Looking for Jaguar xjc/Daimler xj6 coupe
Discussion
Excellent choice!
The 6 is a much better bet than the 12.
So, look for rust - sills,floors, boot etc. Inner front wings too.
Engine should be rattle and smoke free, 45lbs/in oil pressure at 2500 rpm hot.
Look underneath at the brake discs - especially the rears, as they are a b*gger to do. Also look for diff oil leaks while you are there
Check all the electrics work - especially those rerar 1/4 windows.
Listen for clonks and rattles on the road test - it should be almost silent.
Otherwise just all the usual things you would look for on any older car.
Good luck with the search, ask if you need any more info. I've worked on quite a few of these.....
The 6 is a much better bet than the 12.
So, look for rust - sills,floors, boot etc. Inner front wings too.
Engine should be rattle and smoke free, 45lbs/in oil pressure at 2500 rpm hot.
Look underneath at the brake discs - especially the rears, as they are a b*gger to do. Also look for diff oil leaks while you are there
Check all the electrics work - especially those rerar 1/4 windows.
Listen for clonks and rattles on the road test - it should be almost silent.
Otherwise just all the usual things you would look for on any older car.
Good luck with the search, ask if you need any more info. I've worked on quite a few of these.....
i don't know anything about this or any more info about this, they say there is £6000 of damage but i cant see that on the pics.
http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventI...
http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventI...
Excellent choice of gentleman's conveyance; take a look here...
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/list/5/coupe/
Get rid of the white walled tyres and this one could be interesting...
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C323356
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/list/5/coupe/
Get rid of the white walled tyres and this one could be interesting...
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C323356
v8250 said:
Get rid of the white walled tyres and this one could be interesting...
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C323356
Wasn't that one previously owned by someone on here ?http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C323356
I have always liked these cars and owned a non-coupe XJ12 for a while.
Basically they rot like hell all the way round the bottom of all body panels and most other places besides. Unless you can see evidence of a proper restoration or evidence of an impossibly pampered life I would be very suspicious of a nice shiny, perhaps recently painted XJ of any kind.
The interiors stand up very well and its a fairly easy cosmetic job make these cars look smart enough to sell.
Guess how I know
Basically they rot like hell all the way round the bottom of all body panels and most other places besides. Unless you can see evidence of a proper restoration or evidence of an impossibly pampered life I would be very suspicious of a nice shiny, perhaps recently painted XJ of any kind.
The interiors stand up very well and its a fairly easy cosmetic job make these cars look smart enough to sell.
Guess how I know
Firstly thanks for all the replies.
I went to see a Daimler coupe recently which ended up being a real disappointment, it was advertised as very good condition and the journey of 3 hours each way made it all the more frustrating when people don't advertise their cars honestly.
I take on board your views on the rust issue as they can look okay to the untrained eye, but thankfully I have a friend who is knowledgeable on such matters as well as having a few of them in the past.
Tortop45, you mentioned you have a Daimler double six with a manual gearbox, I didn't realise that a manual was an option on those cars. Is it original to the car or something that has been fitted afterwards?
I went to see a Daimler coupe recently which ended up being a real disappointment, it was advertised as very good condition and the journey of 3 hours each way made it all the more frustrating when people don't advertise their cars honestly.
I take on board your views on the rust issue as they can look okay to the untrained eye, but thankfully I have a friend who is knowledgeable on such matters as well as having a few of them in the past.
Tortop45, you mentioned you have a Daimler double six with a manual gearbox, I didn't realise that a manual was an option on those cars. Is it original to the car or something that has been fitted afterwards?
The XJ Coupe is one of those cars where you buy one for a couple of grand that's running and driving with an MOT, but in obvious need of work without being completely f
ked and as original and unmolested as possible. Then you have it panelled up, the usual bits done (discs, oil leaks, subframe mounts, trailing arms etc etc etc) and end up with something still owing you ten grand but which you know isn't a tonced up old snotter. Most of these cars were scrap 25 years ago.
Unless you've had one, you cannot begin to imagine how badly and cheaply made these cars were. They were probably the most unreliable rust buckets British Leyland built - far worse than Maxis and Marinas. The rot is just epic on these, and the 4.2 XK engine by 1976/7 was built on shagged out tooling.
