grille mounting scrivets. I will look into this area again.

I had a little accident with my camera as I sat on it when it was facing to the ground so I have damaged the LCD screen so now I'm taking photos blind but they have turned out not too bad.

Here is the finished job today.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

And another from the front showing the now painted lower grille area.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

JYJ

Oh! I forgot to show off my Union alloys that I refurbished so here they are down at Troon, my favourite photo location.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~original

And another trick shot, remember I can't see anything through the viewfinder as the screens duff. :mad:
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original

JYJ

Looks great jim:drool4::drool4:Car is stunning.Really like the grille.:D

Top work Jim that looks superb.:bowdown:

Thanks for the comments guys.
I seem to be re living my teenage years by adding mods to my car.
When I was in my 20's (a couple of years ago ;) ) I had a Vanden Plas 1100 just the same as my current 1300 but this one was customised quite a bit.
I removed the entire wood veneer dash and fitted a custom dash with twin speedo & rev counter then two banks of 4 Smiths guages, yes 8 in total and they all worked. Fuel,water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, clock, vacuum, ampmeter, and battery condition.
It looked quite cool at the time for a boy racer :D

Even then I remember having a list of what I had done and what I wanted to do with the car. Ended up putting it on its roof at 11.30pm on Hogmanay and finished up with my first Rover, a 2000TC

JYJ

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...n/DSCF4386.jpg

Now that looks stunning great pic:drool4::D

Love this photo Jim, But you need to sort out that water leak, It's looks like a bad-un.. ;)

love the grille too..

Didn't think anyone would notice the water leak :D

The area that I took these shots was in Troon just behind the timber yard.
I believe the ramp was built during the war for landing craft.
It is now breaking up in places and last year I photographed my Vitesse there after manoeuvering it over a large gap onto the last couple of slabs.
It made some brilliant photos and one was featured in the SD1 club calendar, September actually so I have it in front of me this month.

This is one of the shots taken that day just to show the location.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~original

JYJ

Just looking through some of the photos I've taken of my "mods" since purchasing my V6 and thought I'd share them with you guys.

The difference between power washing regularly or not,
look below to see the two covers taken from both my 75's, one since new (02) and now with 111k the V6 basically the same age (52) and now with 40k. Can you tell which is which, they have both been sand blasted and this shows them with a couple of coats of primer.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original

The top one which is the worst is from the lower mileage V6. I have regularly power washed the (02 diesel ) since new.

I had noticed some leaves and rubbish lying in the upper channel of my V6 and was quite shocked when I found this after removing the top cover.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

Some little critter had been chewing away for some time, this is the engine.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

And this is how much material I sucked out. I was very lucky the wiring had not been damaged but you can just make out where they had chewed the insulation on the injectors.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~original

More "mods" to follow JYJ

On my SD1 Vitesse I had fitted extra floor lights and found them to be very useful, so I aquired 4 front repeater lamps courtesy of "Rotrex" (thanks Tam) and have fitted them front and rear substituting the bulbs for clear ones.
Here is one of the front panels with lamp fitted and ready for re fitting.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original


And here are the two brackets for the rear seats complete with lamps.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original


This shows the brackets fitted to the underside of the seat which I had to remove to gain proper access.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original


Final result to the front.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original


And to the rear.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

Quite a difference JYJ

Excellent Jim a How to is required I think:bowdown::D

Thanks Neale

Sorry I havent given too much detail, and in my haste I had a double set of photos on photobucket so I deleted them only to find 3 of the 4 were the ones pasted onto the topic so I had to edit them back in. :shrug:

I also have not mentioned that the sandblasted panels were from the harness covers under the rear wing, but of course everyone knew that. :drool4:
I gave them several coats of paint before they were re fitted.


As for the lights I cheated a bit and took some instructions from another topic on this as per wiring onto the interior light and routing the cables down the pillars, but the rear seat brackets were my own idea. I had to remove the seat bolts but not the wiring to raise them up enough to gain access for drilling the holes. I also had to release the cable tensioner ( I think it's something connected to the seat belts ) from under the seat.

Getting the wiring to the rear is a matter of removing some of the plastic trim (carefully) and using an old speedo cable to get the wires passed under the carpet.
As for the lights I bonded them in place as some of the retaining clips were broken off.
I also opted to mount the front lights perpendicular rather than horizontal but that was just a matter of choice.

JYJ

While I on a roll :)
Here are some of my previous mods.

My stainless grille which took me two days work to get done along with some other jobs i.e. modified shannon tube and some painwork.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

Shannon Tube mod below

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...d.jpg~original

and my cruise control resume on/off switch mod

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

This gives better control without having to lower your hands from the driving position.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...8.jpg~original

And just in case you have noticed the above photo is from the diesel conny with lighter interior trim.

This shows my original front head restraints fitted to the rear after fitting the "pre pro drive" ones to the front.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

I think I will shorten the stalks on these to let them sit down slightly, but I wanted to try them first as they are.

JYJ

You have one well sorted 75.:}Mines being very neglected lately,have a ton a mods waiting to get done but cant get at her.Just bought a tomcat last week so that didnt help either:D

Thanks Neale
Both the Missus & I just love our cars, normally she would have wanted to change hers after around 4 years but its now approaching 9 years and it was on her approval that we added the V6.
I actually prefer the interior moonstone colour to my ash grey but to swop them over would be a heck of a work. I'm thinking if hers was be going to be sold of course.
Ive just been given the nod for some extra wood trim for the dash for my forthcoming "21st" birthday so I will be organising this today from Simon.
I also have a couple of rather nice mods for the future but I'm going to keep them under wraps until their done but in the meantime will continue with starting a clean up regime of the brake and suspension, weather permitting as the garage is full of cars, my SD1 & Vanden Plas 1300.
I just hate to see them all rusty, I had just stripped my Vectra SRi both front & rear assemblies out last year and sandblasted and painted them to look like new then the V6 came along. Anyway the SRi is still in the family as my sister and brother in law now have it.
The V8 no. plate gets some attention with it being a V6 but this was purchased a couple of years back and although I cannot use it on my SD1 I always had a hankering for a V8 Jag. I could of course either buy V6 which is still available or stick a V8 badge on the boot, did think of it but just don't know, maybe.

JYJ
ps good luck with the Tomcat they're really nice especially the convertible, lots of them over in Malta

David Bache was the designer/stylist for the SD1. The body flutes and front indicator styling was borrowed from a Ferrari Testarossa ,if i remember rightly.

The SD1 was my first Rover, but unfortunately it was executed rather badly in some respects due to Rovers merger with Leyland and the subsequent revisions by the Leyland 'bean counters'. Lovely cars though:}

The SD1 was created by both David Bache (stylist) and Spen King (designer) and yes it did have some Ferrari infuence but not the Testarrosa but the Daytona.
It did suffer from a poor build quality in the early years but the latter ones were actually quite good.
When you compare it to our 75's the difference is amazing but the two cars are decades apart on design and technology.
I still love my Vitesse and the growl from the exhaust and it certainly turns a few heads even at 25 years old.

JYJ

Must agree when you drive a Vitesse or in my case a P6 3500S it feels like an avent the sound and the power of the V8 never dulls.But it is nice to get into the modern Rover/MG for every day driving.(And MPG:D):}

As the weather is not too good for working outside I've started on one of my winter project mods in my workshop.

After looking at member Avons car regarding his door cappings and seat side panel, It gave me the idea I could make up something along the same lines so first of all a big thank you to you sir and I hope you are not offended.

First of all I made up a paper template then transferred this onto clear plastic sheet. This allowed me to modify the shape to a final pattern.

I then copied this pattern onto 3/8 external plywood and cut out the shape using a fine bladed jig saw.

This was then worked to the position I am at now. I intend to apply some burr walnut veneer then after final trimming etc this will be finished off in two pack laquer.

I will post some photos soon and could possibly make my pattern onto a pdf file for easy down loading if anyone was interested in doing the same project.

I will keep you all posted on this.

JYJ

I get into a modern MG every day - get the V8 sound and power - now where's the MPG:getmecoat:

Ooh, now that will be interesting to see Jim. Do keep us updated.

Derek

Thanks Derek, I think I will open a new topic on this once I get the photos uploaded so keep your eyes peeled :}

Meantime I've been looking at veneer and found this stuff is quite pricey, looking at at least £30 for a sheet big enough for the job.
Basically I'm almost at the stage ready to apply veneer.

I have also received an e-mail from Simon informing me my dash & switch kit is on its way so soon it will be all tricked up LOL

JYJ

I've now got my walnut dash fitted with the exception of the Harmony part and have almost completed the door cappings and seat sides as covered under another post.

But today being a lovely sunny day although a bit cool, I decided it was time to do the plenums properly. I have always kept the outside drains clear by jetting some water down them every other month but when I change the pollen filter I have always given the lower plenum a proper clean out by hosing some water and brushing all the **** away.
As I have not changed the pollen filter on the V6 I decided to at least get the plenum cleaned and I'm glad I did as although the water was draining away OK it was well and truly blocked with leaves.

