XJR-15 Restoration
#151
06-28-2013, 04:03 PM
Happy to share a few snaps...here with Tiff Needell at Bruntingthorpe (195mph on the straight for the brief moment I dared look at the speedo); at an XJ220 re-union last year at the factory; with Boxer's XJR-15 and some Leylandii at Silverstone. I need to do a few pics of the 2 cats together, maybe this weekend if I get time.
#152
06-29-2013, 03:06 AM
Boxer, you make a very good point about the smoothness of Justin’s driving compared with Tiff. There are lots of colourful stories about Tom Walkinshaw’s strategy in relation to the Inter-continental Challenge race series and the $1m prize fund. By way of comparison of the race car and the LM, I can give you an indication of what I am referring to. At 70mph the race car feels as though it is about to flip over backwards. This is not helped by the very sensitive gearing on the rack, it feels quite dangerous. The LM on the other-hand feels really well planted at the same speed. The steering gives good feedback and requires more input than the race car, of course at low speed the lock to lock is also much better on the LM. I know the LM has modifications to the aero dynamics, but I don’t think this explains the additional stability of the LM. Don Law Racing has put a lot of work into the suspension set up on these cars and Justin feels that they can get the car to handle really well. Comparing the ride height of the race car and the LM it is clear that the set up is very different. The front of the race car sits more than an inch higher than the LM. In essence I think the cars in the race series were set up with a ride height that was far too high. Of course this no doubt added to the spectacle of the racing, as well as driving up the costs of repairs for the owners. When I chatted with Matt Aitken he said that the strip down and rebuild after each race was part of the deal, parts used were not and the price for these was astronomical. This of course also meant that any bodywork that was needed was at the cost of the owner/driver. Given the expertise at TWR, which was second to none, I am sure resolving the handling problems would have been a breeze, but perhaps not good business. I understand that the black car driven by Justin was set up and maintained by a couple of ex- F1 mechanics which probably goes some way to explaining the car’s excellent handling, obviously Justin is a fabulous driver, so the overall delivery was really good. If my suggestion of ‘good business’ by TWR is correct, poor old Tiff didn’t stand a chance. Given that the internet was in its infancy when Tiff did his drive, I am sure the spectre of these cars being stigmatised for bad handling did not enter Tom Walkinshaws mind.
#153
06-29-2013, 03:11 AM
The thread I started a couple of years ago on living with a XJR-15 is:
Life with my Jaguar XJR-15 - Ferrari Life
Life with my Jaguar XJR-15 - Ferrari Life
#156
07-15-2013, 03:28 PM
Thanks...for at least as long as I can keep my licence...;-)
You may have seen that Justin Law, who did the development work on my XJR15, won the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the fifth time this year in an XJR9, the car which the XJR15 is based on. It's incredible that a car developed to win 24 hour racing can also win a 45 second hill-climb! It's a shame Group C is no longer with us...
You may have seen that Justin Law, who did the development work on my XJR15, won the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the fifth time this year in an XJR9, the car which the XJR15 is based on. It's incredible that a car developed to win 24 hour racing can also win a 45 second hill-climb! It's a shame Group C is no longer with us...
#157
09-03-2013, 07:49 PM
I know that the title of the thread is XJR-15 and specifically relats to the restoration of Steve O’s car. However, whilst Steve O sent his car to Don Law for an extensive overhaul and upgrade, the plan I had for my race car was a bit more modest. I sent the car to a local specialist to fit a handbrake, a horn and general preparation for an Mot, followed by registration at DVLA. In addition, I thought it would be a good idea to change the fluids and ensure the car was generally in good working order. After a 10 month wait, and a lot of excuses, I was finally given the green light to collect the car. With great anticipation I turned up at the garage, having owned the car for just on a year, it was time to get behind the wheel and have a bit of fun before the bad weather set in. The reality was that the car ran really badly and was virtually undriveable. I managed to get it home and after a bit of tinkering and fitting the correct plugs, I decided to ask Paul Hands from Hyper Engineering to come and have a look at it. Paul spent a few minutes checking the basics and it wasn’t long before he had it running reasonable well, but it was still very rough. My original intention was to just drive the car and have it looked after professionally, however as I was still smarting from my 10 month wait and a bill that would make your eyes water, I decided to do the work myself. One thing led to another and it wasn’t long before I had the engine out to overhaul the water pump and change the drive belts. I had the injectors reconditioned, new flexi pipes fitted, the exhaust coated etc. The air boxes were removed along with the inlet manifold and rocker covers. In fact the car just kept coming apart, I had bits everywhere and I began to wonder if it would ever run again, or if it would just end up in storage in boxes. One thing inevitably led to another and before long the seat was out the dash was in bits and I stripped out the fuel cell (what a dirty job). I then removed the main fuel pipes .......I am sure you get the picture. What I had left