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Please note. Click on the links in the text to see pictures of the action. Use the Back button on your browser to return to this page You can also enjoy some pictures from Allan Jones by clicking on the links at the end of the article.
HIGH TECH by Jerry Nuijen
Saturday, the 24th on February dawned rainy and cold in Campbell. There was snow on the mountains to the north and east. What a perfect day for a tech session! Dave Ferguson, along with his father, Ben, were our hosts for 3 hours of intense discussion of installing E-Type windshields and boot springs, XJ6 rust and repair, and the complexities of straightening a modern unibody car that’s been in a serious accident. We started with the windshield. Dave demonstrated on a Series II E roadster. He emphasized that you should buy the best windshield you can get. The price maybe $100 more, but the cheapies don’t fit and will probably soon crack, if they don’t while being installed. The example he used was a Triplex from XKs Unlimited. A few simple tools and a helper will make the job much faster and simpler. A vacuum glass holder, a few bent picks of different sizes and a filler strip installer are essential. Creighton holding pic Some installers never use metal tools because of the danger of scratching the paint and chipping the windshield. Even the smallest chip can lead to a long crack. If the windshield has a chip on the edge, or you should chip it, stop, take it to a glass shop and have the chip polished. Also, be aware that used glass is much more brittle than new glass and takes much greater care in handling. You will need some kind of lubricant to make the glass slide into the rubber molding and move around once in. Dave uses ZEP foamy glass cleaner. Different model Jags require different installation methods. On some older models you put the rubber molding on the glass before you install. Some windshields, like the Mark I, get installed from the inside. Some, like the XJ6 from 1970-1987, are best left to an expert because of the complexity and likelihood of leaks. Modern windshields (post ’87) are glued in. The molding is merely decoration attached with clips or adhesive. With the E-Type you start by putting the rubber molding on the body. Always buy the rubber for a coupe. If you order the rubber for a roadster it won’t be curved and the lower corners will buckle. After Dave gets the windshield seated in the molding he centers it side to side. Then he trims the rubber at the tops of the windshield posts and trial fits the caps. Here’s where the assistant is especially helpful. He/she makes sure the windshield stays in the molding and stays centered. At this time you can also trial fit the "hockey stick" chrome post covers. Dave says it is helpful to trim the rubber with a razor blade to make sure the covers fit snugly and flush. Now you insert the filler strip. A special tool is absolutely essential. Snap-on makes #YA208A which retails for $17.25. See the accompanying out of focus picture. Without this tool it could take 4 hours to insert the strip. With the tool Dave did it in 5 minutes. The thin top chrome is now fitted with a special black tape made for the purpose. This is the same tape that was used on windwings. This tape is available from any glass shop that does auto work. No adhesive or sealant is necessary. The tape will mold and stick to the glass. As you can see in the accompanying picture, Dave holds the tape in place with masking tape. When the chrome is properly fitted the tape is trimmed with an exacto knife. Next the bottom chrome filler strip is installed. Tape the opposite end so you don’t scratch the paint with it. You need to center the strip by trial fitting the post covers. Use the large hooked tool to insert. Dave gave us a few more tips. Rechromed post covers and bottom strips tend to be less flexible because of thicker chrome and the chrome will often crack when you try to bend them to fit. It’s just as cheap to buy new, quality pieces. Don’t use silicone as a sealant. It’s a lousy adhesive. Use the proper urethane sealant made for glass installation. Make sure you use urethane sealant behind the hockey sticks and trim the rubber for a flush fit. The next order of business was the boot springs. Pres. Roger was supposed to bring his roadster for this demo but the rain kept it at home. Dave will do his boot springs and the payoff will be the special driving goggles that Roger owns and Dave wants. We all witnessed the verbal agreement. No backing out, Roger. First step is to remove the boot lid. Make sure you mark its exact position on the hinges. Next you take the hinges off. There are usually shim washers on the hinges. Mark their position and number. Put the hinge in a vise and slowly remove the small bolt that holds the springs to the hinge. Note there are 5 flat springs on each hinge. Most will be