A Jaguar that isn’t a Schwinn and a Schwinn that’s not a racer.
03-19-24, 09:24 AM
#26
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Schwinn periodically changed the handlebars on the "lightweight" bikes. The bars from 1965 and earlier tend to be the better than the later ones. There were several patterns of tourist and north road style bars that worked well for the bikes up through the mid-1960s. In the later 1960s, those larger bars you mention appeared. They have an oversized and kind of clunky feel to them. Some people like them (especially people who are used to "cruiser" type bikes), but I think they're too much on a diamond frame utility bike.
The other issue was that the variety of stems offered dried up over time. From the late 1930s through the 1950s, Schwinn offered a nice variety of stems if you wanted a medium or taller stem. Over time, the variety of stem sizes you could buy dwindled to the extent that by the 1960s, the utility bikes generally got whatever the middleweight bikes got. Those later stems tended to be short and not offer much in the way of handlebar height adjustment. The stem on your bike is fairly desirable because it is well-made (a bit heavy maybe) and was used for only a short period of time. The only downside is they tend to offer only limited adjustment.
I wish we had thrift store finds like yours around here. A standard or tall frame Schwinn from the first half of the 1960s and before is pretty good. It seems like around here, it's all burned out department store junkers in the thrift shops.
The other issue was that the variety of stems offered dried up over time. From the late 1930s through the 1950s, Schwinn offered a nice variety of stems if you wanted a medium or taller stem. Over time, the variety of stem sizes you could buy dwindled to the extent that by the 1960s, the utility bikes generally got whatever the middleweight bikes got. Those later stems tended to be short and not offer much in the way of handlebar height adjustment. The stem on your bike is fairly desirable because it is well-made (a bit heavy maybe) and was used for only a short period of time. The only downside is they tend to offer only limited adjustment.
I wish we had thrift store finds like yours around here. A standard or tall frame Schwinn from the first half of the 1960s and before is pretty good. It seems like around here, it's all burned out department store junkers in the thrift shops.
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03-19-24, 10:41 AM
#27
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When I see a Schwinn three speed I hope the frame is rusted and awful because I only really like them for the hubs, switchgear and brakes.
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03-20-24, 02:31 AM
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In Florida where Cudak lives you have a lot of old people who fled New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania when they retired at age 55 to 60 years old. The year round humid high heat and sunshine rejuvenates those Yankees who are used to experiencing winter from Thanksgiving until the 1st of May. They retire to Florida at age 55 and then on average they seem to live another, very active and healthy, four decades more.
That is how the thousands of old flexi-flyers, toboggans, and well kept ancient Schwinns end up in Florida. Native Floridians tend to destroy and abuse all their bicycles, automobiles, and recreational sporting goods. Perhaps it is due to a lifetime of seeing and living with the possible impending threat of Hurricane destruction.
Kilroy's gray Jaguar isn't quite nearly the same POS as of those 1975 to ninety-something Jaguar XJ-S & 1968 to ninety something Jaguar XJ-6 are.
Kilroy's gray Jag has the benefit of FORD MOTOR COMPANY's influence and engineering. FORD purchased Jaguar around 1989 and they were extremely slow in making any engineering improvements/ any improvements to product durabilty, but by the time FORD had owned JAGUAR about at decade, the product quality and engineering was the best it had ever been , near the turn of the century. Saying JAGUAR product quality and reliability became the best it had ever been, starting at near the turn of the century, ain't saying a whole lot, because JAGUAR cars were notorious for being the WORST CARS IN THE WORLD for DEPENDABILITY/RELIABILITY----------------even far worse than the ITALIANS & FRENCH.
The post war Jaguars through the turn of the century, with few exceptions are probably the WORLD'S BEST LOOKING CARS, but incredible P.O.S. !!!
