"Progress"

And here's where we're at now.

The goal - Hallett!

Hallett is a nice 1.8 mile 10 turn road course in Oklahoma. It has 80 feet of elevation change and is considered Technically Difficult. It has wide, grassy run-off areas and zero concrete or Armco barriers. Hallett is unique in that it can be run in either clockwise or counter-clockwise directions ­ making it two completely different race courses.


Hallett also has a nearly monthly open track day for street cars. I'm trying to get the XJ-S ready for a late spring or early fall run, dragging along a few friends with a '71 Datsun 240Z and a modified 1959 Jaguar Mark II.


My plan is to continue breaking down the XJ-S. Anything that doesn't help accelerate, brake, turn, or make the car road legal is dead weight and comes off.  Additional brake cooling, very good brake fluid, track capable pads, good suspension bushings, shocks from this decade, new tires, racing helmet, steering lock removal, the list goes on and on.

Busy Busy.

   But mostly on other projects. A deck, a shooting range, replacing a cell phone, and so on. Also now working 6 days a week.
   The XJ-S is currently mostly stripped. I need to find a few pictures of that. Next Project, building a rolling chassis rotisserie.
   Dad's XJS is likely to join mine in the garage soon. It appears to be consuming excessive amounts of coolant.

Bead Roller!

Bead roller come in Friday. UPS did their very best to destroy it.

 They did manage to destroy one grease zerk. I guess all of the packages they rammed it against acted as cushioning.

 The one problem with this inexpensive bead roller is flex. Some tube steel and welding fix that, but does incur a weight penalty.










Very rigid now, and much more red.

24ga sheet metal (.0239") will not hold more than a couple pounds over a 10" span without deforming.











Tests of small and large bead rolling, 2"/2"large steps, 1"/2" large steps, and 1.25"/1.25" large steps. The last two will hold 235lbs, the latter even with moderate bouncing. Using correct floor pans material at about 19gauge (.0418) should increase that significantly.

Back in the garage.

 Back in the garage, but not rolling completely freely.

















A maze of wires, and a lot of rust near the floor pans.

 Air pump missing courtesy of previous owner. Mechanical fan, radiator, upper radiator support, AC compressor and condenser removed.

I think the headlight buckets may become cold air intakes. The front cross member appears rust free, primarily due to oil leaks. I'd also like to find a way to vent the engine compartment, maybe louvers in the fenders, or at the low pressure area just behind the radiator.

 Layers, and layers of carpet, padding, insulation, and sound deadener being removed. I know why they are so quiet and heavy. Still debating on whether to keep or pull the window frame and glass. Or maybe cut the welds to make it a bolt in and out assembly, sounds interesting.

New goal... street legal track car.

Seems like the best use of an old 11mpg jaguar is annoying the hell out of other cars on a track.
http://www.kutuka-north.co.uk/
I like it.

Antelope!

I think I've found the future paint color... Antelope metallic. Dark enough for the chrome to pop, and light enough for high contrast with the rubber. Shouldn't super heat in the sun like the current blue. Has a lot of character in the sun.