Me being me, before the body went off to Mr Carter I also had to clean up the quality of Jaguar parts to remove sharp edges, finish off corners and clean up welded edges...the kind of attention to detail that takes time....costs money and the opposite of the original Jaguar principle of building to a price
petrol filler neck before
and after.....
All of which meant the garage at home was now completely full...of Porsche and Jaguar plus my study full of completed sub-assemblies......
So the week before Xmas I took the E over to Barry's, more to create valuable space at home as Barry wasn't ready to start my car but I wanted to use the Christmas break to start pulling the engine apart...and for that I needed a lot more storage space and a clear workshop........
Estimated total weight of the engine is in the region of 300-350 kg.....so firstly I removed the head..probably saving around 40/50 kg
Next challenge was how to get it from a low trolley to an engine stand....without an engine crane.....
Simple really...2 trolley jacks...a selection of concrete blocks and 3 blokes.......plus 4 no. grade 12 steel. 7/16 bolts....done up to FT standard....
Although I know it would take the load for the first few days I had to leave the blocks under the engine...it just felt better.....
She is certainly a big old beast...this is what 3.8 litres looks like English style....
in fact its all big....and heavy
distributor drive and oil throw at the end of the crank
even the oil pump is big.....
and this is the contents of the head
crank....I guessed at around 20-25 kg
paired camshafts with 8 bearing clamps
12 sets of valves plus 24 valve springs
8 sets of followers
and 7 main bearings
head studs were not easy...I had to use a 60cm length of tubing over the ring spanner even after 2 weeks soaking with plus gas....12 worked using the double nut technique. but 2 stripped their threads so I had to weld a nut to the stud....al out in the end
so off to the machine shop in 10 days for cleaning and measuring
the pistons are the original ones so I am fairly sure this is the first time she has been apart....I really don't know what I am looing for regarding wear on the bearings but they all look pretty smooth, certainly no pitting, so I am hopeful it is just a case of some gentle polishing and honing....we will see
once I know the extend of any remedial work I can order the new pistons and bearings to whatever size is needed, plus all the other parts to get her re-built
I'll update with the parts list once I hear back from the machine shop......
all for now
Jonathan