OLD SCHOOL TECHNIQUES AT JAGUAR

Peter Simpson’s description of Morris Minor door fitting in the March issue took me back to the late 1990s when a friend invited me to accompany him on a day out by coach, organised by the Sussex branches of a Jaguar club, to visit the factories at Browns Lane, Coventry and Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. At the latter, we were given a tour of the automated assembly line for the S-type, with components reaching the line just as they were needed and the bodyshells being assembled and welded together by robots.

Just after the four doors had been lifted into place, there came the one point when things went ‘old school.’ There was a gentleman in a lab coat who had a bench on which were various hand tools and a selection of pieces of wood. He tried closing each door in turn and, if he was not satisfied with the fit, he selected some pieces of wood which he wedged in the hinges before closing the door with his bum. He then removed the wedges and checked the fit again, if necessary repeating the process until he was satisfied.

I also read your road test of the Marina, which I think is very fair. My only experience of driving one was when our Rover 95 (then Aunt Helen’s) needed a new clutch while Helen, Gran and I were on holiday in the Lake District and the local garage lent me a well-used Marina 1300 four-door for three days while they did the Rover clutch. It was perfectly satisfactory if a bit plain transport, but the two ladies were very pleased to get back in the Rover!

Finally, Alex Parrott’s comments in that feature are very much on the point, and how nice to read his very sensible approach to driving older vehicles.

Richard Bryant