Letter from the editor
Dear JCoh Member,
In case you wonder if there's something wrong with your calendar, there's not. February — and March — has come and gone, but unfortunately a close family member passed away mid February, and I had to go overseas for the funeral and other practical arrangement. Thus, all my good intentions of keeping up with a fixed calendar as far as the NewsLetter had to take rear seat position for a while, so here it is, - the February and April NewsLetter...combined.

While now well behind us, when I originally wrote this piece for February publishing the Christmas and New Year was not that far behind us.

In the Christensen & Clausen family, aka CCC, short for Circus Clausen & Christensen, it was for a change a relaxing Holiday season without intruders, ehh, family visits from Europe. And no, I haven't re-married, I just have a stubborn Scandinavian wife that refuses to go by my last name, and being a woman let's not even mention practicality or logic here. I must admit it has a certain entertainment value when telemarketers call or when you have kids in school with two last names. To make it fair, they both have my impossible middle name (Hviid), while Alexander of course carries my family name as the one who has to carry on the family, while Elizabeth can have my wife's, - after all, she'll get another one anyway the day she marries. That is, if she hasn't killed her husband-to-be before that, - she's a 1st degree black belt in Taekwondo, going for her 2nd degree, and she hasn't even turned 11 years old yet...! Ouch. Where was I before I got carried away with our odd family tree, oh, yes the Holidays.

After several month's almost stand still, it was time to revive and gear up on the 1966 E-type restoration project. Some of you may remember the story, it is now actually more that 2 years ago I found — or rather it found me — my one owner, 100% original 1966 E-type Ser. 1 FHC. In other words it was time to invite Patrick McLoad up for a couple of days of Christmas joy and spirit, more precisely, to help with some serious wrench turning. In this issue you will find a follow up story to how the tale started, and during the next NewsLetters, I will bring you a little update. Meanwhile, Ol' Slime Green, the ever young Willow Green 1967 Mk2 is looking on from her bay next door, quite annoyed that the E-type gets so much attention. But at least this year (opposed to earlier) she didn't blow anything during the Holidays, but took me and the kids around Kingwood in style.

Other highlights of this NewsLetter is honoring our sponsors at the AGM in January, parts sourcing, a successfull Luckenback rally and many other things. As our President outlines in his report, the officers of JCOH has planned a quite eventful 2009 for you.

Enjoy!

Ebbe Christensen
Editor

From the President's Desk| By Chris Goldsmith
At the 2009 Annual Banquet, it was my pleasure to announce that our club won the 2008 JCNA President's Challenge. JCOH has won the JCNA President's Challenge for two consecutive years. To win the award again in 2009, we need to increase our membership to more than 160 members, hold at least one event of a type never before held by JCOH and increase the number of Jaguar participants at our concours, slalom and rally by 10%. This means that we need 62 Jaguar participants in our concours, 13 Jaguar participants in our slalom and 16 Jaguar participants in our rally. Please help us win the JCNA President's Challenge for a third consecutive year by being an active member.

JCOH member Dave Belanger has been elected as a JCNA Regional Director for the South Central Region. Congratulations, Dave B! I do not know if Dave B is the first JCOH member to be elected as a JCNA South Central Regional Director. However, I have asked members who have been JCOH members for many years & my informal research indicates that Dave B is at least the first JCOH member to have achieved this position for many years.

On January 24th, several JCOH members headed west to compete in the San Antonio Jaguar Club's Luckenbach Rally. Peter Ferrer & Chuck Rhodes finished second overall and first in the JCNA T2 Division, continuing the tradition of JCOH members returning from this outstanding event with a trophy. Their total deviation from the perfect time was 123 seconds. Congratulations, Peter & Chuck!

Participation in our Monthly Meeting continues to improve. Nearly 20 members were present at the February Monthly Meeting. The Monthly Meeting is open to all members and is the place where club decisions are made. Join us!

Your club is working hard to continue improving our events. We offer many opportunities for you to have fun with your Jaguar and your friends. We are planning a large number of events in April as a prelude to the JCNA Challenge Championship. The Challenge Championship is the largest JCNA event and is held every other year. Since the San Antonio club is the 2009 Challenge Championship host club, this is an event not to be missed. Don't miss this opportunity for us to join with our fellow Texas JCNA clubs and tell the JCNA clubs from lesser states to "COME AND TAKE IT"!

