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The Offi cial Newslett er of the Jaguar Affi liates Group of Michigan
Volume 45, Issue 8August 2013
Concours Time!
See Page 2 for Details
www.jagm.org Page 2
www.archiesrestaurant.com
Membership Meetingsare held on the 2nd Wednesdayof the month from 7:30PM–9:00PM
@ Archie’s Restaurant30471 Plymouth Road, Livonia, MI 48150
Board Meetings will be held during the hour preceding the General Meeting
PresidentMike Bailey
Vice-President / Activities Adam Gucfa
Secretary / Dealer RelationsGary Cunningham
TreasurerTim Moore
Board MembersPaul Blunt
Tim Mistry248.735.3892
Chuck Mueller810.735.7676
Kris Whise 734.416.3839
MembershipJohnine Bailey313.534.5163
Concours ChairmanChuck Diamond810.688.4168
Chief JudgeTom Bailey
Club Librarian Dena Kirkland248.399.4466
Newsletter EditorKris Whise
.
JAGM Welcomes:Mike & Vicki Benedict ~ Gene LedbetterGene & Karen Lapko ~ Mark Robinson
Chris & Grizelda Holbrook Susan & Everett DeHut
August 17, 2013 is getting closer!
If you haven’t yet registered for the Concours, and possibly mis-placed the application mailed to you, no worries, go to www.jagm.org and you can find the application online. It’s not too late, but don’t delay, register today!
One additional incentive to attend the Concours has just developed: If you follow auto racing, the name Tony Gentilozzi should be familiar to you. Tony is the owner of RSR Jaguar Racing in East Lansing, MI. They are currently racing a GT2 car in the LeMans Series and also have the latest XKR Track Car.
Both of these cars are planning to appear at our Concours, transported in their fully race-prepared 53 ft. tractor/trailer. If the sight of these cars and/or race trailer doesn’t give you goose-bumps ... then you probably do have blood in your veins instead of motor oil!
Hope to see you there on Saturday, August 17th.
Chuck Diamond, Concours Chairperson
Reminder: If you ordered a name badge, please come to a meeting, meet all of us,
and pick up your badge.
Jaguar Affi liates Group of MichiganPage 3
…From Behind the WheelI know some will say there are higher performing parts out there compared to some of the choices I’ve made, however, my goal was a comfortable, reliable, well-performing Jag that was going to see a lot of the open road, and driven for hours on end. Plus, the premium saved by choosing (good quality) standard-rated parts extended the budget to allow more up-grades and replacements. I did sneak in the “good quality” comment, as there are plenty of “bargain” off-brands out there that one needs to avoid.
This same theme was carried over to the exhaust system selection. I have used Borla and Falcon stainless steel pipes with good results.
I don’t believe Borla is currently making an E-Type system; at least they were not when I did this Jag. I ended up with the Bell SS exhaust which is available from several vendors now. The Bell was touted as an excellent system, and it is. My only complaint was that it did not come with all the small bits needed for the installation; these are sold separately in an “installation kit”. Even with this additional kit, the Bell was much less expensive than others, and was a one person installation job; no issues and it has been very satisfactory. A criterion I had was that it was not too loud; my ’63 has wonderful sounding pipes, but after an hour or so, I wish I could turn down the volume. The Bell sounds good, and has a nice roar when the loud pedal is activated, but still civilized; they do make one more “sporty” but that was not for this Jag.
Since the seats and remaining interior trim were in remarkable shape, I had hoped to preserve most of it and just “freshen” it up a bit. The main problem with the seats were the cushions. The age and El Paso heat had made them sag badly. My thought
….the on-going saga.
Some of the decisions about up-grades and replacements on the Jag were easy. Dayton wire wheels replaced the five factory set. At first I was thinking of D-Type styled alloy wheels. These look very nice on an E and they are considerably lighter (as in better mileage, and lighter un-sprung weight). Another plus is that a solid wheel will always run true; whereas I have had wires go out a little. They also develop high speed vibrations. The downside with spline-hubbed alloys is that they are much more expensive. The bolt-on alloys are competitive with wires, but the spline-hubbed versions cost in excess of one hundred dollars a wheel more. So, I ended up with tubeless Dayton wires. I might add, I went around and around with the wheel width at the same time. The vendor I purchased the wheels from would supply them either 5” or 6” for the same price. The 6” do look cool, but in the end, I stayed with the 5” rims based on concerns with clearance (we would be driving fully loaded over who-knows-what-kind of roads). Also, understanding I wasn’t going to be doing performance driving, the thinner profile might aid fuel economy a smidgen.
