First improvements to the Daimler

With the arrival of the new Daimler, I have focused on smaller jobs to generally improve the car before I tackle anything big.   Ultimately my goal is to get it to a point where I would feel confident getting in and driving to Melbourne and back.  That is generally how I like to keep all my cars.

1 – Drive the Car

First step was to get it registered so I can drive it.  I’ve now put about 100 miles on the Daimler.  It hadn’t been registered for around 20 years (although it was used on a trade plate for a few years after that) and It’s only done less than 6,000 miles since the year 2000.   A bit of use already has it driving better and better.

This is also helping me identify future improvements.  It runs well when warmed up, but not so well when cold.  The suspension work so far was the minimum required to get the car registered.  It will need some more to bring back the great ride these cars are known for.

2 – Clean and feed the leather

Preserving the special Vanden Plas interior is critical, and so one of my first steps was to clean and feed the leather.  The leather is not perfect but its really very good for its age.   I’ll want to do this a few more times.  I used the Auto-Glym leather conditioner.

3 – Clean the carpets

The carpets were pretty dirty.  I removed the ones I could easily and used my little carpet cleaner.   The ones in the car I did as I could.   It made a pretty big difference and the water out of the carpet cleaning machine was pretty dirty by the time I had finished.  I also noticed that the underlay material was missing on the passengers front, which led me to my next job.

4 – Replace the underlay on the passengers front

I had some carpet underlay on hand I bought for a previous project.  It was thinner than the material used on the rest of the car, but two sheets together was about the same thickness.  I used the front carpet as a template and cut two sheets to size and installed them.   These cars had pretty extensive sound deadening compared to a regular XJ.

5 – Installed a battery monitor and charge port

I use the BM2 Bluetooth Battery monitor in all my cars.  While the Daimler is fitted with a voltage gauge, I am not sure how accurate it is.  The bluetooth monitor allows me to quickly see the voltage of the battery even when the car is not running.  The gauge is particularly useful on the Mercedes and Citroens that don’t give you a voltage gauge, but I was able to verify that the alternator was working well, and the gauge in the car reads a little low.     In addition, I installed a port for my ctek bettery chargers so I don’t have to worry about alligator clips.

6 – Installed a second hand lower grille

The lower grille on my car was totally missing.  Its not immediately obvious on the series 1, but having a gaping hole under the front bumper is not ideal.   I was first given a grille which turned out to be for a series 3.  I then found one on uk ebay that was for a series 1 and fitted it.  A small improvement that makes quite a difference once fitted.

7 – Fixed rattling hubcap

On my first couple of drives, I noticed quite a rattle from the front drivers wheel.  At first I wasn’t sure what was causing.   I couldn’t see anything hitting the wheel when the car was jacked up.  I couldn’t see the trim ring touching anything either.   Turns out the Daimler badge on the hubcap was loose.  I’ve removed the hubcap and added some glue, and will refit and test.

8 – Owners manual and keyring

I purchased an owners manual and keyring.  I couldn’t find a Vanden Plas owners manual, but owners manuals for the regular Series 1 Double-Six are easy to find on uk Ebay.  At the all British day, I also purchased a Daimler keyring, which has sadly already broken.