Now for the embarrasing bit, I have taken the small plugs retaining the front shield off many times with no problems but on my very first one it shot off over my shoulder and I'm sure it broke the sound barrier as it entered outer space somewhere. :mad:

I reckon on my V6 they had not been off for a while so they were tight to remove. Easy remedy is to apply a thin length of duck tape (about 6") and press this centrally over the clip, then remove the clip using two small screwdrivers. With the duck tape sticking to the clip it reduces its flight to freedom.
After cleaning the plenum out I did the spyhole mod to allow me a clearer picture of what's happening and this also allows a short stick to be poked down to clear away any debris. I also changed the dirty pollen filter with a washed previously used one. I know this may sound cheap but it will only be tempory until the cars full service.

Another couple of jobs done & here is a photo of the "woodwork"

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original

JYJ

Been a bit under the weather this week so not much done on the car. I have now received and fitted the harmony panel and replacement A/C panel.
On the door cappings, I'm now at 15 coats of lacquer so I reckon that's enough so they will now sit for a while to cure properly as I'm in no hurry to start dismantling door cards to get them fitted.

Yesterday I spent almost the whole day sitting in the car feeling miserable. The missus had a meeting at Dunblane Hydro so me being her "gofer" had to drive her and three other colleagues there for a 9.00am start then wait until 5.00pm. I did manage to go into town for a visit to the Cathedral and lunch. Now I really know just what a chauffeur's life can be like.

On the other hand I'm very proud of her, the missus that is. She has been nominated and is in the last three finalists for Nurse of the Year Award at the Scottish Health Awards to be held inthe Corn Exchange Edinburgh on Thursday evening.
I will be with her all dressed up and willing her on but she is very downbeat about the whole thing.

JYJ

Just an update on this thread.

The door cappings are still waiting to be fitted, I'm afraid it's just too cold for me just now for this work as I intend to take the door cards off and also look into another secret mod :wink2:

Hopefully as soon as the weather picks up I will be back on track as MOT time is also looming, well April for all three of them in one month.
JYJ

We need a "Like" button for the forum ;) Lovely cars Jim

"Secert mod" OOOOH what is it, go on what is it.:icon_smile:Cant wait to see car is looking great Jim.
I was like that last year 3 up for mot with in a couple of weeks of each other.Nightmare.Changed one car so mot's broke up abit for this year and taxes to:icon_smile:

At the moment I'm trying to keep in with the Boss as my secret mod will be quite hefty in moolahs.
As for what it is ! well I did a simmilar thing to my SD1 Vitesse but this time I'm going to be a bit quiet about it.

JYJ

OMG I'm going to have my work cut out this spring.

The missus has finally managed to win me over to fitting a new bathroom suite and if that's not enough I've found her car to be a bit sloppy on the suspension of late. It always trailed the front flaps a bit so I removed them completely so I now have some paintwork to do on the front wings.

But today when I was going to pick up a friend from the Airport and running a tad late I found the front under tray is also scraping the ground on some dips.
Then of course my secret of almost three years is it now requires two new rear springs as one has been broken for 3 years and the other last year yet it still passed the MOT.
I am not going to chance it this year so it will be two new ones along with new shocks but I will almost definately require the same at the front, well shocks at least.
Not going to be cheap so hopefully there will be enough moolahs left to do my latest mod on the V6.
And yes I've still to get the door cappings fitted.

At least the weather's picking up.

JYJ

Did I say the weathers picking up,! not now it was baltic today in Glasgow but at least I have a nice warm indoor job to keep me busy for a few week, I mean fitting the new bathroom suite for the boss. :bowdown:

I'm not too chuffed with her this week as she borrowed my V6 to visit her parents and came back with the ABS light on and no speedo. :mad:

So now I have replace hopefully just the sensor but that's still not much change out of £100. Oddly enough the cruise still works so it must be taken off the sensor on the N/S as it has been noted its the O/S sensor for the speedo.
What rotten luck and just a week before MOT. I actually thought my MOT was at the same time as the missus's diesel but was that was my last car.
So here's hoping it gets a bit milder to get my MOT checkover done and that sensor replaced.

JYJ

It's almost a month since I started to give my V6 my usual pre MOT check and get the new ABS sensor fitted but, then the new bathroom suite arrived and a few days later the tiles were delivered, so for the first time I can remember the car has taken 2nd place as it's beeen up on the blocks for over three weeks now while I'm keeping the boss happy fitting her new bathroom.

Well it's almost finished so soon I'll get back into the car and get it up to my standard for MOT.
Then it will be a major suspension refurb on the boss's diesel.

JYJ

After only my second MOT fail with a 75 where it failed for worn front discs (debatable) I am already planning just what I need to do for the missus's diesel.

I do know for a fact it requires two new rear springs and the front shockers are shocking.

As it's now on a high mileage I am looking at replacing the rear springs with aftermarket ones and will be replacing the shockers as well.
As for the front I intend to replace both shockers and will also replace the boots and buffer assist springs but as the front springs are OK they will be going back on purely for costs. Knowing my luck, one will probably break soon after refitting but at least if that happens it will be a lot easier to come off. Again I am going for aftermarket parts for the front shocks as to use OE the costs would be horrendous.

Obviously I may have to replace some other parts as I go along with the overhaul but I'm going to SORN the car for a month and she can use the V6.

Meantime I've got my eye on a new air gun for 1/2 inch impact sockets as my existing one is almost duff and with those clamp studs on the front shockers I think this will be a neccesary purchase.

JYJ

Changed the oil & filter plus new plugs to the V6 today.

Oh what joy, well at least it was nice and warm with the sun hitting my back but my knees are now killing me with the stretching.

It took me exactly two hours with the front ones finished after just 10 minutes or so. Just one slight problem to begin with was my plug socket decided to stick with the new plug when I pulled it out being left with just the extention. Turned out to be the rubber insert was very new and dry so a quick rub of petroleum jelly cured that.
Then when removing the rear coil I inadvertantly removed the small stud securing the wiring loom (I think) instead of the 2nd coil retaining stud slightly out of view.

Last problem was on the last plug I simply could not get the coil & lead to fit back on to the plug so when I pulled it back out to see what was wrong I found a small rubber type plug. After scratching my head a few minutes it finally clicked, It was the rubber insert from the plug socket.

I was pleased to see the plugs removed (NGK) were exactly the same as I had purchased.
Then it was on to the oil filter, Why do garages have to tighten them up so much. I had to revert to my old filter removal tool to get it off. Maybe next year it will come off better.
Last job was to replace two small clips securing the plastic cowling to the bottom of the radiator which I spotted during my underside checks. They were very rusty and luckily I had a couple in the odds box exactly the same.

Just the auto box oil to replace as soon as I can source the correct fluid. Even though the car has only 43k on it I would like to replace it

JYJ

You will see from another post I now have the correct auto box fluid, but I'm also preparing for the suspension overhaul on the diesel.

Anticipating some tight studs to remove I've purchased a new air gun and Impact socket set.
I purchased these from my local Toolstation and cost around £70 for the lot. It will be a good investment as my current air gun has almost given up altogether.

Here is the new kit.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

JYJ

Nice piece of kit,will make life a bit easier for sure.:}

Yes I'm going to be busy Neale with a full suspension makeover on the boss's car.
This weekend I changed the auto transmission fluid on both cars and the oil and filter on the diesel. Changing the auto fluid is just as easy as an oil change but on the V6 you have to remove the air filter box to get access to the filler.
The undertray on the diesel was broken at two areas as a result of it slapping the ground. It was properly fixed in place so it just shows just how bad the front shockers are.
I have removed it for repair and is now almost finished using several layers of fibreglass etc. Even my V6 one had a small hole in it which I cannot explain just how it could have happened other than being impacted by a stone so it's also off the car for repair, so once they have been nicely painted up they will both be re fitted. I have even removed all the clips and studs for de rusting and painting (sad man)
One other thing was the service indicator on the diesel, for the last 3 or 4 services I was unable to get it to re set and even yesterday I had several attempts and was just about to give up again when it re set, Eureka!

I will post a couple of photos when the under trays are finished.

JYJ

Yes be good to see pics.You have a bit of work to do there.:}
I just in the process of fitting a new engine to the we coupe.But before it goes in I will treat it to a MLS head gasket a new timing kit and water pump,thermostat,inlet and exhaust gasket and a new clutch.All the parts here but just trying to get at it.
The ZT is due mot so need to get a date before the 13th of may.I know it needs the handbrake sorted and the bonnet dosent seem to want to open(always at mot time:mad:).
Good luck with your work,keeps us posted.:}

I've now got both undertrays finished and nicely painted up but forgot to upload photos but in the meantime on the V6 I've finished off painting the remainder of the front subframe. I painted most of it during my recent pre MOT check.
I had noticed a kink on the front stabiliser bar coming from the subframe to the chassis so I have removed them for sandblasting and re painting.

Here they are showing the kink.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

I used my new air gun in earnest for the first time, releasing the retaining studs in seconds.

As I only use this car locally I will continue to drive it without the stabiliser bars on as I am going to strip the diesel's rear suspension this weekend and I will also remove its front stabilisers bars and get all the suspension components sandblasted at the same time.


Look what arrived today.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original

I'm going to be a busy boy with a full set of springs and shockers from Euro Car Parts.

What a sterling service but now for the confession !

