The 'E' Type Forum

The colors ( sic) article on xkedata may help. It has a Beige sample car there - whether that really is the colour I don't know - because what is shown as Ascot Fawn looks suspiciously like Warwick Grey to me ( and I had a Warwick Grey Mark 10 so I am quite familiar with it ) and the beige looks mor...

No chance whatsoever I'm afraid . The only cars to which an OD box can be fitted are 6 cylinder 2+2s, where the longer wheelbase will accommodate the extra length. The 12 cylinder cars exceed the torque capacity of the OD, hence it is no good on s3s either

This sounds like a sneak current problem, which arises when the proper earth path to the engine is disrupted, and the current earths ( or more properly returns to the neutral) via whatever wire is available. The choke cable often becomes the earth in this way, and glows red hot ! You need to check a...

Steve : the usual signs of pump failure are a. obvious signs of water weeping past the gland seal where the shaft passes through the front of the pump body . I have to say, your line of water , consistent with water being flung off the periphery of the rotating pulley, is consistent with this, but t...

Not an easy one , Steve. The water stains from the breather may just be the result of condensation . If there were any significant mixing of water and oil I would expect the sump oil to shows signs of it, usually some faint milkiness . Since there is no sign of that, and no apparent loss of coolant,...

The car which Philip Porter has unquestionably is the genuine article. If you get an opportunity to examine it ( and PP is quite willing to oblige if you ask him ) you will find that it has many of the non-standard features which were not incorporated on the production cars . The seats are the easie...

Definitely subjected to a very hard impact from the right hand front side . What is less certain is whether it is another vehicle, or whether it has left the road and hit a tree or post

It sounds like the limited slip clutches chattering, which may well happen if an EP oil without the appropriate LSD additives has been used

Just a moment !! have you got the slotted washers on top of your float chamber lids ? The correct sequence is, from the top downwards , securing bolt , aluminium washer, identification tag , overflow pipe, vented washer , chamber lid . If the slotted vented washer is not in the correct place, ( or h...

This is one of the most fat headed ideas I have heard. Secondary roads are already immeasurably more dangerous than was the case before the so called National Speed Limit started to be enforced, because no one overtakes safely any more, crawling past 45 mph traffic with a woefully insufficient speed...

Dennis : something you have not told us is your idle speed . I am beginning to wonder whether you really have a problem at all, and whether in fact your idle is set too low. Most 4.2s need at least 700 rpm to produce even running, and below this the symptoms you describe may arise. The volume of the...

Dennis : I doubt that the springs have anything to do with your problem . The primary function of the spring is to govern the full throttle/full rpm position of the piston by ensuring that it only reaches the top of its travel at that point, and not before . Thus with the piston at a low position th...

Andy : I cannot help with your specific request, but I can make a suggestion . One of the worst jobs on an E is the removal and refitting of the tank. If you could redesign it so that it fitted without recourse to a hammer you would win a lot of friends, and probably custom

Yes, I have an S1 4.2 FHC recently completely rebuilt, and an S2 OTS, both of which I have had for about 19 years

With all the checks you have made , it is becoming apparent that something is not as it appears . A possibility is ignition timing which presumably you have checked . The markers for this can often be misleading. A common problem if you have the left hand side timing pointer is that it has moved on ...

Gunmetal

You asked for the advice. It was honestly given , and collectively the result of much experience , some of it bitter. You are, of course, entirely free to reject it , but before you do , you should understand the reasons for the advice. E types rot from the inside out . There was No internal corrosi...

A compression test is desirable to exclude some internal failure e.g. valve or head gasket. Check tappet clearances. Also , and this may sound strange, check each cam lobe to see that it is not worn - I have not seen this on an E or indeed any XK engine, but I have seen iton several Rover V8s , and ...

The front cover of the reaction valve should have a plastic spigot which is an integral part of it. the hose pushes over this and is secured by a jubilee clip or , for the purists, a cheney clamp

It is definitely a 2+2, probably an S1 although it could be an S1.5, and it looks as though it is manual, which is more desirable. What it is worth depends more or less exclusively on whether it is complete or not, because things like eg missing headlamp glasses and surrounds are very expensive. Thi...