3L 4WD V6 Jag Shed
Discussion
The problem with my friends is that when they text me and say things like, "I've found a Jag X-Type for £200, want to go and see it?", they know I'm not going to turn down the opportunity! Andy currently has four cars at his house and I've got two and a third on holiday in a body shop. Neither of us need another car. But, it was £200. And it had an interesting-ish engine. And it was really stupidly cheap. Did I mention it was only £200?
The pictures before going to see it were, ummm, interesting...
Yep, that was the sales pitch. Of course this just made me all the more interested. For £200 I was expecting most of the car to have been destroyed by fire, or it only works in reverse or something. In fact, the PO said it was taxed and MOT'd still, the private plate came with it and he'd get the pressure washer out and remove most of the detritus for us. He'd owned it for the last 12 years. It's got an LPG conversion but it hasn't worked for at least 6 of those years... He was vague about service history, but it had definitely had an oil change at some point, maybe. Oh and the spark plus hadn't been done because you have to take the inlet manifold off and they were still working ok
He was more concerned with one of the rear head rests having been put on the seat the wrong way around and it was a bit stuck, oh and a brown mark on the bolster of one of the rear seats.
True to his word, we turned up to find the car parked under the very same tree and looking slightly cleaner than the above pictures. Only slightly.
Coolant leaks were mentioned and replacement hoses in the boot were also mentioned. As was a car cover that never got used, slightly annoyingly for us! There was also the issue of the odd wheel on the rear. It's his mates wheel and he'll need it back at some point. The original wheel is cracked and at a garage somewhere, He's going to retrieve it for us and we'll have to sort something out. Maybe a new set of wheels, as the current ones are a bit dead anyway.
Andy and I decided we both wanted it so went halves. In the end £225 was mentioned so that makes it £112.50 each
We drove it home and were amazed to discover everything works! A/C - nice and cold, cruise control - check, fuel gauge - uh oh. It reckoned the car was totally empty of petrol, but the range guide on the trip meter reckoned over 30 miles left and it was about 15 to get home. Challenge accepted
I think the fuel gauge is slightly broken, but I'll put some petrol in at some point and see what happens!!
We made it:
Next up, lets have a look at what we've got. The drive home highlighted an engine management light, rubbish tyres and dire need of a service. I plugged in my code reader and we got this:
That's a £10 ebay special for a new purge valve then.
Let's show you the pile of disgusting filth otherwise known as the 'Jag' in more detail:
Lovely, isn't it?
EVERYTHING smelt like roll-up fags and was very stained. The seats are supposed to be cream, as are the mats. The bonnet has suffered from the bird crap that had been on there for a very long time. Pressure washing by the PO removed most of it but some of the paint fell off too... Not to worry, the bonnet's got a beautiful piece of primer and dodgy paint anyway, so it'll have to be painted it we want it right. The front bumper has a scrape and the rear bumper has a crack, scrape and hole in it!
I'd better do some cleaning before I catch CoviBola or some other disease only found in this Jaguar X-Type. All these pictures are during the clean-up operation:
Pure filth. And not in the good way... I resorted to using a kitchen washing-up brush to scrub the leather and then wipe it down with a cloth just to remove the layers of fag smoke and dirt. It did the job!
Here's the 'finished' article. Or at least the result of the first pass:
The brown stain on the rear bolster? That's still there a bit, but I've killed it to death with cleaner. It'd probably just fence paint or similar as the PO was a tree surgeon and evidently used this car for work.
With the interior looking respectable and mostly disease-free, I decided the outside should probably try to look the same. Cue one thorough car wash:
You can see the state of the bonnet a bit better here, but it's even worse in real life!
With the car clean, there was a glimmer of hope that all of the paint work save the bumpers and bonnet might be ok. The PO did actually mention he'd clay-barred it once upon a time, and that was actually evident when I washed it. The paint was pretty smooth under all the rubbish. Shame the sides were looking a bit attacked by other car doors and bushes. I wonder if a quick machine polish would help?
