George Cole

The last time I had a mechanical fuel pump fail was years ago in a 1965 cab-over GMC 2 1/2 ton truck. The diaphragm partially ruptured, allowing gas to by-pass it and squirt out the vent hole on the top. The stream of gas hit the coil, shorted it out, and stalled the truck. Amazingly, no fire. George

Hey AJ, This 1936 Alvis is owned by a friend in south FL. Unrestored original. I'm pretty sure it's not for sale, but if you want, I'll ask him when I see him again in a couple of weeks. It looks a lot like my 1947 Jaguar Mark IV. George

Sandlow, it would help to know exactly where you are in FL. It's over a 12-hour drive from the Keys to Pensacola...that's a lot of ground to cover. The FL car touring and show season is starting to wind down. Most car-related activity in FL is from October to April. You missed the boat about a month ago when AACA held their Winter Nationals in Melbourne. If I remember correctly, there were 227 cars, including quite a few pre-war cars, as well as a few brass cars. AACA's spring show was in Vero Beach last weekend. Most likely some of the same cars there, although I wasn't able to attend as I was at the joint FL Region CCCA & FL Packard Club tour in Ocala, where we had 24 Full Classics and Packards on tour for 5 days. The south FL All British Show was several weeks ago in Pompano Beach. And 2 weeks ago was the annual Knox Village Car Show, again in Pompano Beach. Tomorrow is a Jaguar Concours show in Lake Mary. I'll be there. https://www.jaguarclubfl.com/2022ConcoursFlyer_flyer.pdf Next Saturday is the All British Show in Sanford. I'll be there. https://www.allbritishcarclub.com/annual-car-show 16 April is the Wheels Across the Pond show in Jupiter, FL. There's over 350 European cars and motorcycles registered, with some dating back to the 1920s and 1930s. You can see the registration list at the below link. I'll be there as well. http://www.wheelsacrossthepond.com/ The Panhandle British Car Club is holding a show 22-23 April in Pensacola. That's an 8-hour drive for me each way, so not sure if I'll go to that one. If you're interested, you can look it up on-line. I realize these are not all 'pre-1916' car events, but for someone just looking and NOT wanting to kick tires, they're a good place to check out some older cars. If you are able to attend any of the above, come talk to me. I'll not be hard to find, with my silver over black 1947 Jaguar. George

Are you referring to the car or the owner? I spent considerable time getting to know Jack this past weekend...outstanding gentleman. Extremely knowledgeable collector who recently downsized his very diverse collection from 24 to 12. He and I (and our significant others) had breakfast together yesterday morning just before checking out of the hotel.

I didn't want to express any perceived interest, so didn't ask questions. But I overheard him telling someone the hood had to be that wide and tall to fit the diesel and all it's associated hardware under it.

I realize this is not the forum for a custom car, but couldn't let this pass. This diesel powered 1929 Packard was on a recent Packard Club tour.

If either of those or any other 'Allstate' unique trim are on the car in the woods, it might be rusty gold. Then again, they're only worth something to someone who needs them.

Thanks. I sent it USPS, so he may not receive it until later in the week. I'm interested in hearing his response.

This morning I sent a request to the V.P. of Judging for Jaguar Mark IV cars to be included in Class 19E. I enclosed a 1 January 2022 copy of the CCCA List of Approved Full Classics.

I've got 3 Firestone and 2 Olympic 550x18 tires which have worn out their welcome here. They've all got excellent tread but they're very old and when inflated have very light hairline cracks in the sidewalls. My first thought was that I would run them for a couple of years, and that's what the individual who inspected the car for me in L.A. recommended. But one is stenciled on the inside, "Christ Church." The car was imported from New Zealand to the U.S. in 1985, so they're probably at least several years older than that. They are free, but you pay shipping...OR, I sometimes travel up and down the east coast so could possibly deliver somewhere along the way. For example, on Monday and Tuesday, 7-8 March, I'll be driving from central FL to Atlanta. The following weekend I'm headed to south Florida. However, if there is no interest within a reasonable amount of time, they are going to the great tire salvage yard in the sky. PM me if you are interested. George

Jaguar Mark IV cars have been recognized by CCCA as Full Classics since September, 1986, when they announced they were including post-war cars which were based on a pre-war design.

Anything that works right the first time, and as designed.

I'm working with similar shaped rims, but with wire wheel spokes. Amazon and ebay list valve stem extenders. I should have ordered a set to hold the valve stem while inflating, then remove.

Yes. I am installing them right now. I did 2 yesterday and hopefully 2 today on 18" wire wheels. I am using new inner flaps (marked made in USA). Tubes are Michelin, made in Italy). Bought from Coker. I was surprise at how heavy duty they are. Putting them inside new Michelin tires from Universal. Only problem so far is the valve stems want to pull back into the tire while inflating. Have to hold them while inflating. The Michelins are same size but about an inch narrower than the 40 year old Firestone's I'm replacing. Ordered 2 sets of 2 Excelsior tires from Coker initially. They sent me one set and a message the 2nd set were back ordered until at least mid-May. So I ordered 4 Michelins from Universal. I called Coker last Thursday and cancelled the back order and requested to return the 2 already received. They said they'd send me a return voucher...still waiting for it to ship them back. Meanwhile I also ordered another Michelin from Universal to replace the spare.

