Finding a Jaguar Mechanic

"The local dealer appears to be the only game in town where I live..." Which is??

Dave wrote in article ...

FWIW - I did dozens of E-Jag clutches in the '70s by cutting the floor transmission hump, R&R the transmission through the passenger compartment, then re-welding the floor.

I learned THAT trick from a friend who was a Jag dealer technician at Auto Engineering in Lexington, Mass.

Even with the re-welding, it is quicker and much easier to cut the floor. - just wait until you try to re-align the torsion bar mounts when re-installing the engine without the proper JAG fixtures........

Yes....Our customers were made fully aware of the route we were taking.......along with the hours of labor rate they would be saving by going this route.

If it were MY car, and I planned to keep it long enough to eventually need another clutch, I would cut the floor hump, line the edge of the hole with formed aluminum (ALUMINIUM) angle iron, and re-install the floor hump with some sort of weather seal and removable fasteners - making the NEXT clutch job even faster!!! Even large pop-rivets can be drilled out fairly easily. You might even want to check under the floor mat to see if someone hasn't already cut the floor in a previous clutch job.

P.S. I also did some Pontiac-OHC/6-to-XKE conversions during that time period when the term "Jaguar Parts System" was an oxy-moron.

I pulled many Jag engines, and replaced, without resorting to any specialist jag kit

old man wrote in article ...

You DO understand that the rear motor mount on an E-Jag is tied into the rear torsion bar anchor?.....

....and removing the motor mount DOES unload the torsion bar?

...The suburbs of Asheville, NC

No chance of that. Believe it or not, I'm the original owner - even picked it up at the factory in Coventry. At my age I am unlikely to wear out another clutch (assuming I keep the car).

Thanks for the tip - I would never have thought of that.

David Johnson