FORD sold JAGUAR sometime during the 21st Century. Last that I had heard that TATA MOTORS of INDIA owns JAGUAR outright. The INDIA folks seemed to have lost the superb look that was JAGUAR. Today, they look as crappy as they were mechanically during the 20th Century.
It is my opinion that the Series III , JAGUAR XJ-6 (from about 1979 through 1987) was the best looking four door sedan that any manufacturer has ever produced.
Then they really effed up the look for about a year or two with the horrible cheap looking square headlights and ugly front, until realizing that they really screwed up.
If you're living in Florida where you have no restrictions such as annual emissions testing and annual inspections, I would remove that P.O.S. Jag V-12 in any JAG XJ-S.
I would remove a Jag six from any SERIES III XJ-6 in a New York Minute.
Several decent reliable powerplants will easily fit in the engine bay without upsetting the weight balance or the handling, and without cutting.
Hell Yeah, it would be prohibitively expensive to pay a professional shop to do such a conversion, but if you have above average mechanical skill and have ever done any automobile restoration projects or just rebuilding/ repairing the trashmobile that you owned while you were in high school and college.
I wouldn't do a carburetted Chevy 350 v8 and TH-350 tranny (or even the TH-400 tranny). In 2024, I would only do an EFI, and not something with a carburetor.
The widely mass produced kit (John's Cars.....among others..) does a simple enough and straightforward install that will make your old XJ-6 as reliable and dependable as a 1972 Chevy Nova because essentially that would be what you'd have with the engine/trans,
Even 1980's GM throttle body (TBI) electronic fuel injection on a basic Chevy V8 would deliver better MPG, More Reliability IF DONE PROPERLY, you could also expect to get at least another 25k to 35k miles in engine longevity above what you could expect from a carburetted v8.
Now the overdrive automatic transmissions seen in GM products behind Chevy v8 engines during the eighties, nineties, and twenty-first century are notoriously fragile and expensive to rebuild compared to a rugged, mostly durable TH-350 automatic or the near bulletproof TH-400 automatic that is the most durable automatic. The TH-400 was introduced in '65 on Cadillacs only, I think and then OLDSMOBILE, PONTIAC, & BUICK got the TH-400 for 1966.--------Chevrolet cars only got a version of the TH-400 for 1967, 1968, and 1969, I think.
The BOP/Cadillac TH-400 won't work with the Chevrolet engine, at least not without a custom made adaptor. The Chevrolet version TH-400 tranny mates only with Chevy engines.
I might be totally wrong about this, but that is what the memory in my head tells me
ROLLS-ROYCE & JAGUAR did use a GM TH-400. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows were so equipped from 1966 onwards, however Rolls insisted on having a silent, electric shift mechanism and not the typical mechanical shift linkeage. All of the 1975 onwards XJ-S did have a GM TH-400 transmission, GM phased out the TH-400 from its cars/trucks after the 1980 model, I think. I don't know when Jaguar could no longer source the TH-400 from GM.
I'd imagine that the Jag trans(GM sourced TH-400, etc) is going to be at least as different the BOP (buick-olds-pontiac..also cadillac) trans is from the Chevy trans.
Other than from a desirability / RESALE standpoint, the ordinary old carburetted Chevy V8 with TH-350 trans or the much harder to find and source chevy TH-400 trans WOULD BE OK
A quality transplant with EFI will be much better if you ever want to sell the car BECAUSE YOUR POTENTIAL POOL OF BUYERS IS MUCH LARGER because there is a chance of passing emissions in places such as metro Atlanta and elsewhere, where they are only concerned about the tailpipe sniffer readouts.....Low and you PASS, higher than prescribed and you FAIL.........they aren't concerned with what manufacturer's engine or who made what parts or what year of said engine or parts...... unless you tell them...they go by what year of the car you're registering and it must be at least as clean as that...........beyond a certain age of the car and it becomes exempt from emissions testing.