Tires for the new wheels were easy; I had already put a set of Vredestein Sprint Classic, 185HR 15’s on another Jag, and was very satisfied with their performance, look, and price. Someone had a very good sale on them, at the time, and five were quickly snatched up.
From past excursions looking for parts, I knew watching for sales would benefit my cause to keep the project somewhat affordable, and since I was not in a rush, the looking spread the quest over several months and many pay checks. This did payoff. The Dayton wheels and Vredestein tires were just the beginning.
The shocks were weak, and as these are considered a “wear” part, a sale was located on Boge brand units, and a set of six obtained. Again, I fussed a little about maybe doing something more “high performance”, but for what I “needed” standard units seemed to be the right choice. My first Jag (a 63 E-Type FHC) has Koni adjustable shocks. These are very nice, although they can’t be adjusted without removing them, which is something that lessens any adjustable advantage. Also, they are expensive. Another E-Type I have was re-fitted with non-adjustable Spax units. These have proven to be very satisfactory, but this brand can be difficult to find. So, the Boge set won out and they have been excellent; no regrets.
My brother-in-law made this shock installer from a design I created. The Boge units have
performed splendidly.
BAS seat covers in dark blue, bought on-sale.
www.jagm.org Page 4
…From Behind the Wheel
was to re-stuff them, but my trim-mentor advised against that as the covers had likely shrunk, and would not last the experience of being force- fed new foam. The seat covers, center console cover, and door panels showed the most aging. BAS Jaguar Interiors always has a winter sale, and that year was no different. Problem was my interior was a color called light blue (more like a light grey/blue) and was not reproduced.
This might have been a blessing in disguise, as I decided to go with dark blue, and this shade complements the car much better. Knowing my character can go homicidal doing trim work, I elected to have an expert tackle the seats, which, while costing more, meant I didn’t have to replace the expensive leather covers a few times because of my slip-of-the-knife installation skills. To deal with the balance of the interior trim, I found a company in California (World Upholstery and Trim) that makes spray-on vinyl dye. I was amazed how it exactly matched the BAS material and everything else was re-dyed. All but the carpets; the sale included these as well, and by now I was way past my interior budget, but the dark blue looked so fab, I just couldn’t stop! ………….to be continued.
Before picture… looks more grey than light blue.
After picture of dark blue-dyed interior. Camera flash makes it look lighter. It’s difficult to tell new trim from the old.
To avoid damaging some of the glued-in trim,it was dyed in place.
Masking protected the new exterior paint.
Jaguar Affi liates Group of MichiganPage 5
www.jagm.org Page 6
Four Days and 825 Miles…Kris and I thought a Jag drive to Northern Michigan would be a fun adventure. We had driven the two day excursion to the Mad Dogs and Englishman Car Show many times and were looking for some new two lanes
to explore. With all the summer’s goings-on, June seemed to be a good month. What sealed the date was a notice in the mail inviting us to the Bay Harbor Vintage Boat and Car Show. This would make a nice event for the trip, and besides, it was just south of Petoskey, which is a great town to visit.
I looked at possible routes and did a little calculating. Yikes! This was not going to be a two or three day drive. I figured
the drive would be eight hours including potty stops and a lunch break. A day of driving is not for the faint of heart! The trip had to go over four days; one to drive up; one for the show; one to enjoy the area; and one to drive back. Sounded good, but who would join us?
Well, we were astounded! Fifteen JAGM’ers made the whole trip. Eight others joined the troop at different times. Probably more significant was that, for once, the newer Jags outnumbered the old ones! The field was mostly composed of XK8’s. This included Paul and Pauline Blunt, Nigel and Linda Booth, Burt McNeal and Melody Burrus. The Hudaks met us Saturday in their 2011 XF Sedan. Prospective members Susan and Everett DeHut joined us in Petoskey in their new XK8RS. Representing Jaguar’s past, Tom and Jonnie Bailey drove their ’65, E-Type FHC, and Robert and Sandy Lewis braved most of the trip, sans-top, in their ’69 E-Type OTS. Longtime members Dave and Jill Kuznicki met us on Old Mission Peninsula in their beautiful XK150 OTS. Dave and Mona Rathke made the trip north ahead of us in their 1990 XJ-S. Kris and I decided we needed space for all the trip stuff so we enlisted our 1960 MK2. The bravest of the bunch was Dick Harms, who made most of the drive solo in his often-
seen XKSS. New members Gene and Karen Lapko met us in Petoskey driving their Miata. The Lapkos recently purchased a very nice 2000 XK8 Coupe, but it was not licensed at the time of the trip.