The outstanding Sponsor Awards | By R. Christopher Goldsmith
Our club could not have achieved its recent aggressive growth without strong support from our sponsors. To honor our club sponsors, the Outstanding Sponsor Award was created in 2006. What is an Outstanding Sponsor? Simply put, an Outstanding Sponsor is a JCOH sponsor who goes above and beyond the norm to help JCOH grow & prosper.

Our 2008 Outstanding Sponsors are Momentum Jaguar and Offshore Films.

Momentum Jaguar is the Sole Title Sponsor of our signature event, the Concours d'Elegance. JCOH members receive a discount on parts and service at Momentum upon presentation of their JCNA membership card. JCNA members can also get a discount on a new Jaguar.

Offshore Films donates thousands of dollars to JCOH in free or deeply discounted video production work.

Past JCOH outstanding sponsors are:

• 2006
  Momentum Jaguar
  Lonestar Vintage Restoration
• 2007
  Momentum Jaguar
  Jaguar Houston North
• 2008
  Momentum Jaguar
  Offshore Films

While there is absolutely no doubt that our sponsors are an extremely vital part of the success behind many club events, our President fails in his humble modesty to mention that an equally important part of the last years' success is the energy and enthusiasm from Chris' leadership. Amidst quite opinionated members, Chris maintain a steady course, navigating between the various efforts, no doubt helped by his professional skills as a defense lawyer. His tireless efforts is a paramount source of initiatives which energize both the other officers, the club members and our other car friends, being it other Jaguar clubs or other car clubs. Luckily, as Editor, I have the authority to comment on anything in the NewsLetter, so I tip my hat for Chris here, and hope you all appreciate his hard work, - you could have complimented yourself here Chris, I know you never would, so please allow me...! Thank you.

[The Editor]

Where do you source parts and information nowadays?
By Patrick McLoad
The following is an extract from an email communication between a handful of JCOH members, however, it contains so much useful information that Dave Belanger pointed out that all club members should have a chance to harvest on Patrick McLoad's extensive experience when it comes to sourcing Jaguar items. I have edited the content where needed to serve a general information purpose.
The Editor

E-Bay has been around a very long time, and it is today the premiere site for locating authentic Jaguar brochures, one-sheet advertisements, and very hard to find parts. Allow me to explain.

There was a time not so long ago when it was impossible to find NOS (new old stock) parts (Jaguar especially) because there was no way to know who had such items. Literally thousands of small shops across the US and England had small hoards of these parts, but they had no market for them. And the only place you could find ANY literature was at AutoRama at one of those booths where a guy had all kinds of ads sorted by year....and S1 E-Types were among the very first to disappear.

Then, when EBay came along, there was suddenly a way for a guy in Houston to buy an NOS part from someone in New York. During the course of the restoration of my E-Type, I was able to locate some incredible, very hard to find parts. One, for example, was an NOS fuel tank sensor for an early E-Type....mine had worn out and no longer functioned. The after-market units sold today look nothing like the original, and you will be hard-pressed to find any NOS units today.....and this applies to almost all makes and models of cars.

My most recent find was an NOS turn-signal assembly for a 1953 Ford...it was still in the box, and included diagrams and instructions. So for many people who restore old classic cars, EBay is a regular stop as occasionally, some gems surface. No, these pieces are usually not cheap, and there's a lot of competition for them.

Another impossible part to find is a portion off the rear bumper of a 1951 Mercury (a horizontal piece that spans between the two over-riders and has a license-plate light attached to the underside). Unfortunately, my Dad used 4 of these blades to form the front grille on the original Venus. Finding these in DECENT condition has been next to impossible. It has taken 2 years just to find 6 or 7 of them, with almost all being bent, dinged, or heavily rusted. I had to choose the 4 best I had to make the front grille.

My point is that not everything for an early Jaguar is being reproduced, and in many instances, EBay may be your ONLY shot at finding these parts. Another club member is having problems finding a decent lattice-style wheel for a 1988 XJS, that was made as late as the early nineties. Imagine trying to find something for an early E, XKSS, C-Type, or XK-120. You would also think that E-Type gas tanks are readily available...but they are not as most either rust out or are summarily discarded. There is an outfit making new aluminum ones, and although they may be close (or even exact), they are not original Jaguar. This may not matter to "drivers", but it matters to originality guys.

