1991 Jaguar XJR-s
Discussion
Unfortunately I haven't really used the car as much as I'd have liked this year, I've only just received the car back having gone away for some work in the 2nd week of August!
At the end of July I took the car to Duxford to try out a slightly different sort of V12, I was looking forward to testing out the newly re-cored radiator on what would be the hottest day of the year. It didn't quite go to plan, on the way home the temperature gauge was reading higher than I was comfortable with. which was disappointing given all the work that's been done on the cooling system. I switched it off and realised that the electric fan wasn't running, so at least it should have been a simple fix, right? Well, sort of...
On the day I called G&D to book the car in I noticed that the garage floor paint had peeled, right under where the rear diff is. The first thing I checked was brake fluid level, having inboard brakes it was probably brake fluid (it was also the easiest thing to check). Yup, it was leaking brake fluid.
A caliper needed replacing, which means you might as well replace the other one while you're there. And while you have the rear cage dropped out, you might as well renew everything else at the same time. So a simple electric fan issue eventually turned into a partial rebuild of the rear end! The only thing that proved difficult to obtain were the rear shocks, the original JaguarSport part number doesn't appear to have been superseded, and Bilstein weren't offering their rebuild service at the time. Bilstein B6 Sport shocks were fitted, I look forward to trying them on a proper drive out soon.
Thankfully everything else under the car is perfect, having been frequently under sealed and seemingly never really driven over winter, there is no corrosion at all under the car, not even on top of the rear cage which was good to see.
A rubbish picture, but my favourite view of XJR-s. It also looks tiny next to that SQ5.
And the other V12 I had a brief affair with earlier this year.
At the end of July I took the car to Duxford to try out a slightly different sort of V12, I was looking forward to testing out the newly re-cored radiator on what would be the hottest day of the year. It didn't quite go to plan, on the way home the temperature gauge was reading higher than I was comfortable with. which was disappointing given all the work that's been done on the cooling system. I switched it off and realised that the electric fan wasn't running, so at least it should have been a simple fix, right? Well, sort of...
On the day I called G&D to book the car in I noticed that the garage floor paint had peeled, right under where the rear diff is. The first thing I checked was brake fluid level, having inboard brakes it was probably brake fluid (it was also the easiest thing to check). Yup, it was leaking brake fluid.
A caliper needed replacing, which means you might as well replace the other one while you're there. And while you have the rear cage dropped out, you might as well renew everything else at the same time. So a simple electric fan issue eventually turned into a partial rebuild of the rear end! The only thing that proved difficult to obtain were the rear shocks, the original JaguarSport part number doesn't appear to have been superseded, and Bilstein weren't offering their rebuild service at the time. Bilstein B6 Sport shocks were fitted, I look forward to trying them on a proper drive out soon.
Thankfully everything else under the car is perfect, having been frequently under sealed and seemingly never really driven over winter, there is no corrosion at all under the car, not even on top of the rear cage which was good to see.
A rubbish picture, but my favourite view of XJR-s. It also looks tiny next to that SQ5.
And the other V12 I had a brief affair with earlier this year.
The early TWR cars and XJR-S were a 5.3 with no engine modifications I believe?
The 6 litre in the facelift was the most powerful factory version of the 6.0, even the final version in the X305 with a proper ignition system was a couple of bhp down. Shame about the three speed slusher though!
The 6 litre in the facelift was the most powerful factory version of the 6.0, even the final version in the X305 with a proper ignition system was a couple of bhp down. Shame about the three speed slusher though!
Thank you all for your kind comments!
Howrare said:
What a lovely thing. Always liked the XJS, and yours looks great.
Slightly green about the Spitfire flight. How was it?
The flight was so far beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I don't think I can add anything constructive to what's been said about the aircraft before, but to have the chance to fly over my childhood home and off down to the White Cliffs of Dover with my neighbour in another Spitfire right next to me was a real treat. The only slight issue was the searing sun and heat, being trapped under a glass canopy that trapped every bit of heat on a 30+ degree day began to get a little unpleasant after an hour or so, but I realise I probably won't get much sympathy Slightly green about the Spitfire flight. How was it?
swampy442 said:
These are so handsome, I'd never be brave enough to take one on! A friend of mine had an XJS and, lets just say it didn't end well for him financially..
It's often said that the best way to end up with a small fortune is start off with a large fortune and an XJS! In fairness this one has been pretty good for the last 3 years or so, only really requiring basic maintenance until this year. Most parts are easy to find and aren't that expensive, but the labour costs can mount up very quickly.stickleback123 said:
The early TWR cars and XJR-S were a 5.3 with no engine modifications I believe?
The 6 litre in the facelift was the most powerful factory version of the 6.0, even the final version in the X305 with a proper ignition system was a couple of bhp down. Shame about the three speed slusher though!
Correct, the XJS TWR and original XJR-s were standard 5.3 V12s, though you could send your car back to TWR Ltd for engine modifications. I believe there are a few cars out there with TWR built 6.3 V12s!The 6 litre in the facelift was the most powerful factory version of the 6.0, even the final version in the X305 with a proper ignition system was a couple of bhp down. Shame about the three speed slusher though!
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