June 6, 2026 entry:
When I took delivery of the car, it was apparent that some items needed attention right away. The tires were the second set of Pirelli's (P4's) and tread was like new! However, they were purchased 18 years ago. The car was a family estate sell and after the owner passed away and the car sat for some time, flat-spotting the tires. So, first job was replacing them with Pirelli P5's as original.
Then I dug into the boot and discovered a tear in the flexible rubber tube at the filler cap. Otherwise the original hoses were remarkably in good excellent condition without perceivable odor. However, not trusting those old hoses I replaced them with Gates Barricade FI hoses. I also had the tank professionally sand-blasted and coated with the Renu process, then I re-installed with new o-ring, filler tube, and the hoses.
To deal with the Rochester valve issues, I replaced the valve and added two filters to the canister in the left front fender well. I Also replaced the battery with an Optima unit.
Noting the sluggish throttle response, I pulled the plugs and wires and replaced them, along with cap and rotor. I also removed the distributor and vacuum advance module. Sure enough, just as Kirby predicts in "The Book", the distributor was "gummed up" by the lousy Jag lubricant from the factory and the vacuum advance unit was not working right either. So at the moment I am rebuilding them both according to Kirby's recommendations in "The Book". Also noted that the throttle rods are sloppy because of the deterioration of the lousy Jaguar rubber bushings, and I am replacing them with bronze bushings.
An interesting find when disassembling the distributor, I found the notorious "thingy" washer that is mentioned in "The Book", in perfect condition! This part was apparently never available as a replacement. It being intact gave me further confidence that the car truly is a very low mileage example, along with the pristine condition of the fuel tank (Renu coated because it's bound to deteriorate sometime and I don't want to remove it again!!!). Will update projects periodically as progress is made.
Introduction
Lady Penelope is a 1988 SX-SC, 5.3L with 27,000 miles. I took delivery the summer of 2025, somewhat skeptical of the low mileage, but I couldn't help pull the trigger on it. I have been pleasantly surprised by the condition of the car, which does support the claimed low mileage. She has both hard and soft rear tops, tops storage bag, and T-tops. Remarkably everything works... at the moment!
Lady Penelope Projects
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