In regards to brochures and ads, most of the really rare stuff has been bought up. Just try to find a genuine SS Jaguar brochure or even some of the "prestige" brochures for the XK-120. Perhaps foolishly, I started a collection decades ago of original Jag brochures. I have two original, 1961 E-Type brochures. These were shipped to dealers with a thin, onion-skin cover to protect the front of the brochure during handling. The dealer was to tear off this cover skin before giving to prospects. Both of my E-Type brochures have this cover. Yes, they were even expensive to buy 10-15 years ago, but a minimum asking price today is $1,000 to $1,500 for these. I have all of the E-Type series brochures, and lots more non-E-Type. http://www.jag-lovers.org/brochures/e_initial_a.html

I don't think I initially saw this item on EBay, but I did see a link to this guys website. I believe his last name or company is Miller, and this guy has an extensive collection of original Jaguar publications. Anyway, I had him mail me a list of all Jag publications he had (this list was not available as a down-load). As I was going through it line-by-line, I ran across what was listed as a "C-Type Brochure". What the heck? Jaguar did produce "obligatory" brochures for the C and D-types, but the originals are extremely scarce. So, I took a chance and ordered this piece among others. Make a long story short, it is the only known C-Type piece of its kind. It is NOT a brochure per se, but a simple advertisement produced (probably by a US dealer) after Jaguar won in Lemans. You can see it here in the brochure section of Jag Lovers website (the small yellow piece):
http://www.jag-lovers.org/brochures/lemans_sheet53.html

I also amassed hundreds of Jaguar one-sheet advertisements, and have these in display brochures, of which many of you have seen. Yeah, I went a bit nuts back then. But to a certain extent, the cars in the ads help to (at times) identify originality and authenticity of Jaguar parts. I no longer collect brochures or ads...simply burned myself out.

Regardless of if you love or hate Ebay, it is really the only place to find original Jaguar service manuals (in 3-ring binders) or spare parts manuals; NOS Jaguar parts, and original Jaguar brochures. I think that everyone should at least have a brochure of the model/make of their Jaguar as these did not come with the car. If/when you ever get really meticulous about authenticity, a spare parts manual is a must. IF there is a dispute about the originality/authencity of a particular part, all one has to do is refer to the spares manual as every nut, bolt, and washer are listed. (I do not know if modern-day Jags are quite this extensive). It also helps to have an exact part number when ordering from Jag parts suppliers.

How the coming depression is going to affect the availabilty of old Jaguar parts is anyone's guess. Personally, I think many of the makers of the reproduction parts will be going out of business, and to a certain extent, some of the suppliers. The cost of these parts are going to increase dramatically...make no mistake. It's already a very narrow market. So when you go looking for brochures or NOS Jaguar parts 10 years from now, don't expect to find much.

But to close (finally!), everyone that owns a Jaguar, old or new, needs to at least know about EBay and how to search or purchase items.

And the winner is... | By Ebbe Christensen
Last issues caption contest provided several suggestion, of which a few is not printable (as expected), but there was quite a few good ones. Runner up was Beda Young's "Gotcha", but David Hurlston took it with his "You can let go now, Terese, - you've got the award".

A club grill badge is on its way to Dave.

 

 

I didn't get a good candidate for a caption contest this month, but Pat Phillips sent me this picture, where you can test you car experience, - what car is this? And no, the pictures was not taken in Houston during the recent hail storm, but in Switzerland. Hint, it is British...!

Think you know the answer? Email it to usa@hexacon.com, first correct answer wins a club item.

 

Rare club member car for sale | By: Ebbe H. Christensen
Cleo Bay, the club's indisputable expert on old XK's recently announced that he had decided to sell his matching number 1956 Jaguar XK140. At time of print the car was put on E-bay for sale here (click here) and while we all hope the car stay in Houston, reality probably will take this beauty away from Texas.

Update on the restoration of my 1966 Ser 1 E-type FHC |
By Ebbe Christensen
I had happily forgotten it's been a staggering 2 years ago I found and purchased the E-type from the original owner. But my wife had not, as she's the one that checks the credit card statements and reminds me about the escalating cost.

