Bob's Classic Roadster Jaguar SS100 (Duke) Replica

[Bruce Nunnally 302]

i like new carbs -- this place advertises for $120 http://allcarbs.com/detail.php?pid=625&mfgn=1&ctgn=10&stt=5&gb=2

If you get the used carb you will also need a rebuild kit; it says rebuilt but been sitting since

[two2go 6]

Light bulb on! I think I see the reason for the diff. extension. Leaf springs keep the axle from twisting around the wheel axis in reaction to wheel power torque (except on 600hp dragsters), but coil springs won't. So, the rigid extension from the differential to a forward pivot point to control torque.

[two2go 6]

i like new carbs -- this place advertises for $120 http://allcarbs.com/detail.php?pid=625&mfgn=1&ctgn=10&stt=5&gb=2

If you get the used carb you will also need a rebuild kit; it says rebuilt but been sitting since

Yeah, probably the wiser choice. I just can't control my bargain grabber instincts.

[two2go 6]

Here's a shot of the front suspension. Lookie, lookie, I was wrong again (have to keep my quota). There is an anti-roll bar in all its metallic glory. So this is Chevette, right? I thought I saw a picture of Bruce's front set-up to compare, but couldn't find it now.

I must say, GM had a pretty sophisticated suspension and driveline setup for an economy car. Roll bars front and rear. I don't remember Chevettes ever being considered handlers or sporty. But the narrow 13" bias ply tires would have killed a lot of the sport.

Edited May 16, 2014 by two2go

[Bruce Nunnally 302]

Here is a shot of my front suspension, with the roll bar off during but prior to refresh:

[Cadillac Jim 172]

In most street cars, the front stabilizer bar reduces lean but its most important function is to eliminate oversteer. When there is a rear stabilizer bar, the stiffness of the front suspension and stabilizer bar introduce understeer or plowing and the rear stabilizer bar eliminates that and gives balanced handling in an emergency situation. There are some interesting cases that illustrate this point:

• In the 1955-1964 Chevrolet, the V8 cars have front stabilizer bars. Cars sold with the six cylinder, which weighs over 200 pounds more than the V8, does not. From the factory, the lower A frames don't have stabilizer bar mounts on the six cylinder cars. If you put a stabilizer bar on a six cylinder car, it will plow on hard cornering.
• The original Volkswagen bug has a major oversteering problem because of its short swing axles, particularly the vans. A common aftermarket solution for safety or as a handling upgrade is a reverse-stabilizer bar, that crosses over diagonally from side to side and has an action that is the reverse of a stabilizer bar, called, cryptically, a "camber compensator."

[two2go 6]

I took our Jag to a new-to-me shop to see about the driveline noise. As I suspected, the problem is the extension housing. The shaft and bearing are going bad. They found a replacement being shipped from out of state. This shop handles classic and muscle cars and seem competent. Looking forward to getting it fixed.

[Bruce Nunnally 302]

Sounds promising. Hopefully the replacement is in much better shape.

[two2go 6]

When we bought our Duke Jag replica, it had the regular front bumper and two sets of driving lights.

The upper set of lights was not wired up to anything, and only one of the two lower ones worked. The lower bigger lights were kind of classic, but odd. Upon disassembly, I broke a bulb holder. The bulbs were an odd type I had not seen before and probably would be hard to replace. So I just disposed of those and wired up the smaller upper lamps which work fine.

I thought I would see how the Jag looked without the front bumper. Real SS-100's don't have bumpers. It was easy to remove and I just reinstalled the mounting bolts into the holes.

I like the look without the bumper. The wife agrees, so the bumper is stored in the crawl space for now.

Not sure about the rear bumper. It seems to be more harmonious with the rear end look overall, so I'm still thinking about it. I noticed Bruce's car does not have a rear bumper, so I'll study his pictures and some SS-100 originals a bit more.

If I get more ambitious, I'll take it off and have a look. Not today. Maybe not tomorrow either.

[two2go 6]

Here is a view of our Jag engine compartment with the mighty Chevette/Isuzu engine. And lots of heater plumbing. I was considering a carb replacement and was going to bid on a rebuilt one on eBay if no one else had bid by 5 minutes to go, despite Bruce's opinion. However, someone did bid and I took that as a sign, so no carb replacement for now.

I don't have carb issues to speak of now, anyway. At first, the car was hard to start and keep running until it was fully warmed up. But the car had been run very little for four or more years before we got it. After replacing all the old gas, some professional adjustment, and a couple of harsh solvent treatments, it has really come around. It fires right up now with very little sputtering when cold. Much more drivable. Don't smell the solvent any more either. I'm on the third tank of gas.

