xj6 series2/3?

[sjc]

I've got this probably mad idea of having a useable classic for work ( round trip of about 35 miles). Would a decent xj6 series2/3 be up to it? Have bought Jag Monthly for the buying guide,but wondered if anyone has first hand experience or could point me in the direction of a good one? Also recommendations for servicing in Essex ( have JD classics on my doorstep).I'm not particularly mech minded,so I'm hoping that its not more trouble than its worth!

[sjc]

Many thanks, there's some great advice from all the posts.I do prefer the S2 to the S3 appearance wise, and both of them to the later cars ( my dad had one and I polished it every weekend for football boot money etc!) It would be used 3 or 4 times a week at least ( the idea being to keep some mileage of my Noble that I use every day!)so in light of what's been said maybe as an everyday proposition a later car would do it, but I wouldn't get the "classic" feeling which I like the idea of. I have the chance to buy a 1 owner 1998 3.2ltr V8 sport with 142000 miles, full Strastone history, new engine at 80K (now non Nikasil I assume) for £1500ish.The wrong colour and shape for me,but maintenance might be less and probably half the price of a series 2/3. Any other advice would be appreciated.

Edited by sjc on Sunday 13th September 17:44

[sjc]

sjc said:

I have the chance to buy a 1 owner 1998 3.2 V8 sport with 142000 miles, full Stratstone Woodford history, new engine at 80K (now non Nikasil I assume) for £1300ish.The wrong colour and shape for me,but maintenance might be less and probably half the price of a series 2/3. Any other advice would be appreciated.

Sorry to resurrect my own thread but the above car is now available.The guy is a friend, and wouldn't knowingly sell me a dud.Just been MOT'd and taxed, was last serviced at 140,000miles 18 months ago, it's now at 142 thou, but has stood unmoved for a year.The new Jag engine was fitted at 80K due to the engine constantly flooding after a mile or so( would this be a common prob)?
I've just driven it, engine and box fine,a gentle clonking from the back like an exhaust mount, but of more concern was a vibration from the back that could be the(fairly new) P6000tyres being flatted as the car has stood still for so long,or something more sinister like the diff.I would have asssumed that something like that would be picked up during Jag main dealer servicing,and shocks would have failed the MOT.I'm gonna have my man put it up on the ramps first before I commit either way, as the ride certtainly wasn't "Jag like". If it all checks out,first thing I'd do is have the "sealed for life " box oil changed, and if I can grab it for 1100 quid or so I'd then get the small bits of surface rust on the windscreen pillar and other dings'minor scrapes sorted and for about £1500 I might have something to waft 5000 miles a year in, albeit it in old man green with walnut,which will put years on me !
Not sure about tensioners,water pump etc or how to spot what version of them, any other advice appreciated.

[sjc]

Jaguar steve said:

sjc said:

sjc said:

I have the chance to buy a 1 owner 1998 3.2 V8 sport with 142000 miles, full Stratstone Woodford history, new engine at 80K (now non Nikasil I assume) for £1300ish.The wrong colour and shape for me,but maintenance might be less and probably half the price of a series 2/3. Any other advice would be appreciated.

Sorry to resurrect my own thread but the above car is now available.The guy is a friend, and wouldn't knowingly sell me a dud.Just been MOT'd and taxed, was last serviced at 140,000miles 18 months ago, it's now at 142 thou, but has stood unmoved for a year.The new Jag engine was fitted at 80K due to the engine constantly flooding after a mile or so( would this be a common prob)?
I've just driven it, engine and box fine,a gentle clonking from the back like an exhaust mount, but of more concern was a vibration from the back that could be the(fairly new) P6000tyres being flatted as the car has stood still for so long,or something more sinister like the diff.I would have asssumed that something like that would be picked up during Jag main dealer servicing,and shocks would have failed the MOT.I'm gonna have my man put it up on the ramps first before I commit either way, as the ride certtainly wasn't "Jag like". If it all checks out,first thing I'd do is have the "sealed for life " box oil changed, and if I can grab it for 1100 quid or so I'd then get the small bits of surface rust on the windscreen pillar and other dings'minor scrapes sorted and for about £1500 I might have something to waft 5000 miles a year in, albeit it in old man green with walnut,which will put years on me !
Not sure about tensioners,water pump etc or how to spot what version of them, any other advice appreciated.

