1994 Daimler Double Six

[richard1983]

Oh yeah - and I removed the duckbill cover too.

Wow. The amount of crap that came out of there was quite startling. Many, many years worth.

The cable-tie looked original - so I imagine it’s never been off and emptied before.

The bulkhead is a little crispy round the edges as a result - but not too bad considering. A light tickle with the wire brush, vactan and a little paint will do the trick for now.

I thoroughly tested with the garden hose - and it all drained through the plenum and the interior did stay dry.

Hopefully that’s one source of water ingress off the list!

[naki_k]

It’s amazing how none has ever cleared out that duck bill drain. Most 40s I have bought have been the same. Out of sight, out of mind for most past owners? Thanks goodness for the knowledge and care on this forum, or these cars would have all disappeared by now I think,

[richard1983]

The startling thing with this car is that it was regularly serviced, twice a year, by a Jaguar main dealer - right up until 2013.
I bet the rust was already long in by that point.

Makes you wonder what on earth they were up to! Most likely, the expertise for these cars was long gone by then.

Still, its a shame its taken 25 years to make this progress.

I wouldn't be surprised if that duckbill is one of the main reasons the floors and sills are SO bad on this car.
Another bad winter outside might have killed it off for good.

But we are getting there - bit at a time.

[naki_k]

It’s all the standard neglect I think.
Unless owners took responsibility for maintaining their own cars, I don’t think any garage would do that level of preventative work to be clearing out blocked drains.

Keep up the good work anyhow. It will be a nice car when it’s done.

[richard1983]

The front calipers came back from Bigg Red this week.
It took a long time for the refurbishment as all the pistons needed replacing.
These have duly been custom made and now for the first time since I've known the car - it actually stops AND doesn't try to throw you off the road and into a ditch.
This is a big improvement!

Other improvements so far are: -
New brake hoses.
New coolant.
New diff oil.
Rear bumper beam replaced - courtesy of Naki Industries.
Replacement springs - with used springs that came with my dampers, but better than the originals. Will need new replacements from Berkshire Jag Components eventually. Next year maybe.
New veneer and carpet from BB - not fitted yet!
Exhaust adjusted.
Engine bay de-gunk and general tidy.
Little odds and sods such as the toolbox strap, washer bottle cap, fuel cap magnet, fuel cap filter & repairing the air ducting under the dashboard.

So the old girl is actually driveable now.

The V12 really is a beast. Love that naughty sound it makes as you surge along. Very addictive, in a fuel guzzling way!
The adjustable dampers and thicker roll bar have also made a big difference to the car. I'm still playing to get my perfect setting on the dampers - but the car is already much better than I expected it to be. It feels a lot tighter in the corners and the wallow has been removed longitudinally.
Again, its a bit naughty for a 25 year old land yacht that's full of holes, rust and problems!

Anyway, its on to the next things now. Need to fix: -

Radio - suspecting the earth connection.
Alarm - fob now works, but in get three chimes when unlocking. Found the intrusion ECU under the passenger seat - and will now dig out the alarm ECU from the boot to check connections and soldering.
Fuse Boxes - soldering.
Cooling Fan Relay - still need to remove and give some attention.

Will upload some pics soon. When it stops raining and filling my footwells up with water!
Definitely needs the inner wings doing too!

[richard1983]

A few pics from yesterday, after some work on the floors/carpets and a bit of a clean.

[Brake buster]

looking good, and being able to drive her will encourage you even more

keep at it

BB

ps, do you have the auto dimming rear view mirror in your car ?

[richard1983]

looking good, and being able to drive her will encourage you even more

keep at it

BB

ps, do you have the auto dimming rear view mirror in your car ?

Thanks BB.

That's the carpet you sent me in the drivers foot well.
First time its seen carpet there in a very long time!

No auto-dimming mirror in this one.
But that's fine. Don't plan on much night driving with this one!
Especially with those candle powered headlights!

[Brake buster]

ah , i wondered why you were after one, as it looked quite good , lol , but does look a perfect colour match ,

strange that the Daimler doesn't have the dipping rear view mirror , though it is a plug and play upgrade if you find a mirror ,



another strange thing ( to me ) is that even though its an L reg car ( 1994 ? ) it has the earlier xj40 rear lower wishbone arms, and not the forged ones like my car ( April 94 and L580 reg ) which carried over to the X300 , do you have a build date for her ?

just nosey , lol

BB

[ChrisW]

[
Don't plan on much night driving with this one!
Especially with those candle powered headlights!

Its a shame that the fishtanks lose their brilliance. That's what prompted me to convert the XJR to quads. I can now see at night !!

I think quads would suit your car....

And a mesh grill.

The 8J lattices look good. Very difficult to find them in good condition with the original finish.