I spent minimal time on this as it was just a test, but I was amazed that all the scrapes on the passenger door that looked hideous beforehand pretty much disappeared. You wouldn't notice them walking past now, but if you stop and really look you might just about see, assuming you can get past the amazing reflection the panels now have
This leads me to believe not all pounds are created equal. Surely the ones Andy and I gave this chap must have been double gold plated and limited edition, or perhaps we just stumbled in to a complete bargain of a practical barge. Either way, I'm now a broken man. Having spent the last two days cleaning, vacuuming, scrubbing, wiping, washing, drying and polishing, I'm going to work tomorrow for a rest
The pictures before going to see it were, ummm, interesting...
Yep, that was the sales pitch. Of course this just made me all the more interested. For £200 I was expecting most of the car to have been destroyed by fire, or it only works in reverse or something. In fact, the PO said it was taxed and MOT'd still, the private plate came with it and he'd get the pressure washer out and remove most of the detritus for us. He'd owned it for the last 12 years. It's got an LPG conversion but it hasn't worked for at least 6 of those years... He was vague about service history, but it had definitely had an oil change at some point, maybe. Oh and the spark plus hadn't been done because you have to take the inlet manifold off and they were still working ok
He was more concerned with one of the rear head rests having been put on the seat the wrong way around and it was a bit stuck, oh and a brown mark on the bolster of one of the rear seats.True to his word, we turned up to find the car parked under the very same tree and looking slightly cleaner than the above pictures. Only slightly.
Coolant leaks were mentioned and replacement hoses in the boot were also mentioned. As was a car cover that never got used, slightly annoyingly for us! There was also the issue of the odd wheel on the rear. It's his mates wheel and he'll need it back at some point. The original wheel is cracked and at a garage somewhere, He's going to retrieve it for us and we'll have to sort something out. Maybe a new set of wheels, as the current ones are a bit dead anyway.
Andy and I decided we both wanted it so went halves. In the end £225 was mentioned so that makes it £112.50 each
We drove it home and were amazed to discover everything works! A/C - nice and cold, cruise control - check, fuel gauge - uh oh. It reckoned the car was totally empty of petrol, but the range guide on the trip meter reckoned over 30 miles left and it was about 15 to get home. Challenge accepted
I think the fuel gauge is slightly broken, but I'll put some petrol in at some point and see what happens!!We made it:
Next up, lets have a look at what we've got. The drive home highlighted an engine management light, rubbish tyres and dire need of a service. I plugged in my code reader and we got this:
That's a £10 ebay special for a new purge valve then.
Let's show you the pile of disgusting filth otherwise known as the 'Jag' in more detail:
Lovely, isn't it?
EVERYTHING smelt like roll-up fags and was very stained. The seats are supposed to be cream, as are the mats. The bonnet has suffered from the bird crap that had been on there for a very long time. Pressure washing by the PO removed most of it but some of the paint fell off too... Not to worry, the bonnet's got a beautiful piece of primer and dodgy paint anyway, so it'll have to be painted it we want it right. The front bumper has a scrape and the rear bumper has a crack, scrape and hole in it!
I'd better do some cleaning before I catch CoviBola or some other disease only found in this Jaguar X-Type. All these pictures are during the clean-up operation:
Pure filth. And not in the good way... I resorted to using a kitchen washing-up brush to scrub the leather and then wipe it down with a cloth just to remove the layers of fag smoke and dirt. It did the job!
Here's the 'finished' article. Or at least the result of the first pass:
The brown stain on the rear bolster? That's still there a bit, but I've killed it to death with cleaner. It'd probably just fence paint or similar as the PO was a tree surgeon and evidently used this car for work.
With the interior looking respectable and mostly disease-free, I decided the outside should probably try to look the same. Cue one thorough car wash:
You can see the state of the bonnet a bit better here, but it's even worse in real life!
With the car clean, there was a glimmer of hope that all of the paint work save the bumpers and bonnet might be ok. The PO did actually mention he'd clay-barred it once upon a time, and that was actually evident when I washed it. The paint was pretty smooth under all the rubbish. Shame the sides were looking a bit attacked by other car doors and bushes. I wonder if a quick machine polish would help?