If it's a friend selling ask if you can borrow the car for a couple of days and put a few miles on it before you decide.

Clonking or rattling from the rear is usually a worn shockabsorber - either the shock itself or the bottom mount. A vibration from the rear is likley to be either tyres out of shape or balance or a worn CV joint or possibly a propshaft bearing. If it's the latter two chances are you'll be able to turn the vibration on and off with the throttle. If it's a tyre it'll be worse at certain road speeds. Failing 'diffs are almost invariably noisy long before they start causing vibration. If a 'diff really is vibrating badly you'd better get ready to start walking.

You certainly won't get a traditional Jag like magic carpet ride from a X308. I'm afraid the days of Jaguar ride quality being stunningly good have long gone - ride has been sacrificed for grip, feel and handling by fitting lower profile tyres and using much higher spring and damping rates as well as much stiffer mountings. If you don't believe me borrow a good Series 3 or XJ40 (or almost any modern Citroen or Peugeot) for a day and mourn just how much refinement has been lost. Depending on what date the replacement engine was fitted will almost certainly determine which waterpump and tensioners are fitted. The different waterpumps have different gaskets. IIRC the later one has a black plastic gasket and the earlier type is metal Anything on the engine before 2000 will be suspect and you may have proplems with the throttle body unless the recall has been done, plastic timing chain tensioners, (1.0 hour labour to check, about 3.0h to change both). Worse case is all the timing gear may be worn - which'l cost more than you're paying for the car to replace.

Don't rely on main dealer servicing - mostly it's poor quality work done in a hurry with corners cut and items missed. I've lost count of the cars I've seen and worked on with FMDSH that have had half empty gearboxes and 'diffs, missed fluid changes, bits broken off or missing or incorrectly put back together, loose bolts and dried up UJs.

You'll also need the check behind the front shocks on the reinforcing plates where the subframe is mounted to the body on both sides for evidence of corrosion. This is a potentially really serious and expensive problem on 308s if unchecked.

It's a high miler which can be a real problem with neglected X308s - not so if it's been really well cared for and available at the right price, but buy with your eyes wide open and do a full fluid change as soon as you get it if you want it to last.

Thanks Stve, that's a really informative post.

[sjc]

Ok I've declined the car mentioned above, wil keep you informed of any progress with others.Thanks for all your replies, and JaguarSteve really appreciate the offer.

[sjc]

O.K. on the advice of some of you on this very helpful forum,today I've driven a 4 litre Daimler Six and frankly it was lovely.Simply wafted along, quietly smoothly and without fuss.It looked like it may have had the odd bit of paint,its done 100K but it's had only 2 owners of 7 years each, and the seller is hoping to contact the last owner to fill in the recent gap in the service book ( The way it drove it certainly hasn't been neglected, maybe owner maintained).A few things to ask the informed

1:Anything model dependent to the Daimler six to look out for?
2:Is this model likely to become more of a classic than others of that era?
3:The dashboard vents were a bit wobbly,common/easy fix? The Air-con worked fine, but the dash vents were not moving as one on the spindle.Could live with it but as I'd have to look at it all the time it might become annoying!
Not going to rush in s there's also a 3.2 litre Sport that looks promising elsewhere,but I'm now sold on a X300 straight Six to waft me to work!

[sjc]

I bought a 1 owner 28K miles unmarked immac Rover 75 2.5 V6 Connoisseur S.E Auto for 2400 quid instead. 5 months later the ride, waft and kit at that money still leaves me gobsmacked!