******LASTLY, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ABOVE AVERAGE MECHANICAL ABILITY, SOME PRIOR EXPERIENCE, AND AT LEAST A TWO CAR GARAGE AT YOUR HOME, AND ALL OF THE PRE-REQUISITE TOOL SET, THEN DO NOT EVEN BOTHER WITH TRANSPLANTING A DECENT DRIVETRAIN INTO AN OLD JAG.
Do Not Even Think About Buying An Old Jaguar under any circumstances, if that is the case.
If you do possess above average mechanical ability, etc..., then you may be much better served to just seek out and locate a JAGUAR XJ-6 or XJS that has already been converted to the 350v8/TH-350 combination by the prior owner. Make damn certain that the current prior owner has owned and driven it regularly with this conversion for a minimum of at least five years after the transplant. That is the only way that you would ever want to own a Jaguar from the 20th Century. Beautiful cars, both inside and out, but a massive P.O.S hunk of junk under the bonnet.
That is how the thousands of old flexi-flyers, toboggans, and well kept ancient Schwinns end up in Florida. Native Floridians tend to destroy and abuse all their bicycles, automobiles, and recreational sporting goods. Perhaps it is due to a lifetime of seeing and living with the possible impending threat of Hurricane destruction.
Kilroy's gray Jaguar isn't quite nearly the same POS as of those 1975 to ninety-something Jaguar XJ-S & 1968 to ninety something Jaguar XJ-6 are.
Kilroy's gray Jag has the benefit of FORD MOTOR COMPANY's influence and engineering. FORD purchased Jaguar around 1989 and they were extremely slow in making any engineering improvements/ any improvements to product durabilty, but by the time FORD had owned JAGUAR about at decade, the product quality and engineering was the best it had ever been , near the turn of the century. Saying JAGUAR product quality and reliability became the best it had ever been, starting at near the turn of the century, ain't saying a whole lot, because JAGUAR cars were notorious for being the WORST CARS IN THE WORLD for DEPENDABILITY/RELIABILITY----------------even far worse than the ITALIANS & FRENCH.
The post war Jaguars through the turn of the century, with few exceptions are probably the WORLD'S BEST LOOKING CARS, but incredible P.O.S. !!!
FORD sold JAGUAR sometime during the 21st Century. Last that I had heard that TATA MOTORS of INDIA owns JAGUAR outright. The INDIA folks seemed to have lost the superb look that was JAGUAR. Today, they look as crappy as they were mechanically during the 20th Century.
It is my opinion that the Series III , JAGUAR XJ-6 (from about 1979 through 1987) was the best looking four door sedan that any manufacturer has ever produced.
Then they really effed up the look for about a year or two with the horrible cheap looking square headlights and ugly front, until realizing that they really screwed up.
If you're living in Florida where you have no restrictions such as annual emissions testing and annual inspections, I would remove that P.O.S. Jag V-12 in any JAG XJ-S.
I would remove a Jag six from any SERIES III XJ-6 in a New York Minute.
Several decent reliable powerplants will easily fit in the engine bay without upsetting the weight balance or the handling, and without cutting.
Hell Yeah, it would be prohibitively expensive to pay a professional shop to do such a conversion, but if you have above average mechanical skill and have ever done any automobile restoration projects or just rebuilding/ repairing the trashmobile that you owned while you were in high school and college.
I wouldn't do a carburetted Chevy 350 v8 and TH-350 tranny (or even the TH-400 tranny). In 2024, I would only do an EFI, and not something with a carburetor.
The widely mass produced kit (John's Cars.....among others..) does a simple enough and straightforward install that will make your old XJ-6 as reliable and dependable as a 1972 Chevy Nova because essentially that would be what you'd have with the engine/trans,
Even 1980's GM throttle body (TBI) electronic fuel injection on a basic Chevy V8 would deliver better MPG, More Reliability IF DONE PROPERLY, you could also expect to get at least another 25k to 35k miles in engine longevity above what you could expect from a carburetted v8.