I'll not repeat the story of how I found the car, and I don't have the talent like Patrick McLoad to document everything on a blog or making my own documentary. So, for those who want to know about the first part of the story, you'll have to dig back in the NewsLetter archives on the web and find the February 2007 issue.

After I got the car, I was faced with some difficult decisions. My first outset was to do a very mild "preservation restoration”. The car was sound (from a body and interior point of view), yet 30 years in storage leaves it marks on any car, - in particular if the cars was not put away with long storage in mind, but just for a "couple of years” that turned into three decades.

First step was to find out if the heart was in a condition to be put back to life, - the engine.

After proper preparation, the day finally arrived where we could see if we could turn the crankshaft, or if the engine was frozen. To everyone's delight it turned relative easy, but a later compression test (or rather tests), showed that the engine did not hold pressure or compression of significance.

The verdict was to pull the engine and gear box, and do a complete engine rebuilt. So, on a cold Easter weekend in 2007, the engine and gearbox was taken out, and celebrated in the same style as if we had landed a blue marlin on a rough day at sea. There were some similarities between the two: It took a lot of work, it gave a lot of fight, and once out of its natural element, the size and pomp dawns on you: It is a biiig block with a huge gearbox.

With great help from Mike Cook and Patrick McLoad from JCOH and another friend Anders Rye, the engine and transmission was taken out of the car, ready for a rebuilt.

Another compression test was done, same results, no compression, and the long route for a complete rebuild began. The next many months was spent taking the engine apart, piece by piece, and together with in particular Patrick McLoad I dismantled the engine down to the very last bolt.

The block was then sent to a machine shop, where it was cleaned, tumbled and baked (yes, they do that to engines too), before it was pressure tested. Everything was found to be in great order, however, a couple of the pistons had left rust rings on the cylinder wall, and there was no way to hone it out. So the decision was made to bore it up with 1/20,000 and replace the old pistons with new, oversized pistons. While technically changing the volume of the engine, it will not affect the output by any significance, and the goal is to just get the brutal torque and 269 hp it was born with revived back to life.

The engine is now in its final assembly stage in the shop, where I have a professional engine builder put in new seals, replace pins, oil pump etc, and he will build it from the oil sump to the overhead cam shafts, including timing chains. From there I will take over, and once again be in dire need of help...!

After the faith of the engine was determined, the biggest — and most difficult — decision lay ahead: Repaint the car or leave original paint and follow trough with a preservation restoration. The next many months, I sought the advice of a wide range of people, and got an expected wide range of answers as it of course always boils down to personal taste and preference. It was quite clear that since the engine one day would return to its engine bay looking like a brand spanking new engine, repainting the engine and firewall seemed the only proper way. It would be like running a marathon, then taking a nice shower only to put on the sweaty running clothes again unwashed. So, could I live with a like new engine compartment, and the rest of the car wearing its 43 year old patina?

Just as I intend to drive the car, so did the first and only owner, and the body had its fair share of small dings and dents and scratches. Yet, they could rightfully be referred to as honorable scars from the war on the road, - but then why the new looking engine and repainted firewall? The paint was complete and not cracked , but the shine was at best a 4-5 on a 10 scale. While I'm a far cry from Patrick McLoad fanatics, I do like a nice shine on the car even as a driver.

The final element of the decision was the practical observation that since I had to replace all rubber seals on the car anyway (they were long gone) doors, windows and rear door would have to come off any way. The bonnet was off already to get the engine out, so I literally would have the car completely disassembled anyway, - one of the biggest concerns when talking paint jobs. I would never go with a simple re-spray and maximum masking on a car of this quality, so that became the final straw on the back of the stubborn camel that kept the dream of a preservation restoration alive. It will be re-painted, of course in original color, and the hunt for a good paint shop is now in full process. The difficult thing is to find a shop that will do a great job, yet, not be excessively expensive. But as Patrick McLoad underlines, when he lectures me on the paint job selection (about once a week, never under 2 pages etc — you know him...) we only have one shot at it, and it better be right the first time. So, when reading this, if you know just the guy or shop, do let me know, as it is coming down to the wire as you will see below.

