Re: Zel's Fleet Blog...Lada, Citroen, Mercedes, Sinclair & AC Model 70
Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2020 3:02 am
Thanks for the comments folks. I'm over the moon with how she drives to be honest, really hadn't expected there to be such a massive difference in comfort levels and the whole feel of the car compared an XJ6 from the early 90s. It's just so incredibly comfortable that you honestly don't want to get out at your destination.
Around town - even keeping in mind the 70 mph dual carriageways with roundabout every 0.9 miles - the engine never goes north of 2000 rpm... you're virtually having to back off to avoid running into traffic and idle. I've not really nailed the throttle yet to see what happens, but I assure you there will be video (and audio) recording running. I'll bet she can't half sing...
I had forgotten what a strange noise the starter in V12s makes...because there's so much overlap in the firing pattern it sounds like it's not connected to the engine really! Starting basically consists of turning the key and waiting for the charge light to go out as the (quiet!) fuel pump is louder than the engine at idle. I keep thinking I've stalled at junctions!
Regarding the camera, my phone is a Huawei P20 Pro...and honestly I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone. I wasn't looking for anything this high end, but was offered it as an upgrade a couple of years ago at nonextra cost, and went for it primarily based on the glowing reviews I'd heard of the camera as that's something I use a lot. I no longer carry a separate camera...as aside from possibly the boat anchor that is the old Konica AutoReflex T-3 with Kodachrome film in, I've nothing in the house which can come close to matching the camera in this...despite it being built into a phone. The display is also gorgeous, it feels far better put together than an iPhone and is waterproof. Despite being a £1000 bit of tech when it was new I've not pampered it aside from fitting a decent case. Thus far it's shrugged off everything I've thrown at it with ease. Due another upgrade this summer...but I honestly think I might just stick with this as I really like it. Aside from wireless charging the current equivalents don't really do anything this doesn't! Especially as I don't really use many of the high end smartphone features, it honestly was the camera which sold it to me.
Don't dismiss Huawei just because they are from China. The Chinese can put together some mighty fine kit when they want to. Rigol have definitely got some of the big names like Tektronix and Agilent worrying a bit in the world of electronics lab equipment these days for the very same reason.
Back to the car...
Got my insurance sorted out this morning, a whole £10 a year more than the Lada. Not going to complain there.
Didn't actually get a huge amount done today car wise between having to spend a huge chunk of time in the morning mopping all of the downstairs floors as one of the dogs had thrown up during the night and then walked in it about a thousand times. Lovely. Then in the afternoon after about half an hour the heavens opened.
Wasn't a total loss though, did get a couple of things done.
Yesterday the clock being wrong was driving me round the twist. I am somewhat autistic and have borderline OCD where things like that are concerned. After far more random jabbing of buttons than it really should have taken (eventually doing exactly the same thing I'm sure I tried twice yesterday!) I got it sorted.
For future reference, you hold down reset while pressing the buttons with the secondary markings for hours and minutes. Still surprises me that the lights in the actual buttons of the trip computer are incandescent lamps, figured they would be green LEDs, even this far back.
Conditioning the leather was next up. It was definitely in dire need of it. Usually with this stuff you apply it, wait ten minutes then buff off any excess. That step wasn't really necessary as it virtually all absorbed immediately. I'll basically keep repeating this daily until it stops drinking the stuff!
Gave the plastics a quick wipe down too, then cleaned the windows so I could actually see out of it. They had acquired that horrible grey film that cars in storage always seem to which made driving at night downright unnerving.
While the seats and door cards in particular still need a deep clean, it looks a lot better. I'm prioritising preservation of the condition of the leather over making it pretty at this stage.
It's definitely an "occasional" four seater, though is far better than the Audi TT my housemate currently has in which it is honestly impossible to fit a human being more than three years old in the back seat. I have a hilarious photo of my husband trying to fit in the back of the one he had a couple of years ago. Biggest challenge with the rear seat in the XJ-S is actually getting out! My back doesn't bend especially well and my spine is taller than the door aperture is tall! So I sort of have to reverse out on hands and knees...not graceful! Thankfully it's not so bad from in the front.
While I was outside I was able to shuffle cars around a bit and confirm that there is *just* enough space to get the Jag actually on the drive behind the van and still open the garage door. Long car is long. This was of course an excuse to grab a couple of extra photos in actual daylight.
This was before I moved the van the last 6" or so forward, but I can actually get it in without the tail end sticking out of the drive. Seeing this on the drive I have a feeling will take a long while to get old...even when it's bleeding me dry through repair and fuel costs.
That will look so much better for a really thorough polish and wax I think.
Last task I got to today was grabbing a fresh set of windscreen wiper blades to replace the ones on the car which were beyond useless. Much better now.
Being able to see where you're going is a bonus. Speaking of that, I've put three dessicant packs in the car today to hopefully draw some of the moisture out of the interior. I don't *think* I have a water ingress issue, more it's just sat for the last three months in a garage with a known damp issue. Hopefully that will clear up pretty quick.
I was very pleased when I went to run out to grab a few things today that she started first touch, running on all cylinders. So yesterday's poor running does appear to be a result of disuse, damp and stale fuel.
I enjoy a few of the details of this car which while feeling somewhat futuristic in some aspects, show the age of the design. For instance the light on the dash to indicate a fault logged by the fuel injection system clearly predates the common symbol for the "check engine" light we're used to these days...and it would be tricky to fit some text like that into the tiny 1/2" square warning lights...so the "lightning bolt" signifying an electronic issue is used instead.
