A barge with a mission...
Discussion
To my eternal shame, until recently, I'd never owned a barge. A few other interesting cars, yes - but due to always seeming to have a few other motors sat around, and hence never being able to justify it, barge ownership is a box which has remained unticked - until now.
Or until about two weeks ago to be exact, when a friend and I were sat in the pub discussing silly road trip ideas - and came up with a plan which we felt couldn't be done justice without at least a few acres of shiny British metal.
So, the following day, we headed down to deepest Cornwall, handed over £900, and took ownership of this:
1.7 tonnes of K-reg Jaguar XJ6, packed with early '90s class and propelled (just about) by a mellifluous 3.2l straight-6.
Early impressions are very positive, and do much to dispel the unreliable reputation of older jags. For £900 we've picked up a rust free, 3 owner, apparently reliable car with 6 months tax, 12 months MOT, and an indicated 58k on the clock. Fair enough, it's only got half leather, it needed tires and a new thermostat, and smelled like an ashtray, but other than that, it's been awesome value for money so far - provided you ignore the fuel consumption that is!
I've never owned a Jag before, generally gravitating towards sportier metal, and hence to be honest I wasn't sure if I'd get on with it or not. However my driving style has adapted quickly, slowing down to the car's pace and enjoying simply wafting slowly along, basking in comfort and quietness, and the beautifully damped feel of all the controls.
And so, on to the mission. Every winter, provided the temperature drops low enough, the Baltic Sea freezes between the Estonian coast, and some of its islands. Across this frozen ice sheet, several winter roads are sometimes made which link the islands with the mainland, up to 16km away. Given that 2012 is a very British year - the year of the Queens Jubilee, and of the London Olympics - celebrating in our small way by driving a Jaguar over a frozen sea, with Rule Britannia on the stereo, seemed a particularly logical thing to do. Hence the Jag has now gained a set of winter tires and is currently en-route for Estonia, and a trip across the Baltic sea-ice...
Fingers crossed the Jag lives up to its positive first impressions and takes the 4,000 mile round trip - and the ice roads - in its stride!
Or until about two weeks ago to be exact, when a friend and I were sat in the pub discussing silly road trip ideas - and came up with a plan which we felt couldn't be done justice without at least a few acres of shiny British metal.
So, the following day, we headed down to deepest Cornwall, handed over £900, and took ownership of this:
1.7 tonnes of K-reg Jaguar XJ6, packed with early '90s class and propelled (just about) by a mellifluous 3.2l straight-6.
Early impressions are very positive, and do much to dispel the unreliable reputation of older jags. For £900 we've picked up a rust free, 3 owner, apparently reliable car with 6 months tax, 12 months MOT, and an indicated 58k on the clock. Fair enough, it's only got half leather, it needed tires and a new thermostat, and smelled like an ashtray, but other than that, it's been awesome value for money so far - provided you ignore the fuel consumption that is!
I've never owned a Jag before, generally gravitating towards sportier metal, and hence to be honest I wasn't sure if I'd get on with it or not. However my driving style has adapted quickly, slowing down to the car's pace and enjoying simply wafting slowly along, basking in comfort and quietness, and the beautifully damped feel of all the controls.
And so, on to the mission. Every winter, provided the temperature drops low enough, the Baltic Sea freezes between the Estonian coast, and some of its islands. Across this frozen ice sheet, several winter roads are sometimes made which link the islands with the mainland, up to 16km away. Given that 2012 is a very British year - the year of the Queens Jubilee, and of the London Olympics - celebrating in our small way by driving a Jaguar over a frozen sea, with Rule Britannia on the stereo, seemed a particularly logical thing to do. Hence the Jag has now gained a set of winter tires and is currently en-route for Estonia, and a trip across the Baltic sea-ice...
Fingers crossed the Jag lives up to its positive first impressions and takes the 4,000 mile round trip - and the ice roads - in its stride!
Thanks guys, it's good to see that people's appreciation for that very particularly British brand of stupidity is still alive and well!
The Jag left the UK 2-up at the end of last week, and is rumoured to now be in Poland. It had winter tires fitted in Germany, and (touch wooden dash) is going well so far, bar some over-cooling (partly fixed by gaffa-taping over the grille) and a temperamental heater which has resulted in a rather chilly interior, to say the least - still, not bad for a £900 impulse buy! Unfortunately last minute work issues mean I couldn't be with my Jag from the outset, but I'll be joining the trip in a day or two, just in time for the ice road - and the return journey through Finland and Sweden. And further good news - as of Friday, a 10.2KM ice road has opened across the ice, so the long drive to Estonia in search of sea ice now isn't completely speculative: http://news.err.ee/d29c88b4-7254-48ea-8739-3497d32...
Not sure how well it fits into the readers' cars section, but if people are interested, I'll post how it goes...
