Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

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ChipChipChipper
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#1 Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by ChipChipChipper » Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:03 pm

Hi all,

So I did a complete restore on a 1970 S2 2+2 with my father in my teens. To relive those glory years I’m now the proud owner of the same car (in my 40s now)! Euphoria is an understatement.

Anyway it’s clearly been in a garage for a decade. Which isn’t actually bad. My father was - and still is - adamant that a restoration should be a true to the original as possible and it’s good to see there haven’t been any carb ‘upgrades’ or similar. It’s in original if tired condition.

I need to drive it to get some bodywork repaired so I’m getting it running. I’m currently bleeding the brakes - oh god I remember those rear bleed nipples. I remember reading in Jaguar Drivers magazine a recommendation to remove all the interior from the boot and to cut out an access plate to get at the rear brakes without having to remove the IRS.

I’m tempted and am trying to find details of location and what’s required. It was a recommendation originally for adjusting the handbrake as well as bleeding the rear brakes. As I remember it was cutting an access hole (maybe two) and recommended keeping the removed plate and fashioning one the same just an inch larger in each direction then using self tappers to secure it back on.

I’ve been googling like crazy but can’t find any record of the article or a similar recommendation.

Has anyone on here heard of it or better still installed the access plates? Any pointers to location for a S2 2+2 to get to the rear brakes and handbrake?
Ian
1970 S2 2+2 4.2l

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mgcjag
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#2 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by mgcjag » Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:12 pm

Hi Ian....my 69 2+2 already has access plates..think yours should.....remove the lower part of the back of the rear seats....2 vertical panels....Steve
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Steve
69 S2 2+2 (just sold) ..Realm C type replica, 1960 xk150fhc

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ChipChipChipper
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#3 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by ChipChipChipper » Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:40 pm

Thanks Steve. I remember these but don’t remember them giving access to the rear brakes - do you know if they do?

I seem to remember it was a modification for access through the boot floor. That may have been for the handbrake calliper. It was a long time ago so I may be misremembering.
Ian
1970 S2 2+2 4.2l

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mgcjag
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#4 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by mgcjag » Tue Apr 30, 2019 10:04 pm

Hi Ian....the panels give access to bleed nipples and to replace brake pads.......you can undo the handbrake calipers and take them out over the top of the discs and out the rear of the irs....its not easy.....some models have an acccess panel above the irs as you mention.....personaly i wouldnt cut the body just to access brakes....you could drop the IRS and fit remote bleed nipples........the hole /panel you refer to would be on top of the irs....where the tools are in my photo above...under the hardura cover are 2 moulded panels..that i think you refer to that some have cut out.....Steve
Edit...Just to add that removal of caliper is not possible without removing the IRS...inspection holes wont help
Steve
69 S2 2+2 (just sold) ..Realm C type replica, 1960 xk150fhc

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abowie
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#5 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by abowie » Wed May 01, 2019 2:00 am

If the car has sat for 10 years you can't just bleed the brakes and hope for the best. You will need to strip, inspect and re-kit the whole brake system before you drive it.

Dropping the IRS seems daunting if you've never done it before but it is actually an easy thing to do, takes about 30 mins and then you have full access to everything. It's certainly a lot easier than trying to work on the brakes through access holes in front of or above the IRS. I had to replace a customer's leaking wheel cylinder through one of the front holes on a S1 2+2 recently and it was awfully difficult.

Once the IRS is out, fitting remote bleeders is an option and I have done this on two of my cars but removing the front IRS shocks is usually a 5 minute job and makes bleed nipple access easy.
Andrew.
881824, 1E21538. 889457. 1961 4.3l Mk2. 1975 XJS. 1962 MGB
http://www.projectetype.com/index.php/the-blog.html
Adelaide, Australia

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angelw
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#6 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by angelw » Wed May 01, 2019 1:51 pm

Andrew Wrote:
Dropping the IRS seems daunting if you've never done it before but it is actually an easy thing to do, takes about 30 mins and then you have full access to everything. It's certainly a lot easier than trying to work on the brakes through access holes in front of or above the IRS. I had to replace a customer's leaking wheel cylinder through one of the front holes on a S1 2+2 recently and it was awfully difficult.
Hello Andrew,
We're definitely on the same page. Not that cutting the access hole in the panel above the IRS Cage has anything to do with accessing the Brake Caliper Bleed Nipples, but the time required to do the job properly and not finish with the Dog's Breakfast of a hole shown in the following picture, as well as making the correct looking cover plate, you could have had the IRS out an back in more than once. Part of my brief for the restoration of the car this hole has been cut in, is to take it back to how it was originally.

Image

I just don't get it when rather time consuming modifications are made, to supposedly make a task easier that is only carried out once in a Blue Moon.

To Ian:
The following picture shows what is given access to when the hole is cut in the panel above the IRS. No help whatsoever getting to the Bleed Nipples.

Image

The following picture shows what is given access to through the holes with the cover plates, shown in Steve's Post, removed.

Image

Regards,

Bill

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ChipChipChipper
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#7 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by ChipChipChipper » Thu May 02, 2019 8:59 pm

Thanks Steve, Andrew, Bill. Very good to see the work. I’ll do some investigation and decide then. My father (Barry) usually a sticker for authenticity has apparently been scarred too much by the self adjusting handbrake and is recommending cutting the S1 access in the S2.

Yes dropping the IRS is daunting. Not so much the drop but getting all the shims aligned again. A friend’s e-type drove like a crab for a while after he did his.

Thanks for all the help. Will post some pictures when I have them.

I’ve purchased a copy of Bob Bate’s Technical Tips. I figure it’s going to be needed.

PS I’m not just going to bleed the brakes and hop on the motorway but it will be useful to be able to take the car to a nearby garage to use the tools there. But good advice for full brake service. Thanks again.
Ian
1970 S2 2+2 4.2l

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Tom W
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#8 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by Tom W » Fri May 03, 2019 5:12 am

You won’t be able to do much on the handbrake self adjusting mechanism through any access hole. The self adjusting mechanism is hidden within the actuating levers, so they’d have to come off the car to do anything with it. The mechanism on my car was working fine when I stripped the IRS, and I found no evidence of anything in there that would have likely gone wrong in the future.
Tom
1970 S2 FHC

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ChipChipChipper
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#9 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by ChipChipChipper » Mon May 20, 2019 8:29 pm

So I managed to find the article discussing cutting an access to the handbrake adjuster. It advocates replacing the handbrake self adjuster with the earlier manual adjuster and cutting an access panel. I’m considering it but don’t like the fact it’s not correct for the S2. Does anyone know if brake cables with less stretch are available or if a new self adjuster would be more reliable than the ones from 20 years ago?
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Ian
1970 S2 2+2 4.2l

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mgcjag
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#10 Re: Cutting a rear brake inspection / access plate

Post by mgcjag » Tue May 21, 2019 7:38 am

Hi Ian....re 2+2 handbrake cable.......there was a problem 10+ years ago with not being able to get the correct length 2+2 cable.......thats how long ago it was when i replaced mine.....problem has possibly been resolved now by the usual suppliers so a new cable would be a good start......re a new self adjuster...if there is nothing broken on your existing ones then just keep them...what is the actual problem......iv just removed my irs becaus one of the handbrake pads had crumbled..........as advised previously the cut out wont really help you it definatly wont help to replace the pads.......if you have access to a lift then dropping the irs sorting the handbrake and replacing is 1/2 a day.....this modification will also improve the handbrake http://forum.etypeuk.com/viewtopic.php? ... 07e7035021 Steve
Steve
69 S2 2+2 (just sold) ..Realm C type replica, 1960 xk150fhc

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