Accumilation Of Vehicles

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Marquis Rex
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Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:50 pm
Location: Mid-West USA
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#1 Accumilation Of Vehicles

Post by Marquis Rex » Mon Jul 08, 2019 6:33 pm

I think most of us are familiar with the stereotype of more mature single women having many cats. They are often called 'Crazy Cat women' because they collect cats. Of this breed my ex wife was one (a woman not a cat!).

I don't know if there's a similar term for mature gentlemen. If not, perhaps I could coin one- Crazy Car guys and their accumulation of 'Grease babys'.

I seem to fit this new term well. The vehicles I buy are usually ones I've been involved in. Even if said vehicles were not well received or had issues during their production run.

I usually aim to iron out the flaws or engineering decisions I never agreed with.
Example, The 2000 Jaguar XJR (X308 style)- I must have been in the 20s working at Jag when this was being released- tested the engine lots in the labs, worked at the Bridgend plant during the cross over from AJ26 engine to AJ27. Well I disagreed with the decision not to fit an LSD and spent thousands on engineering splined hardened shafts and getting it to accommodate an earlier V12 diff and for THAT itself to accommodate a Torsen T2-R LSD carrier unit. Could I have bought a car which already had these features and more? Almost certainly.
Now I have a car I drag race occasionally and use daily in the summer- happy that I was involved in it. When I worked at Jag, I would never have considered getting one. I think they're an acquired taste with age.

Now I just bought another vehicle for the winter- the much over maligned X type.
I remember the intake losses being way too high relative to the S type, and how we tested one with a dual split exhaust up to the rear tank which gave masses of low speed torque but were unable to execute due to the restrictive guidelines of our owner at the time, Ford.

No prizes for guessing what I'm gonna work on. In absolute terms the differences on the road are minimal. But I think it gives me some kind of emotional solace- rectifying or vindicating the 'errors' of my youth. I also think these vehicles give me a sense of continuity to my younger years- careerwise. It's like 'closing the loop' on your work.

This winter AWD car is my 13th car!
"Live Fast, Live Well, Live Free!"
1970 Jaguar E type OTS

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