Looks like it's been over one year since I've provided an update. There really isn't much to report! I continue to drive this thing to and from work every day and take it on an occasional road trip here and there.
I had to look back at my old posts to fully remember this thing's journey. Seems to me that after I bought the new driveshaft and got the coolant gauge working, the car was basically done. The only things I'd like to do to it now are simple maintenance things that are kind of my fault. I bought brand new OEM-style U joints for the steering linkage when I replaced the rack because I wanted to make sure everything was ok, but it turns out the joints are junk and have been the cause of steering wheel play for a long time now. I'll have to redo the entire linkage at some point. Probably once the Jag is finished.
I had mentioned the oil pan damage that happened last spring. That was fixed in October of 2021. I basically redid what I did the first time but did it right instead. Made better cuts, had a true professional weld it, and painted it properly. Haven't had a drop of oil on the ground since.
After that, the wagon braved the Pennsylvania winter like a champ. Here's some good snowy shots from the season:
Here it is on our anniversary trip with the kayaks:
And here it is in Acadia National Park in Maine:
The trip to Acadia meant that I had driven this wagon to both coasts!
I also used it to get rid of a bunch of scrap metal I had laying around from the Jag project and others. 520 pounds of metal this thing hauled. Didn't feel a thing in the throttle, ride was nice and smooth, brakes were...different.
Most recently, I drove it back to Michigan for the Detroit Concours d'Lemons show. It didn't exactly fit in with the other cars since the car is "reliable" and in "good" condition, but it was definitely appreciated by most of the attendees. Radwood was happening on the other side of the parking lot so it was a pretty fun show to attend.
Currently it sits at just over 314,000 miles. You may recall the swap was done at 278k miles.
I'll touch on the Jaguar project briefly since some of you have asked about it. Sadly, it's been sort of a let-down for me. It was a project I knew from the beginning that I shouldn't have taken on due to time and space constraints but I did it anyways. I thought that the kit I bought for the swap would make things move more quickly, but it turns out I was misled by the seller and paid way too much money for what I got. I got screwed over, and this build has been filled with reminder after reminder of how bad this kit was. I've met other people in the community that have had similar experiences, unfortunately. But at the end of the day, the biggest mistake I made was underestimating the time that would be added to the project due to the donors I chose. Truck LS stuff doesn't fit. I had to source Camaro LS everything, and that got expensive. My Jag was clean for the age and mileage, but it needed a lot of rust work and suspension maintenance.
I've driven the car a few times and it is a nice experience. Haven't gotten it to highway speeds yet so I'm looking forward to that. All it really needs at this point is the interior reassembled, air conditioning hoses built, and a few things properly mounted here and there. I'm very happy with how the spring modification turned out and the new ride height.
Another thing I wish I had done differently with the Jaguar project is post the progress in a thread similar to this one. Posting on YouTube was more time consuming in ways and a lot less rewarding. I'd like to think there's a forum out there of knowledgeable people that could have given good advice like so many of you did on here for this project. There are a lot of Jaguar purists out there that love to hate on people putting different engines in these cars. They think the Jag V12 is God's gift to the automotive world. I don't think so...
So there it is. Hope you enjoyed reading.