Now the overdrive automatic transmissions seen in GM products behind Chevy v8 engines during the eighties, nineties, and twenty-first century are notoriously fragile and expensive to rebuild compared to a rugged, mostly durable TH-350 automatic or the near bulletproof TH-400 automatic that is the most durable automatic. The TH-400 was introduced in '65 on Cadillacs only, I think and then OLDSMOBILE, PONTIAC, & BUICK got the TH-400 for 1966.--------Chevrolet cars only got a version of the TH-400 for 1967, 1968, and 1969, I think.
The BOP/Cadillac TH-400 won't work with the Chevrolet engine, at least not without a custom made adaptor. The Chevrolet version TH-400 tranny mates only with Chevy engines.
I might be totally wrong about this, but that is what the memory in my head tells me
ROLLS-ROYCE & JAGUAR did use a GM TH-400. Rolls-Royce Silver Shadows were so equipped from 1966 onwards, however Rolls insisted on having a silent, electric shift mechanism and not the typical mechanical shift linkeage. All of the 1975 onwards XJ-S did have a GM TH-400 transmission, GM phased out the TH-400 from its cars/trucks after the 1980 model, I think. I don't know when Jaguar could no longer source the TH-400 from GM.
I'd imagine that the Jag trans(GM sourced TH-400, etc) is going to be at least as different the BOP (buick-olds-pontiac..also cadillac) trans is from the Chevy trans.
Other than from a desirability / RESALE standpoint, the ordinary old carburetted Chevy V8 with TH-350 trans or the much harder to find and source chevy TH-400 trans WOULD BE OK
A quality transplant with EFI will be much better if you ever want to sell the car BECAUSE YOUR POTENTIAL POOL OF BUYERS IS MUCH LARGER because there is a chance of passing emissions in places such as metro Atlanta and elsewhere, where they are only concerned about the tailpipe sniffer readouts.....Low and you PASS, higher than prescribed and you FAIL.........they aren't concerned with what manufacturer's engine or who made what parts or what year of said engine or parts...... unless you tell them...they go by what year of the car you're registering and it must be at least as clean as that...........beyond a certain age of the car and it becomes exempt from emissions testing.
******LASTLY, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ABOVE AVERAGE MECHANICAL ABILITY, SOME PRIOR EXPERIENCE, AND AT LEAST A TWO CAR GARAGE AT YOUR HOME, AND ALL OF THE PRE-REQUISITE TOOL SET, THEN DO NOT EVEN BOTHER WITH TRANSPLANTING A DECENT DRIVETRAIN INTO AN OLD JAG.
Do Not Even Think About Buying An Old Jaguar under any circumstances, if that is the case.
If you do possess above average mechanical ability, etc..., then you may be much better served to just seek out and locate a JAGUAR XJ-6 or XJS that has already been converted to the 350v8/TH-350 combination by the prior owner. Make damn certain that the current prior owner has owned and driven it regularly with this conversion for a minimum of at least five years after the transplant. That is the only way that you would ever want to own a Jaguar from the 20th Century. Beautiful cars, both inside and out, but a massive P.O.S hunk of junk under the bonnet.
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03-20-24, 05:15 AM
#29
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I'm not sure what the spirit of the license was though, so I'm a bit hesitant to ask. Could be the PD simply wanted to reduce theft, but most city licensing schemes are inherently more insidious.
Mind, this is one of the reasons I'm on the fence about time capsule bikes. Unless they're spec'ed out exactly as one likes them, the original spec can always work against ownership enjoyment. This is one of the reasons I love 1950's-era Raleigh Sports; I like them just as they were built.
Schwinn periodically changed the handlebars on the "lightweight" bikes. The bars from 1965 and earlier tend to be the better than the later ones. There were several patterns of tourist and north road style bars that worked well for the bikes up through the mid-1960s. In the later 1960s, those larger bars you mention appeared. They have an oversized and kind of clunky feel to them. Some people like them (especially people who are used to "cruiser" type bikes), but I think they're too much on a diamond frame utility bike.
