Found an XK150; Now what?

Hello to all, I found a 1959 XK150 OTS that is close to perfect on the outside. Not concours quality, but good enough to park near a show car. I have three questions. (Bear with me, I'm still new.) First, I'm concerned about the engine. There's a lot of vibration in the car. Is this normal? It spit out a lot of black (unburned fuel) when I revved it to 3000 rpm, but exhaust seems ok otherwise. Also, is there a quick way to tell if the brake pads are the square or round type without tearing them down? And at least two of the part numbers match the numbers on the plate in the engine compartment. (This is what we mean by "matching numbers", yes?) Numers are: model S830333DN; engine V3729-8 (matches); chassis F15337 (matches); gearbox JL940154JS. Where do I look to verify the model number? the gearbox number? (Does that make four questions? five?) The owner wants $38K US for this car, but it appears to need nothing - if the engine is good. Had a standard restoration of the time about 15 years ago and has been well maintained since then. No rust that I could see. His mechanic is going to put it up on a lift for me today. I'm most concerned about the vibration. What do you think? - Regards, Ben Harris

I'll tackle a couple of the easy ones. Round vs. Square pads: Remove the road wheel. Look at the calipers where they wrap around the rotor, towards the rear. If the pads are round the caliper will be a solid block of iron. If the pads are square there will be two rectangular holes in the caliper through which the pads are visible (and removable). The Jaguar engine is VERY smooth running, when operating on all cylinders. If several plugs were not firing you would get vibration and unburned fuel in the exhaust. Let's hope that's what it is. - Mike Eck

If you have any questions or comments send e-mail to: ted@jag-lovers.org
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