A beautiful car - almost art - but what a money pit. If it's for occasional use only, the V12 is far superior, especially the injection ones. The old Borg Warner box was a bit crude but what an incredible engine. In comparison, the 4.2 is like something from an old Bedford coach.
ked and as original and unmolested as possible. Then you have it panelled up, the usual bits done (discs, oil leaks, subframe mounts, trailing arms etc etc etc) and end up with something still owing you ten grand but which you know isn't a tonced up old snotter. Most of these cars were scrap 25 years ago.Unless you've had one, you cannot begin to imagine how badly and cheaply made these cars were. They were probably the most unreliable rust buckets British Leyland built - far worse than Maxis and Marinas. The rot is just epic on these, and the 4.2 XK engine by 1976/7 was built on shagged out tooling.
A beautiful car - almost art - but what a money pit. If it's for occasional use only, the V12 is far superior, especially the injection ones. The old Borg Warner box was a bit crude but what an incredible engine. In comparison, the 4.2 is like something from an old Bedford coach.
ash635 said:
Firstly thanks for all the replies.
I went to see a Daimler coupe recently which ended up being a real disappointment, it was advertised as very good condition and the journey of 3 hours each way made it all the more frustrating when people don't advertise their cars honestly.
I take on board your views on the rust issue as they can look okay to the untrained eye, but thankfully I have a friend who is knowledgeable on such matters as well as having a few of them in the past.
Tortop45, you mentioned you have a Daimler double six with a manual gearbox, I didn't realise that a manual was an option on those cars. Is it original to the car or something that has been fitted afterwards?
Hi,yes the manual box only came with the 4.2 coupe, I fitted the manual box my self which came from a 1975/79 xjs pre He which was an option to the v12 back then, they only made about 300,all the body shells could be coverted to manual if wan,ted so i just used the 4.2 factory parts,you can,t beat a manual v12 for fun.ive still got the old auto box as a paper weight thou.I went to see a Daimler coupe recently which ended up being a real disappointment, it was advertised as very good condition and the journey of 3 hours each way made it all the more frustrating when people don't advertise their cars honestly.
I take on board your views on the rust issue as they can look okay to the untrained eye, but thankfully I have a friend who is knowledgeable on such matters as well as having a few of them in the past.
Tortop45, you mentioned you have a Daimler double six with a manual gearbox, I didn't realise that a manual was an option on those cars. Is it original to the car or something that has been fitted afterwards?
colin2296fs said:
i don't know anything about this or any more info about this, they say there is £6000 of damage but i cant see that on the pics.
http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventI...
Looks like the n/s front corner's taken a push, buckled the wing out at the top & behind the wheel. Probably more damage underneath & snagged the bonnet. Fixable, but not really viable, I guess, unless you know how the rest of it is, & the interior looks a bit lived in.http://www.copart.co.uk/c2/homeSearch.html?_eventI...
I bought one of these a few years back.
Paid £3250 as it needed some fettling, sold it about 2 years later for £4K.
Things to watch for... rust. Then check for rust. But mainly make sure and check for the rust underneath!
I bought the one I had because someone had spent a LOT of money effectively replacing the whole back end, both inside and out. And there was a lot of new mechanical bits on it as well, the rear IRS cage looked like it has been out recently, and under the bonnet there were new ancillaries all over the engine. The interior seemed largely original though and if I'd been looking for something concourse it would have needed new door panels etc...
It took me a few months to get the car sorted enough to be used as a daily driver, the submerged pumps in the tanks were all clogged up with crap, and a few other bits and bobs needed tweaking. I ended up dropping the rear IRS to sort out the rear brakes properly, etc..
However, I got it all done and used to use it regularly to commute up the 35 miles to work, lovely old car to waft around in and surprisingly quick off the mark with the low ratio rear diff that my 4.2C had.
I sold it eventually because I wanted something that could do more than 85mph on the motorway, that rear diff makes it nippy off the line, but high revving when on the motorway, so bought an early XJR instead.
