2001 Jaguar XJ8 Project
Discussion
I thought I would share this car as my other thread for my Mk1 Mx5 has slowed a little, and this car is now getting a little attention.
My intention was never to do any work on this car, as it was meant to be a short term acquisition. I bought this with the intention of using it in the run up to my wedding, and as a honeymoon car to swan around in, then sell. I got married in September last year, and then I was going to put it up for sale.
I put this off until November so I could get a slightly saggy headliner sorted, and then again put off selling as Christmas is a terrible time to sell cars! I then almost got around to trying to seriously sell it, and then the world stopped... Even when some manner of normal has returned (whatever that may look like), I suspect the market for fairly expensive 4.0 Jags will be small. So I decided the only thing to do would be to bring it right up to standard over the summer!
So on to the car. I bought it as it was one of the cleanest I had seen, and being a late model avoided many of the issues that earlier cars can suffer with. Though very clean, I did need to spend a little on it straight away, but was expecting this so wasn't too surprised; the AC didn't work, and though the seller assured me that in 99% of cases a mere re-gas is required, somehow I wasn't entirely shocked to find it actually needed a new condenser!
This all done, it has driven well and not let me down at all. So here are a few inexpert pictures:
20200506_154739 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
20200506_162456 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
20200506_164246 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
It is generally in really nice condition inside and out. There are a few blemishes, but not much at all. In all, these XJs are still very cheap I think. I did look at similar age BMW 7 series as an alternative as I have previously had a number of Jags and fancied a change (and E38s look great) but they commanded much more money and seemed just as rust prone!
IMG_20191001_132044 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
IMG_20191001_132031 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
The following are somewhat sad pictures (at least in the opinion of my wife!), but illustrate how clean this car is.
IMG_20191001_130535 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
And the saddest pic yet:
IMG_20191002_113834 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
This isn't up to date on where I am with the car yet, but will do for a first post. Hopefully of interest to some at least.
My intention was never to do any work on this car, as it was meant to be a short term acquisition. I bought this with the intention of using it in the run up to my wedding, and as a honeymoon car to swan around in, then sell. I got married in September last year, and then I was going to put it up for sale.
I put this off until November so I could get a slightly saggy headliner sorted, and then again put off selling as Christmas is a terrible time to sell cars! I then almost got around to trying to seriously sell it, and then the world stopped... Even when some manner of normal has returned (whatever that may look like), I suspect the market for fairly expensive 4.0 Jags will be small. So I decided the only thing to do would be to bring it right up to standard over the summer!
So on to the car. I bought it as it was one of the cleanest I had seen, and being a late model avoided many of the issues that earlier cars can suffer with. Though very clean, I did need to spend a little on it straight away, but was expecting this so wasn't too surprised; the AC didn't work, and though the seller assured me that in 99% of cases a mere re-gas is required, somehow I wasn't entirely shocked to find it actually needed a new condenser!
This all done, it has driven well and not let me down at all. So here are a few inexpert pictures:
20200506_154739 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr20200506_162456 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr20200506_164246 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrIt is generally in really nice condition inside and out. There are a few blemishes, but not much at all. In all, these XJs are still very cheap I think. I did look at similar age BMW 7 series as an alternative as I have previously had a number of Jags and fancied a change (and E38s look great) but they commanded much more money and seemed just as rust prone!
IMG_20191001_132044 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrIMG_20191001_132031 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrThe following are somewhat sad pictures (at least in the opinion of my wife!), but illustrate how clean this car is.
IMG_20191001_130535 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrAnd the saddest pic yet:
IMG_20191002_113834 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrThis isn't up to date on where I am with the car yet, but will do for a first post. Hopefully of interest to some at least.
A little bit more about the car.
I bought it on about 57000 miles, but in the last 6 or so years it had only done a maximum of 1000 miles annually. Given that quite often cars don't appreciate such low usage I was expecting a few issues to surface. But aside from the AC which I was expecting, it wasn't bad at all.
