Welcome to another Newsletter, which we hope will now become a regular and informative communication. We aim to bring you information, not only on new products but also on sometimes overlooked parts that have a dramatic effect on the performance and safety of our XKs.

"It's an old car"

While vast amounts of effort go into the body, paint, interior and chrome, I am always a little frustrated that the best driving experience can be dismissed by the often sweeping statement I hear, "it's an old car, what can you expect?"

Safe at 100 mph

Well, truthfully you should expect quite a lot. Even an early XK120, properly rebuilt to standard specification, can easily exceed 100mph safely and should provide rewarding and safe fun. So many times I test drive a very pretty looking XK only to be rather disappointed, and in some cases even scared to exceed 60mph!

Stirling Moss Skills

If your XK shows signs of needing ‘Stirling Moss’ skills just to navigate 50mph sweeping roads, then it’s time to treat the car to some professional help.  Not only will it be the best thing you could do for the car but also will give you much more value return in performance and investment.

Wake up to winter
The last Newsletter looked forward to summer, with some suitable tips.  As winter, at least at this end of the globe, looms up at us, I have included some, I hope, useful advice about putting away your car or, for the more intrepid, upgrading your electrics.  Mind you, there is nothing to stop you doing both.

Most of the summer rallies are now behind us, here in the UK at least. The evenings are getting darker, the weather less pleasant and for some it may be time to start thinking about putting the XK into hibernation for another year.

Leaving the car in the garage, even for a while, without regular use does need a little preparation. If you are in the colder parts of the world, the first job is to ensure that you have either antifreeze in the cooling system or have drained it. The same goes for the screen washer – broken screen washer bottles are an expensive alternative to screen wash additive.

The next piece of advice may come as a surprise and that is to leave as little fuel in the car as possible. Modern petrol (gasoline) seems to go off rather quickly and leave a crystal-like powder behind, which can block jets and filters. I was at Silverstone recently where an XK owner was having problems with fuel overflowing from his SUs. We took off the float chamber tops and all looked well. But the residue from modern fuels is difficult to see and, when we cleaned out the float chambers, there was a lot of white power that was causing the problem. Less fuel in the tank means less risk of blockages.

Beware of rodents too. One little mouse can do untold damage to the hood, trim or wiring and many a trimmer has been kept in business by the little critters. Experience shows that the best way to deal with them is to leave some traditional ‘Little Nipper’ traps around the garage or even in the car and use melted chocolate in place of the traditional cheese. Trust me; it works!

Some owners drain the oil before laying a car up but I prefer to change the oil ready to start a new season. However, if you do drain the oil or water and leave the car dry – tape a warning sign across the steering wheel so you don’t forget and run the car without oil or water in it. I have to say that I prefer to have the car in full running order the whole time and at least once a month start it up. If you do this, first take it outside so you are not gassed but also run the car long enough so that everything is brought up to temperature. If you can’t take it on the road try and make sure that you get as much temperature into the exhaust as you can to dry out the condensation that will inevitably get into it from not getting everything up to temperature.

Finally tyres: some suggest putting the car on axle stands to prevent flat spots occurring but I prefer to make sure the tyres are properly inflated and kept so. If you have got room then move the car occasionally so it does not always sit on the same part of the tyre treads... READ MORE