Daimler DS420 Hearse
Problems And Faults With Work By
Jaguar Specialist

This is what we have paid a top price to receive!!

Links to Hearse page 1, page 2

WARNING.  Never sanction any work unless you are given some sort of indication towards the cost of that work and what you will get for that price.

Before any work was allowed to commence we asked for an estimate for the likely cost of the work to be carried out.  At no time did he give any indication with regard to the likely cost, even though we asked several times.  All that we were told was that it would not be very much, so we decided to let work start on the engine.  The completed engine looks very nice indeed and the overall work was excellent, apart from a few faults and uncompleted tasks.

As time progressed it turned out that the Jaguar Specialist was not what we had hoped for or expected.  Promises do not seem to have been fulfilled.  The quality of work is not what one would expect from a Specialist and the price charged was far in excess of what one would have reasonably expected it to be, when looking at the final product.  It has fallen on our shoulders to source certain services and/or products which we would have expected a specialist company to have done for us.

We were promised a report on the condition of the engine as it was when we took our vehicle to them in August 2004.  This has not been done.  We were told that the vehicle would be ready for the Wessex Classic Car Show in September 2004.  It was finally collected in a far from finished state in May 2006!

The tailgate needed special reconstruction work to the ash frame and our Specialist did not know of anyone who could do that work.  We had to source someone and we even wrote to Practical Classics to source someone.  Our letter and the answer were subsequently published.  We eventually traced someone not very far away from our Specialist.  When we told him who it was, it turned out the he knew them!  Unfortunately some of the work was of very poor standard, so it was corrected in our Specialist's workshop.  He agreed to contact the ash framer to sort out the cost of the correction, but this has not been done.

Below is a list of faults that we have found, despite paying a top price.

°    Nearside fuel tank not fitted at time of collection, even though the vehicle had been sitting in an open barn about a mile or so away for over a month.
°    The speedometer drive in the gearbox was not fitted, even though the vehicle had been sitting for about 14 months having the bodywork seen to.  We had to source this item.  We gave them       the names and contact detrails of two suppliers, but apparently they were not able to contact them, however we managed at the first attempt!
°    A special speedometer cable had to be made for the vehicle.  We had to source this item.
°    The air filters were not fitted, even though supplied. We had to cut a fuel pipe in order to alter its route in to make room for the air filters.
°    The ignition was set way off.  The manual says it should be 8° before TDC.  This was corrected when we had it tuned.
°    Electronic ignition was in the vehicle when it was driven there, but our Specialist could not get it to work.  They said that it was broken, despite the fact that we had driven it there using                electronic ignition, so conventional ignition was fitted.
°    Engine breather pipe not fitted
°    Second hand clutch slave cylinder fitted.  It was missing the rubber boot.  It started to leak hydraulic fluid and within 1600 miles it had packed up completely.
°    Oil was weeping from cam cover nuts.
°    The inside of the replacement near side front wheel arch was untreated and showed bare metal, even after we had taken it back several times.
°    Nut missing off exhaust bracket by clutch housing, nut and washer appeared to be in chassis nearby.
°    NS fuel pump, supplies insufficient flow of fuel for normal running causing engine to misfire.  This happened after about 60 seconds of cruising at 60 mph on Motorway and the other tank has       to be selected before switching back to the left tank.
°    Vacuum advance from carbs to distributor was missing making the mixture very weak indeed.  Rolling road technician temporarily blanked off the connection at the carbs.
°    The fuel pipe was unprotected where it leaves body.  It rubbed against metal giving potential for future problems through chafing and for water coming inside.
°    Neither of the two rubber sealing rings had been fitted under the fuel tanks.
°    Several rubber bungs were missing, especially those on the transmission tunnel which directed hot air inside the vehicle onto our legs whilst driving!
°    Gear lever boot not fitted.
°    Paint overspray on the chrome radiator grille and other chrome parts.  Rad grille was very rough to touch all over from fine spray mist, so was the front of the vehicle. Front bumper, NS air        vent and NS over rider had overspray.  
°    Overspray on a hub cap, tyre and wheel.
°    Overspray on the rear part of the deck inside the NS rear of the vehicle.
°    Rear bumper that we supplied is damaged and is now rusting in places and in others the chrome is burnt and ruined.  This will have to be replaced or re-chromed.  They told us that it was for a       Mk10 Jaguar and therefore the bracket needed to be moved, despite having been assured by them that it would fit beforehand.
°    The locks in the doors are fitted differently and don’t match.  One is facing up and the other is facing down.
°    The doors were not fully bolted on to the door frame.
°    The nearside door rubbed against the sill causing rust to form.
°    The cover for heater box was missing, but was subsequently fitted.
°    The spring clip holding the NS interior door handle is missing.
°    There was a spring missing from the step that opens out on the driver’s side of the body.
°    The wooden block with a metal peg that holds the NS rear bearer seat in place had been broken off and was missing causing the seat to swivel. This has since been rectified.
°    The repairs to the front edges of the bonnet had not been treated to prevent corrosion, leaving bare metal.  The rest of these repairs had been brush painted and not smoothed down.
°    The part of the lower nearside body, that covers the sill, was sticking out thus causing a place for water to enter and for the sill to start to corrode inside.
°    The escutcheon for the lock in the rear tailgate was not only loose, but was fitted at an angle. Incorrect screws used to fit escutcheon.
°    A self tapping screw instead of the normal threaded screw had been used to hold the door lock in place on the tailgate.  When this was corrected, the tailgate could not be locked and the key       removed leaving it locked.
°    The aluminium cover on the lower edge of the top part of the tailgate has been screwed on in many places looking most unsightly.  The old one was tacked on with panel pins at the edge. This       old one was available to refit but we were told that it was too thin.  There was a chrome lock cover that was left off and still left off after the other corrections had been done.
°    The aluminium part behind the above mentioned part is missing.
°    The top edge of the lower part of the tailgate did not have the aluminium covering edge fitted leaving bare wood.  This has to be opened every time the vehicle is refuelled, making one                     vulnerable to splinters.  This was later fitted, but a badly fitting screw above left gouge marks in the lower cover
°    The aluminium part inside the above mentioned is missing.
°    Bottom tailgate stuck out at bottom left corner.
°    NS rear quarter is shaped differently from OS.  This makes bottom corner of tailgate appear to protrude
°    The inner ‘cards’ beside the bearers’ seats were missing, but were fitted at a later date, as was another part under the dash board.
°    The inner side panels under the deck and alongside the fuel tanks are missing, apart from one short section. Most of these were provided and left lying around under the deck
°    We need to collect the original automatic gearbox, Serial Number 33370.
°    We need to collect the original pedal box in case we decide to refit the automatic gearbox
°    We need to collect the original air filter and connections including the air intake pipe.
°    We need to collect the original fan.

We have been back to the Specialists who have corrected most of the faults and have fited various parts that they had not fitted beforehand and which they had also not given to us when we first collected the vehicle from them.

They fitted the rear lock more efficiently, but it will not now lock, which it did beforehand.  There is now overspray from the bonnet inside the engine bay.  They have fitted an aluminium cover over the top edge of the lower part of the tailgate, but it is now marked by the protruding screws in the top part of the tailgate.  They have told us that the rear bumper was from a MK 10 Jaguar and as a result the fittings were incorrect and had to be moved.  At least that was only necessary on one side of the bumper which seems rather strange.

We have yet to receive an itemised account of their work and the parts fitted in the bodyshop.