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| A seldom seen vantage point of the V12 caught with it's pants down. |
Unfortunately not much. Does the term "Gumption Trap" ring a bell?
Well for one thing, my new battery just died. Not really much of a problem. My Harbor Freight battery tenders actually do a pretty good job re-charging the batteries.
However, I just need to face the facts.
The bottom suspension arm is twelve inches wide, The pivot bolt is a bit longer than that. There's no way to remove the bolt without dropping the sub frame. The bolt will hit the transmission or exhaust manifold.
Where did I read that before? Just about everywhere, including the factory repair manual. Still, there must be an easier way.
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| Why do I torture myself reading this magazine? |
I was voraciously reading my latest copy of Octane magazine which featured three hybrid cars. Hybrid meaning a European body containing a good old American V8. The Jensen Interceptor, Iso Grifo, and DeTomaso Pantera. Either of these cars would be highly coveted by any automotive enthusiast.
The current owners had enjoyed the ownership of these vehicles for a few years, purchasing them before the latest increases in value.
Looking at these articles it's pretty easy to feel a bit jealous of the lucky owners. What enthusiast wouldn't like to have one of these beauties parked in their garage?
Well, what do I have parked in my garage? My '89 XJS convertible. Quite a beauty in it's own right.
The XJS was designed to be a luxurious high performance GT car. It's my opinion that the XJS was designed to compete in the same market that was occupied by the outgoing Jensen. The Interceptor was quite successful, producing over six thousand sales. The XJS enjoyed a run of twenty years and sales of over one hundred thousand examples. It obviously filled a market niche.
The XJS was considered to be a near exotic, especially boasting the V12 engine. While it was not cheap, it was much more affordable than competing vehicles. It was never meant to be a a faceless, mass produced and easy to manufacture vehicle. Somehow, the factory managed to cram all those complicated mechanical bits into and under that sleek shell. As I've said before, It's like a jello mold.
Working on these cars is not easy. Affluent customers may have groused about paying for costly repairs and maintenance, but most could easily afford it. Thirty years later these cars have filtered down to everyday enthusiasts. These are the guys that have spent there entire lives turning wrenches. That's how they managed to own and drive the cars that they lusted after.
This leaves the modern enthusiast with a problem. Back then, when a mechanical problem would develop, the original owners would stoically shake their head and take their XJS to the dealer. When the problem was fixed, they would stoically shake their head and write out the check. There was probably little or no thought to the complexity of the repair, or the frustration that the mechanic endured. Which is as it should be, I guess. The upper classes have a responsibility to provide employment for the proletariat!
As the ownership of these vehicles passed down the social and economic chain, subsequent owners felt an increasing financial pressure of trying to preserve a somewhat exotic and eccentric machine. Something had to suffer and it was usually the condition of the vehicle. The depreciated values of these cars made it an unwise economic decision to invest too much money into their upkeep. Love may be priceless but automotive passion often comes down to dollars, and more dollars! Things just got progressively worse as time passed. The British term "banger" comes to mind.
Still, any car is just a damn car. Still looking for an an easier fix.
Welcome to another entry in my "Nothing to be proud of here" series.
My original idea was just repair what had to be replaced. My idea of dropping the inner pivot to allow for the replacement of the A arm bushings has run into a dead end.
Last night though, lying in bed, trying to sleep, I had another idea. Wasn't the front lower bushing located outside of any frame member?
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| All I need is to pull this mess out and scrape the area clean. |
In the morning I went out to the garage to confirm my recollection. I was right.
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| photo source: English parts .com This quality component will set you back. 2.42. No wonder they don't last very long. |
These bushings consist of a steel sleeve surrounded by a tubular rubber bushing. Unlike most suspension bushes however, that rubber tube is not enclosed in another steel tube. Only rubber actually touches the tubular inner surface of the suspension arm mounting point. Maybe I could just slide the pivot bolt back enough to remove the perished bushing and then reinstall a new one? I would just have to scrape out the old rubber which is already pretty much shredded to bits.
Of course this is not the optimum repair. It is at best perhaps only a 25% improvement from the front suspensions diminished state. Still, that wouldn't be that bad of an improvement. I can roll with that. But it's still it's not anything to be proud of.
Now to crawl under the car and get to work. The Gumption is back!
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