The Jag left the UK 2-up at the end of last week, and is rumoured to now be in Poland. It had winter tires fitted in Germany, and (touch wooden dash) is going well so far, bar some over-cooling (partly fixed by gaffa-taping over the grille) and a temperamental heater which has resulted in a rather chilly interior, to say the least - still, not bad for a £900 impulse buy! Unfortunately last minute work issues mean I couldn't be with my Jag from the outset, but I'll be joining the trip in a day or two, just in time for the ice road - and the return journey through Finland and Sweden. And further good news - as of Friday, a 10.2KM ice road has opened across the ice, so the long drive to Estonia in search of sea ice now isn't completely speculative: http://news.err.ee/d29c88b4-7254-48ea-8739-3497d32...
Not sure how well it fits into the readers' cars section, but if people are interested, I'll post how it goes...
dbdb said:
Wonderful.
It looks a good car, the only real problem these late XJ40s suffer is rust. If the body is good the rest will go on forever. It is the perfect car for it, partly because most people will probably think it won't even get there!
I don't want to worry you with the ice or anything, but it might weigh more than you think. My handbook says my 3.2 Sovereign is definately 1825kgs...
Indeed, I was as surprised as anyone when I couldn't find any rust! I haven't checked the handbook weight but I'm sure you're right - I took the 1.7 tonne figure from the ever reliable wikipedia. The weight limit for the Ice roads is 2.5 tonnes, so we've still got a bit of a safety margin! It looks a good car, the only real problem these late XJ40s suffer is rust. If the body is good the rest will go on forever. It is the perfect car for it, partly because most people will probably think it won't even get there!
I don't want to worry you with the ice or anything, but it might weigh more than you think. My handbook says my 3.2 Sovereign is definately 1825kgs...
Just in case anyone's been searching the BBC for news stories involving a Jaguar XJ6 sinking in the Baltic - Don't! The Jag has covered the 2,000 miles to Estonia without missing a beat, and drove across 18 miles of frozen ocean today. I think that there's a moral in there somewhere for anyone who's considering a barge purchase, but is nervous about reliability...
Anyway, i've put a few words about driving the ice roads here if anyone's interested: http://80breakdowns.com/2012/02/16/the-ice-road-co...
Anyway, i've put a few words about driving the ice roads here if anyone's interested: http://80breakdowns.com/2012/02/16/the-ice-road-co...
iain_thornton said:
I do hope you're going to make a full write-up of this trip!
I'm sure that can be arranged. There are links to a trip report and photos, etc, here: http://80breakdowns.com/2012/03/01/the-baltic-ice-...The Jag is now back home after 11 countries and nearly 5,000 miles, in 14 days, without so much as a hiccup. I can't remember ever being so impressed by a vehicle's ability to cover ground effortlessly and without drama. Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, 22MPG, and £1182 at the pumps!
Ronstar said:
I thought I'd have a quick peek at your website and now, 2 hours later and despite having some fairly serious deadlines at work, I have read all of your blogs and started planning a trip to Morocco or Turkey with some friends next year. Truly inspiring!
We have so far decided: Camping, max 3 or 4 cars, £500 budget, if you have a convertible you must keep the roof down the whole way.
Great work!
Good stuff, sounds like a fine plan! I'm sure you'll have an awesome time We have so far decided: Camping, max 3 or 4 cars, £500 budget, if you have a convertible you must keep the roof down the whole way.
Great work!
I'm just looking into Morocco at the moment actually - if you decide to head there and fancy getting off the beaten track, I can heartily recommend getting hold of 'Morocco Overland' by Chris Scott. I've just got mine, and as well as the usual trip planning stuff, it details plenty of interesting 'off road' routes in the Atlas and Sahara which can be driven in a normal car (the author used a Merc 190 to research this). All in all, quite an inspiring read if you're up for something slightly more adventurous than endless tarmac.
Right, back to the barge. I've just cleaned the 5,000 miles of grit and grime off HMS Jag, returning it to its former aristocratic glory. As usual in such situations, a few photos were in order...
I still can't believe what a bargain it's been, wafting us 5,000 miles in 14 days without so much as a hiccup. £900 shed barges are truly the way to go!
dbdb said:
Fabulous stuff - I enjoyed your blog as well.
The XJ40 is such a great car and not at all fragile, badly built and unreliable like so many seem to think! Is it still running cold? - It would have done more like 28 mpg with a new thremostat!
Do you plan to keep it?
David
Funnily enough, we had a new thermostat - in the glovebox! However it's amazing how much your enthusiasm for working under the bonnet dies off when you wake up in some unfamiliar city, it's minus ten outside, and you have a hangover. Still, we paid the price (literally) for our laziness through all the extra fuel we had to put in the tank...The XJ40 is such a great car and not at all fragile, badly built and unreliable like so many seem to think! Is it still running cold? - It would have done more like 28 mpg with a new thremostat!
Do you plan to keep it?
