Best leave it to the experts
T he brake master cylinder and fluid reservoir assembly on the Gentry are mounted at a slight angle, which means that the unit is slanted forward. Over the years, the rubber seal in the screw cap on top of the reservoir had become hard and has resulted in a less than perfect seal. This meant that I’ve had to keep a watchful eye on the brake fluid level, as the fluid was able to leak out after any heavy braking or harsh acceleration.
The remedy was obvious of course and quite a simple fix – just fit a new rubber seal into the lid of the master cylinder. However, this simple job turned out to be one of the most difficult problems I’ve ever had to solve. No matter how many companies I contacted, none were able to supply the correct seal unless I bought a complete master cylinder package.
That was until I recently visited Nigel Wigg at Past Parts of Bury Saint Edmunds, Suffolk (www.pastparts.co.uk). When I told Nigel about this annoying problem he simply looked at me said: “Oh, how many seals do you need?” When I told him just the one, he disappeared into his stores for a moment and when he reappeared said: “Is that the one you are looking for?” As soon as I got home I whipped the Gentry bonnet off, unscrewed the cap and had the seal changed and the reservoir topped up in a jiffy. Companies like Past Parts are simply lifeblood to our hobby and well worth remembering.
Staying on the subject of brake parts, the refurbished calipers for our 1965 Daimler V8 recently arrived back from EBC (www.ebcbrakes.com) and they’ve worked miracles with them. After a total strip down, each part was thoroughly cleaned, fitted with newly sleeved cylinders and fresh pistons and returned with a set of Redstuff pads ready to fit. The Daimler had stood unused for so long and the calipers were in a shocking state, I cannot thank Andrew Bartosiak enough for a brilliant job.
The repairs to our accident damaged 1988 XJ40 Sovereign are progressing steadily under the watchful eye of Vernon Frances at Stripping Services Ltd (www.strippingservices.co. uk). After the accident, which was covered in last month’s diary, there was no gap between the top of the rear wing and the boot lid. This was because the top edge of the rear wing panel was actually touching the boot lid and there was a crease along the top of the wing. Rob has now dealt with that using a hydraulic ‘strong arm’ jig with a ram to pull it back into shape. After bolted part of the kit to the Jaguar’s rear quarter, Rob was then able to steadily pull the wing until it returned to its correct position. Any damage was then filled and prepared in readiness for priming.
Prior to my ownership, the Sovereign had been in storage for some years, during which time the bonnet and the roof suffered some minor dents where things had been piled on top of the car. Since some paintwork was required following the accident repairs, it seemed sensible to bite the bullet and get the XJ40’s roof and bonnet repaired at the same time. The dents in the roof have now been filled and primed and Ben is in the process of filling and making good the dings in the bonnet after taking the panel back to bare metal.
Due to ingress of water into the Jaguar’s boot over time, some surface rust has been found on the offside rear chassis member. Whilst the boot is stripped out, the opportunity is being taken to remove the rust and treat the area with anticorrosion protection. Hopefully, when finished, the old girl should be good for another thirty years.
Since some paintwork was required following the accident repairs, it seemed sensible to get the XJ40’s roof and bonnet repaired at the same time