[sjc]

Ok, this'll be a holy thread resurrection batman!
My original intention at the start of this thread years ago was was to use a XJ series 2/3 as a daily, then the plan became a slightly newer XJ from the late 80's early 90's, (that also passed) and eventually as above a I got myself a mint 75 V6 instead. 70K miles later I still have it doing me proud in every day use..... but I'm now hankering for an old XJ again.....
So,I'll be 50 in January, and my pressie to myself is going to be a series 1 or series 2XJ or XJC (I appreciate the XJC will be much more money for the equivalent condition). I can't escape my very first childhood car memory of sitting between the front seats of a friends dad's 2.8 series 1 when I was aged 6, the iconic poster of the boy squeezed up at the glass thinking "one day one day", or indeed the grace of my old mans series 2 in lavender blue years later that I religiously cleaned.To add to it, he's getting on now, and I'd love to see his face if I turned up in one..
It will be very occasional use only this time, as much to smile and look at as anything else, maybe 1000 miles a year or so,and maybe stored in winter possibly.
I'm already excited, although the wife thinks I'm mad! There appears to be a decent choice at the moment in my price range, so I'm going to start the enquiries.
I assume Robert Hughes still has a good reputation, Miles Classics the same( they both have some nice examples), anyone else car to recommend elsewhere?

Edited by sjc on Tuesday 14th October 17:27

[sjc]

deadslow said:

SV8Predator said:

deadslow said:

I'd assume some of the Japanese imports might be rust free

Why would that be?

They generally seem to have a better climate than us for preserving cars, and these cars have had a strong following over there. only imho, of course

Agreed, there appears to be a few low mileage easy life imports from Japan.
And the bloody Series 1 at Robert Hughes sold yesterday.

[sjc]

Ok so the search so far includes..
A cheap series 3 V12 in Leigh-on-sea advertised as full main dealer history,which was true... up to 1998. A 4.2 coupe at top-ish money with various dissapointing aspects to it ,at an apparently well regarded dealer in Surrey who appeared to be even further up his arse than the journey I had to get there.The experience involved various meeting places in the town and an eventual 5 minute drive up the road with him at the wheel,with no offer of me taking over.The day ended elsewhere on the outskirts of Surrey viewing a red V12 coupe with an apparent complete restoration done a few years back,unfortunately it appears this didn't involve the engine which was down on one bank, the rear suspension that clunked,wallowed and sat on it's haunches,or indeed the respray that was done by Stevie Wonder and involved changing it from gold to red..... but not the engine bay.
More hopeful this week, looking at a really low mileage series 3 V12 back from Japan,and a Series 1 VDP that had an "80 grand" resto a few years back. shame they didn't keep the interior to spec, but it'll be interesting to see.Both look rather nice.

[sjc]

Both roughly 15k

[sjc]

deadslow said:

R Hughes £16k

That car is referred to in my post above !!!

[sjc]

XJ Flyer said:

Any of the V12 series 1-3 really needs to be budgeted to allow for a 6 litre engine upgrade and preferably a manual box and outboard rear brakes conversion in the offer figure.While structural condition like sills,floors,rear suspension attachment points and front cross members and inner wings are the most important aspects.Everything else can be dealt with and/or lived with without massive expense.

Edited by XJ Flyer on Monday 27th October 18:12

I'm intrigued as to why you think I'd need to budget for a 6 litre and manual conversion ?

[sjc]

I'm not buying for pace,nor have the need for a manual box in a wafty saloon/coupe. I've got a 400 bhp per ton toy that does all of that, and handles steers and stops better than stuff several times it's value.
This is simply a nostalgia trip, something to look and smile at,and do a couple of thousand gentle miles a year in on sunny days.

[sjc]

mph said:

Now that your intended usage has changed perhaps you'll consider other versions of the XJ range.

As a "classic" car I prefer the S1 XJ6 over the later versions. My other choice would be a coupe.

Either of these should also hold their value well.

Would an XJS be on your radar or does it have to be a saloon ?

Deffo will be a series1/2/3 or XJC.
I'm hoping to look at a green series 1 DVP at Runnymede Motors and a Jap import 23K mile Series 3 V12 elsewhere in the next few days.

[sjc]

LordLoveLength said:

There is a 4.2C and a series 2 up for auction on Friday at Anglia Classic auctions.
Also a couple of X308s...

Now that is truly spooky,as an hour or two ago I saw an advert for a VDP series 3 on Classiccarsforsale and I followed a link to that very website. In fact, I even posted on the 75/ZT website about a 12,500 mile Rover 820si !!
Shame I can't get there on Saturday (I know mentioned Friday but I believe that is viewing day?).
Thanks for the heads up in any case.