So I accidentally... a V12.

So I accidentally... a V12.

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Original Poster:

3,455 posts

175 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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Morning all!

So I've just spent the last 2 years wafting about in this...


A shed at £650 and it's finally succumbed to ruin.

However, I'm not done yet with Jaguars!
Last Friday night I picked up this...






1987 Jaguar XJS V12 HE
It's been in the dry for the last 5 years or so and barely used bar the odd run.
63,000 miles and only a few days older than myself which I quite like in a geeky kind of way.

Anyway. I'm new to V12's. Any advice?

johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

164 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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you must remember to put it into D for drive because you may find yourself sitting on the drive just enjoying the sound of the V12.

a8hex

5,830 posts

223 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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Isn't the whole point that most of the time there is no sound, like cream being gently stirred with a velvet spoon.

CharlesdeGaulle

26,263 posts

180 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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Do update this with your experiences - I really want one.

Jw Vw

4,830 posts

163 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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Gorgeous car.

tortop45

434 posts

160 months

Sunday 28th June 2015
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Anyway. I'm new to V12's. Any advice?
hope youve got deep pockets.......

a8hex

5,830 posts

223 months

Monday 29th June 2015
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tortop45 said:
hope youve got deep pockets.......
I got sent a Birthday/Christmas card once with a picture of an XJ12 at the petrol pumps, the attendant is saying to the driver "Do you mind stopping the engine Sir, I think it's gaining on me"

Google [bot]

6,682 posts

181 months

Monday 29th June 2015
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My advice is to remove that terrible rear spoiler.

That aside, congrats, that is gorgeous thumbup

S10GTA

12,677 posts

167 months

Monday 29th June 2015
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That's awesome. You have large testicles. Congrats.

8bit

4,862 posts

155 months

Monday 29th June 2015
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Lovely! I've been eyeing these up for a while now, yours looks great.

johnxjsc1985

15,948 posts

164 months

Monday 29th June 2015
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the V12 is not a complicated engine and you can work on them ok, most people only do a small mileage in them so petrol isnt an issue its still cheaper to won and run one than it is playing Golf .
I have had a 3.6 a 4.0l celebration a 5.3 cabbie and a 6.0l and they were all wonderful but I just loved the 6.0l I still kick myself for selling it.I have a mint XKR now but it just isnt the same as an XJS V12.

pincher

8,558 posts

217 months

Monday 29th June 2015
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Google [bot] said:
My advice is to remove that terrible rear spoiler.
yes

CharlesdeGaulle

26,263 posts

180 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
pincher said:
Google [bot] said:
My advice is to remove that terrible rear spoiler.
yes
And the leaper. Why do people do that? Presumably removing all the tat means that there are holes to fill and paint, so it becomes a fairly pricey job

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Original Poster:

3,455 posts

175 months

Monday 29th June 2015
quotequote all
CharlesdeGaulle said:
pincher said:
Google [bot] said:
My advice is to remove that terrible rear spoiler.
yes
And the leaper. Why do people do that? Presumably removing all the tat means that there are holes to fill and paint, so it becomes a fairly pricey job
I quite like the leaper...boxedin

However I agree on the spoiler. However as has been pointed out holes and filling makes it not a simple job to just remove it. So for now, it stays to pay for Petrol!



So far,

2 days in and 200 miles into ownership it burst a Power Steering hose and promptly became almost impossible to drive.
Recovered back to a friendly garage as I was away in Cannes for a week and rather wanted it fixed when I got home.

Bar that she's been behaving rather nicely. Slight tick from the water pump so that will need to be looked at some point, however book time says 4~ hours to replace...

Trip Computer says 25~ mpg on the motorway and somewhere near 12-15 average.
I must confess to being quite heavy footed in my first few 100 miles yum
It can be a bit surprising turning out of junctions and after a little sprinkling of rain we had on Sunday it's quite lively...
Softly softly is the word from now on in suspect conditions, unless I want to be silly.

I'm told that replacing wheels and tyres with more modern items improves handling and feel no end, but looses some of the waftyness.
Similarly re-bushing the rack should improve things in the handling regard over bumps and so on.

I've got a light tap/clink/clunk when driving over potholes etc which is front suspension top bushes apparently, not hard to sort again.

Original Clarion head unit seems to be a bit fooked. Only rear left speaker works and only if the balance fader is all the way to the back. So I've ordered a new set of infinity reference X speakers for front and back with a small under seat sub to compensate for the lack of 6x9 space and small ish speaker cones.

These I'll hook up to my JVC Headunit that I'm going to move over from the X300 which isn't too bling blink and has a dim green backlighting to keep it in keeping with the rest of the cabin illumination.

From looking round the manual it looks like it's a manual job to fit an aftermarket headunit as I can't find a multi-connector - ISO harness adapter. So I'll get a generic from Halfrauds and adapt that to my needs.

I might also find a ignition switched live and connect that to a USB Power port in the central cubby as the cigarette socket seems to be permanently live and I don't want an accidentally left in car charger draining my battery. Similarly the USB header for the Headunit.

I'm also considering center silencer deletion... but that might have to wait...

Bodie037

24 posts

105 months

Saturday 1st August 2015
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Congratulations on your new beauty. I bought a V12 XJ-S only a couple of weeks ago, so I shall follow your thread with great interest. Best of luck with the car - it looks really nice in that red.

DrDeAtH

3,587 posts

232 months

Saturday 1st August 2015
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Get a fuel card, negotiate a good rate....

Enjoy your new car, it looks a beauty