I ordered these parts independently 2 days ago then 1 hour later whilst on the forum I noticed that they offered a forum discount.
What a numpty I was , but wait ! after contacting them by e-mail they first confirmed that, yes I was a numpty then gave me the discount all £124 odds.

So again I say thank you, for not only an extremely generous discount but also a first class service in general right up to delivery this morning.

Now I suppose it's off to work

JYJ

Before I log out of photobucket, here is a shot of the underside of the diesel taken when I was changing the auto box fluid.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

You will notice the exhaust heat sheild is crumpled but from the rear. I reckon this happened just last week when we visited our sons house. He was concerned that I had parked overlapping his neighbors driveway by about 2 inches so he moved the car into his own driveway. When I reversed out their was a srunching sound which I thought was just the undertray but obviously it was the heat shield so this has now been repaired by adding some stiffener bars along each side as shown below.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original


And now its off to work

JYJ

Thats a nice neat mod on the heat sheild,Should keep it safe.:}

I'm almost finished the suspension makeover on the missus's diesel but already I've started on other things. The aircon evaporator is being replaced as when I was in the middle of doing the upgrade to a Kenlowe cooling fan it was evident the condensor was past its best.
I'm also fitting Viton seals to the intercooler pipes and have my eyes on the FBH, well I might as well refurb it when it's easy to get at.

It was the Missus's birthday today and also our anniversary so with no expense spared I bought the good lady a nice gift.

You know how the girls like to look their best so I bought her 1 litre of JFM royal blue base coat so her car will look its best. :bowdown:

As soon as I get out of the hospital getting my broken legs and fractured skull fixed I will go out and get her something more appreciated. :D

OUCH !

JYJ

You know how to spoil her:D

Oh! how time flies.

My suspension refurb as detailed in another post is almost complete, just waiting on new brake back plates coming in from China.

The aircon evaporator is fitted and the Kenlowe fan although it is all wired up etc, I have still to fit it to the car.

It's been almost a month since doing anything seriously with the car as we had a planned refurbishment of our bedrooms at home and I really thought I would be finished with the car work before our new bedroom units arrived. It'a true saying "The best laid plans O mice and men gang aft aglee" Robert Burns

On top of that we had a family bereavement, the missus's mother passed away on June 27th so car work was the last thing on my mind.

Having said that I did venture out to the workshop today just for some therapy and stripped out the bonnet locks. I was really surprised just how rusty they were, even with me giving them regular greasing.

I will post some photos of my work which as usual is OTT, meantime it's back to the decorating :(

JYJ

Update on photos
 

Here are some photos of the additional work I've carried out on the diesel.

The FBH fuel supply pump was corroded quite bad with the small support bracket completely rotted through.

This is the finished job after removing all the rust with a multi tool then several coats of paint and a modified fixing using a wide tie wrap bolted on using stainless screws.
The pump has been tested and primed right up to the FBH, I also used new hose clamps as the originals were corroded through.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

The front wings have now been removed for re painting and I was pleasantly surprised just how good the inner wing area was after 10 years.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

I had to get the exhaust pipe welded back up where I cut it remove the rear suspension so I had to remove the seat from the V6 to get it to the welder.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

And just for info this shot shows the release straps which secure the seat.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~original

On the diesel it has the proper release catches on top of the seat which folds down very easily and also secures back into place with a simple push.

However on my V6 I have given up trying to secure it back into place. The seat back came out within a minute but on re fitting even with the swivel pins secured into the plastic seat the back will not secure back onto its catch so for now the seatbelts will have to hold it until I have a second attempt.

I've shown this shot not only to show how long the exhaust was, but also you will note my foam lying board has a large piece missing.

I cut two pieces out of it to replace the foam on the underside of the radiator and aircon evaporator. The original was well past it, also the foam packing at the top of the radiator was replaced.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

This is where I'm at today with the front panel refurbished and re fitted.
I stripped down the bonnet catches and refurbished them as well and will upload photos of them later.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

JYJ

Fantastic work!, going to look almost Brand new!!

The bonnet locks
 

As promise earlier the photos of the bonnet locks, they somehow managed to get lost in an earlier file but here they are.

I have maintained my car well and have lubricated the bonnet release catches regularly and some time ago carried out the bonnet release "Mod".

However I was really surprised just how rustry they were underneath when carrying out my recent refurbishments to the car.

Now bearing in mind I already have the slam panel removed from the car which can be done in appox 1- 2 hours work so here are the bonnet release catches just after they were removed from the slam panel.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

To strip down the locks it is just a simple case of releasing the plastic clips on the casing to reveal thus.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

I first washed out all the debris then removed the rust before painting all the components. At first I thought the inner catch would be fine but even after cleaning with gunk I could still feel it to be very stiff so I stripped the inner catch down completely by pulling the metal catch out of its spring taking note the orinentation.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~original

Tip It may be best to do one at a time so you can compare with the other when re assembling. It is actually quite easy as it just clips back into the position as shown.

All the components were first primed then finished in gloss. I use a piece of wire to suspend the various parts when carrying out the paint process.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~original

I also use a heat gun to assist with drying but be careful not to overdo the use of heat.

Finally I re assembled the catch after applying a liberal coat of grease. I also worked some grease into the cable to protect it from any future corrosion.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

My cables were in very good condition with no corrosion but I do have a full set of the three cables new in my parts collection which I intend to keep for the future.

I then linked the two cables together and tested the catches by pulling them by hand. They worked with ease.

Finally I stripped down the safety catch, even the small springs, de rusted and re painted them in the same manner, the finished job is shown below.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

My task next week is to get the paintwork carried out to the front wings, bumper and bonnet, part of which has already been done.

JYJ

Today I was looking forward to getting the front bumper and wings re painted by my son Chris.

But I've failed his quality control check :shrug:

Seems the panels need a little more rubbing down as there are still some miniscule marks on them, Ah well it's a 75 after all and it should be perfect so he is returning tommorow (I hope) to help his old man out.

Now I know what to expect with the bonnet as it has dozens of stone chip marks on it.

JYJ

My son didn't quite make it today but the missus seems quite happy as she is in no hurry to get her car back on the road.
Obviously she's getting to like mine which is more worrying :(

Meanwhile at least it's back on its wheels and perhaps by the time I do get the paintwork done I will also have the new brake back plates which are imminent.

Here she is waiting patiently.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...3.jpg~original

JYJ

I've also been carrying out some remedial work on my V6.
Although my boot is bone dry after removing the tail lights on the diesel for the 2nd time I decided to check out the tail light seals on the V6.

Why are the tail light seals split as shown (ringed).

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

I can see no obvious reason for this and they are identical on both cars.
I have sealed this gap up with a dab of silicone and taped the gap together with a small strip of gaffer tape.

This shot shows just how much dirt gets into this area.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~original

I also washed out the light units before fitting and I passed some bleach down the edge of the light unit adjacent to the black plastic trim at the boot opening.
This was to get rid of any bacteria which causes a green line to form down the edge of the light unit.
It worked a treat as they are now gleaming like new.

Now for some re-cycling work. :confused:

About a year ago we replaced our mattress on our bed but it was just too soft so it was getting thrown out and replaced with a proper orthopeadic one.
I cut the old mattress up and found some ideal insulation so I have lined the sides of the wheelarches right up into the rear pillars and also the spare wheel well, boot floor and boot lid.

Here are some shots.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...8.jpg~original

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~original

The only point to look out for is not to block off the vents and allow a gap for the movement of the fuel filler locking mechanism.

The difference on the V6 is quite noticeable but I didn't have enough material to do the diesel wheel well and boot floor but I have some other material in mind for it.

JYJ

My son managed to get some of the paintwork finished earlier this week.
It's only the front wings and bumper but at least it has allowed me get the car looking a bit better whilst sitting on the driveway.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

I've still to polish up the new panels and will blend the rest of the car in to get rid of the numerous scratches, well some of them anyway.

Here's the newly painted wing against the bonnet which has still to be sprayed as it has a lot of stone chips on it.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

I am pleased with the results but I am still awaiting delivery of the brake back plates from China and have put off re fitting the wheel arch liners until I have the back plates.
Hope to have it MOT,d and back on the road for September.

JYJ

Very nice cars you have there. Its nice to see a whole set of Rovers in the family rather than just 1 with a euro box aswell.

Great work you have done there your skills have made me quite jealous:bowdown:

Many thanks for your comments, my son has pleaded with me ; Dad no more work on cars he says. :bowdown:


But I've still to finish my little Vanden Plas 1300 which has been in my garage for over 20 years.

JYJ

This is a shot of my Vanden Plas 1300 as it stands today.


http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original


As you see Zed the Ted was checking it over after I re sprayed the front end.
That was last August and I have done nothing since.
I've owned the car for well over 25 years and it still has only around 35k since new. I did a restoration on it just after I got it, then it was put off the road when the torque covertor gave up the ghost. It has since been replaced and the wee car is still like new underneath with no rust on the subframes as they had already been given the "Jimmy" treatment by myself.
Hopefully soon I will get the rest of the panels re sprayed to bring her back up to standard.

