Jaguar XK150 Restoration EP11

[@adamoscarson69]

Please make more of these full build series. Iam not a Jaguar guy, always been an American muscle enthusiast, but you are converting me with your content. These cars are beautiful and have so much personality. Keep up the great work!

[@noahproblemo1257]

I know it’s a car and an engine but really it’s art and these restorations require a true artist. Well done.

[@robertmarx4857]

My sentiments exactly. What a gorgeous bit of engineering. Too bad no one makes new cars like this. I want one bad!

[@julianmitchell5426]

Marvellous efforts old chap! Don't forget to reward yourself during your efforts with liberal quantities of tea and biscuits.

[@RogerÑobel]

Thank you for the great vids! I own 4 older Jags in my car collection and I love to tinker on all 4 of them... A '65 4.2, two 3.8's both 1963's, and a 1958 3.4. These old cars are the "Holy Grail" of the automobile world, of vintage collectables. If anyone reading this does not own one, now is the time to get one. Great videos on some great cars!

[@bobmillerick300]

Your loyal followers have been waiting patiently. Thanks again for the share

[@bobstride6838]

Nothing, and I mean nothing looks as good as an XK engine properly finished. Great video as usual.

[@RJ-nh9hw]

I am drooling over this engine assembly!

[@jianoconnor8414]

If I come to Canada; I'm bringing you guys some coffee and donuts !!!. Maybe English Breakfast tea . Hahaha

[@gazzafloss]

You're right Richard, that "home baked" method of getting surfaces flat works a treat. I've just done a Suzuki four cylinder engine that had been seriously overheated, (warped head and block), resurfaced both head and block on 180 grit "no fill paper" glued to a piece of "off-cut' kitchen bench top granite, both surfaces ended up perfectly flat, used a MLMS head gasket, all seals up perfectly. Nice work on the engine Richard, I also love the beautiful top end look of the XK engine, it is an eternal classic...

[@mpetersen6]

There's flat and then there's flat. I highly doubt that granite processed for countertops is truely flat. For truely flat you are looking to at a bare minimum B grade surface plate flatness. Besides if your head is warped and the head is machined for the cam bearings and you surface the head face congratulations. You have now ensured your cam support bearings are not in alignment. When the cam or cams are installed they will now have their centerline actually curved. When rotating it will actually bend continuously this will have an effect of accelerating cam bearing wear. Whether the cam alignment to the surface is in the designed tolerance is another matter. As designed the cam bores will have a tolerance not only in relation to the head surface but also to each other. To see the effect of a warped head on the cam bearing relationship take a short piece of hose and lay it on a tire. Now roll the hose at a 90° angle to the centerline of the tire. That is what the camshaft is doing each revolution.

[@gazzafloss]

@@mpetersen6 I agree with all your "by the book" statements, I was a fitter and machinist/ heavy diesel mechanic of 55 years experience, so I know all your talking about. But I have to say, in these days of late retirement I have much more time than money to spend on expensive machine shop operations. So I tried what I had seen my old Dad do many years back on motorcycle heads, and what I'd seen others do on KZbin. So mate, theorise all you like, it does work, has worked, is working on the 2.4 litre Suzuki engine that came out of a 2010 car I bought for peanuts because it was going for scrap, I now have a great little 4x4 to run about in that goes great. I think that aiming for "perfection" is great, and many times necessary, but there's also that thing that says, "you'll never know if you don't have a go".

[@mpetersen6]

@@gazzafloss Spent my working life rebuilding machinery (large stamping presses, lathes, milling machines, grinders, gear jobbers etc), doing almost all my own machining and grinding plus tool work. I get that this can be done. I just cringe when I see somebody whose head is warped say .030"/.75mm winging it without thinking through all the implications of just what they are doing.

[@gazzafloss]

@@mpetersen6 the head in question was warped less than .007" but it was just enough to possibly create a HG weak spot between cylinders 2&3, same with the block. Point being, the old "Home spun" method worked, as it did for RMO and his Jag cam cover, my Suzuki engine has now been in service for 6 months all good, just saying...

[@toolmike100]

@@mpetersen6 I've wondered if a warped head could be clamped to a flat surface and re-heated and allowed to cool slowly to bring it back to it's original dimensions? We used to send out parts for heat treating and specify .002 flatness even though we had grinding stock on them.