The other issue was that the variety of stems offered dried up over time. From the late 1930s through the 1950s, Schwinn offered a nice variety of stems if you wanted a medium or taller stem. Over time, the variety of stem sizes you could buy dwindled to the extent that by the 1960s, the utility bikes generally got whatever the middleweight bikes got. Those later stems tended to be short and not offer much in the way of handlebar height adjustment. The stem on your bike is fairly desirable because it is well-made (a bit heavy maybe) and was used for only a short period of time. The only downside is they tend to offer only limited adjustment.
I wish we had thrift store finds like yours around here. A standard or tall frame Schwinn from the first half of the 1960s and before is pretty good. It seems like around here, it's all burned out department store junkers in the thrift shops.
The other issue was that the variety of stems offered dried up over time. From the late 1930s through the 1950s, Schwinn offered a nice variety of stems if you wanted a medium or taller stem. Over time, the variety of stem sizes you could buy dwindled to the extent that by the 1960s, the utility bikes generally got whatever the middleweight bikes got. Those later stems tended to be short and not offer much in the way of handlebar height adjustment. The stem on your bike is fairly desirable because it is well-made (a bit heavy maybe) and was used for only a short period of time. The only downside is they tend to offer only limited adjustment.
I wish we had thrift store finds like yours around here. A standard or tall frame Schwinn from the first half of the 1960s and before is pretty good. It seems like around here, it's all burned out department store junkers in the thrift shops.
I'll have to look up the stems too; wasn't really aware of the options. This one, as you discerned, has a short quill and is currently as high as I dare raise it. I'm sure the "AS" bolts give it some fizz within the Schwinn community, but if I had to take my pick of any Schwinn stem, it would be a pre-war razor back. I even have a long-quill repop of one sitting around here because I dare say a Raleigh Sports would look very nice with one on it.
After all, if one has to put a heavy steel stem on a bike, might as well have one with pizzazz.
Believe me, our thrift shops are just like yours. This one shop is an anomaly and usually has interesting stuff, but in 15+ years, this is the only time I've ever seen anything worth buying.
As for bicycles, the only things that I've found remotely local and chosen to keep are the '65 "Huffy" Moulton (complete), '79 Rudge (complete), the '79 UK Superbe (complete...mess), '82 Schwinn Superior (frameset), and the Leo (Leoworken Chlorodont) Bottecchia (frameset). The latter two came from the same shop, while both the Rudge and Moulton required ~25 miles into the next county to retrieve.
There's a notable exception to that list in regards to Raleigh Twenties. They grow on trees around here, just raise your arm and pull one off the branch. I've picked up four locally - I might be undercounting that - repaired one (with a Hans Ohrt Beverly Hills sticker) for someone off Craigslist, and my neighbor bought two. Every single one I've come across has been a '70, while the neighbors were '75s.
My first '70:
The Hans Ohrt Twenty:
Bought from a local shop, don't recall what I did with it:
Mine with the neighbor's '75s. One of the '75s turned out to have been hit and twisted at the headtube:
The Bronze Green '70 from the bike shop; they took it in trade. I bought it and did next to nothing except grips and a front tire after this picture:
Blasptwenty, a '70:
I've become sympathetic to some of these electroforged buckets over the years, but completely sympathize. Granted, those Weinmann sidepulls under the Schwinn Approved name don't do a darn thing. Everyone speaks of Schwinn's rigorous reliability testing (which was clearly influenced by price given the story of Simplex vs. Huret), but reliability is nothing if the component doesn't do its job, and that was a clear failure of both the sidepulls and the 5-speed "Schwinn Approved" Atom and Shimano freewheels they spec'ed for years (which tended to chain skate). If Schwinn hadn't been so price picky, centerpulls could have been default along the cable-brake models and given some hope of stopping these beasts. Plus, the Weinmann/Dia-Compe design does well with wider rims.