JYJ

Just realised I don't seem to have posted a photo of my twin exhaust conversion on the V6 so here it is.


http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...7.jpg~original

Twin pipes look great:drool4:.The Vaden will be a lovely we car when shes done.
I wonder where Zed is now:shrug:

With the "demands" my missus is giving me I doubt if i'll ever get the the Princess finished. :o

For some therapy from the decorating I gave her car a good rub down with a medium polishing compound using my sons polisher.
I used advanced G3 and was amazed with results. There were scratches all over it with two rather nasty ones on each side but not any more as with just a few minutes on each panel they came up like new.

My son gave me the usual warning "not too heavy dad" so I heeded his advice so I think that annoying scratch on my V6 will soon be history as well.

If that wasn't enough with the outside now looking swell I decided to strip out the interior and power wash the carpet.

As usual when I got it out (about two hours work) it was soaking. It's amazing just how they seem to be dry but soaking underneath. I reckon its from the tail lights which I knew about and with our cars facing downhill in the driveway the water just runs forward.

Anyway the car is now on test for further water ingress and it will probably be about a week before the carpets nice and dry so in the meantime I'm in the process of arranging for one of "Arctics" handbrake mods to be delivered.

My long awaited brake back plates are now in the country but seem to have got held up at customs so I do hope they arrive soon before I start stripping any more bits off the car :o:D

JYJ

I want that SD1 Vitesse :drool4:

Eyes off it, I got it first :D
The Vitesse was my second SD1 after having an ex demonstrator 2.0 O series model. It was fine and even towed our caravan but the Vitesse was IMO the best tow car on the road with plenty of torque, I once rounded a round-a-bout in 5th gear with the van hitched on and it moved away with ease.

On the 75 I've just checked it after several days of torrential rain and it's bone dry so I'm off to get the carpet back in while the Missus is out to lunch with friends. :p:

JYJ

I'm now in the final stage of my makeover with the missus's diesel, the interior is looking like new. It's amazing just how dirty the panels and seats were when they were removed.
I,ve bitten the bullet and ordered new O/E self tappers for the brake cooling ducts under the front panel, I know they're expensive at .48p each plus vat and delivery but I also needed new rubber compressive nuts for the air inlet duct which attaches onto the slam panel.
One major thing I almost forgot was new brake fluid. I didn't have enough to do this job at the time and it was only when going through my notes I came accross this so if the weather keeps up I may manage this later today.

I will also have to do a check on the bulbs as my bulb failure light is on permanently and all bulbs appear to be OK but after a "search" I see this is quite a common thing to happen. The only new bulbs I fitted during my makeover were to the front indicators as the yellow paint was starting to peel off but I will check out the rear clusters first as they are the easiest to access.

So hopefully later this week or possibly Monday it will be off to the garage for an aircon re-gass and MOT. I'm also going to ask if they can do a T4 session on the old girl at the same time, that is if they still have their T4 being an ex MG Rover garage.

I will post some photos of the finished car soon.

JYJ

Hi Jim,
Am a newbie,just to let you know, what an inspiring read so far, wish you the best of luck for the MOT, and, do hope you find time to complete the Princess, in the early 70,s, taught my then girlfriend to drive, using her father's Princess, lovely car....and girlfriend! In those days, I drove a Hillman Avenger Estate, far too big for her......(my excuse).
Anyway, thanks again for sharing.

Keith:D

Thanks Keith
I had an Avenger many years back, a K reg in dark blue. I remember the headling was shot so I covered it in white wooly stuff. :D

Here are some pics I promised ;

Before and after with the carpet removal and power washing.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...0.jpg~original

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

I have done this with numerous cars over the years but this was certainly the most difficult to remove with all the modern electrics and of course the centre console to remove. It took me around three hours to remove but a bit more than that refitting everything but it was worth it.

Here's some shots of the finished inside.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...2.jpg~original

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

Not bad for 118k on the clock but the old mats could probably do with replacing, but at least they still keep most of the dirt off the carpets.

Jumping back a bit, I fitted one of "Arctic's" mods to the handbrake but me being me I've painted almost everything that was bare metal.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...4.jpg~original

While the carpet was out the car was subjected to some very torrential rain storms and remained bone dry so hopefully the water ingress was only the rear light seals.

When refitting the seats I found it best to refit the rear lower seat first. This was not fitting properly after a previous removal and I found that the frame was distorted so after a carefull measurement I found that it should be around 11 inches between the two arrrows as shown.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...6.jpg~original

When refitting the back rest of the rear this must be clicked right down into the position as shown, otherwise it will not lock into position.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

I had to use a hammer to knock the seat right down into position. On my V6 which does not have the quick release catch but the pull strings I have been unable to lock the rear rest back into position after releasing the pull strings. In doing this work on the diesel I have now found out why so the V6 rear seat will be getting the "treatment" soon.

So finally I really have now almost finished the refurb on the diesel and have replaced the brake fluid and given it an illegal :( run on the road just to make sure everything is "tickety boo" and the only thing I can fault is a rattle on the exhaust.
But hey! just as I was ready for MOT the battery failed completely. It was just over two years old and had a three year warranty so today I visited the company I purchased it from and showed my receipt.
Without any hesistation they replaced the battery with a brand new one.

Now that's what I call good service so well done "Abbotsinch Tyre & Exhaust St Andrews St. Kilmarnock.
All going well and if they can do it tomorrow The diesel will be off for MOT.

JYJ

On top of my work on the missus's diesel I've also had to get a few things seen to myself recently. It's amazing we spend as much time fettling our cars but things go wrong with our own body parts and we also need looking after. It's nothing too serious "I hope" but I know the old joints at least are not wot they used to be.

So last weekend we had a visitor from Malta staying with us so we spent a few days up North visiting Inverary, Dunoon. Fort William then back home via Glencoe Killin and Callendar.
The weather could have been better but as our friend has been in temperatures of no lower than 30 degrees for the last three months even the rain was welcome.

Here are acouple of shots of the V6, this one at "Neptune's Staircase" a series of locks coming in from Loch Linnhe and forming into the Caledonian Canal then up through Loch Ness home of the famous "beastie"

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...5.jpg~original

This one was taken at the bottom of Glencoe.
http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...9.jpg~original

Since geting the missus's diesel suspension work finished and subsequent MOT I've now got it taxed (online) but as I'm still waiting on the tax disc (hopefully tommorrow) the missus refuses to drive it as in her profession it would cause serious problems if she were to be stopped, anyway I'm happy to take the chance and I have to say I'm more than surprised just how quick the diesel is compared to the V6.
It changes gear very smoothly and its accelaration is IMO faster than the V6, ok it is just slightly noisier at low speed but all in all I'm impressed.
Since getting my V6 I really haven't driven the missus's car much and with the aircon also charged it's much cooler, not that we need it much this summer. :(

One thing I thought I'd mention, regards the front brake dust covers.
As I'm still waiting on the ones coming in from China I mentioned this to the MOT garage. The receptionist checked with the mechanic and came back and said it's no problem as both are missing (dust covers) but if only one was missing it would be a fail, strange I thought but as these items are now getting rather rusty possible a warning when carrying out pre MOT checks, if one is so rusty then remove both of them !

JYJ
Wonder if I will ever get my new dust covers :shrug:

So long as the database says its taxed then it's good to use on the public highway! The bit of paper is pretty much not necessary in the windscreen any more.

Not quite true I'm afraid, my daughter in law is a serving officer on Strathclyde's finest and she says it is up to the individual officer whether he would want to bother with the paper work basically and would probably only proceed if there were other issues at the time, but it is a failure to display offence.

However the disc arrived this morning and tonight we paid a visit to see Dad and she drove her beloved 75 for the first time in 4 months. She is delighted with the work I've done and says it feels like new.

Now the worrying bit !
The missus has been on about getting another caravan, we had one almost 20 years back and towed it with the SD1 Vitesse and I have to say I enjoyed getting away for a break.
What worries me is, I'm getting older and the traffic is now so busy on the roads and the driving standard is falling. I don't know if I want that hassle but anyway she's got me looking at vans as well now.

I would be interested to hear the views of other caravanners using the 75 diesel automatic which if we do decide would be one we would use as it would be the most economical.

JYJ

You are quite right Jim, I stand corrected:smilie_re:http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring...le/DG_10021514

but again as you say it'd be unlikely to ever be looked into unless another motoring offence was taking place. Mad really, with ANPR cameras common-place why the need to bother? No need to display certification of valid MOT!

What a great thread, you have certainly put in the work with your pair of 75s. They are stunning. I really like your preventive maintenance measures.

Thank you so much and glad you enjoyed reading through all of it, also did you look in on my other little job on
http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=111878

JYJ

Thanks for the link, I have just had a read through there too.

Staggering work, you certainly do not do things by halfs :bowdown:

I can only imagine what your MOT place says when you take it in. That is better than new!

I had an excellent pass rate with my MOT's but my local garage upset me last year with a fail on the V6 :mad: saying it required new discs. Not so but I did fit a new set for the pass then transferred them to the diesel which did require new discs. Needless to say I now take my MOT's elsewhere.

Meanwhile I've just custom fitted a new sat nav into the diesel as we will be travelling a bit further afield with the caravan this year.

I had the Harmony unit removed during my epic CD multichanger fitting which I'm glad to say now works perfectly. Anyway I decided to wire the sat nav permanently into the loom so using a new cigarette lighter I coupled this into the wiring and mounted the lighter alongside the main fuse box.

