Project: 1939 Jaguar SS100 Replica Classic Roadsters, LTD. "Duke"

[Cadillac Jim]

When you look at the numbers for restoration of the suspension and such, and the nice wire wheels, the incompletely assembled kit in ND is tempting, but in the final analysis the numbers and the work you have in your car make it look like you might be trading a couple of $K for time spent but you will spend less money with what you have. It does appear that it has the same transmission as your car, the Toyota engine notwithstanding, and I venture that the Toyota engine is better to work with than the 2.3 liter Ford, which may be the intractably poor performing HSC engine.

But, paying him for a PDF of the manual seems like low bucks and an easy sell to the seller.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Got the Roadster out and around -- worked on fixing an emblem my Wife noticed I had removed and left a hole behind, and generally enjoyed the sunny day and fine weather.

Link to Google+ post: https://plus.google.com/111669618335209044868/posts/dZWKPKb8aGM

[Cadillac Jim]

It sure is a nice looking car. Maybe it's time to declare victory in the restoration and redefine the effort going forward as refinement.

[Bruce Nunnally]

I took the Roadster out for gas, and then to Lowe's for retaining hardware and around a bit. The throttle is very responsive, and it is a fun car to drive, perhaps mostly because so open.

People say 'it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow' which may be part of the lure -- max throttle may be sustained often.

Roadster Gas log:

• Added 8 gal to full at 14,938 miles


• Added 8.8 gal to full 15,058 miles = 120 miles / 8.8 gal = 13.6 mpg


• Added 9.1 gal to full 15,143 miles = 85 miles / 9.1 gal = 9.3 mpg


• [Missing log entry]


• Added 6.6 gal to full 15,835 miles (tbd)

The early entries were prior to the carb mixture getting sorted out.

Missing an entry when a friend and I took the Roadster all out and around one day -- and after I mentioned the gas gauge worked backwards and over a small range he insisted we stop first for gas.

Otherwise the mpg for the 1.8L 3TC has been unimpressive, albeit I stay on full throttle much of the time to get all ~85 hp (1st gear measure) working as intended. I am adding this info here

to improve record keeping.

The rear suspension needs to be addressed regardless -- the car still 'winds up' on acceleration, and it is keeping me from getting a proper alignment.

Then there are more refreshes needed - rear drum brake refresh, brake fluid refresh with new master cylinder (on hand), coolant refresh,

The radiator fans run all the time instead of being temp controlled. The gas gauge issue.

I would like to improve the power to offer performance similar to the 1939 original, which was marketed as a sports car.

If the engine I have is purely stock 3TC which it seems, then it needs port & polish & cam & heads done all of which is relatively inexpensive.

(A full up BRDRacing engine for this is $3500 for ~125 hhp or $5500 for ~175 hp; a full up Raby 155 hp engine for a 914 is $15K).

Getting to the target of rebuilt engine for $5500+ S&H or a used tuned 3TC from a private party for less seems inexpensive.

In general I think the trim etc needs some improvement, needs real wire wheels, but the mechanicals are my main focus yet.

[Cadillac Jim]

Not much farther to go for the first milestone of a fully restored car.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Lol I keep bouncing back and forth on whether to restore and tune to my taste or let it go to a new home and get a convertible Cadillac or Cadillac Allard or something. No way to find anything easier to work on than this car, or cheaper parts. People love seeing it on the road.

[Cadillac Jim]

I'm thinking that a bird in the hand is better than a pig in a poke.

[Texas Jim]

What Jim said....

[Bruce Nunnally]

I ran by Linear Automotive in Plano today in the Cadillac STS-V while I was out. I wanted to get it straight in my mind exactly where it was. It looks like a good selection, and I met the guys there and it sounds like a good fit for the work.

If we have good weather in the morning my son is going to follow me down there so I can drop the Roadster off to have the rear spring bushings redone & hardware refreshed.

I loved Joel's summary: "I'll put my parts guy on one side of me and my fab guy on the other side of me, and I'll look at it, and then I'll ask each of them what to do".

Notional parts list:

2 front eye bolts

2 front eye nuts

2 front eye bushings

4 u-bolts

8 u-bolt nuts

2 sets top/bottom leaf isolators (Ford 5732 equivalent)

2 bump stops

2 leaf spring center bolts & nuts

4 rear leaf eye bushings

2 complete rear shackle kits

[Cadillac Jim]

That parts list is everything short of the spring leaves and the center bolts - oh, you included the center bolts. I would go with Joel.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Nice Drive down to Linear Automotive this morning. Overcast but no rain.

Arrived and pulled under cover until they had time to get it indoors.

Right rear leaf spring front eye is walking on its bushing. I am asking Linear Automotive to refresh the rear suspension all new bushings and hardware (except springs)

[Cadillac Jim]

I see a rust fan from the bushing bolt that tells us that the bushing is indeed metal-to-metal and turning when the spring flexes. Leaf spring bushings for most passenger cars should be in rubber tubing that does the flexing. Some trucks and really old cars (like the SS-100 pre-WW II original?) have plain bearings and there are grease fittings on these bushings. But here we either have rubber that has gotten too hard or an error in installation. Tomorrow will be a whole new day with a quieter, smoother ride.