-Kurt
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Last edited by cudak888; 03-20-24 at 05:32 AM.
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03-20-24, 09:19 AM
#30
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@cudak888 , I'm not sure I understand the blasphemy. Is it because you have modified your Raleigh Twenty? As you point out, they are not rare museum pieces. The modifications include a what looks like a suspension fork that I'm not familiar with. Pretty neat and it probably makes riding it more enjoyable, so that is a good thing. And it has a derailleur instead of a Sturmey-Archer hub. Not terrible. More closely spaced gears are a good thing. Edit: are you using a hybrid gearing system?
I like the old Racer. I wonder if, when the seat was new, that the padding actually did something. Not a lot, just more than it does now. I remember my sister's Breeze. The seat was that same rubber cover and it felt cushiony. Of course, there is the possibility that you could heat up the seat cover, remove it and put new foam or horsehair or whatever they used back then in there. Then there is also the chance that you can do all that and it still could be uncomfortable. I know you said that you didn't want to commit a Brooks to it.
With that in mind I have the following ideas, all of them are bad:
Toughen up and get used to sitting on a steel pan (I can say it, but I wouldn't do it).
Put a mattress style seats on it and get the weight even up more.
Get a modern cruiser style seat. It won't look right but it should be comfortable and when you are riding you won't see the seat.
Keep the Schwinn "S" seat and when you ride put on a Sheepskin cover.
Remove the rubber cover and put padding under the seat including the possibility of using gel pads.
Don't ride the Racer, then sell it and make it someone else's problem.
You have a thread going so keep us updated on the progress with the Racer. I also wouldn't mind seeing what modifications you did to your Raleigh Twenty.
I like the old Racer. I wonder if, when the seat was new, that the padding actually did something. Not a lot, just more than it does now. I remember my sister's Breeze. The seat was that same rubber cover and it felt cushiony. Of course, there is the possibility that you could heat up the seat cover, remove it and put new foam or horsehair or whatever they used back then in there. Then there is also the chance that you can do all that and it still could be uncomfortable. I know you said that you didn't want to commit a Brooks to it.
With that in mind I have the following ideas, all of them are bad:
Toughen up and get used to sitting on a steel pan (I can say it, but I wouldn't do it).
Put a mattress style seats on it and get the weight even up more.
Get a modern cruiser style seat. It won't look right but it should be comfortable and when you are riding you won't see the seat.
Keep the Schwinn "S" seat and when you ride put on a Sheepskin cover.
Remove the rubber cover and put padding under the seat including the possibility of using gel pads.
Don't ride the Racer, then sell it and make it someone else's problem.
You have a thread going so keep us updated on the progress with the Racer. I also wouldn't mind seeing what modifications you did to your Raleigh Twenty.
03-20-24, 09:42 PM
#31
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@cudak888 , I'm not sure I understand the blasphemy. Is it because you have modified your Raleigh Twenty? As you point out, they are not rare museum pieces. The modifications include a what looks like a suspension fork that I'm not familiar with. Pretty neat and it probably makes riding it more enjoyable, so that is a good thing. And it has a derailleur instead of a Sturmey-Archer hub. Not terrible. More closely spaced gears are a good thing. Edit: are you using a hybrid gearing system?
The fork is only the tip of the iceberg - the frame has been been heavily modified, including a headtube replacement with 1-1/8" Columbus tubing to accommodate the modern fork. There are accommodations for both a front and rear derailer, but it has neither at the moment. In the photos, the RD was temporarily employed as a chain tensioner for the FD.
I like the old Racer. I wonder if, when the seat was new, that the padding actually did something. Not a lot, just more than it does now. I remember my sister's Breeze. The seat was that same rubber cover and it felt cushiony. Of course, there is the possibility that you could heat up the seat cover, remove it and put new foam or horsehair or whatever they used back then in there. Then there is also the chance that you can do all that and it still could be uncomfortable. I know you said that you didn't want to commit a Brooks to it.