David
Unfortunately, the charismatic Jag is car number 4 on the drive, and I can't really justify keeping it - despite really wanting to, so it went up for sale this weekend. I'll be sad to see it go though, and am pretty sure it won't be the last big Jag i own - though for the next road trip we've already decided we need and old LHD Merc, so if anyone has one and cares for a swap, I'm all ears!
Completely agree in what a good car the XJ40 is by the way. We chose one for our little trip purely because we wanted to take something comfy and British, but were completely won over by the way it just kept going day after day, whatever the conditions, and always felt like it would happily keep purring around the Baltic until the end of time. A month ago, I didn't really 'get' Jaguars; now, the thought finding some excuse to get an LPG'd XJR seems to be cropping up almost daily...
scotty_d said:
I used to run a L reg xj40 3.2 in the same trim as yours for over 2 years and the best part of 45k it was a great car. Mine ran on lpg, seeing yours makes me miss mine 
And great to see it waft you 5000 easy miles .
I have a feeling I'll feel exactly the same when I've sold it; it's definitely a contender for being the best car I've ever owned. Really wish I could justify holding on to it but needs must. And great to see it waft you 5000 easy miles . Just been getting all nostalgic and going through some of the film we took on the trip around the Baltic. I'm going to put together a proper video of it in time, but until then, here's a few clips of the Jag on the Estonian ice roads if anyone's interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nr6Q_z-Id8
(Must be due to the tags I entered, but it's somewhat ironic that when I play it, youtube's suggested videos are all about the MV Estonia ferry sinking in the Baltic! :-s)
We evidently have pretty similar taste in cars naki! I've also got a Range Rover classic (which a previous owner endowed with a pre serp TVR V8, custom exhaust, LPG, and a quite biblical soundtrack 
). We thought about taking said beast to the Baltic, but decided agaist it because of the weight, and the fact using a 4x4 for the trip would probably make it too easy. Also, not taking the Rangie gave the perfect excuse to buy & experience the Jag.
The heater came back to life in Berlin when the grille got gaffa-taped up to stop the engine overcooling, so we were toasty warm for most of the trip, and all the grit was cleaned off the car on our return, so hopefully - fingers crossed - we haven't caused any long term rust issues. As for keeping the Jag, don't tempt me! But i've currently got a diesel estate which i need for work, a TVR which i NEED for weekends, the epic Rangie which i need for... erm... yeah, all this snow we've had this year, and a half restored moneypit of a Mini - so despite it's all-round awesomeness, i'm afraid the Jag has to go, if only for the sanity of my bank balance. It will be missed, but that was the plan all along.
). We thought about taking said beast to the Baltic, but decided agaist it because of the weight, and the fact using a 4x4 for the trip would probably make it too easy. Also, not taking the Rangie gave the perfect excuse to buy & experience the Jag.The heater came back to life in Berlin when the grille got gaffa-taped up to stop the engine overcooling, so we were toasty warm for most of the trip, and all the grit was cleaned off the car on our return, so hopefully - fingers crossed - we haven't caused any long term rust issues. As for keeping the Jag, don't tempt me! But i've currently got a diesel estate which i need for work, a TVR which i NEED for weekends, the epic Rangie which i need for... erm... yeah, all this snow we've had this year, and a half restored moneypit of a Mini - so despite it's all-round awesomeness, i'm afraid the Jag has to go, if only for the sanity of my bank balance. It will be missed, but that was the plan all along.
Well, after succeeding in it's mission in fine style, the Jaguar went to it's new owner a few weeks ago - truly a sad day, and it will be missed greatly. However the space in the garage hasn't remained vacant for long, as to follow on from the Baltic Ice road trip, we've decided to spend the Queen's Jubilee weekend in June driving something quintessentially British up a Saharan sand dune, with God Save the Queen blasting out and Union Jack fluttering proudly in the wind - and this is obviously a fine excuse to get another unusual car. Hence, after a few speculative ebay bids on V12 Jags, XJRs and the like, I now have another barge, with another, somewhat warmer mission:
It's a 1975 Rover P6, with the 3.5l V8, auto box, and a lot of brown. It's MOTed until July, has 78k on the clock, and cost £800. The general plan is to jack up the suspension, fit underbody protection and a roof tent, and head out to explore the untarmaced bits of Morocco, and possibly Mauritania, in June.
But first, I've got to collect it and coax it the 200-odd miles home from London. Which could be interesting. If it makes it, I'll get some decent pics up in a few days. And if it doesn't; well there'll be interesting pictures then too!
It's a 1975 Rover P6, with the 3.5l V8, auto box, and a lot of brown. It's MOTed until July, has 78k on the clock, and cost £800. The general plan is to jack up the suspension, fit underbody protection and a roof tent, and head out to explore the untarmaced bits of Morocco, and possibly Mauritania, in June.
But first, I've got to collect it and coax it the 200-odd miles home from London. Which could be interesting. If it makes it, I'll get some decent pics up in a few days. And if it doesn't; well there'll be interesting pictures then too!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff