The 'E' Type Forum

This may not be much of a “bright side” from your perspective, but the misfortunes of others teaches us all lessons. The rest of us now know a great deal more about how cylinder heads should NOT be rebuilt than before, we know the sort of things that ought to be checked when letting ‘professionals’ ...

At the time this law was passed, after a consultation with 'the industry and consumers' had suggested that it was a BAD idea, I thought the purpose was to clear the way for some highly restrictive legislation on the use of classic cars on the roads. I'll keep the car MOTd for as long as I can afford...

“One question does occur to me though and that is where do you stand legally if you have a voluntary test and it fails ? ” The answer is obvious. A failure means the car must not be used on the road. Whether the unroadworthiness is discovered by a test or by the owner’s regular maintenance checks is...

" It seems a bit odd to have plug leads jammed up against one another like this" Not at all. If there is a danger that the 40,000 volts (30,000 for a standard coil) is likely to earth through the insulation, that indicates poor insulation and a sub standard product. My car doesn't have the original ...

My gear lever vibrates (back and forth under power) in third, always has done. I'll not suggest it is normal, but I've lived with it for 60,000 miles. I'm sure someone who knows about Jaguar gearboxes will be able to identify where the slop is that allows this level of vibration on the gear lever. M...

I have a pair of S2 calipers hat I have just cleaned ready for a rebuild. They didn’t need new pistons so the rebuild costs just the seals. And a cat of paint (I’m too cheap to get them plated). However, I did split the calipers to clean them and that has left me with a dilemma. None of the seals ki...

If I top the header tank up to the base of the cap, radiator fluid will come out. I only worry if the water level drops to more than 2" below the pressure cap. I check the water level before each journey (as well as tyre pressures, brakes, oil level, lights and horn. But then, I'm also a biker and n...

Brown coats down here in th sticks. Pipe optional.

I found a need to strip and repair the upper steering column this week. The lower bush had finally and completely given up, leaving a line of dust in the under dash shelf and a steering wheel that had over an inch of up down movement. Simple job, nothing was rusted in place, but I did find several o...

Photos.. FIrst I took measurements with and without the plate. https://s8.postimg.cc/nx6tpon9x/IMG_0939.jpg https://s8.postimg.cc/kqca62pz9/IMG_0941.jpg Then I measured the throwout. (I needed a third hand to photo the measurement.) https://s8.postimg.cc/a3ih0nx9h/IMG_0942.jpg Then I measured the di...

To be sure, I measured the throw out of the starter and compared that with the distance to the ring gear on the flywheel. That proved I needed the plate to fit the high torque starter. I have photos somewhere.

Of course Lewis Hamilton doesn't look over his shoulder going round a race track at speeds up to 200mph, but I bet he does on the roads. Saved my skin a number of times on bike and in car. No F1 driver is able to use a life saver in the cockpit of their racing car, the HANS device prevents it. John...

In Blighty it is mandatory to use the life saver check in order to obtain a driving licence. Advanced driving qualifications (IAM, RoSPA and police training) also insist on the use of a life saver in a number of situations. Advanced Bikers in particular use if they want to stay alive. Most of the op...

I bought my car, Retail, for £19,950 in 2003. It was probably really worth less than £15k, but it came with a ‘no quibble’ guarantee. (I quibbled. A lot.) I noted the price of a bonnet from Martin Robey in the early naughties was £2750, ( I think I saw one in the NEC classic car show one November.) ...

“..or should I say aluminum” ..
No you should not.
(See the veins rising in my neck!)

Misty conditions add to the poignancy of these images......

Yup.
It was air in the system. Took quite a few bleeds to clear it.

Just in case the fault is worn brushes (on an original M45G starter), give the end of the starter motor a good sharp tap. This may move the worn brush(es) into contact with the commutator. I used to have to do this a lot when I ran old Brit cars as daily drivers on a limited budget. Back then every ...

Hire beg borrow or steal a van/car with a towing hook, then hire a car trailer.

Getting somewhere now, I have some data. The belt that shredded itself has an overall height in cross section of 0.5”. The older belt which didn’t shred but just stretched, 0.375”. The pulleys have a groove depth (max, from outer edge) of 0.3”. This means that the belt that failed was proud of the p...