With that in mind I have the following ideas, all of them are bad:
Toughen up and get used to sitting on a steel pan (I can say it, but I wouldn't do it).
Put a mattress style seats on it and get the weight even up more.
Get a modern cruiser style seat. It won't look right but it should be comfortable and when you are riding you won't see the seat.
Keep the Schwinn "S" seat and when you ride put on a Sheepskin cover.
Remove the rubber cover and put padding under the seat including the possibility of using gel pads.
Don't ride the Racer, then sell it and make it someone else's problem.
Toughen up and get used to sitting on a steel pan (I can say it, but I wouldn't do it).
Put a mattress style seats on it and get the weight even up more.
Get a modern cruiser style seat. It won't look right but it should be comfortable and when you are riding you won't see the seat.
Keep the Schwinn "S" seat and when you ride put on a Sheepskin cover.
Remove the rubber cover and put padding under the seat including the possibility of using gel pads.
Don't ride the Racer, then sell it and make it someone else's problem.
-Kurt
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03-20-24, 09:48 PM
#32
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It is a play on words twice over. The name is a subtle reference to Mike Finnegan's Blasphemi dragster - also flat black and about as big a money pit as Blasptwenty. The name doesn't always roll off the tongue though, so I've occasionally referred to it as Vader.
The fork is only the tip of the iceberg - the frame has been been heavily modified, including a headtube replacement with 1-1/8" Columbus tubing to accommodate the modern fork. There are accommodations for both a front and rear derailer, but it has neither at the moment. In the photos, the RD was temporarily employed as a chain tensioner for the FD.
I've sat on some of the later ones and have replaced the foam in one. They're less painful than this earlier variant. Note the metal skirt curves all the way to the bottom to match up to the single rivet on each side.
Out of that list, a sheepskin cover or "don't ride it regularly" come to mind. Not sure I'll keep the Racer, but I plan to enjoy having it around a bit before I decide what to do with it.
Ask and ye shall receive the rabbit hole: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...video-rig.html
-Kurt
The fork is only the tip of the iceberg - the frame has been been heavily modified, including a headtube replacement with 1-1/8" Columbus tubing to accommodate the modern fork. There are accommodations for both a front and rear derailer, but it has neither at the moment. In the photos, the RD was temporarily employed as a chain tensioner for the FD.
I've sat on some of the later ones and have replaced the foam in one. They're less painful than this earlier variant. Note the metal skirt curves all the way to the bottom to match up to the single rivet on each side.
Out of that list, a sheepskin cover or "don't ride it regularly" come to mind. Not sure I'll keep the Racer, but I plan to enjoy having it around a bit before I decide what to do with it.
Ask and ye shall receive the rabbit hole: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...video-rig.html
-Kurt
Seriously! Who puts that much work into an old bike that most people don't really look for???
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03-20-24, 10:05 PM
#33
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03-20-24, 10:29 PM
#34
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03-21-24, 12:04 PM
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One of the several reasons older Jags suck has to do with the wire loom suppliers.
"Do you know why they drink warm beer in England?
It's kept in Lucas coolers."
When Ford bought them, they straightened it out.
I doubt there are any 80s jaguars that the dash or anything on the doors work.
03-21-24, 05:14 PM
#36
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03-21-24, 08:26 PM
#37
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One of the several reasons older Jags suck has to do with the wire loom suppliers.
"Do you know why they drink warm beer in England?
It's kept in Lucas coolers."
When Ford bought them, they straightened it out.
I doubt there are any 80s jaguars that the dash or anything on the doors work.
"Do you know why they drink warm beer in England?
It's kept in Lucas coolers."
When Ford bought them, they straightened it out.