I then fitted a strengthening plate with two spire clips to the reverse side of the Harmony unit as shown below.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...8.jpg~original

Looking at the front this is how it looks. I removed the suction cup assembly then cut a slice off the top of the curved plastic mount then this was fixed to the harmony unit via the self tappers into the strengthening plate behind.
Note the red circled area. I ground a small area just to allow the sat nav to swivel to the straight ahead position to allow my passenger/navigator to get a better view.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...e.jpg~original

I also had to make a small cut out on the "eyebrow" to allow the sat nav mount to protrude through the dash.
The "eyebrow" has to be fitted into place before the sat nav bracket with the two self tappers.
This was the reason for fitting the strengthening plate and two spire clips behing the Harmony unit which was also held temporarily in place by using two strips of double sided tape.
The small cover to the underside of the eyebrow cannot be refitted but this does not make any difference in appearance.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...a.jpg~original

And finally the finished job, the sat nav works well in the centre of the dash unlike my old Harmon Kardon one which really had to be stuck to the glass to work.
When not in use it can quickly be unclipped from the central mount or removed from the ball end of the inner mount as I prefer and the power lead neatly clipped to the underside of the "eyebrow"

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...f.jpg~original

If and when I sell the car it will be easy to replace the eyebrow and the front plate of the Harmony unit and I may purchase a second power lead and sucker mount which would allow me use the sat nav in the V6.

Just one other item, as I had the Harmony unit removed several times recently the mounting clips seemed to be very slack so I added a strengthening plate between the mounting clips using pop rivets as shown.

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...1.jpg~original

JYJ

I was due to go for a physio session today (open appointment) but it was a lovely sunny day, so why get all steamed up inside when you can be enjoying yourself outside in the sun.

So I polished the car instead while I was waiting on the paint to dry on the front hubs.
Finally I'm getting get my new back plates fitted on the V6 in preparation for the MOT.
I also painted my rusty wheel nut caps (just a year old) into silver then laquered them.

JYJ

ah Jim your always busy! the weather was great today alas im without my V6 at the moment as its away getting the belts changed so im kicking around in a ZS atm

Surprise! surprise!

The V6 passed its MOT yesterday with no advisories.
The only comment made was "Yes it's a fine old car". :(

Well it's maybe old but it still looks the part.
Last year at my local garage they failed it on the front discs when the car had only covered 43k. I had to fit new ones for the MOT but they were removed and used for the diesel which were needing replaced having done 118k at the time.
I disagreed with their decision and the original ones were refitted to the V6 and have since covered about 6k and passed with no comment yesterday.

My MOT pass rate was extremely good until last year but my local garage have lost out as I am now going to another garage in future.

JYJ

Don't take it personally. I think they have "targets" to hit on failure rates now Jim. It's like the NHS; hit the target and never mind about the real world.:shrug:

They messed with the wrong guy I'm afraid. I'm very critical with companies nowadays and only give them one chanceno matter whether it's a bank or a garage.

Meantime finally I've managed to get my door cappings fitted to the V6. I've still to finish them off a bit as I was just trying to do too many things at once i.e. the drop links on the missus's diesel (still not fitted) and servicing the caravan for the first time as it's now out of manufacturers warranty, so now it gets my style of service with more than double the checks.

On top of that I've come down with yet another cold so finished up stuck indoors lying next the radiator :}

At least I've got the advantage of a full time nurse to look after me with the missus being one of Scotlands finest !

I will post some piccys of the door cappings soon.

JYJ

The missus's diesel has passed another milestone earlier today but I missed it by 3 miles.

The milestone was 123456 only it was 123459 when she got home from work.
A few years back I managed to see 123456.7 on my old Rover 418 SLD.

I guess I can take the "Running In " sticker off the window now LOL

The old girl is driving great and just returned 28.4 towing the caravan (Coachman ViP 520/4) which I reckon is not that bad cosidering the caravan is a heavyweight.

JYJ

It's now been a year since I carried out my full suspension overhaul on the diesel and today she passed her MOT with flying colours keeping my track record intact, well almost with the exception of my V6 incident.

Anyway my pre MOT test is quite intense being an old school HGV mechanic.

Wheels off brakes stripped down cleaned etc. especially the rear discs which I clean out thoroughly and rub up the surfaces with a good rough paper. The re adjusted handbrake is now locking on around the 3rd click. She also required 2 new tyres so they're on the front with the original fronts changed over to the rear.
That's only part of the job but you get my drift, Oh! and I power wash the entire underside and just to make her look pretty a full valet which included a power rub down with some 3G to get rid of some scratches.

Now at 128k she feels and drives just as she did when new, I never thought she would still be our regular car almost 12 years after we purchased her.

I've put the V6 back on the road as at this time of year we seem to require both cars for some reason but there will be a time soon when we have to reach a decision on whether to run two cars.

It really sucks when you have to pay full tax for such little mileage when others are running around covering 10 times my mileage yet pay no tax.

I know what you mean Jim. Our Dorchester Red V6 is an expensive luxury that only does 2000 miles a year at best.

Personally I don't care how "clean" (in the environmental sense) a car is supposed to be, you still use the public highway and should pay something for the privilege.

Very well done on the MOT, Jim! I'd have been shocked if it had been anything else!
Glad that your V6 is back on the road, but I entirely agree that the tax is extortionate if the car is only an occasional use classic.
I cannot justify it myself when I'm not working full-time over the summer, which is why I'm clearing out most of my fleet, and going back to the 75, and 2000 until next summer.

I carried out the final part of my extensive service schedule today, i.e. a dampness test.

Using my caravan damp test meter I carried out checks on both cars taking readings on two places in each foot well plus another two readings from the boot spare wheel well.

Results were zero reading from both cars rear foot wells and passengers side front and a reading of 10% & 11% respectively from the drivers side from the diesel and V6.

The V6 boot showed zero and the diesel gave a reading of 13% but when I tested a separate piece of the underlay (green foam carpet underlay) I have used in the boot I also got the same 13%.

So I'm satisfied that both cars are dry for the time being as even a 10 % reading does not give cause for concern.

I have noted my readings on a service sheet for future reference.

Last week I gave both cars a good polish in readiness for the winter. Took me the whole day and boy were my old bones feeling the worse off next day. I was so knackered I forgot to take a photo.

Just renewed the insurance on the diesel and existing company quoted £318 so I thought it was time to move on and did a search via the "Meerkats."

Cover renewed for £111 and the V6 is also due next month and I will most probably do the same.

The money I've saved should cover the V6 so watch this space.

At the end of the day if I do have an accident the car would most likely be written off anyway so why pay through the nose, motoring is costly enough as it is.

Update
 

Insurance came in for the V6 at £324 so time for a change for a cheaper quote.

Went back on line to the meercats and got one from the same company as the diesel for £144 but when I went to pay it I had to telephone the company (again) It then mysteriously rose to £160 odds and when I queried this the lady went through it again and rose to £192.

I was about to tell them to shove it but they then reduced it back to £149. Should really have been the original £144 but I was out of the site by now and couldn't remember the exact figure.

I've filled out their survey form informing them of my dis-pleasure of varying rates and having to call the company by telephone after spending so much time filling in on line.

Anyway both cars are now covered for less then the price of any one of them at renewal quotes.

As I was getting hot under the collar the diesel as usual with the colder weather the heater was not up to the missus's standards as temp gauge barely gets up to the middle so I've done the same as last winter and fitted a temporary blind behind both upper and lower grilles.

Works a treat with temp gauge now up nearer the normal and a much better heater.

I had to do exactly the same with my Vectra Sri every winter to get a decent heater.

Wow ! I haven't updated this post for months now and a good job I decided to look through it first.
I've just noticed the MOT is due soon on the V6 so I better get her checked out.

Meantime the diesel has given the usual diesel problem i.e. the in tank pump failed. Luck it happened in the village so the missus didn't have to walk far, (see my "Lucky White Heather" post)
Soon after that the under bonnet pump started to grumble but so far it has not let me down so I will hold on as long as I can.
I also had to renew the back box as the one I transferred from the V6 when it got the duplex stainless system failed completely. Other than that the diesels still going fine.

With the V6 I managed to acquire a second hand manifold and some other bits courtesy of Walter 825 coupe. The engine cover I got has now been colour matched along with the auxiliary belt cover. You may recall my original cover got a bit chewed by mice. These little blighters must like the foam insulation.

I was helping Walter a bit with a couple of things he is doing to his car and I must say it was a real learning curve stripping some of the bits out of the scrapper he has.
I stripped down the VIS motors from the inlet manifold I got a managed to find a fault in one namely dry soldered joints on the micro switches. Both motors had very little signs of oil ingress and the top one which controls the 6 butterflies tested OK although the side one I could not see it working when the engine was revved.
The test was done by simply unplugging my originals and plugging the harness into the second pair.
They have both been fitted to the car and I have noticed quite a difference in performance and economy.

Also when I carried out the same test with my original ones there was no movement in them.

I managed out to the Scottish meet at The Riverside Museum on Clydeside Glasgow, but it did turn out to be quite a miserable day so didn't get to chat too much.
One other "Mod" I now have to do is change the harmony stereo to a symphony unit.