broken. Put the bolt through a new spring in the proper direction. Put the second spring on the bolt. Using a pair of needlenose vicegrips clamp the second new spring to the first near the bolt hole and with the curl of the spring up. bolt springs Always clamp perpendicular to the length of the spring. Roll the spring out with your thumb. Use heavier gloves than Dave is using unless you are an expert. roll springs Continue this process until all 5 springs are rolled together. Now you loosely bolt the spring pack to the hinge. Using the vicegrips in the loop, roll the loop out and place it over the roll pin on the hinge. attach springs Tighten the bolt. Make sure you have the lock washer on. Finish the job by lubing the spring with white grease or equivalent. Don’t use WD-40. It is a temporary lubricant. Dave says that you might want to use 6 leaves in each spring if you have a luggage rack. Don’t go beyond 6 leaves. The next demo was a walk through by Ben Ferguson on repairing the perennial rust around the bottom of the windshield and back window of the previous series XJ6 (1970-87). Roger Colton was good enough to offer his XJ6 as a prime example of the problem. repair failing Like most rust, what you see is only the tip of the iceberg. To properly repair this rust the window must be removed. This is done by a glass shop that has experience with Jaguars, as the seals are particularly tricky 3 piece affairs. The paint and rust is sanded off and bead blasted to remove all the rust in the pits. If the rust has penetrated the metal it is repaired with fiberglass and filler. Welding is not used in this area because it could damage the dash and associated components. Paint is matched and, in the case of the rear window, blended into the fender. Total cost typically runs $600 per window. Dave advanced the theory that this rust is caused by the urethane sealant that Jaguar used on the still "wet" paint. The sealant completely lifts the paint from the metal, exposing it to all the elements. If you have a car that hasn’t started to rust yet you can prevent this condition by lifting the rubber seal and applying Waxoyl, or equivalent, under it. Waxoyl is available in aerosol cans from Proper MG in Maine, www.propermg.com www.propermg.com . If you want to find out more about Waxoyl go to www.waxoylus.com . Don’t use WD-40 and don’t use anything with silicone in it. The current series sedans suffer from a similar, but less aggressive rust problem at the bottom of the front and back windows. Pat Shasby offered his 1990 as an example. This is caused by rather thin application of paint in this area. Good waxing and repainting at the proper time will keep these rust demons at bay.The last topic was the straightening of a bent unibody. Most of this was covered in the May and June JAGazettes under the title "All together now, 1, 2, 3, Pull!" by yours truly. For those of you, shame, shame, who have thrown away your priceless old JAGazettes click on the following link 1,2,3,Pull One of Dave’s technicians, Jake Allen, talked us through the complexities of setting up and measuring a modern car for structural damage. clamping jagclamp Typical tolerances are ± 2 mm, with maximum allowable deviations running 5 mm. chart The setup time for the measuring operation can run to 2 hrs. alignment point measuring jigs Dave says that anyone contemplating the purchase of a late model used car would be well advised to go through this operation to be sure that the car doesn’t have hidden structural damage or undergone improper repairs. His computer contains the specs for all cars from 1960’s to the present, including E-Types. The last presentation of the day was by Ben. He showed us the comprehensive computer program he uses to estimate the costs for collision repair. Ben estimates Did you know that a lower front suspension arm for an S-Type will set your insurance company back $786 plus 1.5 hrs to install it for a total cost of $888.50? That’s one of the cheap items in a front-end collision repair. Ben told us that an insurance company will repair a car as long as the cost of repair doesn’t exceed 80% of its value. Images has done $50,000 repairs on Jaguars. Its amazing that collision insurance is as cheap as it is! It was good to see lots of familiar faces and some new ones too. Not everybody signed in but we had a total of 36 attendees, including seldom-seen past president Creighton Fong. Special thanks to Dave’s mom, Susan, who ran home for bowls and utensils, helped with setup, and went out for the sandwiches so yours truly wouldn’t miss any of the presentation. I also got to meet Dave’s sister, Lisa, a very nice lady. Your board of directors extends a special thanks to Dave and Ben for giving up their Saturday and opening their shop so you can be better informed about the intricacies of keeping your Cat in tip-top shape.
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