My S-type

Mike Roddy Motors chosen to do the IRS for my S-Type Restoration and update.

A little while ago I loaded up the trailer with the new, used and greasy, parts from my
diff and went off to Mike Roddy to have it overhauled. At a recent visit Mike directed me
to the corner of his workshop where my diff, now best described as looking like a piece
of art, was sitting, ready to be refitted to the car. The process that it underwent to
perform this transition went a bit like this.

Firstly all the parts were disassembled and cleaned, working out what was reusable and what would need to be replaced as they went. In this case new bearings and shockers.
Then all the large components were sent out to be sandblasted and those that were originally black were then sent out to be powder-coated, after any threads were protected.

Alloy parts were returned to their original condition, including the alloy shims from the
bottom of the shockers, the diff centre painted the original red oxide colour and the
new shockers repainted in the original grey. this allows you to use quality shockers,
konis in this case, and still retain the original look of the Jaguar components.

All the nuts and bolts are sent out and replated with the original silver zinc coating
The diff centre was then reset including pinion heights, and the center was all setup correctly to eliminate any backlash, using the correct shims and factory settings. this centre is from a SIII to allow for a 3.07:1 ratio and later model brakes.
Using the SIII XJ6 disks and calipers, the brakes were then set up. This included fully rebuilding the calipers, facing the disks, and complete new brake pipes, for longevity and safety.

New bearings were added and the hubs repacked and sealed. The whole assembly was
then put back together including tie wires and split pins to prevent any of the bolts from
coming undone in the future. Now it is ready for use and as I said at the start a work of art.
Mike and his staff have taken real care in the preparation of this part of my S-type and
I am very happy with the result, with the work being a credit to his business

While mine is a show / concours quality dif restoration Mike is happy to rebuild your diff fully
from around $2250 and then further prepare it to whatever standard you require. He tells me, he has done many like this for E-type, S-type and 420 but XJ6 owners tend to just go for a rebuild. He can also of course prepare a reconditioned diff for any model jaguar and has
done so for everything from an SS100 through to an XJ40 or two with everything in between!

Next for the S-type is to settle on motor and gearbox combinations with the current leaning being a 4.2 with carbs from an XJ6 SII and turbo 700, four speed automatic from a
commodore which is reportedly a very good combination. this will be more of a cruse than sporting car so I won’t be using a manual.

My S-Type Restoration and Enhancement.