[@l9jjp]

Lovely to watch a real craftsman at work awesome

[@robertmarks7439]

I really like your attention to detail! Fantastic job!

[@ThomasMulhall]

Oh boy did I get yelled at by a shop foreman when I went to install a set of valve covers with the gasket seal (Hylomar) on the cylinder head side. He told me to always seal only the valve cover side so that when the covers are removed, the gasket goes, and you don't have to scrape off old gasket and get debris in the cam box. That was in 1979. I have never applied sealant to the head surface since that dressing down. (Pun intended). Your Duck Egg Green formula is correct also for Silver Birch., Olive, and a host of British car colours. "Mix it till ya like it" seemed to be the rule of the day. It took ages for me to get the "correct" Olive formula for a DBS. PPG USA had some water based formula with pearl in it, which was totally wrong. Had to fly to England and get samples. see different cars, and visited their PPG library (upon appointment only), and saw the consecrated swatch with formula. Then my painter mixed it up and showed me 3 different plates. I picked the middle one right away, he turned it over, and it was exactly the consecrated formula! Funny how "Correct" and what looks good are sometimes the same, but not always. A chap I know painted his DB5 in a Mercedes silver, which looked in person what the Goldfinger car looked like on screen. In person, the original GF DB5 looks quite green, which is in the Silver Birch formula. There's a perfect example of what people expect to see vs. what is reality. Cheers, Tom

[@jononeil500]

You´re a great instructor. Thank you.

[@johncollier608]

Looking really good, Richard. Thanks for sharing.

[@alexbrown1995]

Delightful to watch. Sure is perty!!!

[@shanehnorman]

One of the greatest automotive engines of all time and looking, as the Brits say, the dog's bollocks.

[@estpst]

Dad gets a great Fathers Day present!

[@michaelkelly8955]

It’s gunna be a gem when it’s finished

[@stevehale4712]

What’s happening with the XK150? Is the project on hold.

[@brianparkinson1594]

Your attention to detail and originality is to be admired!

[@sodbury6426]

I know I am being picky but given this is an expert restoration channel the two collars fitted to the top of the valves to restrain the spring retainers are called collets, not cotter (pins).

[@HGSuper]

Yeah that's being picky mate. He doesn't shout, rush and seems to take great care. Cut the guy some slack.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

I have to be at least 20 years older before this whole thing reaches expert level

[@bigredc222]

That has to be one of the best looking engines as it came from the factory. Good work. Thank you.

[@stephenholland5930]

Yes, "it's looking bloody brilliant" Richard. Great work.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Thanks Stephen, great to have you along

[@wi1677]

You appreciate Chopin as much as I do. Keep it up!

[@adamskikijowski9139]

I would have thought the machine shop should have fitted the hold downs to get the drilling angle right and avoid that swarf creeping in. Must say not familiar with them though. Maybe next time. Back in the day I used to turn the shims the other way round to quieten down old Mk.2's and S Types!! I actually used my Jag friendly machine shop VSE to do the whole package including shimming. Just plug and play fit head. Last week after careful running in it was happy at 3500 RPM on motorway with lovely oil pressure. Be great to hear yours run. Nice work.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Adam your right, I gave the machine shop that kit but it returned uninstalled. Which gives me an idea, next time drill them before I send it off.

[@adamskikijowski9139]

@@RichardMichaelOwen to be Frank,in the past I used Hermatite Green probably Wellseal today on all my core plugs and maybe a centre punch on the outside. Once system is pressure tested in situ with all hoses etc to 13 psi I was confident. But there again times have moved on.👍

[@andylaws4247]

Absolutely loving this series. Just noticed the machine shop numbering of the combustion chamber is not how Jaguar did it! 1 was always at the back and 6 at the front, as many will know!

[@anthonym3769]

I thought the same thing, but since I’m just an everyday garage mechanic with my XJ6 I didn’t dare comment. I just assumed that numbering was machinist language.

[@STANLIZ4]

This will be fit for the Louvre Paris when youve finished! As a fine example of 1950s art!. If only cars today were so appealing!!

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Thanks Stanley, certainly trying my best with this one.

[@patriottothecore6215]

You call the valve spring retainers “cotters”. They are actually called collets. Cotters are things like the pins which hold bicycle pedals onto the pivot. Great videos though thanks for sharing them with us.