[Bruce Nunnally]

I'll keep holding my breath til shop has a chance to eval on the lift and agree they can sort out in short order or not, but I am excited at the prospect of progress. I also like the vibe at the shop, and it is easily within Roadster range.

In stop and go traffic a nice Lady on the next lane asked "what year is it?" I get this a lot and normally treat it as a puzzle ( do you say it is a 1939 or that it is an 82ish copy of a 39 or that it is an "antique copy of a classic") but I just said '39 instead of too much info. I agonize over making sure to mention it is a replica but I think this is beside the point to most people.

"Oh, like a Great Gatsby car?"

"Well, yes, but Gatsby was an anglophile, so he drove English cars" (except in the recent remake which missed this theme to his character altogether and had him in a Packard). On hindsight this was also too much info, and confusing on my part since the Jag is also an English car.

I did get the final question right - "Can I take your picture?" Yes, if we don't get into a wreck doing so.

[Texas Jim]

I would probably answer the question ... "What is it"... by just saying ... "A 1939 Jaguar replica"

[Bruce Nunnally]

On another topic, I was thinking of putting a piece of luggage similar to this on the back of the Roadster; I think it would give some

interesting detail better than the empty luggage rack?

[Bruce Nunnally]

The Duke catalog mentions a "Ford 15" wire wheel". I wonder if this wheel on a Duke on ebay is that wheel?

This one differs from my car in several details but appears to simply be a later model (1985) and normal diffs.

[Cadillac Jim]

I think the 15 is 15 inch rims. It looks like that wheel includes a small brake drum as part of the wire wheel. I would be inclined to get a wheel that allows you to keep the brakes that you have now.

Other things that seem curios are that the brake drum seems to have mounting bolts, but there looks to be a (functional?) knock-off hub.

I would find out more about this wheel, like what is the bolt circle, does it come with bolt-on hubs that hold the knock-off hub, is the wheel part of brake drums, etc.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Yes I agree 15" is the diameter. These are "bolt-on" wheels with the look of knockoff. I believe the hub cover idea is to disguise this to the extent practical. My interest is where Classic Roadsters, LTD sourced these, assuming the are a direct fit for my 4x4.25 ford mustang II hubs. Because they referred to them as Ford I wonder if they were production wheels from something else.

[Cadillac Jim]

The photo looks very much like a pre-WW II Ford wheel, including the tiny brake drum and narrow rim width.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Linear Automotive: I recommend we do the shackles,bushings,spring perch rubbers and replace the shocks with new gas shocks and reattach the spring mechanism that was install on the shocks and remove the lowering blocks.. Not sure why it is there for and what it really accomplishes,,,, but clearly it was done for a reason.

Bruce: Agree [...]

Linear Automotive: parts ordered,, 5-7 days out on deliver

Bruce: One theory was that extra helper springs on rear shocks For parade duty so if someone sat on top of rear then Suspension held the weight? Otherwise don't know.

Once the suspension is done there is a list of things

we can sort out -- for example

A) the fuel sender and gauge are mismatched; the gauge runs backwards fm 1/4 to 1/2 as fuel is used

coolant refresh

C) brake master replace, (have part) & brake fluid refresh

D) rear drum brake reshoe (have parts)

E) valve cover gasket (have part)

[Bruce Nunnally]

I am thinking that some graphics along the spare tire cover on each side could be just the thing:

Showing the manufacturer, the model, and the relevant years of the original and of manufacture (as best I know it).

One oddity -- although almost all the documentation refers to this as a 39 replica, the next owner of the molds refereed to it as a 36 model.

What do you think of my lettering concept?

[Texas Jim]

NO NO NO

That's ugly....

[Cadillac Jim]

You can probably fix the fuel gauge by reversing some of the wiring on either the sending unit or the dashboard gauge.

The mish-mash of helper springs on the shocks and lowering blocks indicates that at one time the car was lowered, and at another time this was recognized as a problem and the helper springs were added either to lessen the suspension travel or to raise the car back up. I agree with Linear Automotive that the best design is to figure out what spring rate, damping, and ride height you want an do it the simple way, without add-ons.

[Bruce Nunnally]

NO NO NO

That's ugly....

Lol - so a different font...

Thanks for the input - this is why I asked.

[Bruce Nunnally]

You can probably fix the fuel gauge by reversing some of the wiring on either the sending unit or the dashboard gauge

Fuel sender units come in multiple types -- all read in resistence, but as one might expect with different meanings -- and in a classic contrariness in reverse directions between gm and ford

Ohms/Resistance

(Empty/Full) - Popular Models

0-90 Ohms - Works on most GM cars, 1965 to present

73-10 Ohms - Works on Fords prior to 1989 & most Chryslers

240-33.5 - Industry standard, works on many popular cars

0-30 Ohms - Works on most GM cars prior to 1965

16-158 Ohms - Works on most Fords, 1989 & newer

So I think my gauge needs one type and my sender is another type. You are right that it is possible the gauge has a switch to allow multiple sensor types but when I looked for this previously I did not find it.