Despite have Pirelli tyres all round with a decent amount of tread, I had to put new tyres on all round as age was catching up to them and they were beginning to perish. On the advice of a trusted Jag specialist, I didn't put Pirellis back on as he said in his experience they suffered from weak sidewalls and it wasn't unheard of for them to go 'out of round'. So it has Yokohamas on it now.
The only other thing apart from a good service was rear shock bushes, which are very common failure points on these.
I bought it on about 57000 miles, but in the last 6 or so years it had only done a maximum of 1000 miles annually. Given that quite often cars don't appreciate such low usage I was expecting a few issues to surface. But aside from the AC which I was expecting, it wasn't bad at all.
Despite have Pirelli tyres all round with a decent amount of tread, I had to put new tyres on all round as age was catching up to them and they were beginning to perish. On the advice of a trusted Jag specialist, I didn't put Pirellis back on as he said in his experience they suffered from weak sidewalls and it wasn't unheard of for them to go 'out of round'. So it has Yokohamas on it now.
The only other thing apart from a good service was rear shock bushes, which are very common failure points on these.
Welsh Pirate said:
That looks like a really nice example, especially the interior which looks in mint condition!
How's the corrosion underneath on it? I understand that the sills can be an issue?
I hope you continue to enjoy it and please keep us updated!
Thanks, it is a very nice place to be, particularly on long journeys. How's the corrosion underneath on it? I understand that the sills can be an issue?
I hope you continue to enjoy it and please keep us updated!
In terms of corrosion, these can be quite bad. Anecdotally no worse than other cars it's age (thinking of the 7 series I looked at), but they do have a bit of a reputation.
My car has a fair bit of surface rust underneath (this plays into the 'project' part of the thread title!), but the only rot was the driver's side front inner sill. More on that shortly...
Edited by Lewis's Friend on Thursday 7th May 14:21
Starting to bring this thread up to date… As alluded to earlier, the little brownish stains on the sills had not gone unnoticed, and I had thought this might be where I bring my new welder to its first practical job. However, when I finally got the car up in the air, I found that the inner sill was further gone than I had realised and was way beyond my very meagre welding skills.
20200416_161446 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
And on the inner side:
20200416_161436 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
Delightful. Wisely I think, I decided to leave this to the professionals… This is the only rot on the car, though as can be seen there is surface rust to be dealt with. But holes need to be filled properly first, with metal rather than mastic (as was found in there somewhere, along with two self-tappers, from a previous ‘repair’).
I therefore left the car with said professionals, and they were good enough to take some photos throughout the repair.
IMG_9979 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
IMG_9989 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
They were so impressed with the previous repair in this area they kept the random assortment of materials they cut out to show me. It was truly rubbish!
IMG_9992 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
IMG_9990 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
IMG_9993 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
IMG_9995 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
IMG-20200505-WA0000 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
Paint still required at this point, but a nice repair. Happily the other side once cleaned back was solid, so merely needed stonechip put back on it.
So now I have a solid car (that I have now been over underneath with a fine comb) and it is all solid, and it’s ready to embark on stage two of rust prevention. My aim with this car is now to take what is a very nice example and deal with the few bits that are lacking to make it perfect (or almost – its still going to be used and I’m not going for concours at all!). I think it should end up as one of the best out there, if only because they aren’t classic enough yet for most to be bothered with; hence many mouldering shed examples. That may be unrealistic, but I suppose we’ll see!
20200416_161446 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrAnd on the inner side:
20200416_161436 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrDelightful. Wisely I think, I decided to leave this to the professionals… This is the only rot on the car, though as can be seen there is surface rust to be dealt with. But holes need to be filled properly first, with metal rather than mastic (as was found in there somewhere, along with two self-tappers, from a previous ‘repair’).
I therefore left the car with said professionals, and they were good enough to take some photos throughout the repair.
IMG_9979 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrIMG_9989 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrThey were so impressed with the previous repair in this area they kept the random assortment of materials they cut out to show me. It was truly rubbish!