[@geofo60]

That was 28.34 minutes well spent. Thanks for taking the time to explain what you’re doing & why. This has to be the most informative and enjoyable project I’ve ever seen on KZbin. Look forward to seeing the next episode. Regards from the U.K. 🇨🇦🇬🇧

[@markxl]

Loving the duck egg blue.

[@victorlust3663]

Simply the best restoration video series on KZbin. Looking forward to the rest of this restoration and part.2 of the XKE.

[@TonyLing]

It makes me proud to be British

[@dakavanagh]

Seeing the quality of your work makes me want to find a Jag to have you guys do up right!

[@gryfandjane]

What a treat to see this legend come back together! Looking forward to the first start.

[@ianalderton6683]

Great information and great to see the parts going together, big thanks : )

[@allanconnor1013]

Hey Richard. Ever think abut doing neurosurgery as a side hustle?

[@bazzab2000]

Thanks for making my Day, Beautiful. Barry, Brighton UK

[@richardwhatton1249]

Fabulous job, well done. Kind regards, Richard.

[@ricksheaffer8285]

No valve seals?

[@philtucker1224]

I’m also wondering the same thing….

[@daveunderwood1528]

As usual, fine artistry in the build and the video. Loved the "precision" of the engine color mix by eye. Look forward to the E-type when this treasure is completed. Thank you for producing another great video.

[@gavinconvery5104]

Absolutely love XK's and the attention to detail is a joy to watch. Loving this build.

[@philtucker1224]

Hi Richard & Dad, (I appreciate the original car didn’t have valve stem oil seals) but I noted that you didn’t discuss possibly fitting after market seals either. I’m guessing that you want a good level of lubrication in the guides…great episode 👍🇬🇧

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

It's a great discussion, I've never fitted neoprene stems seals to an XK engine. Not sure what would wear sooner the seal or the guide.

[@dcallan812]

The head looks like Tiffany colour, I guess it is jewellery, Glad I never had to fit glass my nerves would be shattered along with the window.

[@johnmaccarone9407]

Thanks for sharing. I've learned so much watching your content. Motivating for my projects.

[@davidwhitty9646]

Fantastic standard of work as always!! Love watching your videos. Your passion comes through as does the knowledge you and your dad have. That will be one amazing car! And I thought it looked good to start with. Keep it coming!!

[@nickaxe771]

Very interesting Richard....anybody told you.....you voice sounds likes Kevin Costner's.

[@matto9734]

Every step of that restauration is perfect beauty! Nice one.

[@TheDaf95xf]

Absolutely fantastic 👍🏻

[@phillipdean9879]

Lovely work!

[@craigyirush3492]

Great video. Learned a lot.

[@themessenger5868]

What an amazing documentation on video you're giving the owner...just tremendous work. Cheers.

[@philipberry6477]

Beautifully done.

[@ellargo132]

Spectacular FROM SPAIN 🇪🇸

[@lesgarbis1262]

True art.

[@smacdougall100]

Super job as usual Richard, thank-you very much! Very interesting and really well presented 👏👏.

[@quagmiredavis4117]

No gasket seal sealer? I use aviation form a gasket shellac on head gasket and bolts

[@rossilake218]

I have a trick, Install the clutch ,pressure plate and Tremec outside of the car. Engine on stand and prop the trans up with trans jack. Assure the fit and everything is good. Dis-assemble and put in car.

[@LesSharp]

Nice Jaaaaag.

[@rossilake218]

Richard, you should paint the whole engine that mint color. That way you can easily see leaks and cracks. Old racer frame paint trick.

[@JetFire9]

He seems to prioritize originality in the color choices.

[@johndavey72]

Hello Richard. You're going to have to convince me that Duck egg Green is correct when there are obvious traces of the original Mettalic blue on that head. And you had the air cap 90° out . The usual position is horizontal so the fan is vertical and vica versa . Can't wait to see that FHC behind ! Did you forget to film the screen being installed by any chance ? 😀😀 Thanks Richard.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

That blue wasn't correct. By air cap do you mean breather cap?

[@johndavey72]

@@RichardMichaelOwen Hi Richard. I meant the air cap on the spray gun .....Sorry ! And if you say that blue was incorrect then it was incorrect ! 😁

[@thesearcherman6652]

Excellent !

