|
Date: Thu, 02 Oct 1997 Exhausts - manifold coatings The IX now has new tubes under her - at long last she sounds like a Jaguar and not some breathless old wreck (the old pipes had more holes than Emmental)! We just could not afford the s/s system (over NZ$2,000) much to our displeasure (ain;t that the way!) We went with the "standard" MkII parts which are available here, through our local "Pitstop" franchise. There was much chopping and cutting to suit the route the system to the right places but it all fits well. The mufflers are round and already strapped together. Our last pair were oval and had some bastard angle iron brackets tying them up to the chassis. While we were discussing the pros and cons of s/s vs m/s with our man, he looked at the manifold and saw the vitreous enameling was breaking up and looking tatty. he suggested "High Performance Coatings" should give it the once over. They cannot recreate the original vitreous coating but do guarantee the finish won't rust (that is until the Royal Family collapses). We hummed and hahed but went along with it having seen their work much praised in the local "classic car" magazine. For an extra NZ$300 they whipped off the manifold, blasted it back to clean metal (the blasting does take off the casting marks but does leave the 'Jaguar' name). It then has two oven-baked on coats of 'something'. It comes out in even, smooth black colour with a satin finish. Definitely NOT jaguar vitreous shiny but, a 300% improvement on the rusty, flaking nuisance which was there before. We are told almost everything can be coated in a similar way - so if you need heater boxes, generator bodies, blocks, power steering reservoirs etc etc with a long lasting, satin finish - in the colour of your choice (we have seen, we kid you not, a MkV 3.5 litre with a RED !!! engine block). So, we can now burble along the highway with Grace, Space and Pace but still get that tremendous Jaguar rorty sound when we press our dainty toes on that pedal... Do people actually drive a MkIX at 100mph these days? - the thought gives me collywobbles, those thin cross-plys catching in a rut... PS does anyone have a .WAV file of a Jaguar exhaust? - maybe I should record one for you all? - when you start up WIN95 you too could feel like you are driving a thing of beauty. (hah!) Oh well, back into the boilersuit and oily hands, the MkII handbrake pads need renewing. PSS - that 'S' 3.8MOD I fell in love with, the one with the Webasto is *still* for sale... it just winks at me when I drive past in my Toyobishi as if to say "buy me, buy me"
|
|
Improve your Jag-lovers experience with the Mozilla FireFox Browser!
View the latest posts from our Forums via an RSS Feed! ©Jag-loversTM Ltd / JagWEBTM 1993 - 2024 All rights reserved. Jag-lovers is supported by JagWEBTM For Terms of Use and General Rules see our Disclaimer Use of the Jag-lovers logo or trademark name on sites other than Jag-lovers itself in a manner implying endorsement of commercial activities whatsoever is prohibited. Sections of this Web Site may publish members and visitors comments, opinion and photographs/images - Jag-lovers Ltd does not assume or have any responsibility or any liability for members comments or opinions, nor does it claim ownership or copyright of any material that belongs to the original poster including images. The word 'Jaguar' and the leaping cat device, whether used separately or in combination, are registered trademarks and are the property of Jaguar Cars, England. Some images may also be © Jaguar Cars. Mirroring or downloading of this site or the publication of material or any extracts therefrom in original or altered form from these pages onto other sites (including reproduction by any other Jaguar enthusiast sites) without express permission violates Jag-lovers Ltd copyright and is prohibited |