Shutting the gate after the horse has bolted
 

This is a sad story.

The missus & I had a wee night out last night, it was the seniors party and I now qualify so the missus agreed to do the driving as I don't get out much. :bowdown:
We had a lovely night and when we returned home to the driveway I said to the missus to swing wide on entry as earlier on the day I had uplifted the caravan from winter storage in order to get it serviced etc.

OOps! she said as I heard an ominous scraping sound on the off side.
Yes ! she had cut the entrance to the driveway in her attempt to keep well clear of the caravan and caught the low wall with the sill of the car. :duh:

It's in a bit of a mess with an area of about 2 feet badly scraped and dented.

It's been a bad day for me with being late in last night (around midnight) then losing an hour in bed and having to get back up at 4am in order to see our young son & partner and the wee one off to the airport for their holiday. The missus drove of course but later this afternoon I knocked the remainder of the wall down to ground level and painted over the scores in the sill just to protect it temporarily from rust.
I'm afraid it will just have to be filled up with filler as trying to remove dents in sills is extremely difficult.
Meantime my "paint over" repair looks pretty good as you can barely notice it from a distance of about half a mile :mad: :eek: :D

I don't know whether to laugh or cry but it could well have been worse if she had hit the caravan or if we had decided to go out in my V6 :getmecoat:

Nightmare Jim. Hope you get it sorted soon. Things happen, keep you busy.

It was priceless last night, but at least I've got something on the missus at last.
I think she will have to do some serious Oh! No I can't say that on the forum.
Well I think you know what I mean.


Oh Mary dear can you bring me a nice cup of coffee through ! :p:

I finally managed to replace the Harmony with the Symphony unit in my V6 and what a difference in sound.
I cant believe we didn't do this with our diesel during the 12 years of ownership. Reason I fitted to the V6 was because the diesel has a modified plate on the harmony to hold my sat nav and this is the car we use for towing.

Speaking of the diesel I had noticed it was very flat in acceleration when towing the caravan on our first outing this year, even when solo it had just lost it's punch so a new Bosch MAF was ordered.

It took a couple of weeks to arrive but this morning I fitted it and Oh My! what a difference. The car is back on form again.

Meantime this is rather odd but my under bonnet pump which was very noisy just after I had replaced my in tank pump is now working silently again. Perhaps it's the fuel additive (Millers) I've been using.

I don't use it on every fill up but just occasionally just to keep the injectors etc clean.

Update
 

It's been a busy summer this year as we've been away with the caravan a lot. During one of these trips we had a nasty sway and since then the missus has been looking at replacing the diesel which is he car.

Meantime during re construction of our drive way to make better space when the caravan is at home I had to sit the diesel out on the street for a couple of nights. ( well I wasn't going to sit my V6 out in the street !! )

Unfortunately my new neighbour misjudged his width and hit the missus's car putting a small dent on the rear wing and fuel filler flap. I've managed to get the rear bumper back into place and am waiting on a friend of my son to tidy the paintwork up.

MOT is due next week so right on cue yesterday the airbag warning light came on.
OK it may just be a corroded sensor, but I seem to remember when my V6 was due its' MOT just a week before the ABS light came on resulting in a new sensor being required.

Just my luck I suppose but anyway I think this may well be the last year we will have the diesel if the missus gets her way it will be either be a Mercedes or an Audi in its place as tow car so when the time comes it will be a good car for someone and you guys will be the first to know.

Alternative is to swop to the V6 for towing and get e new smaller car but with the V6 being rather thirsty and it is 12 years old I would rather replace the tow car with a newer car. Only thing my choice was an XF but the missus is not so keen.

MOT pre check n the diesel all done and airbag warning light now working. It was a loose connection under the drivers seat.

Found a little problem with the suspension, a bolt had come un done OOps!

See my full suspension overhaul post for details.

Finally I've given up trying to get the rear parking sensors working on the V6. I got so fed up with the constant tick, tick, tick sound from the speaker I've disconnected the system at the ECU.

It's a pity as I really miss them when parking up but even with another set of sensors and ECU I got the same ticking sound as soon as reverse was selected and it continued when drive was selected which meant every time I reversed out of the drive or a parking spot I had to switch off the ignition and start again without the ticking.

I would imagine the loom causes the issue, it is the most common fault with the sensors

Loom checks out ok and sensors are working. I've substituted them with another set including the ECU but ticking is the same.

As I've said I've given up on this one, they've not worked for almost 18 months and I got fed up with the ticking in my ears all day long.

Hey you never told me you had an sd1 Jim,,when I visited your area, I would have loved to have seen/ridden in that, my mates mother had a partner who had a red one B reg years ago, lovely car.

Hi Richard

It on my "Avatar" on every post. My Vitesse is like new after a 3 year re fit. The only original panel is the roof, not that it was in a bad way, far from it as just 6 months before I had it at the SD1 National and it looked good.

I also have a Vanden Plas Princess 1300 automatic, it's a 1974 one of the last known to survive and has only around 35k on the clock.

On top of that I have a Raleigh Rudge Wentworth pedal cycle circa 1950's with 4 speed Sturmey archer dynahub which still works. It has solid rod brakes (made before the cable type)

You will need to make another holiday to Scotland, just tell the missus you still have lots of scenery to see !!

Kept my MOT pass rate intact today with a pass and NO advisories on the missus's diesel. The drop links fitted last year are still ok after being "injected" with grease.

You may recall I went to a different MOT station with my V6 and got about 12 advisories. Hardly surprising I won't be going back there as my V6 is in far better condition than the diesel with the exception the diesel got all its' suspension components sand blasted.

I would like to do the same with the V6 but the "boss" might object to the extra expense.

My pre MOT checks takes in around a full days work power washing everything and stripping off the discs and pads etc. for cleaning and re adjust the handbrake to hold at about 3 - 4 clicks.

This year I had noticed that the red plastic release catch on the front seat belts was fading. I used to supply coach tape and vinyl's I had some good quality red vinyl so I cut two to shape and stuck them over the plastic catch. It looked so good I did the same with the V6.

Surprising Insurance Renewal
 

Received my notification of renewal on the V6 this morning and it's £136.61 which is slightly cheaper than last year.

I reckon this is the first time in many years since the insurance actually dropped in price.

I must also check on the diesel ,as looking through previous posts the insurance for it should have been approx. one month ago but I certainly don't recall any notification coming in and they're both done through M & S.

OOPS ! It pays to check
 

Just checked out on the insurance renewal I received last week.

It was for the diesel , NOT the V6 so it has jumped up by over £20 so I expect the V6 renewal will jump up the same. :duh:

Unless I jump onto the PC and get another quote ;)

Still on the old story of insurance with the two 75's and my renewal has just arrived for the V6 which is £211.35 a whopping increase of some £62 so I'm afraid they will told what to do with it.

In actual fact I have decided to place the car on SORN and with the 3 months refund plus the insurance costs I am finally going to do the cam belts, water pump etc.
We really don't need two cars over the winter months so in the spring I will re assess what to do with them.

The missus just can't make up her mind what she wants to do car wise and with the towing of the caravan.

Well gentlemen and ladies too, the time has come and the decision has been reached, the diesel is soon to be replaced with something more modern and a bit more power to tow our caravan.

I don't want to say what it is at the moment as even the family don't know but we will be picking up our new car next week.

The diesel will soon be placed on SORN and before I place it up for sale officially I will be replacing the front wings and fit the new drop links I have in the workshop.

Also tomorrow morning I will be getting a new windscreen fitted as believe it or not on our way to make the new purchase after a 2 hour journey we stopped in at a garden centre for a meal break and when we got back out on the road what I thought was piece of grass along the windscreen adjacent to the tax disc holder was in fact a 5" crack going horizontally.
I think the car was trying to tell us something !

I would not dream of selling the car with a cracked screen so before the insurance is transferred I have paid my £75 glass excess to get a new screen fitted.

As you will appreciate our diesel 75 has given us 12 years of the best motoring we have experienced, we even added a second 2.5 V6 about three years ago as a second car, well fourth car actually as I have two classics sitting in the garage, my fully restored SD1 Vitesse and a partially restored Vanden Plas 1300 automatic which is in extremely good nick and has only done 34k from new in 1974.

Anyway back to the 2.0 litre diesel Connoisseur auto it has just turned 139k earlier today and the car has a phenomenal history. I have kept a word diary almost since new and this extends to 28 pages. On top of that I have spread sheets on all expenditure since new and practically all the fuel fill ups the car has had. I have a full file book with all relative paperwork and receipts since new right down to the newspaper advert which drew our attention to the car. Servicing has been carried out by myself since three years old and no expense has been spared. I would also arrange to have all photographs (and there are several hundred) of the car since new available to any intended buyer.

Check out my other topic on my suspension overhaul (see below) and you will see just what this car is like.

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=111878

Honestly both the diesel and my V6 have been a dream to drive and as you will have noticed I recently placed the V6 on SORN also. As this has a lower mileage I intend to keep it for the time being and will be replacing the cam belts and water pump etc. over the coming months. I will most probably sell off one of my classics to make room for the V6 in the garage just to give me something to do in my retirement years.

So to conclude this evening gentlemen and ladies too of course if you are keen to show an interest in the diesel please contact me via PM but I will say I don't intend to give the car away due to it's condition and history.

