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Well now that the carb blocks and fuel filters have arrived it’s time to put the carbs back on the car.

And now for the intall..

With new gas, new fuel filters and rebuilt carbs the car starts and runs like a champ. However, I do have one issue: the car idle’s at 2000rpm!! I have a feeling that I might known what the issue is, but I’ll check my thoughts out first by catching up on some reading.

After a few weeks, our carbs and the linkage they went away with came back from Tampa. I had no idea how dirty the carbs were when they went, because the carbs that returned looked new! See Photo below.

When I started to install them on the manifold, I realized that the Carburetor Manifold Blocks were bad and they needed to be replaced. So, I ordered two and waited for them to arrive before the carb s could be reinstalled. lesson learned – double check all components (I replaced the gaskets ) but forgot the manifold blocks.

In Early May 2006, I drove to Dallas, to pick up the car.  I wasn’t sure what the condition of the car would be, and was obviously thinking the worst.  Below is where the car was stored in Dallas.

Another picture of the backlot.

The front of Jims Jags..

And finally the car on the trailer for it’s way home.

And away we go.

In 1988 I relocated to Dallas, Texas from Northern Virginia.  My employer at the time moved my job to Dallas and if I wanted it, I had to move as well.  Just before I left I purchased a 76 Jaguar XJ 6 Coupe from an Uncle in Richmond.  Ray Carpenter had purchased the car new and wanted me to have the car as long as I promised to restore it.

I had the car shipped to Dallas in 89 and began working on the car.  In 1992, I left Texas for Georgia and the car stayed behind at my mechanics.  It had a problem with bad fuel, and transmission issues.  Later that year, it was broken into by some car theves who wanted the stereo.  Unfortunately, they smashed the driver side window in, to get in the car.  The door, however, was unlocked!

The car stayed in Dallas while I relocated around several states and earlier this year I decided to go get the car after receiving a call from Jim House, the owner of Jim’s Jags in Dallas, Texas.

While cleaning the aluminum door sills I decided to clean up some of the components under the hood as well.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the radiator wasn’t actually black.  Here is a picture of it starting to shine, followed by a picture of it after a few minutes with never-dull.

and now the shiny version..

Obviously, I should have known that the car had a brass radiator.  being a novice with this Mark2 variant I am still memorizing the service and part manuals.  I have read a brief history of the car but could definately use some time with a detailed car history.

One of the problems with these radiators is there inability to maintain pressure.  Only time will tell if this radiator needs to be replaced.  For now, it’s just cool to have a radiator made of brass.

As with most old British Cars that have been in a project state for awhile. The wood trim needed to be refreshed. Some was still in the car and most of it had been removed and stored in the trunk. Shown below are some pictures of the original woodwork.

Now the dashboard..

I decided to leave the dashboard as is – I believe the wood will respond well to a good waxing. The other wood trim has peeling sheelac and a general dullness in the shine.

I looked into having the wood refinished but the quoted cost of 3K+ for a Mark2 interior (which is what a 340 is minus picnic trays) was a little steep and not in my budget. So, I made the decision to start the refinishing process, so stripping was the next step.

Now the dash cap..

The end result isn’t bad, but it’s not satisfactory. For the meantime I have put the dashcap in the car but I am actively looking for good information on how to refinish the wood properly. Any ideas? At any rate here is a picture of the wood refinished for now.