I spent minimal time on this as it was just a test, but I was amazed that all the scrapes on the passenger door that looked hideous beforehand pretty much disappeared. You wouldn't notice them walking past now, but if you stop and really look you might just about see, assuming you can get past the amazing reflection the panels now have
This leads me to believe not all pounds are created equal. Surely the ones Andy and I gave this chap must have been double gold plated and limited edition, or perhaps we just stumbled in to a complete bargain of a practical barge. Either way, I'm now a broken man. Having spent the last two days cleaning, vacuuming, scrubbing, wiping, washing, drying and polishing, I'm going to work tomorrow for a rest
Northbrook said:
That's quite a bargain, and a transformation! Good work.
Thanks! It seems to be becoming more of a bargain every time I do a little bit of work on it. It's coming up one hell of a lot better than I thought it might.steve2 said:
Bargain of the century, what compound are you using?
Cheers, I'm using a very old bottle of Farecla G6 Rapid that I've had in the back of the cupboard for ages. The modern equivalent looks to be G360 Superfast according to Farecla's web site.I stuck a bit of their G3 Liquid Wax on top of my polishing efforts just to protect it. Another 10 mins at most.
Welcome to the joys of being a Jaaag Slaaag!! I've now swapped my S-Type for an XF. It's an early one with the 2.7 Ford/PSA diesel which is actually rather good (after a remap) and returns an average of high 30s MPG - a nice comfy commuter and family bus.
Anyway, I have a set of 18" alloys from my XF that are round the back of the SPB at your brother's work. They've got Dunlops on with about 3-4mm of tread. Either PM me or get my number off your brother if you're interested.
Anyway, I have a set of 18" alloys from my XF that are round the back of the SPB at your brother's work. They've got Dunlops on with about 3-4mm of tread. Either PM me or get my number off your brother if you're interested.
Squishey said:
Welcome to the joys of being a Jaaag Slaaag!! I've now swapped my S-Type for an XF. It's an early one with the 2.7 Ford/PSA diesel which is actually rather good (after a remap) and returns an average of high 30s MPG - a nice comfy commuter and family bus.
Anyway, I have a set of 18" alloys from my XF that are round the back of the SPB at your brother's work. They've got Dunlops on with about 3-4mm of tread. Either PM me or get my number off your brother if you're interested.
Hi mate! That's rather good news, as you can see I need at least one wheel... PM on its way Anyway, I have a set of 18" alloys from my XF that are round the back of the SPB at your brother's work. They've got Dunlops on with about 3-4mm of tread. Either PM me or get my number off your brother if you're interested.
doesthiswork said:
I enjoyed that.
I guess the really important question now is have you put the rear headrest on the right way round?
Cheers! Have a look at the pictures above and all will be revealed I guess the really important question now is have you put the rear headrest on the right way round?
It was the rear passenger head rest. It took me about 2 minutes to 'fix' because one of the tabs was a bit stuck and holding the thing in place.RC1807 said:
Sadly I can't see most of the pics, only for first couple covered in bird s
t....
Sounds like a good buy for £112.50 each.
Will watch with interest and a hope the images will display for me at some point.
D'oh... Hopefully you can see them now? They seem to be ok for me and no-one else is saying they cant see them t....Sounds like a good buy for £112.50 each.
Will watch with interest and a hope the images will display for me at some point.
shalmaneser said:
Incredible the amount of car you got for the money here. Need to get a matching alloy though!
Thanks! Yes, we do need to sort that, the PO's mate wants his loaner wheel back anyway helix402 said:
How are the sills?
No idea yet, not got on to looking at the mechanicals in any depth, except to check there was oil and coolant. I'll have a good poke about and report back. Unfortunately you'll all have to wait for a little bit for an update as my employer requires me to attend site if I want to earn my wages!RazerSauber said:
That looks brilliant for the price, that'd be brilliant for double the price!
Looking forward to more on this!
Cheers! I was expecting it to be a lot more broken than it actually is. So far so good....Looking forward to more on this!
Johnnytheboy said:
Did he throw the astroturf in for free?