IMG_9992 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrIMG_9990 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrIMG_9993 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrIMG_9995 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrIMG-20200505-WA0000 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrPaint still required at this point, but a nice repair. Happily the other side once cleaned back was solid, so merely needed stonechip put back on it.
So now I have a solid car (that I have now been over underneath with a fine comb) and it is all solid, and it’s ready to embark on stage two of rust prevention. My aim with this car is now to take what is a very nice example and deal with the few bits that are lacking to make it perfect (or almost – its still going to be used and I’m not going for concours at all!). I think it should end up as one of the best out there, if only because they aren’t classic enough yet for most to be bothered with; hence many mouldering shed examples. That may be unrealistic, but I suppose we’ll see!
Really nice car and a good read.
A friend is into his Jags, and has a similar year 3L V6 (?) diesel also in silver ( IMO that is the best colour!)
His had a few miles on it when he bought it, but he uses a local Jag indy to keep it running, using S/H parts where possible. I think he had a few issues with the air suspension but that was sorted.
He regularly takes it down to SW France ( in normal times ) and gets quite amazing mpg for such a big car.
IIRC his is an aluminium one (?) but not well up on these cars.....!!
They are beautiful cars and modern Jags just don't have the appeal.
Keep the photos etc and updates.
A friend is into his Jags, and has a similar year 3L V6 (?) diesel also in silver ( IMO that is the best colour!)
His had a few miles on it when he bought it, but he uses a local Jag indy to keep it running, using S/H parts where possible. I think he had a few issues with the air suspension but that was sorted.
He regularly takes it down to SW France ( in normal times ) and gets quite amazing mpg for such a big car.
IIRC his is an aluminium one (?) but not well up on these cars.....!!
They are beautiful cars and modern Jags just don't have the appeal.
Keep the photos etc and updates.
Paul S4 said:
Really nice car and a good read.
A friend is into his Jags, and has a similar year 3L V6 (?) diesel also in silver ( IMO that is the best colour!)
His had a few miles on it when he bought it, but he uses a local Jag indy to keep it running, using S/H parts where possible. I think he had a few issues with the air suspension but that was sorted.
He regularly takes it down to SW France ( in normal times ) and gets quite amazing mpg for such a big car.
IIRC his is an aluminium one (?) but not well up on these cars.....!!
They are beautiful cars and modern Jags just don't have the appeal.
Keep the photos etc and updates.
Cheers for that.A friend is into his Jags, and has a similar year 3L V6 (?) diesel also in silver ( IMO that is the best colour!)
His had a few miles on it when he bought it, but he uses a local Jag indy to keep it running, using S/H parts where possible. I think he had a few issues with the air suspension but that was sorted.
He regularly takes it down to SW France ( in normal times ) and gets quite amazing mpg for such a big car.
IIRC his is an aluminium one (?) but not well up on these cars.....!!
They are beautiful cars and modern Jags just don't have the appeal.
Keep the photos etc and updates.
Your friends model would be the one later than this (X350) which was aluminium bodied. I had one for a couple of years a while ago also in 3.0 flavour but petrol. I loved that car! It was a Sovereign so came with many toys (I think all it missed was rear TVs and a cooler in the rear arm rest). The air suspension was fine, and I bought it on 108000 and too it up to 130000 miles. All it needed in that time was a clockspring in the steering wheel and a new radiator as the old started weeping. That said, air shocks were a fortune if they went (though that was fairly rare)...
Jaguar steve said:
The XJ 308s are great cars.
I'm on my second one and I haven't even the slightest clue what to replace it with when it eventually dies.
They are quite old school. The x350 was a much more modern car, though still looked ancient...!I'm on my second one and I haven't even the slightest clue what to replace it with when it eventually dies.
I would definitely consider an x350 as a replacement though. Just don't expect them to be the same as what you have now, but I very much enjoyed it in its own right.
I have been doing a few small jobs on this - just correcting niggles really before I undertake the proper strip down.
This one was the sport mode button that liked to stay illuminated even when sport wasn't engaged. Not a big problem, but while I have time on my side I thought I'd fix it.
This is the offending button (right hand one), with the gear shifter surround already loosened.
