Preparing the E-Type for the 60th Anniversary celebration

I was obviously very keen to attend the JDCA 60th Anniversary of the E-Type celebration. My only problem was a few minor electrical issues with my car. My rear tail lights were not working (but the brake lights did work), and my right headlight intermittently didn’t work on low beam. For a day trip this wasn’t fatal, but I could have easily found myself driving at night on the way home.

I started to investigate the problem myself. I noticed that the number plate lights were also not working, and that they shared a fuse with the tail lights. That […]

560SEC outside temperature display

Last week I fixed the outside temperature LCD on my 300SE. Today it was time to fix the 560SEC outside temperature display as well. In my previous post I covered the details of where I purchased the replacement LCD panels. This same repair should also work on W124 and W201 models of the same vintage. I understand there are minor variances, and that the LCD changed slightly in later years. Both types are available.

I found a few things to speed up the process while doing the second car. Firstly, the instrument cluster does not need to be unplugged. It […]

60th Anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type

In March 1961, the Jaguar E-Type was unveiled to the world at the Geneva Auto Show. Few other automotive launches have captivated the public as much as the E-Type did. Enzo Ferrari even dubbed it the most beautiful car ever made. The E-Type would stay in production until 1975 across three different series and three major body styles. Sixty years later, the E-Type still turns heads and is a much in demand classic car.

The Jaguar Drivers club ran an event today to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type. The goal was to get at least 60 E-Types […]

W126 Outside temperature LCD screen repair

For the first time since I have owned the car, my 300SE has a working outside temperature display. Not only is it a useful feature of the car, but these small fixes can make the difference between the car seeming nice or a bit of a jalopy.

The W126 Outside temperature LCD repair is really easy. It should be on the radar of any W126 (or W124) owner who has a failing outside temperature display. It only took 30 minutes and is very easy. Even better, the LCD illumination works when the headlights are on, when I thought it was […]

Impact with a Kangaroo

Earlier this week I took my 250SE on an extended drive. I had wanted to try a route going north via the Putty road, across towards Mudgee and the back. The roads were really good but ultimately this is really a two day drive and would be more enjoyable with some more stops. You could make a really nice weekend road trip out of this route.

Along the way I also witnessed a procession of pre-war Rolls-Royce cars on the Putty road. It is great to see these cars being driven and used on the road. It is really nice […]

Cocomats for the 250SE Cabriolet

I’ve owned my 250SE almost ten years and always had a mind to replace the cheap rubber mats with Cocomats. Today I fitted the Cocomats I bought as part of a group buy with a few friends. I also purchased a set for my 560SEC and went into a bit more about the purchase there.

For the 250SE, I went with #53 Black/Grey. This was an easy choice for the 250SE as it works well with the black interior and silver exterior. Like the 560SEC, I went with the four piece set. I have a centre cushion on my […]

Cocomats for the 560SEC

A couple of months ago some of friends of suggested a group order for Cocomats. This coincided with a 15% off sale and shared shipping. Cocomats are a floor mat made from coconut fibre and were a period accessory during the 1950s and 60s. They were quite popular with Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and other manufacturers. I have wanted to replace the generic rubber mats in the 250SE for a long time. As well as the 250SE mats, I also purchased a set for the 560SEC.

I thought long and hard about which car would be best for the second set. In […]

Bad W126 window regulator

Another long standing to-do list item on my 300SE was the passengers side window. Over time, the window would slip down so there was half a centimeter gap at the top. It would also make a clunking sound at the top of the window travel.

I had purchased a good used W126 window regulator a couple of years back. Yesterday I decided to try and fit the regulator. To get to the W126 window regulator, the door card must be removed. To do so, there a few screws holding it in place. Two holding the little chrome embellisher near the […]

300SE cowl drains

Last year, while I was fitting the monovalve elimination kit to my 560SEC, I cleaned the drains under the cowl covers. I also fitted a new upper seal and new shaft seals for the windscreen wipers. The condition of those seals was even worse on the 300SE, so today I finally got around to doing the same job on that car.

I was especially keen to do this on my 300SE as water would get into the passengers foot well in the rain. This would only happen when the car was parked nose up on an incline. My theory was […]