[@n1352-m1i]

if I may, it's a generic 3 angle grind, the part of the valve seat at the bottom is just aligned with the port (90 degree if you will) pretty nice head, not overly porous in the chambers area or corroded near water passages: should provide plenty of joy ... thank's for the tip on the hold down fixture, I may make myself one ! last: you may want to double check the actual spring tension valve per valve, and adjust them to specs by way of shims (also, as for valve clearance settings, it's not uncommon that they change a bit after the head is bolted down so I usually do them later).

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Yeah it would be cool to test valve spring pressure, need another tool I guess.

[@johnbuchanan6045]

When I was working on my Mk2 I would nickels into the spark plug hole with masking tape. That way I didn’t worry about hitting a plug and no debris getting into the cylinders.

[@themessenger5868]

That sounds really expensive...nickels you say...?

[@kensanity178]

I want the factory and the machinery that built these old cars fully restored and operatvie.

[@georgeballantyne7795]

Yaaay, another video!!

[@cratecruncher6687]

Nice work on the XK Richard! I'm curious about your tappets that were replaced with new. Are these available in standard sizes that just drop in without resizing the guides? Who has them? Great channel by the way!

[@bobstride6838]

SNG Barrett in the UK supply all these parts, I just replaced all these on my '74 XJ6 (which is basically the same engine as this one).

[@cratecruncher6687]

@@bobstride6838 Thanks. I found them! For some reason I had it fixed in my head these are only available .020 oversize. Maybe I was confusing them with the tappet guides.

[@michaelclark2840]

Beautiful work. Great attention to detail! Question. If you need to adjust valve clearances in service, do you need to dissamble the whole cam drive chain and sprockets? I used to own an old Yamaha 750 tripple. It had buckets and shims but the shims sat inside a recess on top of the bucket. It meant you could slip shims in and out "relatively easily" by depressing the out edge of the bucket. Away from the cam.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Hi Michael, thanks for watching. The XK engine valve clearance/lash is adjusted by removing the camshafts and followers. There is no other way.

[@michaelclark2840]

@@RichardMichaelOwen wow. Pretty big job then.

[@mikef.1000]

Question for you, Richard... I'm a big fan of Loctite too. But I do know that to release Loctite, you simply need to use a bit of heat. So is it wise to use it on a cylinder head? Especially on the exhaust side? So I guess we need to find out the 'release' temperature of the red Loctite... and then if the routine head temperature ever exceeds that point. Maybe then, just maybe, lock wire would be the go for those guide retainers?

[@ronferber5794]

port and polish that head ! a little free power ...

[@keithpattison6763]

Hello Richard, a shot showing the valve guides shows the material is of gold colour, are they made of Aluminium Bronze? Please note, spelling is Australian.

[@jagvette1]

Richard you have a wealth of knowledge (kiss kiss :) ) My 3.8 MKII Has a blue metallic head paint my E Type 3.8 has a gold metallic paint 4.2's have silver, do you know why Jaguar chose these color ?

[@adrianryan1975]

16 valve BDA heads have similar shims. Very important to get them right, especially when reving to 10,000 rpm

[@HGSuper]

God is 10k the rev range? I way underestimate old Jags.

[@adrianryan1975]

@@HGSuper can't speak for 6cylinder Jag motors, but 4pot escort motors could reliably race at these revs with a lot of work. Heck, we had cams that made power to 11,500rpm but the oil pumps would fly off the side of the block.

[@28YorkshireRose12]

Nice!

[@gypsyjayrides6664]

Aren’t there different color heads based on compression?

[@jamesmartinez201]

when do you put the engine?

[@scotttwombly6528]

You don’t need to lube the cam lobes ? Valve train looks very dry for initial start up.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Lots of assembly lube, the videos applying lube don't seem to make the cut.

[@captainover-tighten6729]

Great video. I really enjoy the engine videos. Question. Did you smear the studs with anti-sieze prior to dropping the refinished head the duckhead light green paint? Thanks for posting.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

These ones had a painted coating on them, but in general your right it's good to prevent corrosion whenever possible.

[@deviljelly3]

Wonderful

[@mpetersen6]

When drilling the tapped holes for the tappet guide retainers a better option IMO would be to just make a bushing plate instead of just the clamping plate.

