RE: PH Heroes: Jaguar XJR-S

[jimbro1000]

Did someone say carbs?



Plenty more at http://wolfdirectjaguar.webs.com

[Turbocharger]

Saw this last year, at a steam fair of all places. Definitely an XJS floorpan, but that's a Rover(?) tailgate and the pillars look professional, if not factory finish. Anyone know any more?

[louismchuge]

More info and the opportunity to purchase it if you're not blessed with the gift of sight or good taste!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1991-JAGUAR-XJ-X-Special-3-6...

[vixen1700]

That was up for auction very recently, dunno if it sold though. Looks like tha back off of a Citroen Xantia.

[johnxjsc1985]

You always get horror stories from people who have never owned one or driven one. My car is a 93 V12 6.0l I have a 1985 5.3 cabbie neither of them have any significant rust on them. If they have been well looked after and serviced and "USED" they are no problem.I am not a mechanic yet the stories of changing spark plugs ar elegendary butI managed to do all 12 in a couple of hours and whilst there I did the leads the Distributor and the Rotor arm.
Looks wise I think they get better with age and remember this car was designed in the late 60's40 years ago.

[johnxjsc1985]

LuS1fer said:

I was 16 and it was the biggest disappointm,ent of my petrolhead existence, not least when Jaguar's brochure was a combined effort with somf fashion house like Jaeger with lots of bad models trying to portray the sophistication of it all. The older Cotroen SM blew it away...no, wait, everything did. I have the '76 Motor Show Review too - compulsory buying back then!

It isnt a boy racer car and dosent really bother getting going until it hits 90mph+ then stick your Citroen next to it and see it dissapear into the distance.Its a Grand Tourer a long distance car not a drag racer.

[XJSJohn]

urquattro said:

JohnBlackWatson said:

XJSJohn said:

XJSJohn, Is this a picture of your own car? can you tell me anything about the revised fuel-rail?

Standard V12 fuel rail unless my glasses fell off. !

I think the XJ-S is probably an age-related car - those that grew up in the 70's love them, everybody else has reservations. A bit like craemola foam!

I have a 1994 4.0L which I absolutely love - it is ideal for cruising around London and belies the outer size with ease. Next month I get my hands on a '79 pre-HE model thes are probably the purest form of the XJ-S.

Other than petrol (which is really only a small percentage of any car's cost) these cars are reletavely cheap to maintain and insure - there is a large specialist spares market and 'classic' insurance - if you like the shape then don't be put off by potential cost - the joy of ownership more than makes up...

OK OCD sorted with the quotes!!

Yes that's a picture of my old XJS

1st, mine was the 60(ish)th HE out of coventry, some time in 1981. I had thought it had died when i had an aquaplaning incident on an autobahn in 2005 but i had a shout from someone on here who never posts, but it turns out that he found her still in the salvage yard several years later and bought her on (for the manual box mostly i suspect)

History - mine was owned by a Honorable gent (his title on the V5) who was not very honorable and did an insurance scam that put him in porridge and the jag in storage, so i bought her in 2002 on 30'000 miles having been in storage for a very long time. That is the old (original) fuel rail that aledgedly caught fire, TBH the V12's got very hit under there so it was more the cooling ability of the radiator etc that was at issue, i had that uprated instead!

Edit to add - some confusion on the bits under the lid may be because it is such an early HE, i learnt this when i purchased my Haynes manual for her - lots of bits and pieces left over from the Pre HE engines still under this one as BL wanted to ensure there was no extra stock left over, hence the extra Rad caps etc.

In my ownership i put some 60'000 miles on her and parts / labour were never extortionate, only issues being raw volumes of oil, or having to buy spark plugs 12 at a time!

The key things to look for on these big cats are overheating problems in engine and rust. Assume that you will need to change (all 53) suspension bushes and probably the gearbox spring plate on purchase.

with my manual conversion i could see 28mpg on an european run .... and 9mpg on a hoon!!!

Finally 2 more gratuitous pictures of the old girl!!







sadly no longer in my care, but heartening to know that she is still on the roads!!!

Edited by XJSJohn on Monday 6th June 15:24

[johnxjsc1985]

Jw Vw said:

I really like these, would love to own one but some of the horror stories i've heard have put me off.

There are few cars available at the moment but if you get a good one they are no more awful than anyother car of its age. The size of the engine and the plumbing are at first daunting but you get used to it after a while and their are plenty of experience downers only too willing to give help and advice.

[johnxjsc1985]

300bhp/ton said:

lol, petrol was certainly the most expensive and largest percentage during my XJ-S ownership. But I guess that just goes to show that they don't have to break the bank to run otherwise.