The drive north took all the planned time plus another half hour; one more detour was encountered and a roving work crew delayed us at least fifteen minutes. Lunch was at the Dexter Street Smokehouse in Ionia. Another stop got everyone ice cream a little north of Cadillac in McBain. We arrived in Petoskey at 6:00PM. Dinner was enjoyed at the City Park Grill not too far from our lodging at the Apple Tree Inn.
Saturday, we awoke to dense fog. The Jags seemed to enjoy this. I got a chance to test my Fog Rangers on the MK2! By 8:30AM three of the Jags were off to Bay Harbor to be displayed in their Classic Boat and Car Show. This show is always an interesting mixture of cars and the boats are always fascinating.
Dinner Saturday evening was preceded by a fun drive through the Tunnel of Trees between Harbor Springs and Cross Village. By the time we arrived in Cross Village at the Legs Inn, our numbers had grown to thirty with two children! Dinner was exceptional while all the time viewing Lake Michigan in the background.
The DeHuts led the return trip back to Petoskey for the second night’s stay; their XK8RS making the drive much quicker that I could leading in the MK2.
Sunday morning everyone checked out and we set a course
Jaguar Affi liates Group of MichiganPage 7
Four Days and 825 Miles…
the Friday drive. Thankfully, the entire adventure went without any unnecessary stops or emergencies. I do have to mention that Chuck and Louise Diamond were driving to meet us in Ionia on Friday when the fuel pump in their E-Type decided to quit. Fortunately, they were able to switch cars (albeit not a Jag) and still join us for the excursion. So, since they had not met up with us, I’m calling the trip “trouble free” !
I want to thank everyone who came. Kris and I had a lot of fun planning the trip and more fun enjoying everyone who participated. I hope this is the beginning of more “road trips” for JAGM. Also, I hope we continue to see more of the newer Jags being enjoyed on the two lanes. And, anyone with an older Jag can just talk to Robert and Sandy Lewis about the thrill of their first long drive in a 1969 E-Type Roadster. Visit our JAGM Facebook page, at “Jaguar Affiliates of Michigan” for more photos and a video.
Mike
for wine country. Before our arrival on the peninsulas, we stopped at the Bier Art Gallery, just south of Charlevoix. It’s in an old school house. We had asked Ray, the owner, if he would be there to open for us early, and I believe he was happy he did after seeing all the boxes and bags leaving the gallery.
Sunday lunch was at the Jolly Pumpkin in Bower’s Harbor on Old Mission Peninsula. Some may remember this old establishment as Bower’s Harbor Inn from years ago.
Following lunch, we visited three wineries and made our way to Leland on the Leelanau Peninsula. Our overnight stay was booked at the Whaleback Inn overlooking Lake Leelanau. Our last dinner in the north country was a sampling of wines and cheeses gathered through the day, plus plates of fruits, sausage, and crispy crackers. We took advantage of the Inn’s large porch and comfortable furniture for this gathering.
Breakfast Monday morning was supplied by the Whaleback Inn; then we were off again at 9:30AM for the return drive. The weather so far had cooperated in spite of dubious forecasts. The trip back included some beautiful two lane routes down the Peninsula and through the Michigan outback. We made lunch on time at the Remus Tavern in a village of the same name.
The arrival at our start/finish point was within minutes of
www.jagm.org Page 8
Four Days and 825 Miles…
Jaguar Affi liates Group of MichiganPage 9
Mad Dogs and EnglishmenWhat a beautiful weekend for a road trip and car show! The Blunts, Sperduti’s and Bailey’s enjoyed a wonderful drive to Battle Creek on Saturday and stay at the Greencrest Manor, that evening. Sunday’s weather was equally nice for the MD&E show, where we met up
with a number of other JAGM members, many of which are new to the club. What a great place to get to meet new active “affiliates” The “Mini” was the featured marquee of this year’s show, so the club was lead by a spiffy red Mini!