20200509_151108 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
Disassembly was nice and easy.
20200509_151114 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
20200509_151743 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
The button then just releases from the surround, and can be pulled apart. The red LED active light is normally closed, but when the sport button is pressed in (sport deactivated) two little plastic spikes push the contacts apart. Over time, the contact had bent a little so that even with the button depressed the contact was made. Bent the contact back and all is well!
This was a very quick fix, and writing it up has taken longer than the fix itself...!
Buttons lit:
20200509_154315 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
And the area cleaned and trim refitted.
20200509_154323 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
Not a thriller, but little steps...
This one was the sport mode button that liked to stay illuminated even when sport wasn't engaged. Not a big problem, but while I have time on my side I thought I'd fix it.
This is the offending button (right hand one), with the gear shifter surround already loosened.
20200509_151108 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrDisassembly was nice and easy.
20200509_151114 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr20200509_151743 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrThe button then just releases from the surround, and can be pulled apart. The red LED active light is normally closed, but when the sport button is pressed in (sport deactivated) two little plastic spikes push the contacts apart. Over time, the contact had bent a little so that even with the button depressed the contact was made. Bent the contact back and all is well!
This was a very quick fix, and writing it up has taken longer than the fix itself...!
Buttons lit:
20200509_154315 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrAnd the area cleaned and trim refitted.
20200509_154323 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrNot a thriller, but little steps...
Thanks for the update! It's nice being able to do small fixes for free!
The rust doesn't look too bad either and the repair looks decent to my inexperienced eye.
I've got an X350 and have been gradually doing small jobs on it like you've been doing. It's quite satisfying when the repairs work (there's a thread on here somewhere about mine).
When compared to an x308, the x350 looks like it's been over-inflated!
The rust doesn't look too bad either and the repair looks decent to my inexperienced eye.
I've got an X350 and have been gradually doing small jobs on it like you've been doing. It's quite satisfying when the repairs work (there's a thread on here somewhere about mine).
When compared to an x308, the x350 looks like it's been over-inflated!
Another small update on this project.
Firstly, the sills have been painted and look good. I certainly wouldn’t know any welding had been done, so I’m happy!
20200523_125104 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
The next thing to try and fix was a tiny thing, but has annoyed me since I bought the car… On the drivers door, the window winder switch block had been pushed into the door card thus:
20200512_155745 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
Most annoying, and as there is now time on my side, I thought I’d fix it. So door card removed, and I found the fix was just that one of the screws fixing the switch block in place had somehow got under the fixing tab such that the screw head was actually spacing it away from where it should have been. Easy fix!
All fixed and door back together.
20200602_101417 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
I have also begun the greater work underneath the car. Slow progress but I’ve begun!
20200601_091808 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr
Firstly, the sills have been painted and look good. I certainly wouldn’t know any welding had been done, so I’m happy!
20200523_125104 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrThe next thing to try and fix was a tiny thing, but has annoyed me since I bought the car… On the drivers door, the window winder switch block had been pushed into the door card thus:
20200512_155745 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrMost annoying, and as there is now time on my side, I thought I’d fix it. So door card removed, and I found the fix was just that one of the screws fixing the switch block in place had somehow got under the fixing tab such that the screw head was actually spacing it away from where it should have been. Easy fix!
All fixed and door back together.
20200602_101417 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrI have also begun the greater work underneath the car. Slow progress but I’ve begun!
20200601_091808 by Jon Fellows, on FlickrThese are such great looking cars, the 4 litre V8 and 5 speed automatic gave them the performance they needed over the rather dated AJ16 so you don't feel at all short changed for performance when you get out of a modern car.
Have you taken a look at the secondary timing chain tensioners, or got anything in the history to suggest they've been changed? Your car is late enough that it won't have the original ones that fall to pieces but I've read that some of the revised versions were problematic too.
Have you taken a look at the secondary timing chain tensioners, or got anything in the history to suggest they've been changed? Your car is late enough that it won't have the original ones that fall to pieces but I've read that some of the revised versions were problematic too.
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