I made another trip to Dax today to collect the heater and wiper system whilst there I noticed a pile of wheels stacked in the corner. As they are now only making Jaguar XJ 40 based chassis these are the last they are supplying for an XJS build. So I snapped them up for a bargain price. Thanks Simon and Craig.

They currently have 'approved' centres but will eventually will be enhanced by 'original looking' spinners (not liked by the SVA people).

So, back to the build and the headlights are now fixed and I'll start working my back along the wiring loom pinning it in place and adding the electrical components as I go. I'll get stuck when I get to the wiper system as I need the windscreen in place locate that which I don't have at the moment, another week or so I'm told. Ah well it's only time, lets hope the weather doesn't get too good too soon this year.

Electrics

Finally started getting the electrics installed. The loom comes in three parts which fit in teh boot, cockpit and engine bay. They have to be passed through the bulkheads and connected together in such a way that each electrical item is near its corresponding connector.

The boot is pretty easy with all the wires eventually being covered by the carpet but a hole in the top left was a bit tricky making sure it went in the right place in the boot and came out inside the cockpit in the right place.

The worst part will be the engine bay as it means cutting quite a large hole through stainless steel firewall.

Not been doing much on the car the last few days had to collect young son from University and decided to quieten my games PC.

This included stripping the video cards and removing the CPU heat sink and fan.

Seems to be working well at the moment, all you can hear now is the PSU fan ;-)

Hope to get back to the car and its electrics any day now, as long as the snow stays away.

I am also having to make some space for a new shed to store all the Dax bits that arrive and all the addituinal tools I've been buying.

This will be by the side of the house in easy reach of the garages, locked and alarmed.

Labelled up the wiring loom today !!

Wiring loom! It doesn't look quite so scary in the picture but trust me there's a huge number of connectors on it, none of which are labelled, all of which have to be identified - nice little job for someone else I think.

Engine Valve cover now with very nice shiny T bolts, courtesy of that very nice Slogger (many thanks Ian).

The 20mm drill bit that broke whilst making the holes for the fuel pipe and battery cables has been replaced by those nice people at B&Q.

Two replacement M3 mandrels have arrived for my Rivnut gun so I can use it again.

Fuel pipe and shopping

Large fuel pipe installed, reduced to the correct size for the fuel pump and a fuel filter inserted. Need to create some sort of metal guard to protect the lower parts - just in case.

Had to drill some holes in the chassis to get the fuel pipe and battery lead through safely. Doesn't look too round does it? You should see the drill !! Some additional clips along the inside of the chassis to hold the pipe in place and it will be done.

I went shopping today. Dax parts modules 3 (electrical) and 4 (brightwork) plus I ordered the trim kit - seats etc.

Engine and Fuel Tank

The engine is nearly ready to be stored until it's needed, just waiting for some replacement valve cover bolts. Apart from that it will be all wrapped up and stored away until I've finished the body. What a difference a bit of cleaning can do eh?


Also managed to get the fuel tank in so as soon as the large P-Clips arrive I can lay in the fuel pipe. Unfortunately a slight miscalculation on the position of the fuel sender means the inspection hole is not quite in the right place, it's close enough though, just need to knock up a cover for it.

Next comes some wiring I think and then the instruments and dashboard.

Just too much!

OK I sent the other valve covers back, just a bit too much, even with the bonnet down most of the time ;-)

Now onto the fuel tonk (that well known Goons spelling mistake). It's nearly ready to fit except I don't have anything to cut a big enough hole for the sender unit inspection plate, Screfix to the rescue again.

Then it's back to the fuel pipe and putting the replacement parts back on the engine which can then have a well deserved rest while I get everything ready for it - again!

It's really quite scary cutting big holes in the body, here's hoping they're in the right place, measure twice and cutting once but still, mistakes can be made.

I have been cleaning up the engine a bit this last week so not much to show. Tidied up Nicolas garage too so we can get the S-Max back in along with the engine whilst I get the rest of the cobra cleaned and sorted. Still need to fix the drive though ;-)

Also ordered the bits to replace the parts damaged in the 'drop'. How about these for valve covers?

We're also running out of space so a new shed may be in order soon.