At the end of the day it will be quite an emotional event when the car leaves us so I would rather it goes to someone who has a passion about the marque.

Whoever buys the diesel will be getting probably one of the most mechanically sorted examples on the road. A credit to you Jim. Really enjoyed following the story and admiring your work. Thanks!

Been to my local breakers today and picked up a pair of front wings in very good condition, so as soon as the new car is up & running I will get the work done.

I also picked up a fuel filler flap to replace the dented one and an eyebrow for the dash as when I fitted the sat nav. I permanently wired it and fitted the sat nav. onto the radio plate which involved cutting the centre of the eyebrow.

I may let the car go with the sat nav in it as the new one has already got one as standard fit.

On top of the two wing for the diesel I also picked up a Wedgewood one for the N/S of the V6.
When it was fitted at the factory the stud securing the front bumper to the wing was not entered into the nylon nut but alongside it into the metal.
This has caused the wing to rust away just at the nylon nut mounting hole with a small rust area the result.

Had the XF one week now and loving every minute. Some of the toys would really appeal to you guys on the 75's
It has powerfold mirrors as standard but they also are self dimming at night and dip when reverse gear is selected. The memory seat system also powers the steering column to the set driver and goes to full up when you open the door to allow max room for exit.
A couple of little gripes though is I cant' spin the steering with one finger as comfortable because of the wheel design and you have to switch the ignition on to view the clock, but hey that's nothing.
The extra power being a 3.0 is phenomenal and fuel consumption is pretty good at just over 30mpg so far.
Here's a shot of the line up taken earlier this week.

~originalhttp://i263.photobucket.com/albums/i...d.jpg~original

Today was a rather sad day as I transferred the insurance and plates over to the XF. I had been running it on the cherished plate supplied with the car and Jaguars' 7 day courtesy insurance.
But before that I took the old girl for what will be its' final official drive gave her some diesel then back home.
She's now sitting on her original plates from new SA02 ASO.
It's a bit frosty just now but as soon as possible I will get the new wings fitted and also the new drop links before preparation for sale.

Wow ! how time flies, cant believe spring is just around the corner.

Well the 75 diesel is now sold and it's new owner lives in Cumbria.
It was really sad to see it going but you can't keep good things forever.

We're really enjoying the XF with all that extra power but I just can't seem to stop comparing it with the 75's and believe me there's a lot of the 75 features that are much better than the Jaguar.
For example there's more storage space around the dash for that bag of sweeties or the house keys, the fuel consumption readings can be read at the same time as trip distance but not on the Jag, even the outside temp disappears when using the sat nav and the time clock, well you have to have the ignition on to read this whereas it's there all the time on the 75.

I could go on and on, however there's no doubt the XF does have a more appealing presence to it and now that I have the tow bar fitted, completely concealed when not in use so much better than the 75 here I'm now looking forward to getting it hitched up to the caravan and get away for a nice break.

I still cherish my V6 even though it is on SORN , I spent a whole day last week claying and polishing it and I have a new N/S wing to go on it as there is a rust spot where the factory badly fitted the screw going up into the front bumper, missing the plastic fixing nut entirely which caused some corrosion. It's the only bit of corrosion on the bodywork and to see it sitting in the driveway alongside the XF it's hard to imagine they're a decade apart in age.

The V6 was listed as having four previous keepers from new but looking through all my receipts I could only see two and counting the fact that it was dealer registered that made three.
So as I was requesting a search from DVLA on the Jags' history I also applied for one on the V6. It only costs £5 per car and it's really worth it as I have just received the full history on my V6 all fourteen pages of it.

The car built on 07/02/02 was actually registered by MG Rover Group on 23/09/02 and disposed on 13/03/03. It was then registered by the Main dealer The Park Automobile Co. on 29/07/03 and disposed on 19/08/03 so I can only assume that this was the actual date the first lady owner took possession of the car as I have the original invoice dated 08/08/03 when it was purchased with only 7 miles on the clock.

I have previously noted that this car lay unsold on the main dealers premises for almost 18 months. I did not know until now that it was registered by both MG Rover Group , then the Main Dealer in East Kilbride Scotland.

I have owned it since Feb 2011 when it had just 36k on the clock and it now stands at 50k.
Final note on the paperwork from DVLA ;
It states "Date of Expiry of vehicle tax. 31/12/2049 "

Hmm! that will save me a bob or two.

Update
 

Like my last post "How time flies" since then my old diesel has moved on again to another keeper in the Stockton on Tees area.

He made contact with me just after purchasing the car from Grandad Les but I've not heard from him since but I do believe he spends some time abroad.

I've been so busy this summer with work at home, I repaired my broken garden fence and it required 13 new posts along with around 60 new lengths of timber. I decided to paint all this with two coats of fence life and ended up using "wait for this" 90 litres of paint.

I had to go into hospital for an operation to remove the paintbrush from my hand :D :D

On top of this I have been renovating my father-in-laws house for re sale as he passed away in January, he was 92. Rip Bill

Finally this week I have managed to get two new tyres fitted for my V6 and very soon (I hope) I will be ordering all the bits I need for a cam belt change.
I really could do with having the car on the road as with all the running about I'm doing the missus is left at home with no car. :getmecoat:

In between we have been getting a few holidays both abroad Malta and Italy and a few weeks away with the caravan. :cool:

The Jaguar XF is doing fine but the missus commented just last week when I had to drop the rear seats down to fit in the wheels for the 75's new tyres the road noise was awful compared to the 75. I will have to do some research to rectify this possibly doing a similar job to my V6 where I fitted loads of extra insulation to the boot area.

Meantime I just can't wait to get a drive in the 75 again.
Watch this space :}

Well it's going to be next year before I get that drive in the 75 again.

We had some bad news in the family, so the missus has been spending some time with her sister and I've been busy carrying out some work on her fathers house as he passed away in January and we will be selling his house.
We've put the caravan holidays on hold for now but at least this has given me just enough time to squeeze in some work on the V6.
I've prepared it for cam belt replacement right down to removing the old belts. I've started to clean everything up in readiness for the rebuild and will be ordering some new parts next week. I'm going to replace the water pump, auxiliary belt and anything else it requires. It also now requires a new battery as the original one has just packed up after 13 years "they don't make em last anymore"
I've also decided to do a similar job to the rear suspension that I did with our diesel a couple of years back although not with new springs as the car doesn't need them.

Hopefully by the spring It will be ready for action again as this year I've even been using the bus to allow the missus use of her Jaguar.

As I said before "watch this space"

I'm afraid everything's at a standstill on the car front.
Sadly we lost another member of the family so I've simply not had time to get onto the V6.
I do have all the parts now required and hopefully before Christmas I will have the car mobile, believe me I could be doing with it just now as I'm now down to using the bus to travel to and from my late father-in-laws house to carry out some necessary remedial work in order to sell the house.
It's a heck of a work involved and sometimes I wonder if we should just have sold it the way it was and let the new owners do the work, after all I'm now officially retired passing my 65th birthday just last week.

More and more I just cannot wait to get back into my lovely V6 and get out there for some pleasure.

Jim hope your well, I hate to see threads where people have taken the time to type up stories and no-one replies.

im sorry to hear of the losses in your family and I hope you get everything sorted soon.

Take care and will hopefully catch up with you at the next Gretna meet

Thanks Thomas It doesn't' bother me too much not getting replies but at least my post is there for interested parties to see.

By that I mean it is impossible to enter into every post as I find, but just "skim" over them and hit one which stands out.

I like to keep this post running giving "interested parties" an update on my sole remaining 75
I do miss not driving it but at the moment I'm just too busy fixing up Mary's fathers house.
I fully intend to have it back on the road by next spring so keep looking in.

Jim

I'm praying for a dry day tomorrow (doubtful) as I'm having a day of "rest" from the house repairs.
The missus is spending the day with her sister so at the very least I will get the parts washed. I may even get some of the belts done as the engine is stripped right down and ready.

What a lovely day
 

I stepped outside yesterday Saturday with the expectations of doing some of the work on my cam belts but it was howling and very cold so it was inside work with the heating on.

Today however it was nice and sunny and yes you could even feel the warmth of the sun so I managed to get a locking pin modified to lock up the engine and got both the auxiliary belts done.

I then had to remove the front engine cover to do the main belt and boy what a job ! Those 15mm studs holding the plate on were extremely tight and having only a 3/8 drive socket I was unsure whether the socket was going to break as I had to extend my ratchet using a ring spanner on the end of it. Oddly though as soon as the studs broke loose they came out easily by hand. The small stud securing the dip stick took almost an hour to conquer but eventually with light fading I am ready for the main belt removal.

I will have to add a 15mm socket with a 1/2 drive when putting these back on as I don't fancy trying to torque them up on 3/8 drive.

The old cam belts still looked like new but this work at 50k is purely precautionary as my car is now 13 years old.
At least I'm getting there but while I've got the engine in bits I'm going to tidy it up and re coat several components to a better standard than new.

Forgot to say my son gave me an old Ford timing locking pin kit (Sykes Pickavant) I found one of the pins was extremely useful for lining up the sprockets to the cam shafts prior to fitting new studs.
Another pin which was 9.5 mm was perfect and only required machining down to 7.4 to a length of 12mm to lock the auto drive plate.