[@graemelliott3942]

Sweet!

[@peterwooldridge7285]

Smashing

[@jettrink7510]

I attended this episode.

[@davidtise7221]

hahahahahahhahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

[@billproud6699]

As an apprentice at the main dealer in N/E England i the 60’s I remember we used a gasket sealant called ‘Hermatite’. I’m not sure if this sealant is still in production.

[@v12dot]

I served my time as a bus mechanic in the 70s in Glasgow . We used copious amounts of it back in the day . Also used it on all my friends old British bikes 😄 If I remember correctly, it was Orange and smelled like vinegar !

[@v12dot]

Oh….and red Stag :)

[@nigelbreese1284]

Hi Richard nice work I’m going to be doing my own 58 xk150 soon and by the way a guy in England called Neville Swales of building the legend company has built his own double overhead camshaft v12 called the tera, it’s in production and he’s fitting them in replica xj13s , e types etc. His work is brilliant if you get chance to check him out. Regards Nigel

[@rossilake218]

NOTE TO KZbinRS, It’s not against the law to like your own comment. Starts the process.

[@philippegerolemous4376]

We are running out of superlatives !

[@paulsutton5896]

I do agree with you. There is a place for chrome, (even if it is alloyed into stainless steel) and a place for aluminium. I blame the French. Just after the war the French tried to adorn their cars with aluminium. And it looked just awful. This enabled me to feel superior to to the French all the way throughout the fifties. What would the French think (I used to ask, hypothetically), if someone dumped a hideous modernist steel and glass structure in front of the Louvre? Then in the 1960s, Carma struck. BMC not only changed the elegant shape of the Mini grille surround (and ditched Austin's delightful crinkly slats) but with the Mk 2, the grilles were stamped out of sheets of aluminium. Sacrilege.

[@kevinbaker9665]

Head paint color light green or blue is dependent upon the head type and block size. Green is the 3.4L & blue 3.8 liter

[@kevinbaker9665]

'59 S-type 3.4L would also be duck egg green, slightly darker than what you did

[@kevinbaker9665]

Also backed enamel, headers and oil pan black enamel, block and head, green

[@kevinbaker9665]

Black not back

[@kevinbaker9665]

The duck egg green on my original '59 3.4 Liter (early S-Type) is almost a turquoise green. Been in the family since new from Coventry.

[@ericsevern]

Great, great work. It's going to be a real shame when the world becomes electric only.

[@englishmaninfrance661]

NEVER gonna happen

[@CarsRestored]

Me: No way he can restore this Owen: Hold my tools

[@englishmaninfrance661]

Jag E v12

[@jsleeio]

what were jag thinking with the complicated cam gear setup on these? looks like they could have made the engine significantly shorter (and a bit lighter and cheaper) by just using plain old sprockets affixed to the cams like a normal car

[@christophermackley8084]

The vernier 'splined' drive plates permit precise valve timing, with the timing chain at its correct adjustment

[@velviaman3206]

What is the advantage of the multi cut valve seats? Good work and filming, takes me back to the sixties when burnt exhaust valves and seats were common. The metal was sh1t.

[@cratecruncher6687]

I believe it is to improve the aerodynamic flow into the combustion chamber.

[@christophermackley8084]

@@cratecruncher6687 and it creates a narrow contact 'band' for improved sealing

[@stephenkeebler732]

Petrol (Gasoline) used to contain Tetra-Ethyl-Lead in it, that would slightly bond onto the surface between the Valve-Seat and Valve, forming an excellent seal that also conducted heat better. When Un-Leaded Fuel was mandated, manufacturers had to go to using Hardened Seats to keep from burning! Blame it on going to a less toxic fuel...

[@modelleg]

Windshield delaminating.

[@RichardMichaelOwen]

Not enough for a full replacement

[@itsChris65]

collets

[@pauljanssen2624]

Remember folk never ever ever never ever you should use with a paper or cork gasket used Aviation Permatex best young studs bolts go into oil jackets silicone is designed for non gasket installation I'd before Ultra black this stuff is Bulletproof never for a gasket and you're not supposed to use it with gaskets as I mentioned you can use it on rubber type O-rings what happens when you use silicone with paper gasket in time it will turn to mush it can dissolve the gasket