I doubt there are any 80s jaguars that the dash or anything on the doors work.
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03-22-24, 04:07 AM
#38
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It was the wire alloy. It was brittle, heat or bending made it crack inside the insulation. A mechanic could chase and fix intermittent faults till the car was paid for 10 times over. The 80s sucked. Industry wide really. The worst era for cars in history. Electrical and vacuum faults are the worst. It took years before the companies gave in and let the mechanics replace entire harness looms.
Last edited by macstuff; 03-22-24 at 04:27 AM.
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03-22-24, 04:14 AM
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03-22-24, 06:12 AM
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One of the several reasons older Jags suck has to do with the wire loom suppliers.
"Do you know why they drink warm beer in England?
It's kept in Lucas coolers."
When Ford bought them, they straightened it out.
I doubt there are any 80s jaguars that the dash or anything on the doors work.
"Do you know why they drink warm beer in England?
It's kept in Lucas coolers."
When Ford bought them, they straightened it out.
I doubt there are any 80s jaguars that the dash or anything on the doors work.
03-22-24, 09:31 AM
#41
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It was the wire alloy. It was brittle, heat or bending made it crack inside the insulation. A mechanic could chase and fix intermittent faults till the car was paid for 10 times over. The 80s sucked. Industry wide really. The worst era for cars in history. Electrical and vacuum faults are the worst. It took years before the companies gave in and let the mechanics replace entire harness looms.
-Kurt
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03-22-24, 09:46 AM
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I don't remember the specifics of that. I was only asked to fix door windows and gauges a few times as an independent. I did have friends in the euro shops that complained constantly about marques and models. I worked for Toyota and Chrysler in my corporate years (90s).
03-22-24, 01:36 PM
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Good to see Neil Young working to get back into shape.
Oh wait......
"Before rebushing the lower grunnion banjos....."
Oh wait......
Ha--- Doesn't matter what brand of British car, you got to love to hate all of them to own. Then repeat. From Range 'dog' Rover's, vintage Rolls Royce, modern Mini Pooper's... and yes, still two Jagwhaz' in the family. '74 w/ V12 and millennium XK8 convert. Still sane after all DIY ownership.
03-22-24, 06:39 PM
#44
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Loved my '89 4runner, had about 280k when I (regrettably) sold it!
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There were 135 Confentes, but only one...Huffente!
03-22-24, 06:55 PM
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yuck.
Your 89' was a fuel injected, micro balanced 22RE or 3.0 V6. Both, real good motors.
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03-22-24, 09:06 PM
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Well this is a bike forum so I won't go too deeply into automotives, but CARB restrictions that Started in 1973 Forced automakers to get better. It was a very long curve that made for some terrible vehicles. 1974 and 1989 were the bookends. In 1989 fuel injection became accepted and implemented industry wide. This was the beginning of decent vehicles and those CARB restrictions forced technology and innovation that has enabled 800hp small displacement street cars today, whereas the standards in 1976 /77 were 165 hp large displacement engines using feedback carburators and "balanced" vacuum systems.
yuck.
Your 89' was a fuel injected, micro balanced 22RE or 3.0 V6. Both, real good motors.
yuck.
Your 89' was a fuel injected, micro balanced 22RE or 3.0 V6. Both, real good motors.
22RE, which was available from 1985 till 1995, at least in the 4runners. Loved that vehicle. Manual everything - windows, vent windows, trans, manual hubs, was even running it w/out a power steering belt for a while, so manual steering as well! Technically was a 1990 model year (2nd gen) but made in May of '89. Going to snap up another when I find it. Slow as molassas, but what a tactile driving experience.
For me, golden age was the 90s, as it saw great reliability, 5 speed manual trans was still a common option, and not every single vehicle was shaped like an egg. 97% of all cars today ugly ugly ugly haha
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There were 135 Confentes, but only one...Huffente!
There were 135 Confentes, but only one...Huffente!