Now we're getting there, bring on the sunshine :cool:

Another nice day
 

After a rather wet & windy month most of the work done on the car has been in the workshop. I've cleaned everything up and re painted all the relative parts in black or cadmium coating ( my own home made system)

Today it was a lovely day outside with not a cloud to be seen so I have managed to get the the new primary cam belt re fitted. I managed to lock the camshaft in place by using. A ratchet and socket and jammed it in place while I fitted the cam belt. It really could have been easier with some help but I got there in the end.

I was in the process of re fitting the new thermostat etc but I need to pay a visit to Halfords to purchase a deep socket to remove the old temperature sensor.

I'm in no rush to complete it at the moment as I want to re furnish the entire engine bay but I weather permits I will pop back out again.

I have taken a few photos and will post them when the front end nears completion

There's light at the end of the tunnel !
 

Oh my ! This must be the longest time ever to change cam belts.

The reason is I have been spending a lot of time modernising my late father-in-laws house. It's been a mammoth task, fitting a second hand kitchen which included a re wire as it only had one single socket fitted.
I have also had to remove all the central heating pipes where the council just mounted them surface mount up the walls. These are all now flush fitted into the cavity.
During this process I also had to re floor part of the bedroom floors then a full re plaster work on the walls then new skirting boards and door facings fitted before finally re decorating.

I am now at the final painting stage after spending two full days sanding and prepping.

I have managed to get a couple of things done on the V6 like polishing up the throttle body and refurbed most of the under bonnet brackets especially the air con ones.

The next couple of weeks should see me clear of "housework" then I can attack the V6 in earnest to get her back on the road.

Well I'm still at it, the cam belt marathon that is. I seem to be using this job as therapy to keep me sane as I'm still also working on my late father in laws house.
Good job there's no rush in both cases but anyhow I have now got the engine detailing done and was finishing off the remaining few bits on the cam belt change but stopped when fitting the auxiliary belt idler.

It looked like it was very worn but on closer inspection late this afternoon what I thought was excessive wear on the idler turned out to be simply the idler loose on the pinch bolt as I tested it when the pinch bolt was only finger tight.
This evening I removed the captive plate from the pinch bolt and found that bearing was at first tight, but this was simply because it had been sitting for over a year.
After a squirt of penetrant the bearing was running free, again in fact just too free so I popped the small dust covers off from both sides. As I thought there was no sign of any grease within the roller bearing. No wonder these things can seize up so I gave the bearing a good clean out and re packed it with some good quality grease. I then replaced the dust cover and now the idler is running super smooth.
Not contented with this I examined the identical wheel on the tensioner and found it was exactly the same with little or no grease in the bearing. This has now been re packed the same as the idler so now I will be able to get the front side of the engine finished off before dismantling the gearbox side for a refurb.

The house work has definitely taken its toll on me but thankfully it's almost finished and with the better weather and longer nights I'm pushing on to get the V6 back on the road for the Scottish meet at The Falkirk Wheel in June.

Eureka ! I'm now all but finished on the house renovation so I'm having a few days off then it back to work seriously on the V6.

I do have a few small commitments to make but finally at last I will be getting the job completed.

Watch this space :}

Just read the entire thread. Terrific work and credit to you. Will be keeping a regular check on your progress.

Thanks Ravinder, although the title of the post is a bit inaccurate now as the diesel which we owned from new was replaced by the Jaguar XF.

Today I did manage to get some more work on the engine rebuild. I've now got the drivers side complete so next will be a partial strip down on the gearbox end to refurbish the mountings.

I'm almost free of the house renovation thankfully and my plan is to get started on the rear suspension before the end of this month.

Gives a Shout ?
 

Give me a shout if you want hand JIm ;)

Thanks Walter I'll give you the spare keys and you can work on while I rest up :D

I got a bit fed up with the F1 today so I slipped back out and dismantled the gearbox mounting. It's in the workshop for refurb.

BTW I couldn't find my spare lower grille, I know I've got one somewhere but meantime I could do with the size of it to cut out the mesh.

Wilco
 

Will measure it in inches ,make a carboard template and deliver sometime Monday, got garage door fitted Saturday between showers :D

Been a bad today
 

I wanted to get onto the car today and hopefully get her running.

But before that and to keep the piece the missus wanted me to fit ne belts onto the dyson. Half an hour later I had it in bits but the belts she purchased don't fit so the dyson is left in its on the floor.

I finally got onto my car and was getting on not too bad. Then I discovered in order to fit the rear lifting eye I would have to remove the alternator which in turn means removing the top plate on the engine mount. :mad:

I was also having trouble with the plate which mounts onto the rear injector feed rail. Another half hour later and consulting my photos Ah! Now I remember two injectors face the opposite way :duh:

I finally gave up for the day so I have still that darned alternator to remove.

Oh well maybe by the weekend I will have her running,I even have the new battery sitting ready.

I've also got another secret project started, I'll call this one "Quantum"
More details to follow

Big day tomorrow
 

Finally yes finally I'm ready for starting her up
Had a wee bit of a headache with a spurious cable but Jules put me right, it was an unused connection for traction control.

After some juggling with that small bracket on the side of the engine which has multiple clips to support various pipes and one hose I got there.

Oh ! And those two brackets at the back of the manifold, well for a 65 year old they're a real pain.
Anyway in the morning all I have to do is connect the new battery check the water and fire her up.
That being successful the car will be turned round and the next projects done I.e. Full rear suspension overhaul and the fitting of project "Quantum"

May be a couple of weeks yet ( I'll explain later) but I will get some photos on.
Now for a good nights sleep :}

She's up and running
 

After a bad start with the weather, finally just after lunch time today I got the V6 up and running.
She started first turn of the key which surprised me a bit as it's been off the road for over a year now.
I've still to fit the rear engine plate as I had to give up trying to get one of those silly little rear manifold support plate to fit.
I will get it done later but meantime I've now got the car turned round in the drive and have already started removing the rear suspension.

Oh ! and I got the final fabrication done on Project Quantum so it's now ready to fit onto the car.

Just over a month till the Scottish meet at the Falkirk Wheel and I've got a lot to do if I'm going to be there with the V6.

Today I picked up the parts from the sand blasters but the upper suspension arms have some pin holes so they will be replaced with new ones.
I've given the remaining parts a first coat of primer to prevent them rusting and over the next couple of weeks I will be getting stuck in to get the suspension overhaul finished.
I just hope the weather keeps up. :cool:

Can't wait Jim to have a look under your car, gives me inspiration:bowdown:, Last year you had your Jaaaaag & mobile shed at Gretna, iirc, so hopefully you can get the 75 ready;):D:cool:

Thanks, I can't wait myself. Been over a year since I had a drive in a 75.
Must admit the XF's a good car, just spent the last few days showing some Maltese visitors our lovely country. Overall trip of 400 miles returned 40 mpg.

Yesterday it was 31 degrees in Fort William when we got back to the car. Cooled down to 27 when on the move.

All going well I might manage to Gretna pulling the van with the V6.

Today was not a good day, well not for working on the V6 anyway.

I decided to finish off the tow bar fitting and just when I was about finished, i.e. Torquing up the studs To 120 Nm I stripped three out of six captive nuts.

It's a Witter tow bar and has only done three years service on our diesel so not good enough quality on these nuts IMO.

I wasted more than two hours stripping it down and re fitting it with nylon nuts.
I fitted the brackets inside the rear chassis member first then just managed to fit the nut onto the stud through the small gap at the chassis leg opening.

I spent the remainder of the day prepping the underside of the car. I also stripped the rust off the tank bracket and re painted it. I was quite surprised how good it was as the one on our diesel was pin holed when I did the refurb on it 4 years ago.

I do luuuuuuurve those chrome B pillars! :drool4: :cool:

Had a weekend break away with the caravan and just along from me was a gentleman with a silver 75.
Couldn't resist it so I popped along for a chat.
Turns out he only purchased the car, a silver diesel connoisseur manual about a year ago. It is quite a low mileage, around 50k and although he is not on the forum he seems to know about most of the niggles with the 75's.
Anyway I told him about the club and left it at that.

On return today I managed to build up the rear sub frame with the new upper arms and refurbished lower links.
I also fitted the rear brake pipes which I got made up for me, £88 they cost me which was a bit of a shock but the garage did a very good job with all the bends in the right places.
Once fully fitted I can then re fit the tank and get the sub frame back into place so things are coming along nicely.
I've got so little free time I just haven't managed to get some photos posted but hopefully before she's finished I'll get some on.

Been busy this last few days working on the suspension.

I've now got the rear suspension fitted back into the car and I'm now working on the brakes. With the car sitting off the road they're a wee bit rusty. I'm also polishing up the stainless exhaust to make it look pretty :p:

When this is all done I can get the car back onto all 4 wheels but then I will be turning it round to tidy up the front end a bit before its MOT. I've also got a set of projectors to fit so while I'm doing this the front landing panel will get a refurb.

All going well I should make it along to the Scottish meet at the Falkirk Wheel.

I may take the caravan along and make a weekend of it. I'm sure there must be a site nearby. The tow bar is fitted but I've still to wire up the electrics.