The beauty of the 4.2 is the simplicity of the mechanicals compared to the V12. So much room to climb around the engine. I replaced the head on mine for a series 3 4.2 head (improved porting, larger valves) and had absolutely no issues as it's so easy to work on. Parts are plentiful and cheap.
If I was looking for another now the only thing I would concern myself about would be the state of the body work and what's under it. That yellow one above in the scrappies has the standard jag flappy wing bottom. That would indicate to me that there's likely to not be much left behind the wing. The steel used in these was half the gauge used when Jaguar were making the cars themselves, Leyland cost cutting. The steel can be like lace with the corrosion and a classic spot is the area under the rear seats where the trailing arms bolt on. If the metal there is rusted, your whole rear suspension will drop out!
Find one that someone has already spent the money sorting the body work. You are very unlikely to find an original one now that does not need some serious cutting around and welding. Indeed I would guess that even with the rise in price of these there's very few that would be economically viable to sort out if the rust has any kind of hold. However the mechanical bits are easy to sort by comparison.
Lovely cars though, I'd have another like a shot, really, really cool to get one running and use it to commute in as everyone else is in their boring euro-boxes and you're sitting there with the pillarless coupe, windows down, cruisin'.
Paid £3250 as it needed some fettling, sold it about 2 years later for £4K.
Things to watch for... rust. Then check for rust. But mainly make sure and check for the rust underneath!
I bought the one I had because someone had spent a LOT of money effectively replacing the whole back end, both inside and out. And there was a lot of new mechanical bits on it as well, the rear IRS cage looked like it has been out recently, and under the bonnet there were new ancillaries all over the engine. The interior seemed largely original though and if I'd been looking for something concourse it would have needed new door panels etc...
It took me a few months to get the car sorted enough to be used as a daily driver, the submerged pumps in the tanks were all clogged up with crap, and a few other bits and bobs needed tweaking. I ended up dropping the rear IRS to sort out the rear brakes properly, etc..
However, I got it all done and used to use it regularly to commute up the 35 miles to work, lovely old car to waft around in and surprisingly quick off the mark with the low ratio rear diff that my 4.2C had.
I sold it eventually because I wanted something that could do more than 85mph on the motorway, that rear diff makes it nippy off the line, but high revving when on the motorway, so bought an early XJR instead.
The beauty of the 4.2 is the simplicity of the mechanicals compared to the V12. So much room to climb around the engine. I replaced the head on mine for a series 3 4.2 head (improved porting, larger valves) and had absolutely no issues as it's so easy to work on. Parts are plentiful and cheap.
If I was looking for another now the only thing I would concern myself about would be the state of the body work and what's under it. That yellow one above in the scrappies has the standard jag flappy wing bottom. That would indicate to me that there's likely to not be much left behind the wing. The steel used in these was half the gauge used when Jaguar were making the cars themselves, Leyland cost cutting. The steel can be like lace with the corrosion and a classic spot is the area under the rear seats where the trailing arms bolt on. If the metal there is rusted, your whole rear suspension will drop out!
Find one that someone has already spent the money sorting the body work. You are very unlikely to find an original one now that does not need some serious cutting around and welding. Indeed I would guess that even with the rise in price of these there's very few that would be economically viable to sort out if the rust has any kind of hold. However the mechanical bits are easy to sort by comparison.
Lovely cars though, I'd have another like a shot, really, really cool to get one running and use it to commute in as everyone else is in their boring euro-boxes and you're sitting there with the pillarless coupe, windows down, cruisin'.
To echo the health warnings expressed already,the XJ coupes suffered appalling build quality. There are a few mint cars out there, but you expect to find them with people like Robert Hughes or Hurst Park, and it would be worth talking to these experts. The rot on a friend's '77S reg 4.2C was staggering, my old '71J Sovereign at the time was built like a Rolls by comparison. A shame as they are a pretty car.
Never heard the XK motor described as a chugger ! Just swopping diff ratio and flowing cylinder head, bigger SU's, Lumenition etc makes a difference.
Paul/runt
Never heard the XK motor described as a chugger ! Just swopping diff ratio and flowing cylinder head, bigger SU's, Lumenition etc makes a difference.
Paul/runt
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