[Bruce Nunnally 302]

Good, thanks for sharing. For the rear bumper, a third option -- which would require some rigging -- would be to put the vertical push-pads on the rear instead of the bumper. I think that is what I will do on mine since there are the two holes for the bumper to come through in the body.

Example of what I mean:

[two2go 6]

Bruce opened up a thread on Austins. My Duke is officially known to the state of Colorado as an Austin Roadster. See one of my original posts for the rest of the story.

[Bruce Nunnally 302]

Texas recognizes mine as a '39 Jaguar Replica' and smogs it as a 1939, which is to say none required. Several Austins available if you need one.

[two2go 6]

Still waiting for the Duke's replacement differential extension to arrive. The weather got nice and I want to drive it.

[two2go 6]

Took the rear bumper off to see how the car looked without it. Took a look. Put the bumper back on.

It just didn't look right to my eye. The exhaust pipe tip sticks out too far without the bumper over it, and being welded on, is not easily shortened.

I could make up some brackets to just use the bumper guards, but I just don't think that would be the right look. Maybe if I had a plain rear deck with a spare tire on it.

Done with the bumper options.

[two2go 6]

Looks like I'll be waiting some more. The part came in. It looked worse than the one I have. The shop is going to try to find another. I imagine most Chevettes and T1000's have long since met their fate with the shredders. Going on a trip anyway, so we will see what develops in three weeks.

Still waiting for the Duke's replacement differential extension to arrive. The weather got nice and I want to drive it.

[Bruce Nunnally 302]

Rats! No one makes a new one of these or too pricey?

[Cadillac Jim 172]

It looks like Rock Auto sells the individual parts. If you know the approximate year and can identify the parts by sight you probably can get them there.

[two2go 6]

It looks like Rock Auto sells the individual parts. If you know the approximate year and can identify the parts by sight you probably can get them there.

Nothing turned up. The extension units were a peculiar design and Chevettes have long disappeared from recycle yards. I have located a guy in WA who specializes in old rare parts and he is sourcing some Chevette parts in South America. Apparently, Chevettes were made in Brazil for some time after being dropped by GM in the US. I'm collecting more intel as I go along. We may get lucky yet. As a last resort, I know a machinist who might be able to mod something up. There are three unique parts within the housing that are not available and are needed; bearing, bearing cushion, and inner support. The housing itself is aluminum, so would be tricky to mod or work with.

[Cadillac Jim 172]

That platform was sold for various cars in the 1976-1994 time frame as follows:

• Chevette (US, Latin America, Chevy or GMC)
• Pontiac Arcadian in Canada
• Pontiac T1000 or 1000 (USA, 1981-1987)
• K-180 in Argentina
• Vauxhall Chevette
• Opel Kadette
• Isuzu Gemini
• Holden Gemeni (Australia)
• Chevrolet 500 pickup in Latin America through 1994
• Grummett (station wagon or pickup, Uruguay)

See Wikipedia article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Chevette

[two2go 6]

Still in a holding pattern on getting the rear axle problem fixed. My mechanic found a used extension housing that turned out to be worse than mine, so we got our money back on that. The guy in WA (Rick) turned out to be the one (and only) help. I got the rubber cushion and housing support from him and we mutually think we can rebuild the extension with these parts. Hopefully, the bearing is still OK. The parts guy said my problem is most likely just the shaft grinding against the housing because the rubber parts are shot and allowing the shaft to move around as weight and torque come into play.

I can't get to this project right now because just too busy with other stuff. Here are the new bearing cushion and housing support. Possibly the only one or two left in the US now. Rick said he was planning another trip to Brazil to get some more made. Covering his travel expenses makes these things pretty pricey.

I am hoping to have the Jag back in cruising condition by the end of July.

[Bruce Nunnally 302]

Good luck on finding time and good karma on the restoration.

[Cadillac Jim 172]

I have a friend who uses a Chevette as his daily driver. There were a lot of these cars sold, they were in production through the 1992 model year, and there are a lot of them out there.

[thedukejag 3]

I feel your frustration.Hope you get it fixed soon.

[Cadillac Jim 172]

I believe that the axle housing with extension is available from GMPartsDirect, but not the extension alone. The price is steep.

I would make sure that you do indeed need the housing. A bad housing is rare and probably most are due to collision damage. If it's just the rubber donut or bearing, you are in for a lot of trouble and expense because it seems that that the extension housing doesn't sell often.

Frustratingly enough, the parts page for the group "UNIVERSALS AND REAR AXLE" doesn't have a parts diagram. The bare differential case is listed under rear suspension as well at $126, but they also list an Axle Housing for $567. Without a parts diagram I can't tell.

Most other GM dealers that sell online use the same catalog software so I don't have a lot of hope that the parts diagram will be on another site.

You might try Rippy Automotive. The head of the parts department there can get anything that exists.