Yes, as the Jaguar Mark IV was not listed anywhere else, I did enter it in Class 29. But as I stated above, Jaguar Mark IV and Mark V are included with all others there with no punctuation. In the on-line catalog. They are not on separate lines. The entire class is one entire run-on sentence, which creates the confusion. Unfortunately it's in PDF format so I cannot cut and paste it here to show that, but here is the link: http://www.traaca.com/images/2019 AACA Vehicle Classification List.pdf#:~:text=The AACA Board of Directors in 2000 established,of ownership of a DPC vehicle requires recertification. Although similar in appearance, the Mark IV and Mark V are 2 completely different cars. One is a pre-war design and recognized by CCCA as a Full Classic, and the other is not. AACA does not recognize that difference in their class categories. As a CCCA Full Classic, the Mark IV should be in Class 19e. Yes Tim, I do intend to contact the AACA judging VP to try and get the Mark IV properly classified. Thank you for providing his contact information. Regards, George

Regardless of whether it won an award or not, there's still confusion with the judging classes. A 1946/1947/1948 Jaguar Mark IV Saloon is a CCCA Full Classic. But it's not listed in any of the Class 29 CCCA subcategories. It seems it should be included in Class 19E with other post-war Full Classics...but it's not. It is quasi-listed in Class 29 as a Specified Prestige Vehicle. But the lack of punctuation in the paragraph confuses everything. It specifically states "Jaguar Mark IV Jaguar Mark V drop head coupe", but says nothing about the saloon cars. Both models of the Mark IV are CCCA Full Classics, but neither model of the Mark V is. So by lumping the Mark IV and Mark V DHC's together and failing to recognize the saloon cars, I'm still left to wonder exactly what class I should have used. And in all fairness, a 1947 Jaguar should not be judged against a 1996 Rolls Royce. There is no comparison whatsoever. But that's what happened.

That's my question. What harm was done? Because it's now been judged, I suspect I'll never be able to enter as a FIRST JUNIOR again...if I someday want to. I never said I was pi**ed, but that it left a bad taste in my mouth. I correlate that to more being displeased rather than pi**ed. But now we're playing semantics.

I seriously doubt I won anything. I wound up in a class with a 1957 & 1964 Cadillac, and a 1984 & 1996 Rolls Royce. All 4 appeared to be in meticulous condition. I gave the Jag a quick wash and wax before hitting the road Saturday morning. Didn't even have time to polish the chrome or vacuum the carpets. In comparison, my Jag was probably not even an afterthought...which is why I didn't want it judged.

Steering box is mounted to the frame, not engine mount.

Here's the 'brake light switch' which I ripped out to restore the system to it's original configuration. These sensors were wired to a relay attached midway up the steering column.

Yes.

I've never understood the stigma of a RHD. I always liked being different and out of the ordinary. When I lived in England from 1978-1981 (courtesy of Uncle Sam,) I had a RHD 1965 Triumph Spitfire and my wife had a LHD 1974 Chevy Impala. I drove one or the other every day and never had a problem with it. The gearshift felt as natural in my left hand as it did in my right. Likewise with this Jag. And I never once was confused about which door to use. As I said, it was her maiden voyage, without time for proper sorting. It's a 3.5 Litre. I picked it up less than a month ago in L.A., and brought it back to FL on my tow dolly. In the past 3 weeks I did a hot radiator and block flush with Evaporust. Did them separately while waiting for a new upper radiator hose to replace the one that was missing. Exhaust 'Y' pipe was cracked, and all 3 exhaust system hangers broke somewhere in New Mexico, grinding about a foot off the end of the tailpipe. Muffler was mostly rusted, so the entire exhaust system went into the trash. Welded a patch over the 'Y' pipe crack. Purists be damned, I replaced the entire exhaust system with 2.5-inch stainless steel, as I live on a barrier island, with salt air the major concern. I wanted to drop the pan, but so far haven't found a gasket and there wasn't time to make one, so I only changed the oil. and filter. When I picked it up in L.A., each of the tires had ~20 psi in them. I tried airing them up to their normal 30 psi my first night at the hotel, but broke the air chuck off my 12v pump, so took that as an omen to leave well enough alone. Towed it 2625 miles that way. After getting it home 5 days later I pumped them each up to 30 psi, and almost immediately the LR valve stem blew completely out. The tube was completely rotten. Likewise with the valve stem in the spare. Pulled it apart and found a conventional 15-inch tube in t he 18-inch tire. So I ordered new tubes and tires from Coker. Got the tubes, but only 2 tires came in. Got a message that the rest of the tires would be back ordered until at least mid-May. Called Coker and cancelled them and told them I will ship the 2 that they sent back as I want matched tires. Ordered all new from Universal. While waiting for them, I changed out tubes in the lightly weathered tires. so I could make yesterday's show The new tires came in late Friday afternoon. Brake lights didn't work. Linkage for the original brake light switch was missing and the switch was disconnected. Someone in the past had screwed a home window alarm sensor to the floor, with the magnet zip-tied to the brake pedal arm. That was the 'new' brake light switch. I ripped all that out, rewired the original switch (after checking it to make sure it still worked,) made a piece of temporary linkage, and late Friday afternoon got the brake lights working as originally designed.. Along with a multitude of other issues to get it 'road-worthy' for yesterday's show, there wasn't time for any other sorting. We didn't have a lot of confidence it would make the trip. I filled the tank with gas from cans and off we went. So to answer your question, the steering is a bit loose, there's some vibration (which I believe is coming from the very old tires,) and the car pulls hard to the right when braking. It was running rich and wanted to stall every time I came to each of the approximately 25 traffic lights I came to enroute. But we made it, and made it back home without any other concerns. So I'll continue working the issues until it's properly sorted. Next show's in Pompano Beach in 2 weeks....then the following week the Ocala joint CCCA-Packard tour in Ocala. The weekend after that's the Jaguar Club of Florida Concours in Lake Mary, and the Saturday after that is the All British Show in Sanford. There's several more in line after that, but I think you get the picture. Regards, George