No, it was £225 and came with free transportation home It's now residing in my wheelie bin!PixelpeepS3 said:
looking forward to see the progression on this one - good luck OP 
Thanks! Will massive bork be just around the corner? We'll have to wait and see!I've been outside this morning again and had a quick go at the driver's side with my MOP too. I also managed to do the boot. I can only say I'm rather impressed at how well it's come up again. Most of the scratches have disappeared or been lost well enough in the lacquer not to matter any more. Happy days
I've always quite fancied one of these 3.0 X-Type estates. I have an AutoTrader saved search in case a mythical post-facelift manual 3.0 touring ever shows up, in fact...
How many more passes will the leather need before it no longer smells of fags? Will the carpet come out for a jetwash or is it not quite that bad?
Looking forward to seeing the continued transformation...
How many more passes will the leather need before it no longer smells of fags? Will the carpet come out for a jetwash or is it not quite that bad?
Looking forward to seeing the continued transformation...
Usget said:
I've always quite fancied one of these 3.0 X-Type estates. I have an AutoTrader saved search in case a mythical post-facelift manual 3.0 touring ever shows up, in fact...
How many more passes will the leather need before it no longer smells of fags? Will the carpet come out for a jetwash or is it not quite that bad?
Looking forward to seeing the continued transformation...
I think a lingering smell of cigarette smoke might actually add to the ownership experience. Should really be Hamlet's cigars though really.How many more passes will the leather need before it no longer smells of fags? Will the carpet come out for a jetwash or is it not quite that bad?
Looking forward to seeing the continued transformation...
Usget said:
I've always quite fancied one of these 3.0 X-Type estates. I have an AutoTrader saved search in case a mythical post-facelift manual 3.0 touring ever shows up, in fact...
How many more passes will the leather need before it no longer smells of fags? Will the carpet come out for a jetwash or is it not quite that bad?
Looking forward to seeing the continued transformation...
Did they even make these with a manual 'box? I just assumed they were all auto, really!How many more passes will the leather need before it no longer smells of fags? Will the carpet come out for a jetwash or is it not quite that bad?
Looking forward to seeing the continued transformation...
The leather had a pretty decent scrub and conditioner treatment afterwards, but now it's up to a good level I may well give it another thorough going over if I feel the inclination. Depending on what we decide to do with the car I might give it all a deep clean, and that would definitely involve taking the carpet out and wet vac'ing it. It cleaned up ok as it is, but it's probably holding a lot of the cigarette smell that's still left.
bristolracer said:
Looks like you got a personal plate with a free car!
Top shedding.
Are you going to get the LPG working again?
That's another way of looking at it! I wonder if it is worth anything as it means nothing to me or Andy. If we sold it for £225 then we'd have a free car!!Top shedding.
Are you going to get the LPG working again?
We're probably going to bin the LPG off. It's not worked for at least 6 years according to the PO, and according to the world wide inter-web these engine suffer from valve seat recession if run on LPG with no additional lubrication system added. No idea what ours has at present but it's a bit of a messy installation anyway so probably better to just strip it all out. Plus I'd rather like the spare wheel and associated bits back in their home rather than strewn across the boot.
shalmaneser said:
I think a lingering smell of cigarette smoke might actually add to the ownership experience. Should really be Hamlet's cigars though really.
It's certianly still got a unique smell! It's definitely not that bad any more but old cigarette smell is unmistakeable. Reminds me of pubs when I was a kid d_a_n1979 said:
Looks an interesting project but I feel like I’ve caught something just looking at those interior pics
Never mind Covid19, I think I've caught Covid27 amoeba said:
One of the best looking estates...ever.
I've read/been told several times that the/a diff on the 3.0 is a bit suspect; so you might want to keep an eye on it. Apparently the 2.5 is fine, so I assume the extra torque of the 3.0 kills them.
Interesting you say that, there was a grumble from the rear on the way home... All will be investigated in due course I've read/been told several times that the/a diff on the 3.0 is a bit suspect; so you might want to keep an eye on it. Apparently the 2.5 is fine, so I assume the extra torque of the 3.0 kills them.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff