I like those XJs too.
My neighbor had a 56 XK140MC, all original black with red interior,
missing only the driver's inner door panel (which he had taken out to
fix something, leaned it against a garbage can in the garage, and the
garbage men took it along with the trash in the barrel). He parked it
in his garage in 1963 and about 1993 or so pumped up the tires and had
it brought to the house next door where he was living with the woman
(our neighbor). He was too old to deal with it, offered it to me for
$10k which at the time was a good deal, he really wanted me to have it
but needed some cash too. Alas other things got in the way but I
lusted after that car, he sold it for $12k. He had fitted luggage he
had made for it too, it all fit in the boot very nicely. A bit of
cleaning up and some rubber bits and it would have been ready to go. We
washed it one day and the paint actually looked quite good for having
sat for 30yr, a bit of wax would have done wonders for it but I didn't
want to fool with it more.
He said it would do over 100mph quite easily, probably 120 or so and
maybe a bit more. I loved that rounded styling of the coupe.
--R
On 1/11/12 10:04 PM, Dan Penoff wrote:
The guy I worked for at the time was a Jag nut, and had 7-8 Jags at any given
time.
A typical count would be:
195x XK140 (all original, needed restoration)
2 - late 50s/early 60s Mark IVs
1967 XKE 4.2 litre
2 - mid 70s XJ6s
1978 XJ12
The nice thing about this was that I got to drive any of them I wanted home in
the evenings or on the weekends, if they were at the shop. I was in my late
teens at the time - can you imagine being 18-19 years old and driving an XKE or
an XJ12?
The XKE was a bit of a beater, so I usually drove the XJ12 when I could. Only
bad thing about that car was the lousy fuel mileage. I seem to recall it
having some really archaic transmission in it, like a Ford FMX, that shifted
out of first gear at about 7 mph.
The XJ12 was a real beauty, and I probably spent most of my time keeping it up.
Since it was normally aspirated, keeping the carbs balanced and the engine
tuned was a full time job. It was shoehorned in the engine compartment so
tightly you could barely stick your hand in between the engine and side of the
compartment.
I remember putting a water pump on it once - I recall that we had to
disassemble the front clip to get to it.
The one thing that was really amazing about that car was the ability to go down
the road at 80 or 100 mph, and you would swear you were doing 30 mph, it rode
so nicely.
Dan
On Jan 11, 2012, at 9:05 PM, M G wrote:
I don't think you would like a V-12, that is unless you can strip off all the
anti pollution junk on it. It is a nightmare to work on.
As far as 8 hours for a valve adjustment, could be book time but I remember
doing a complete valve job on my 63 3.8l e-type. Started right after work at 5
and got done about 2 AM. Drove it home slept and was back at work at 7 the next
morning. Course trip time was only about 10 min. Was only about 23 at the time
so had a lot more energy and didn't run down as fast as now. AH! Those were the
days.
Manfred
Date: Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:48:11 -0500
From: Rich Thomas<richthomas79td...@constructivity.net>
To: Mercedes Discussion List<mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Subject: Re: [MBZ] Mercedes-Benz SL Returns to Its Lightweight Roots
I liked those 70s Ford Granadas, just like a Mercedes!
I would take a nice E-Type, maybe a V12....
--R
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