in my garage did not much resemble an XJR-15 as the body and rear floor had been removed also. Over the winter I worked diligently cleaning and painting parts, when I wasn’t stripping them down. I made templates for the bulkhead and fitted a new heat shield. I sent various parts away to be coated and spent a lot of time on the phone tracking down parts as well as chasing around the countryside to get parts or have them made. I came across a lot of very helpful people and Paul Hands and Dave B (another XJR-15 owner) who had rebuilt his own car, were a great source of information, encouragement and help when I encountered the odd brick wall. My focus and efforts began to pay off and by the end of March this year the car was more or less back in one piece. I kept up the work and finally it was the moment of truth, it was time to fire up the beast. My main concern at this point was fuel leaks. With the pumps switched on I went over all the connections many times until I was satisfied that I was not about to ignite a rather large and expensive bomb. With everything switched on, I pulled the starter switch and after two or three turns of the starter, the engine burst into life, what a relief.....what a noise. Obviously at this point there was a lot to do, checking for water and oil leaks, checking that all the manifold pipes were hot and so on. After about 10 minutes of running I shut the engine down and just enjoyed the moment.... it was all coming back together. There was still a lot to do and I won’t bore you with the details but day by day I had fewer and fewer bits and more and more of a car. Finally it was time to reassemble the interior and hook up the pulse generator to the speedo. All went well. I am sure you know what’s coming next.... At last the car was back in one piece and I took the brave step of booking an Mot. I had one or two small jobs to do, number plates etc, so I thought I would do those in the morning as the Mot was for noon. With an hour or so to go I drove the car out of the garage, it coughed and spluttered and died.....and would not restart. I rang the Mot station and put back the time, and checked everything I could. All the reading were fine, I had a spark, I had fuel, but it just wouldn’t start. I finally admitted defeat and cancelled the Mot, it was clear that car wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. That was in April. Reluctantly, I took the car apart again. I removed the rear clamshell and checked one thing after another. Paul Hands came over and brought a couple of ECU’s, coils, distributor etc as well as a test kit to check the injectors were firing, and still no sign of life. Paul suggested I have the ECU reflashed and the distributor put on a scope in order to determine whether there was a problem with it. He recommended someone to do the work, so I packed up the parts and sent them off. The news came back that there was a problem with one of the sensors in the distributor, and the bad news, or really bad new in fact was that the sensor was obsolete. However, the chap said that as there was nothing to lose, he would take it apart and try to fix it. A few weeks ago, I received a mail to say that the repair was good and the distributor was testing as serviceable. Having had Paul’s test distributor and ECU on the car, which didn’t work, I was not that optimistic that the car would start. When the distributor and ECU arrived in the post, I installed them immediately. With the battery fully charged, I cranked the engine over and you guessed it..... nothing. As I thought I said to myself. Sitting in the drivers seat, silence all around, I thought, this is just beyond me. As I sat there a thought occurred to me, just crank it over until the battery is flat, it might just be choked up. As the engine cranked over, I noticed a smell of fuel, that’s new I thought. By now the battery was flat, so reached for the jump leads and a few minutes later I was cranking it over again. At first it spluttered and then she just fired up. You can’t imagine my delight. I got to work setting up the timing and after a lot of fiddling around, the engine was up on all 12 and just sounded awesome.... Having put it all back together again, the car finally passed its Mot today and I was able to have my first proper drive. The car is truly epic. It has been a long and unexpected journey. The cost of the work has not been that expensive in cash terms, but I have had to put a lot of time into the car. I am relieved that the work is at an end, aside for a couple of very minor jobs to do, I am mightily relieved that I actually have a car that works. I had always anticipated just handing the car over to a specialist to service and repair leaving me to just drive it from time to time. Even though the work I took on was not planned and certainly not for the faint hearted, it has given me a really good understanding of the car which I think will manifest itself when it comes to driving it.
#158
09-04-2013, 11:01 AM
Long post, but an interesting story. I feel I've been there...
Truth is, you establish a really special connection to your vehicle when you get that far into it. It changes the relationship you and it have, knowing how it all goes together and what makes it work. I highly recommend it, if you have the time. Most people aren't so inclined, but what you learn about yourself and your vehicle makes you both better for it.
Truth is, you establish a really special connection to your vehicle when you get that far into it. It changes the relationship you and it have, knowing how it all goes together and what makes it work. I highly recommend it, if you have the time. Most people aren't so inclined, but what you learn about yourself and your vehicle makes you both better for it.