Reckon my 5.3 averaged around 11mpg most of the time!!! But it did sound glorious

Even giving it some effort ona 200 mile round trip on mostly A roads I avg 17mph its commuting mileage that does the dammage and if you are only doing a couple of thousand miles a year fuel isnt really that relevant.

[XJSJohn]

Ohh and for anyone thinking of an XJS and getting greasy looking after it -

The XJS Owner's Bible Courtesy of Kirby Palm

http://www.jag-lovers.org/xj-s/book/

And the pinnacle of mental XJS's (IMHO). Bradley Smith (RIP) Supercharged XJS

http://www.jcna.com/library/news/2002/jcna0079.htm...

[tedzwedz]

vixen1700 said:

The Lynx Eventer.

Pretty. Especially the last one ever made, a 6.0 clebration facelift model in red.

Shame no Lister 7.0 Le Mans version was ever made ;-) I did discuss this with Lynx once... they were keen if the right Donor car could be found.

For a more practical Jag super estate how about this...
http://www.artcurial.com/fr/asp/fullcatalogue.asp?...

Lot 233 - Jaguar XJR estate.... one off.

[tedzwedz]

[infradig]

Never owned one but have driven quite a few over the years. Had a 3.6 demo for a week in 1988 and loved and hated it in equal measure.It was pretty quick and smooth,had loads of grip and the steering didnt do that horrible weighting up when trying to apply opposite lock thing that older V12's used to do.
But the cramped cabin (fingers jamming between wheel and screen)antique jumping wipers and general bitty finish to the cabin put me off. Not to mention when trying to race a 944 a soldered pipe blew out of the waterpump spaying coolant everywhere,I thought at first the steam was smoke and I blown up a 2,000 mile Jag belonging to Jaguar. Even after this the only reason I got an XJ6 instead (the XJS was actually cheaper) was that my daughter was already too tall to fit in the back,she was 18months!
Could someone please put up a picture of both a standard un-spoilered car and one of the TWR racers as I don't know how to and think all these gaudy R's and Listers give the wrong impression.


edited to point out XJSJohn's pics of his beautiful HE are exactly what meant-pure class

Edited by infradig on Monday 6th June 15:49

[M666 EVO]

Digga said:

ou need to drive one.

I don't mean you need to drive one just to understand XJS's, but really, you need to drive one. They are like nothing else.

I totally agree. I had an XJ6 and thought 'oh this is wafty' then sold it to get an XJS V12 and realised that was what wafty is all about! It was so smooth, it pulled well and was a real head turner. I didn't have anywhere to keep it so sold it for £2100 (bought it for 2k) as I needed to get rid of it quick but that is one car I regret selling. It was such a nice car you can't even begin to understand how nice, if you can, get one!!!

[johnxjsc1985]

Sadly and I do really mean sadly,I have to sell the 6.0l because I have lost my off road parking.Having just changed the plugs leads etc it is going beautifully and I can barely think about the prospect of not having it any longer.

[M666 EVO]

johnxjsc1985 said:

LuS1fer said:

I was 16 and it was the biggest disappointm,ent of my petrolhead existence, not least when Jaguar's brochure was a combined effort with somf fashion house like Jaeger with lots of bad models trying to portray the sophistication of it all. The older Cotroen SM blew it away...no, wait, everything did. I have the '76 Motor Show Review too - compulsory buying back then!

It isnt a boy racer car and dosent really bother getting going until it hits 90mph+ then stick your Citroen next to it and see it dissapear into the distance.Its a Grand Tourer a long distance car not a drag racer.

Agreed... I had mine easily at 140 on the M2 before I sold it, had more to go and it was effortless. My Uncle had an SM years ago, it wouldn't keep anywhere near it. V6 vs V12? Uhem...

[johnxjsc1985]

All that panel work help lots of air to push the car down at high speed and its very stable at speeds of 140mph+.
Dont get me wrong this isnt a Ferrari or a Lambo but its probably the best V12 sports car you can buy for about £7k.
Having said that would you want to travel 600 miles down to the South of France in anything else?.

[vixen1700]

johnxjsc1985 said:

Having said that would you want to travel 600 miles down to the South of France in anything else?.

This is the main reason for us wanting another one, European holidays.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Thanks for the good article.

Very timely for me actually because it has re-ignited my determination to get an XJS. Will probably be a late Convertible but the joys/agonies of the decision-making/dithering process may yet see a result in something entirely different.

They've grown on me; I think time has been fairly kind to the old girl.

[pSyCoSiS]

I really like the XJS.

It looks wildly different, to whatever else was available at the time.

It's an iconic shape now.

Nearly purchased one 2 years ago - 3.6 manual, full leathers, good bodywork, FSH, etc. Only £1k - but the guy sold it 20 mins I called him!

One day, maybe!