The interior was in great shape, the leather seats complete and not cracked, yet, - I was again faced with some difficult decisions. The smell of it had really suffered during the long hiatus, and several attempts to "freshen” it up has been unsuccessful, and even with everything now out of the car, the smell is still surviving in the headliner, which soon will go. I had hoped to keep it as it is in 100% great condition, but as you by know can sense: This has turned from a limited preservation restoration to a full scale frame off and total restoration, which has taken its toll not only on the time frame, - but certainly also on the cost. Oh, well, having a mistress has never been inexpensive. (My wife sometimes thinks a warm blooded, blond mistress actually would be cheaper...) So, eventually I will replace all carpets, interior surfaces and the leather seats.

I'm hugely tempted to change interior color from dark blue to biscuit or light tan. I can already hear the cries from the purists that I must keep its original combination, and it is certainly correct that the Heritage Certificate confirms the dark blue exterior over dark blue interior is how this matching number car was born. And I'm a purist myself, make no mistake. But, as another extreme purist pointed out (yes, Patrick McLoad again, I do hang around that bloke too much), it will have very little negative impact on the monetary value of the car (perhaps even increase the value) as long as it one of the original interior options with that exterior color, which it is. I've seen cars in the past with dark blue exterior and tan interior, and it is a color combination born in Heaven. As the world and the economy is coming apart around me, I still hope to come out of this project as the owner of the car, thus it has great importance that I choose a color combination I really like. We'll see, no final decision made yet on this, interior samples have been requested and the process is in motion.

Finally, the disassembly of the car has progressed to just a few stages shy of going to paint preparation. The bonnet has been totally stripped for all its components, and sits ready on a special built dolly and awaits her appointment in the beauty shop, where a dent in the upper lip of the front oval needs attention, and several small "golf ball” dents needs to be attended to.

On the car itself, all interior is out, leaving the instrument panel in to be masked off during paint process, and the body is stripped for all cosmetics. The only two major tasks are to take off the front and rear suspension, at which point the car will have to go on a rolling dolly, and the front end (fire wall forward) will be bolted off and the two painted separately.

My original goal of showing the car at this year's Keels and Wheels is long gone (obviously), but with a little luck and increased efforts (read time), maybe 2010 — eeh, no dates. Well, as those of you who has done something like this all by yourself and with help of good friends from the club knows, - to do it right takes a lot of time. And for a car with such an incredible history, quality and potential, anything else would be wrong. It HAS to be done right, and eventually I hope one day to leave you guys in the dust, drive my pants off in a shiny dark blue Ser 1 FHC....!

In the meantime, my wife has no immediate outlook to relief as far as her bookkeeping duties and the increasing amount s of bills from parts supplier. And in case she thinks we'll be done when the car one day is ready, I had to disappoint her the other day. I got an orphaned 1957 MGA I couldn't turn down, so it is now in storage, awaiting its day in the shop. I know, no comparison to the complex E-type, but just like you take a couple of cool down laps on a race track to lower the temperature of your race car, I know I will need to do something similar. Once the restoration of the E-type is done (still really can't buy into those words just yet), I need to wind down on something more simple and straight forward. I can't think on any car better than a classic MGA.

As for my wife, well, I've told her that counseling — on her end — always remains an option.

Ebbe

Last call for the current XJ | By Chris Goldsmith
As many of you know, Jaguar has ended production of the current XJ sedan family. Apparently, all remaining USA specification XJ sedans are in dealer inventory. If you want to purchase one of the current generation XJ sedans new, this is the last call — visit your friendly neighborhood Jaguar dealer now. When the current dealer stock is sold, the only way to obtain this generation of the XJ will be as a select edition car or a used car.

2009 Luckenbach Rally | By Dave Belanger / Photos: Chuck Rhodes
January 24 was the 20th San Antonio Jaguar Club Rally to Luckenbach. 29 teams showed up for the birthday party including 6 from Houston. The first car left Rudy's BBQ on the northwest side of San Antonio at 12:31 and the first teams began arriving at Luckenbach shortly after 5pm. The weather cooperated and it was comfortable but getting cool when we left Luckenbach that afternoon.

Although Houston didn't repeat the 20008 1-2-3 finish listed on the event flyer, JCOH entrants took four of the top seven spots. Peter Ferrer and Chuck Rhodes again finished 2nd in Peter's 2002 silver XJR with a score of 2:03. Other Houston teams were Mark Eldred/Gabriella Kerr ('02 XKR), Beda Young/Tracey Goldsmith ('05 XK8),Cynthia Loveall/Dave Belanger (BRG '03 XK8), Pat Phillips/Chris Goldsmith ('05 XJ8L), and Thomas Hale/Danielle Peadcock ('88 XJS).

