I just acquired a 1974 jaguar xke original paint garage kept around 34000 miles. It has not started in 20 plus years know there is rust in the gas tank. Any help on the best way to start this project to get the car running again. Any tips would be appreciated. Planned on resurfacing the fuel tank blowing out fuel lines and changing all the fluids . Unsure if I should rebuild the carburetors or see if they are still functioning. Justin

Submitted by Pat Mansfield on Tue, 01/21/2014 - 09:10

Having just gone through this exercise (mine sat for 10 yrs and has 34,00 miles) the following is LIKELY.
Remove and have the gas tank refurbished including new filter. There should be local places that can do this. They then coat the inside of the tank. Fuel pump is a very likely candidate as is are all fluid reservoirs (clutch master cyl, brake master cyl). Drain and flush radiator. Brakes: Likely frozen and likely to require complete rebuilds including flushing/renewing of all fluid in the lines. Carbs will almost certainly need to be rebuilt but this is not a very hard job.

Submitted by joshbartlett@r… on Tue, 01/14/2014 - 12:31

I don't remember if this is an interfearence engine - that is, one which would have the valves contact the pistons if they were to stick open, I would be very careful to not spin the engine with the starter until I had turned it through two complete revolutinons by hand.

If there is any indication of stuck valves - perhaps it would be best to check with the covers off - I would be sure to free them up before I tried to start the engine.

This could save a disaster from occuring!

Goiod Luck!
Josh

Submitted by bonnettoboot@e… on Mon, 01/13/2014 - 01:06

You have the right plan to start with, I would check the oil level then, remove the spark plugs and drop a few drops of oil into each cylinder then loosley refit the plugs, now leave it a day or so. During this time you can start cleaning out the fuel lines and the carbs. Move back to the engine and remove the plugs, you will by now have a good battery installed, if it is stick, with the help of a friend put it in gear and rock it back and forward a few times ,you should see the fan belts turning, if so select nuetral, you can now turn on the ignition and turn over the engine, watch the oil gauge and pressure should rise within a couple of minutes, if it is Automatic you have to omit the rocking part. Now is a good time to do a compression test. Now, operate the choke and get a fuel supply, possibly using a funnel and tube to put fuel into the carb supply line. Turn over the engine and will enjoy the sound. Once at this point you need to make a plan of what you need do to get it into running condition.