Pulling Mike's V12

Today I helped Mike pull the V12 out of his accident damaged No.31 Last 100 XJ.

Ottawa Jaguar Club - Summer Drive - Fort Coulonge

Pretty small group but we had a lot of fun. Covered a little over 200miles on some fast back roads. Averaging about 60mph and a decent 14.5mpg in the XJ12.

Brake Light Switch

Over the weekend, I noticed that the brake lights were stuck on. Thanks to a post by Neville (NZ) on Jag-Lovers I found out how the brake light switch works and its location.


Really difficult to reach under there. But like many things on a British car, its pretty obvious once you stand on your head.

When I realigned and tightened up the switch, the lever binds and doesn't move easily. The switch needs to be a little loose. Obviously if its loose it'll move out of alignment again over time. Need to figure this our properly. But its such an annoying job. I think I'll just put up with calibrating it once every few years.

I'm going to need new tail light lenses. The ones on the car are really bad. They've fogged up and the left side has even partially melted. The lenses are not easy to find and not cheap either. But its definitely a safety issue that I will sort out as soon as possible.

2011 All British Car Day (ABCD)

This year's ABCD was probably the best turn out ever. With over 200 participants, there was everything from TVRs to Land Rovers.

2011 Ottawa Concours D'Elegance

I went to the Jaguar Concours today at the Aviation Museum. Sadly I wasn't able to take my Jag along. I had deferred getting the Jag ready for the season because I was rebuilding the 560. Eventually I gave in to compromise and sent the Jag out to have the starter changed. Had it changed but then found some sort of ignition problem. I am getting spark to the distributor cap but not to the spark plugs. Its probably just a bad rotor arm, but in any case I wasn't able to take my Jag to the show. Sad because there weren't any Series 1s or Series 2 XJs there.

Didn't really take many photos. E-Types bore me these days. There were a lot of things going on at the Aviation Museum other than the Concours. There was an air show, a general car show (MBCA had a few cars on show, and the entire Mustang club was there), and a few military vehicles. The Ottawa Jaguar dealer was there as usual.

That new XJ is really growing on me. The short wheel base has much better head room in the back. I got a chance to look over the white XJ the dealer brought over. I have only two gripes with it; 1) the interior is a bit tinsely - too much fake chrome 2) the instrument cluster is replaced with a hideous LCD screen. But if I had $90k to spend on a saloon, I'd buy a new XJ.

Two cars I particularly liked this year was a 1995 XJR6 and a Mark IX. Both in absolutely stunning condition. I'd love to have a Mark IX as a daily driver.

































One of the last 100 VDPs. Black cherry.

Bent Piston Award

At this year's Ottawa Jaguar Club - Annual General Meeting I was awarded the highly prestigious Bent Piston Award. The award is given in recognition to those among us who have ventured into the shores of British car hell and have lived to share our experiences. It is given to only the bravest of warriors. To those who have walked through the valley of the shadow of rust and have battled with Lucas, the Prince of darkness. And to those who recite the Jag Lover's Prayer each morning. I am deeply humbled to join the ranks of so many great warriors.

Fall Colours Drive - Ottawa Valley Triumph Club

I decided to join the Ottawa Valley Triumph Club (OVTC) on their fall colours drive with the Jag. Absolutely amazing drive. Amazing country and amazing roads. Throwing the big V12 around the twisties was thrilling. The steep and quick inclination changes and twisty roads added an element of dan.. umm excitement, yes that's it, to the drive because cars coming round the bend/crest were not visible until they were 50ft away. Two lane countryside roads barely wide enough for the big cat added to the excitement. About an hour or so into the trip my co-pilot started smelling burning rubber from the Jag. Pulled over and found the A/C belt was melting. Thought it might be rubbing against the coolant filler neck, I dabbed a bit of oil around on the belt. The burning smell stopped but about 10mins later we saw smoke coming from under the hood. Pulled over and found that the smoke was coming out of the A/C pulley itself. I think the A/C pulley was seizing up. After realising the belt was only driving the A/C (which has always been non-functional) and the air pump, I cut the belt off with a haxsaw blade (thanks Paul). It was smooth sailing once again.
We stopped at Cedar Cove restaurant on White Lake for lunch and turned back for home. Averaged about 14mpg with the Jag. Incredible considering how bad the valve clearances, timing and mixture have become. OVTC hospitality was once again at its best. A big thanks to Don LeBlanc for putting the event together and for the superb routes.