Silly little things like that interest me far more than they probably should.
Hopefully the weather might be better tomorrow so I can at least get a few decent photos! So far I've only managed in the dark, drizzle or poorly parked in a supermarket car park. I need to do better.
Around town - even keeping in mind the 70 mph dual carriageways with roundabout every 0.9 miles - the engine never goes north of 2000 rpm... you're virtually having to back off to avoid running into traffic and idle. I've not really nailed the throttle yet to see what happens, but I assure you there will be video (and audio) recording running. I'll bet she can't half sing...
I had forgotten what a strange noise the starter in V12s makes...because there's so much overlap in the firing pattern it sounds like it's not connected to the engine really! Starting basically consists of turning the key and waiting for the charge light to go out as the (quiet!) fuel pump is louder than the engine at idle. I keep thinking I've stalled at junctions!
Regarding the camera, my phone is a Huawei P20 Pro...and honestly I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone. I wasn't looking for anything this high end, but was offered it as an upgrade a couple of years ago at nonextra cost, and went for it primarily based on the glowing reviews I'd heard of the camera as that's something I use a lot. I no longer carry a separate camera...as aside from possibly the boat anchor that is the old Konica AutoReflex T-3 with Kodachrome film in, I've nothing in the house which can come close to matching the camera in this...despite it being built into a phone. The display is also gorgeous, it feels far better put together than an iPhone and is waterproof. Despite being a £1000 bit of tech when it was new I've not pampered it aside from fitting a decent case. Thus far it's shrugged off everything I've thrown at it with ease. Due another upgrade this summer...but I honestly think I might just stick with this as I really like it. Aside from wireless charging the current equivalents don't really do anything this doesn't! Especially as I don't really use many of the high end smartphone features, it honestly was the camera which sold it to me.
Don't dismiss Huawei just because they are from China. The Chinese can put together some mighty fine kit when they want to. Rigol have definitely got some of the big names like Tektronix and Agilent worrying a bit in the world of electronics lab equipment these days for the very same reason.
Back to the car...
Got my insurance sorted out this morning, a whole £10 a year more than the Lada. Not going to complain there.
Didn't actually get a huge amount done today car wise between having to spend a huge chunk of time in the morning mopping all of the downstairs floors as one of the dogs had thrown up during the night and then walked in it about a thousand times. Lovely. Then in the afternoon after about half an hour the heavens opened.
Wasn't a total loss though, did get a couple of things done.
Yesterday the clock being wrong was driving me round the twist. I am somewhat autistic and have borderline OCD where things like that are concerned. After far more random jabbing of buttons than it really should have taken (eventually doing exactly the same thing I'm sure I tried twice yesterday!) I got it sorted.
For future reference, you hold down reset while pressing the buttons with the secondary markings for hours and minutes. Still surprises me that the lights in the actual buttons of the trip computer are incandescent lamps, figured they would be green LEDs, even this far back.
Conditioning the leather was next up. It was definitely in dire need of it. Usually with this stuff you apply it, wait ten minutes then buff off any excess. That step wasn't really necessary as it virtually all absorbed immediately. I'll basically keep repeating this daily until it stops drinking the stuff!
Gave the plastics a quick wipe down too, then cleaned the windows so I could actually see out of it. They had acquired that horrible grey film that cars in storage always seem to which made driving at night downright unnerving.
While the seats and door cards in particular still need a deep clean, it looks a lot better. I'm prioritising preservation of the condition of the leather over making it pretty at this stage.
It's definitely an "occasional" four seater, though is far better than the Audi TT my housemate currently has in which it is honestly impossible to fit a human being more than three years old in the back seat. I have a hilarious photo of my husband trying to fit in the back of the one he had a couple of years ago. Biggest challenge with the rear seat in the XJ-S is actually getting out! My back doesn't bend especially well and my spine is taller than the door aperture is tall! So I sort of have to reverse out on hands and knees...not graceful! Thankfully it's not so bad from in the front.
While I was outside I was able to shuffle cars around a bit and confirm that there is *just* enough space to get the Jag actually on the drive behind the van and still open the garage door. Long car is long. This was of course an excuse to grab a couple of extra photos in actual daylight.
This was before I moved the van the last 6" or so forward, but I can actually get it in without the tail end sticking out of the drive. Seeing this on the drive I have a feeling will take a long while to get old...even when it's bleeding me dry through repair and fuel costs.
That will look so much better for a really thorough polish and wax I think.
Last task I got to today was grabbing a fresh set of windscreen wiper blades to replace the ones on the car which were beyond useless. Much better now.
Being able to see where you're going is a bonus. Speaking of that, I've put three dessicant packs in the car today to hopefully draw some of the moisture out of the interior. I don't *think* I have a water ingress issue, more it's just sat for the last three months in a garage with a known damp issue. Hopefully that will clear up pretty quick.
I was very pleased when I went to run out to grab a few things today that she started first touch, running on all cylinders. So yesterday's poor running does appear to be a result of disuse, damp and stale fuel.
I enjoy a few of the details of this car which while feeling somewhat futuristic in some aspects, show the age of the design. For instance the light on the dash to indicate a fault logged by the fuel injection system clearly predates the common symbol for the "check engine" light we're used to these days...and it would be tricky to fit some text like that into the tiny 1/2" square warning lights...so the "lightning bolt" signifying an electronic issue is used instead.
Silly little things like that interest me far more than they probably should.
Hopefully the weather might be better tomorrow so I can at least get a few decent photos! So far I've only managed in the dark, drizzle or poorly parked in a supermarket car park. I need to do better.