Several persons asked how the 3rd overall car - an Austin Healy 3000 - was able to take home a trophy when the driver ran solo. The answer from the rallymaster, Brian Blackwell, was that the driver wasn't competing a Jaguar ranking so he didn't have to follow the rules. That could be a dangerous precedent.

If you missed this one you have two more chances to compete in Texas in 2009 - the 4th JCOH rally is scheduled for April 25 and the Challenge Championship in San Antonio in May.

Do you have the right fire extinguisher? | By Ebbe H. Christensen
Recently a small group of JCHO member had a discussion about not only the need of always carrying a fire extinguisher in the cabin when driving, but also which one. Many powder based extinguisher can leave unwanted damage to the surfaces in the engine, and in the Texas heat, speculations are that powder can stiffen up and perhaps not perform as intended.

The conclusion was that Halon based systems remains the best option, however, tree-huggers, eeh, environmental retarded politicians, have implemented restrictive legislation that will make it not only difficult, but eventually impossible to get Halon based system due to global warming concern (how about "rapid warming in the engine compartment” concern ??)

As a conclusion, the 5 members decided to join forces and bought 6 units (5 lbs) earlier this year, and were able to negotiate a price of $160 a piece, including shipping. Club member Mike Cook has volunteered to head up a new list of potential club members that would like to make their Jaguar driving more safe. You can read more about the specific extinguisher here. http://www.smokesign.com/5lbhafiex.html

We don't know what price we can negotiate at this point, but if you're interested, send Mike Cook an email at jagv12@gmail.com and he will coordinate the efforts.

Updated Club Calender | By Chris Goldschni Ebbe H. Christensen

APRIL
04/04/09 — Houston Coffee and Cars @ Uptown Park
04/08/09 — JCOH Monthly Meeting @ the Black Labrador Pub,
                       4100 Montrose Blvd. 6:00 p.m.
04/11/09 — Reserved for Possible Event @ the Houston Zoo
04/18/09 — Reserved for Possible TSD Rally
04/25/09 — Drive it like you stole it slalom @ HPD Academy

MAY
05/02-03/09 — 14TH Annual Keels & Wheels Concours d'Elegance
                              @ Lakewood Yacht Club
05/13/09 — JCOH Monthly Meeting @ the Black Labrador Pub,
                       4100 Montrose Blvd. 6:00 p.m.
05/19/09 — JCNA Challenge Championship Reception, San Antonio, Texas
05/20/09 — JCNA Challenge Championship TSD Rally, San Antonio, Texas
05/21/09 — JCNA Challenge Championship Slalom, San Antonio, Texas
05/22/09 — JCNA Challenge Championship Concours d'Elegance, San Antonio, Texas
05/23/09 — JCNA Challenge Championship Farewell Breakfast, San Antonio, Texas

JUNE
06/14/09 — Classy Chassis @ Reliant Stadium

JULY
07/19/09 — Reserved for Possible JCOH Tea

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER
09/19/09 — JOASW Concours, Dallas, Texas
09/26/09 — Reserved for Driving Event with Picnic

OCTOBER
10/03/09 — SAJC Concours, San Antonio, Texas
10/10/09 — JCOA Concours, Austin, Texas
10/17/09 — MG Club's British Motor Vehicle Expo @ La Centerra
10/24/09 — JCOH Concours d'Elegance, Sugar Land, Texas

NOVEMBER
11/07/09 — Lotus Owners of South Texas (LOST) Track Day @ Grandsport Speedway

We round off this months NewsLetter with some pictures from the JCOH AGM in January, and as it can be seen, everyone had a great evening (courtesy of club photographer Chuck Rhodes).

If you have car news you would like to share with your fellow members, please do let me know so we can create a dynamic tool to keep the club members informed and at the same time be fun to read.

You can send material via email to usa@hexacon.com or you can call me on my cell phone 281 435 4003.

Snail mail is best sent to:
Ebbe H. Christensen
4210 Meadow Forest Lane
Kingwood, TX 77345

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