Bob Matejek won a prize, but lost
something else…
www.jagm.org Page 10
Calendar
August
No Meeting
Concours d’Elegance & Woodward Dream Cruise
August 17th
September
Meeting11th, 7:30PM
Archie’s, Livonia
Apple of Your Eye Mueller’s Orchard
September 21 & 22, 2013
Battle of the BritsSeptember 8
Camp Dearborn Milford
October
Meeting 9th, 7:30PM
Archie’s, LivoniaCharity Auction
t.b.d.
Looking for more JAGM, information, photos, posts and other good Jaguar related stuff…
Check out the “Jaguar Affiliates of Michigan” FaceBook page.Go to www.detroittriumph.org/BTOB2006/BOTBHomePage.htm
for more information on the upcoming Battle of the Brits show.
Jaguar Affi liates Group of MichiganPage 11
Classifi ed AdvertisingFOR SALE: 1965 E-Type FHC owned by long time JAGM Member. Well maintained. Dark Blue exterior. 94K miles. Engine and clutch overhauled at 60K miles. Nice Series One coupe with covered headlights and all syncro trans. Located in W. Bloomfield, MI. Asking $50,000Call Mike McMenamin at 248-681-1740
FOR SALE: E-TYPE mufflers, fit Series 1 & 2 (but not 2+2’s). Almost new, less than 200 Mi., fresh hi-temp paint.Call Chuck Diamond 810.688.4168 $125.00
FOR SALE: 1994 Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas ~ Black exterior, Camel interior with wood grain trim. Some rust in floors. Outer body good. Has all chrome, emblems, glass, lenses, etc. Has not been started in two years. Located in Gaines, MI (SW of Flint). Good Jag to fix up and drive or part out. Motivated seller. Call Mike at 810.877.9489 Asking $800.00
FOR SALE: Jaguar V-12 Engine w/Transmission, from ’85-86 XJS, less than 10,000 miles. Also included, intake manifold, carbs & related parts for conversion. Email: Tom Hudak at [email protected] call 989.695.6141 $1750.00 picked up
1-800-875-5247 | www.welshent.com
- New Parts
- Used Parts
- Rebuilt Parts
- 100,000 sq ft facility
- Orders placed before
3 pm ship that dayThe largest independent retailer of new, used & rebuilt Jaguar spares since 1965
Proud supporter of the JCNA
Select Motors LtdSpecializing in Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar automobiles since 1989
734-459-5520
603 Amelia StPlymouth, MI 48170
Jeff VarilonePresident
www.selectmotors.com
This Month’s Featured Auto for Sale
2005 Jaguar Vanden Plas • Zircon blue metallic with ivory interior• Zircon blue metallic with ivory interior • Factory touch screen navigation • Factory touch screen navigation • Long wheelbase body • Long wheelbase body • 92k miles • 92k miles • Warranty • Warranty Included Included • $14,995 • $14,995
www.jagm.org Page 12
Little British Car Companywww.LBCarCo.com
Jeff Zorn (J.A.G.M. Club member)•29311 Aranel, Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Phone 248.489.0022 • Toll-free 800.637.9640Fax: 248.489.9665 Email: [email protected]
Major Credit Cards Accepted
At Little British, we know who we are and where our business comes from. As a growing company founded in the late 90’s, we take pride in giving you high quality customer service. We will have the parts you need, the convenience you want, and at a lower price than you thought you would pay.
By being an online based company, we are able to keep costs low and maintain a flawless ordering system that is quick and user friendly. We have the parts for most British marques and models as well as fun collectibles and other useful items for the British car enthusiast.
Log on to www.LBCarCo.com and see why we excel at what we do.
OUR SERVICESERVICE PUTS US A-PARTA-PART FROM THE REST.Authorized Distributor for:
• Pertronix Electric Ignitions and Coils
• Mota-Lita Steering Wheels
• Vintage Ads
• Don Hoods
• Gunson Tools
• Moss Motors
• Halogen Bulbs for Most British and American Cars
• Plus many others!
Change Service RequestedChange S equestedRequestedeChChange S Requestedervice ReCC
JA
GUAUAR AFF
ILIATATES GROOOUP
OF MICHIGAN
Johnine Bailey - Membership 12770 ChathamDetroit, MI [email protected]
See You at the Concours and Dream Cruise!
